Rupee falls 5 paise to lowest-ever closing level of 83.63 against US dollar
Mumbai, Jul 18: Rupee depreciated 5 paise and settled at its all-time low of 83.63 against the US dollar on Thursday, as the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and overnight surge in crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.
Forex traders expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on strong US dollar and weak Asian as well as European currencies. The US dollar strengthened, while the pound weakened amid disappointing labour market data from the UK.
However, positive domestic markets and foreign fund inflows cushioned the downside in the domestic unit to a certain extent.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.57, and touched an intraday high of 83.55 and a low of 83.66 against the dollar during the session.
It finally settled at 83.63 against the American currency, registering a loss of 5 paise from its previous close.
On Tuesday, the rupee closed at 83.58 against the American currency. The rupee had witnessed its previous lowest closing level of 83.61 on July 15.
Forex and equity markets were closed on Wednesday on account of Muharram.
"A bounce back in crude oil prices may further pressurise the rupee. However, record high domestic equities and fresh foreign inflows may support the rupee at lower levels," said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.09 per cent at 103.83.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading marginally lower by 0.01 per cent at USD 85.07 per barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 626.91 points to settle at its all-time high of 81,343.46, while Nifty surged 187.85 points to a record peak of 24,800.85 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 5,483.63 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday maintained India's GDP growth forecast at 7 per cent for the current financial year, citing that a rebound in agriculture is expected given above-normal monsoon projections.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
