Country Financial News

By Andrea Shalal

BJP) to perform a hat-trick in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the party and its leaders are increasingly talking of their plans for the third term. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken several times in the recent past how his party will form the government and what all it would do. While such statements before polls are considered a rhetorical ploy by a party to present the inevitability of its victory in order to swing the undecided voters, PM Modi has outlined the agenda of his next government. In the last formal meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on Sunday before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Modi chaired a brainstorming session on the vision document for 'Viksit Bharat (Developed India) 2047'. A 100-day agenda for immediate steps for quick implementation of policies after formation of the new government in May 2024 was also discussed. It signalled the government's confidence in its poll prospects as well as the eagerness to fast-forward policies that take benefit of the prevailing favourable factors. «Wait for bigger decisions in the third-term. I'm already working on a roadmap that will be completed soon,» Modi said at the ET NOW Global Business Summit last week. «There comes a time in the development journey of any country when all the circumstances are in its favour. This is the time when that country makes itself strong for many centuries to come. That's the time I see for India today,» said Modi.

unemployment rate declined to 3.1% in 2023 from 3.6% in the previous year, corresponding with the country recording stellar growth during the year. A significant reason for the decline in the unemployment rate was the decline in urban unemployment. Urban unemployment declined to 5.2% in 2023 compared with 5.9% in the previous year. Rural unemployment was down 40 bps to 2.4% from 2.8% earlier. Global rating agency Moody’s, Monday, raised India’s growth estimate for 2023 by a percentage point to 7.7% from 6.7% projected earlier. Growth is expected to ease to 6.8% in 2024 and 6.4% in 2025, it noted. India recorded over 8% growth during the April-December period.

Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Monday said the government has launched a mission to boost production of oilseeds and reduce imports of cooking oils. The minister virtually inaugurated administrative-cum-academic building, Manas Guest House, Subansiri Girls Hostel and Brahmaputra Boys Hostel at IARI, Dirpai Chapori, Gogamukh, Assam. Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary was present at the inaugural event and visited an exhibition stall at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Assam. According to an official statement, Munda said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has special emphasis on the development of the Northeastern region.

NEW DELHI : India is in talks with several countries including Guyana, Suriname and Namibia to source crude oil after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies decided to extend production cuts. India will also source oil from Venezuela in lieu of stuck dividends worth $600 million, Union minister for petroleum and natural gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Monday. The country will comfortably navigate through any market volatility and supply crunch arising as a result of the OPEC cuts, he added.

BRUSSELS : The European Union is set to call for the fossil fuel industry to help pay for fighting climate change in poorer countries under a United Nations target, a draft document shows, as nations prepare for talks this year on a global finance goal. This year's UN climate negotiations in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November, are the deadline for countries to agree to a new goal of how much wealthy, industrialised nations should pay poorer ones to adjust to the most severe impacts of a hotter world.

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit: Justice Lalit was born on 9th November 1957, in a family of leading lawyers, in Solapur, Maharashtra. His father, Shri U.R. Lalit, was an Additional Judge at the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court’s and a leading senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India.

BEIJING—It is the end of the Chinese growth miracle as we know it, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping seems fine with that. The question now is whether he can steer the country onto a new course—and keep the rest of China on board. After three years of pandemic-era distortions, the longer-term trajectory of the world’s second-largest economy is coming into focus, and it is showing a plateauing of growth that would have alarmed previous Chinese leaders.

By Aditya Kalra

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar on Monday said the party respect the Hon’ble Supreme Court's order to vacate its (AAP) headquarters office in the Rouse Avenue area of the national capital as the land was allotted for the expansion of Delhi High Court's infrastructure. Kakkar said the Supreme Court has also directed that the Centre's Land and Development Office to allot an alternative land for AAP's office as soon as possible.

The News Minute. The attacker – Abin (23) – has been arrested by the police. Police said that Abin is a resident of Nilambur taluk of Malappuram district in Kerala. According to the police, the accused reportedly entered the college premises on 4 March and threw acid on a 17-year-old girl.

By Lefteris Papadimas and Angeliki Koutantou

flat at $88 billion during April-January compared with the year-ago period. The total export value of petroleum products declined to $67.11 billion during the first 10 months of the fiscal year, down from $75.65 billion in the year-ago period.

MG Hector has captured the hearts of SUV enthusiasts, emerging as the brand's flagship model in the country. With the introduction of the Shine Pro and Select Pro variants, MG Motor aims to further solidify its position in the competitive SUV segment.

More new rental apartments are coming to the market than at any time since the 1980s. Really big buildings are a major reason why. Apartment developers are creating soaring properties with more units.

Narendra Modi’s government has pledged to boost manufacturing in India as it seeks a third term in power, potentially increasing the country’s control on supply chains and creating jobs, a government adviser said. Modi’s government would target the export-oriented sectors that face high import duties which hurt their competitiveness, Arvind Virmani, a member of the government’s policy making agency Niti Aayog, said in an interview on Friday. A Modi administration would also focus on lowering trade barriers and improving output-linked incentive plans, he said, adding that the finance ministry is identifying sectors where duties can be reduced.

By John Revill

Singapore is set to raise the salary criteria for foreign executives and professionals that companies can hire starting next year, the government announced on Monday. Starting in January of next year, foreigners seeking employment passes, typically reserved for well-paid professionals, will need to earn at least S$5,600 ($4,170) per month, an increase from the current requirement of S$5,000. Those in the financial sector will have the qualifying salary hiked to S$6,200 from S$5,500.

NTPC Limited share price gained more than 4% on Monday to hit record highs of ₹358.30 on the NSE, during intraday trades. Notably NTPC stock was the largest gainer among Nifty-50 stocks. As the power demand in the country remains strong and is lifting prospects of power producers like NTPC, the news flow around further capacity expansions remains strong, improving earnings prospects for NTPC and also investor confidence.

MOIL, the country's largest manganese ore producer, rose by 13% to reach ₹313.40 apiece in today's early trade following the company's February production update. In a filing on Saturday, the company announced that it achieved the best-ever February production of 1.51 lakh tonnes of manganese (Mn) ore, marking an increase of 15% year-on-year. Notably, the cumulative production from April to February 2024 stood at 15.84 lakh tonnes, reflecting 37% year-on-year growth and surpassing any previous fiscal year's production record since the company's inception.

SBI Card, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. HDFC Bank’s new card rules came into effect from December 1, 2023. Let us take a look at the credit card rule changes of ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and SBI Card.