If you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi
New York: With an increasing number of people from the Indian-American community playing a significant role in US elections, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said there is a realization among them that if you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu that is why they are voting and running for office in large numbers.
We are starting to realize that old adage that if you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu, Krishnamoorthi said during a virtual post-election political analysis hosted by leading nonprofit Indian diaspora organization Indiaspora.
"I think the Indian-Americans realize that neither they nor their families nor their priorities can afford to be on the menu so they're pulling up the proverbial seat to the table. And that means voting, but also running for office.
And so I encourage people to do more of that. Just please don't run in my district against me, he said with a laugh.
Amid increased divisiveness across the US, Krishnamoorthi, who won re-election to the US House of Representatives for a third term, said there is a need for a "boldest common denominator of crushing the coronavirus and repairing the economy to unite Americans.
I think that we have to find the boldest common denominator that unites us and work on those priorities first before tackling some of the other issues which obviously deserve attention but might provoke a little more disagreement in terms of the way forward, Krishnamoorthi said.
Krishnamoorthi was responding to a question by Indiaspora's founder M R Rangaswami on how he hopes to unite his constituents amid the increasing divisiveness being witnessed across the country.
Krishnamoorthi said the boldest common denominator that unites all of us is crushing the virus and developing a safe and effective vaccine that is distributed to everyone as well as repairing the economy and helping struggling businesses and families get through this thing at the same time that we're dealing with the health crisis.
Krishnamoorthi stressed that in order to deal with the virus, there is a need to take the politicians out of managing organizations like the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Health & Human Services. We need to put the scientists and the health care professionals back in charge, he said.
On the economic front, he said that right after the election, lawmakers will take up the issue of a stimulus package again and hopefully get it past the goal line.
Responding to a question on what his priorities will be going forward, Krishnamoorthi said he is the Oversight Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, with direct jurisdiction of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Those agencies have become heavily politicized, he said adding that a big priority for him will be to depoliticize those agencies so that they can do their job and get America out of this pandemic as soon as possible.
The second big priority is to stabilize the economy and help industries that have been decimated by the pandemic, including airlines, hotels and hospitality, restaurant, and tourism.
They need help now more than ever because we don't want a situation where we basically allow them to die even as we're trying to save the patient so to speak on the operating table, which is the American economy.
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Rupee rises 6 paise to 89.92 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee witnessed range-bound trade in the morning session on Friday, appreciating by 6 paise to 89.92 against the US dollar as thin liquidity conditions accentuated everyday demand-supply imbalances, keeping the rupee tilted toward weakness.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair is expected to trade in a narrow range as the 90 level is being protected by the Reserve Bank of India.
Moreover, the support from positive domestic equities was offset by sustained foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.95 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.92, rising by six paise from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 10 paise to close at 89.98 against the US dollar.
"Unless RBI comes and sells dollars heavily, the movement is going to be in small ranges as seen in the last three sessions. The pair is seen in a holding pattern between 89.80 and 90, considering the narrow range," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Bhansali further noted that corporate demand, FPI demand, and government demand have been the salient features of the rupee over the past year, during which it fell by more than 5 per cent and became the worst-performing Asian currency, though partly protected by the RBI.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally down by 0.15 per cent at 98.17.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.38 per cent higher at USD 61.08 per barrel in futures trade.
"With early-year liquidity still thin and domestic fundamentals offering a mixed but stable backdrop, the rupee appears set to remain range-bound in the near term. As long as USD/INR stays below the 90 handle, the balance of risks tilts mildly in favour of the rupee," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said, adding that against this backdrop, USD/INR is expected to trade in a 89.30–90.20 range.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex climbed 158.19 points to 85,346.79 in early trade, while the Nifty was up 55.8 points to 26,202.35.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,268.60 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, gross GST collections rose 6.1 per cent to over Rs 1.74 lakh crore in December 2025, on slow growth in revenues from domestic sales following the sweeping tax cuts, according to government data released on Thursday.
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in December 2024 was over Rs 1.64 lakh crore.
