FIVE Financial News

NEW DELHI : Canadian pension fund CDPQ is in exclusive negotiations to acquire five operational road projects from Ashoka Concessions Ltd, a subsidiary of infrastructure company Ashoka Buildcon. The deal has potential equity and enterprise values of around $325 million and $700 million, respectively, two people aware of the talks said. On 12 December, The Economic Times reported that CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec) and private-equity firm Actis Llp were in final discussions to acquire the BOT toll road assets of Ashoka Concessions.

IRCTC, JM Financial, Zomato, Samvardhana Motherson among others will be in focus due to various news developments IRCTC IRCTC has signed an MoU with Swiggy to provide pre-ordered meals to passengers via IRCTC e-Catering Services. The services will be made available initially on Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam & Bhubaneswar stations.

Union Cabinet cleared the proposals entailing investments of $15.14 billion, officials told ET. The projects include an $11 billion semiconductor fab facility, the country's first, to be built by the Tata Group in at Dholera in Gujarat. The other unit proposed by the conglomerate involves a Rs 27,000 crore chip assembly, testing, marking and packaging facility at Morigaon in Assam. Murugappa Group's CG Power will be setting up a chip assembly facility at Sanand in Gujarat at a cost of Rs 7,600 crore.

Nashville told air traffic controllers he could see the runway they were clearing for an emergency landing. But he said he couldn’t reach it.“I’m going to be landing — I don’t know where!” the pilot said before the plane crashed alongside Interstate 40, killing all five people aboard.The pilot had another adult and three children on board, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Aaron McCarter said at a Tuesday news conference. He said the five are Canadian citizens, and the agency is working with the Canadian government to determine their identities.He said it is too early to know what caused the crash.

India’s local governments are weak despite the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments. They effectively serve as extended implementation arms of state governments, rather than as an independent tier of government. If India has to deliver on its promise of Viksit Bharat by 2047, we must radically change how we view our local governments.

Bombay High Court has acquitted Delhi University ex-professor GN Saibaba and five others, who were convicted under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, for want of proof apart from procedural flaws. The bench held that the prosecution failed to establish legal seizure of material and could not prove anything incriminating against the accused. The case was «unsustainable in the hands of law», the court said upholding the appeals of the defendants. The bench also said the trial was vitiated by an invalid sanction to prosecute the accused. The trial violated mandatory provisions of law and amounted to failure of justice, a division bench of justices Vinay G Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes said in the verdict on Tuesday. Saibaba, 54, is wheelchair-bound and has been lodged in Nagpur central jail for years. In May 2014, the former DU professor was arrested by the anti-Naxal operations unit of the Maharashtra Police accusing him of being the 'urban contact' of banned CPI(Maoist).

service sector growth momentum eased in February but remained robust despite a slowdown in new orders and output, according to a private survey released on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index fell to 60.6 in February from 61.8 in the previous month. A level of over 50 indicates expansion. «A climbdown from a six-month high in January was largely expected, but at 60+, still indicates a sharp expansion rate,» said Rahul Bajoria, managing director and head of EM Asia (ex-China) Economics, Barclays. Despite the decline, service activity in February was at its second highest level in five months, but milder growth during the month clouded the business outlook. «Due to a slowdown in growth in new orders and output, services companies' outlook for future business activity, while remaining strongly positive, weakened slightly,» said Ines Lam, economist, HSBC. Of the 400 firms surveyed for the period, 26% still expect growth in the year ahead, but 2% predict a decline. Employment suffered with survey members indicating that employment numbers were sufficient.

Manipur Chief minister Nongthombam Biren Singh informed the assembly on Tuesday that altogether 63 persons were reported missing since the ethnic violence unfolded in restive Manipur in May last year. Out of them, 26 were found dead, 9 were traced out alive and 28 are still missing, informed Biren, while responding to posers raised by legislators on the fifth and last day of the 5th session of 12th state assembly. On the missing of two standard XII students from Imphal West district’s Sagolband Tera area, the leader of the house said the Cental Bureau of Investigation has reported to have filed charge sheet against five accused arrested in the case.

Beacon Pointe is pursuing its national growth ambitions as it makes its maiden foray into the mid-Atlantic. The national RIA has announced a partnership with Keeney Financial Group, a 10-member team that manages approximately $560 million in client assets.

₹2 trillion in income tax (to the union government). Delhi is one of the engines of growth for the national economy. We are not saying give us everything that Delhi gives, but give us something.

With several fund houses restricting investments in their small-cap funds and the markets regulator also now expressing concerns over frothy valuations, individuals must exercise caution. They should opt for systematic investment plans (SIPs) and avoid lumpsum investments in this segment, say experts.

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against the decision of the Bombay High Court acquitting former Delhi University professor GN Saibabab and five others in a case of alleged links to Maoists.

Hemant Soren next month holding him prima facie guilty of disobeying notices issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate. The agency had filed a complaint against the senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader last month, stating he failed to join the investigation in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land grab case even after seven summonses were issued to him under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The first such notice was issued to Soren for his appearance before the ED on August 14 last year. Hemant Soren should be prosecuted under the Indian Penal Code section 174 (non-attendance in obedience to an order from public servant), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had requested the court in its complaint filed under sections of the PMLA and the IPC.

Ravi Shankar Prasad and Anil Baluni. On Saturday BJP declared Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the saffron party candidate from Varanasi for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. Notably, even before PM Modi, Varanasi had been a BJP stronghold, with the party retaining it consistently since 1991 except in 2004, when the Congress's Rajesh Kumar Mishra had won.

El Nino has peaked as one of the five strongest on record and will continue to impact global climate in the coming months despite a weakening trend, the World Meteorological Organisation said on Tuesday. The UN agency also said above-normal temperatures are predicted over almost all land areas between March and May. The prevailing El Nino conditions fuelled record temperatures and extreme events the world over, with 2023 being the warmest on record. According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global mean temperature breached the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold for an entire year for the first time in January.

Mercedes-Benz expects India to become its third biggest market in its 'Region Overseas' over the next 2-3 years with demand anticipated to remain strong for luxury products, according to a senior company executive. The Region Overseas for Mercedes Benz comprises 118 countries, excluding North America, Europe and China. India is the fifth largest market in the region after Japan, South Korea, Australia and Turkey. The sales gap between India and Turkey is around 8,000 units per year.

coal-fired power capacity over a decade, four sources familiar with the matter said, ending a six-year drought in significant private involvement in the sector. Adani Power, JSW Group and Essar Power are among the companies that have told India's power ministry they would be keen to expand old plants or develop stalled projects facing financial stress, according to the sources and a government presentation seen by Reuters. The potential investments, which have not been previously reported, could cumulatively cost billions of dollars and demonstrate renewed appetite in an industry seen by many as financially unattractive. But they also threaten to undermine progress made by the world's No.3 greenhouse gas emitter in weaning its economy off carbon.

ChatGPT, which allows the chatbot to read out its answers in five different voices. The new feature has already been rolled out and can be used via the web version of ChatGPT, as well as the iOS and Android versions of the application. The read-aloud feature is particularly useful for users who are on the go and want to hear the answer to their questions.

Mumbai, depending on market conditions, with the possibility that more banks could be added, as per the report. Representatives for the five banks, as well as Ather, declined to comment.

Do keep in mind that the section 80C benefit is only available for those opting for the old tax regime. Also read: Tax-saving guide for FY 2023-24

Gurugram restaurant following dinner. According to a complaint lodged by a Greater Noida resident, he dined with his wife and four friends at a restaurant in Sector 90 on Saturday. Subsequently, a waiter presented them with mouth freshener, which five of them consumed. Soon after, their health rapidly deteriorated, prompting their transfer to a hospital. The complainant said he consulted a doctor who identified the substance in the mouth freshener as dry ice, an acid potentially fatal upon ingestion. The complainant reported the incident to the police. After having the mouth freshner, the group experienced mouth burns, bleeding, and vomiting. Four of them required hospitalization. Following the complaint, an FIR was lodged under IPC sections 328 (poisonous substances causing harm) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) at Kherki Daula police station. A waitress has been charged with criminal conspiracy and causing harm by poisoning after a group of patrons suffered mouth injuries from dry ice served as mouth freshener at a restaurant in Sector 90. Last Saturday, three couples visited the restaurant to celebrate a birthday. After their meal, the waitress offered them what she claimed to be mouth fresheners, but instead served dry ice granules, causing burns to their tongues and palates, confirmed by police and the restaurant, a TOI report said.