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Kolkata’s real estate market exhibited a mix of trends in the first quarter of 2025, with office space transactions witnessing a decline, while residential sales remained steady despite a slight dip. According to Knight Frank India’s latest report, India Real Estate: Residential and Office January — March 2025 Q1 2025, a total of 0.16 million square feet (mn sq. ft.) of office space was leased in Kolkata during Q1 2025. This marks a 16% decline from Q1 2024, when 0.20 mn sq. ft. was transacted. However, despite the drop in leasing activity, average transacted office rents rose by 9% to Rs 42 per sq. ft. per month, making it the highest among India’s top eight cities, alongside Hyderabad.

India captain Rohit's form with the bat has put the MI team management in a tight spot. The same is for LSG skipper Pant whose extended dry run is not helping matters for the home side. With both the teams almost identically placed with a solitary win each in three games, the contest could boil down to who exploits the conditions better on the day. Given that the curators haven't been providing tailor-made pitches to the home sides — something that has caused frustration of the coaches and players in some franchises — the team that gets a head-start with the bat or ball in the power play overs could call the shots. The prolonged absence of MI pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah due to injury and the management maintaining a stoic silence on his return is only adding to the frustration of the Hardik Pandya-led side.

A worrisome pattern observed is how Indians are serving their older loans by opting for new loans. RBI had also cautioned against such stress from the consumer credit segment spilling over to secured loans after its assessment showed nearly half the borrowers availing credit card and personal loans had another live mortgage or vehicle loan. «Given that a default in any loan category results in other loans of the same borrower being treated as non-performing by the lending financial institution, these larger and secured loans are at risk of delinquency from slippages in relatively smaller personal loans,» the regulator noted in the December 2024 edition of the bi-annual Financial Stability Report. Data showed that 11% borrowers originating a personal loan under ₹50,000 had an overdue personal loan and over 60% had availed of more than three loans during the current financial year. To control the problem, which is on the cusp of turning into a huge crisis, the government could probably try giving a fresh start to the borrowers. A report of Dvara Research regarding India's debt problem had said that lack of bankruptcy regime for the borrowers only offers partial relief, with the crucial need to remove such blanket ban of relief. Bloomberg Columnist Andy Mukherjee made a similar point by saying that with overborrowing occurring, it might be time to let some institutions fail. «Where the government needs to get involved is in allowing borrowers to shed unsustainable debt in an orderly fashion. The mechanism for that exists in India’s bankruptcy code; it’s yet to be implemented for individuals other than guarantors for corporate loans,» said Mukherjee.

Delhi High Court on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on BJP leader Shazia Ilmi for suppressing crucial facts in her defamation case against India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. The court found that Ilmi had willfully withheld two tweets that were part of the same conversation thread related to the incident in question, which led to the imposition of the penalty, reported Bar and Bench. The Delhi High Court bench, led by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, while partly allowing an application moved by Ilmi for interim relief, directed her to pay the Rs 25,000 cost to the Delhi High Court Bar Clerks’ Association within three weeks. The High Court emphasised that the suppression of these tweets, which were part of the ongoing discussion, was significant in determining the outcome of the case. «Since the plaintiff had willfully suppressed two (2) tweets which formed part of the same conversation thread of which the impugned quote tweet was part of and therefore, the plaintiff is saddled with the cost of Rs. 25,000/- payable to Delhi High Court Bar Clerks’ Association, through the secretary within a period of three (3) weeks,» the court stated in its ruling.

The rupee closed at 85.2350 against the U.S. dollar, ending stronger on the day and up 0.3% on the week, adding to a 2% gain over the last fortnight.

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The Waqf Amendment Bill, recently passed by Parliament, sparked debates, with several groups opposing it on legal and religious grounds. Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill in the early hours of Friday after a marathon and heated debate. Rajya Sabha sat beyond midnight to pass the legislation. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, «Ayes 128 and Noes 95, Absent zero. The Bill is passed.» Lok Sabha, which took up discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday, passed it past midnight after a marathon debate. The government introduced the revised bill after incorporating the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the legislation introduced in August last year. The bill seeks to amend the Act of 1995 and improve the administration and management of Waqf properties in India.

Aadhaar number by December 31, 2025.

US Department of Defence (Pentagon) will investigate Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth's use of Signal in a group chat with other national security officials to discuss military actions against the Houthis in Yemen last month, according to a letter from the IG's office on Thursday, CNN reported. In a letter to Hegseth, Acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins notified him of an upcoming evaluation following a request from the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Stebbins said that the evaluation is in response to recent public reports regarding Hegseth's use of an «unclassified commercial messaging application» to discuss military actions in Yemen in March. «The purpose of this memorandum is to notify you that we are initiating the subject evaluation. We are conducting this evaluation in response to a March 26, 2025, letter I received from the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, requesting that I conduct an inquiry into recent public reporting on the Secretary of Defense's use of an unclassified commercially available messaging application to discuss information pertaining to military actions in Yemen in March 2025,» the letter stated. The letter further stated, «The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business. Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements.»

The S&P 500 was down 4.2% in afternoon trading, more than other major stock markets, and at its bottom in the morning was on track for its worst day since Covid struck in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,394 points, or 3.3%, as of 2:09 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 5.3% lower.

Rajya Sabha gave its approval, following 12 hours-long debate over the proposed legislation. The bill, which seeks to improve the administration and management of waqf properties in India, was passed with 128 votes in favour of the bill, as against 95. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill with a 288-232 vote in the wee hours of Thursday after nearly 12 hours of debate. Tabling the Bill in the Upper House, which was examined and redrafted by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), Rijiju said the proposed legislation has nothing to do with religion, but deals only with properties. The Bill aims to include all the Muslims sects in the Waqf board, Rijiju said. The government proposes to rename the Waqf Bill as Unified Waqf Management Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) Bill. The bill was earlier presented in the Lok Sabha in August of last year and a Joint Parliamentary Committee, headed by BJP member Jagdambika Pal, examined it.

toddler had done after she briefly stored some laundry items. A Lincoln resident named Natasha Emeny from the United Kingdom recorded the distressing event, which afterward became viral across TikTok. Her 1-year-old child, Koah, uncovered the ashes of her late grandfather while she was performing laundry duties, which sent her into a state of absolute shock.

Vedanta Ltd on Thursday reported record production figures across key business verticals for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, the company said in a regulatory filing. Vedanta achieved historic highs in aluminium and zinc production while also recording strong growth in iron ore, steel, oil and gas, and power sales. Annual aluminium production saw a 2% increase year-on-year, reaching 2,421 kt, while fourth-quarter output grew 1%.

India's finished steel imports from China, South Korea and Japan hit a record high in the first 10 months of the previous financial year which ended on March 31, government data showed. The new rules under the «Domestically Manufactured Iron And Steel Products Policy 2025» mandates all ministries, departments and agencies under the Indian government to prioritise locally manufactured iron and steel products.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the defending champions, and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), last season's runners-up, will be under pressure to turn around their fortunes when they face off in a crucial IPL encounter on Thursday. Both teams have struggled in their recent outings, with two losses in three matches, and are in urgent need of a win to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. KKR, led by Ajinkya Rahane, had initially shrugged off concerns following a heavy defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore, stating that there was no reason to panic. But after the team's shaky form continues — a stark contrast to their near-perfect record in IPL 2024 — the mood in the KKR camp is understandably more cautious.

Norfolk Island has a population of over 2,000 people and lies 1,600km (1,000 miles) north-east of Sydney and its economy revolves around tourism. The 29% tariff is 19 percentage points higher than the rest of Australia. In 2023, Norfolk Island exported US$655,000 (A$1.04m) worth of goods to the US, with its main export being US$413,000 (A$658,000) worth of leather footwear, according to Observatory of Economic Complexity data. ALSO READ: 'Such an old-fashioned term but beautiful': Trump was mesmerized by THIS word in 'Liberation Day' speech

SBI Long Term Equity Fund, the oldest ELSS mutual fund, has completed a milestone of 32 years. The scheme is an open-ended equity linked savings scheme with a statutory lock in period of 3 years and tax benefit. The fund was launched on March 31, 1993, with the IDCW option (earlier known as dividend option) and the growth option was introduced later on May 7, 2007. A monthly SIP invested in the scheme of Rs 10,000 (Rs 38.5 lakh invested) since inception would be worth Rs 14.44 crore as on March 28, 2025, delivering returns of 17.94% XIRR.

I have been investing in Quant Active, Quant Small Cap, Quant Momentum, and Quant Flexi Cap funds, via SIPs, since last year. My investment horizon is over 10 years. The funds’ performance has slipped over the past two quarters (over the second half of 2024). Should I continue my SIPs or stop and remain invested for another year? Sumit Duseja, Co-founder & CEO, Truemind Capital (Sebi-registered investment adviser: Quant mutual fund schemes mostly operate on a momentum strategy. The major problem with the momentum strategy is that when it works, the returns are way above the benchmark, but when it doesn’t work, the returns plummet sharply. Therefore, the performance is good only during specific periods of bull market, resulting in inconsistent performance, accompanied by high volatility. Ideally, one should select schemes with consistent performance track records across bull and bear markets. The investment philosophy of the fund house should be simple, clear and transparent. Additionally, you should diversify across mutual fund schemes from different fund houses. Selecting all the schemes from a single fund house puts you at risk with all your schemes underperforming if something goes wrong with the fund house. You can stop your SIPs in the schemes from Quant and restart the SIPs with fund houses that have a proven and consistent track record of at least 15 years.

safe-haven assets after U.S. President Donald Trump announced more aggressive-than-anticipated tariffs against major trading partners, widening the global trade war.

Here's a look at some of the new tariff regime's key features, as detailed in Trump's executive order.

STATE OF THE MARKETS GIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a gap-down start GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded lower by 301 points, or 1.28 per cent, at 23,129.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for gap-down start on Thursday.