Department Financial News

Dalit nurse was allegedly raped by a doctor after being held hostage inside a private hospital, police said on Monday. According to the complaint filed by the victim's father, the incident occurred around midnight on Sunday. Three people were arrested in the case, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sandeep Kumar Meena said. On Saturday evening, the victim (20) went to the hospital for her duty at 7 pm. She had been working there for the last seven months. Late night, another nurse, Mehnaz, asked her to meet Dr. Shahnawaz in his room. When she refused to do so, Mehnaz and a ward boy, Junaid, forcibly took her to a room on the top floor of the hospital and locked it from the outside, Meena said.

Veronika Rinecker is based in Germany, studied international journalism and media management. She specializes in politics and regulation, energy, blockchain, and fintech. Since 2017, she has been...

Liquor demand in India remained unchanged while consumption of brandy and rum fell in the June quarter, amid a high base, election-related disruption in supply chain and sales, and consumers cutting back on lower priced tipple. A year earlier, the spirits market had grown 7% in the same quarter. «Last year, we had very high growth quarters in the first half, and then there was a slowdown in the next half. And this year, we are kind of seeing the reverse. So, we are expecting the first half to be steady, a little muted, lower than our aspirations. There is hope that consumption will pick up this season,» United Spirits managing director Hina Nagarajan said on a recent investor call. Whisky, which accounts for two-thirds of the segment, grew 0.4% in volume, while sales volume of brandy and rum fell 1% and 2.4%, respectively, industry executives said, citing latest excise department data. Both vodka (23.7%) and gin (1.4%) posted growth, but on a low base.

capacity utilisation, improved profitability of corporates, sustained credit demand, business optimism and government’s thrust on infrastructure development, is likely to increase the pipeline for project finance. An article in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monthly bulletin estimates that envisaged capex will increase significantly to Rs 2.45 lakh crore in 2024-25 from Rs 1.59 lakh crore in 2023-24. “The significant rise in envisaged capital investment of private corporates, based on the projects sanctioned by banks and financial institutions (FIs) during 2023-24, points to upbeat investment cycle. The total cost of projects sanctioned by banks/FIs increased to a record high of Rs3.90 lakh crore. Infrastructure sector continued to attract the major share of envisaged capital investment, led by ‘roads & bridges’ and ‘power’ sectors, reflecting the government push towards infrastructure development,” said an article from officials of RBI’s Department of Statistics and Information Management. The article said that healthy corporate and bank balance sheets, improved corporate profitability, sustained credit demand, rising capacity utilisation, and optimism in business provide conducive environment for private corporates to undertake investments going forward.

Public procurement from MSMEs surged 100% to Rs 75,742 crore in FY24, according to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises' (MSME) latest annual report (2023-24) released Monday. As per the report public procurement from MSMEs by 133 Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and one department has increased by almost 100% to Rs 75,742 crore in FY24, up from Rs 38,432 crore in FY23. Total procurement by CPSEs and departments reached Rs 2,13,685 crore in FY24, a nearly 100% increase from Rs 1,07,988 crore in FY23.

NCLT) gave its approval for the merger of Bengaluru-based Slice with Guwahati-headquartered North East Small Finance Bank. This will pave the way for the final merger of the two entities, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)gave the green signal to the deal back in October 2023. The NCLT, Guwahati bench, has sanctioned the scheme of arrangement and amalgamation involving Garagepreneurs Internet Private Limited, Quadrillion Finance Private Limited, Intergalactory Foundry Private Limited, RGVN (North East) Microfinance Limited, and North East Small Finance Bank Limited, said the Tiger Global-backed startup in a statement issued on Monday. While Garagepreneurs is the registered name for Slice, Quadrillion Finance is the in-house non-banking finance company (NBFC) that Slice ran. RGVN (North East) Microfinance Limited is the microfinance business housed within North East Small Finance Bank.

Gujarat Police, undertook searches in multiple states on Monday as part of a money-laundering probe linked to alleged unauthorised streaming of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 matches by a «betting» website. The federal agency said in a statement that 20 premises in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru (Karnataka), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) were covered by its officials and those from the Ahmedabad cyber police department in the case against the «magicwin» web portal. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, filed under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from an Ahmedabad police FIR, which stated that a website — magicwin.games — had unauthorisedly hosted, streamed and broadcast matches during the world cup. The broadcast rights for the tournament were given to Star India Private Limited by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the ED said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired a meeting to review performances of Public Sector Banks in Delhi on Monday. The meeting was also attended by Dr Vivek Joshi, Secretary, M Nagaraju, Secretary-Designate, Department of Financial Services, Heads of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and senior officials of Department of Financial Services (DFS). Various financial parameters like Deposit Mobilisation, Digital Payments and Cyber Security, Implementation of new credit products/ schemes and Access to Credit under Financial Inclusion were discussed in detail. During the meeting it was noted that during FY24, the PSBs performed well across all financial parameters as evidenced by improved asset quality with Net NPAs (NNPAs) declining to 0.76 per cent, sound capital adequacy of the banks at 15.55 per cent, Net Interest Margin (NIM) of the banks at 3.22 per cent, and highest ever net aggregate profit of Rs. 1.45 lakh crore with the dividend of Rs 27,830 crore to the shareholders. Improvements over various parameters have also enhanced the ability of PSBs to raise capital from the markets.

Former Council of Economic Advisers chair Kevin Hassett reacts to Vice President Kamala Harris' economic plan and price controls proposal on 'The Evening Edit.' 

Incoming Starbucks Corp chief executive officer Brian Niccol is a star executive who is widely considered the best in the business. Quite frankly, it’s surprising the company was able to hire him at all. Despite the coffee-chain giant being one of the world’s most iconic and powerful brands, Starbucks has a problem for any incoming CEO.

BEIJING — The U.S. and China last week signed agreements for cooperating on financial stability, according to a People's Bank of China readout Monday.

foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector from 74% to 100%, ToI reported on August 19. This initiative has the support of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), but it will require political approval since amending the Insurance Act is necessary, said the report (by Sidhartha). The proposal aims to open up the sector further to foreign investors, as the current cap is seen as restrictive. Additionally, there are discussions around easing other FDI regulations, including the requirement that certain top management positions must be held by Indians. Officials, who are part of these conversations, revealed that a comprehensive set of amendments to the law is also in the works, although the timing for the bill's introduction is not yet decided. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is also reviewing sectoral norms to encourage more unbridled investments. «Given that most large Indian companies and conglomerates have already invested in the insurance sector, officials said, it is time to allow 100% FDI in the sector since several foreign players with deep pockets are willing to come into the country but are not able to find a matching domestic player.»

The scorching summer that India just trudged past was yet another reminder of a rapidly warming Earth, with temperatures soaring to almost 50° Celsius in one of our longest heatwave spells. The country logged more than 40,000 suspected cases of heatstroke, with a death toll of over 100 people. But 2024 stands out for another reason: a shift in the Pacific Ocean’s see-saw of warm and cool water along the equator, a phenomenon that distorts weather around the globe.

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) believes that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) should examine the issue of backhaul spectrum holistically, particularly due to technology advancements such as 5G and 6G, said officials. While historically, backhaul airwaves were given administratively, or without auctioning, telecom operator Reliance Jio says such bandwidth can also be used for access, or mobility services, and hence should be auctioned, a point opposed by rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. Satcom players such as Elon Musk-owned Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper want the same spectrum to be offered administratively, on a non-exclusive basis, for meeting their connectivity needs.

academic institutions, including the Indian Institute of Technology received notices from goods and services tax (GST) authorities for non-payment of tax. «The ministry of education has taken up the matter with the finance ministry. It is looking into it, » said a government official, privy to the development. A host of academic institutions countrywide including IIT-D have been served show cause notice seeking explanation on non-payment of tax on funding support for research by GST authorities. Notices have been sent by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence for the period between 2017-2022.

Padma awardee doctors have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to quickly enact a special law addressing violence against healthcare professionals following the Kolkata rape-murder incident. They recommended an immediate ordinance to enforce «the harshest possible punishment» for those who engage in physical or verbal violence against healthcare workers. These demands come in the wake of the alleged rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, coupled with accusations of a botched investigation and cover-up. Healthcare professionals and organizations, including the Indian Medical Association (IMA), have launched widespread protests advocating for a central law to ensure medic safety. Notable signatories of the letter include Dr. Balram Bhargava, former Director General of ICMR, Dr. Randeep Guleria, former AIIMS Delhi Director, and Dr. S K Sarin, Director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences. In the letter, the doctors have expressed their significant concern and called for PM Modi's immediate intervention. The letter emphasizes the brutal nature of the event and the urgent need to address violence, especially against women, girls, and healthcare professionals.

resident doctor at Mumbai's Sion Hospital was reportedly physically assaulted by a group of intoxicated attendants, as per Mirror Now. This incident comes even as protests rage on across the country over a rape-murder case in Kolkata. ETOnline could not verify this report independently. «The patient arrived in casualty after midnight in an intoxicated state with 7-8 relatives. He was involved in an assault before he came to the hospital, and had injury marks on his face… Owing to his injuries, he was given an ENT reference around 3:30 am. Our on-call resident doctor in the ENT department was a female. Following a routine procedure, she undressed the wounds to examine them. That is when the patient started verbally abusing her,» Dr Akshya More, General Secretary of Sion-MARD and BMC-MARD told ANI.

cloudburst and flash flood between June 27 and August 16 in Himachal Pradesh during the ongoing monsoon season, the State Emergency Operation Centre said. The monsoon arrived in Himachal Pradesh on June 27. Thirty-one people were killed and 33 went missing in 51 incidents of cloudburst and flash flood between June 27 and August 16 in Himachal Pradesh, the State Emergency Operation Centre said. Lahaul and Spiti witnessed 22 such incidents, the highest in the state, followed by 11 in Kinnaur, six in Una, three each in Kullu and Mandi, two in Sirmaur and one each in Chamba, Hamirpur, Shimla and Solan districts, it said.

India's holding of US government securities touched a high of USD 241.9 billion in June as the country continued to increase its exposure for the third straight month. Japan was the top holder with securities worth over USD 1.11 trillion followed by China at the second spot with a holding valued at USD 780.2 billion in June, according to the latest data released by the US Treasury Department. At the third place was the United Kingdom with an exposure of USD 741.5 billion ahead of Luxembourg at the fourth position with a holding to the tune of USD 384.2 billion. Among the countries and jurisdictions, India was at the 12th place owning American government securities worth USD 241.9 billion in June, higher than USD 237.8 billion value recorded in May.

West Bengal Health and Family Welfare Department has rescinded the transfer orders of 42 doctors amid the ongoing outrage and protests following the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Saturday. Speaking at a press conference, the Principal Secretary of the WB Health and Family Welfare Department, Narayan Swaroop Nigam, stated, «Considering the current situation, we need to maintain normal services across the board. Therefore, we have decided to cancel these transfer orders for now. Any further decisions regarding this matter will be made in a few days.» He explained that the transfer process is part of the promotional exercise within the Medical Education Service, a lengthy procedure that began two months ago.

Kolkata doctor rape case LIVE updates: Following the IMA's call for a nationwide protest after the rape of a PG resident at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital shook the country, several inconsistencies have been flagged by the victim's family. They hinted to the probing agency CBI that the interns and other residents might have been involved in the case too.