Unaccounted cash worth Rs 70 cr seized in poll-bound Telangana
Hyderabad, Nov 15: Unaccounted cash worth Rs 70 crore was seized in separate searches carried out in poll-bound Telangana on different occasions, since the Model Code of Conduct came into force, a poll official said Thursday.
Besides, illegal liquor worth Rs 6.70 crore was seized by by the police and income tax sleuths, Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar told reporters here.
To a query, he said it came to the Election Commission's notice that certain political leaders were attempting to influence the electorate in the name of caste and religion and attending caste and religion-based meetings.
"It is not permitted to make promises to particular caste or religion in the context of elections," he noted.
To another question, he said he did not receive any direction from the EC to conduct inquiry against the Collector of Sangareddy District, Hanumantha Rao, to ascertain whether the official was holding the same position for over three years, which is violation of Model Code of Conduct.
Some political parties have made a representation to the EC seeking his removal as District Electoral Officer alleging that he was continuing in the post since 2014, contrary to the rule.
Meanwhile, an official release from the Chief Electoral Officer's office said as many as 540 nominations put together have been filed till Thursday by political parties in the state for the December 7 Assembly polls.
Candidates on behalf of Congress filed 77, while the TRS filed 98, the BJP 65 and aspirants from Telugu Desam Party filed 14 nominations.
Seeking reelection, Caretaker Chief Minister and TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and several of his colleagues filed papers from their respective constituencies on Wednesday.
Rao is in the poll fray from Gajwel constituency.
The process of filing nominations began on November 12 and the last date is November 19.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to record low of 90.87 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee plunged 9 paise to a record low of 90.87 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, weighed down by sustained FII outflows and no breakthrough in the India-US trade deal.
However, a weaker greenback and a decline in global crude oil prices capped further losses in the domestic unit, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at its all-time low of 90.87 against the US dollar, down 9 paise from its previous close, and traded in a narrow range of 90.77- 90.87 in early trade.
ALSO READ: Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
The rupee on Monday settled at a new all-time low of 90.78 against the US dollar, registering a loss of 29 paise over its previous close, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
"The US-India trade deal still seems to be off by a distance with the Commerce Secretary saying the first phase will be signed before the end of the year and news that we are closest to the deal being signed. The uncertainty has clouded the recovery on the USD/INR pair as the rupee opened lower with dollar buying happening every day," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
Even a reduction in trade deficit on Monday could not bring about a recovery in the rupee with Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) outflows continuing, he added
According to the latest government data released on Monday, India's trade deficit narrowed to a five-month low of USD 24.53 billion in November, as exports rebounded by 19.37 per cent to a six-month high of USD 38.13 billion after contracting in October, driven by higher shipments of engineering and electronics goods.
At the same time, the country's imports dipped by 1.88 per cent to USD 62.66 billion due to a fall in the inbound shipments of gold, crude oil, coal, and coke.
FIIs sold equities worth Rs 1,468.32 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Also, wholesale price inflation stayed in the negative for the second consecutive month in November at (-) 0.32 per cent, even though there was an uptick in prices of food articles like pulses and vegetables on a month-on-month basis, government data showed on Monday.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation was at (-) 1.21 per cent in October and 2.16 per cent in November last year.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent lower at 98.27.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.61 per cent lower at USD 60.19 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index, Sensex, declined 363.92 points to 84,849.44 in early trade while the Nifty was down 106.65 points to 25,920.65.
