Country Financial News

India later this month to explore opportunities in the country's huge agribusiness sector and further promote American products among India's rising middle class. «India represents a growth economy for the US agribusinesses seeking to capture an increasing share of the household food purchases in the fifth-largest economy in the world,» said Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affair Alexis Taylor. From April 22 to 25, Taylor will lead a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) agribusiness trade mission to Delhi. «India's rising middle-class consumers' familiarity with American food products and increased purchasing power is a real opportunity for US producers,» Taylor said.

China has accused the European Union of protectionism and “reckless distortion” of the definition of subsidies in response to a new EU investigation into Chinese wind turbine makers

Brazil’s government has extended exemptions to tourist visa requirements for citizens of the U.S., Australia and Canada until April 2025, extending a program aimed at boosting tourism that had been scheduled to end Wednesday

Oklahoma's attorney general is suing two Texas-based natural gas companies over soaring prices during Winter Storm Uri in 2021

The United Nations climate chief says humanity has only two years left “to save the world” by making dramatic changes in the way it spews heat-trapping emissions

Live: Eid-al-Fitr 2024 moon sighting Highlights: India to celebrate Eid on April 11 except THESE places Whereas Kerala, Ladakh, and Jammu & Kashmir, witnessed the crescent on April 9, due to this these states celebrated Eid on April 10 together with the Muslims in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, USA, United Kingdom and other countries in the Middle East and West. Also Read | Eid-al-Fitr 2024: Wish your friends and family 'Eid Mubarak' with these quotes, WhatsApp messages Banks closed for 14 days across states; check the state-wise list of bank holidays in April.

Tesla chief Elon Musk to meet PM Modi during India visit from April 22, announce investment plans As per the Hindu Businessline report, Tesla has been scouting for a local partner to establish an EV unit in India. Citing sources, the English daily said, Tesla is in talks with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL) to form a joint venture to set up a EV facility in the country. Besides, Financial Times earlier this month reported that Elon Musk had sent a team to India in April to scout for sites for a proposed $2 billion to $3 billion electric car plant.

NEW DELHI : Climate change will accelerate the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, India’s top weatherman warned, on the backdrop of the country witnessing a far higher number of intensely heavy rainfall and heatwave days, fewer colder days and increasing thunderstorms in recent times. Specifically, the next three months, which coincide with the general elections, are expected to be particularly bad in terms of heatwaves.

Carlyle is in formal discussions with TPG Growth to sell at least 25-30% stake in VLCC Healthcare Ltd, within a year of acquiring the wellness, beauty products and services company, said people aware of the matter. VLCC’s nearly 78% surge in valuation in just 12 months is the key trigger for Carlyle to take some money off the table, the people said. Last January, Carlyle paid Rs 2,700 crore to buy a controlling 66% stake in the three-decade-old homegrown brand that gave the buyout fund an entry into a rapidly growing market for wellness products but one that is facing disruption from younger, nimbler, direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands.

Mauritius are set to face greater scrutiny of their investments, with the two countries inking a protocol to amend their double-taxation avoidance agreement. This could also open exits of past investments to questioning, with no grandfathering provisions likely to insulate them from the amended rules, experts said. The stock market ignored the development, rallying past the 75,000 mark on Wednesday.

Invesco, which oversees investments of about Rs 86,000 crore in India, has signed an option deal to sell its remaining 40% stake in the local mutual fund business to Hinduja Group-owned IndusInd International Holdings (IIHL) as part of a broader plan to exit an increasingly competitive geography for foreign players, two people familiar with the deal said. On Tuesday, it announced the sale of a 60% stake in Invesco Asset Management India to IIHL. Invesco AMC Valuation at Rs 2,500 cr

A ‘Mornings with Maria’ panel weighs in on the March Core CPI, the Fed's expected rate cuts and the overall market outlook.

State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, two of the country's top three lenders, are likely to act as local intermediaries for European banks seeking a plan for third-party clearing after last month's meeting between top Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials and those from certain European banks, sources told ET. The proposal for local banks to carry out third-party clearing for the European banks comes on the back of a decision by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in October 2022 to de-recognise the Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL). ESMA's step came after the RBI refused to permit the foreign body rights of inspection and audit over the CCIL, which hosts the trading platform and provides guaranteed settlement for Indian government bonds and interest rate derivatives. Pending a resolution of the matter, foreign banks have a deadline of October 2024 to stop transacting with the CCIL.

Red Sea due to Houthi attacks on cargo ships. In a letter, which was also addressed to state-run export finance institution Exim Bank, the finance ministry last month told the RBI and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to monitor and look into the concerns raised by exporters with the commerce ministry about these disruptions potentially inflating India's export costs, officials said. «After our deliberations with the commerce ministry and other stakeholders, including exporters, it was decided that sectoral regulators will keep a watch and take necessary action wherever possible,» a government official said. Banks have also been briefed separately to factor in such hikes while sanctioning fresh credit limits to exporters and other businesses, the official said.

China need to be urgently addressed «so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us.» In an interview with the digital magazine Newsweek, Modi noted that for India, the relationship with China is important and significant. «It is my belief that we need to urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us.» «Stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important for not just our two countries but the entire region and world. I hope and believe that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, we will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquility in our borders.»

India's highway toll collection in FY24 increased by 34.9% year-on-year to a five-year high of ₹64,809.86 crore, helped by an increase in tolled roads and their users, according to government data. Year-wise, toll collection stood at ₹25,154.76 crore in 2018-19, ₹27,637.64 crore in 2019-20, ₹27,923.80 crore in 2020-21, ₹33,907.72 crore in 2021-22 and ₹48,028.22 crore in 2022-23. A senior official said a shift to satellite-based toll collection is expected to add to the revenue. «We are doing pilots across different stretches and based on the feedback, the system will be rolled out pan India in a graded manner,» the official said.

Narendra Modi on Wednesday slammed the Congress for its allegation that the Bharatiya Janata Party if it comes to power will change the country's constitution. The Prime Minister said that the development done in the last ten years was just an 'appetizer' and the main course would come in the third term and that his victory in the 2024 polls was a foregone conclusion if the opposition was raising doubts on the EVM. «The opposition is claiming that the constitution would be changed if the BJP comes to power and there would be no elections if the BJP comes to power, this clearly shows that they have become bankrupt for issues because we are hearing this stale line since the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Was democracy not under threat during the emergency. When a poor man's son like me becomes the Prime Minister, the Congress feels democracy is at stake,» said Modi while addressing a rally in Ramtek constituency in Nagpur. Slamming the Congress further, Modi said that it was only the BJP government that respected the constitution. «If you (Cong) really liked the constitution then why for several years it was not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir. It was our government that gave the same constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier there was no reservation for the SC/ST's and women in the state were not getting their rights. The Congress gave Article 370 that fanned separatism and terrorism in Kashmir. They (Cong) are trying to fool the people of the country in the name of the constitution,» said the Prime Minister.

Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission and the Assam State Urban Livelihoods Mission, achieved a remarkable feat by enlisting in the India Book of Records. More than 40 lakh women members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) from Assam came together on a single day to pledge their support for the forthcoming General Election to Lok Sabha in 2024. The initiative was aimed to uphold the democratic traditions of the country and the dignity of free, fair and peaceful elections. It also envisioned at improving electoral participation not just in terms of numbers but also in terms of quality through the effective implementation of Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP), a flagship program of Election Commission of India. The member of SHGs ‘Sarathi Baideo’ took active role and held help desk at various government outlets in consultation with District Administration and District Election Offices.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday confirmed his visit to India in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Musk wrote, «Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister @NarendraModi in India!» The CEO is likely to announce the company's investment plans in the country, reported PTI, citing sources. Musk, who has described as a 'natural progression' to provide Tesla electric vehicles in India, is likely to be accompanied by other company executives during the visit that is expected in the week of April 22, as per PTI source. However, there was no confirmation about this from Musk.

Dubai, UAE– April 10, 2024 – Paycio, a UAE-licensed (VARA) crypto payment services provider, aims to make everyday life easier using cryptocurrency and a unique crypto transaction application for users, merchants, and crypto enthusiasts to complete the transactions through Mobile number. Paycio offers many services like Crypto transactions, swapping, and wallet on the site. Crypto is slowly but surely becoming a part of people’s daily lives. Users can utilize crypto for daily transactions with Paycio’s features. Sending crypto from your phone may be as simple as a bank transfer with the correct platform.

Odisha were a country, its economy would be larger than Tanzania's, Sri Lanka's or Ghana's. The state has nearly bridged the gap with the national per-capita income. In 2003, its per-capita income was 60% of the national average, and today, it's close to 90%. This convergence was possible as Odisha's economy grew faster (7.4%) than the national average (6.2%). Its population growth rate has slowed to 0.6% a year, compared to 0.9% for the nation. Growth momentum has been evident across sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing and services. Additionally, at nearly 10% of its economy and growing at 8% annually, mining has contributed to the state's economic well-being and robust public finances. Thanks to mining royalties, the state has a unique fiscal advantage. It collected non-tax revenue to 3.5% of its GDP a year, compared to 1% for an average Indian state during the last decade.