India Financial News

India has taken the right path to achieving self-sufficiency in semiconductors by starting with production of the relatively less complex mature nodes, said a top executive of Taiwanese fabless chipmaker MediaTek. «I think that it is a good strategy adopted by the Indian government that they started with the mature nodes, because they are less complex.,» Anku Jain, managing director, MediaTek India, told ET in an interview. «4nm is complex and relatively more difficult to implement. The new fabs that are coming up in India want to start with the mature node (as) it is slightly easier. I think that is the right approach.»

The Indian rupee's path against the US dollar is one of long-term appreciation as India builds increasingly strong services and goods export buffers to offset the country's traditional current account deficit, said Patrick Law, head of Asia-Pacific fixed income, currencies, and commodities trading, at Bank of America. While a weaker Chinese yuan and the risk of US rates staying higher for longer pose risks for emerging market currencies, the rupee is «a very special case» because of India's bullish outlook, Law tells Bhaskar Dutta. Edited excerpts: Amid sharp swings in the US dollar and Asian currencies, the rupee continues to be stable. Have the fundamental drivers changed for the Indian currency? I am very bullish on India. It's not just about global bond index inclusion. It's about the long-term prospects of the country and the economy, foreign inflows, and investment. India is definitely benefiting from the China-plus-one narrative.

H-1B visa selection for the fiscal year 2025, and selected candidates are being notified, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday. «Fiscal Year 2025 H-1B cap petitioners: random selections have been made and notifications are being sent to myUSCIS accounts beginning yesterday and continuing over the next few days prior to April 1,» the immigration agency said in a post on social media platform X. The intial registration period for FY25 was originally announced from March 6 to March 22. However, a technical malfunction on the USCIS website caused a three-day extension to the deadline, shifting it from March 22 to March 25. Despite this delay, USCIS assured potential petitioners that they would still have the opportunity to confirm their eligibility to submit a petition subject to the H1B cap.

YES Bank has revised certain features of all its credit cards except the 'private' credit card variant. For some variants of the bank's credit cards, the changes are limited to the fuel surcharge category. For all other variants except 'private', these changes are related to the calculation of the spend threshold for waiver of the annual fee and joining fee. There is also a change in terms of an additional charge for utility transactions. All of these revised changes are applicable from May 1, 2024. «These changes shall adversely affect all YES Bank credit card holders except those with the super-premium Private credit card variant,» says Ankur Mittal, CTO and co-founder, of Card Insider, a credit card comparison website. Also read: Axis Bank stops redemption of credit card reward points earned by these customers.

Good Friday 2024 Bank holiday: Are banks open in your city today? There are 12 public sector banks, 20 private banks, and one foreign bank which are designated as agency banks by the RBI. The agency banks carry out Central government's work as well.

Somali pirates during a 12-hour-long-Arabian Sea operation on Friday. The incident occurred when Indian Navy warship INS Sumedha caught the hijacked vessel ‘FV A1-Kambar’ during the early hours of March 29, ANI reported. INS Trishul swiftly joined the INS Sumedha to bolster the operation.

Purple Cap IPL 2024: A lot have changed after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) match on March 29. The highest wicket-taker in the tournament gets the Purple Can. Let’s take a look at who the Top 10 contenders are after the RCB vs KKR match.

BENGALURU : Amid a year of turbulence for leading domestic IT service providers, smaller niche markets are emerging as promising avenues for sustained growth. However, while India’s top five IT companies are expected to benefit from it, midcaps and smaller exporters may face challenges as larger peers target their key markets.

Maldives President Muizzu advised to mend India ties, ‘stop being stubborn’ Since then ties between India and Maldives remained strained. However, last week, the Maldivian President requested New Delhi for debt relief measures. In an interview with local media 'Mihaaru', President Muizzu said that he hopes India will accommodate debt relief measures for the Maldives' in the repayment of the hefty loans taken from the country over consecutive governments.

RCB skipper is also currently at the top of the Orange cap holder contendars in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). He surpassed Hyderabad’s hard-hitting wicket-keeper Heinrich Klaasen, becoming the leading run-scorer in IPL 2024.

T Raja Singh for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of communities with his hate speech during a rally on Mira Road on February 25, said MIRA Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police on Wednesday. The BJP leader was booked under sections 153(A) and 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code which deals with dividing communities by hurting their religious sentiments, Indian Express reported. In addition, event organizer Naresh Nile had also been booked in the case, said the police officer, adding that both accused will soon receive notices regarding this.

IPL Points Table 2024: Thanks to an emphatic 7-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 29, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are now at number 2 with 4 points from 2 matches, with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +1.047. They are now one of the three teams that have won more than one match in the tournament so far. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have also won two out of the two matches they have played so far.

Top Events of the Day: Several important events including Congress' nationwide protest against IT department notices, PM Modi's Lok Sabha campaign in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Class 10 board exam results, IPL 2024 match, and Bharat Ratna award ceremony will take place today, March 30. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off the BJP's campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha election 2024 which is scheduled to take place in seven phases, in Uttar Pradesh from Meerut with a mega rally this weekend. - Banks, LIC, and other insurers will keep their offices open today, March 30.

gold loans can repay the debt and reclaim family jewellery in the event of the borrower's death. A key element of the plan involves asking borrowers to provide a letter authorising who can do so in the event of their death, said people with knowledge of the matter. Current practices vary in such situations and often give rise to various legal challenges, which meant the lender would auction off the pledged gold, they said.

Kalyan Jewellers, Tanishq, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Joyalukkas and Senco Gold are staying away from lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) citing low demand and an aversion to mixing them with natural stones at counters. Nonetheless, the buzz over such stones — much cheaper than natural diamonds and indistinguishable from them — is getting louder, with higher sales in markets such as the US and government stimulus budgeted in India. Top retailers still feel the local market is not yet ready to accept LGDs like the US, as artificial diamonds are popularly considered fashion jewellery and not an asset with resale value.

Piyush Goyal said Friday. The theme of the upcoming general election is Viksit Bharat with a focus on «nari shakti» and «bhrashtachar-mukt Bharat (women power and corruption-free India),» he added. India's growth will be based on the twin pillars of being inclusive and sustainable and the government wants to ensure that people are free from having to worry about the necessities of «roti, kapda aur makaan». «We believe that nobody should slip back into poverty. As people's basic needs are being met with free ration and other benefits, they should be free from the tension of daily needs,» Goyal said at a meeting with ET journalists. «We want an aspirational India, which can dream of big leaps and aspire for high quality of life.»

Indian Navy on Friday rescued a hijacked Iranian fishing vessel and its crew of 23 Pakistani nationals, after more than 12 hours of «intense coercive tactical measures» as part of an anti-piracy operation at sea, officials said. Indian naval specialist teams are presently undertaking thorough sanitisation and seaworthiness checks of the fishing vessel in order to escort her to a safe area for resuming normal fishing activities, according to an official statement shared by the Navy's spokesperson. The Indian Navy late evening on Friday had said that it was engaged in an operation to rescue the hijacked fishing vessel, which had reportedly been boarded by nine armed pirates, and its crew at sea. The hijacked vessel was intercepted on Thursday, the Navy said.

In a Joint Consultative Meeting of the ENPO, Federating Tribal Bodies, Frontal Organizations, Talk Team, and senior leaders held on February 23, 2024, at Chenmoho Village, Mon District, it was unanimously resolved «not to participate in any central and state elections» against the delay in settling the offer for the creation of Frontier Nagaland Territory by the Government of India through the Ministry of Home Affairs. Furthermore, the ENPO shall not accede to any assurances that may come up from the Ministry of Home Affairs to be implemented after the upcoming Parliamentary election process. Recently, the Konyak Union (KU) of Nagaland declared a ‘public emergency’ due to the Centre’s delay in settling its offer for the creation of ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’.

Quasar India announced their Q3 FY24 results on 27 Mar, 2024, showcasing a significant increase in revenue by 539.7% year-over-year (YoY). However, the profit saw a decline of 54.45% YoY.

In its National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers 2024, the US Trade Representative (USTR) said: «Since 2021, US firms have been subject to an increasing number of takedown requests for content and user accounts related to issues that appear politically motivated». As per the report, India's customs system is complex and open to administrative discretion. It also cited a lack of clarity on definitions related to brand owners, date markings, non-retail containers, and multi-unit pack on alcoholic beverages.

Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), an industry body representing India's retail chemists has asked the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) to include the banning of e-pharmacies, regulations of deep discounts and prohibition on discount advertising in their manifesto. «This will save the livelihood of crores,» said the letter by the body to the BJP president JP Nadda. AIOCD said that the online medicine business poses a serious threat to public health, serving as a gateway for counterfeit medications in the country.