Rupee rises 12 paise to 89.51 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 12 paise to 89.51 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, supported by the RBI's major liquidity announcement and the weakness of the American currency in the overseas market.
Forex traders said the rupee started the day on a stronger note after the RBI announced sufficient liquidity for the markets to the extent of approx. Rs 3 lakh crore, which will also allow the RBI to keep rupee weakness under control.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.56 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.51 against the US dollar, registering a gain of 12 paise over its previous close.
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In the initial trade, it also touched 89.65 against the American currency. On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 89.63 against the US dollar.
"The dollar index was softer after the strong GDP growth of 4.3 per cent and with Asian currencies generally stronger, the rupee has managed to claw back," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Bhansali further added that, "Rupee is likely to remain broadly in the range of 89-90 while RBI protects both sides as it attempts to cut its short dollar positions.
"The RBI was seen actively managing the rupee to prevent excessive volatility and keep USD/INR from breaking 90 levels while it also bought dollars from the spot market to prevent the appreciation."
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 97.87.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.02 per cent at USD 62.39 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex rose 63.82 points to 85,588.66, while the Nifty was up 32.80 points to 26,209. 95.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,794.80 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday said it will purchase government securities worth Rs 2 lakh crore and conduct a USD 10 billion buy/sell dollar-rupee swap auction to inject liquidity in the banking system.
The latest announcement comes days after the RBI conducted Rs 1 lakh crore OMO purchase auctions of Government of India securities and USD/INR Buy/Sell Swap auction of USD 5 billion for a tenor of three years.
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BJP will hold protest till money under Gruha Lakshmi scheme is disbursed: Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Wednesday said that the party would launch a protest against the non-disbursal of money under Gruha Lakshmi scheme for the months of February and March this year.
He also said that the party would request Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot not to give his assent to the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, which was cleared by both the houses – Legislative Assembly and Council, during the recently concluded winter session in Belagavi.
Speaking to reporters here, the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, said there were high expectations that the government would announce big schemes for the North Karnataka during the Belagavi session.
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However, instead of announcing packages for North Karnataka, funds were curtailed, he said.
"Gruha Lakshmi scheme money to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore for the months of February and March could not be given to the beneficiaries. The government had dodged it. The finance department had covered it up. Our question is whether there was no money in the previous fiscal and why the government hid it," Ashoka said.
Gruha Lakshmi scheme is one of the five pre-poll guarantees of the state government. It promises Rs 2,000 per month to the women head of the families belonging to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS).
Ashoka said if the government had money then it would have disbursed it.
"We want to know whether the government wanted to cheat people by not giving money or it did not have money,' the BJP leader said.
He added that the BJP waited for three days for Woman and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar to respond during the assembly session as 1.26 crore families were anxiously waiting for the money.
"This is a big scam. Even today, the minister has not uttered a word on the Gruha Lakshmi money for the months of February and March. She has stopped coming to Bengaluru. Our question is whether that was part of the budget. If yes, then where has the money gone?" he sought to know.
Ashoka said, "The BJP will hold protests till the money is disbursed to the beneficiaries. We obtained details of eight to 10 districts. When we approached other districts, the ministers threatened the district authorities not to share details."
Regarding the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, he said it was passed in a hurry without any discussion in both the Houses.
"This was an important bill because it takes away people’s freedom of expression. The government, which brought the Emergency taking away the personal liberties of people and jailing opposition members, journalists and judges, is once again resorting to the same attempt," Ashoka alleged. He was apparently referring to Emergency imposed by the Congress government led by Indira Gandhi in 1975.
According to him, no one can draw cartoons or expose scams once the bill becomes a law.
"There is nothing to feel good about this bill. People will not be able to air their woes on civic problems, rising crime and corruption. It is very clear that the government is targeting the opposition in order to control it," he alleged.
The BJP leader said the party will approach Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on his return from Madhya Pradesh and explain to him how this law is going to affect people and create problems for freedom of expression.
"We will persuade the Governor not to sign this bill. This is the Congress party’s law to put the opposition in jail. We will tell him that there is nothing in it to benefit society," he added.
