Briefs

Forex kitty

Mumbai, Feb. 27: The country's foreign exchange reserves declined 1.47 billion to $350.37 billion in the week to February 19, because of a fall in foreign currency assets (FCAs), the RBI data said. Last week, it had increased to $351.83 billion. FCAs fell $1.44 billion to $328.58 billion in the week. Gold reserves remained unchanged at $17.7 billion. India's special drawing rights with the IMF dipped $2.57 billion to $1.49 billion in the week, whereas its reserve position with the Fund rose $2.54 billion to $2.6 billion.

CII move

Calcutta, Feb. 27: The Confederation of Indian Industry has launched an innovation club to connect academic institutions with various industries such as IT and manufacturing. It will also connect innovators or start-ups with funding agencies and corporate sectors. "It is an attempt to create a strong culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, incubate start-ups in the region, particularly Bengal, and connect them with funding agencies," said Aloke Mookherjea, chairman of CII eastern region innovation task force.