Soros cautions against full float of rupee

George Soros, global financial investor and one of the world's richest men, on Tuesday cautioned India against going for full float of rupee and said the government should prevent the economy from getting overheated.

"No, I don't think so," Soros said in reply to a question whether India should have full capital account convertibility of the rupee at this moment.

India should be careful of capital inflows, he said. But, the country should make rules conducive to attract foreign direct investment, Soros said, adding he faced many hassles when he wanted to invest in India 12 years ago.

"You are in a booming economy, it is the role of authorities to prevent the boom from getting excessive to avoid overheating," Soros said.

He, however, said capital controls are effective only at the time of crisis and cannot be a perfect arrangement.

Capital controls on currency is not a right way of doing things, but overheating in Indian economy was the concern of the authorities, he said.

He said India was becoming a very important country and overseas interest in the country was growing.

However, Soros refused to disclose whether he is going to make some investment in India, saying his portfolio was managed by professionals.

Earlier, he addressed a session organised by industry body Federation of Indian Industry and Commerce and Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, where his book titled "The Age of Fallibility: Consequence of the War on Terror" was released.