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The past can be a good indicator of the future. Depending on sociopolitical atmosphere, interest and inflation rates, foreign trade, public debt and export-to-import price ratios all influence exchange rates. Below you can find the average exchange rate for the past 10 years.
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GBP = INR | 91.0467 | 97.9928 | 100.479 | 91.6295 | 84.6084 | 74.7029 | 70.6057 | 75.5520 | 79.9029 | 82.5005 |
Data courtesy of X-Rates.
The British pound sterling is the oldest still-circulating currency in the world. It also enjoys the ranking of the fourth most traded currency – the first three spots on the list are taken by the US dollar, the euro and the Japanese yen. India’s rupee, on the other hand, is traded far less frequently on international markets, in large part due to several strict controls imposed on the currency by the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India.
India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act places tight restrictions on outgoing rupee transfers being sent from India, which can provide several challenges for consumers looking to send money overseas from India. Despite this, India’s massive population of 1.25 billion combined with Britain’s colonial history in India still makes the pound and rupee a popular currency pair.
During the 60-plus years since India’s independence, the pound-to-rupee exchange rate has fluctuated substantially. However, the pound has consistently been the far stronger performer of the two currencies.
India’s connection to the UK remained strong despite having gained independence in 1947. These ties were strong enough that the value of the rupee was pegged to the pound until 1966. Following the 1966 financial crisis and the subsequent devaluation of the rupee it was then pegged to the US dollar for a period and eventually moved to a free-floating exchange rate arrangement in 1993.
Although the switch to a free-market arrangement prompted the rupee to fall in value against the pound and many other major currencies, this also meant the rupee reached a mark closer to its actual value. After starting out in the mid-40 rupees range in 1993, the pound steadily gained in value against the other currency up towards the beginning of the new millennium, peaking at a value of more than 71 rupees.
The British economy was experiencing a period of solid and steady growth at this time, while India battled financial instability. From 2002 through to 2008, the pound fluctuated in value between roughly 75 and 85 rupees.
The UK was initially expected to avoid much of the global economic downturn that began in the USA in 2008, but the financial troubles soon spread to Europe and the UK. With the financial industry hit particularly hard the value of the pound dropped quickly against the rupee, falling from an exchange rate of 83.94 on 17 October 2008 to 67.56 by 24 January 2009.
Stagnant growth in the UK following the global financial crisis saw it drop down to an exchange rate of 65 rupees in 2010 and it held fairly steady near this mark for roughly a year. However, resurgent growth figures through the second half of 2011 and into 2012 saw the pound begin to rise in value against most major currencies.
At the same time, a quantitative easing program introduced by the US Federal Reserve Board saw investors around the world abandon emerging and risky markets, such as India, for more stable markets such as the US and UK. The value of the pound skyrocketed to more than 100 rupees in August 2013 and it consistently traded from roughly 95 to 105 rupees in the following 2 years.
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