India Financial News

Gold, often used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty, tends to appreciate on expectations of lower interest rates, which reduce the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset. «If the Chinese government's economic stimulus measures boost the economy, China and India could provide a solid basis for gold demand in 2025,» the company said in a report. China's central bank resumed buying gold for its reserves in November after a six-month pause, official data by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) showed on Saturday.

Ruhullah Mehdi, the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar, on Tuesday said that he is moving an impeachment motion in Parliament for the removal of justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a Judge in the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad for his anti-Muslim remarks and supporting a particular ideology and political party. Ruhullah has invoked Article 124(4) of the Constitution for the removal of justice Yadav, seeking signatures of 100 members of the Parliament to move the motion. The Lok Sabha member from National Conference said that more than seven members, including AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, Rajkumar Roat from Rajasthan, Sudama Prasad from Bihar, Mohibbullah and Ziau Rahman from UP, have already signed the motion.

INDIA bloc on Tuesday submitted a notice to bring a motion in the Rajya Sabha for the removal of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, accusing him of 'partisan' conduct as chairman of the Upper House. If the motion is accepted, these parties need a simple majority to get it passed. However, they do not have the requisite numbers in the 243-member House. Opposition members, however, insisted that it was a 'strong message to fight for parliamentary democracy'. On behalf of the Opposition, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Naseer Hussain submitted the notice, signed by 60 MPs from Congress, RJD, Trinamool, CPI, CPI-M, JMM, AAP, DMK, Samajwadi Party, to Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody.

BJP on Tuesday termed INDIA bloc's move to submit a notice for removal of Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar as «extremely regrettable», saying the government was very proud of him. Addressing a press conference here, Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said that they were happy with the work of the Rajya Sabha chairman while assuring that the NDA has the majority in the House. «The Opposition disrespects the dignity of the chair, be it in the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha. We all know that in the parliamentary tradition, the Speakers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are our guides. Whoever sits on the chair, we have to obey them. Congress party and their alliance partners continuously behaved wrongly by not following the direction of the chair,» he said. Rijiju said that Dhankhar comes from a humble background and talks about farmers' and people's welfare inside and outside the Parliament. «He guides us. We respect him,» Rijiju said.

Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the US Department of Justice may be a headache for India, given her past position on Khalistan-related issues. Dhillon — the latest addition to the list of Indian-Americans in the incoming Republican administration — has been alleged in the past to espouse pro-Khalistan sentiment. She is accused by her critics of sympathising with the cause of Khalistan and helping Khalistanis based in the US. In 2023, reacting to a Wall Street Journal report, Dhillon had posted on X, «Update on India's death squad project, which has claimed the life of at least one Canadian Sikh activist, and which targeted another in the US. Will there be consequences? Prosecutors Charge Indian Man With Trying to Kill Sikh Activists in US.»

JP Morgan India chief executive officer PD Singh is among three candidates shortlisted by Standard Chartered Bank to succeed Zarin Daruwala as the chief executive officer for India and South Asia, people familiar with the matter said. Rahul Shukla, group head for commercial and rural banking at HDFC Bank, and Venugopal Ranganathan, chief risk officer (CRO) at Standard Chartered, are the two other names submitted to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the CEO post, the people said. Daruwala retires from the bank in March after eight years at the top job.

Trai) has set a clear definition of "international traffic" as SMSes either originating or terminating from computer servers and applications from outside India. Trai's introduction of the definition of international SMSes under the unified licence has put an end to a decade long debate between telecom operators and multinational corporations (MNCs). Until now, MNCs were processing international transactions from servers outside of India but sending SMSs from domestic systems. India's telcos said this was a way for MNCs to avoid paying almost a 20 times higher cost for delivering messages which were originating overseas. According to the new definition, «Any incoming application to person (A2P) SMS message shall be treated as an international SMS message, if it cannot be generated, transmitted or received without the use or intervention of any electronic device, computer system or computer application located outside India,» Trai said in its recommendations released on Tuesday.

rare diseases to speed up their availability. India's drug regulator has asked the state drug regulators that a fast-track approval process be adopted, including post approval changes in the application while approving the sale of such drugs. The drug regulator has also asked state drug regulators to facilitate import of rare drugs in the interest of patients. «State drug controllers are requested to monitor compliance with the directions regarding the timeline for the approval of all applications for rare disease drugs which should be processed within 90 days from date of receiving,» DCGI said in a letter dated December 9. To make sure that drugs for rare diseases are available in India, he has asked all division heads to «monitor and proactively keep a watch on global clinical trials and local clinical trials for rare diseases and to process such files expeditiously,» it further said.

According to the circular, MobiKwik has decided to allocate 92.26 lakh equity shares to 21 funds at Rs 279 apiece, which is also the upper end of the price band. This translates into the transaction size to Rs 257.4 crore.

Bangladesh on Tuesday acknowledged 88 incidents of communal violence against minorities, primarily Hindus, following the ouster of then-premier Sheikh Hasina in August. Interim government head Muhammad Yunus' press secretary Shafiqul Alam also said that 70 people have been arrested in those incidents. He made the disclosure a day after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri flagged regrettable incidents of attacks on minorities and conveyed India's concerns, including those related to the safety and welfare of minorities, during his meetings with the Bangladeshi leadership. A total of 88 cases have been filed in incidents related to minorities from August 5 to October 22, Alam told reporters.

Tamil Nadu was faring better in its contribution to national economy and the state's industries and services sectors played a pivotal role in increasing the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) by 14 per cent in 2022-2023 amounting to Rs 23,64,514 crore, Principal Accountant General (Audit-I), Tamil Nadu, D Jaishankar said on Tuesday. As regards the resources of the state government, he said the revenue receipts increased by 17.47 per cent during 2022-2023 when compared to the previous year because of an increase in both tax revenue and non-tax revenue. Briefing reporters on the State Finances Audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ended March 2023, tabled in the Assembly earlier in the day, he said the state GDP in 2022-2023 was Rs 23,64,514 crore, an increase by 14 per cent over the previous year. «Industries and services sectors were the main contributors and the per capita income of the state is nearly 56 per cent higher than the national average. TN's per capita income is Rs 3.08 lakh whereas the national average is Rs 1.96 lakh. We are doing a better contribution to the economy,» he said.

Rajnath Singh met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday, during which both leaders expressed that India-Russia partnership holds immense potential and combined efforts will pave way for remarkable outcomes. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 21st session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC). «Rajnath Singh discussed various issues of bilateral defence cooperation. Both leaders expressed that partnership between both countries holds immense potential and combined efforts will pave way for remarkable outcomes,» the Ministry of Defence stated.

BEML Limited on Tuesday said it has secured a contract from the defence ministry to supply a 50-tonne Trailer valued at Rs 83.51 crore. The order highlights BEML's strength and capability in delivering advanced, indigenous products to enhance India's defence infrastructure, the public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. The heavy-duty Trailer is specifically designed for the transportation of battle tanks and features 12 twin wheels for durability and stability in challenging terrains. With a payload capacity of 50 tonnes, the Trailer is engineered to be towed by the BEML HMV 8x8 vehicle, BEML said.

benchmark indices closed flat on Tuesday, with blue-chip IT stocks gaining, while market participants exercised caution ahead of key inflation data from India and the United States due later in the week. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex declined 1.59 points to settle at 81,510.05, while the broader Nifty 50 index closed at 24,610.05, lower by 8.95 points or 0.04%.

BJP West Bengal unit staged a protest at Basirhat border in Ghojadanga creating blockade and protesting against torture on minorities in Bangladesh. Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari announced a mega rally in Kolkata on December 16, which is celebrated as Vijay Diwas by the Indian army. Meanwhile, ISKCON Kolkata urges UN Human Rights to ‘Wake up’ after another ISKCON monk was attacked at Dhaka’s Uttara area. After blocking goods vehicles from crossing the border at the Petrapole land port last week, BJP leader Adhikari reached the Ghojadanga land port in North 24 Parganas where various organisations conducted a similar blockade on Tuesday to protest the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmay Krishna Das Brahmachari in Bangladesh. Adhikari said, “Today is the World Human Rights’ Day. I urge the countries which believe in humanitarian ways like United States and United Kingdom to take action. The world community should come together and protect the Hindus in Bangladesh.”

BOSCH India Foundation, the social engagement arm of BOSCH in India, and Medhavi Group, comprising the Medhavi Foundation and Medhavi Skills University, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on advancing skill development initiatives in various locations across India, with special emphasis on Northeastern states. The strategic partnership would implement best-in-class skilling models and practices to empower underprivileged youth with employable skills through BOSCH’s BRIDGE programme. The three-month training modules, to be offered at Medhavi Group training centers, are meant for school or college dropouts. They focus on sectors such as automotive, healthcare, manufacturing, and digital technologies. BOSCH would provide and bring knowledge, expertise and placement opportunities to the program. Pravesh Dudani, Founder and Chancellor of Medhavi Skills University said, «This collaboration with BOSCH India Foundation marks a significant milestone in our mission to transform skill development in India. By combining our expertise in education with BOSCH’s industrial excellence, we can create meaningful impact in the lives of countless young individuals, particularly in the Northeastern region.»

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin has a provision for people to conduct a «self-survey», the government informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. In a written reply, Union Minister of State for Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said the government approved the proposal for implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) for five more years. Approval was also accorded for updating the Awaas+ list for identifying eligible rural households using modified exclusion criteria under the scheme. «In line with the approval of the government of India, a survey is being conducted for the identification of additional eligible rural households under the scheme,» the minister said.

ISRO on Tuesday said it carried out 'well deck' recovery trials of the Gaganyaan with the Indian Navy on December 6. The trials were carried out at Eastern Naval Command using a well deck ship off the coast of Vishakhapatnam, ISRO said in a statement. The space agency said the well deck in a ship can be flooded with water so that boats, landing crafts, recovered spacecraft can be taken inside to dock within the ship. Once the Crew Module touches down in the sea at the end of the mission, crew have to be recovered in the minimum possible time and with the least discomfort, it said.

Dune: Prophecy continues its prequel saga to the renowned Dune films. Episode 5 is set to release on December 15, 2024.