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tea trade association has expressed optimism and enthusiasm as the tea industry witnessed significant growth, with over Rs2,800 crore worth of tea sold at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) during the current financial year (2024-2025) so far. According to official data from the GTAC, approximately 111.03 million kg of tea was sold at an average price of Rs252 per kg until October of the ongoing financial year. In comparison, during the same period in the 2023-24 financial year, 102.92 million kg of tea was sold at an average price of Rs200.08 per kg. Dinesh Bihani, Secretary of the Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers' Association (GTABA), told ANI, «Compared to the previous year, we have achieved an increase of Rs52.75 per kg this year. Last year, we sold tea worth Rs2,059 crore from April to October, whereas this year, during the same period, we sold tea worth Rs2,807 crore. Last year, we sold 102.92 million kg of tea, and this year, it increased to 111.03 million kg.»

Vir Das, the award-winning comedian draws spotlight to an Indian taxi driver in the US, with a surprising background—an IIT Bombay graduate with a PhD and who worked as a scientist before being laid off. This highly qualified individual, now driving a cab in America, exemplifies the stark contrast between academic brilliance and the struggles of survival in a foreign land. Vir Das recounted meeting the driver at San Jose airport. Despite his evident discomfort behind the wheel, the driver maintained a polite demeanor, Vir Das said. The conversation soon drifted into Hindi, a language they both found comfort in, offering a brief respite from the alienation of living far from home. During this exchange, the driver shared his story—a tale of layoffs, survival, and the relentless pursuit of financial stability in the U.S. His current role as a cab driver was a far cry from the intellectual rigor of his scientific past, but it was a necessary step to make ends meet. The IIT graduate’s story is a sobering reminder of the unpredictability of life. Having excelled in one of the most prestigious educational institutions in India and pursued advanced research, he now navigated a very different path. His candid admission—missing home every single day—revealed a longing for a simpler life, one unburdened by mortgages, insurance payments, and the endless grind of the American dream. Yet, he stayed, tethered by responsibilities and a complex web of practicalities that often make returning home an impractical choice.

Prasanna Kumar, a student of Swaroopa Adyayana Kendra, has earned a place in the Indian Book of Records for this astonishing feat. Prasanna has achieved a remarkable milestone by visually interpreting the entire Bhagavad Gita. Using a unique pictorial language developed at Swaroopa Adyayana Kendra, Prasanna, son of Pampapathi and Nandini, illustrated all 700 shlokas of the sacred text through 84,426 meticulously crafted images, with each image representing an individual word. Prasanna joined Swaroopa Adyayana Kendra a year ago after completing his education at Rashtrothana Vidhyalaya in Shivamogga. Motivated by the goal of transforming the Sanskrit verses into a purely visual format, he embarked on this ambitious project. Over two-and-a-half months, he worked tirelessly, creating 1,400 lines of illustrations on hardboard sheets to bring the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to life in a completely new way.

Russia, which before the Ukraine war was the biggest single supplier of natural gas to Europe, has lost almost all of its European customers as the EU tries to reduce its dependence and after the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany was blown up in 2022. Now one of the last main Russian gas routes to Europe — the Soviet-era Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline via Ukraine — is due to shut at the end of this year, as Kyiv does not want to extend a five-year transit agreement which brings northern Siberian gas to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria.

Worsening bilateral diplomatic relations, a burgeoning housing crisis and a tight job market might dull Canada’s allure further, said multiple experts assisting Indian students with higher studies abroad. Canada’s decision to pause fast-track visas has left Indian students facing extended wait times and increased uncertainty, they said.

Cedar-IBSi Capital on Saturday said it is looking to invest in 10-15 startups working in the banking and insurance technology segment to expand its footprint in the country. «The fund plans to build a portfolio of the companies, allocating a budget within the range of Rs 4-10 crore, with an intensified focus on financially strengthening 8 to 10 high-performing companies,» it said. The fund has already gathered commitments in the range of Rs 50-75 crore from its Rs 240 crore early-stage fund launched in 2023, it added. «We are focusing on investing in startups which offer unique products and innovative tech to help improve efficiency at financial institutions. We have made our first investment in Cogniquest, an intelligent document processing tech company and are looking forward to announcing our second investment shortly,» Sahil Anand, Founder and Managing Partner, Cedar-IBSi Capital, said.

Trom Industries has reported a nearly 100% rise in net sales, reaching Rs 46.24 crore for the half-year period ending September 2024, compared to the same period last year. The company, which specializes in industrial solar power plants, ground-mounted solar power plants, and solar street lights, also saw its half-yearly net profit rise by 108.77% to Rs 4.13 crore. «TROM continues to deliver profitable growth by capitalizing on optimism in the market and improved consumer demand. This remarkable growth underscores the increasing market acceptance of our innovative products and services, reflecting our commitment to excellence and our strategic expansion in the rapidly evolving solar market. Recently, the company was awarded solar project contracts worth Rs 33 crore from Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) and Corona Remedies. Our focused approach has driven this growth, and our cost-conscious strategies have contributed to yet another record quarter of profitability,» said Jignesh Patel, Managing Director of Trom Industries. The company has also recently secured a work order worth Rs 33 crore from GMRC for a period of 5 years. With an order value exceeding Rs 20.70 crore, the supply for this project will be completed within the current financial year in a phased manner. Additionally, Trom Industries has received a purchase order from Corona Remedies for the installation of a grid-connected ground-mounted solar PV plant.

Knight Frank India. Real estate consultant Knight Frank, in its latest edition of the Asia-Pacific Prime Office Rental Index for Q3 (July-September) 2024, said Delhi-NCR is the 6th most expensive office space rental market across the APAC region. Hong Kong SAR continues to be APAC's most expensive office market during the third quarter of this calendar year. Prime rents in the NCR remained stable in Q3 2024, while Mumbai and Bengaluru saw year-on-year (YoY) increases of 5 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, driven by strong demand from corporates and limited new supply.

Rolled steel products manufacturer Aditya Ultra Steel Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs 5.87 crore for April-September period of 2024-25 and also announced setting up a 5 MW solar plant at Rajkot in Gujarat. The company in a statement on Saturday said its revenue from operations stood at Rs 312.39 crore in the first six months of 2024-25. Operating profit stood at Rs 10.50 crore in the period under review. The rolled steel products maker, which sells products under the Kamdhenu brand, listed on NSE SME platform in September following its around Rs 46 crore IPO. The company had reported revenue of Rs 587.80 crore in FY24 while profit was Rs 7.69 crore in the fiscal. Aditya Ultra Steel Ltd Managing Director Sunny Sunil Singhi said that the company is setting up a Rs 15-crore solar power plant with a capacity of 5,000 KWP at Jasdan, Rajkot, to meet its energy needs and enhance sustainability.

India triumphed 3-1, with Tilak Varma being named the best fielder of the series by the Indian team. The young cricketer outshone strong contenders Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav to claim the accolade. Stand-in fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh requested captain Suryakumar Yadav to announce the winner. Yadav approached Samson, shook his hand, and then, to the surprise and delight of the dressing room, declared Tilak Varma the best fielder. The room erupted in laughter and applause, reflecting the camaraderie and team spirit. The award was presented to Tilak by stand-in head coach VVS Laxman. Upon receiving the medal, Tilak humbly dedicated the honour, saying, «I want to say one thing, Rinku's God's plan.»

Aditya Birla Group has invested about USD 20 billion, mainly in manufacturing space, as it looks to be among the top two players across the segments it operates in, a top company official said on Saturday. Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Aditya Birla Group Chairman KM Birla said the group firm has taken tough decisions, including the acquisition of Novelis by Hindalco, to build scale and aims to expand cement business from 100 million tonnes to 200 million tonnes over the next 10 years. He said most of the group's investments are long-term, with a business outlook over the next 15-20 years, while consumer businesses have a shorter span. «We have USD 20 billion of announced investments that are on the ground. Obviously, you look at it because a lot of them are in the manufacturing space. You would look at the next 15-20 years. Shorter than that doesn't make sense in that kind of business… If, on the other hand, you're looking at fashion retail or jewellery retail or financial services, then you are looking at a much shorter time frame,» Birla said.

Austrian utility OMV says supplies from Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom stopped early Saturday after the company said it would stop payments for the gas following an arbitration award

In his departure statement ahead of his visit, PM Modi stated that he would be first visiting Nigeria at the invitation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with a focus on reinforcing the strategic partnership between the two nations. The Prime Minister will also be meeting with the Indian community in Nigeria during his visit. He will be there in the African nation from November 16 to 17. «At the invitation of H.E. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this will be my first visit to Nigeria, which is our close partner in the West African region. My visit will be an opportunity to build upon our Strategic Partnership that is based on shared belief in democracy and pluralism. I am also eagerly looking forward to meeting the Indian community and friends from Nigeria who have sent me warm welcome messages in Hindi,» the statement read.

Online shopping with credit cards is rising, fueled by deals offered during the festive season. In September 2024, shoppers in India spent Rs 1,15,168 crore online using credit cards. This makes up 65.4% of the total Rs 1,76,201 crore spent through credit cards, ToI reported on November 16 citing latest data. The survey, which included 700 credit card users, found that 80% took advantage of special credit card offers available on e-commerce platforms. The main attractions were discounts, no-cost EMI options, and better deals overall. This trend started earlier in the year. In April, online credit card spending was Rs 94,516 crore, which was 60% of the total Rs 1,56,498 crore spent. The portion of online spending grew to 63.4% in July, dipped slightly to 62.4% in August, and then reached 65.3% in September.

NOK Air Flight DD959, which was scheduled to fly from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyderabad to Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) Bangkok, declared an emergency early on Saturday morning, GMR, PRO said. «Nok Air flight DD959 from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad to Don Muang International Airport (DMK), Bangkok declared an emergency this morning. All passengers were deboarded and taken to the terminal after security checks, and their luggage was unloaded and checked,» Mukesh, PRO GMR said. Earlier one passenger was detained by the Raipur police in the matter pertaining to the emergency landing of a flight, said a police official on Thursday.

India is emerging as one of the least affected markets in the region when it comes to former U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies, highlighted a report by global brokerage firm CLSA. The report stated that this resilience is attributed to India's relatively low trade exposure to the U.S., manageable corporate leverage, and declining levels of foreign equity ownership. While other markets might face greater vulnerabilities, India remains better positioned to weather such challenges. «India appears as among the least exposed of regional markets to Trump's adverse trade policy. Moreover, so long as energy prices remain stable, India may offer a relative oasis of FX stability in an era of a strengthening US dollar» it said.

insolvency law improved sequentially in the September quarter. However, creditors still took larger haircuts as the recovery against their admitted claims moderated further. Recovery rose to nearly 97% of the fair value of companies derived after they were admitted for bankruptcy resolutions from just over 84% in the June quarter, beating the historical average of 86%. However, recovery against creditors' admitted claims eased to 28.33% from 31.12%, showed data from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). The substantial gap in recovery against fair value and creditors' claims suggests stressed firms had already lost much of their worth by the time creditors tapped the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), experts said. This disparity reflects the double whammy of late filing as well as admission of insolvency cases, said Manoj Kumar, head of insolvency resolution and M&A at consultancy firm Corporate Professionals Capital.

India will likely retain the fastest-growing G20 economy tag, with the bigger G20 emerging economy China seen growing 4.7%. Overall, the G20 economies will expand 2.8% in 2024, slower than 3% in 2023, according to the Global Macro Outlook 2025-26 report released Friday. The relocation of supply chains, investment from multinational companies and Chinese domestic manufacturers seeking to diversify production are creating opportunities for India, Mexico and many Southeast Asian nations, per the report.

Austria's chancellor says Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazrom will cut off supplies early Saturday to Austrian utility OMV

India's drug regulator will meet the representatives of the cosmetics industry to discuss regulatory issues on Tuesday. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) regulates the import and quality of cosmetics in India. The meeting will be attended by the manufacturers, importers and industry associations.

Dom Perignon hosted a party at the Brant Foundation in New York City's East Village, thousands of miles from its home in the Champagne region of France. At the party, which celebrated Dom Perignon's partnership with the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, actresses Zoe Kravitz and Natasha Lyonne, model Evan Mock and Raul Lopez, the designer of the subversive Luar fashion label, sipped Dom as they swayed to music from the Mudd Club habitue DJ Justin Strauss. The Basquiat painting «In Italian,» a neo-expressionist work filled with gestural scribbles and stark images-faces, coins, dark creatures and cryptic words like «teeth» and «crown of thorns»-hung on one wall. Throughout the room were bottles of a limited-edition release culled from a 2015 Dom Perignon vintage with labels that mirrored Basquiat motifs, including his signature crown in yellow overlaid in a way to suggest a connection between the artist's work and Dom Perignon's own shield-shaped tag. «I think people are looking for more than just the experience of consuming,» said Jacques Giraco, MD at Dom Perignon, speaking of his company's decision to evoke the image of an artist synonymous with the gritty downtown scene in 1980s New York. «It becomes a total experience. It conjures emotion, and that creates a stronger link with the brand.»