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S&P Global Ratings on Monday raised India’s growth forecast for the current financial year to 6.4 per cent, from 6 per cent, saying that robust domestic momentum has offset headwinds from high food inflation and weak exports. The US-based rating agency, however, has cut growth estimates for the next fiscal (2024-25) to 6.4 per cent, as it expects growth to slow in the second half (October-March) of the current fiscal, on higher base impact and subdued global growth. “We have revised up our projection for India’s GDP growth for fiscal 2024 (ending in March 2024) to 6.4 per cent, from 6 per cent, as robust domestic momentum seems to have offset headwinds from high food inflation and weak exports.

Why N.R. Narayana Murthy’s call for a 70-hour work week got such mixed reactions During an interview with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, he stressed the need for Indian youth to work for at least 70 hours a week to boost the country’s productivity. Congress leader endorses Narayana Murthy's call for 70-hour work week After a few days, the US billionaire, Gates argued that "job is not everything" and backed a 3-day work week.

Read here: Exit polls, GDP data, F&O expiry, auto sales to guide market direction this week The agency also noted that GDP exceeded the 2019 level by 15.5 percent in India in the first half of the current fiscal. Also, fixed investment has recovered considerably more than private consumer spending, it added. S&P also believes that it will take some time for India's interest rate cycle to turn as the headline inflation still remains above the RBI's target of 4 percent.

United States space agency 'Nasa' has captured the visuals of a galaxy which is 17 million light years away from earth. The agency has termed the galaxy as 'Evil Eye.' The image which is shared by Nasa shows a bright yellow nucleus of a galaxy which is shinning brightly amongst dark dust in brown and orange.

India’s growth forecast for FY24 upward to 6.4% from 6% projected earlier, bringing it in line with RBI’s estimate of 6.5%. The American rating agency, however, lowered the FY25 growth estimate by 0.5 percentage points to 6.4%. It expects the economy to bounce back to 7% growth in FY26 and FY27. The upward revision by the global rating agency follows a similar revision by the International Monetary Fund, which revised India’s growth forecast for FY24 upward to 6.3% in October from 6.1% projected earlier and brings it on par with World Bank (6.3%) and ADB (6.3%). Indian economy likely grew better than expected at 6.7% in the second quarter of FY24, according to a median of an ET poll of 10 economists, compared with 6.5% projected by RBI.

outgoing Consul General in New York, Randhir Jaiswal, has said he has endeavoured to «tell the world what India means to the world today» as the Indian-American community members lauded his efforts to boost bilateral ties and organised receptions to bid him farewell. Several diaspora organisations have been hosting farewell receptions in and around the city in honour of Jaiswal, who will soon leave for Delhi where he will assume his new role as the Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs.

North Korea warned on Monday it would continue to exercise its sovereign rights, including through satellite launches, while its troops were reported to be restoring some demolished guard posts on the border with South Korea. North Korea's foreign ministry said the launch of a reconnaissance satellite last week was prompted by the need to monitor the United States and its allies, state media KCNA reported. «It is a legal and just way to exercise its right to defend itself and thoroughly respond to and precisely monitor the serious military action by the U.S. and its followers,» the KCNA report said. Nuclear-armed North Korea launched the satellite on Tuesday, saying it successfully entered orbit and was transmitting photographs, but South Korean defence officials and analysts said its capabilities have not been independently verified. The launch prompted South Korea to suspend a key clause in a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement and resume aerial surveillance near the border. North Korea in turn declared it was no longer bound by the agreement and would deploy weapons on the border with the South. Citing South Korean military officials, Yonhap news reported that North Korean soldiers had been observed bringing back heavy weapons into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) border and setting up guard posts that the two countries demolished in the wake of the de-escalation agreement.

Vikram Doraiswami, was barred from entering a Glasgow Gurdwara. A pro-Khalistani activist blocked his entry, as seen in an Instagram video by 'Sikh Youth UK'. In July, a suspected Khalistani group committed arson there.

Taranjit Singh Sandhu was mobbed and heckled by a group of pro-Khalistani elements while on a visit to the Hicksville Gurdwara in Long Island, New York. The Ambassador had gone to the Gurdwara to offer prayers on the occasion of Gurpurab. According to a purported video shared on various social media accounts, Sandhu can be seen being confronted by extremist elements who were making statements about India designated terrorists Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The Indian envoy could be seen leaving the premises in his vehicle, while a lone protestor raised the Khalistani flag outside the Gurdwara. Indian envoy to the US Taranjit Sandhu had visited the Guru Nanak Darbar in Long Island, New York and joined the local Sangat to celebrate Gurpurab. «Privileged to join the local Sangat, including from Afghanistan, at Guru Nanak Darbar of Long Island in celebrating Gurpurab- listened to Kirtan, spoke about Guru Nanak's everlasting message of togetherness, unity, and equality, partook langar, and sought blessings for all,» Sandhu posted on X (formerly Twitter). There has been a rise in pro-Khalistani incidents by extremist elements in countries like Canada, the UK, Australia and even the US. In a shocking incident in July, a group of Khalistan extremists had indulged in an arson attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco. After a probe was launched into the incident, India requested evidence from the US authorities regarding suspects of the attack under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in connection with the case. In a separate incident in March, the Indian Consulate in San Francisco came under attack from suspected Khalistani elements.

Meta, the social media company behind platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, is being sued by 33 US states for, among other things, illegally collecting the personal data of underage users. Also Read| Is Meta trying to dodge requirements of India’s Personal Data Protection law? The allegations against Meta are part of a federal lawsuit filed last month by 33 US states, including California and Colorado, in a federal district court in California.

The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and 15 other countries have released global guidelines to help protect AI models from being tampered with, urging companies to make their models “secure by design.”

Every month, Mint’s Plain Facts section brings out an update on key global economic data to thread together the biggest developments in the world that are worth paying attention to. The accompanying analysis and charts attempt to explain how each story is creating ripples on the global stage, where it is headed in the coming weeks, and whether it can impact India. This time, we explain incoming central bank decisions in various countries, and the deflation in China that’s raising questions about its growth prospects.

Ramaswamy Narayanan, CMD, GIC RE, says, “our business has been doing well. We have managed to post very good results for 2022-2023 and we are continuing that forward in the current year for the last two quarters as well. Further, we have also got a credit rating boost from US credit rating agency, AM Best, since we are an international company doing business in over 150 countries we need a credit rating from an international agency. In our case, it is AM Best and they have boosted our credit rating as well.” There is a massive re-rating going on in the entire insurance space. It was started by private sector insurance companies in the last two, three days. Even the public sector enterprises, insurance and reinsurance companies are getting completely re-rated. The view in the market and the industry is that there could be policy making plus some impetus coming in which could improve volumes. What are your thoughts on the way business momentum is at your end? We are doing well. I guess maybe the interest coming forward now is based on the fact that the insurance industry is doing well now as well as maybe the understanding of what this industry is all about is also happening in the market. From GIC's perspective, our business has been doing well. We have managed to post very good results for 2022-2023 and we are continuing that forward in the current year for the last two quarters as well.

brain does not have the ability to rewire itself to compensate for the loss of sight, an amputation or stroke, for example, neuroscientists say. They argue that the notion that the brain, in response to injury or deficit, can reorganise itself and repurpose particular regions for new functions, is fundamentally flawed, despite being commonly cited in scientific textbooks. Instead, what is occurring in such scenarios is merely that one's brain is being trained to utilise already existing but latent abilities, the researchers write in an article in the journal eLife.

Joe Biden said he hoped the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas can go on as long as hostages are being released, after the militant group freed 17 more people, including a 4-year-old Israeli-American girl. Hamas said it wanted to extend the pause in fighting, which will enter its fourth day and final agreed day on Monday, if serious efforts were made to increase the number of Palestinian detainees released by Israel. Thirty-nine teenage Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel on Sunday, taking the total since the truce began to 117. Hamas said it had handed over 13 Israelis, three Thais and one with Russian citizenship, and the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed it had successfully transferred them from Gaza on Sunday. Biden said the 4-year-old hostage, Abigail Edan, had witnessed her parents being killed by Hamas fighters during their Oct. 7 rampage into Israel and had been held since then. «What she endured is unthinkable,» Biden said at a news conference in the U.S. Abigail was on her way to the hospital for checks, Israel's Channel 13 said.

Elon Musk, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, "It doesn't matter whether you're Elon Musk or you're someone on the street who's shouting abuse at someone who happens to be walking past you, that's wrong in all its forms". In an interview with Bloomberg News, Sunak subtly slammed Musk's remark, unlike US President Joe Biden who accused the tech entrepreneur of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on his X social media platform.

how to keep artificial intelligence safe from rogue actors, pushing for companies to create AI systems that are "secure by design." In a 20-page document unveiled Sunday, the 18 countries agreed that companies designing and using AI need to develop and deploy it in a way that keeps customers and the wider public safe from misuse. The agreement is non-binding and carries mostly general recommendations such as monitoring AI systems for abuse, protecting data from tampering and vetting software suppliers.

The coming week should be interesting, as significant economic data releases and critical new flows are expected to provide direction to the market, Aamar Deo Singh, Senior Vice President-Equity, Commodity & Currency at Angel One said. Among the domestic data sets, India's quarterly GDP figures, monthly auto numbers, and exit polls from the recently concluded state elections are likely to weigh on markets, Singh said. Nifty ended flat while Bank Nifty with declines of 0.9%. What is the outlook for next week? Markets have been trading with a positive tilt in recent weeks, but the key indices, Nifty, Bank Nifty, and Sensex, have been unable to break above recent highs. And, with investor interest in the primary market increasing, as well as profit-booking, we should expect increased volatility in the coming week.

Sebi) has issued a show-cause notice to the local unit of Invesco, a US-based asset manager, for possible violations of mutual fund rules that potentially risked investor money, people familiar with the development told ET. Invesco is reportedly found to have shuffled securities between schemes in alleged violation of rules. However, the company is said to have defended its actions before the capital-markets regulator, arguing that investors did not lose money because of its actions as it shifted loss-making bonds of an eventually defaulting non-bank lender onto its own balance sheet to prevent erosion in investor wealth. Sebi's notice reportedly served a couple of months ago, alleges a lack of segregation between the mutual fund and portfolio management service activities, questionable inter-scheme transfer of securities compromising investor interests, and the transfer of certain securities to offshore funds ahead of potential downgrades, two sources aware of the development said. Invesco responded to the regulator's notice last month, one of the persons cited above said. Emails sent to Invesco Asset Management India and Sebi remained unanswered until the publication of this report.

Russia on Sunday put Meta Platforms spokesperson Andy Stone on a wanted list on unspecified charges as the US social media giant — which owns Facebook — is classed as "extremist" by Moscow. Russia has hugely cracked down on media and social media freedom since launching its Ukraine offensive last year and banning criticism of it.

Hamas released 17 hostages in Gaza, including a 4-year-old American girl, as part of a truce with Israel as Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners on the third day of the ceasefire. As reported by Reuters, the International Committee of the Red Cross facilitated the successful transfer of the hostages, consisting of 13 Israelis, three Thais, and one individual with Russian citizenship, according to Hamas. According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the release of the hostages - part of a larger group captured when Hamas fighters rampaged through southern Israel on Oct.