A week in the life of India: Free Fall of Rupee

The rupee hit a record low of 95.71 against the dollar on May 14, having fallen nearly six rupees since January when it opened the year at 89.86. The slide has been driven by a combination of forces: surging crude oil prices following the West Asia conflict, sustained foreign portfolio outflows, a strong dollar, and elevated US bond yields. For India, which imports roughly 85 per cent of its crude, every dollar added to the oil price widens the current account deficit. RBI has intervened repeatedly, spending down foreign exchange reserves from $728 billion to $698 billion in the process, and has restricted speculative currency trading. It has not been enough. Petrol prices have been raised twice in a week and inflation is expected to peak at 5.2 per cent by the third quarter.

Numbers Game

C Joseph Vijay’s TVK did the unexpected in the Tamil Nadu election, beating the two major Dravidian parties and becoming the single-largest party with 108 of the 234 Assembly seats. However, the actor-turnedpolitician fell 10 seats shy of the majority mark, resulting in an intense political drama in the southern state. So began rounds of negotiations and late-night meetings to ensure Vijay managed to shore up the numbers. The majority mark was finally crossed with the backing of Congress, the Left, and regional parties. Vijay took oath as chief minister on May 10.

Border Boon

Suvendu Adhikari jumped into action soon after taking oath as West Bengal’s first BJP chief minister. In a flurry of administrative and policy decisions at its first cabinet meeting, the state government also began the process of transferring land to the BSF to fully fence the India-Bangladesh border. This was one of BJP’s poll promises and is aimed at tackling illegal immigration. West Bengal shares a 4,097-km border with Bangladesh, of which 3,240 km had already been fenced according to the Union home ministry.

Upward Mobility

On May 15, India raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre, the first such hike in 49 months. State-owned oil companies had absorbed losses for 11 weeks as global crude surged over 50 per cent following the Iran War, from roughly $69 a barrel in February to $113-114 in the weeks after. The hike came exactly 16 days after the recent round of Assembly elections. Industry sources say the Rs 3 increase is barely one-tenth of the correction actually needed. Transport costs, farm inputs, and factory prices are likely to feel it through July and August.

Stormed Out

Disaster struck Uttar Pradesh as thunderstorms hit parts of the state, claiming over 100 lives. The calamity was especially felt in Prayagraj, Bhadohl, Mirzapur, and Fatherpur districts. While thunderstorms are common in North India during the summer, with wind speeds reaching 40kmph to 60kmph, IMD recorded wind speeds touching 100kmph and in some parts 130kmph. As a result, trees crushed cars, walls collapsed, loose tin-sheds flew off. In one incident, a man was flung 50ft into the air as winds dragged him for 100m before he hit the ground.

Quote Worthy

“If Pakistan continues to harbour terrorists and operate against India, then they have to decide whether they want to be part of the geography or history or not.” - General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff

Big Leak

NEET-UG 2026 was cancelled on May 12 after evidence emerged of a paper leak and overlap between a precirculated model paper and the actual question paper, nine days after 2.27 million students sat for the examination. The CBI took over the case, arresting several individuals. Handwritten notes recovered during raids matched the actual paper. The ‘leak’ network spanned Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and beyond. Students protested in Delhi and other cities. A re-examination has been scheduled for June 21. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan acknowledged a “breach in the command chain” and announced plans to shift NEET to a computer-based format from 2027.

Rape Capital

On the night of May 11, a 30-year-old woman was dragged into a sleeper bus near Saraswati Vihar in West Delhi, driven to Nangloi, and raped by the driver and conductor. She escaped, called the police, and both accused were arrested within hours. The details are different from December 2012 when a young woman was gangraped on a moving bus in South Delhi. However, the city, the bus, and the MO are all familiar. What followed the 2012 case were legislation, fast-track courts, and a national reckoning. Fourteen years on, not much seems to have changed.

Results Fever

CBSE results for Class 12 were announced last week with an overall pass percentage of 85.20 per cent. That's 3.9 per cent lower than last year’s pass percentage. Similar to last year, girls performed better than boys with a pass percentage of 88.86 per cent as opposed to 82.13 per cent for the latter. Transgender students had 100 per cent success. Over 18 lakh students took probably the biggest schoollevel examinations in India.

Cricket Colourism

A Snapchat video of Punjab Kings pacer Arshdeep Singh calling Mumbai Indians’ Tilak Varma andhere (darkness) and asking if he had forgotten his sunscreen went viral on May 14, triggering a fresh debate about colourism in Indian cricket. Arshdeep also pointed to Tilak’s teammate Naman Dhir as the real “noor from Punjab”, making the contrast explicit. Tilak, who then went out and scored a century, had the most eloquent response available to a cricketer. Former India spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan condemned it sharply, recalling decades-old slights about his own skin tone. Arshdeep did not apologise.