India Financial News

government is all set to bring a Bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards to ensure more accountability and transparency in their functioning and mandatory inclusion of women in these bodies, sources said. They claimed that the move comes in the backdrop of demands from within the Muslim community. The Bill to amend the Wakf Act, 1995, will make it mandatory for Waqf boards to register their properties with district collectors to ensure their actual valuation. There are 30 Waqf boards in the country. The sources on Sunday pointed out that the revenue generated by all Waqf properties is estimated at Rs 200 crore per annum. This is not in sync with the number of properties such bodies have, they said.

Air Force has given clearance to public sector firm Bharat Dynamics Limited for the production of 200 Astra Mark 1 air-to-air missiles. The Astra Mark1 missiles have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation with BDL as its production agency. The production clearance to the BDL was given during a visit by the Indian Air Force Deputy Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit to Hyderabad recently, Indian Air Force officials said.

Indian 2" will begin streaming on Netflix from August 9. Directed by S Shankar and produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin and A Subaskaran, this Tamil film is a sequel to Shankar's 1996 hit «Indian,» which also starred Haasan. The digital release announcement was made on Netflix's Instagram and X accounts, noting that the film, which premiered in theaters on July 12 in multiple languages, will be available in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. In «Indian 2,» Haasan reprises his role as Senapathy, a former freedom fighter who becomes a vigilante against corruption. The film also features Siddharth, Priya Bhavani Shankar, S J Suryah, Kajal Aggarwal, and Rakul Preet Singh. It received mixed reviews during its theatrical run.

paddu—served at breakfast, sambar-rice for lunch and mirchi bajjis (chilli fritters) as an evening snack. She has been helming this micro-business for five years now, paying for the upkeep of three children and their education. Taiyamma’s husband, a driver in a neighbouring state capital, earns just enough to repay monthly loan instalments on a newly acquired pick-up van.

New Delhi: Facing flak over the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) scandal, the union government plans to increase the number of undergraduate (UG) medical seats by 3,000 for the coming academic session (2024-25), taking the total to over 115,000 seats. This year's entrance tests to medical schools, known as NEET, have been hit by scandals over leaks of the exam papers. The plan approved by the National Medical Commission (NMC)—India’s apex medical education regulator—also includes approval for setting up 28 new private medical colleges.

Fitch Ratings noted that elevated interest rates in the US since 2023 have begun to show some effect on the labour market and demand. Adding to worries, the global rating agency said politics remains an area of high uncertainty, with geopolitical risks here to stay. The rating agency noted that signs of a slowdown in the US are evident in weak credit growth and slowing consumer spending. This trend is expected to continue in the second half of 2024, with real GDP growth decelerating, though likely remaining above recession territory.

New Delhi: The Centre is planning a nationwide crackdown on poor-quality driving helmets, a leading cause of road deaths and head injuries, two people aware of the development said. India has the highest number of two wheelers in the world, and some the most dangerous roads, making for a dangerous mix for cyclists, and scooter and motorcycle drivers as well as pillion riders.

CERT-In) has warned of multiple vulnerabilities in Apple’s products and their operating systems for iPhones, iPads, and televisions. In a vulnerability note issued on August 2, the CERT-In said that multiple issues had been reported in Apple’s products which could allow attackers to access sensitive information present on devices, executive arbitrary code, bypass security restrictions, cause denial of service and perform spoofing attacks. CERT-In said that Apple iPhones, iPads, and televisions running software versions older than 17.6 were vulnerable to these possible attacks. It has asked Apple users to update their devices to the latest software patches for these vulnerabilities.

World Cup medal winning archer Deepika Kumari has vowed not to quit unless she ends up on podium which she feels could be Los Angeles in four years' time.For Deepika, it has always been a case of not being able to display enough temperament in pressure situation at the grandest stage. «Obviously, I want to play more in the future and will continue my game,» Deepika told PTI in an exclusive interaction at the India House here. «I really want to win an Olympic medal, and I won't quit until I achieve that. I'll train harder and come back strongly,» added Deepika, who has won every international medal except for an Olympic yellow metal.

Centre is planning to amend the Waqf Board Act, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi said on Sunday that it shows that the Modi government wants to snatch away the autonomy of the board and intends to interfere in it. Addressing a conference, Owaisi said, «Firstly, when Parliament is in session, the central government is acting against parliamentary supremacy and privileges and informing the media and not informing Parliament. I can say that whatever has been written in the media about this proposed amendment shows that the Modi government wants to take away the autonomy of the Waqf Board and it wants to interfere. This itself is against the freedom of religion.» The Hyderabad MP also alleged that the BJP has been against these boards and Waqf properties from the very beginning and they have been working on a «Hindutva agenda».

debt-ridden Reliance Capital (RCAP) has filed an affidavit with NCLT, accusing IIHL of non-compliance as the Hinduja Group firm failed to meet the conditions set by the tribunal in a July 23 order. The administrator, in its affidavit seen by PTI, informed NCLT that instead of depositing Rs 2,750 crore in the designated escrow accounts of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) in India and abroad, IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) has deposited the money in its own accounts as well as the promoters' accounts. However, IIHL in a separate affidavit had said it has funds and the same will be transferred once the escrow account is in place which has conditions listed out. For opening any escrow account, there are terms and conditions which are based on an agreement signed bilaterally and if the terms and conditions are met or not met, the trustee decides the fate of funds accordingly, an IIHL spokesperson said.

heavy rainfall is currently affecting several regions of India as the monsoon enters its active phase. IMD scientist Dr. Naresh Kumar on Sunday announced that western Madhya Pradesh, eastern Rajasthan, Gujarat, the Konkan region, Goa, and Maharashtra are all on high alert, with a red alert issued for these areas. However, the Delhi-NCR region is expected to remain dry for the next two days.

Brown Sauce, the two rappers flexing their lyrical muscles over choppy, twitchy percussion and the occasional burbling synth. Within two days, they’d written five tracks. They realised they had an album on their hands.

iPhones, iPads and Macs. Users running iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1 Developer Beta can now experience enhanced features such as Siri's contextual awareness, automatic movie creation in the Photos app, and advanced writing tools, while Safari has been updated with the AI-powered Summarize feature, which provides concise summaries of web pages and articles.Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) upgraded its ticketing system on WhatsApp to allow users to recharge their metro smart card right from the Meta owned app.

₹234 crore at the end of 2023-24. Transactions only picked up after RBI introduced interoperability with the UPI system. But still, the volume of e-rupee transactions remains significantly lower than UPI, debit and credit card transactions in the country, which stood at ₹149.5 trillion in 2022.

chikankari or phulkari from Punjab. Kashmir is one of the most militarised zones in the world with both political and economic instability. Its papier maché, wood carving, pashmina, carpet-weaving, and aari, sozni and kashida embroideries have long been coveted by art enthusiasts around the world but little has been done to ensure that the benefits reach the artisans.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the creation of an “investment-friendly charter’ during the ninth Governing Council Meeting of the Niti Aayog on 27 July. This charter will outline policies, programmes and processes to attract more investments. Despite India’s potential, foreign direct investment (FDI) data shows that the country has not fully capitalized on its opportunities.

travel operators are set to expand their revenue by a robust 15-17 per cent this fiscal year, driven by rising domestic tourism and an increasing propensity for overseas travel, Crisil said in its latest report. The growth will be supported by improving infrastructure, rising disposable incomes, a shift in travel patterns, and the government's focus on boosting domestic tourism. This growth follows a strong fiscal year where revenue surged by approximately 40 per cent to around Rs 14,500 crore, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by about 20 per cent.

In response, the Pune District Magistrate requested the deployment of an Army column to support the evacuation and relief operations. The Army's role included assisting with the evacuation of residents from Dwarka Society on Sinhgad Road, a part of the Ekta Nagar area where water levels had risen significantly. The deployment comprised over 100 personnel, including infantry troops, an engineer task force from the Bombay Engineers Group, and medical staff. The team was equipped with rescue boats, quadcopters, and other essential tools to manage the emergency and aid affected communities. The relief efforts came as a result of continuous heavy rainfall, which had already caused flooding in various parts of the district, including residential areas along the Mutha River.

Delays in justice deliver are among the biggest barriers in India to making it easier to do business and improving people’s ease of living. In a recent response, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed Parliament that more than 50 million cases are pending in various courts across India, of which nearly 90% are in district and subordinate courts. This backlog not only burdens the judicial system, but also denies timely justice to millions of citizens, and the cost of it is borne not just by the economy, but by all of us.

Maruti Suzuki India is anticipating a policy framework that supports all clean technologies, enabling the transition from petrol and diesel cars to vehicles with eco-friendly technologies, as stated by Chairman RC Bhargava. In his address to shareholders in the company's 2023-24 annual report, Bhargava emphasised that industrial growth relies on stable policies and a predictable work environment. He also expressed optimism that in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term, the government will continue to focus on infrastructure development, maintaining fiscal discipline, controlling inflation, implementing reforms to enhance manufacturing competitiveness, and fostering trust in the private sector. «Some believe that your company has been slow to manufacture electric vehicles. We decided to adopt a more diversified approach to meeting national objectives and did not want to put all our eggs in one basket,» Bhargava wrote.