Merit Financial News

Oscar nominations rarely make anyone sit up the way this year’s have. Was it a classic preference for serious cinema or an old gender bias that swayed Hollywood’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? Of last summer’s two most hotly raved-about movies, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the award contenders picked for 2024 display a clear tilt towards the biopic of a scientist credited with the world’s first nuclear weapon. It was nominated this week for awards in 13 categories, including for Best Picture and Best Director, the two big ones, while the feminist remake of an iconic doll’s legend got eight call-outs, with Gerwig left out of the contest as an award-worthy director.

maternity leave. That did not come in the way of her promotion and in October, Balasubramanian was promoted as partner of TMT (technology, media, and telecommunications) practice purely based on her merit and performance. In a trend catching up fast, India's top law firms are playing fair in gender diversity and promoting an increasing number of high-potential women lawyers to partner level and are going extra mile to retain them, industry insiders said.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren by the Lokpal on the basis of a complaint by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. Justice Subramonium Prasad said the former Jharkhand chief minister's petition challenging the Lokpal proceedings as well as the complaint was «premature».

CBSE) will conduct the first exams in the latest format from 2025, except for the one instance in 2021 when the exam was split into two due to Covid-19. The new system of twice-a-year board exams for Class X and XII will not be compulsory, according to the official as quoted by TOI. “The system aims to reduce stress on students who fear missing out on a single opportunity. If a candidate is prepared and is satisfied with the score in one set of exams, he can choose not to appear for the next exam,” he said. In 2023, a total of 38.82 lakh candidates appeared for Class X (21.86 lakh) and XII (16.96 lakh) CBSE boards.

‘12th FAIL’ over this past weekend. If you see only ONE film this year, make it this one," the Mahindra Group Chairman wrote on the microblogging site. Mahindra listed the factors why the audience should watch the film.

Jindal Power (JPL) Tuesday gave a ₹4,203-crore, all-cash offer for acquiring Lanco Amarkantak Power, topping Adani Power's ₹4,100 crore offer, said people with knowledge of the matter. Last week, JPL sought the bankruptcy court's approval to participate in the sale process of Lanco Amarkantak. On Friday, the Amaravati bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed JPL to submit a plan by Tuesday (January 16) to lenders along with a ₹100-crore bank guarantee.

Directorate of Estates on Tuesday issued a notice to evict former TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha last month, from her government bungalow, sources in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said. The Trinamool Congress leader has been asked to vacate the bungalow immediately, which had been allotted to her as an MP, they said. «Since the eviction notice was issued to her (Moitra) on Tuesday, a team of officials from the directorate of estates will now be sent to ensure that the government bungalow is vacated at the earliest,» a source told PTI.

IBPS SO Result 2024 Declared: The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has announced the results of the IBPS SO Prelims Exam 2023 today, January 16. Candidates who appeared for the preliminary examination for the Specialist Officer (SO) post can now check their results on the official website at ibps.in. The IBPS conducted the SO Prelims 2023 exam on December 30 to fill a total of 1402 vacancies for the post of Specialist Officers (SO). The results will be available on the official website from January 16 to 24, 2024. To access the SO Prelims Result 2023, candidates can follow the step-by-step process mentioned below:

Eknath Shinde, former Union Minister Milind Deora Sunday said the Grand Old Party is not the same as it used to be when Manmohan Singh launched economic reforms in 1991, the Congress is now abusing industrialists, businessmen and calling them anti-nationals. Addressing a gathering at Varsha, the official residence of Maharashtra chief minister, Deora said, "It is not easy to make a decision to quit Congress with whom the Deora family has been associated for 55 years.

Milind Deora on Sunday targetted Congress leadership after joining Shiv Sena, saying his parent party is not the same as it used to be when Manmohan Singh had launched economic reforms but it is now abusing industrialists, businessmen and calling them anti-nationals. Addressing a gathering at Varsha, the official residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deora said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have a vision for developing the country. He also hailed Shinde as the «most accessible» chief minister.

₹5,100 crore for 100% stake in Capital Foods, and for a 100% stake in Organic India, TCPL will pay ₹1,900 crore, along with an additional earn-out for the shareholders linked to FY26 audited financials of the company, the company said while announcing the acquisitions Friday. The company will complete the integration of the two businesses over the next three-to-four months, with plans to leverage TCPL's existing distribution muscle to further the reach of the recently acquired brands—both in India and overseas. Meanwhile, the company will continue to scout for opportunities as it builds a “large" fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) business in India and overseas.

Milind Deora said that Congress, which used to offer constructive suggestions for the betterment of India is working with only one goal now and that is to speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The former Union Minister added that he believes in the politics of GAIN not PAIN. "The same party that used to offer constructive suggestions to this country, on how to take the country forward, has now just one goal - speak against whatever PM Modi says and does.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 in September 2022, left a sealed death-bed letter for her son and heir — King Charles III, a new book has claimed. According to a report in 'The Daily Telegraph' on Saturday, biographer Robert Hardman has written about the immediate aftermath of the Queen's passing in a new biography of King Charles III and revealed how she was working on her traditional «red boxes» of official correspondence till the very end. Her final red box included a private letter for the new King, brought down by staff at Balmoral Castle in Scotland — where she breathed her last on September 8, 2022.

Manipur and that's what to led widespread violence in the state starting from 3 May. The violence in which more than 200 people were killed began when the Manipur High Court asked the state government to recommend ST status for Meiteis to the Centre. The verdict led to agitations by the various tribal groups in the state and resulted in widespread violence.

A federal appeals court has directed a lower federal court to consider the merits of a challenge to Maryland’s first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax on First Amendment grounds

withholding tax provisions in line with the country's overall thrust to simplify the tax structure to make it easier for businesses and reduce disputes. There are several tax deducted at source (TDS) provisions with different thresholds and multiple rates. This has created a TDS maze that leads to frequent disputes as well as the blocking of working capital at businesses. «There is a need to simplify the regime in view of the complexities that have crept in over time,» said a government official, explaining the need for the review. The cleanup of the withholding tax regime could take place in the February 1 interim budget if the review is completed in time. There are about 33 sections in the Income Tax Act dealing with TDS rates that range from 0.1% to 30%. For example, before 2020, fees for technical services (FTS) and fees for professional services (FPS) were subject to 10% TDS.

Standard deduction is one of the most widely used deductions as salaried taxpayers can claim it without making any investments. There has been a longstanding demand to increase the standard deduction limit. The demand has become louder after standard deduction was made a part of the new income tax regime last year. It has been almost five years since standard deduction was revised; the previous instance was in 2019. Though 2024 will see only an interim budget, middle-class taxpayers are eagerly hoping Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will roll out some tax sops. Will the Budget 2024 raise standard deduction from Rs 50,000? This is what experts are saying:

The move could irk some local carmakers. India's combined sales and additional taxes on hybrid vehicles sales are as high as 43%, based on the size of the car, compared with the highest rate of 50% imposed on petrol and diesel cars. India taxes electric vehicles (EVs) at just 5%.

Uddhav Thackeray faction's amendment to the Shiv Sena constitution in 2018 cannot be accepted. «Cannot accept petitioner’s (UBT) contention that the 2018 party constitution should be relied upon,» Narwekar said. Narwekar noted that no organisation elections were held in 2013 and 2018 in the Shiv Sena. «In view of the evidence and records before me, prima facie indicates that no elections were held in the year 2013, as well as in the year 2018.

match fixing" raised by Shiv Sena (UBT) faction leader Sanjay Raut ahead of the verdict in the Shiv Sena MLA disqualification case, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the decision to be announced later in the day by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar will have to be made on merit. Speaking with reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday, ahead of the verdict, CM Shinde said the Election Commission of India had allotted his faction the Shiv Sena name and symbol. «We are official Shiv Sena and we have the majority in the state Assembly… but some are making allegations of match fixing, but they also had a meal with the speaker but we didn't make any such allegations; the speaker is an MLA too and the meeting was official and it's in open light...,» CM Shinde said, responding to Sanjay Raut's allegation of «match fixing.» Earlier, Uddhav faction-led Shiv Sena raised objections to Speaker Narwekar meeting Shinde, ahead of the verdict at his residence on January 7 «Whether it's High Court or Supreme Court, they keep making comments on it… the decision will have to be on merit, as we (the government) are formed on merit,» CM Shinde added. Referring to the 2023 Supreme Court verdict refusing to disqualify the Maharashtra government, CM Shinde said, «They (UBT Shiv Sena) have lost ground as the government is functioning properly and working for the people...» On December 15, 2023, the Supreme Court extended till January 10 the time for the Speaker to pronounce a verdict on disqualification petitions against MLAs including Shinde. The disqualification pleas have been pending since the Maharashtra political crises started.

match fixing" raised by Shiv Sena (UBT) faction leader Sanjay Raut ahead of the verdict in the Shiv Sena MLA disqualification case, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the decision to be announced later in the day by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar will have to be made on merit. Speaking with reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday, ahead of the verdict, CM Shinde said the Election Commission of India had allotted his faction the Shiv Sena name and symbol. «We are official Shiv Sena and we have the majority in the state Assembly… but some are making allegations of match fixing, but they also had a meal with the speaker but we didn't make any such allegations; the speaker is an MLA too and the meeting was official and it's in open light...,» CM Shinde said, responding to Sanjay Raut's allegation of «match fixing.» Earlier, Uddhav faction-led Shiv Sena raised objections to Speaker Narwekar meeting Shinde, ahead of the verdict at his residence on January 7 «Whether it's High Court or Supreme Court, they keep making comments on it… the decision will have to be on merit, as we (the government) are formed on merit,» CM Shinde added. Referring to the 2023 Supreme Court verdict refusing to disqualify the Maharashtra government, CM Shinde said, «They (UBT Shiv Sena) have lost ground as the government is functioning properly and working for the people...» On December 15, 2023, the Supreme Court extended till January 10 the time for the Speaker to pronounce a verdict on disqualification petitions against MLAs including Shinde. The disqualification pleas have been pending since the Maharashtra political crises started.