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shipbuilding policy that includes introducing a recycling credit note scheme, a fixed rate of subsidy for 10 years and the establishment of three maritime clusters in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha, officials said. This is part of the Centre's push to grab a larger share of the global shipbuilding market, they added. It's proposed that a credit note equivalent to 40% of the scrap value of a ship being dismantled in an Indian breaking yard would be given to fleet owners, both Indian and global. This can be reimbursed against the cost of construction of a new vessel at an Indian yard, officials said. «With this scheme, fleet owners will be encouraged to recycle ships in India,» one of them said. «The only condition is that they will have to build new ships in India to get the benefit of the scheme. If they go outside India to order new ships, the credit note will not be applicable. The idea is to promote Indian yards in the global market and help them get more orders.»

Rural-focused fintech startup Jai Kisan has obtained a non-banking finance company (NBFC) licence following its acquisition of a majority stake in Kushal Finnovation Capital, an NBFC specialising in supply chain financing. Arjun Ahluwalia, cofounder and chief executive officer of Jai Kisan is a non-executive director of Kushal Finnovation Capital. With this new NBFC licence, Jai Kisan can now offer customised financial products including loans from its own portfolio. The company will also be able to enter into co-lending partnerships with financial institutions, including public sector banks in India.

Fabricio Bloisi, the newly appointed CEO of Dutch technology investment firm Prosus and its parent Naspers, said he will continue to back early-to-late stage companies in India despite the $500 million write-off incurred due to the collapse of its once high-flying portfolio firm, Byju’s. He added that the valuation reset in the technology world is typical of the funding cycles for the sector and doesn't deter long-term investors from taking bets on India. Prosus doesn’t “live by cycles,” he said in an interview on his first India visit since taking over the chief executive role from interim CEO Ervin Tu. “I founded a startup 20 years ago… I don't get nervous about valuations… it’s part of life,” Bloisi told ET. “In 2001, 2008, everyone thought it was the worst time… Prosus is not a company that lives by these waves,” he said.

Infinyte.Club, a wealth creation and management platform for tech and startup employees, has raised $3.6 million in a funding round led by Elevation Capital. The round also saw participation from angel investors such as Cred founder Kunal Shah, Meesho cofounder Vidit Aatrey, Unacademy cofounder Gaurav Munjal, Razorpay cofounder Harshil Mathur and others. The funds will be used to enhance the technology and grow the team.

Olympics athletes are stepping up their fight against advertisers indulging in unauthorised use of their name, image, or likeness for commercial purposes, following in the footsteps of their cricket counterparts. Sports marketing agencies Baseline Ventures and IOS Sports have issued legal notices to brands on behalf of PR Sreejesh and Manu Bhaker, respectively, for using their image or name in their marketing campaigns without prior permission of the athletes, or without having any official association with the international or Indian Olympic committees. Sreejesh was part of the Indian hockey team that won the bronze medal while Bhaker created history by winning two bronze medals, one alongside Sarabjot Singh, at the Paris Olympics that concluded on Sunday. «It's high time corporate firms understood the very basics of marketing and usage of IPs, especially firms that are already involved with sports. Our ask is very simple: pay and play,» Baseline Ventures managing director Tuhin Mishra said.

IPE Plus Fund, finds itself in the crosshairs of Hindenburg Research, its New Delhi-born, Singapore-based, founder and chief investment officer (CIO) Anil Ahuja finds himself in the news yet again. Ahuja was among the first to make a private equity bet on the Adani Group, while he was at 3i Infrastructure, which he joined in 2005. In 2007, 3i made the first investment from its Indian infrastructure fund, paying $227 million (Rs897 crore at the time) for an undisclosed stake in Adani Power Ltd, then a fully-owned subsidiary of flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. According to a TOI report, with the enterprise value of Adani Power pegged at Rs 10,850 crore, 3i's equity stake in Adani Power worked out to around 8%. This was 3i’s largest transaction in India since it started investing in the country in mid-2005. It held onto the stock for over seven years. When it sold a 2% block in the company in 2014, VC Circle calculated a 25-30% loss in pound sterling (40% in dollar terms) largely on account of sharp depreciation of the Indian currency. Ahuja left 3i in 2013 and joined IPE Plus Advisors in January 2014. Read More: Madhabi Buch made disclosures, investors should read Hindenburg disclaimer: Sebi

Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD), which owns the Officer's Choice whisky brand, is in talks with vodka giant Russian Standard and Bangkok-based Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) to market and distribute their products in India, two executives privy to the development said. The talks, if fructify, will help ABD to widen its product portfolio from largely whisky to a host of spirit segments such as vodka and scotch, while the two global companies will get an entry into the world's biggest alcohol consuming country with a strong partner which has robust distribution and manufacturing capabilities, the executives said. ThaiBev's global portfolio through its arm International Beverage includes scotch brands Old Pulteney, Speyburn, Balblair, Reid vodka, Phraya rum and Source gin. The company is owned by Thai-Chinese billionaire businessman Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi and is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Russian Standard is the largest vodka brand, owned by billionaire Roustam Tariko.

Hindenburg report as a calculated move to destroy India's primary and secondary market by attacking the regulator's credibility through the dredging up of a non-issue. Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), made the investments mentioned in the Hindenburg report before 2017 in a private capacity and these had been disclosed, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Early on Sunday, Buch said that these were «baseless allegations» and devoid of any truth, underscoring this point.

climate change requires a focus on Asia, which is home to 60% of the world's population and contributes over half of global emissions, with temperatures in some areas rising twice as fast as the global average, and given India's size, scale, and influence, it plays a vital role in the global solution, said Desmond Kuek, executive director and CEO of Temasek Trust. «Addressing these issues in Asia is essential for global progress, and India plays a pivotal role in driving positive impact across Asia and beyond,» Kuek told ET in an exclusive interaction. «We are just at the start of this multi-year journey and aim to bring together diverse partners and stakeholders, including from India, to collectively tackle these challenges.» Since 2003, the Singaporean investment company has been setting aside a portion of its net positive returns above its risk-adjusted cost of capital for community gifts to foster a more inclusive world with focus on sustainable development. Temasek Trust, as the primary beneficiary of Temasek's gifts, disburses grants for programmes to be developed and delivered by its non-profit ecosystem including Temasek Foundation, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, and Mandai Nature.

monsoon sets in, a surge in demand for seasonal products within the respiratory, anti-infective, and anti-malarial therapeutic categories have been seen. According to market research firm Pharmatrack, the respiratory market was driven by anti-asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) products, along with cough and cold preparations. The market also witnessed close to 200% growth for Poractant Alfa usage (pulmonary surfactant) in July. Likewise, the entire anti-infective segment, encompassing anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-TB products, witnessed robust double-digit growth, potentially fuelled by the surge in respiratory infections, waterborne diseases, and skin infections.

BEML Ltd expects the rail and metro segment, along with defence, to be the biggest contributor to its revenue in the near future as it looks to bag export orders for Vande Bharat and metro trains in a few years. «The priority is to roll out the indigenous Vande Bharat trains first. But next year, we will try and should expect something on the export front,» BEML (formerly Bharat Earth Movers Ltd) chairman Shantanu Roy told ET. The company, which reorganised operations this fiscal, is keen to accelerate the make in India initiative. It is working on a few opportunities in the Middle East, South America, and the Asean region for rail and metro exports, Roy said. «The ultimate aim is to have exports around 10% of our top line from the present nearly 4%.»

PM Narendra Modi on Sunday released 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient and bio-fortified varieties of 61 crops at the India Agricultural Research Institute. These included 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops. An announcement in this regard had been made last month by the finance minister in the budget speech. Modi also interacted with the farmers and scientists discussing the importance of these new crop varieties and stressed on the significance of value addition in agriculture, according to a government statement. He discussed the importance of millets and underlined how people are moving towards nutritious food. He also spoke about the benefits of natural farming and the increasing faith of the common man in organic farming and organic foods. The PM suggested that the krishi vigyan kendras (KVKs) should proactively inform farmers about the benefits of the new varieties being developed every month.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has sought clarifications from the government on the allocation of backhaul spectrum, including the E and V bands, in the wake of the new Telecommunications Act that said such airwaves should be given administratively. As per the Act, 'radio backhaul' shall mean the use of radio frequency only to interconnect telecom equipment other than customer devices in telecommunication networks. The clarification became important as the regulator had listed out different options, including auction, to allocate backhaul spectrum in its consultation paper. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) too had said spectrum in the E and V bands can be given through auction, though certain quantum in the V band can be delicensed for indoor coverage.

Telecom companies have called upon the regulator to bring over-the-top (OTT) communication providers such as WhatsApp, Google's RCS and Telegram under regulatory licensing or authorisation since they provide similar services to what mobile phone operators offer. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have also backed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's proposal to overhaul the existing telecom licensing regime and bring a pan-India single licence, namely Unified Services Authorisation (National), to enable ease of doing business, simplify regulations, cut costs, reduce litigations and much more, in their response to a consultation paper floated by the regulator. «OTT services and applications have thrived and multiplied, enabling factors being absence of any regulatory barriers and instant access to a global audience through the broadband connectivity powered internet,» Airtel wrote in its response to Trai's exhaustive consultation.

PSBs) to issue look-out circulars (LOCs) against defaulters. Lenders have submitted their arguments and are hopeful of a swift resolution. All options, including bringing the banking sector regulator, the RBI, on board, are being examined, said executives aware of the developments. «The government is taking inputs from all stakeholders before making a case for the restoration of the banks' power to issue LOCs,» said a bank executive, adding that the public sector banks (PSBs) might also move the Supreme Court through the Indian Banks' Association seeking reinstatement of this power.

Indian real estate sector is witnessing a transformation driven by the integration of advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence-based project monitoring systems. The technology-supported innovative solutions ensure that projects, regardless of the developer's size, are monitored to meet institutional investor standards, opening new financing avenues for mid-sized developers. “Technology is playing a pivotal role in reshaping capital allocation in the Indian real estate sector. By reducing risks, enhancing transparency, and improving operational efficiency, these advancements are not only opening up new opportunities for mid-sized developers but also contributing to a healthier, more sustainable industry,” Dosti Realty chairman and managing director Deepak Goradia said.

Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Sunday extended an invitation to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to visit the Himalayan nation. Oli extended the invitation to Prime Minister Modi for the visit through visiting Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who paid a courtesy call on the Nepalese Prime Minister, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's secretariat here. Oli was sworn in as Nepal's prime minister for a fourth time last month. He assumed office after the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives. Misri also called on the former prime minister and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba at his residence at Budhanilkantha on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

independent directors at India’s top blue-chip companies has more than doubled in five years, reflecting their increased responsibility, time commitment and effort. The median compensation for independent directors at Nifty-50 companies shot up 106% to Rs 87.4 lakh in FY24 from Rs 42.3 lakh in FY19, with a 25% pay jump in the last fiscal alone, showed an analysis of these companies shared with ET by specialised executive compensation advisory firm Exec-Rem Advisors. Experts said the pay is being driven up by companies wanting to ensure they get adequate time and attention from independent directors as their roles become increasingly complex and demanding, requiring them to navigate unforeseen challenges and crises, provide oversight on critical issues, deal with stricter regulatory requirements, ensure continuity, and influence inclusivity and innovation.

foreign policy, asserting that Dhaka intends to maintain «smooth and positive» relations with all, including India and China. «Our policy is to maintain good relations with all countries while protecting our national interests,» interim government's Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said during his first press briefing at the foreign ministry. Hossain, whose position is equivalent to a minister, said it is meaningless to assume that this interim government is focused solely on any particular direction. «We intend to maintain smooth and positive relations with all… including India and China,» said Hossain, who previously served as a deputy high commissioner to India.

Lonesome Day. Fifteen minutes on, they were playing my favourite Springsteen number No Surrender, and the energy in the stadium had gotten people in the rows in front of us on their feet, and soon everyone was standing and singing along with the E Street Band. Of course, once people in front of us were standing we also had to stand up in order to get a better view of the stage.

Uttar Pradesh took out a protest march on Sunday over attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. People in Varanasi took out a protest march in the city. In Ayodhya, Mahants and Hindu organisations took out a protest march in the city. Former BJP leader Pandit Sunil Bharala said, «The Hindu minority in Bangladesh is under threat at the moment. The temples and mutts are not secured and at night they are guarding it. Our daughters are also not safe. I condemn these attacks and appeal to the Bangladesh interim government to protect them. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a strong stand on it. There is anger in the country. India should take a strong decision on this issue if this continues.»