RBI's efforts to stabilise rupee hit country's forex reserves: Experts
Mumbai, Aug 17 : A strong US dollar and subsequent interventions by the country's central bank to stabilise the rupee drained over $1.80 billion from India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves, analysts said on Friday.
As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) weekly statistical supplement, the overall forex reserves plunged by $1.82 billion during the week ended August 10 to $400.88 billion from $402.70 billion reported for the week ended August 3.
According to Anindya Banerjee, Deputy Vice President for Currency and Interest Rates with Kotak Securities, the decline in Forex reserves can be attributed to the RBI's intervention to stem the decline in rupee's fall.
The RBI is known to enter the markets via intermediaries to either sell or buy US dollars to keep the rupee in a stable orbit
India's forex reserves comprise of foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and the RBI's position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In recent days, factors such as geo-political developments, wider trade deficit, along with outflow of foreign funds have pulled the Indian rupee to fresh record intra-day and closing lows.
On Thursday, the Indian rupee had plunged to an intra-day low level of 70.39-40 -- its lowest ever mark -- against the greenback prompting automobile manufacturers and other import dependent sectors to raise prices.
It settled at a record closing low of 70.16 against the US dollar on Thursday.
Segment-wise, FCAs -- the largest component of the Forex reserves -- receded by $1.94 billion to $376.26 billion during the week under review.
Besides the US dollar, FCAs consist of nearly 20-30 per cent of major global currencies. The individual movements of these currencies against the US dollar impacts the overall reserve value.
"A consistent decline in reserves show that the RBI is continuously intervening in the market to protect the rupee," Rushabh Maru, Research Analyst, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, told IANS.
"Another reason is the fact that foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the currencies such as Euro, Pound etc held in the reserves. Since Euro and Pound both have depreciated sharply in recent months, the fall in valuation is also the reason for decline in the reserves."
However, the value of the country's gold reserves increased by $145.6 million to $20.69 billion.
The country's SDRs' value slipped by $9.2 million to $1.46 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF inched down by $9.2 million to $2.45 billion.
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'Strong evidence' available against Saif attacker, police tell court while opposing his bail plea
Mumbai, Jul 25 (PTI): Police have opposed the bail plea of the Bangladeshi national arrested for allegedly stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan with a knife and injuring him at his home here in January this year, telling a Mumbai court there was "strong evidence" against the accused.
Citing a Forensic Science Laboratory report, police reiterated before the sessions court their earlier claim knife fragments that got lodged near the actor's spine during the attack as well as a part found at the crime spot have matched with the weapon recovered from the accused, Shariful Islam.
These three pieces were part of the same weapon (knife) used to attack the filmstar, the police said in a written response to the accused's plea submitted in the court on Thursday (July 24).
Khan was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by an intruder inside his 12th floor apartment in upscale Bandra on January 16 during a robbery attempt.
The 54-year-old actor underwent surgery at Lilavati Hospital to remove a piece of knife that got lodged near his spine during the attack. He was discharged from the private hospital after five days.
Shariful Islam, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested two days later for allegedly stabbing Khan.
The police, in their response, highlighted that the accused is a Bangladeshi citizen residing illegally in India.
If granted bail, there was a possibility that he may flee India and not appear before the court during the trial. The crime committed by the accused is of a "very serious nature, and strong evidence" is available against him, they argued.
In his bail plea, filed through advocate Vipul Dushing, the accused asserted he was innocent and had no prior criminal record.
Investigation into the case has practically concluded with only the filing of a chargesheet pending, the accused contended while seeking bail.
The alleged attacker has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to house trespass, robbery and dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous injury.
