Forex reserves decline USD 4.47 bn to USD 688.1 bn: RBI data
Mumbai (PTI): India's forex reserves declined USD 4.472 billion to USD 688.104 billion during the week ended November 21 due to a steep decrease in the value of gold reserves, the RBI said on Friday.
The overall reserves had increased by USD 5.543 billion to USD 692.576 billion in the previous reporting week.
For the week ended November 21, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by USD 1.69 billion to USD 560.6 billion, the data released showed.
Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.
Value of the gold reserves decreased by USD 2.675 billion to USD 104.182 billion during the week, the RBI said.
The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) also decreased by USD 84 million to USD 18.566 billion, the apex bank said.
India's reserve position with the IMF also fell by USD 23 million to USD 4.757 billion in the reporting week, according to the apex bank's data.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
