The rupee closed around its opening levels on Thursday even though it saw volatile trade in inter-bank markets as the outlook remained grim in terms of economic growth for the country in the first half of this year. Although the Indian government flexes muscles to jostle with the coronavirus (COVID-19) with multiple measures, some in the pipeline, the surge in the pandemic data keep USD/INR on the bids. The pair recently refreshed the record high to 76.56, currently up 0.65% around 76.44, ahead of the European session on Thursday. Early disbursement of tax refunds and multiple aid measures for the small businesses fail to defy the call from the Goldman Sachs that signaled the Indian economy to mark multi-decade low GDP growth of 1.6% during the financial year 2021 (FY21).The reason could be traced from the mounting numbers of economists that predict a huge gap between the need and availability of the aids. Additionally, the surge in the virus numbers to the highest on Wednesday added downside pressure on the Indian rupee.On a broader front, markets in Asia remain mixed with Indian bourses cheering expected further inflow of funds while the US 10-year Treasury yields remain under pressure around 0.75%.