India Financial News

Devajit Saikia and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia will be officially elected as the BCCI secretary and treasurer respectively during the Special General Meeting (SGM) here on Sunday. Saikia and Prabhtej were the only candidates in the fray for the vacant posts once BCCI electoral officer and former CEC of India, Achal Kumar Joti finalised the list on Tuesday. Saikia has been working as the BCCI interim secretary since Jay Shah took over as the ICC chairman on December 1. The BCCI constitution stipulates that any post lying vacant should be filled within 45 days by calling a SGM, and Sunday's meeting is well within that period, holding on the 43rd day.

That has officially given it the edge over Egypt, the previous tourism leader on the continent, and who also shattered its own arrival record, welcoming 15.7 million visitors in 2024. While no governing body tracks arrival numbers for every African nation, both UN Tourism and the World Travel & Tourism Council confirm that North African nations outpace sub-Saharan ones in terms of tourism volume. Morocco’s new tourism benchmark marks an astounding 20% jump from 2023 and more than a 33% increase over 2019 pre-pandemic levels when the Arabian destination received 13 million visitors. It has also put the Kingdom of Light two years ahead of its tourism projections.

National Food Security Act (NFSA) of 2013 has been instrumental in reducing child stunting in India, preventing stunting in approximately 1.8 million children across eight states, reported TOI, citing a study published in the American Economic Association's Journal on Applied Economics. The evaluation highlights the impact of expanded food grain distribution under the Act on child nutrition, stunting, and dietary diversity. The study, conducted by Aditya Shrinivas of IIM Bangalore alongside researchers from the universities of California and Calgary, found that the Public Distribution System (PDS) under the NFSA improved not just nutrition but also household welfare. By increasing daily wages and overall income, the PDS provided crucial support to poor households, who are primarily net labor suppliers. Additionally, it helped vulnerable families withstand climate shocks such as poor rainfall or drought. The NFSA standardized entitlements to 5 kg of staple grains per person per month at subsidized rates—Rs 3 per kg for rice and Rs 2 per kg for wheat. Before the Act, states had discretion over prices and quantities offered under the PDS. This shift from per-household to per-individual entitlements particularly benefited larger families, prompting less generous states to expand their food distribution programs.

Labour Codes with the objectives of promoting labour welfare by way of “universalisation of wages and social security, ensuring safe and healthy workplace, formalisation of employment, higher female labour force participation, skill development of workers, portability of benefits for migrant workers” and other means. While not yet notified, the Labour Codes replace over 30 central legislations to simplify and modernise labour laws in India, with an emphasis on ease of doing business. I have briefly summarised the Codes below: Code on Wages, 2019 (Wages Code) The Wages Code replaces four legislations including the Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act, Equal Remuneration Act and Minimum Wages Act.

Champions Trophy 2025, as per a cricbuzz report. «While it was initially expected that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee would reveal the squad for the ICC tournament by January 12, adhering to the guidelines of the International Cricket Council (ICC), they are now likely to request for an extension,» the report said. ALSO READ: Team India squad for ICC Champions Trophy: Who could make it to the playing XI?

«Now, within utilities, you can very well define a few infra companies, a few cement companies, a few power companies but as a theme power should continue doing well,» says Mayuresh Joshi, Head Equity, Marketsmith India. Give us a sense of what kind of momentum you are expecting when it comes to the markets next week, because we have had numbers come in from TCS, good set of numbers, IT is looking good. Next week, we get a little bit deeper into the quarter three earnings. Tell us which sectors you think are going to emerge as winners or if you could put it that way, the one with the least amount of cuts coming in when it comes to the earnings preview for quarter three. Mayuresh Joshi: So, two things, as we see earnings forecast chart put through Panaray, our institutional software, and the sector rotation graph that we probably have, which takes into account earnings that have happened till the quarter gone by and expectations of consensus earnings over the next few quarters, BFSI as a space selective probably looks the strongest as far as the EPS ratings are concerned.

India Meteorological Department (IMD), authorities have said, citing restrictions on non-essential foreign travel at government expense. Mominul Islam, the acting director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), on Friday confirmed receiving the invitation from the IMD a month ago, saying: «The India Meteorological Department invited us to their 150th anniversary celebrations. We maintain good relations and continue to collaborate with them.» «However, we are not going to the event as there is an obligation to limit non-essential foreign trips funded by the government,» Islam told bdnews 24. He emphasised the regular contact between the two agencies, noting his recent visit to India on December 20, 2024, for a separate meeting with Indian meteorologists.

Lal Bahadur Shastri, India's second Prime Minister, died in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on January 11, 1966 after he signed the Tashkent Declaration, ending the 1965 India-Pakistan War. The official cause of death was a heart attack. However, the circumstances surrounding his death remain a mystery, with persistent rumors of poisoning.

rice stocks hit a record high at the start of January, reaching eight times the government's target, while wheat stocks continued to deplete as traders urged the government to increase wheat sales amid market shortages. Higher rice stocks would enable the world's biggest exporter of the staple to accelerate exports. However, dwindling wheat stocks will likely deter the government from releasing more stock to bulk consumers. Rice reserves in state granaries, including unmilled paddy, totalled 60.9 million metric tons of Jan. 1, compared to the government's target of 7.6 million tons, data compiled by the Food Corporation of India showed.

Ola Electric for additional documents as part of its ongoing investigation into the electric two-wheeler manufacturer. “In continuation of the earlier letter received from the Central Consumer Protection Authority dated December 04, 2024, by Ola Electric Mobility Limited (the Company) we would like to inform you that the Company has received further request for information via email dated January 10, 2025,” Ola Electric said in an exchange filing on Friday. This comes days after the Karnataka High Court granting the Bhavish Aggarwal-led firm a six-week extension to submit its response to the CCPA. The CCPA first issued the show-cause notice to Ola Electric on October 8, 2024 over alleged consumer rights violations, misleading advertisements, and unfair trade practices.

Cognizant has increased the retirement age for its employees in India from 58 to 60 years, bringing it in line with broader market practices, ToI reported. This change applies to all employees in the country, including those who have relocated on-site without a change in payroll. “This change aligns with common market practice and our commitment to attract and retain experienced talent,” the company stated in a memo reviewed by The Times of India. Most IT companies in India currently set their retirement age at 58, making Cognizant’s move a notable shift in policy aimed at leveraging experienced professionals in a competitive talent landscape. Speaking at an event in India, Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S shared with PTI the company’s vision for India’s role in its global operations. Ravi, who recently received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2025 award from President Droupadi Murmu, highlighted India’s growing significance in the global technology landscape.

Joe Biden said Friday. Ten days before passing on the baton to Donald Trump, the Biden Administration on Friday slapped sanctions on scores of companies and entities that were helping Russia in its export of energy, in particular gas. Two of those companies were from India. «The sanctions are imposed today because they will have a profound effect on the growth of the Russian economy and make it more difficult for Putin to conduct his wars. »It is probable that gas prices could increase as much as USD 0.03 to USD 0.04 a gallon, but that's going to have a more profound impact on Russia's ability to continue to act in the way it's acting in the conduct of war," Biden said in response to a question.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Deep Bajaj, 42, co-founder of femtech brand Sirona Hygiene, doesn’t make new year resolutions.

Hindustan Unilever, Britannia, ITC, Godrej Consumer Products, Colgate Palmolive and Adani Wilmar are all introducing ‘access packs’ of premium brands across traditional and modern retail channels, including kirana stores, to target price-sensitive consumers amid muted urban demand. HUL, the country’s largest FMCG company, recently launched a Rs 10 pack of its Surf Excel Liquid, a sharp drop from its earlier entry price of Rs 110. Similarly, Colgate has introduced select premium toothpaste variants at Rs 80, down from the previous lowest price of Rs 170.

Those running Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in the country are paying out the highest increments, though it will still be marginally lower than last year, showed data shared exclusively with ET by Deloitte India. Average pay hikes will range about 8.8% across MNCs in India compared to actuals of 9% last year. Also, most of the around 100 companies surveyed have a slightly lower salary projection for the FY25 cycle, ranging at 0.1-1.1 percentage points less than FY24, based on the industry. “Pay increase projections are lower compared to FY24 and this is largely because businesses aren’t doing well across most sectors,” said Anandorup Ghose, partner at Deloitte India.

Kamala Harris is competent to run for presidency again in four years, outgoing US President Joe Biden said Friday, noting that the decision on this would finally be on her. «I think that's a decision she might think she's competent to run again in four years. That'll be a decision for her to make,» Biden told reporters at a news conference here. Biden made history in 2020 by appointing Harris as the first ever Indian American, African American and woman as the Vice President of the country. In the summer of 2024, after a disastrous presidential debate with Donald Trump in Atlanta, Biden withdrew from the race and went ahead to endorse Harris for presidency. Harris soon became the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.

crisis management group to deal with nationwide strikes by public sector bank employees. Apart from managing exigencies of strikes lasting three days or more, the group will work with banks to strengthen their standard operating procedures (SOPs) for ensuring business continuity, said a senior government official. The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation has threatened to go on a nationwide strike on February 24-25. A steering committee, including state-run banks and private lender IDBI Bank, has been set up. “The group has been formed to insulate the banking system against all uncertainties, including strikes,” said the official, who did not wish to be identified, adding that the move was not specifically related to the announcement regarding the proposed February strike.

data tariffs to attract investments from foreign companies that rely on affordable fast broadband connectivity for delivering essential services, said senior government officials. The Centre's aim is to leverage the country's much lower data rates compared with markets such as China, US, Russia, UK, Australia, and South Africa to entice foreign companies engaged in delivering services such as ride hailing, online food delivery, telemedicine, digital payments and online education, the officials told ET. The government also plans to highlight to potential investors India's rapid adoption of 5G services and the rising availability of affordable 5G phones in the world's second-largest mobile phone market.

HMPV Case LIVE: Amid heightened surveillance in India, another HMPV case was reported in Gujarat on Friday. Meanwhile, China has said that it is in close communication with the World Health Organisation (WHO) related to the situation of respiratory diseases, including HMPV.

Who are likely to make a cut in the Champions Trophy India squad?Out-of-form veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will continue to form the batting core of India's ODI squad, however, three senior players whose future in the 50-over format could be debated when the selectors gather this weekend to pick the squad for the Champions Trophy.India will play all their Champions Trophy games in Dubai, starting with the clash against Bangladesh on February 20. This came after the team refused to travel to original hosts Pakistan citing security concerns.Following a not-so-satisfactory performance in the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Team India look futuristic for the upcoming white-ball tournaments including England's tour to India, followed by ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. By the end of the 18th century, India was no longer the world’s cotton capital, as it had been over the previous 1,000 years. However, one Indian was still given the moniker "Cotton King" for his vast influence over the trade.