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MUMBAI: The rupee fell past 51 per dollar on Friday for the first time in nearly 32 months as worries Europe’s debt crisis may spill over into the global economy boosted dollar demand.

The rupee has slumped 14.2 percent from its highest point in 2011 hit late July and is the worst performer among major Asian currencies this year.

At 9:09 am, the partially convertible rupee was at 51.04/05 after hitting 51.12, its weakest since March 30, 2009. It had ended down 0.3 percent on Thursday at 50.905/915.

At 0241 GMT, the MSCI index of Asian shares ex-Japan was down 1.41 percent and the Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were down 0.72 percent, suggesting a weak start to the local market.

The US dollar held firm in Asia, while the euro was surprisingly resilient with European banks seen repatriating funds back home as signs of funding stress grew amid a deepening euro zone debt crisis.

The index of the dollar index was at 78.103 points from 78.166 points at end of rupee trade on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday declared it may be hard to shore up a falling rupee, suggesting that any attempt to do so was akin to catching a falling knife and fraught with great risks.

As the rupee’s slide continued to slide, RBI Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn bluntly reminded those calling on the central bank to use its foreign currency reserves that the Indian unit was a floating currency and hedging options were available to prevent losses.

"Let’s not lose sight of the fact that there is a global dynamic here. And to try and resist or try and do something for which we do not have a capacity, we may run out of capacity, in a situation global forces are pushing it along, is also a risky strategy," Gokarn said in a TV interview.

The rupee, the worst performer among major Asian currencies this year and whose relentless fall has triggered worries that it is worsening corporate and national books already battered by high interest rates and inflation, closed at 50.90 per US dollar on Thursday. It is just about 2% shy of its record low of 52.18 in March 2009, and a survey of currency strategists has predicted further fall to a new all-time low as the central bank holds back from arresting the decline by selling dollars.

Industry is complaining that the rupee depreciation has pushed up cost of inputs and raw materials in an already difficult business environment. "

While industry has sought the RBI’s intervention in the current markets, economists concur with the central bank’s stance, saying any intervention when the European sovereign crisis keeps currency markets violent may well be meaningless and weakening the foreign exchange reserves position.

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Indian blue-collar workers in the Gulf are being warned not to carry strangers’ luggage or accept free air tickets when travelling home.

The warning comes following reports by Indian intelligence agencies that workers leaving the Gulf countries are being used as carriers of fake currency.

In several such recent cases, Indian workers, mostly from the state of Andhra Pradesh, have been arrested for carrying bags with fake currency notes.

According to sources, jobless men in the Gulf who have no means to buy air tickets to return home are being used to carry currency notes amounting to several millions.

Rasamayi, an organisation working for the welfare of workers from Andhra Pradesh in the Gulf, yesterday said the problem has been there for a while and there was an urgent need for an awareness campaign among these men.

“You cannot blame them. These men are desperate to return home and they do not even have money for the air ticket. They will make use of any help that comes their way,” said Kesari Trimurthulu, joint secretary of Rasamayi.

“I myself have heard of several such cases. Most often, these people are not aware of the crime that they are committing,” he added.

According to an Indian media report quoting intelligence officers from Andhra Pradesh, poor labourers from the state’s districts like Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Kadapa are the main targets.

In return for free flight tickets, these men are asked to carry a suitcase containing perfumes and clothes, said a ’Times of India’ report. Fake currency notes wrapped in carbon papers are hidden inside these suitcases. At times photo albums are packed with fake notes and sealed in polythene, the report added.

Bangladesh is used as the main route for taking fake currency into India. Last month, a woman travelling from Dubai with counterfeit Indian currency notes valued at several million rupees was arrested following a tip off at Dhaka airport.

When asked to comment on measures being taken to tackle the problem, the Indian consulate in Dubai had nothing to say.

However, Rasamayi said it plans to intensify awareness campaigns among workers from Andhra state. “People who are jobless and cannot afford to buy air tickets to return home should contact us. We work in co-ordination with the Indian Community Welfare Committee (ICWC) to help genuine cases,” said Trimurthulu.