Country Financial News

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament on Tuesday to make way for the formation of an interim administration and released former prime minister Khaleda Zia from detention, a day after Sheikh Hasina resigned as PM and fled the country amid escalating protests and civil unrest. Negotiations on composition of the interim administration continued through the day, even as law-and-order situation deteriorated, with attacks on minorities and Indian assets, including the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in Dhaka, according to people familiar with the matter. The police, facing wrath of protesters-dozens of whom were reportedly killed in firing in recent weeks-issued an apology and declared an indefinite strike. 'US revokes Hasina visa, UK refuses asylum'

Canada unexpectedly recorded a $638 million trade surplus in June as an expanded crude oil pipeline and surging global demand for gold drove exports higher.

exporters on Tuesday said that the political situation in Bangladesh may lead to short-term shifting of garment orders to India. However, they added that India has no intention or inclination to exploit this unfortunate situation in its friendly neighbouring country. On Monday, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country amid massive public anger over her government's controversial quota system reserving 30 per cent of jobs for families of veterans who fought the 1971 liberation war. More than 400 people have been killed in the protests. Mithileshwar Thakur, Secretary General of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said that the current situation in Bangladesh is a matter of great concern for all the exporters.

Tarang Shakti, the IAF organised multinational exercise that will see the participation of air force units including from Germany and France got underway here on Tuesday and will see a number of advanced fighters and other aircraft taking to the skies as part of the various simulated scenario. Simulated scenario, including electronic warfare, would be part of the exercise being held in this western city, about 500 km from Chennai, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said "...we have at least six different types of IAF aircraft flying alongside the Eurofighter Typhoons and Rafale from the visiting countries...we have also simulated electronic warfare environment, we simulate radars, we simulate air defences and operate in some sort of a network environment against multiple kinds of opposition in every mission." «The whole idea is to be able to operate- you are aware that we are without a common data link with the visiting Air Forces, so we need to operate without a datalink. That itself is a very complex exercise. The main focus will be on what we call the large force engagements where large numbers of formations will be operating together,» the Air chief told reporters.

Bangladesh operations said they are stalling field operations and keeping offices shut in the neighbouring country to ensure safety of employees and are closely monitoring the geopolitical crisis there. Coca-Cola, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, PepsiCo, Marico and Dabur are among the companies taking immediate steps including sending out advisories to employees to stay indoors and not report to work at office a day after violent protests forced prime minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India, executives said. Some are even shutting sales operations until normalisation resumes.

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, in collaboration with C-Voter, Tuesday released the Yale Climate Opinion Maps for India. This new online interactive tool provides the first-ever estimates of public responses to climate change in 34 of India’s 36 states and union territories, and in 604 districts, depicting the variation in global warming knowledge, beliefs, risk perceptions, and policy preferences at state and local levels across the country. Prior studies of public responses to climate change in India have often provided results only at the national level. The recent national survey in India found that large majorities in India are worried about climate-related hazards, but until now we had little information about the diversity of climate opinions within the country. While national data show that 41% of people in India say they know a lot or something about global warming, there is substantial geographic variation within the country. In Gujarat, 52% of Indians know a lot or something about the issue, whereas in Maharashtra, only 33% report this level of knowledge. More Indians living in state capital cities say they know a lot or something about global warming compared to other districts. 74% think global warming will cause more severe heat waves and 85% are worried about global warming.

Mint in an exclusive interview that the company sees India as a crucial market. “Globally, India is already the fourth- or fifth-highest contributing market for Krafton. In the future, India has the potential to become the biggest market for Krafton thanks to its unique position of the sheer size of the market, as well as an increasing amount of interest in e-sports in the country," he said on Tuesday.

managed to reduce the gap with Trump. “It is hard to assess Trump as he is disruptive and unpredictable," says Ajay Bisaria, a former diplomat. Unlike in 2016, Trump today has total control over the Republican Party.

Bangladesh’s prime minister resigned and fled the country Monday after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs descended into violence and grew into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule. Thousands of demonstrators stormed her official residence and other buildings associated with her party and family.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure threatens to create even more instability in the densely populated nation on India’s border that is already dealing with a series of crises, from high unemployment to corruption and climate change.

prison capacity to help tackle violent, week-long anti-immigrant riots that have prompted a growing number of countries to warn their citizens about the dangers of travelling in Britain. Riots across a number of towns and cities have erupted following the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed event in Southport, a seaside town in northern England, after false messaging on social media wrongly identified the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant. The Justice department, which is being forced to release some prisoners early as it battles a jail overcrowding crisis, said nearly 600 prison places had been secured to accommodate those engaged in violence.

Mahua Moitra on Tuesday hit out at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying she has made a mockery of people of India in the budget by doing absolutely nothing and whatever little changes are there are regressive and ill thought of. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Moitra criticized the budget for failing to address the needs of the common people. «People wanted a course correction, but you have done the exact opposite. You have kept the same Cabinet, the same Finance Minister, who has given the same shoddy budget,» Moitra said. «The Finance Minister has made mockery of people of India in the budget by doing absolutely nothing, whatever little changes are there are regressive and ill thought of,» she added.

Mint the political crisis in Bangladesh could hinder India’s plans to boost exports to the neighbouring country. “If the situation worsens, which is highly possible, Bangladesh may stop importing Indian goods and seek other countries to meet their domestic needs," the official said, declining to be identified. Other experts said India faces losses in multiple trade segments due to the Bangladesh crisis, which could turn into opportunities for competitors like Vietnam and China.

Bangladesh Army on Tuesday announced a major rejig in its top-level ranks, according to local media reports. This comes after the country's President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved the parliament, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country. Hasina's exit came after hundreds of people were killed in a crackdown on demonstrations that began as protests against preferential job quotas and swelled into a movement demanding her downfall. General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Bangladesh's army chief, announced Hasina's resignation in a televised address and said an interim government would be formed.

The Economic Survey of 2023-24 has a distinct tone of defensiveness. While it has done well in identifying the multitude of challenges facing the country, it has not fully addressed the deep underlying causes that have led to India’s vulnerability, especially in the face of growing nationalism and climate change.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), the Indian arm of the Japanese auto giant Toyota, would want to use such technologies that align with its commitment to reducing carbon footprint as well as cutting down on the use of fossil fuels, Deputy Managing Director Swapnesh Maru said, while adding that they are cognizant of India’s energy scarcity and security situation. The TKM veteran, in a chat with ET, said his company had been adopting technologies that help cut down on emission. The company always pursued pathways that led to the best results, and adoption of a single technology would not achieve that, he said. “In a country as diverse as India, there is no one single best technology to achieve our objectives,” the Dy MD said, adding that they would continue to work on a multi-pronged approach for the Indian market. Hybrid vehicles and blended fuels came close to meeting these goals. “Today, energy scarcity and security are one of the biggest challenges. Any technology that will bring down carbon footprint or use of fossil fuel would be our priority.”

Sheikh Hasina arriving in India, a video of popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, shared by BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, went viral on social media. In the video, Rathee praised Bangladesh for its development and happiness index. Poonawalla shared the video on X with the caption “Joker of the century!”

Jalpaiguri: Secretary of the North Bengal Exporters Association, Brij Kishore Prasad, stated on Tuesday that the ongoing protests in Bangladesh have led to significant losses for Indian exporters. According to Prasad, the closure of the border has resulted in vehicles being stranded and shipments already dispatched being unable to be unloaded. He added that with a curfew in place and banks closed, payments for shipped goods are not being received.

GST Intelligence (DGGI) has issued a show-cause notice to a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, demanding a Goods and Services Tax (GST) payment of Rs 722 crore, ToI reported on August 6. This unprecedented action marks the first time the DGGI has targeted a cryptocurrency firm, setting a significant precedent in India’s regulation of the burgeoning virtual currency market, said the report (by Niyati Parikh). The notice was issued for fees collected from Indian customers trading in virtual digital assets (VDAs) on the platform, categorized under online information database access or retrieval (OIDAR) services. Earlier this year, the cryptocurrency exchange had received approval from India's financial intelligence unit (FIU) to register as a virtual asset service provider (VASP). However, the company was recently penalized Rs 18 crore by the FIU for failing to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. Despite being a major global player with a substantial market share and operations in multiple countries, the company had not registered under the Indian GST framework, leading to scrutiny from Indian tax authorities. It was revealed that the company earned at least Rs 4,000 crore from transaction fees charged to Indian customers, with these earnings credited to an account of a group company based abroad. The company has a global user base of 90 million, including a significant number of Indian customers.

Starting 1 October, 2024, high-risk individuals leaving India will need to obtain a tax clearance certificate under the Black Money Act before their departure.

Bangladesh on Monday during unrest, according to Dhaka Tribune. The country announced on Monday that the clashes between demonstrators and members of the Awami League claimed the lives of at least 96 people in police firings. After fighting broke out between police and miscreants on Monday, at least 18 people were slain on the outskirts of the capital in the Savar and Dhamrai regions.

«I do not think that is the only thing that is going on. Though, I think what has happened here is the market was extremely buoyant and arguably priced for something approaching perfection when it got a bit of a wake-up call that the economy was slowing down from last Friday's non-farm payrolls number in the US,» says Arnab Das, Global Macro Strategist-EMEA, Invesco. So, you heard what Jim Rogers, the commodity guru, has had to say, and he says this has been long overdue and these kind of conditions are brought on by a lot of leverage across markets around the world. Do you agree? Do you think that the kind of factors that influence the markets are going to take them down even further? Arnab Das: Well, I think it is certainly a risk. I think there has been a big build-up in public sector leverage in the US and many other countries, particularly in the West, as a result of the pandemic and to some extent, the war in Ukraine. And I think that has been a factor in keeping growth so high and in generating a boom in investment, construction, manufacturing renaissance of sorts in the US. I do not think that is the only thing that is going on.