Rupee falls 8 paise to close at 88.79 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 8 paise to close at 88.79 against the US dollar on Friday, near its all-time low level, on dollar demand from importers and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair is hovering around its all-time low level, weighed down by trade tensions and global uncertainties.
Moreover, persistent foreign fund outflows and the ongoing US visa fee hike issue also dragged down the domestic unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 88.68 against the US dollar and touched an intraday low of 88.85 and finally settled for the day at 88.790, lower by 8 paise from its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee recovered 9 paise from its all-time closing low to settle at 88.71 against US dollar.
On Thursday, equity, forex, bullion and commodity markets were closed on account of Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra.
On September 30, the rupee had fallen to an all-time low of 88.80 against the US dollar.
"The Indian currency steadied within a tight range over the past few days, having suffered a historic low earlier in the week. The underlying mood for the rupee remains down due to sustained capital outflow from foreign investors. Nevertheless, a rebound in local share markets and moderation in crude oil prices to lend some stability," Dilip Parmar, Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said.
"We expect the rupee to strengthen amid broad weakness in the US dollar and weakness in global crude oil prices. However, importer demand for dollar may cap sharp upside," said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst Currency and commodities Mirae Asset ShareKhan.
Choudhary further noted that the US dollar may weaken amid lack of economic data from the US amid the government shutdown. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 88.40 to 89.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 97.78, lower by 0.06 per cent, amid US government shutdown.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.03 per cent higher at USD 64.77 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex climbed 223.86 points to settle at 81,207.17, while the Nifty settled up 57.95 points at 24,894.25.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,583.37 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left its key interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as it waited for greater clarity on the impact of US tariffs as well as playout of earlier rate cuts and recent tax reductions.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, however, signalled scope for easing in the coming months to support the economy from any possible hit from US tariffs.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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