Israel to open more visa centres in south India
New Delhi, Aug 30 : With hopes of attracting more Indian travellers from the southern region of India, Israel will open a visa application centre in Hyderabad by October this year, an Israeli official said here on Thursday.
"We have a lot of demand from the southern regions of India like Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and hence, we have decided to open a visa application centre in Hyderabad," Ministry of Tourism Director (India and Philippines) Hassan Madah said here on the sidelines of a roadshow.
"In near future, we will open more visa centres in the south," he said adding that Israel will hold more roadshows in states like Bangaluru, Cochin and Chennai to attract travellers.
In March 2018, Air India launched its direct flight operations from New Delhi to Tel Aviv, the fastest non-stop flight connecting India with Israel, he said, adding that the airline is increasing flights in the route.
In addition to this, Israeli airline El Al currently has three weekly non-stop flights from Mumbai to Tel Aviv.
Israeli carrier Arkia has also expressed interest to begin operations connecting the two countries, he said.
"We are also in talks with other airlines like Vistara and Indigo to connect India and Israel through their flights," Madah said.
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Rupee falls 20 paise to 95.43 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 20 paise to 95.43 against US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as market sentiments remained fragile after renewed military exchanges between US and Iranian forces in the Gulf region.
Forex traders said investor anxiety due to instability in the Gulf is causing massive capital flight into safe-haven assets, with the US dollar acting as the primary beneficiary.
Moreover, Brent oil prices is hovering near USD 113 per barrel, maintaining pressure on oil-importing economies like India.
At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 95.30 then lost ground to touch 95.43 against the US dollar, in initial trade, registering a fall of 20 paise over its previous close.
Rupee fell 39 paise to close at an all-time low of 95.23 against the US dollar on Monday.
"With oil boiling rupee on Monday fell to a closing low of 95.0875 and this morning the opening was still lower as it becomes more and more vulnerable when dollar index rises due to safe-haven buying and oil prices rise due to the continuous fighting in the Gulf Region," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
The higher oil prices will keep rupee sold off against the dollar as oil companies and FPIs intensify dollar buying, Bhansali added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.51, up 0.15 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 1.07 per cent at USD 113.22 per barrel in futures trade.
"Market sentiments remained fragile after renewed military exchanges between US and Iranian forces when Iranian forces launched fresh attacks in the Gulf as both sides sought to assert control over the strategic waterway," Bhansali said.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 361.62 points to 76,907.78 in early trade, while the Nifty dropped 134.90 points to 23,980.60.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,835.62 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
