City Delhi Financial News

air pollution, with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) as the leading cause (32.5%), followed by ischemic heart disease (29.2%), stroke (16.2%), and lower respiratory infections (11.2%). Delhi-NCR's notorious air quality may grab headlines. But air pollution, whether people are willing to believe it or not, is a national crisis. Climate change isn't helping.

public transport to minimise vehicular pollution. «These measures may be adopted by ministries/departments/organisations as per their functional requirements ensuring that it should not have an adverse impact on efficiency and productivity in any manner,» the order read. Given the severe-plus air pollution levels in Delhi, various ministries, departments and organisations of the central government are advised to adopt staggered timing in respect of offices located in the Delhi-National Capital Region, it said.

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Thursday hit back at Rahul Gandhi after the Congress leader demanded a probe into allegations against Gautam Adani and SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch. Patra dismissed Gandhi’s statements, claiming they were a repetition of past tactics to level unfounded allegations against BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday revealed its first list of candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, expected to be held in early 2025. The list includes several former BJP and Congress leaders who recently joined AAP. Brahm Singh Tanwar, Anil Jha, and BB Tyagi from the BJP, along with Chaudhry Zubair Ahmad, Veer Dhingan, and Sumesh Shokeen from the Congress, have been given tickets for the elections.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Indian Premier League (IPL) laid out a level playing field through player auctions from the very outset in 2008. Every team has a fixed purse, ensuring that the richest franchises cannot dominate the league simply by buying the best players.

Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed trial court proceedings against former Union minister P Chidambaram in a money laundering case connected to the Aircel-Maxis deal. Issuing notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Chidambaram's plea, the court ordered that the proceedings against Chidambaram shall remain till the next date of hearing. Chidambaram petitioned the HC challenging the trial court order taking cognisance of the complaint moved by the ED against him and his son Karti Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case.

Priyank Kharge visited the Uber display at the Bengaluru Tech Summit on Wednesday to check out Uber Shuttle, the newest offering in India from the ride-hailing app. The mobility platform executives gave a demo of how the app works and explained about how Uber Shuttle would help more people book their travel in larger vehicles like Shuttles and take their own private vehicles off roads. The mass-transit mobility solution is designed for urban commuters, featuring real-time tracking, digital payments, pre-booked seats, and air-conditioned pocket-friendly rides, running on fixed routes, Uber said in a statement. Uber India president Prabhjeet Singh was present during the demonstration.

Agar traders feel that industry will be transact business to the tune of a whopping Rs.50,000 crore annually once international trade centre comes up in Assam. MJI Perfumes, Assam's first make in perfume from agar, has attracted hordes of visitors at the Assam Pavilion in the ongoing 43rd India International Trade Fair (IITF) at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. One of the highlights of the Assam Pavilion, the stall selling Agar and its derivatives has evoked a very good response from the residents of Delhi-NCR. The man who is on mission agar is none other than Dr.Jehirul Islam. Dr Islam returned to Assam from Saudi Arabia in 2008 and plunged headlong into deep research in agarwood farming. Called ‘liquid gold’ for its high commercial value, as its oil is used for making perfumes that are loved by the people in the Middle East and the Arab world, he discovered the disease in this indigenous plant and also pioneered the legalisation of its trade.

urban freight efficiency and cut logistics costs, an official said on Wednesday. Under the Indo-German technical cooperation, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ's) Green Freight Project supported the relevant state authorities in the preparation of the model CLPs and adopting international best practices. This is crucial for reducing congestion, pollution and logistics costs while improving the overall quality of life in cities. Additional Secretary in the DPIIT Rajeev Singh Thakur said that both Delhi and Karnataka governments have provided support for developing these plans.

Lava International managing director Hari Om Rai who was arrested in October last year in a money laundering case involving Vivo Mobile Communication China, and its Indian group entities. Noting that Rai had been in custody since October 10, 2023 and the trial was at the stage of documents and charges were yet to be framed, Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said: “...the trial is not expected to end anytime in the near future and the delay is not attributable to the accused, keeping the accused in custody by using Section 45 PMLA(Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002,) a tool for incarceration or as a shackle is not permissible,” the HC said, adding liberty of an accused cannot be curtailed by Section 45 of the 2002 Act without taking all other germane considerations into account. The case has 48 accused persons, 527 witnesses and 80,000 pages of documents, and the trial was not expected to end anytime in the near future, the judge said, adding that out of the seven accused persons who were arrested, the arrest of three persons had been declared illegal by the trial court and the other three have already been released on bail, said the court.

Sanjay Dutt’s premium Scotch whisky brand, The Glenwalk, has achieved a significant milestone by selling over 50,000 cases (600,000 bottles) in the first seven months of the current financial year. The brand has established a strong presence in India’s spirits market, operating across 10 states. Maharashtra leads The Glenwalk’s sales, contributing over 45%, followed by Haryana at 25% and Uttar Pradesh at 20%. Currently available in Maharashtra, Haryana, Goa, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, the brand plans to expand to five additional states by next month. Looking to capitalize on this growth, The Glenwalk aims to increase sales by 500%, targeting 300,000 cases while expanding to over 18 states and five countries. To cater to diverse consumer preferences, the brand introduced 1-litre bottles in October 2024 and plans to launch 200ml nips in November 2024, aiming to quadruple sales.

Sula Vineyards Ltd CEO Rajeev Samant hopes that the current slowdown in urban discretionary demand is «more of a temporary blip and not structural» one. In the second quarter of the fiscal year, the company's net revenue declined 1.2 per cent to Rs 142 crore as compared to Rs 143.7 crore in the year-ago period, while profit after tax dipped 37.3 per cent to Rs 14.5 crore as against Rs 23.1 crore in the same quarter last fiscal year. Samant told analysts that in the second quarter the company witnessed «a temporary slowdown in consumer demand across discretionary categories, including alcoholic beverages, particularly within urban India, which does represent more than 90 per cent of Sula's customer base». Post-Covid, he said, «We saw a surge in domestic wine consumption which lasted until last year, as the consumer did a bit of cocooning at home and splurged on creature comforts.»

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided in its meeting held last month to keep the policy rate unchanged for the tenth consecutive time. In April last year, the MPC stopped its rate-hike cycle by retaining the key lending rate at 6.5 per cent. The RBI had hiked rates six times in a row before it decided to pause in April last year. The impact of those rate hikes was not believed to have percolated to the ground by then. As inflation seemed to be coming under control in recent months, expectations about a rate cut grew. Though the RBI changed the stance to 'neutral' from the earlier 'withdrawal of accommodation' unanimously, it retained the key rate at 6.5%. in its last meeting in October due to high inflation. The inflation further touched a 14-month high at 6.2% for October, led by a spike in vegetable prices. It is above the RBI's mandate of 4% with a tolerance band of 2 percentage points on either side. Now, many expect the RBI to cut rates in February next year, instead of earlier expectations of a rate cut in December.

Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said he has sought an appointment with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss the «reduction» in loan amount to the state this year, from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The Chief Minister will be travelling to the national capital tonight. «There is a launch of Nandini products in Delhi, so I'm going. I have also sought appointment with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, because NABARD loan to the state this year has been reduced. Last year, Rs 5,600 crore was given, this year it is Rs 2,340 crore. It has been reduced by 58 per cent,» Siddaramaiah said. Speaking to reporters here, he noted that the NABARD comes under the Finance Ministry. «I will make a request to her.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Over the past few days, several regions in northern India, including Delhi NCR, have been in the news for all the wrong reasons: rapidly worsening air quality that has the area on the brink of a public health crisis. The toxic air has prompted authorities to introduce restrictions on vehicle movement and construction activities, and order schools to conduct classes online.

About three-quarters of the coal-fired generators near major cities are set to miss a year-end deadline to install equipment to curb sulfur-dioxide emissions, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. If fully implemented, such systems could cut India’s emissions of the pollutant by almost two-thirds, benefiting air quality and public health, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Sulfur dioxide breaks down into sulfates, which can account for almost a third of the particulate mass that forms India’s smog, according to Manoj Kumar, an analyst at the Finland-based research group.

Sadar Bazar Trades Association, said that there is a 15 percent decline in footfall in the Sadar market compared to usual days. «There's a noticeable decrease in the number of people visiting Sadar Bazar, especially customers from other states who typically come for wholesale shopping. Many are now placing orders online instead of travelling here due to the severe air pollution,» Yadav said. Similarly, Sanjeev Mehra, president of the Khan Market Traders Association, said that there has been a sharp drop of 60 percent in footfall since the implementation of Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

Residents in India's northern states woke up to another day of poor air quality on Wednesday, as a layer of dense fog shrouded most of the region, and pollution in the capital Delhi remained severe. India battles air pollution every winter as cold, heavy air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from farm fires started illegally in the adjoining, farming states of Punjab and Haryana.

Radha Raturi, who held a meeting with the officials of the transport department on Tuesday, has directed the Uttarakhand Transport Department to work on a short-term action plan and increase the number of the rounds of roadways buses to Delhi, especially increasing the frequency of buses on weekends. For this, she has also given instructions to coordinate with the UP. The state administration is worried over inconvenience caused to the public due to the ban on the entry of old model buses of Uttarakhand Transport Corporation in Delhi. Recently, all the state buses, except electronic buses, CNG buses, and BS VI diesel buses, have been prohibited from entering Delhi due to the pollution. According to a press release, chief secretary Raturi has directed the Secretary Transport to hold talks at the appropriate level today itself on the decision of the proposal to purchase 175 buses. She also directed the officials concerned to start the operation of CNG buses purchased by the Corporation recently. The tender process for the purchase of 100 CNG buses has been completed and 30 buses have been received.

The Income Tax (IT) department is taking a lenient approach this year to address the non-disclosure of foreign assets in income tax returns filed in the current assessment year. This week, the department has sent out emails to taxpayers who have not reported foreign assets, asking them to revise their tax return. 

In a notification, the university said that regular physical classes would resume on November 25, prioritising the health and well-being of students. The administration also directed the heads of all its schools to suspend physical classes until further notice and conduct classes online.