Country Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A road accident in Dehradun early on Tuesday last week killed six and left one critically injured. It is a stark reminder of Indian roads being the world’s deadliest, with the highest fatalities globally.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The debate on laboratory-grown meat, dairy, and egg products may soon be settled, with the issue reaching India’s apex food regulator, three people aware of the development said. The development comes in the backdrop of concerns about public health, food security and ecological sustainability.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The Centre has decided to scrap the windfall tax, a levy imposed on local production of crude oil and exports of petrol, diesel and jet fuel, at a time of subdued oil prices. A decision to this effect has been taken at the top level in the government, and the finance ministry may shortly issue an order, two people familiar with the development said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. At luxury hotspots across the country, early trends point to a revival of sales momentum in the second half of the fiscal year after a lukewarm first half. There is optimism that the ongoing festive season, including weddings, will make up for lost business after luxury sales slowed early this year compared to both 2022 and 2023, according to industry experts.

BAKU: As ministers take over at the climate talks in the Azerbaijani capital, all eyes are on Rio, where the leaders of the G20 are meeting. The first week of the UN climate summit closed with the scheduled assembly late on Saturday night that lasted a little over three hours, ending at around half hour past midnight. The divergences among countries on important issues, such as finance and the path forward on the outcomes of last year's global stock take, and the absence of trust became apparent as countries took the floor to air their views. On some issues such as loss and damage and adaptation, and mitigation work programme the absence of trust and compromise among countries was such that «Rule 16» was invoked. Rule 16 refers to a provision which is used when countries can't even agree to produce an outcome that puts on record the discussions and divergent views. As a result, countries will have to begin their discussions all over again when they meet in Bonn in the summer. The lack of trust most evident on the issue of how countries propose to address and implement the decisions on emission reduction and energy transition agreed to in Dubai and the lack of any real progress on making available climate finance to developing countries.

Colgate-Palmolive India managing director Prabha Narasimhan said people are delaying purchases or extending consumption of daily household and personal products and with a large number of people making these small changes, it has led to a slowdown in the overall market. «Consumers tend to titrate or delay their usage of things, just quite intuitively when they feel the pressure. We have so much headroom to go in terms of moving per capita consumption, our focus really needs to be on that instead of worrying about the big macro indicators and what's happening outside our control,» Narasimhan told ET. «We are certainly seeing a little bit of headwind as far as urban growth is concerned and I do expect it to be temporary.» A report by NielsenIQ said urban demand increased 2.8% year-on-year in the July-September period, while rural demand grew more than twice as fast at 6%. Overall, the FMCG sector grew 5.7% by value and 4.1% by volume during the quarter. The company behind the eponymous toothpaste brand controls half the oral care segment in country and outpaced the market with 10% growth during quarter ended September.

Uddhav Thackeray claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are erecting a barrier between Gujarat and the rest of the country by prioritising Gujarat above other states. «I keep saying, I don't have any issues with Gujaratis or Gujaratis. Those Gujarati brothers and sisters who are watching this, you have been living for several years in Mumbai and Maharashtra. We have never fought. However, between you (Gujarati) and the rest of the country Modi and Shah are building a wall that you need to be careful about,» said Thackeray. The UBT Sena President was addressing a rally at the Bandra Kurla complex on Sunday. He added, «Modi and Shah may go but this wall that is being built would be worse than the German wall. It would take years to break this wall and till then there would be a lot of mayhem. Why are you doing this sin? If you take all our industries and business from here to Gujarat then what do the people in this state supposed to do,» questioned Uddhav Thackeray.

Viksit Bharat' as he outlined his government's achievements during the last ten years. Addressing the Indian diaspora in the Nigerian capital, Modi also said that India has emerged as a new hope for the world, embodying growth, peace, prosperity, and democracy. Modi, who began his speech with «Sannu, Nigeria», which translates to «Hello», said this was his first visit to Nigeria as Prime Minister, but he did not come alone. «I have brought with me the fragrance of Indian soil and many good wishes for all of you on behalf of crores of Indians,» Modi said.

climate change, according to a new analysis. The report comes at a time when countries are debating ways, at the UN climate conference in Azerbaijan, to raise trillions of dollars to help developing nations reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and adapt to climate change. The southwest monsoon will see a shift from east to west, with the normally-drier western states experiencing higher precipitation, the analysis by the Azim Premji University said. It said the southwest monsoon will bring more rain to the normally-drier western states. However, the eastern states, such as parts of the northeast, may experience reduced rainfall. This shift will further strain agricultural systems in these regions.

Piyush Arora, Managing Director & CEO of Skoda Auto Volkswagen India told ET. Arora’s statements come amid media reports of a potential equity partnership between the Volkswagen Group with Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M). Several auto companies such as Ford, General Motors, MAN Trucks and two-wheelers such as UM Motorcycles, Harley Davidson have exited India, amid low volumes which made it difficult to sustain operations viably in the country. Ford, which only recently announced plans to restart manufacturing operations at its plant in Chennai for global markets, had pulled the plug on India ops after a possible joint venture with Mahindra fell through. Harley Davidson, meanwhile rebooted India ops through a sales, manufacturing tie-up with Hero MotoCorp.

bilateral talks with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and interacted with the Indian community. Modi arrived in the Nigerian capital early Sunday on the first trip to the West African country by an Indian prime minister after a gap of 17 years. After concluding his «productive» visit, Modi posted on X, «Thank you Nigeria for a productive visit, which will add strength and vigour to India-Nigeria friendship.» «PM @narendramodi concludes a productive visit in Abuja, Nigeria,» the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a post on X.

Hemant Soren on Sunday claimed that his alliance government was standing like a mountain in the state and the BJP was unable to shake it despite its nefarious design to topple it. He claimed that they put him behind bars to topple his government but could not shake it. «The unity of coalition partners is essential to protect the Constitution of the country and keep agenda-less BJP out of power,», Soren said at a public meeting at Jamtara in support of INDI block candidates in the ensuing assembly poll. Attacking the saffron party, Soren questioned what BJP did for adivasis, farmers, and poor people of the state. They did «nothing».

Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday likened the BJP and RSS to «poison» and termed them as «politically most dangerous» in India. Addressing a rally in Sangli on the penultimate day before the campaigning for the Maharashtra assembly polls concluded, Kharge used the «killing the poisonous snake» analogy in his speech. «If there is anything which is politically the most dangerous in India is the BJP and RSS. They are like poison. If a snake bites, the person (who is bitten) dies...such a poisonous snake should be killed,» said Kharge. He targeted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the death of 10 newborns in a fire at a medical college.

Portugal will play Croatia in UEFA Nations League Group 1 match on Monday. While Portugal have qualified for the next round, Croatia still needs point. Portugal versus Croatia soccer match will be live streamed on Fubo. The match is likely to end in a draw. Scotland forward John McGinn came off the bench to snatch a 1-0 home victory over 10-man Croatia for his country's first Nations League win of the campaign in their penultimate Group A1 game on Friday and keep them in contention for the quarter-finals.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Nerf guns. Monopoly board games.

Diljit Dosanjh is miffed with Telangana's censorship laws. The ‘Lover’ hitmaker hit back at the authorities for their stringent laws against songs/content that showcase violence and alcohol addiction. At a concert, the ‘Chamkila’ actor rued that while foreign musicians get all sorts of leeway when they come to perform, Indian laws suspiciously affect desi singers more. “When artists come here from other countries, they are allowed to do whatever they want… But when an artist from your own country is singing, people have problems," he said. A video capturing a unique moment from a recent Diljit Dosanjh concert has taken social media by storm. In the viral clip, concertgoers shared snippets of Diljit performing his hit tracks with playful lyrical tweaks. During his performance of Lemonade, he altered the line Tainu teri daaru ch pasand aa Lemonade to Tainu teri coke ch pasand aa Lemonade. Similarly, in his song 5 Taara, he switched the lyrics from 5 Taara thekke utthe to 5 Taara hotel ch, laughing as he sang.

Banks are ramping up their operations in Kerala, known to be the hub for NRI deposits and remittances, while they strengthen their operations in the Gulf countries to deepen the customer connection. «NRI deposits, characterised by larger ticket sizes and consistent inflows provide a valuable source of long-term funding. NRIs often seek secure and profitable avenues to park funds domestically, making this segment a stable and resilient deposit base,» said Federal Bank executive director Shalini Warrier.

COP29 in Baku, India expressed frustration with developed countries for not seriously discussing how to support climate action in developing nations, saying it is impossible to tackle climate change without financial and technological help. Delivering a statement in the closing plenary of the subsidiary bodies' meeting on the Mitigation Work Programme (MWP) on Saturday, India said developed countries, which have historically contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions and have more resources and the ability to act on climate change, have repeatedly delayed climate action and continuously shifted goalposts. «We have seen no progress in matters critical for developing countries (during the last week). Our part of the world is facing some of the worst impacts of climate change with far lower capacity to recover from those impacts or to adapt to the changes to the climatic system for which we are not responsible,» said India's deputy lead negotiator Neelesh Sah. He said the MWP is meant to help, not punish, and must respect each country's right to set its own climate goals based on its unique needs and circumstances.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. If you talk of house-building as a dream, as in “making your dream home", it probably means you have never tried to build one. This is a facetious line I’ve written several times in several ways over the years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Eight people were killed and 17 wounded in a knife attack Saturday at a college in eastern China, the latest in a string of grisly crimes to unsettle the country. Police in the city of Yixing said the attack at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology was carried out by a student who hadn’t graduated after failing an exam.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday criticised the ruling BJP for its policies and claimed Maharashtra has been deprived of jobs due to the shifting of some big projects to Gujarat. Speaking at a rally in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district ahead of the November 20 state assembly polls, she claimed the ruling alliance leaders were trying to divert the attention from real issues and making attempts to polarise the society. Targeting the Mahayuti government in the state over its flagship Ladki Bahin scheme, Vadra said women should vote for a better life and not because they are getting Rs 1,500 a month. The Congress leader also said if the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comes to power, it will give Rs 7,000 per quintal MSP to farmers for soybean crop.