PAM Financial News

The government circular released on October 3 stated that, “In state government secretariat departments and directorates, a five-day workweek system will remain in effect. For regional offices (including divisional commissioner offices, offices of chief engineers, etc.), a six-day workweek system will remain in effect. In the year 2025, due to the occurrence of both the 358th and 359th birth anniversaries of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, holidays have been declared for both dates.” Also read: Central government holiday list 2025

Gold discounts in India rose this week as consumers refrained from buying as local prices hit a month's high, whereas the upcoming Lunar New Year festival stimulated gold buying activity in other major Asian markets. Indian dealers offered a discount of up to $17 an ounce to official domestic prices, inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, up from the last week's discount of $14 an ounce. «Prices are high, so buyers are holding off on purchases. Anyway, the inauspicious Khar Mass (month in Hindu calendar) is still going on,» an Ahmedabad-based jeweller said.

Interpol has issued its first Silver Notice to locate assets laundered across borders as part of a pilot project in which India is also a participant, the global body said Friday. In its response to a PTI query on the notice, the Interpol said in a statement it has issued the first Silver Notice on the request of Italy which has sought information about the assets of a senior mafia member. The Lyon-based international police cooperation organisation said the pilot project has participation from 52 members including India. At present, the Interpol has eight types of colour-coded notices which allows a member country to seek specific kind of information worldwide. The Red Notice allows a country to request the detention of fugitive living in another country.

wheat procurement target of 30 million tonnes for the 2025-26 rabi marketing season, sources said. The lower procurement target comes despite the Agriculture Ministry aiming for a record wheat production of 115 million tonnes in the 2024-25 crop year (July-June). For the 2025-26 rabi marketing season starting April, the minimum support price for wheat has been fixed at Rs 2,425 per quintal. The procurement target was set following discussions with state food secretaries, the sources added.

V Narayanan is set to take over as Isro chairman on January 14. He will also serve as secretary of the Department of Space and chairman of the Space Commission, succeeding S. Somanath. While talking to reporters, he recently revealed the missions he will be focussing on. Narayanan outlined several key projects for ISRO, including Chandrayaan-4, a mission to return lunar samples; Gaganyaan, a human spaceflight program; and the development of a space station. «We have already charted our programmes for a year or two, and these include series of experiments for human missions… We will be conducting a docking experiment of the SpaDex satellite, which is crucial for Chandrayaan and space station missions. This month-end, we plan to launch the second series of navigation satellites using a GSLV,» he told reporters on Wednesday.

Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) is looking for regulatory approval to launch a 3-6 month gas contract, its chief executive, Rajesh K Mediratta, said on Friday. «We are awaiting a clearance from PNGRB (Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board),» Mediratta told reporters at a press conference. IGX, a unit of Indian Energy Exchange, currently has intraday, dayahead, daily, and fortnightly contracts.

Budget 2025 approaches, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are keenly watching for reforms that could make India a more attractive destination for their investments. By addressing key challenges in taxation and simplifying regulatory processes, the budget has the potential to boost inward remittances and encourage NRIs to invest more confidently in India.

State Bank of India chairman CS Setty on Friday pitched for the creation of a market infrastructure institution to track the end-use of funds borrowed or raised as equity by small businesses. A «viable mechanism» is needed to ensure that the funds are used for the intended purposes, Setty said in remarks which come amid heightened concerns on the subject of end-use of funds. «We will require a viable mechanism to track the actual use of these funds to ensure that the funds are utilised for the purposes they have been raised for, probably through the establishment of a separate market infrastructure institution with powers to track the use of borrowed funds or the funds raised through equities,» Setty said. Addressing a conference organised by the Sebi-promoted NISM here, Setty said the creation of such a platform will provide comfort to lenders as well as investors, and make pricing more competitive.

Accor SA.

Meta has decided to do away with the third-party fact-checking programme in the US and will instead rely onuser-generated community notes to cross-check and establish the veracity of content on its platforms.

Tata Consultancy Services said its net profit grew to Rs 12,380 crore in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, clocking a lower-than-expected expansion of 3.9% sequentially and 5.5% year-on-year as demand slowed in its primary markets across the US and the UK amid the holiday season.

Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) issued an advisory cautioning passengers about potential disruptions to flights due to poor visibility. While the exact number of affected flights and trains was not immediately available, authorities expect to release updates later in the day.

lab-grown diamonds, is in talks with private equity fund Creaegis to raise $80-100 million at a valuation of $470-500 million, people in the know said.

AI stocks through the years, 2023 and 2024. The S&P 500 index has also become a major gainer in this regard, as it has relied heavily on he likes of Apple, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Amazon and other Magnificent 7 stocks for its optimum growth in 2024.

US penny stocks in January 2025 itself.

artificial intelligence (AI).

Hope Valley. Fans await Episode 2 for fresh twists and character progressions.