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Air India has launched flights on the Delhi-Dubai route with its new Airbus A350-900 aircraft according to a statement by Air India. The launch of flight on this route marks the international debut of Air India's recently acquired aircrafts, making it the sole carrier to operate the A350 between India and Dubai. The commencement of flights was celebrated with pre-departure ceremonies at both Delhi and Dubai airports, where guests were presented with A350 memorabilia.

India’s FY25 growth forecast upward to 6.6% from 6.2% projected earlier. “Strong investment and improving business confidence in India are projected to sustain real GDP growth of just over 6½ per cent in both FY25 and FY26, despite relatively sluggish private consumption growth,” OECD said. “Domestic demand will be driven by gross capital formation, particularly in the public sector, with private consumption growth remaining sluggish,” it further added.

Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist, Axis Bank & Head of Global Research, Axis Capital, says “in the next three to five years in this same style, we could see very aggressive capex and industrial policy coming in from China and the return on assets, on capital intensive assets in China is already back to 2002 levels. It is quite possible it keeps falling. Imagine then what other countries have to do. Do we have policies to counter that? We need not get overly protectionist, but we need to be very agile in responding to this. Is it ready for this type of global economy which is very different from what we saw from the early 90s to say around 2015-16? There are several new challenges that we need to cope with.” India of yesterday, India of today and India of tomorrow. Where should we start? Neelkanth Mishra: Even to understand where we are headed, we need to have some handle on where we have come from and what we have done and where the platform has been set for the growth in the next three to five years. And then of course, the work that we do in the next three to five years will set the stage for what happens in the five years after that.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has criticized the BJP's '400 paar' claim for the Lok Sabha polls, calling it a joke and suggesting that even '200 paar' may be a challenge for the ruling party. Tharoor, who was in a three-way contest in Thiruvananthapuram, expressed confidence in a «very comfortable win» and predicted that the BJP would draw a blank in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. He also stated that the BJP would perform worse than its 2019 performance in the South. Tharoor, a Congress Working Committee member and former Union minister, highlighted the current sentiment among BJP voters as one of indifference and lack of enthusiasm. He noted that while there is no overwhelming wave in favor of the Congress and the INDIA bloc, the difference between this election and previous ones is that the BJP appears to be losing its majority, which he considers a foregone conclusion. Asked how it was looking for the Congress and the INDIA bloc after two phases of the polls, the former Union minister said, «190 seats have voted so far and what I am picking up from my sources, it is tremendously positive for our side. We are not suggesting that there is an overwhelming wave but there certainly isn't one for the government.»

Over the last few years, the Indian real estate sector has observed a notable shift, as homebuyers are increasingly looking out for serene and offbeat destinations that are far away from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan cities. Cities like Sonipat, Bhiwadi, Panchkula, and Meerut have emerged as premier locales for residential investments, boasting a blend of natural beauty, cultural richness, and a growing economy. This transition reflects a desire for a better quality of life, where serenity meets modern amenities in a relaxed environment.

Indian stock market today: Global equities witnessed a strong rebound after the US Fed meeting, which signaled a willingness to go for a rate cut once there is an ease in the inflation concerns. On Dalal Street, the frontline Indian indices and broad market witnessed buying interest during morning deals, which are still underway.

Asia’s factory activity weakened slightly in April, with output growth cooling and employment dropping in a sign of fragile confidence among manufacturers. Data from S&P Global indicates that Southeast Asia’s manufacturing economy continued to grow at the start of the second quarter, but signals about the sector’s health were mixed. The headline purchasing managers index stayed above the neutral 50.0 mark separating expansion from contraction for a fourth straight month in April, but slipped to 51.0 from 51.5 in March.

Aadhaar, UPI, and Fastag. A Nasscom report in February 2024 had stated that DPI could help India become an $8-trillion economy by 2030. The economic value added by DPI could increase to between 2.9% and 4.2% of GDP by 2030, from 0.9% in 2022, it said.

₹2.1 trillion in April, according to data released by the finance ministry on 1 May. The monthly GST data has often been used as a barometer of how well the economy is performing. But the April data may not be so straightforward.

₹73790.0/10 grams. Yesterday’s Gold Rate on 01-05-2024 was ₹73893.0/10 grams, and last week’s gold rate on 26-04-2024 was ₹74401.0/10 grams. Silver Rate in Delhi: Silver Rate Today in Delhi is ₹82900.0/Kg.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday emphasized that inflation has remained stubbornly high in recent months and said it doesn’t plan to cut interest rates until it has “greater confidence” that price increases are slowing sustainably to its two per cent target.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he will stress the need for a rules-based international order when he attends a meeting of the Organizations for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris

U.S. jobs openings slid in March to the lowest level in more than three years, but stayed at historically high levels in a sign that the job market remains resilient in the face of higher interest rates

Donald Trump used a break in his hush money trial to stage back-to-back appearances in two Midwestern battleground states Wednesday — but kept his legal woes front-and-center as he accused President Joe Biden of weaponizing the courts against him. The former Republican president, who is running for a return to the White House, rallied supporters in Wisconsin and Michigan, among the most hotly contested states in his expected rematch with Democrat Biden in November.

The Taliban takeover three years ago has sent Afghanistan's economy into a tailspin

deposit rates, central bank data show that the full transmission of the 2.5-percentage-point hike in the benchmark repo rate since May 2022 is still not complete, except in the case of fresh term deposits. While they don't reflect the full impact of the policy rate hike, lending and deposit rates on both fresh and outstanding deposits rose in the last fiscal year, putting pressure on banks' interest margins. The weighted average domestic term deposit rate (WADTDR) on fresh rupee term deposits increased to 6.62% in March 2024 from 6.44% the previous month, according to data released on Tuesday by the Reserve Bank of India. In the 12 months through March, the rate rose by 14 basis points (bps), or 0.14 percentage points, after a dip in the first half of the fiscal year. The rate transmission since May 2022, when the RBI started raising rates after a long pause, works out to 259 bps — 2.59 percentage points — for fresh term deposits.

India's goods and services tax (GST) collection hit an all-time high of ₹2.1 lakh crore in April, underlining the robust economy and kicking off the new fiscal year on a strong note. This also creates room for the much-anticipated reform of the GST regime when the new government takes charge after general elections. «GST collection crosses ₹2 lakh crore benchmark, thanks to the strong momentum in the economy and efficient tax collections,» finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman posted on X, formerly Twitter. GST collection rose 12.4% in April from ₹1.87 lakh crore a year earlier on the back of a 13% rise in domestic transactions that point to healthy local demand. The previous monthly record was ₹1.87 lakh crore in April 2023. India's economy is estimated to have grown 7.6% in FY24. The IMF expects India's GDP to expand 6.8% in FY25, retaining its status as the world's fastest-growing major economy. Total GST collection was ₹1.78 lakh crore in March while the monthly average for FY24 was ₹1.68 lakh crore.

The central bank's interest rate decision comes as inflation has hit record highs and grappled Americans over the last few years.

Canada’s February gross domestic product numbers were disappointing in more ways than one.

₹7.5 trillion on education every year. There are frequent calls to double this number if the education system is to be fixed. Overcoming the myriad problems in areas such as education, health, nutrition, safety, justice and social protection needs more than higher public spending.

Global investors are unwinding bets on local-currency bonds as some emerging-market central banks come under pressure to raise interest rates — rather than cut them as widely anticipated just weeks ago.