New Delhi, May 23 -- The debate around the role of systematic investment plan (SIP) inflows in the sharp depreciation of the Indian rupee has intensified after a recent note by brokerage firm Jefferies suggested that strong domestic equity flows gave foreign investors an easy exit route from Indian markets, contributing to pressure on the currency.

Responding to the discussion, veteran fund manager Samir Arora defended retail investing through SIPs and argued that alternative uses of household savings would not necessarily have benefited the Indian economy or the rupee.

Helios Capital founder argued that critics of SIP-driven flows were overlooking an important question - where else would Indian household savings have gone if investors ...