Landmark Financial News

The passage of the Women's Reservation Bill on September 20 was a landmark step. The Bill reserves one-third of the seats in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women. The move is expected to make Indian political leadership more diverse and inclusive while empowering women lawmakers to articulate and act upon the concerns and issues of women residing in diverse geographies and cultures. The 33% quota for women will leapfrog India into one of 64 countries around the world that have reserved seats for women in their parliaments. Studies have shown that women in leadership positions positively impact policy delivery, programmes and financing that improve the lives of women and their families, communities and their nations. Let's consider the current scenario in terms of how women fare in the job market and how this is linked to their education level. Estimates based on PRICE's countrywide ICE 360° surveys reveal interesting insights:

By Carlos Díez de la Lastra Buigues

S Jaishankar had an active and packed first day of bilateral and multilateral meetings with his global counterparts and exchanged views on strengthening bilateral ties and issues of common concern as he arrived here for the high-level UN General Assembly session.Jaishankar hit the ground running shortly after landing in New York early Friday morning, beginning his hectic schedule for the day with the Quad Foreign Ministers meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa. A joint readout of the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting issued after the meeting reaffirmed the group's «unwavering support for the United Nations, the enduring importance of upholding mutually determined rules, norms, and standards, and to deepen Quad cooperation in the international system». Jaishankar held bilateral discussions with Kamikawa, Japan's new top diplomat and exchanged perspectives on «our Special Strategic and Global Partnership. »Delighted to meet Foreign Minister of Japan Yoko Kamikawa at #UNGA78. Discussed our regional, multilateral and global cooperation and taking them forward," Jaishankar said on X. Jaishankar also met Wong for bilateral discussions.

Supreme Court observed on Friday while hearing a petition filed by a woman colonel who was given the charge of a company of soldiers which is ordinarily commanded by a major, two ranks her junior. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud was hearing three matters- two pertaining to the women officers of the Army and one of the Navy- in which several grievances have been raised including about promotions. «We now can't run the affairs of the Army,» the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, told senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for the petitioners, when she raised the issue of the woman colonel having been given the charge of a company which is ordinarily led by a major rank officer. «We interfere in those cases on issues of principles,» it observed, adding, «Surely, we can't start running the command structure of the Army». She said it was a case where the woman officer has been given permanent commission and she is a colonel in the Army.

OYO, have come together to establish a joint venture (JV) to launch a premium hotel chain in India. In this venture, both partners share 49.9% stake, reported yourstory. The joint venture named as Mountainia, plans to introduce 5-star and 4-star hotels under the brand name 'Sunday' in rapidly growing Tier II Indian cities.

Neuralink’s brain-computer interface is based on a tiny chip that will be surgically implanted in the brain. This chip will be implanted in an area of the brain that controls neural impulses for movement. Once inserted, this chip will read and wirelessly transmit the brain’s impulses to an app placed in front of the patient, which will produce outputs based on a user’s thoughts.

National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) emerged as the winning bidder for the debt of Dharani Sugars and Chemicals at an uncontested Swiss auction, paving the way for the promoter to submit a fresh settlement offer with the new lender, said people aware of the development. The Supreme Court had stayed a liquidation order of the sugar maker given by the National COmpany Law Tribunal (NCLT). The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, too, had upheld the NCLT order. Lenders did not receive any counteroffer for the ₹222.5 crore binding offer by NARCL, which triggered a Swiss challenge auction held on September 18. Officials from Dharani Sugars declined to comment on the matter. Dharani Sugars, which was admitted for insolvency in July 2021, had admitted claims of ₹707 crore. The resolution professional received two plans but 91.9% of lenders rejected both on May 18, 2023.

Indian Navy has moved a mega proposal to the government for building the second aircraft carrier to be constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited. A proposal has been received by the Defence Ministry for building and acquiring the second indigenous aircraft carrier which would be known as the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier-2, defence officials told ANI. The Defence Ministry would be shortly discussing the proposal moved by the Indian Navy as one of the biggest programmes under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Aatmanirbharta (self reliance) programme in defence sector, they said. The programme will create several thousand direct and manifold indirect jobs through the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kerala when the work on the IAC-2 is approved by the government. The first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was commissioned by Prime Minister Modi in Kochi in September last year where the expertise developed by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in building such large size ships was applauded. The Indian Navy has been pressing for three aircraft carriers to maintain at least one carrier on each coast with one in refit. With three aircraft carriers, the Indian Navy would also be keeping pace with all the navies deployed in the Indo-Pacific region, officials said. The Indian Navy is also going to get 26 new Rafale fighter aircraft for the INS Vikrant and also looking to buy the indigenous Twin engine Deck L-based Fighter aircraft which are now expected to be produced in large numbers to be deployed on the three carriers. Admiral R Hari Kumar had recently stated that INS Vikrant, the indigenously built aircraft carrier, will be based in Visakhapatnam.

Sonia Gandhi, the parliamentary head of the Congress party, expressed her support for the Women's Reservation Bill, firmly declaring it as a possession of her party. This declaration comes at a time of growing anticipation regarding the possible introduction of the bill in Parliament. Gandhi's statement emerged during her entrance to Parliament on Tuesday when she was questioned about the bill. She unambiguously stated, «It is ours, apna hai.» The Congress party has advocated for the Women's Reservation Bill for an extended period and has greeted the anticipated progress with enthusiasm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday traced the nearly eight-decade-long journey of the old Parliament building that has also been the country’s journey following its independence from British rule.

Santiniketan, the famed place in West Bengal where poet Rabindranath Tagore built Visva-Bharati over a century ago, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The world body made the announcement in a post on 'X' on Sunday. «New inscription on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List: Santiniketan, #India.

Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final on Sunday, there will be a focus on the performance of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as they will also carry the batting expectations of India team fans into the World Cup starting next month. Both Rohit and Virat reached personal landmarks in the Asia Cup. Rohit reached the 10,000 ODI runs milestone and Virat has now over 13,000 runs in one-day internationals. The two stars have not scored big in finals of ODI tournaments like the Asia Cup and Cricket World Cup. In five ODI tournament finals, Rohit has scored just 101 in five innings at an average of 20.2 and a strike rate of 77.

Parliament House, which may soon hand over its position as the country's hallowed legislature to a new complex inaugurated four months ago, has stood for over 96 years as a sentinel of time and a repository of India's democratic journey.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya led around 8,000 people in taking a pledge for organ donation at the GIC ground in Agra on Saturday. Giving a clarion call to «donate blood when alive and donate organs after death», Mandaviya said the government has decided to give financial assistance of Rs 10,000 per month to all the poor people undergoing organ transplant. «Arrangements will also be made for their regular check-ups,» he said. The health minister said that by the end of 2024, arrangements for organ retrieval will be made in all hospitals and medical colleges of the country. Addressing a gathering at the GIC ground, Mandaviya said that there can be no greater service to mankind than donating organs to save another life. The Union health minister also inaugurated a super specialty block at Sarojini Naidu Medical College (SNMC), Agra and an organ donation registry. To register to donate organs, the only requirements are the Aadhaar number, and the Aadhaar-linked mobile number. Mandaviya highlighted that the super speciality block at SNMC is constructed in an area of 7,890 sq.

global politics and diplomacy, there are moments that stand as beacons of hope and progress. The G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration of 2023 is one such landmark, with the historic commitment towards gender equality and empowerment of women and girls worldwide. Under India's presidency, G20 leaders agreed to set up a Working Group on the empowerment of women to support the G20 Women's Ministerial.

DUBAI : The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the host of the UN climate change conference (COP28) this year, will circulate a draft landmark declaration for food security transition to member countries in a few days, UAE’s climate change and environment minister Mariam Al Mehairi said in an interview. COP28, under the UAE presidency, aims to transform food systems to ensure that it is part of national climate efforts and secure the annual $100 billion in climate finance owed to developing nations. She also highlighted the challenges in importing fertilizers and wheat from Russia because of the war and the COP28 presidency’s focus on improving lives and livelihoods in Africa, helping unlock Africa’s green energy potential and ensuring food security.

Around 3,000 workers at Britain’s biggest steelworks face the prospect of losing their jobs as part of a government-backed package to make the plant “greener.”

A group of Indigenous Australian Rules football players, led by 1980s legend Phil Krakouer, launched a landmark class action against the AFL on Friday, claiming the game failed to protect players from vile racial abuse on the field that resulted in life-altering damage.

Pashupati Advani, Founder, Global Foray, says “ in autos, there is some build up in inventory with the dealers. It is going to go through a bit of a phase of consolidation as you mentioned. I would not jump into autos at these kinds of levels, I just sit on the side. Interest rates are higher; a lot of two-wheelers and four-wheelers are financed and that is going to put some kind of a cap on the market. So just hang on, there will be ample opportunity in my opinion.”What is your take on real estate stocks? They have been doing fairly okay for themselves of late. Again, is there a pocket that you are looking at, let us say maybe Mumbai facing real estate names or South Indian names or even NCR is coming back now?Mumbai and NCR have lagged because there is a lot of supply and it is taking time and I do not think the flats are cheap enough. The builders are still making money and in Maharashtra they are also waiting for the FSI to be increased, in which case the builders will make even more money and more people will be crammed into the same space. We are obviously seeing some traction in good quality second tier town builders and of course the big names like DLF and all are doing fine. It is a proxy for growth in India as more and more people buy homes, people are going to come into all the real estate companies. There are lots of big ones, it is a big component of the index and therefore the sector is enjoying itself.

“The IT and chemical sectors offer attractive risk-reward prospects. A healthy correction in manufacturing, industrial, and PSU stocks presents a solid long-term entry point. In the financial and consumption sectors, selective buying is advisable,” says Sunil Nyati, Managing Director of Swastika Investmart Ltd. In an interview with ETMarkets, Nyati said: “The broader market is demonstrating exceptional performance, primarily attributable to the optimistic outlook for the Indian economy and robust domestic liquidity” Edited excerpts:We saw a steady rise in markets last week with the Nifty50 climbing to 20,000 levels. Do you think the upcoming US Fed meet could play a spoilsport?The market is currently experiencing a robust bullish trend, with the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting poised to be a pivotal global catalyst.

Beijing is getting bullish about the cross-border use of the digital yuan – with Chinese experts now talking about BRI/“new Silk Road” CBDC integration.