Country Financial News

India's oil imports in October hit a 10-month high as refiners bought more crude from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after discounts narrowed for Russian oil that month, trade data showed. Russia's share of the Indian market in October slipped to the lowest in nine months, according to Reuters calculations based on ship tracking data from trade sources. India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, typically relies on producers in the Middle East for most of its oil needs and has encouraged refiners to diversify to cheaper alternatives to cut costs. The South Asian nation has emerged as the top buyer of the Russian seaborne oil sold at a discount after Western nations stopped buying from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine. India imported about 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in October, up 8.4% from the previous month as refiners increased purchases to meet higher local fuel demand during the festive season, the data showed. Imports from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates jumped to a 7-month high, up about 53% and 63% respectively in October from the previous month, the data showed. That helped lift the share of the producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to 54% in October, up from 50% in September, according to the data. India imported on average 1.56 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil in October, up 1.2% from the previous month, the data showed. Despite the increase, Russian oil's share in India's October imports slipped to 33% from 35% in September. Russia was the top oil supplier to India in April to October, the first seven months of this fiscal year to March 2024, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Higher intake of

India is readying a route on the Ganga river to move e-commerce cargo using the National Waterway 1. An agreement on these lines was signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Amazon Seller Services for promoting cargo movement and transportation of customer shipments and products on Wednesday. An official statement said this partnership seeks to harness the efficiency and sustainability of water transport to optimize logistics, diminish environmental footprints, and promote economic development. Speaking on the occasion, Union Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “This partnership would be an important step towards enhancing the movement of e-Commerce cargo through our Inland Waterways.

University College London (UCL) has announced a new scholarship scheme to enable 100 of India's brightest students to study in the UK as well as its first-ever Summer School for pre-university students in the country. UCL, one of the UK's leading universities, said on Tuesday that its new India Excellence Scholarships will support Indian students with an outstanding academic record to pursue full-time Master's degree studies at the institution. Want to know if you qualify for immigration? Click here For the 2024-25 academic year, 33 scholarships will be available for exceptional students who have or are on track to achieve a first-class degree. A further 67 scholarships will be awarded during the following two years. “We are delighted to be able to offer these new and diverse opportunities that both illustrate our ongoing commitment to Indian students and strengthen our connection with India,” said Dr Michael Spence, President and Provost of UCL. “Indian students are vital members of UCL's global community and we are dedicated to providing more resources and support to help the very best of them share their knowledge and expertise with us in the UK,” he said.

The mortgage cliff that will see more than two million home loans up for renewal over the next two years appeared to weigh heavily in the federal government’s fall economic update.

Moneycontrol, the same electric car will also be launched in India subsequently. Though Musk's Tesla is yet to make an official announcement on its India foray, the firm is all set to commence imports of some of its models from 2024 onwards. However, Tesla hasn't revealed any more details or the name of the model yet.

Narendra Modi, took potshots at the Congress-led Rajasthan government over the law and order issues in the state. Speaking at an election rally in Barmer on November 15, PM Modi said that under the Congress rule, Rajasthan is leading in incidents of atrocities against women. As per the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data, Rajasthan had emerged as the state which had reported the maximum number of rape cases in the year 2021.

Richard Liu, MD-Institutional Equities Research, JM Financial Institutional Securities, says “the way a lot of businesses are going about doing their business planning is that the endeavour is actually to grow faster than the GDP of the country. There are many categories of consumption, which are able to do that. If you are able to do that sustainably and profitably, that is where you have the winners.” Overall, from the investor's point of view, where does the interest lie and what is the view on India right now? The mood is bullish.

Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress of punishing Sachin Pilot after meting out the same treatment to his father Rajesh Pilot, saying anyone who speaks the truth in the party is shunted out of politics. «Whoever said or spoke anything in front of the Congress family...is as good as finished,» he said addressing a public meeting in Kotri of Bhilwara district, «Rajesh Pilot ji had once challenged this Congress family for good, but this family is such that after punishing Rajesh ji, they are bent upon punishing his son also,» Modi said.

Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central government to review by January 17 the legal question of whether a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle is entitled to legally drive a transport vehicle of a particular weight. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud noted that the exercise for amendment would require consultation with multiple stakeholders which will take time.

Dengue has been on a rise in several states in the country. Bopal witnessed a 19 per cent positivity rate for dengue reported by the health department. According to district malaria office, as many as 13 patients were diagnosed with dengue and in the government laboratory 67 tests of suspected cases were undertaken.

North Korea said Wednesday it had succeeded in putting a military spy satellite in orbit after two previous failures, as the United States led its allies in condemning the launch as a «brazen violation» of UN sanctions. A rocket carrying the satellite blasted off Tuesday night from North Phyongan province and «accurately put the reconnaissance satellite 'Malligyong-1' on its orbit», state-run news agency KCNA reported. Images in state media showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiling and waving, surrounded by white-uniformed scientists and engineers who cheered and clapped after watching the successful blastoff. The United States led condemnation of the launch, saying it was a «brazen violation» of UN sanctions, while South Korea responded by partially suspending a 2018 military deal with the North, saying it would resume surveillance operations along their border. Japan said that Pyongyang's claims of success could not immediately be independently verified. Tokyo is still analysing the launch and «at this point is not confirming whether the satellite had entered into an orbit around the Earth», chief government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said. North Korea's previous efforts to put a spy satellite into orbit in May and August both failed.

international workforce would be an Indian. The MEA secretary addressed the third edition of the Spain-India Forum in New Delhi on Wednesday. Underscoring the migration mobility agreement, he said, «Within a decade or so, every third or every second youth out of ten in the international workforce would be an Indian. So here what I'm directly referring to is the migration mobility agreement, which we are struggling for the Spanish government to consider.» India has signed the migration mobility agreement with Portugal, the UK, Germany, Italy and Austria. Furthermore, Verma said, «Austria is supposed to be one of the most difficult countries to deal with on migration issues. So if we can do it with several other countries, I think it's Spain.

Philippines are conducting joint air and maritime patrols in the South China Sea, which come as the two countries step up cooperation in the face of growingly aggressive Chinese activity in the area. The Philippine Air Force said Wednesday its aircraft had taken part in joint patrols on Tuesday in the vicinity of Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines, which is only about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as its own. The patrols run through Thursday and also include both the U.S. and Philippine navies.

Narendra Modi is set to chair The G20 virtual summit today on November 22, amid growing international concerns due to the Israel-Hamas war and shaky diplomatic relations with Canada. Significantly, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed attendance at the event. This would be Trudeau's first virtual interaction with Modi since the two countries' relationship turned sour.

US private firm TA Associates is ready for its payday at Fisher Funds, six years after it bought a 33.9 per cent stake in the now-$NZ22 billion Kiwi investing giant.

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers have launched a scathing attack on an episode of Network Ten’s The Project that interviewed his former colleague, Brittany Higgins, about her alleged rape, saying it “utterly destroyed” him.

Poland is expected to receive more than 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in EU funds after the European Commission gave a positive assessment of the country’s revised plan for green reforms and investments

A fund to compensate developing nations for the impacts of climate change was the supposed big breakthrough at last year's United Nations-led climate talks in Egypt

The exchange rate is top of mind for millions of Argentines coping with triple-digit inflation

Britain’s Conservative government will try to win favor with voters by cutting taxes but avoiding worsening inflation in a budget statement

The leaders of Britain and South Korea are seeking to strengthen trade and defense ties between their countries during a state visit to the U.K. by President Yoon Suk Yeol