Rupee rises 51 paise to 86.17 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee rose sharply by 51 paise against the US dollar to 86.17 in early trade on Friday amid a strong opening in the domestic equity markets, a weakening greenback, and decline in oil prices.
The rise in the local unit comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump suspended the additional 26 percent tariffs on India till July 9.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 86.22 against the US dollar, up 46 paise from the previous close, before rising further to 86.17. The rupee had closed at 86.68 against the greenback on Wednesday.
Equity, forex, commodity markets were closed on Thursday on account of Shri Mahavir Jayanti.
"Rupee is expected to rise above 86 with dollar index down below its September low of 100.20 with expectations of a further fall to 95 levels. A good uptick has allowed exporters to cover their exports holding and any upside due to risk aversion should be utilised for further covers," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
He added that the domestic unit is likely to trade in the range of 86.00-86.60 during the day.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.81 percent lower at 100.04.
Bhansali said the dollar index declined to decades low against Swiss Franc on Friday as waning confidence in the US economy prompted investors to ditch US assets to the benefit of safe havens like franc and yen, euro and gold.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.27 percent to USD 63.16 per barrel in futures trade.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose sharply by 1,204.02 points, or 1.63 percent, to 75,051.17, while the Nifty went up 385.25 points, or 1.72 percent, to 22,784.40.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,358.02 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
