Slow and steady, north Karnataka voters turn up at booths
Bengaluru (PTI): The second phase of polling in Karnataka on Tuesday went on so smoothly that booth officials dressed up in costumes in Shivamogga managed to snag much of the attention.
Not only did the election officials dress up as kings and queens, the booth also had a throne for voters to take selfies flaunting their inked fingers.
Despite the searing heat, people turned up to cast their votes, and the polling percentage breaching the 50% mark by 3 pm. In the last Lok Sabha Election, also held in two phases in 2019, a voter turnout of 68.66% was registered in the 14 constituencies of north Karnataka.
Earlier Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena had told PTI that elaborate planning went into booth management to mitigate any unforeseen incidents.
Explaining, Meena said they had details about the number of young voters, women, servicemen, elderly and disabled voters, and checked whether polling stations are equipped with all facilities or not.
Noting the turnout last time, the plan also took into consideration what people were saying about why they did not vote, what they wanted, what should be done to enhance the voter percentage, he said.
According to him, every constituency had five 'Sakhi booths' decorated in pink and wholly managed by women polling personnel.
Apart from the Sakhi booths, there were also 'Go Green' booths that were decorated to create awareness about the climate crisis.
Meanwhile, just as Bengaluru saw a host of shops and restaurants offer discounts and freebies to encourage people to vote, a liquor shop in Hubballi has promised discounts for those who vote.
Karnataka Wines Shop on Kusugal Road has announced that people with inked fingers will get a 3% discount on MRP on May 8, the day after polling.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
