Country Financial News

When China launched the Yaogan-41 satellite into space late last year, it travelled further than most such objects. Reconnaissance satellites tend to sit in low-Earth orbit (LEO), whizzing around the planet between 11 and 16 times a day (see chart 1). But Yaogan-41 headed for higher ground, some 36,000km from the Earth.

LPG Cylinder Prices: India has cut LPG cylinder prices by a steep 100 rupees per cylinder, a move that will ease cost burden on households across the country in the world's most populous nation that is set to vote for the next government during the summer season. «Today, on Women's Day, our Government has decided to reduce LPG cylinder prices by Rs. 100. This will significantly ease the financial burden on millions of households across the country, especially benefiting our Nari Shakti,» Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter. By enhancing the affordability of cooking gas, the government also seeks to bolster the welfare of families and promote a healthier environment, Modi said, adding this move aligns with New Delhi's dedication to empowering women and guaranteeing their 'Ease of Living'.

sovereign debt nears inclusion in global bond indices, a diverse pool of international investors, ranging from long-term institutional funds in Japan, S Korea and Taiwan to exchange-traded funds in Europe, are setting their sights on the domestic bond market. «We have witnessed an influx of clients coming to India over the last few months. Besides the major financial hubs, clients from other countries like Japan, Korea and Taiwan have also expressed significant interest,» said Anita Mishra, Head of Markets and Securities Services, HSBC India.

Manish Gunwani, Head — Equities, Bandhan AMC, says “there seems to be a fairly significant shift of sourcing from China and other countries to India. The good part is that in a lot of these segments, India has a big domestic market. So the expertise gets built and a lot of the companies are part domestic part exports. So one is just not playing only the domestic capex cycle, especially for the product makers. One is also playing this optionality that in a very big global market, they may become fairly large companies.” You have been talking about capex and infrastructure, stepping into elections. What is your narrative on the entire capex theme? And what happens post that if the government continues, which seems to be likely and the market also seems to be pricing it as of now? In that case, focus would be on private capex picking up because up until now, we have been running on government capex push. Manish Gunwani: This is not a very broad based capex theme like during 2002-2008, both in India and globally. For example, if commodity prices are soft, you cannot expect too much of capex from the steel guys, from the upstream oil and gas guys etc. But there are segments, obviously, like energy transition and power which are doing well.

Asian stocks rose to a seven-month peak on Friday, tracking global peers as investors cheered the prospect of an imminent rate easing cycle led by major central banks, keeping the dollar and Treasury yields under pressure. Japan remained an outlier as expectations mount that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could finally exit negative interest rates this month. That lit a fire under the yen and sent domestic bond yields rising.

defence partnership, including in the area of defence equipment while agreeing for wider participation of Japanese SMEs in India’s growth story. The two sides also reviewed their defence and economic partnership at the foreign minister-level strategic dialogue held in Tokyo. “We have made good progress in our defence and security relations, which we both welcomed. Today, just as we are meeting here in Tokyo, the Indian Army is conducting a joint exercise with the Japanese Self Defence Force, in Rajasthan. The three branches of our military and Coast Guard are productively engaged with their Japanese counterparts, with greater ease through the newly operationalised reciprocal partnership arrangement. There have been exchanges about cooperation possibilities in the areas of jointness, and new domains like cyber and space. We also took stock of the progress in our defence equipment and technology cooperation framework,” Jaishankar said in his remarks to the press following the meeting.

By David Lawder

In the 1990s, South Korea faced a pivotal moment in its economic development. At the time, the country was rapidly industrializing and seeking ways to sustain its economic growth. Recognizing the untapped potential of half its population, South Korea embarked on a series of reforms aimed at increasing women’s participation in the workforce and promoting gender equality.

NEW DELHI : Rating agency Moody's on Thursday raised its forecast for India's GDP growth in FY24 to 8% from 6.6% on the back of strong government expenditure and domestic consumption. The upgrade comes a week after the rating agency raised its forecast for India's GDP growth in calendar 2024 to 6.8% from 6.1%.

Access to the internet is an essential human right," declared the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2016. Yet, globally, about 2.6 billion people remain deprived of it and 57% of them are women, with a global digital gender gap of 8%. Only 19% of women in least developed countries used such a facility in 2020, as against 86% in the developed world.

₹15,000 crore. Under the plan, five prototypes of the AMCA will jointly be built by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with support from private industries.

By Sinead Cruise and Yadarisa Shabong

A major electrical transmission line proposal intended to carry power to New England from Canada through Vermont and New Hampshire has been canceled

Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that everything is going well between the Mahayuti Alliance in the state and discussion is still underway on two or three seats that will be resolved soon. Addressing a press conference here today, Fadnavis said whenever it comes to ticket distribution for the Lok Sabha, it is based on the ground reality only. «Everything is going well between the three parties of our alliance. Discussion is still going on two or three seats on which there was a deadlock but that too will be resolved soon. There is no dispute of any kind between us. There should not be any speculation about the seats before the announcement because it seems incorrect. Whatever decision will be taken will come before you in a day or two,» he said.

Trump gets re-elected in November and implements his promise of imposing a 60% tariff on Chinese imports? A step like that would affect the economies of many countries, including India, as new opportunities as well as challenges would arise. So far, Beijing has been silent about how it will deal with this possible Made-in-America challenge. Premier Li Qiang recently presented his 'work report', the Chinese version of a budget speech, without revealing much about the country's economic strategy to deal with this and other issues. Chinese leaders are watching the evolving situation within its own economy and the US political scene, instead of rushing to formulate new policies. CPC has also not held its third plenum to formulate economic policy for 2022-27. The party holds seven plenums on different issues every five years, and the third one is reserved for discussion on economic matters. Silence on the part of authorities is giving the impression that Xi Jinping, who also happens to be party general secretary, is ending the tradition.

India isn't for the faint-hearted. Among the top survival skills it teaches us, the first is to expect the unexpected. It should, indeed, be the country's unofficial motto, especially after the not-so-pleasant surprise for students in Madhya Pradesh. Earlier this month, Jabalpur's Rani Durgavati University — where Rajneesh, a.k.a. Osho, (unsurprisingly) taught philosophy as Chandra Mohan Jain — released exam timetable for MSc Computer Science first semester exam and issued admit cards. But candidates, many of them from other districts, upon reaching the exam centre on Tuesday, were calmly informed there would be no exam that day. Why? Because the univ didn't prepare question papers. The authorities, we've reliably learnt, forgot they had to conduct an exam.

By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi

Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, who was released from the Nagpur Central Jail on Thursday after his acquittal in an alleged Maoist links case, said it's a «wonder that he could come out alive» despite suffering the «brutal» jail life. Saibaba (54) said he was targeted for working for the rights of tribals in central and eastern parts of the country and called his arrest an «afterthought». The Bombay High Court on Tuesday set aside the life sentence of Saibaba, noting that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. «There was every chance that I would not have come out alive,» Saibaba told media persons. He had earlier refused to talk to the press saying, «My health is very bad. I can't talk. I will have to first take medical treatment, and then only I will be able to speak.»

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for felicitations on his election to the top political office in the country. «Thank you @narendramodi for felicitations on my election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,» Shehbaz Sharif posted on X.

Till September 2023, 77% of the loans under Rs 1 lakh were given out by fintech lenders, from around 50% in FY18. In value terms, fintechs accounted for 50% of market share with non-banking lenders making up 25%. In FY18, this share was 34% for NBFCs and 29% for fintechs, according to the report titled ‘Charting New Horizons for Fintech Lending: Navigating Profitability and Scalability’.

Narendra Modi launched 52 tourism sector projects worth over Rs 1400 crore under the Swadesh Darshan and Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) schemes on Thursday. Nine tourism infrastructure projects, spread across the country, developed under Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD schemes worth Rs 469 crore were launched, besides 43 other projects worth Rs 963 crore were also launched under the two schemes of tourism ministry. The tourism ministry said in a statement that the project launch events were also carried out at all the 52 destinations, simultaneously by the ministry, state government, UT administrations and local authorities. The projects launched today included three projects under PRASHAD Scheme ( Hazratbal- Srinagar, Jogulamba- Telangana, Amarkantak-Madhya Pradesh) worth Rs 129.35 crore. The ministry said some of the major interventions developed in the projects include pilgrim facilitation centres, ghat development, façade illumination, sound and light shows, queue complex and safety and security infrastructure.