New Delhi: The central government has announced a relief package of ₹3,454 crore to combat drought conditions. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, engaged in discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi to secure this relief.
After persistent efforts by the state government, the central government finally responded by granting drought relief under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). Initially, Karnataka had requested ₹18,174 crore in September last year to address the drought situation. However, with no immediate response from the central government, the state government approached the Supreme Court.
During the hearing in the court, the central government had informed that the Election Commission has given permission to fulfill the demand of the state government to provide financial assistance for drought management in Karnataka.
Following the Supreme Court's intervention, the central government has committed to releasing the drought relief, which has now been officially announced.
In addition to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu has also received compensation of ₹275 crore from the central government to address similar challenges.
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Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
