Country Financial News

By Helen Coster

₹8,500 crore viability gap funding (VGF) scheme for coal gasification. In another decision, the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) also approved an equity investment of ₹3,799.64 crore by Coal India Ltd for setting up coal gasification joint ventures with GAIL (India) Ltd and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL).

New Delhi: India has taken a strong stance on the issue of subsidies provided to poor and marginal fishermen. The country is planning to push its demand for the extension of subsidies to poor fishermen up to 200 nautical miles (nm) at the WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13), to be held from 26 February to 29 February in Abu Dhabi, a senior official said on Wednesday.

₹3 crore 17 lakh was made online to Ram Lalla on Tuesday, the first day after the Pran Pratistha ceremony at Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday. Trustee Anil Mishra said that Ayodhya Shri Ram Mandir trust had opened 10 donation counters on the day of the Pran Pratistha ceremony. Apart from this, several devotees from across the country and the world have sent online donations to Bhagwan Shri Ram.

SEC) in the US flagged off 11 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on spot price of bitcoin earlier this month, many hoped that it may not be long before India joined the party. RBI has been maintaining that cryptos have no intrinsic value. Of course, that view is restricted to its role as a currency, not the blockchain technology that drives its use as an exchange of value. Why does crypto not qualify as currency? Because its nature disqualifies it to be treated as one.

«At 3:24 pm (0724 GMT) on January 24, a fire broke out on the below-ground level at a store… in Xinyu, Jiangxi,» the country's state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Research-based incentives to develop innovative drugs can help the domestic pharmaceutical sector to be worth USD 200 billion by 2030, Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said on Wednesday. Terming the pharmaceutical sector as a great contributor in the country's economic growth, she noted that the industry has even greater potential to grow in the years to come. «India's pharma industry size is estimated at about USD 65 billion today.

Netflix said that they are well on their path to growth and may soon consider increasing the prices of their plans. The company was holding the price rise to check the impact of its password sharing crackdown, but after the Q4 results, the subscription rates are expected to go up. "We largely put price increases on hold as we rolled out paid sharing.

RIYADH : Saudi Arabia is preparing to open its first alcohol store in the capital Riyadh which will serve exclusively non-Muslim diplomats, according to a source familiar with the plans and a document. Customers will have to register via a mobile app, get a clearance code from the foreign ministry, and respect monthly quotas with their purchases, said the document, which was seen by Reuters. The move is a milestone in the kingdom's efforts, led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to open the ultra-conservative Muslim country for tourism and business as drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islam.

Shoaib Bashir has now received his visa, and is due to travel to join up with the team in India this weekend. We're glad the situation has now been resolved in a post on X. Earlier, The delay in issuance of an Indian visa to rookie England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir snowballed into a major controversy on the eve of a much-hyped Test series between the two countries with visiting skipper Ben Stokes calling the turn of events "frustrating" and a British government spokesperson demanding "fair" treatment for the youngster.

ALSO READ: Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: FIR registered against Rahul Gandhi, others for damaging public property in Assam Gandhi said, "We have added the word 'Nyay' to Bharat Jodo Yatra this time. We want to say that hatred and violence take place only when there is injustice in the country. Wherever there is justice, hatred, and violence cannot be seen there..." Earlier in the day, Rahul slammed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while addressing his first public meeting on the 7th day of 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Barpeta district.

Ministry of Defence on Wednesday signed a contract worth ₹1,070 crore with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd for the acquisition of 14 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) to boost the capabilities of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The acquisition aims to boost ICG's capability and reinforces the increased focus of the government towards maritime security.

Dalmia Bharat Ltd on Wednesday reported a 22% year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit for the fiscal third quarter (Q3) to ₹266 crore. This growth was attributed to easing commodity prices along with subdued fuel cost. Net profit was in line with estimates of analysts polled by Bloomberg Consolidated revenue of ₹3,600 crore was up 7.3% on year, led by an 8.1% increase in sales volumes.

Crypto lender Nexo has started a legal battle seeking $3 billion in damages from Bulgaria following an aborted criminal investigation that the company claims derailed its plans for a US stock market listing and a soccer sponsorship deal.

cashless treatment facility for all road accident victims at the Ayushman Bharat hospitals while work is on to rectify about 5,000 remaining black spots in the country by May 2025 as the aim is to reduce road accident related death and injuries by half by 2030, road secretary Anurag Jain said. “We plan to introduce cashless medical treatment for all injured road accident victims across the nation within the next three to four months,” Jain said while addressing the International Road Federation (IRF) conference on ‘Vision Zero, Targeting road safety by 5E’s with innovative technologies’, organised in association with the ministry of road transport and highways and Maruti Suzuki. According to Jain, the nationwide scheme, to be introduced by the ministry, will be merged with the final scheme to be launched by the ministry of health and family welfare at the later stage.

PLI scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC) to select bidders to set up mega battery manufacturing facilities of 10 GWh capacity with a budgetary outlay of Rs 3,620 crore. Documents for the global tender are available online from Wednesday.

Goods and Service Tax, import duty and absence of other initiatives for a circular economy are hindering metal recycling, industry body officials said on Wednesday. With more headwinds expected from scrap-exporting countries in near future, the country needs to remove ambiguity to showcase India's commitment to a circular economy, aiming at reducing emissions, they said.

Western Australia is keen to have direct air connectivity with India as well as expand cooperation in the area of critical minerals, its Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said on Wednesday. Promoting tourism to Western Australia was the priority talking point for the Deputy Premier as she concluded a delegation-led mission in Delhi. A delegation visit is also scheduled for January 25 in Chennai.

NITI Aayog, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoA&FW), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on Wednesday jointly launched the 'Investment Forum for Advancing Climate Resilient Agrifood Systems in India', an official statement said. The initiative aims to develop an investment and partnership to advance climate-resilient agrifood systems among the government, private sectors, and farmers' organisations, and financial institutions in India, it said.

Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday alleged that the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya was given the form of a political event and claimed that the speeches delivered from the mandir's platform were «dangerous». He also questioned why senior BJP leaders such as JP Nadda, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh did not attend the ceremony. «It is also a mystery that JP Nadda, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were not present at the consecration.

Mint breaks down why India is unhappy with the Chinese vessel making its way through the Indian Ocean to the Maldives. On Monday, news surfaced that a Chinese research vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 3, will be visiting the Maldives in the coming weeks. The vessel had earlier requested permission to visit Sri Lanka but this was denied.