Rupee to remain at 68-70 level: Economic Affairs Secretary
New Delhi, Aug 29 : On a day when the Indian rupee plunged to a record low of 70.65 to a US dollar, the government on Wednesday said it was expected to remain in the range of 68 to 70 during the year.
Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told the media that the depreciation in the rupee was due to some small mismatch in the demand and supply, which may go either way depending on the view taken by the operators.
He said while foreign portfolio investors took some USD nine billion from the country during the first three months of the current fiscal, net flow was at an equilibrium in July.
"This month there has been so far a positive inflow of over one billion dollars. That suggests the sentimental change about the view on rupee (and) that the current levels are fairly stable," Garg said.
"Therefore, that gives me some confidence that where we are today, there may not be much variation. So I retain the same view that between 68 to 70 is the level where the rupee would mostly remain.
"Considering fundamental supply of dollars and the demand, it should be fair to assume that that might be the level on which it will stay during the year," he added.
Earlier, after hitting an all-time low 70.65 per dollar, the rupee settled at 70.59 per dollar, depreciating by 49 paise from its previous close of 70.10 per dollar.
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah slams 'evil forces' for misleading claims in mining lease row
Bengaluru, Apr 9 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday alleged that several attempts were being made by "evil forces" to create confusion over the renewal of mining leases.
His statement came after activist H Ramamurthy approached Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, seeking a sanction to prosecute the Chief Minister in a mining-related case.
Ramamurthy claimed that mining approvals were granted at throwaway prices to nine firms involved in illegal mining, resulting in a loss of over Rs 5,000 crore to the state exchequer.
“It has come to light that in 2015, during his tenure, Sri Siddaramaiah allegedly granted ‘in-principle approval’ and deemed extension to nine private firms engaged in illegal mining,” the activist claimed.
“The renewal of these licences was reportedly done at throwaway prices, causing a significant loss of over Rs 5,000 crore to the state exchequer,” he added.
In response, Siddaramaiah said in a statement that multiple attempts had been made to create confusion over the mining lease renewal issue.
“Such misinformation has been circulating since I assumed office. Certain malicious forces are continuously trying to mislead the Raj Bhavan,” he alleged.
Under the MMDR Act, 1957—as it existed prior to 2015—lease renewals were applicable for 20 years. As per this provision, the government had granted only conditional in-principle approvals to obtain forest clearance for the renewal of mining leases, Siddaramaiah explained.
He added that on April 12, 2015, the central government amended the MMDR Act through an ordinance.
Following several stages of verification, it was concluded that the conditional approval letters issued to eight companies on February 9, 2015, for lease renewals were not valid.
These approvals were subsequently cancelled, and action was taken in accordance with the amended Act.
Siddaramaiah said that after reviewing the deemed extension proposals submitted by the Mines Department, the state government cancelled one case without considering it for a deemed extension, in accordance with a Supreme Court order.
In the remaining seven cases, deemed extension letters were issued with conditions—including submission of statutory forest and environmental clearances, a no-dues certificate, and compliance with the government's decision based on final investigation reports by agencies such as the CBI and the Special Investigation Team on illegal mining.
"Of these seven companies, two were not granted mining rights as they failed to submit the required statutory documents. Of the remaining five, three were granted mining lease rights during the BJP regime in 2020 and 2021," the Chief Minister added.
The remaining two cases were granted conditional deemed extension of mining lease rights through supplementary agreements in 2016 and 2018, he added.
“Therefore, in all these eight cases, the government did not incur any financial loss. Not a single piece of ore was extracted during this period,” Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister claimed that similar cases had earlier been filed by opposition parties and individuals in various forums, but the complaints were closed as they were found to be baseless.
“After about 10 years, this case is being exhumed with political malice. I appeal to the intelligent people of the country not to believe the evil political conspiracies that are trying to poison their minds over a matter that has no substance,” he said in the statement.
