PAM Financial News

Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday initiated the debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha and launched a scathing attack on the Congress accusing the party of amending the Constitution to restrict civil liberties and to protect those in power. Starting with the First Amendment of the Constitution, she accused the Congress of curbing freedom of speech. «In the last seven decades, this living document, our Constitution, has seen many amendments,» she said, adding, "...The Supreme Court in 1950 had ruled in favour of the Communist magazine 'Cross Roads' and the RSS organisational magazine 'Organiser'. But in response, the (then) interim government thought that there was a need for a First Constitutional Amendment and that was brought in by the Indian National Congress and it was essentially to curb freedom. So India, a democratic country which prides itself even today on freedom of expression, saw the first interim government coming up with a constitutional amendment which was to curb the freedom of speech of Indians and that too within one year of adoption of the Constitution..." She added that the First Amendment was done by former PM Jawaharlal Nehru despite MPs being against it, to harm the press and it is still affecting the freedom of media.

SUV sales are driving the share of diesel with nine out of ten diesel-powered vehicles sold in the country this year being SUVs. This has helped boost the share of diesel in the domestic passenger vehicle market for only the second time in 13 years at a time when the auto fuel is getting increasingly outshined by petrol, CNG and electric vehicles. The share of diesel in total PV sales is estimated at 18% as of the first half of December 2024, up from 17.8% in 2023, according to Jato Dynamics, a market research, data and analytics firm. Diesel vehicle sales climbed to 774,000 units from 738,000 units during this period. SUVs have a 55% share of total car sales this year, up from 48.4% in 2023. This is the second instance since 2011 of diesel improving its share in the Indian passenger vehicle market. It last rose in 2022 to 19% from 13% in 2021.

Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, and Jennifer Lopez, with a twist, appear to be co-parenting together. Despite the reported tension, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, and Jennifer Lopez all came together for a very endearing co-parenting moment in a genuinely surprising move. The fact that this co-parenting moment was between Lopez's child Emme and Garner and Affleck's child Seraphina, who are reportedly closer than ever even after the divorce, makes it extra-sweet, as quoted in a report by SheKnows.

Centre for Science and Environment. India's urban water crisis could ease if all the wastewater is treated and reused, the report released here on Monday said. Rajiv Kumar Mital, Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), said, «Using and disposing of treated water without harnessing its potential means we are losing out on utilising an important resource. The challenge is to scale up and ensure that the work we do in this sector is impactful.» Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Director General Sunita Narain said India faces significant water scarcity challenges due to rapid urbanisation, industrial growth, population expansion and, most importantly, climate change.

S&P Global said on Monday that its flash manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.3 this month from 49.7 in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a flash reading of 49.8. A PMI reading below 50 indicates contraction in manufacturing, which accounts for 10.3% of the economy. A gauge of production at factories declined to 46.0, the lowest level since May 2020, from 47.9 in November.

In the past few months United Nations-sponsored negotiations to tackle climate change, plastic pollution, loss of global species and a growing number of deserts have either outright failed or come out with limited outcomes that didn't address the scale of the problems. It's been three years since activist Greta Thunberg dismissed global talks as «blah-blah-blah,» which became a rallying cry for young environmentalists. «If you are not feeling some kind of grief about what's going on, you're obviously not understanding what's going on,» said climate negotiations veteran analyst Alden Meyer of the European think-tank E3G. He said he's been watching humanity «collectively fail as a species.»

Justin Trudeau about the best path forward for Canada. Freeland quit just hours before she was due to present a fall economic update to parliament, a document widely expected to show the Liberal government had run up a much larger 2023/24 budget deficit than planned. «For the last number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds over the best path forward for Canada,» Freeland said in a letter to Trudeau posted on X.

The Opposition members alleged that several key safeguards of the Constitution are being breached today under NDA rule, leading to encroachments on the rights of minorities, toppling of elected governments and misuse of the office of governor. Intervening in the debate, Union Minister Hardeep Puri emphasized that Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir was an aberration and against the very idea of India while Article 35A was implemented “quickly and quietly” without the consent of Parliament. Praising the “indomitable courage and resolve” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said Article 370 was abrogated despite apprehensions by some that doing so will be akin to playing with fire.

Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) will not have any impact on the commitments signed in a trade agreement between India and the EFTA bloc, a top government official said on Monday. The Swiss government has suspended the most favoured nation (MFN), which could potentially impact Swiss investments in India and lead to higher taxes on Indian companies operating in the European nation. India and the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) signed the agreement in March. Its members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

The Indian-origin entrepreneur posed a simple yet thought-provoking question on X (formerly Twitter): “I think I should get a green card. Wdyt?”. And this wasn't just the only query. Srinivas, a graduate of IIT Madras and PhD holder from UC Berkeley, revealed that he has been waiting for his green card for three years. Known for his sharp, quirky and concise remarks, billionaire Elon Musk replied to the post with a straightforward “Yes.” The exchange quickly gained traction, with netizens, industry leaders, and Musk’s followers weighing in on the broader issue of US immigration policies.

carbon monoxide poisoning, local media reported, citing police. The Indian mission in Tbilisi said that all 12 victims were Indian nationals. However, Georgia's internal affairs ministry statement said 11 were foreigners while one victim was its citizen. It added that the bodies of all victims, employees in the same Indian restaurant, were found in bedrooms on the second floor of the facility.

Tata Steel has rolled out an all-women shift at its Noamundi iron mine in Jharkhand. This shift will comprise women employees for all the mining activities of the shift including Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM), shovel, loader, drill, dozer operators, and shift supervision. «This initiative, India’s first, underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to creating an equitable workplace and empowering women in traditionally male-dominated industries,» the company stated in a press release. “This all-women shift represents a landmark achievement not only for Tata Steel but also for the Indian mining industry....We are proud to lead this change and will continue to create more opportunities for women specially in our mining ecosystem. This initiative marks a significant addition to the 100 glorious years of mining at Noamundi," D B Sundara Ramam, vice president, raw material, Tata Steel said as stated in the release.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition collapsed in November, but some laws could still be passed before an early election in February. The departure from the coalition of the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) deprived Scholz's government of its parliamentary majority and left in limbo dozens of laws the coalition had been scheduled to pass in its remaining time. However, the FDP signalled on Friday its support for passing certain laws that were already well advanced through the legislative process and in which the party was deeply involved.

inflation eased to 1.89 per cent on an annual basis in November from 2.36 per cent in October. The wholesale inflation, measured using the Wholesale Price Index, was expected to moderate to 2.20 per cent, according to a Reuters poll. India’s retail inflation eased to 5.48 per cent in November, after breaching the RBI's 6 per cent upper tolerance band in October, as the arrival of fresh produce helped moderate soaring vegetable prices.

Travis Head put an insipid Indian bowling attack to sword for his second successive hundred while veteran Steven Smith wore the opposition down with a statement century to put Australia in a favourable position on day two of the third Test here on Sunday. Australia reached a commanding 405 for 7 at stumps courtesy, a 241- run stand between Head (152 off 160) and Smith (101 off 190) for the fourth wicket after the visitors put them in a spot of bother at 75 for three in the morning. The Indian bowlers, who impressed in the first session, lost their way to allow Head and Co to dominate the proceedings. Jasprit Bumrah (5/72), who came up with welcome wickets both in the morning and towards the end of play, was once again the stand out bowler for the visitors.

This catchphrase is central to his plan to lower gas prices and tackle inflation, which he blames on the Biden administration's energy policies. However, experts are casting doubt on the effectiveness of this approach in the current economic landscape.

He was not the only one. Many who lay down their arms and enter the mainstream similarly choose to reverse the procedure to start a family. The practice of 'nasbandi' is so widespread that its impact was conveyed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during an interaction with surrendered Maoist cadres here on Sunday.

Zakir Hussain passed away at the age of 73 in the US on Sunday, December 15. The legendary musician had been hospitalized due to serious health concerns, with updates shared on social media. Hussain was admitted to the ICU due to heart-related issues. Soon after the news borke, industrialist Harsh Goenka tweeted, «The world falls silent as the tabla loses its maestro. Ustad Zakir Hussain, a rhythmic genius who brought the soul of India to global stages, has left us. I was privileged to know him because of his connection with HMV and hear him perform at our home. His beats will echo eternally.»

«NCL touched the lives of around 10 lakh people and spent more than Rs 1,000 crore on various CSR initiatives in the previous 10 years,» it said in a statement. The company's CSR expenditure in the previous fiscal year was Rs 157 crore.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said tech worker Atul Subhash’s death by suicide in Bengaluru on December 9 has sparked country-wide discussions about men’s rights. The case of suicide, he said, has opened a new discussion throughout the country centered on men’s rights. “We always talked about women’s rights, but now this particular case has exposed men's rights and how weak the men’s rights system is working,” he told the media in Bengaluru. The Bengaluru Police, the Home Minister said, would also investigate the factors that drove him to the extreme step.

flexible workspace that is looking to raise $25 million in a pre-IPO funding round ahead of its public listing next year, has taken up 100,000 sq. ft. of office space at HQ27 in Gurugram. Previously, Nvidia had leased 73,000 sq. ft. at The Headquarters 27, a commercial project by Bharti Realty in Gurgaon. The facility at HQ27 has the capability to accommodate over 1500 seats.