Experts Financial News

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday went to Parliament Street Police station to file an FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after accusing him of «physical assault» against two BJP MPs in the Parliament premises. A face-off between the opposition and NDA MPs in Parliament premises over the alleged insult to B R Ambedkar left former minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi injured. The BJP accused Gandhi of pushing the senior member, a charge rejected by the Congress leader. Trouble began when the INDIA bloc members insisted on entering Parliament through the BJP MPs holding a protest instead of using the space left empty on one side of the staircase of the Makar Dwar, used by members to enter and exit the building. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said BJP MP Mukesh Rajput was also injured in the melee. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Sarangi and Rajput and enquired about their health after they sustained injuries in the Parliament complex, sources said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said although the RSS and the undivided Shiv Sena were bound by a common thread of Hindutva, their ideologies have always been different. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Raut said in 1975, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray was pressured to merge his party with the Congress, but he thwarted such attempts to ensure its independence. «The Shiv Sena and the RSS were bound together by a common thread of Hindutva, but they have always been different ideologically,» Raut said.

Hiring in November grew 10% from a year earlier and 3% from the previous month. The momentum, according to Foundit, will continue into next year. Emerging technologies and evolving business priorities will shape India’s job market in 2025. Innovations such as edge computing, quantum applications and cybersecurity advancements are set to transform industries like manufacturing, healthcare and IT, while the rise of retail media networks and AI-driven workforce analytics will reshape talent needs in ecommerce, HR and digital services. Organisations will look for professionals skilled in digital marketing, ad management and HR analytics, its survey has found.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge submitted a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla alleging «physical assault» by other Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, other party MPs also told that party leader Rahul Gandhi had been blocked from entering Parliament, following which a scuffle broke out between the two parties. This comes amidst INDIA bloc and NDA leaders staging parallel protests at the Parliament premises regarding the remarks of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on B R Ambedkar. During the scuffle, two BJP MPs, Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput were injured. Both MPs were admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and are being treated for their injuries.

Besides a so-called «step change» in tackling illegal working with new technology for frontline border officers, the Home Office will also introduce an Immigration White Paper next year to set out further details of its plan to reduce legal migration. ALSO READ: Indians have highest concentration of professionals in UK: Report

Guideline Geo to set up a world-class Centre in India for geophysical exploration with state-of-the-art instruments services, and applications to support the industrial and startup ecosystem. With increasing worldwide development, the demand for minerals is rising. In this context, “ninerals” can refer to different rock types and sediments but more likely commodities such as gold, copper, iron, etc. Mineral exploration can be challenging, with large areas to cover, sometimes in very rough terrain, and complicated geological structures hiding the minerals we want to mine. This means that the chosen investigation technique should be able to address these issues. This can only be achieved by accelerating the advanced practices in geophysical exploration techniques, offering a non-destructive and cost-efficient way of gaining a better understanding of the sub-surface conditions.

China has maintained its substantial military presence along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, according to the latest Pentagon report released on Wednesday. Despite some troop disengagements in certain areas, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has not scaled back its positions or numbers. «PLA has not drawn down its positions or troop numbers since the 2020 clash and has built infrastructure and support facilities to maintain multiple brigade deployments along the LAC,» the report states. The Pentagon's annual assessment indicates that China has kept approximately 120,000 troops stationed along the 3,488-km-long LAC, which stretches from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. In addition to the soldiers, the PLA has stationed heavy weapon systems, including tanks, howitzers, surface-to-air missiles, and other advanced military equipment. The report further highlights that over 20 combined arms brigades (CABs) remain in forward locations across the western, middle, and eastern sectors of the LAC.

Ashok Leyland Ltd. 1.88 per cent to Rs 218.60 in Thursday's trade as of 01:56PM (IST). The stock hit a high price of Rs 221.60 and low of Rs 216.35 during the session. The return on equity (ROE) for the stock stood at 27.58 per cent. Traded volume on the counter stood at 01:56PM shares and turnover at Rs 2.09 crore around that time. The stock of Ashok Leyland Ltd. quoted a 52-week high price of Rs 264.70 and 52-week low prices of Rs 157.65, respectively.

Conduct market research for each target region A successful export business starts with in-depth market research. Each country’s consumer behaviour, regulatory framework, and competition landscape are unique. Conducting thorough surveys provides actionable insights into local demand, price preferences, and competition. This understanding helps businesses tailor their products and align them with regional requirements. When we were expanding to Bangladesh, overcoming high duties involved detailed buyer-competitor analysis.

Nestle India on Thursday said the suspension of the MFN (most favoured nation) clause granted to India by Switzerland will have 'no impact' on the company. The suspension of MFN status under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) is a policy issue between the government of India and Switzerland and is not 'Nestle-specific', the FMCG firm said in a statement. Nestle India, which owns popular brands such as Maggi, Nescafe and KitKat, said the company was already «deducting 10 per cent withholding tax» on cross-country payments. Earlier on December 11, the Swiss government had announced the suspension of the MFN status granted to India following a ruling by the Supreme Court of India, which in a judgement last year had said MFN status under the DTAA cannot be enforced unless notified under Section 90 of the Income Tax Act.

HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd. 0.21 per cent to Rs 4356.05 at 01:30PM hours (IST) on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the stock saw a gap down start to the session. As per data available on BSE, total traded quantity on the counter stood at 946 shares with a turnover of Rs 0.41 crore till 01:30PM (IST). The stock traded at a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 42.12, while the price-to-book value ratio stood at 11.32.

Hemang Jani, Independent Market Expert, says realty stocks have run up quite a lot. Once there is a bit of a lull in terms of the new project launches or the sales that they are doing, the market could react a bit negatively because it is a high beta sector. So, for momentum play, quarterly numbers play, Jani would be positive on Lodha and DLF, but he is not comfortable buying them from an investment perspective. Jani also says he would stay away from Tata Motors and if he has to bet, he would go with M&M which looks to be a much better, cleaner bet at this point of time. This has been a year of consolidation for the cement sector. At the end of 2024, there are fewer players than there were at the start of 2024. But the issue is that a lot of other segments also have not played well with the cement sector, especially on the pricing front. Hemang Jani: The sector has been going through a slowdown and despite the consolidation with two major players commanding about 75-80% of the capacity, when you look at the operating performance it has not been the best that one can really expect, but there is a sense that following a pickup in infra and the government spending and the rural side recovery, we might see good growth coming back.

Air India on Thursday placed an order for 34 trainer aircraft as it prepares to start training of cadet pilots at South Asia’s largest Flying Training Organisation (FTO) coming up in Amravati, Maharashtra by the second half of 2025, post regulatory approvals. The order includes 31 single-engine aircraft from Piper Aircraft in the United States and 3 twin-engine aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria. ALSO READ: Air India announces special discounts & benefits for students; check details

TDSAT) has refused to grant a stay to broadcasters challenging the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) July 8 tariff regulation concerning pay channels on DD Free Dish. The tribunal has directed broadcasters to comply with the regulation by publishing a new Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) within two weeks. The Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) approached TDSAT after the Supreme Court directed it to challenge the recent amendments to broadcast tariff regulations. Earlier, the Kerala High Court had dismissed IBDF’s petition, stating that TDSAT was the appropriate forum for the matter. The contentious regulation requires broadcasters to either make channels free across private distribution platforms if they are free on DD Free Dish or withdraw them from DD Free Dish to retain their pay channel status.

SanchiConnect, a deeptech accelerator, in partnership with YourNest Venture Capital, on Thursday, announced an investment of Rs 48 crore for its DeepTech accelerator programme- Velocity Accelerator Program. The seven-month-long program has received 1,280 applications from 23 states and six Union Territories. Out of these, eight startups were selected for their disruptive potential across various sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, healthcare, enterprise solutions, and artificial intelligence. The eight selected startups include Induz- which leverages AI tools to automate and unify large-scale enterprise data; LeanWorx which offers cloud-based productivity monitoring systems for the manufacturing sector; Think Metal has developed a compact, cost-effective 3D metal printer that delivers 10x faster production at half the cost; Presage Insights uses advanced AI for predictive analytics to improve decision-making across industries; Superfone is an app-based business phone number platform for SMBs, integrating telephony with business software; and CargoFL which employs AI-powered logistics solutions to optimise supply chains and improve operational efficiency.

SpiceJet rallied 7.8% to an intraday high of Rs 60.70 on the BSE on Thursday after the company announced that it has settled its over $16 million dispute with Genesis. As part of the agreement, SpiceJet will settle $6 million with Genesis, while Genesis will invest $4 million in SpiceJet equity at a valuation of Rs 100 per share.

BJP on Thursday launched a fresh attack on the Congress over its treatment of B R Ambedkar as the ruling party's president J P Nadda asked the opposition party to «stop lying». Nadda reiterated his party's accusations against the Congress for insulting and ignoring Ambedkar and his legacy, and cited the work undertaken by the Modi government to honour his legacy. His posts on X came amid the opposition's relentless attack on Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly insulting Ambedkar during his Rajya Sabha speech. He told the Congress and its «rotten ecosystem» that they lost Lok Sabha polls for a third consecutive time in June and performed badly in a number of assembly polls.

Canara Bank traded 0.43 per cent in Thursday's trade at 12:27PM (IST). Around 696,300 shares changed hands on the counter. The counter opened at Rs 100.20 and touched an intraday high and low of Rs 104.00 and Rs 100.20, respectively, in the session so far. Shares of the company of Canara Bank quoted a 52-week high of Rs 129.35 and a 52-week low of Rs 82.66.

Bank of Baroda traded 0.37 per cent in Thursday's trade at 12:17PM (IST). Around 162,247 shares changed hands on the counter. The scrip opened at Rs 246.00 and touched an intraday high and low of Rs 250.95 and Rs 244.85, respectively, in the session so far. The stock of Bank of Baroda quoted a 52-week high of Rs 298.45 and a 52-week low of Rs 214.85.

Micromax Informatics has inked a joint-venture partnership with Taiwan-based Phison to design and manufacture storage modules, in a bid to boost the country’s electronics component ecosystem. The collaboration will leverage Micromax’s customer relationships within India and Phison’s expertise in NAND storage technology for offerings across enterprise, consumer, embedded, AI, and security applications within India’s burgeoning tech ecosystem and specific agreed-up regions, the two companies said in a joint statement. The joint-venture entity, called MiPhi, will also offer support and RMA services, along with a sales channel to India and other agreed-upon regions.

Ravichandran Ashwin retired from international cricket on Wednesday, leaving big boots to fill in the Indian Test team. If Ashwin's father, Ravichandran, is to be believed, the cricketer's retirement had more to do than him having finished with cricket. In interview with CNN News18, Ravichandran has alleged that his son was constantly being humiliated which may have contributed to him announcing his retirement midway through India’s ongoing tour of Australia. Even Ashwin's father was caught by surprise with the spinner's decision.