Deloitte Financial News

‘Tis the season to be flexible and budget-conscious.

Indian footballers will go through training at Old Trafford in Manchester after emerging as winners in the fourth edition of United We Play, a grassroots football initiative. The event saw the participation of over 15,000 budding Indian footballers across 18 cities, culminating in a grand finale in the presence of Manchester United legend and all-time great Gary Neville in Chandigarh. In the finale, PC Lalchhuanawma (Mizoram), Shreejal Kisku (Bhubaneswar), Mohd Ayan (Lucknow), Bhakta Bahadur Pariyar (Nepal) and Chanason Chaiyatham (Bangkok) were shortlisted.

child marriage done on the directions of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPR) revealed that more than 11.5 lakh children across the 27 states and seven Union territories were vulnerable, reported TOI. These children, mostly girls, were school dropouts or had been irregular or absent from school for long without any intimation to authorities. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with more than 5 lakh vulnerable children, Assam followed with 1.5 lakh children and Madhya Pradesh has close to 1 lakh such children.

This was the Los Angeles set of "Shark Tank," the ABC show that for 15 years has turned business negotiation into entertainment. Aspiring entrepreneurs use hustle, gross margins and cringeworthy pitches to pry money from the so-called Sharks in exchange for a stake in their companies. On one level, «Shark Tank» is your basic reality TV show. The pitches, which last about 45 minutes, are edited to snappy 12- to 15-minute segments with music scored for suspense over tight shots of bug-eyed, sweaty supplicants. Some founders leave the tank defeated, humiliated or in tears. Others leave triumphant with handshake deals.

The development came after the government decided that the recruitment to the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) would be made through both the Civil Services Examinations (for Traffic, Accounts and Personnel sub-cadres) and the ESE (for Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Signal and Telecommunication and Stores sub-cadres). «In order to give sufficient time to the aspirants of ESE 2025 to prepare for the examination, the Commission has also decided to postpone the ESE (Preliminary) and ESE (Main) Exam, 2025. The ESE (Preliminary) 2025 and ESE (Main) 2025 will now be held on 8th June 2025 and 10th August 2025 respectively,» said the statement issued by the UPSC.

Twitches, which is a magical series on Disney Channel, and this has sparked excitement among the fans as they were all eagerly awaiting this much anticipated third installment of Twitches.

Ben Affleck is staying busy and happy lately amidst his divorce from Jennifer Lopez. The director-actor is very focused on work and his kids, despite his split from Jennifer Lopez. Ben Affleck is working out his divorce from Jennifer Lopez while anticipating what comes next. Ben is totally focused on his job and his children. He's staying busy and happy, as reported by People. Another endeavour taking up Affleck's time is a joint venture with friend and frequent co-star Matt Damon. Affleck is apparently directing Damon in a commercial, so the two were pictured on a movie set.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently announced that his country has successfully attracted $400bn in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with plans to bring in an additional $150bn by 2029. This new investment cycle will be spearheaded by the Investment Council. During his address at the Astana International Forum, President Tokayev highlighted the significant political reforms underway, which aim to bolster stability and cater to the democratic aspirations of the populace. He cited the recent referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant as evidence of Kazakhstan's commitment to democratic values. In addition to attracting foreign capital, Tokayev reaffirmed Kazakhstan's commitment to regional cooperation, particularly within Central Asia. He noted the beneficial impacts of increased collaboration among neighboring countries and highlighted the significant transformations in the region over the past decade.

Vladimir Putin said he was grateful for the concern expressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the war in Ukraine. Asked at a media interaction here whether he saw a role for India in negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine, he referred to his interactions with Modi, whom he described as a «friend», and said his country was grateful for this. Putin said it was difficult to specify a timeline on ending the war, and setting one will be difficult and counterproductive. The Russian leader blamed America and NATO for pushing Russia into the war, and said his country will prevail.

AMC and AMC+, as revealed by the network during New York Comic Con. The new season will continue Rowan Mayfair’s journey with significant plot developments.

Khalistani terrorists. After the Royal Canadian Mounted Police claimed a few days ago that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang active in Canada was linked to Indian government agents, India's Ministry of External Affairs pointed out the Canadian government had ignored India's request in the past to deport members of Bishnoi gang operating from Canada. Also Read: US charges ex-Indian intelligence official in foiled Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun murder plot

India is considering cuts to tariffs on imports of machinery needed to manufacture green hydrogen, as the nation pushes to become a major hub for the cleaner fuel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is discussing a plan to exempt some equipment from import levies and to reduce goods and services tax on the fuel, which is currently set at 12%, according to people familiar with the details, who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The changes would cover both green hydrogen and green ammonia, though would only apply to production of fuel which is then exported rather than sold domestically, the people said. Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable energy to split the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water.

Supriya Chatterjee to Managing Director, North India. In her new mandate, Supriya will lead the firm’s Delhi-NCR office, driving growth and enhancing client relationships throughout the northern region, including Jaipur. She will focus on capitalizing on emerging market opportunities in one of India’s largest and most dynamic real estate markets. She has been leading Cushman & Wakefield’s office brokerage business for North India.

Nothing illustrates that challenge better than the 47 trillion rupee ($559 billion) corporate bond market. It’s one of the world’s smallest as a percentage of gross domestic product, at just 16%, even after record growth. Bankers in Mumbai say doubling that ratio would better help finance ambitious goals, like becoming a $5 trillion economy in the next three years. One of the major impediments is a longstanding rule from authorities that makes it hard for long-term investors like insurers and pension funds to go big on infrastructure. The regulation bars them from investing in notes rated below AA, which in India are deemed risky because they’re hard to offload in a smaller market during times of stress.

UCC implementation in the state, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced on Friday that the Uniform Civil Code draft comprises four key sections that are marriage, marriage separation, live-in relationships, and birth and death registration. «Today, we have received the draft of rules. It comprises of four sections — marriage, marriage separation, live-in relationship and birth and death registration,» the chief minister said in a press conference. The committee, led by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Chaired by Shatrughan Singh, constituted to help implement UCC in the state submitted its final draft to the government on Friday.

Karnataka government is looking to address water and sanitation issues in rural areas through the adoption of innovative ideas and relevant technologies. The IT-BT and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) departments will host a ‘Karnataka Rural Water and Sanitation Sustainability Summit’ on October 29 and have invited startups to provide solutions. The event will feature a pitching session where selected startups can present their ideas, with winners receiving a minimum funding of Rs 25 lakhs. These budding startups will also have the opportunity to pilot their projects with the government, the department announced in a release. Entrepreneurs, academia, startups, and researchers can submit their potential pitch decks by October 23. IT-BT and RDPR minister Priyank Kharge said, “I intend to make Karnataka a water-secure state in the country. If I can solve this using deep tech in biotechnology or IT that ensures we get better portability, the government itself can become your (companies') first client.” He added that the government can help startups pilot these solutions within a sandbox environment and provide capital.

Wipro on Thursday posted a 21% year-on-year and 6.3% sequential increase in net profit for the second quarter, when three of its four strategic market units (SMUs) reported better performance and the company also saw improved execution levels and an expansion in margins. The fourth largest Indian IT services firm posted a net profit of Rs 3,227 crore for the quarter ended September 30. Revenue rose 1.5% sequentially to Rs 22,301 crore, helped by increased momentum in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) and consulting. It, however, fell 1% from a year earlier.

Fintech firms which rely on co-lending partnerships with large non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) could be in for more stress, after the Reserve Bank of India’s action on Navi and DMI Finance on Thursday, industry executives told ET. Fintechs typically charge higher interest rates given they cater to the sub-prime category of customers, offering them unsecured credit. With the RBI raising this issue of usurious interest rates, platforms might need to tweak their models. In the fintech world, interest rates can climb up to 35%-40% per annum, depending on the borrower profile. While banks and NBFCs partnered with such fintechs given the demand in the market, this might come to a grinding halt now.

Fintech platform Mobikwik, which runs Mobikwik Xtra in partnership with Lendbox, has mandated that all withdrawals will be done on the 12th of every month and said the proceeds will be credited to the investor’s bank account in three working days. While BharatPe has stopped the P2P lending product, Cred has put all new investments on hold.

education startup Eruditus has raised $150 million in new funding at a flat valuation of $3.2 billion post-money, led by TPG Rise, an impact investment fund from the US private equity investment firm. Existing investors SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Leeds Illuminate, Accel, CPP Investments and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative participated in the round. TPG Rise has invested $100 million in Eruditus while SoftBank has put in another $20 million.

sex stimulants and rejuvenators are growing rapidly in India as, industry insiders say, people are shedding their inhibitions and seeking to improve their sex lives. The market for stimulants and rejuvenators grew 17% year on year in the 12 months ended September led by sildenafil and tadalafil brands such as Viagra and Cialis, data from market research firm Pharmarack showed. Sales of sildenafil brands stood at ₹525 crore, up 15% from ₹456 crore in the 12 months ended September 2023, data showed. Sales of tadalafil brands during the same period rose 19% to ₹244 crore from ₹205, according to Pharmarack.