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VVP-II) with a substantial financial outlay of Rs 6,839 crore, aiming to foster comprehensive development in villages located near international land borders. This Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Centre, is set to operate from the financial years 2024-25 to 2028-29. The scheme will cater to villages located in the blocks abutting international land borders other than the Northern border, which were previously covered under the first phase of the programme. The focus will be on select strategic villages across 15 States and Union Territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, and West Bengal. As per the government, the programme's primary objectives include creating better living conditions and adequate livelihood opportunities for residents, ensuring secure and prosperous borders, and curbing trans-border crime.

The Andaman Skies is transferring its cargo of crude oil to the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged vessel Ozanno, the sources said. While many buyers have shunned Russian oil since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India and China have remained keen buyers. India is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, which accounted for about 35% of its crude imports in 2024. However, port authorities last week barred the more than 20-year-old Andaman Skies from entering India's port of Vadinar as its seaworthiness certificate was not issued by an Indian-approved classification agency. The Tanzania-flagged vessel, carrying about 100,000 metric tons (or some 800,000 barrels) of Varandey Russian oil sold by Lukoil from the northern port of Murmansk, is sitting off the port of Mumbai in western India, LSEG shipping data shows.

West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) saying it «intentionally» covered up the lapses and illegalities in the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers in state-run and state-aided schools. The scathing remarks came from a bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar in its judgement by which it annulled the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers. Authoring the judgement, the CJI said despite the factual background and the credible evidence indicating irregularities the «WBSSC initially did try and cover up the lapses and illegalities». The CJI went on, «The cover up itself has made the verification and ascertainment more difficult or rather impossible given the scale of camouflage and dressing up done at each stage. We are convinced that the entire selection process was intentionally compromised due to the illegalities involved.» The top court upheld the Calcutta High Court's findings on illegalities in the selection process on 17 counts. The high court said OMR sheets were destroyed without the scanned mirror images being preserved on the commission's server.

Ford has launched a discount campaign in an attempt to attract more buyers and cruise through the competition, as other vehicle manufacturers hike prices in order to cover the increased tariffs on imported cars and auto parts. The initiative was rolled out on Thursday as President Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on imported cars and auto parts came into force.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For opponents of free trade, Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ may seem like ‘vindication day.’ The world’s top power, the US, which generates a quarter of the globe’s output, took an inward turn that ‘nuked’ the aim of open borders for commerce. Globalization, which had long wobbled along, suddenly looks skeletal.

Securis Finance, a subsidiary of FirstPay Technologies, has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a non-banking financial company (NBFC). The company plans to disburse Rs 100 crore in education loans in its first year, initially targeting key educational hubs such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, and Pune on a pilot basis. Securis Finance is a fully owned subsidiary of FirstPay Technologies, which operates Junio, a digital pocket money smart card for teenagers. Securis Finance aims to offer loans ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh, addressing a major gap in access to credit for teenagers. Its lending solutions will cover diverse educational needs, including school fees, college tuition, coding boot camps, and entrance exam coaching.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz in India on Thursday called for more free trade based on low tariffs and reduced trade barriers, saying it will be a win-win situation for all. As part of reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries to counter higher duties on American products imposed globally, the US on Wednesday announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods. However, autos and auto parts as well as steel and aluminium articles, already subject to Section 232 tariffs at 25 per cent, announced earlier in US President Donald Trump's order on March 26, 2025, are not covered in the latest order. «We always subscribe and we always propose that there should be more free trade agreements with the countries. Absolutely, that's the right way to go, because that way everybody wins, new technologies can come into the country. For example, India can access markets. So that's a win-win situation,» BMW Group India President & CEO Vikram Pawah told PTI.

Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement as autos are not covered in it, besides there are limited exports to the US, industry body SIAM said on Thursday. It is to be noted that automobiles are not covered in this order since they are already subject to Section 232 tariffs at 25 per cent, announced earlier in President Trump's order on March 26, 2025, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Director General, Rajesh Menon said in a statement. «We don't expect any significant impact on the Indian automobile industry since there are limited exports to the US, but we will continue to monitor the situation,» he noted. As part of reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries to counter higher duties on American products imposed globally, the US on Wednesday announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods.

liquidity infusion of ₹80,000 crore via open market operations (OMO) on Tuesday. On an intra-day basis, the yield touched 6.48%, its lowest in three years, Clearing Corporation of India data showed. Lower US yields and expectations of a rate cut by RBI in its monetary policy next week have also weighed on yields, treasury heads at banks said.

Quant Mutual Fund informs that their overall portfolio remains tilted toward large and mega-large caps, and the overall liquidity of the portfolio is good. The high cash levels in most of the fund house's schemes will be used to selectively deploy small caps in falling markets. The fund believes that the market is currently waiting for clarity from Trump. The fund house is participating in both large and mega-large caps, while selectively increasing small-cap exposures in most of their equity schemes. The fund house's 'predictive analytics' endorsed that a trading bottom was around the corner by the end of February. Since then, the benchmark index—Nifty 50—has rallied around 8%.

YouTube star Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson joined the April Fool's Day festivities with a controversial post on X (formerly Twitter) on April 1, 2025. He claimed to have destroyed millions of trees in the name of content. «Proud to announce I’ve burned down 20,000,000 trees! Can’t wait to upload this video,» he wrote. The post quickly went viral, gathering over a million impressions within hours. While some fans played along, others took it a step further. One user sarcastically asked, «How many kids did you blind mr beast?» MrBeast, known for his charity work, responded with a tongue-in-cheek reply, «1,000 so then I have more to cure!»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. “The golden age of America begins right now," intoned Donald Trump at the start of his inaugural address on January 20th. The business world bought the glittering talk, in anticipation of lower taxes, less red tape and buoyant American consumers.

property investments. One such individual, who runs a business that can be managed remotely, recently shared a unique strategy—buying property in Dubai and using its rental income to fund a rental home in India. The dilemma arises from the high cost of property in South Delhi, where homes in prime locations cost ₹5-7 crore. Although financially capable of buying a home outright, the buyer feels that the value for money in Delhi’s property market is unappealing. Instead, a relative suggested purchasing real estate in Dubai, which offers better returns and additional benefits like a Golden Visa for investments exceeding AED 2 million (approximately ₹4.6 crore). A ₹5 crore property in Dubai can yield rental returns between 5-8%, generating ₹25-40 lakh annually. After taxes, this translates to ₹1.7-2.56 lakh per month. In contrast, renting a similar property in South Delhi costs only around ₹1-1.2 lakh per month, based on a rental yield of 1.5-2.5%. This means the investor could cover rent in Delhi while still pocketing ₹1-1.5 lakh monthly from the Dubai investment.

Asian stocks edged lower as traders grapple with how to position themselves in the countdown to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announcement. A regional gauge declined as indexes in Japan and South Korea dropped at the open. Treasury yields advanced after a multi-day drop as traders weighed the odds of Federal Reserve policy easing.

Jagadeesh Mohan, a former Phonepe executive, is working on a new business, one that revolves around overdraft (OD) home loans similar to SBI Maxgain. These are home loans that allow you to park surplus funds into the loan account at any point. The bank then charges you interest on the outstanding amount minus the surplus you have parked.

The Solid Waste Management fee will be determined by the built-up area of residential properties, as per ANI. For properties up to 600 sq ft, resident owners will pay Rs 10 per month; from 600–1,000 sq ft one will have to pay Rs 50 per month; Rs 150 per month for built up area of 2,000–3,000 sq ft; Rs 200 per month from 3,000–4,000 sq ft; and finally Rs 400 per month above 4,000 sq ft. The plans were announced in the municipal body's budget on Saturday, which proposed to collect a solid waste management user fee along with property tax from the year 2025-26. Prepared under the «Brand Bengaluru» concept, the BBMP budget has an outlay of about Rs 19,930 crore, an almost 50 per cent increase from the previous fiscal year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The tax relief provided in the Union budget takes effect from 1 April. Taxpayers can now expect more money left in their hands.

Ratan Tata has bequeathed a lion's share of his total wealth, conservatively estimated at ₹3,800 crore, comprising ordinary and preference shares of Tata Sons and other assets, to Ratan Tata Endowment Foundation, a Section 8 company, and Ratan Tata Endowment Trust for philanthropic and charitable purposes. Tata left one-third of his other financial properties-which includes bank FDs, financial instruments, as well as physical assets like watches and paintings-estimated at ₹800 crore, to his half-sisters Shireen Jejeebhoy and Deanna Jejeebhoy, and another one-third to Mohini M Dutta, a former Tata Group employee who was close to the late industrialist. A share of the Juhu bungalow would go to his brother Jimmy Naval Tata, 82, and the sole living heir, while close friend Mehli Mistry would receive the Alibaug property and Tata's prized possession of three guns-including a .25 bore pistol. The executors of the will have filed a petition in the Bombay High Court for the probate of the final will, incorporating the fourth codicil, according to court papers ET has reviewed.

electric buses under the PM E-Drive scheme to cover more cities without increasing the budget allocation. The Centre currently offers a subsidy of ₹20-35 lakh per e-bus, depending on the carrying capacity and specification of the vehicle. According to officials aware of the development, Surat, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have together raised a demand for more than 15,000 units. This is well above the scheme target to subsidise 14,028 e-buses with a funding support of ₹4,391 crore. «The newly formed Delhi government is expected to raise a significant demand for e-buses. Orders from Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata are awaited as well,» a senior official told ET, while adding that the government may lower the per e-bus subsidy for catering to more cities.

Set to take effect from 2 April, the changes will come in tandem with a more detailed sustainability objective for the two strategies, according to RAM. Updates to the investment policy and approach «will also take place», the firm said, while all legal and administration costs related to the changes will be covered by RAM. Deep Dive: SDR is having a 'positive impact' but focus should not be on labels alone «RAM has long adhered to a research-led, bottom-up investment philosophy, focusing on qualitative factors that we believe are critical to identifying sustainable, long-term valu...