Country Financial News

Vivek Agnihotri and movie star Pallavi Joshi. «We are not Bollywood.

China's Baidu rolled out its ChatGPT rival ERNIE Bot to the public on Thursday, in a major leap for the country's tech sector as it aims to cash in on the global artificial intelligence gold rush. The Chinese government introduced fresh regulations this month for AI developers, aiming to allow them to stay in the race with the likes of Microsoft and OpenAI but still tightly controlling information online. ERNIE Bot is the first domestic AI app to be fully available to the public in China.

Uranium should be added to Australia’s critical minerals list and the government should consider domestic enrichment of the nuclear fuel, according to the Minerals Council of Australia.

India is one of the fastest growing electric vehicle markets in the world, and more than 90% of India’s 2.3 million EVs are the cheaper and more popular two- or three-wheelers — that’s motorbikes, scooters and rickshaws

The Russian currency has stabilized after dipping below 100 rubles to the U.S. dollar — but that doesn't mean the pressure is off Russia's economy

More than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates are urging Bangladesh to suspend legal proceedings against Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people

Biden administration has approved the first-ever US military transfer to Taiwan under a programme generally reserved for assistance to sovereign, independent states. The State Department notified Congress of the sale on Wednesday.

Asian shares were set for the worst month since February, with sentiment hurt by still-gloomy China factory activity, while investors were also cautious ahead of a barrage of U.S. data that could add to bets that interest rates have peaked. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1% but was still headed for a monthly loss of 5.9%, the largest since February.

Lok Sabha elections, the 26-member Opposition bloc — INDIA — will on Thursday hold its third meeting in Mumbai, picking up from where they left off in their last huddle at Bengaluru and carrying forward the process of laying a broader roadmap against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. While the discussion among the partner leaders in the bloc would centre on the battle plan for the next general elections and a seat-sharing formula, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is also likely to unveil its logo during the two-day meeting starting Thursday. The INDIA leaders would go into an informal huddle on Thursday and the same would be followed by a formal meeting on September 1. While the inaugural meeting of the Opposition bloc was convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the third meeting is being organised by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Opposition alliance in Maharashtra comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Sharad Pawar. Ahead of the mega huddle, Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister, Ashok Chavan, on Wednesday said the Opposition parties came together to save democracy in the country. Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said all preparations have been made to host the third INDIA meeting. «Six sitting chief ministers would attend the third INDIA meeting. All preparations have been made to host our partner leaders,» Raut said on Wednesday. Significantly, this would mark the first meeting of the Opposition alliance in a state where none of the INDIA partners are in power.

Also Read: Google Doodle celebrates the 148th birthday of educator and feminist Isabelle Gatti de Gamond; all you need to know Meanwhile, the public holiday falls on the 31st of August, but Merdeka celebrations are seen throughout the whole month and extend to Malaysia Day on September 16th. The Google Doodle's description highlighted that the festivities commence at Merdeka Square, where participants of the parade assemble in ornately adorned vehicles and traditional attire.

student suicides, 23 to date this year in the country's biggest coaching hub of Kota alone, has the study centres on the defensive. The heads of coaching institutes in Kota, where about 200,000 students from all over the country are currently preparing for various entrance exams including JEE and NEET, said they are taking steps aimed at mitigation. Some are putting sports on the daily activity menu, while others are tracking psychological wellbeing and daily attendance, apart from having psychiatrists and psychologists on hand to keep depression at bay. Academic and industry experts told ET the problem goes beyond just the coaching factories.

Chandrayaan-3's historic moon landing — a success story of India's fightback after failures, that too on a mere ₹615 crore budget — is set to provide plenty of food for thought for budding managers at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). The mission, a case study in frugal innovation, has much that management students can learn from — strategy, collaboration, innovation, cost control and optimisation of resources, how leaders can process failure and move on — said professors and directors of the IIMs at Ahmedabad, Kozhikode, Sirmaur and Sambalpur. At IIM Sirmaur, the faculty members are working on developing a case study on the topic, said director Prafulla Agnihotri. «Chandrayaan-3 is an ideal example of great teamwork, charismatic leadership and how an organisation achieves its goal with minimum resources. It will be an excellent case study in the areas of corporate strategy and strategic leadership,» he said.

G20 Summit, Delhi's Rajghat memorial complex has undergone unique landscaping and a 115-ft Indian flag has been installed at the site, PWD minister Atishi said. On Wednesday, the Delhi cabinet minister inspected the Shantivan Road stretch and the Delhi Gate stretch in view of the G20 Summit. She said, "Preparations for the G20 summit are in full swing across Delhi, with beautification efforts also well underway.

RBI) at its latest bi-monthly monetary policy committee (MPC). RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das-led rate-setting panel projected India's real GDP growth for 2023-24 at 6.5 per cent with Q1 growth rate at 8 per cent.

The sector will tap into a revenue pool of around $70 billion, out of the overall financial services revenue pool of $620 billion by FY2030, according to The Bottomline: Elevation Fintech Report 2023. With over 9,000 fintech startups, India now has the world’s third largest fintech ecosystem after the US and UK, it added. The report, published by Elevation Capital and consultancy major McKinsey India on Wednesday, was compiled after interviews with over 20 industry leaders and a survey of more than 70 fintech founders and industry experts. Elevation Capital, earlier known as Saif Partners, has invested in startups like payment major Paytm, insurtech unicorn Acko, lending startup Axio (previously Capital Float), neobank Fampay, buy now pay later player Uni and others. Around $70 billion to $80 billion each have been pumped into retail lending and digital payments. SME lending as a sector has attracted around $55 billion while wealth management has brought in $40 billion to $45 billion, the report said. Between 2018 and 2022, equity infusion has gone up to $6 billion from around $2 billion, the report found.

Zhongrong International Trust, potentially paving the way for a state-led rescue of the troubled shadow lender, according to people familiar with the matter.Citic Trust, a unit of conglomerate Citic Group, and CCB Trust will lead the effort to stabilize operations at Zhongrong. The plan underscores growing concern among policymakers about the $2.9 trillion trust sector's impact on financial stability amid disappointing economic growth and a worsening property slump. It’s also another sign of how Beijing is leaning on stronger state-owned companies to shore up the economy and keep risks in check.

private equity firms holding stake in Indian IT services companies has doubled between 2019 and 2022 to more than 50 now, data by Avendus Capital show. Institutional shareholding in IT services companies listed in India has also increased — by 9% for large-cap players, and 16-18% for mid-cap and small-cap firms over the last 12 months. There has also been a spate of acquisitions led by PE firms such as ChrysCapital and Carlyle. With Indian IT services becoming an increasingly attractive investment area for a spectrum of investors including PE firms, many more M&A deals are in the works, said experts. This even as the startup ecosystem in the country has somewhat soured.

With mere hours left for an Opposition meeting in Mumbai Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has emerged as a contender for Prime Minister in 2024. Members of the Aam Aadmi Party called for a nomination on Wednesday, prompting a war of words. Others sought to quell the debate, insisting that a decision would be taken collectively by the INDIA alliance.

Before the tax leaks scandal broke this year, PwC was the dominant professional services group in the country.

What do toothpaste, deodorant, soap, cameras, computers, gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, car tires, contact lenses and artificial limbs have in common?

Netflix has given the green light to a third season of 'The Lincoln Lawyer,' comprising 10 episodes. The show's second season performed well, ranking in the Top 10 in 81 countries. Season 3 will be based on Michael Connelly's fifth book from 'The Lincoln Lawyer' series, titled 'The Gods of Guilt.'