The Indian rupee gained 20 paise to 46.30 per dollar in early trade today as banks and exporters sold dollars on hopes of capital inflow in view of the recovery in the equity market.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened higher at 46.42/43 per dollar against the last weekend's close of 46.50/51 per dollar and firmed up further to 46.30 before quoting at 46.34/35 at 1030hrs.

It moved in a range of 46.30 per dollars and 46.45 per dollar during the morning deals.

The Indian benchmark sensex rose to 16,227.04 in the early trade before quoting at 16,165.76 at 1030hrs, showing a rise of 13.17 points or 0.08 per cent.