Rupee rises 9 paise to 88.51 against US dollar in early trade
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Mumbai (PTI): The rupee gained 9 paise to 88.51 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, supported by lower crude oil prices even as volatile equity markets across the globe weighed on investor sentiment.
The rupee also faced pressure due to a strong American currency as well as withdrawal of foreign capital from domestic stock markets, forex traders said.
At the same time, investors were concerned about the progress on the proposed India-US trade deal and the domestic PMI data to be released later this week.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 88.57 and gained further to trade at 88.51 against the greenback in initial deals, up 9 paise from its previous closing level.
On Tuesday, the rupee settled 1 paisa lower at 88.60 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 99.49.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.34 per cent to USD 64.67 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 46.27 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 84,626.75 in early trade, while the Nifty slipped 8.35 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 25,901.70.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 728.82 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said "you will hear a good news" on the proposed trade pact between India and the US once the deal is fair, equitable and balanced.
The remarks came days after US President Donald Trump stated that the US is "pretty close" to reaching a "fair trade deal" with India, and added that he will lower tariffs imposed on Indian goods at "some point".
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Jai Bhim: Slogan that energised Dalits was first given at this central Maharashtra village
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): 'Jai Bhim': These two words have come to symbolise the awakening and empowerment of the Dalit community in independent India, but not many people know how it originated.
The slogan, which also encapsulates the immense reverence in which Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is held, was first raised at the Makranpur Parishad, a conference organised at Makranpur village in Kannad teshil of today's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra.
Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution, died on December 6, 1956.
Bhausaheb More, the first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation of Marathwada, organised the first Makranpur Parishad on December 30, 1938.
Dr Ambedkar spoke at the conference and asked the people not to support the princely state of Hyderabad under which much of central Maharashtra then fell, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Pravin More, Bhausaheb's son.
"When Bhausaheb stood up to speak, he said every community has its own deity and they greet each other using the name of that deity. Dr Ambedkar showed us the path of progress, and he is like God to us. So henceforth, we should say 'Jai Bhim' while meeting each other. The people responded enthusiastically. A resolution accepting 'Jai Bhim' as the community's slogan was also passed," More told PTI.
"My father came in contact with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his early years. Bhausaheb was aware of the atrocities the Nizam state committed on Dalits. He told Ambedkar about these atrocities, including the pressure to convert. Dr Ambedkar was strongly against these atrocities, and he decided to attend the 1938 conference," he said.
As Ambedkar was against the princely states, he was banned from giving speeches in the Hyderabad state but was allowed to travel through its territories. The Shivna river formed the border between Hyderabad and British India. Makranpur was chosen as the venue for the first conference because it was on the banks of Shivna but lay in the British territory, ACP More said.
The stage made of bricks, from where Dr Ambedkar addressed the conference, still stands. The conference is organised on December 30 every year to carry forward Ambedkar's thought, and the tradition was not discontinued even in 1972 when Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in it history.
"My grandmother pledged her jewellery for the conference expenses. People from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada attended it. Despite a ban imposed by the Nizam's police, Ambedkar's followers crossed the river to attend the event," said ACP More.
"This is the 87th year of Makranpur Parishad. We have deliberately retained the venue as it helps spread Ambedkar's thought in rural areas," he added.
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