Country Financial News

India’s presidential-style politics in a parliamentary system, as the scenario has been since the ascent of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, can present piquant situations. The odds of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government being ousted from power by a no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha are negligible, given that BJP members make up more than half the House—the safety mark—and can also count on allies to crush such a motion by a ratio of over 2:1. Yet, on Wednesday the Indian National Congress sought a floor test, citing violence in Manipur among other issues, and got the backing of parties that recently joined hands with it to form a front called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) for general elections next year.

The debate over using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction is coming to a head. The arguments in favour are compelling. The objections are weak.

New Delhi: On the anniversary of the “Quit India Movement" on 9 August, the government will launch a 21-day campaign — “Meri Maati, Mera Desh" — as a culminating event of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav", in which soil collected from different parts of the country in August will be used to develop a garden along the Kartavya Path in Delhi. Events have been planned at the panchayat, village, block, urban local body, and state and national levels, respectively. The panchayat-level programmes will be organised between August 9 and 15.

₹23,100 crore, according to the agency. India has the largest fantasy sports market, with a user base of 180 million, according to Invest India.

HEFEI, China—More than one in five young people in China are jobless. The government casts much of the blame on the job seekers themselves, insisting that their expectations have gotten too high. Young people need to stiffen their spines and embrace hardship, says leader Xi Jinping, who labored in the countryside in China’s Cultural Revolution.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. Tuesday fined LPL Financial $3 million for falling down on its oversight of two financial advisors who pocketed $2.4 million from 13 clients, mostly senior citizens.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hailed the Rajasthan government for getting a bill on the welfare of gig workers passed in the Assembly, saying «we always stand with the poor and hardworking people» of the country and fulfil promises to them. Gandhi's remarks came two days after the Rajasthan Assembly on Monday passed a bill for the formation of a welfare board as well as a fund for platform-based gig workers in the state and to facilitate social security for them. The Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Bill, 2023, was passed in the Assembly without a debate amid uproar by the opposition members in the House. In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said the Congress government in Rajasthan has brought in a new law, the first in India, to give more than three lakh gig workers of the state their rights and self-respect. «This law will provide financial security to the workers of the gig economy and will become the basis of reliable employment for crores of youth,» he said. «During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, I met many gig workers, some taxi drivers, and some delivery persons — uncertain future in work, and also risky due to always being on the streets. All of them said one thing, they work hard day and night but they do not have any financial security, neither the government listens to them, nor brings any concrete plan for them,» the Congress leader said.

BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, is looking to join forces with India’s largest company Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in what could be a return to the country after exiting in 2018. The US-based investment giant is in active discussions with Jio Financial Services (JFS) to create an asset management business, said three people aware of the matter. JFS is the recently spun-off fintech arm of Mukesh Ambani’s flagship.

India and the UK in the defence and military technology sector and work as a catalyst to enhance bilateral cooperation in the sphere. The UK-India Defence and Military Technology Cooperation workshop, organised by the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in partnership with India's Bharat Shakti defence platform on Tuesday, explored collaborative defence research and industrial production partnerships between the two countries.

By Steve Scherer and Fergal Smith

PM Modi pointed out some achievements of his government and said in the last 5 years, 13.5 crore people have come out of poverty. “International agencies are also saying that extreme poverty in India is on the verge of ending. This shows that the decisions and policies that have been made in the last 9 years, are taking the country in the right direction," PM Modi said.

Kevin Spacey was acquitted of all sexual assault charges by a London jury on Wednesday ending a four-week trail. Three men had accused the Oscar winner of aggressively grabbing their crotches. In his defence, the House of Cards actor had said that he was a “big flirt" who had consensual flings with men and whose only misstep was touching a man’s groin while making a “clumsy pass." Kevin Spacey broke down in court after the London jury acquitted of all sexual assault charges brought against him in 2001.

New Delhi: India has the potential to develop a $40-$100 billion space industry by 2040 on the back of a rising space budget, increased number of launch services from the country, entry of private players and startups, and a boom in the country's satellite internet market, consultancy firm Arthur D. Little said in its latest report. Currently, India’s space industry is valued at $8 billion with a 2% share in the global space economy.

Joe Lewis, the billionaire real estate investor and owner of Tottenham Hotspur football club, has been charged over multiple alleged instances of insider trading, United States prosecutors said on July 25.

A month after the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance faced rejection of its crypto custody license request from the German regulator BaFin, the exchange has reportedly withdrawn its license application.

ESPN Cricinfo, “Bottom line is there is potential, there is talent coming through in red-ball cricket. We’ve seen the younger lot come through, but to make the West Indies Test team a success or competitive, what they really need to do is play more and more of this format." Explaining his point further Deep Dasgupta said it is about providing the West Indies with the opportunities to play as many Test matches as possible and this thing can only move further with the approval of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI).

New Delhi: Key for assisting developing countries with a combination of expertise, staying power, low-cost financing, leverage, and knowledge-sharing capabilities, multilateral development banks (MDBs) will need to transform themselves to effectively impact changes, Lawrence Summers and NK Singh have said in an article on Project Syndicate, a digital media platform. For the first time in nearly half a century, the global economy is fracturing rather than coming together due to high interest rates, threats of pandemic, and high debt burden.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Jay Shambaugh said on Wednesday the Biden administration will not hesitate to take targeted actions against China to secure the national security interests of the U.S. and its allies and to protect human rights, but added that the two countries must cooperate on global challenges.

₹132 crore ($16.10 million) from ₹119 crore a year earlier, said the Indian unit of UK's GSK Plc. “GSK's vaccines business has now demonstrated a sequential Q-o-Q increase and maintained leadership in the private self-pay market," the drugmaker said in a statement. Its revenue from operations at the Augmentin antibiotic maker rose 2.2% to ₹762 crore.

Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum inside the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey. The situation has caused alarm as military vehicles have blocked off access to the palace since Wednesday morning. The detention comes in the wake of an «anti-Republican demonstration» by disgruntled members of the Presidential Guard. Talks between the authorities and the disgruntled guard members broke down, leading to their refusal to release President Bazoum. As a response, the army issued an «ultimatum» to the guard, further escalating tensions within the nation. President Bazoum's official Twitter account confirmed the situation, stating that he and his family were safe. The post also mentioned that the army and national guard were prepared to take action if the situation did not de-escalate.

By Franco Terrazzano