Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan contribute towards Kerala relief
Mumbai, Aug 19 : Celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Dulquer Salmaan and Jacqueline Fernandez have contributed towards relief work in flood-ravaged Kerala. They have also urged others to donate.
"The devastation caused by incessant rain in Kerala is frightening. Hundreds and thousands of our sisters and brothers are in deep anguish! We must do all we can to contribute as much as we can towards the needs of the people of Kerala. I have. You must too," Amitabh tweeted.
The death toll due to rains and floods in Kerala increased to 370.
Shah Rukh's Meer Foundation has donated Rs 21 lakh to a relief group working amongst flood victims. Jacqueline committed to donate Rs 5 lakh to NGO Habitat for Humanity India's Kerala Flood Relief Programme.
She said in a statement: "I am deeply pained to see the devastation caused by the floods in Kerala. My heart goes out to the people in need and in order to help them, I have decided to donate to Habitat for Humanity India.
"I am happy that they have undertaken their disaster response work in Kerala. I appeal to all my friends, fans and peers from the film industry to come and support our flood relief work for the people of Kerala."
Filmmaker Priyadarshan has already handed over his and actor Akshay Kumar's cheque to Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. "Let's together build back Kerala back to its glory again. No politics, no religion only humanity. Let's stand together to save Kerala," he tweeted.
Actress Chitrangda Singh has also urged people to "join hands and hearts" and "help our countrymen. Stand for Kerala".
Oscar winner Resul Pookutty has thanked all the celebrities like Vidya Balan, Sonam Kapoor and Alia Bhatt who have contributed to the cause.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
