Unani doctors hold protest in Mumbai in support of demands
Mumbai, Nov 22: Unani doctors Thursday held a protest here demanding reservation in government jobs in Maharashtra and parity with ayurvedic physicians.
The protest was organised at the Azad Maidan in South Mumbai by the Integrated Medicine Practitioners Association (IMPA).
IMPA General secretary Zubair Shaikh saida 2014 Government Resolution (GR) had assured jobs to Unani doctors in state-run primary health centres (PHCs).
However, the decision has not been implemented yet, he said.
"We only want respect and parity (with ayurvedic doctors). BUMS (Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery) practitioners, too, play a major role in the society," he said.
Shaikh,who is also vice-president of the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), said in India there are 1.5 lakh Unani doctors of which around 9,000 are from Maharashtra.
"The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) needs to establish a post of deputy director for Unani medicine," he said.
Shaikh said the government has declared a plan to set up a medical hub in Jalgaon, North Maharashtra.
However,the government has not approved a Unani medical college there, though it has announced that ayurvedic, allopathic and homoeopathic colleges will come up at the medical hub.
"For the past four years our pleas have remained unanswered," he said and added that Unani doctors have not been included in the National Health Mission's health and wellness programmes.
"There should be a Unani technical advisor in FDA (food and drug administration) like Ayurvedic technical advisors. Unani graduates also need to be included in ESIS (Employment State Insurance Scheme) panels," he added.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the Congress visited the protest site and expressed support to the agitating Unani doctors.
Speaking to reporters, Vikhe-Patil said if the Congress comes to power in the state, it will immediately implement the GR on jobs to Unani doctors in PHCs.
"This is a biased government and therefore, we cannot expect anything from it. However, the moment we come to power we will implement the GR," he said.
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Rupee falls 8 paise to hit all-time low of 84.50 against US dollar
Mumbai, Nov 21: The rupee depreciated 8 paise to settle at an all-time low of 84.50 against the US dollar on Thursday, dragged down by massive sell-off in domestic equity markets and surging crude oil prices amid a volatile geopolitical situation.
According to forex traders, the American currency strengthened due to safe-haven appeal amid escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine, while the continuous outflow of foreign funds also put pressure on the domestic unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.41 and touched the lowest-ever level of 84.51 against the greenback during intra-day. The unit ended the session at 84.50 against the dollar, surpassing its previous all-time low closing level of 84.46 recorded on November 14.
On Tuesday, the rupee had settled flat at 84.42 against the US dollar.
The foreign exchange market was closed on Wednesday on account of assembly elections in Maharashtra.
"We expect the rupee to trade around 84.5 against the dollar by end December. A strong dollar continues to create a depreciating bias for currencies globally and is likely to sustain FPI outflows from Indian markets in the near-term.
"However, interventions by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), supported by India's healthy foreign exchange reserves, should help keep rupee volatility in check," said Rajani Sinha, Chief Economist, CareEdge Ratings.
FPIs have withdrawn approximately USD 4 billion from Indian markets in November, following a record USD 11 billion in outflows in October. While high US Treasury yields and a strong dollar have contributed to these outflows, other domestic factors have also been at play, such as muted corporate earnings and high valuations.
"Over the medium-term, we expect the rupee to trade around 84 by the end of FY25, supported by India's strong fundamentals, including a manageable current account deficit, inclusion in global bond indices, fiscal consolidation and stronger growth relative to other emerging markets. These factors should help maintain India's attractiveness as an investment destination," Sinha added.
Sinha further said "going forward, it will be crucial to monitor the implementation of Trump's policies and China's response, as these will play a key role in shaping market dynamics."
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.02 per cent at 106.66.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, surged by 1.84 per cent to USD 74.15 per barrel in futures trade.
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said the rupee weakened as pressure mounted due to the dollar scaling higher above 106.65 amidst renewed global uncertainties with geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine adding to global risk aversion.
At the same time, sell-off in domestic equity markets was fuelled after the Adani Group faced bribery and fraud charges in the US. "This has further fuelled FII outflows, continuing the trend of capital flight from Indian markets," Trivedi said.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 422.59 points, or 0.54 per cent, to close at 77,155.79 points, while Nifty tanked 168.60 points, or 0.72 per cent, to settle at 23,349.90 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 5,320.68 crore, according to exchange data.
