Department Financial News

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in four months last week

The judge who will decide whether Google holds a monopoly over technology that matches buyers and sellers of online advertising must choose whether to believe what Google executives wrote or what they’ve said on the witness stand

FATF's mutual evaluation report, which upgraded India to «regular follow up category» has proven to the world the credibility, integrity and strength of the country's institutional framework, Vivek Aggarwal, additional secretary at department of revenue in the finance ministry has said. «We have been assessed very deeply, comprehensively and there is no fault that has been found, so far as our integrity and credibility of our institutional framework is concerned...This is a major plus and a demonstration to the world that the Indian system is in place and it works,» Agarwal, who heads the Financial Intelligence Unit, told ET. FIU was the nodal coordinating body for the assessment by the FATF.

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a nanomaterial-based solution that can effectively reduce the presence of heavy metals like chromium in groundwater. Groundwater is an essential source of drinking water across the country. However, heavy metal contamination in groundwater presents a significant health hazard, IISc said in a media statement. The team includes researchers from the Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST), Department of Civil Engineering (CiE), and Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics (IAP). The study is published in the Journal of Water Process Engineering.

Taylor Swift could be seen in Bucks County in her next era of life. The 34-year-old singer-songwriter and self-made billionaire is rumoured to have bought a house in Doylestown last month, and the rumor mill thinks so. The alleged property, a 12,791-square-foot home in Plumstead Township situated on almost 100 acres, sold on August 9th for $12.9 million. Unfortunately, the new owner is not yet listed in county property records. Swift did not buy the expansive Central Bucks property, despite the rumors being entertaining to think about, according to sources who spoke with the USA Today Network on Wednesday. This network includes the Bucks County Courier Times and The Intell.

AGR front is «crucial» for Vodafone Idea and in its absence, the telco could be staring at financial crisis in coming years once the annual spectrum and AGR payments of USD 4-5 billion per annum fall due, CLSA said on Thursday. The brokerage's views come at a time when the Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of pleas filed by companies, including Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, seeking correction of alleged computational errors in the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). «AGR relief is crucial for VIdea (VIL) and we await industry's next steps. In absence of AGR relief, VIdea could face financial crisis in 2HFY26/FY27CL, when annual spectrum and AGR payments to government of USD 4-5 billion per annum become due,» CLSA said in a note on Thursday. Macquarie's report titled «No AGR waivers; VI needs waivers and a white knight?» observed that Vodafone-Idea's net debt was USD 28 billion in 1QFY25, including AGR liability of USD 8.5 billion (of which about 20 per cent is principal and the rest represents interest and penalties).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A wave of deadly explosions of pagers and other electronic devices carried by militants in Lebanon has sharply heightened Pentagon concern about a potential ground war erupting in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Even before the hundreds of widely dispersed detonations Tuesday and Wednesday, U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : The Union law ministry has sought details of all arbitration proceedings involving the Centre over the last 24 years from all ministries as part of its efforts to streamline India’s arbitration system. In a communication reviewed by Mint, the ministry sought details like legal costs, number of advocates engaged for the government, arbitration results, and subsequent appeals starting from 2000.

Karnataka High Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the bail plea of former Janata Dal (S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who faces allegations of sexual assault and rape. A single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna earlier heard arguments on Revanna's application in the first case and two anticipatory bail pleas related to subsequent complaints. During the hearing, the court directed the advocates to avoid mentioning the victims' names and, instead, point out specific details in the case documents. Senior Advocate Prabhuling K Navadgi, appearing for Revanna, outlined the timeline of events, emphasising that the woman, who had previously complained about being illegally removed from her home, had not initially leveled allegations of sexual misconduct against Revanna.

tax audit report on the e-filing ITR portal for specific taxpayers is September 30, 2024. However, with only 12 days left, the ITR e-filing portal is experiencing numerous glitches and issues when it comes to uploading tax audit reports. Several chartered accountants and tax professionals have raised concerns about this matter with ET Wealth Online and on social media, stating that they have been unable to upload the tax audit report on the e-filing ITR portal since September 18, 2024. «With the tax audit report filing deadline of September 30, 2024, fast approaching, taxpayers and professionals are facing significant challenges due to persistent glitches on the Income Tax Department's website. As the deadline looms, the portal has been experiencing increased traffic, leading to slowdowns and technical issues that are causing widespread frustration,» said CA Deepak Chopra, Chairman of the Direct Tax Committee of the Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association (KSCAA).

C-DoT's independent business vertical Amantya Technologies on Thursday said it has bagged a multi-year contract to develop its unified web portal in line with the Telecommunication Act 2023. Under the contract, Amantya will unify the various DoT portals, aligning them with the latest digital standards mandated by the New Telecommunication Act 2023. Amantya has bagged the contract from another independent business vertical of the state-run Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), eTelecom Transformation Centre (eTT), that has been created for the specific purpose for the development of the Department of Telecom's (DoT) unified portal and its digital by design implementation as per the Telecommunication Act 2023. «Our goal is to modernise telecom licensing operations with a Unified Portal built using cutting-edge technologies. This initiative will enhance efficiency in licensee lifecycle management while aligning with the forward-looking provisions of the New Telecommunication Act 2023 to ensure ease of doing business,» Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal said in the statement.

South Africa is set to implement a points-based system for issuing work visas and permits to individuals wishing to live in the country while working remotely for foreign companies. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber announced that the new regulations for both visa categories are now finalized, and the rollout is expected within the next 30 days. The new system will allow individuals employed and paid in another country to reside in South Africa while spending their foreign earnings locally. Schreiber highlighted the benefits, stating, «A person who is employed and paid in another country will now be able to move to sunny South Africa to spend all of their dollars, yen, euros, pounds or renminbi right here.» He clarified that these remote workers are only required to register with the tax agency if they reside in South Africa for more than six months in a year. Schreiber, a member of the Democratic Alliance, emphasized the attractiveness of the remote-working visa, saying, «Our new remote-working visa must be one of the best deals I’ve ever come across. South Africa carries none of the cost of employing these nomads, yet we reap all of the benefits.»

Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL), the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has quashed a massive tax demand of approximately ₹21,000 crore. The listed entity, part of the IL&FS Group, operates the Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) flyover, a critical infrastructure link between the two cities. The tax demand, spanning nine financial years from 2006 to 2015, included ₹10,893 crore in alleged unpaid taxes and the same amount in penalties. The Income Tax department had accused NTBCL of concealing income and failure to submit accurate income details. The Income Tax department issued an assessment order on December 31, 2008, followed by reassessment proceedings. These proceedings sought to disallow amortization of interest on zero-coupon bonds issued by NTBCL and taxed designated returns as income. Additionally, the department classified land provided by NOIDA/DDA on lease as a subsidy and disallowed depreciation on the DND Toll Bridge.

A pipeline fire that forced hundreds of people to flee their homes in the Houston suburbs is burning for a third day, with officials saying they don’t expect it to be extinguished until sometime Thursday evening

The U.S. Justice Department is suing the owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the Baltimore bridge collapse

glacial lake outburst which claimed more than 40 lives, the Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) EWS mission set up by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), completed its mission on Tuesday. It made a comprehensive susceptibility assessment of the six high-risk lakes and mitigation plans, according to the Sikkim government. «The finding which emerged was that broad glaciated valleys exist below all these high-risk lakes, which are ideally located to create retention structures to contain the GLOF hazard. The next step would be to prepare a DPR for GLOF risk reduction for funding support from NDMA,» the Sikkim government said on Tuesday. The expedition from August 31 to September 14, 2024, targeted the high-risk glacial lakes in the upper reaches of Mangan district. In a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, the expedition assessed the flood susceptibility of the six high-risk glacial lakes, to mitigate the potential hazards of GLOF, officials said.

Alaska Airlines is closing its $1 billion purchase of Hawaiian Airlines

sustainable water management with focus on river basin management, fostering innovation and technology transfer, while promoting sustainable investments. EU Ambassador to India Ugo Astuto highlighted the success of the ongoing water projects in India, emphasising that the European Union and India have developed a strong and innovative water management partnership. At the inauguration of the India-EU Water Forum on Wednesday during the India Water Week, he praised its growing collaboration with India in water management and expressed interest in expanding this partnership to Africa.

RG Kar issue. Escorted by a pilot police vehicle, the delegation of around 30 medics reached the secretariat around 7.15 pm. They will hold a meeting with Chief Secretary Manoj Pant. «We want the issue of safety and security in hospitals to be addressed. The chief minister had announced the formation of a task force, but there is no proper clarity on it. We want the state government to accept our legitimate demands,» an agitating doctor said before leaving for the meeting venue.

China accounts for nearly one-third of global exports of electronic devices, and Chinese-made devices have already been raising security concerns. Huawei, the Shenzhen-based Chinese telecom company, has for several years been at the centre of an intense technological rivalry between Beijing and Washington, with US officials warning its equipment could be used to spy on behalf of Chinese authorities, allegations that China has denied.