CATEGORIES

SC Hauls Up Punjab Over Protest Fast of Farmer Leader

The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the Punjab government over the hunger strike by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, saying the state's attitude appeared to be against reconciliation and its officials were spreading the wrong impression that the court was trying to persuade Dallewal to break his fast.

Banks Urge RBI to Ease Cash Crunch With Forex Swaps

Some big lenders in India have asked the central bank to inject liquidity using foreign-exchange swaps as short-term currency financing costs surged to a four-year high, according to people familiar with the matter.

Centre to get first chance to restore J&K statehood: CM

IN HIS FIRST media interaction here Thursday, two-and-a-half months after taking over as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah stressed on restoration of statehood to J&K but added that his government was willing to wait for the Centre to do so rather than taking recourse to courts.

Iran minister in Delhi for talks to boost ties, trade

DAYS BEFORE DONALD Trump returns to the Oval Office, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, has reached New Delhi for talks Friday with external affairs minister S Jaishankar and foreign secretary Vikram Misri.

Low rainfall in Jan-March may hit rabi crop yield

IMD PREDICTS ABOVE-NORMAL TEMPERATURE IN NORTH INDIA TOO

Employment Up 36% Between FY15, FY24

EMPLOYMENT IN THE country has increased by 36% to 643.3 million in 2023-24 from 471.5 million in 2014-15, reflecting an improvement in jobs scenario\" under the NDA regime, labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday, citing official data.

NSO to compile district-level estimates

STARTING THIS MONTH, the statistics ministry will conduct new survey rounds which will contain district-level estimates, in addition to the existing national- and state-level data, according to an official release.

Goyal to Meet EV Industry Representatives

Representatives of electric vehicle manufacturers will meet commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday to discuss issues related to the expansion of manufacturing and the adoption and building of support infrastructure, including charging and battery swapping facilities.

Panel to suggest road map for Producer Price Index

The government on Thursday announced the formation of a panel of experts to revise the base year of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and suggest a road map for switching over to Producer Price Index (PPI).

India to add 30 GW RE capacity in FY25-26

INDIA IS LIKELY to add 30 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity over FY25-26, backed by continued policy support, availability of liquidity and established growth plans of some large corporate players, reduced equipment prices, and waiver of interstate transmission system charges, analysts say.

Budget wish list: Lower tax on FD interest & fund for NBFCs

AHEAD OF THE Budget for 2025-26, representatives of the financial sector and capital markets on Thursday sought a lowering of tax on interest income from fixed deposits to align with capital gains tax on equities, a dedicated refinancing window for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and incentives for long-term savings.

Dec Manufacturing PMI Slips to 56.4, Weakest in 2024

EXPANSION IN MANUFACTURING activity in the country slowed in December, amid softer demand conditions and price pressures.

Agritech to create 80K jobs in 5 yrs: Teamlease

THE AGRI-TECH SECTOR is expected to create 60,000-80,000 new employment opportunities over the next five years, a senior executive of TeamLease Services said.

From evolution to digital revolution

THE EYE GAVE Charles Darwin \"a cold shudder\". Writing in The Origin of Species, he struggled to explain how natural selection could create something so intricate. Over millions of years, our eyes evolved exquisitely. They adapted to function in natural light, their view constantly varying as our ancestors moved, gathering food and hunting, their blink rates perfectly adjusted to protect and nourish the eye. Today, the eyes are under unprecedented assault, their evolution utterly outpaced by technological change.

Regulation, deals, crypto: Fintech themes for 2025

INDUSTRY INSIDERS OPTIMISTIC THAT THE TIDE WILL TURN

Data protection rules get home ministry's nod

THE RULES WILL also detail specific provisions, such as consent management for minors and exemptions for certain entities or contexts.

Dec GST mop-up at ₹1.77 lakh cr

The GST Council is likely to discuss rate rationalisation – hiking rates for some while pruning them for others – of about 150 items in its upcoming meeting.

Boost quality control, fix fair pricing: Shah to NCOL

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday directed National Cooperative Organic Ltd (NCOL) to strengthen quality control and establish fair pricing for its \"Bharat Organics\" brand as the government seeks to expand organic farming nationwide.

Large quantum computers a reality in the near future

THE WILLOW COMPUTING chip marks a significant milestone in quantum computing, advancing scalability, stability, and error correction – key to achieving fault-tolerant quantum systems.

AI, Convergence, and Beyond

Firms poised to scale up AI deployments into full production

Virtual companions, real consequences

The heartbreaking story of Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old boy in the US who took his own life after forming an emotional attachment to an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot on Character.AI, has sparked debates about the ethical and legal responsibilities of AI developers.

No cause for alarm

Slower loan growth should help lower liabilities and boost household savings

The future of algo trading

LAST MONTH, THE Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) proposed significant changes to its framework governing algo trading.

Begins 2-year non-permanent UNSC tenure

PATH TOWARDS ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Mubadala pips PIF as top spender globally

ABU DHABI'S MUBADALA Investment was the world's most active sovereign wealth fund last year as it ramped up deal-making across everything from private credit to artificial intelligence (AI).

ECB Hopes to Hit 2% Inflation Target in 2025, Says Lagarde

The European Central Bank's (ECB) 2% inflation target is in sight, according to President Christine Lagarde.

Russia and Ukraine cease five decades of gas transit to EU

Ukraine to give up long-held strategic position

Bitcoin slips in Dec from peak

US STOCKS DECLINED in the final session of the year but still closed out the best two-year run since 1998.

Israeli forces strike Gaza city suburb

A DRIVER CRASHED his truck into a crowd at high speed in New Orleans' French Quarter in the wee hours of New Year's Day then opened fire, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 35, city officials and police said.

Foreign flows into govt bonds to come off record highs

FOREIGN FLOWS INTO government bonds are set to decline in 2025, after spiking to a record high in 2024 as the debt got added to JPMorgan's emerging market debt index, investors said.