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When green is a sign of warning

It is a peculiar and jarring sight: The Sahara, that unforgiving sea of sand, is boasting blue lagoons and carpet of green; the Thar is becoming wetter; and Antarctica, an ancient expanse of ice and rock, is sprouting moss and algae on its edges.

Is the capitalistic model broken?

Amid the public outpouring of grief upon the passing of Ratan Tata, I became reflective. Could Russian economist Nikolai Kondratiev's long-cycle theory be at work about enterprise management? Is it in decline? Should there be fresh thought and action? Can future business leaders be loved as much as they are respected?

40% of global poor live in conflict-torn regions: UN

More than 1 billion people in the world live in acute poverty, over half are children and nearly 40 per cent live in conflict-torn and fragile countries, according to a report released Thursday.

Microsoft-OpenAI close partnership shows signs of fraying

Last fall, Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, asked his counterpart at Microsoft, Satya Nadella, if the tech giant would invest billions of dollars in the start-up.

Israel and its foes vow to fight on

Netanyahu says Gaza war not over; Iran, which backs Hamas & Hezbollah, asserts killing would fuel 'spirit of resistance'

At 4.6%, China's Q3 growth weakest since early 2023

China's economy grew at the slowest pace since early 2023 in the third quarter, and though consumption and factory output figures beat forecasts last month a tumbling property sector remains a major challenge for Beijing as it races to revitalise growth.

Netflix shares jump on strong subscriber tally

Netflix shares hit an all-time high on Friday, buoyed by investor optimism that its robust content lineup will help the streaming giant maintain upbeat subscriber growth even as the boost from its password-sharing crackdown wanes. The company, widely seen as the winner of Hollywood's streaming wars, saw its stock rise nearly 10 per cent and was set to add more than $28 billion to its market value of about $295 billion, if gains hold.

BIMARU IN EDUCATION

Five states that have miles to go in sending children to classrooms

Haryana govt implements sub-classification of SCs

First state to act on SC order; Mayawati says move a 'conspiracy' to divide Dalits

PM calls for NDA leaders' conclave twice a year

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the meeting of NDA leaders in Chandigarh on Thursday as the largest get-together of non-Congress political parties post 1975, the year Emergency was imposed, and called for holding such a conclave twice every year, a BJP statement said.

L&T Finance Q2 profit rises 17% on healthy NIM

L&T Finance (LTF) posted a 17 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in consolidated net profit at ₹696 crore in the second quarter ended September 2024 (Q2FY25), on the back of healthy net interest margins (NIM) plus fees. Its consolidated net profit was ₹595 crore in Q2FY24.

Manappuram Finance stock falls 13.5%

Shares of Manappuram Finance fell 13.5 per cent to ₹153.45 apiece on Friday, a day after its subsidiary Asirvad Micro Finance was barred by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from sanctioning and disbursing loans.

Fintechs may face temporary disruption

A DAY AFTER RBI CURBS ON NBFCs

Forex reserves log worst fall in over 2 years

India's foreign exchange reserves dropped for a second consecutive week, falling to a one-month low of $690.43 billion as on October 11, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday.

‘MFI stress largely due to customer overleveraging’

The current stress in the microfinance (MFI) sector is largely driven by unchecked credit growth and the issuance of multiple loans to customers on fake voter ID cards among other documents, which resulted in significant overleveraging among borrowers, said Motilal Oswal in a report on Friday, adding that the industry's challenges are largely self-inflicted.

US charges Indian in Pannun 'plot' case

A former Indian government official has been charged by the US authorities for his alleged role in a foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil around the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM to attend Brics meet in Russia on Oct 22-23

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia from October 22-23 at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin to attend the 16th Brics Summit in Kazan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

Global firms form 'good rice alliance' for Indian farmers

Four big global companies -- Bayer, GenZero (a wholly-owned arm of financial major Temasek), Shell and Mitsubishi -- have decided to scale up their carbon credit programme in nine states to empower farmers.

Trudeau sidetracking from key issues: Canadian Oppn leader

A Canadian opposition leader has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of using Hardeep Singh Nijjar's murder to divert attention from other controversies and asked the government to posthumously take away the Khalistani militant's citizenship to right the past administrative error.

India, China should join hands to grow together

JUSTIN YIFU LIN is a professor of economics at Peking University and former chief economist at the World Bank. During his recent visit to New Delhi to attend the Kautilya Economic Conclave, Lin spoke to Asit Ranjan Mishra about the power play between the two Asian giants - India and China - and Beijing's anti-competitive practices. Edited excerpts:

Pact on movement of skilled Indians to Germany next week

To facilitate the movement of workers between India and Germany and recognise skills, the two countries are set to ink a pact next week.

Indian banks in Canada fear biz loss amid row

If there is a decline in the number of Indian students pursuing higher studies in Canada due to the ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two countries, it may have implications for Indian banks operating in the North American country, senior bank officials said.

Karnataka likely to levy 1-2% fee on digital apps

Move to affect platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Flipkart, Amazon, Uber

'Assure shareholders they will get their fair share'

BINA MODI, wife of the late industrialist KK Modi, was reappointed managing director (MD) of Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) with approval from 86.6 per cent shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM) on September 6. Her son Samir Modi was ousted from the company's board the same day. Bina Modi talks to Bhavini Mishra in an interview in New Delhi about GPI's exit from the retail business, inheritance battle with her son, and legacy of K K Modi. Edited excerpts:

Vedanta set to invest ₹1 trillion in Odisha

Metal and mining major Vedanta Ltd on Friday said it would invest ₹1 trillion in different projects in Odisha. The company said the investment will be directed towards an alumina refinery and aluminium plant in the state.

ITU secretary-general echoes PM's call for framework on digi tech

The world should begin working on a common global governance framework for digital technologies, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI), Doreen Bogdan-Martin, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said on Friday, echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Employee grievances at India's top firms up 30% in FY24

BSE50 companies reported 8,468 complaints

JSW Steel-JFE JV to buy tkES India for ₹4,051 cr

Move to help entity get instant market access, establish integrated system

Real rise in India's ability to serve world in goods

Experts at BCG see India showing signs of having the appropriate supply chain to become an exporter in the goods space. MARC GILBERT, managing director (MD) and senior partner, BCG Canada, and global lead, BCG Center for Geopolitics, and NISHANT GUPTA, MD and senior partner, BCG India, spoke in an interview with Amritha Pillay in Mumbai to discuss decarbonisation, impact from West Asia tensions and geopolitical concerns. Edited excerpts:

SC upholds AERA powers in setback to GMR, Adani

The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday upheld the powers of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) to fix tariffs for certain non-aeronautical services such as ground handling and cargo handling, in a setback to the GMR and Adani groups.