Chhattisgarh: Mobile tower installed at Kondapalli village in Naxal-affected Bijapur
Raipur (PTI): A mobile tower has been installed for the first time at Kondapalli village in Chhattisgarh's Naxal-affected Bijapur district, an area long cut off from the outside world, officials said on Sunday.
The village, about 450 km from state capital Raipur and located in the dense forests along the border with Telangana, did not have roads, electricity and drinking water until recently.
The installation of a mobile tower last week was not merely a technological step forward for the local community but a symbol of getting connected with the outside world, said a government statement.
His government was committed to ensure that every village and every family in Bastar region becomes part of the development mainstream, gains access to digital services, and sees new avenues of opportunity open for them, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai was quoted as saying in the statement.
This was the dawn of a new era of trust, transformation and new possibilities, he said.
Mobile network was being provided under the 'Niyad Nellanaar' (Your Good Village) scheme of the state government which aims to bring development to remote villages close to security camps, the statement said.
As the tower's activation was announced last week, excitement swept through Kondapalli as women, men and children marched to the tower site in a procession and performed traditional rituals. People danced to the beat of the 'mandar' drum and residents of neighbouring villages also joined in.
With mobile network, the villagers can now access banking services, Aadhaar, ration, health schemes, pension schemes and educational services, the release said.
Since a security camp was set up at Kondapalli in December 2024, the administration has been able to reach the village regularly. The long-defunct road in the area is being reconstructed by the Border Roads Organisation, and work on a 50-km stretch is currently under progress, the statement said.
Electricity reached the village for the first time only two months ago, changing daily life in many ways including how the children study and small businesses are run, the statement said, adding the administration has been conducting camps to ensure every family receives the benefits of government schemes.
Under the Niyad Nellanaar scheme, 18 community services under nine departments and 25 individual-centric schemes of 11 departments are being delivered in 403 villages around 69 new security camps in Bastar region which comprises seven districts including Bijapur.
Over the past two years, 728 mobile towers have been installed in the region. Additionally, 449 towers have been upgraded from 2G to 4G, the statement added.
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Rupee rebounds from record low; gains 1.6 pc to 93.19 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee recovered 151 paise from its record low level to trade at 93.19 against the US dollar in early deals on Thursday, backed by the Reserve Bank's move to restrict banks' net open position in the onshore forward delivery market.
The domestic unit, however, faced pressure due to unabated withdrawal of foreign capital, strengthening dollar and rising crude oil prices amid volatile geopolitical situation, forex analysts said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 94.62 and rose sharply to 93.19 against the US dollar in early deals, registering a gain of 151 paise or 1.6 per cent from its previous close.
The local currency breached the 95 level on Monday before closing at 94.70 versus the greenback. It had settled at a historic low of 94.84 against dollar on Friday, prompting the RBI to intervene.
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Through its circular dated March 27, 2026, RBI capped the net open position on the Indian rupee for banks at USD 100 million, mandating compliance by April 10.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.32 per cent higher at 99.77.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading at USD 106.06 per barrel, up 4.84 per cent, in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tumbled 1,312.91 points or 1.80 per cent to 71,821.41 in early trade, while the Nifty slumped 410.45 points or 1.81 per cent to 22,383.40.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 8,331.15 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
"The high crude price, the widening trade deficit, the fear of declining remittances and sustained FPI selling are acting cumulatively to put high pressure on the rupee," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
Since the beginning of the West Asia war on February 28, 2026, the rupee has depreciated over 4 per cent. During the fiscal year ended March 2026, the currency has declined nearly 10 per cent against the US dollar.
Government data released on Wednesday showed that the government's GST revenues grew about 9 per cent in March, scaling to the pre-tax cut level of over Rs 2 lakh crore, the third highest monthly collection in the 2025-26 fiscal, buoyed by mop-ups from imports as well as domestic sales and purchases.
