LEAD

The Rupee plunged below the 82 mark for the first time against the US dollar on 29 September. By 10 October, the Rupee further slid downhill to 82.75. The currency had been on a fast-paced downslide over the recent months along with its Asian peers. Various factors have contributed to currency instability when the world is staring at a looming economic uncertainty.

The hike and volatility in crude prices caused due to the war in Ukraine has significantly moved up India’s import costs, thereby creating more demand for the US dollar. The pent-up demand after the COVID-19 crisis has not been met with sufficient supplies. The zero-Covid strategy in China had greatly subdued its manufacturing potential, leaving the world short of adequate supplies. 

The Election Commission today skipped Gujarat as it announced poll dates for Himachal Pradesh, though the schedule for the two states is traditionally revealed at the same time.

That the Gujarat election dates, widely anticipated, were not announced was surprising because the terms of both the assemblies end within the range of six months. In such cases, state election dates are announced together, and the results are declared on the same day.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, fielding questions, said no rules had been violated.

Though the Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a split verdict on students’ right to wear hijab in school, both judges on the Bench seemed to agree that believers or worshippers are the best persons to interpret whether a practice is essential to their religion or not.

The Karnataka High Court had concluded that wearing hijab was not an essential religious practice (ERP) in Islam.

In his opinion, Justice Hemant Gupta said the “practice of wearing hijab may be a ‘religious practice’ or an ‘essential religious practice’ or it may be social conduct for the women of Islamic faith. The interpretations by the believers of the faith about wearing of headscarf is the belief or faith of an individual”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks at his rally in Gujarat’s Anand district on October 10, indirectly blaming India’s first PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as “one person” who could not solve the Kashmir issue while hailing Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, has started a war of words between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The latest to join the argument was BJP leader and law and justice minister Kiren Rijiju who quoted “Nehru himself”, in his reply to a tweet thread by Congress’s Jairam Ramesh, to bust the “historical lie over accession of Kashmir”.

“Sardar saheb persuaded all the princely states to merge with India. But another person handled this one issue of Kashmir… As I am following in the footsteps of Sardarsaheb, I have values of the land of Sardar and that was the reason I resolved the problem of Kashmir and paid true tributes to Sardar Patel,” said Modi.

From leading a bunch of boys while playing cricket in the backyard of the official bungalow of his father and then CJI YV Chandrachud four decades ago, Justice DY Chandrachud moved a step closer to captain the Indian judiciary as incumbent Chief Justice UU Lalit recommended his name to the government for appointment as the next CJI.

Deviating from the tradition of the CJI going to the most senior Supreme Court judge’s chamber to hand over a copy of the recommendation letter he sends to the Union government, CJI Lalit created a new tradition by handing over the letter recommending Justice Chandrachud’s name in presence of all judges. CJI Lalit retires on November 8.

In a matter of days, the President would designate Justice Chandrachud as the next CJI, which would be the final step prior to his taking oath as the 50th CJI on November 9.