Greetings pour in as Manmohan Singh turns 88; Rahul says India feels absence of PM with his 'depth'
New Delhi: As former prime minister Manmohan Singh turned 88 on Saturday, greetings poured in from across the political spectrum with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that India feels the absence of a PM with the "depth" of Singh.
If anyone in public life alive today is deserving of the Bharat Ratna, it is "undoubtedly" Singh, said his party colleague P Chidambaram who served as finance minister and home minister under the UPA I and II governments led by Manmohan Singh.
Greeting his predecessor on his birthday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Singh a long and healthy life.
Several Union ministers and BJP leaders, including Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Vasundhra Raje Scindia, DMK chief M K Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also extended their greetings.
Manmohan Singh headed the UPA coalition governments between 2004 and 2014 and earlier as a finance minister under the P V Narasimha Rao government supervised the liberalisation of the Indian economy in the 1990s.
"Birthday greetings to Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. I pray to Almighty that he is blessed with a long and healthy life," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi wished Singh, saying, "India feels the absence of a PM with the depth of Dr Manmohan Singh. His honesty, decency and dedication are a source of inspiration for us all."
"Wishing him a very happy birthday and a lovely year ahead," Gandhi tweeted with the hashtag 'HappyBirthdayDrMMSingh'.
Stalin hailed Singh for his "visionary leadership & futuristic ideas", saying that they had been instrumental in establishing India's global prominence.
"Greetings to former Prime Minister and Economist Dr. Manmohan Singh ji on his birthday. Wishing him good health and more productive years in public life," Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee tweeted.
Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal lauded Singh's "journey filled with incredible achievements".
"Dr. Manmohan Singh's life is an inspiration to us all. His humility, honesty and incredible intellect make him an exemplary leader," he tweeted.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh extended warm wishes to Singh, praying for his good health and long life.
"We thank him for his leadership during UPA years, for a robust economy, bringing lakhs of people out of poverty, working tirelessly in national interest," Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said in his message.
Chidambaram wished the former prime minister many more years of good health and service to the nation.
"The story of Dr Singh's life is a story of the rise of a young boy from a humble background to the heights of public service armed only with one tool his education and scholarship," he said in a series of tweets.
The whole nation is proud of the life and service of Singh and holds him as an example for every young boy or girl, he said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Ahmed Patel, Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, as well as several other senior and young Congress leaders wished Singh on his birthday.
The Congress, on its official Twitter handle, said a dedicated leader's primary aim is always to eradicate the worst evils that plague the society in the soonest and surest possible way.
"Today, we celebrate former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's commitment towards the overall well-being of each Indian," the party said.
In his journey towards greatness, he took a billion people along, the Congress said in another tweet.
"One of the most competent world leaders, Dr Manmohan Singh's vision for our nation is uncompromising. India is forever indebted to this great son for leading her through highs & lows," the party tweeted.
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Rupee falls 23 paise to hit fresh record low of 85.50 against US dollar
Mumbai, Dec 27: The rupee fell steepest in almost two years to hit its lifetime intraday low of 85.80 before a suspected central bank intervention helped recover some of its losses and settled 23 paise lower at a record low of 85.50 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday due to a strong greenback amid increased month-end demand from banks and importers.
According to analysts, the Reserve Bank's stance to hold on to its dollar payments in short-term forward contracts added to the shortage of greenback, with importers rushing to meet their month-end payment obligations.
Despite robust sentiment in domestic equity markets, the rupee was weighed down by sustained outflow of foreign funds and rising crude oil prices, they added.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 85.31 and plunged 53 paise to the lowest-ever intraday level of 85.80.
The unit finally ended the session at 85.50 (provisional) against the greenback, losing 23 paise from its previous closing level of 85.27.
The rupee's earlier sharpest one-day fall of 68 paise was recorded on February 2, 2023.
The domestic unit has been hitting new lows almost every day in the past couple of weeks. It had plunged 12 paise to 85.27 against the dollar on Thursday after declining 13 paise in the previous two sessions.
"The central bank holds USD 21 billion in short-side forward contracts set to mature in December and January. Market speculation suggests that the RBI has refrained from rolling over these maturing forwards, leading to a scarcity of dollars and an oversupply of rupees.
"Moreover, dollar liquidity in the market remains very low, amplifying the upward momentum in the pair. This imbalance has propelled the USD-INR pair towards 85.8075 levels," said Amit Pabari, MD of CR Forex Advisors.
According to Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, the rupee hit a record low on dollar demand from importers towards the end of the month and outflows from foreign investors (FIIs).
"Rising US treasury yields and crude oil prices also weighed on the rupee," he said and projected the USD-INR spot price in a range of Rs 85.30 to Rs 85.85, saying traders may take cues from goods trade balance data from the US.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.04 per cent at 107.94, while the 10-year benchmark US Treasury yield rose 0.76 per cent, hitting its seven-month high level of 4.61 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.15 per cent to USD 73.37 per barrel in futures trade.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 226.59 points or 0.29 per cent higher at 78,699.07 points, while Nifty went up 63.20 points, or 0.27 per cent to close at 23,813.40 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,376.67 crore, according to exchange data.
