PAM Financial News

Dune: Prophecy continues its prequel saga to the renowned Dune films. Episode 5 is set to release on December 15, 2024.

Cement dealers across the country have hiked prices since the start of December after four to five months of flat prices that has reduced dealer margins and affected the profits of cement companies. Dealers have said that the hikes are because of the increased demand from the real estate sector, which is driven by better labour availability post-festive season, and an increase in orders from the infrastructure sector.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the 72nd Plenary Session of the Northeastern Council (NEC) in Agartala next week. Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER) Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Governors and Chief Ministers of all eight northeastern states will attend the meeting. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, after reviewing the preparedness of the two-day event, said that on December 20, an official-level meeting would be held and on the next day, the main session would be held at Pragya Bhavan.

Netflix reality show "Celebrity Bear Hunt" twelve celebrities and British adventurer Bear Grylls is all set to be released. The show will be hosted by Holly Willoughby. «Celebrity Bear Hunt», touted as Netflix's answer to «I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!», will be located on Costa Rica jungles. Netflix competition series «Celebrity Bear Hunt» will start streaming on February 5, 2025. It will have a total of eight episodes, as per a report WhatsOnNetflix.

Danny Boyle, who helmed the original film, this new installment features a star-studded cast including Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes apart from Cilian Murphy. Trailer Highlights The trailer offers a chilling glimpse into a post-apocalyptic world nearly three decades after the rage virus outbreak. Aaron Taylor-Johnson's character is depicted venturing outside a secure community in England, armed with a bow and arrow. Meanwhile, Jodie Comer's character is shown carrying an infant, hinting at the characters' survival struggles in this harsh environment.

human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, closer to reality, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian Navy have successfully completed ‘well deck’ recovery trials, the space agency announced on Tuesday. The trials were conducted by the Eastern Naval Command using a well deck ship off the coast of Visakhapatnam on December 6. For the Gaganyaan mission, this technique is critical for ensuring the safe recovery of astronauts following their three-day mission around Earth’s orbit. “Once the Crew Module (CM) touches down in the sea at the end of the mission, the crew must be recovered as quickly and comfortably as possible,” ISRO said. A well deck—a ship compartment that can be flooded to allow boats, landing crafts, or spacecraft to dock is a preferred option for recovering the module.

Hamid will also be investigated in connection with attacks on Pakistan's military in May 2023, a statement from the military said.

public sector banks (PSBs) stood at Rs 3.16 lakh crore as of September 30, which is 3.09 per cent of the outstanding loans, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in the Rajya Sabha that as per provisional data of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), gross NPAs of PSBs and private sector banks as on September 30, 2024 were Rs 3,16,331 crore and Rs 1,34,339 crore, respectively. Further, gross NPAs as percentage of outstanding loan was 3.09 per cent in public sector banks and 1.86 per cent in private sector banks. Chaudhary further said as of March 31, 2024, 580 unique borrowers (excluding individuals and overseas borrowers), each having loan outstanding of more than Rs 50 crore, were classified as wilful defaulters by Scheduled Commercial Banks.

EEPC India, the apex engineering exports promotion body, has proposed introducing a 25% income tax slab for MSME manufacturing units that are partnerships, LLPs, or sole proprietorships. In its pre-Budget memorandum to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, EEPC India also suggested increasing the benefits limit available under the Interest Equalization Scheme (IES) to Rs 10 crores from Rs 50 lakh now and offering 100% depreciation for investment in solar power generation by MSME units. Pankaj Chadha, Chairman, EEPC India said in a statement, «Private limited companies currently pay 25% income tax, while entities like partnerships, LLPs, and sole proprietorships pay approximately 35% after including surcharges. We therefore urge the government to introduce a 25% income tax slab for MSME manufacturing units that are partnerships, LLPs, or sole proprietorships. The condition would be that the extra 10% saved must be reinvested in the business.»

Sanjay Malhotra from the Ministry of Finance in New Delhi to the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai has left a key position vacant, just seven weeks before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget. This development poses a unique challenge as the government has yet to announce Malhotra's successor for a role that demands extensive expertise in both direct and indirect taxation. Historically, the government has refrained from extending terms of finance officials even in the crucial lead-up to the budget. The vacancy now highlights the delicate balance required to ensure seamless coordination within the finance ministry, which comprises six departments—Revenue, Expenditure, Economic Affairs, Financial Services, DIPAM, and Public Enterprises. Of these, Revenue, Expenditure, and Economic Affairs play critical roles in shaping the Union Budget. This year's scenario is further complicated by recent changes in leadership. DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, now serving as the Finance Secretary due to his seniority, is juggling multiple responsibilities, including overseeing the Department of Public Enterprises and the Department of Personnel. For Expenditure Secretary Manoj Govil and Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju, the upcoming budget will be their first experience in such a high-stakes exercise.

Supreme Court that it had written to the state chief secretaries to follow the law laid down by the apex court on the issue of internet shutdowns. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale was informed by the Centre about the top court's judgement on internet shutdowns in Anuradha Bhasin's case. In Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India, the apex court ruled that an undefined restriction of internet services was illegal and orders for internet shutdown must satisfy the tests of necessity and proportionality. On Tuesday, the petition before the bench alleged shutting down of internet services in some states on account of preventing cheating in examinations.

S.M. Krishna who has been credited for for putting Bengaluru on the global map as a fillip given to the IT sector during his tenure resulting in the city growing as India's Silicon Valley' passed away at his residence early Tuesday morning, his family told news agency PTI. The politician was awared with Padma Vibhushan from President Droupadi Murmu in 2023. «S.M. Krishna is no more. He breathed his last at 2:45 am at his residence. Mortal remains are likely to be taken to Maddur today,» the source told PTI.

«The Council, I think, was more or less united on the need to preserve the territorial integrity and unity of Syria, to ensure the protection of civilians, to ensure that humanitarian aid is coming,» Russian UN ambassador Vassili Nebenzia told reporters after the emergency meeting requested by Moscow. Russia was a key ally of Assad, who was toppled by Islamist-led rebels over the weekend after a short and stunning offensive.

India also called for an inclusive Syrian-led political process that represents aspirations of all sections of the Syrian society that includes Alwaites (Hafez Al-Assad is an Alawite), Kurds and other minorities. In a clear-eyed statement, the external affairs ministry noted, «We are monitoring the situation in Syria in the light of on-going developments. We underline the need for all parties to work towards preserving the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. We advocate a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led political process respecting the interests and aspirations of all sections of Syrian society. Our Embassy in Damascus is in contact with the Indian community, for their safety and security.»

According to the lawsuit, the girl, who had managed to enter the party, felt disoriented after consuming a drink. She alleges that Combs and Jay-Z, along with an unnamed female celebrity, assaulted her in a bedroom. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and is part of a broader effort by Buzbee, who stated he represents over 100 individuals with claims against Combs.

Sheikh Hasina has promised justice to the victims of excesses committed under the Yunus regime and recalled she stepped down to prevent politics over dead bodies. She virtually delivered the speech at an Awami League meeting, organised in London on Sunday night. Yunus will be brought to justice soon, Hasina said, accusing the chief advisor of the interim government of masterminding the murder of activist Abu Sayed during the agitation against reservation in jobs.

official opening of the Holloch Caves on July 1, 1906. Next to a picture of the Dolomite Hall it was reported that although only one kilometre of the caves had been made accessible to the public, the cave explorer Hans Widmer, who was the driving force behind the project, knew of even deeper caves. 'No one knows how deep Holloch goes,' he declared. 'We joke that it reaches all the way to hell, but of course we know it doesn't really.' 'You're wrong on two counts,' Josef whispered to himself. 'The caves go all the way down, but there's no hell at the bottom.' A poem composed by the local rhymester, Richard Hardmeier, in honour of the occasion was printed below the picture: Now open, gate to hell

Candidates who clear the mains exam will be invited for an interview, which serves as a personality test round. There might be a situation where you have cleared the mains but the e-Summon Letter is not downloading.

Shaktikanta Das, another finance ministry bureaucrat has been appointed as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra will replace Das. Economists were speculating over the future of Das in the wake of data showing the South Asian economy expanded 5.4% from July to September, a seven-quarter low and far below the Reserve Bank of India’s 7% projection, Bloomberg reported. When Shaktikanta Das joined the central bank six years ago, he had waded into a government-RBI rift. A deft bureaucrat like his predecessors Duvvuri Subbarao and YV Reddy, Das had a tough job: to clean the mess left by high-profile economists Raghuram Rajan and Urjit Patel whose tenure at the helm of the RBI was marked by spats with the government, erosion of confidence and high uncertainty. Now, when expectations for a rate cut have spiked after a long rate pause and the GDP dip, Malhotra will be heading the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) when it considers a rate cut in its February meeting.

Jay-Z refutes claims that he and Sean Diddy Combs abused a 13-year-old in 2000. A woman who claims that Sean Diddy Combs assaulted her has added claims that Jay-Z also assaulted her at the same party to her lawsuit. The woman added Shawn Carter, the rapper and businessman known as Jay-Z, as a defendant in the civil lawsuit on Sunday after it was first filed against Combs in October. In relation to Combs, Carter is the first well-known person to face allegations of assault. Carter described the accusations as so heinous in nature that he implores to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one, in a statement to CNN.

Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over protests by opposition members in Parliament complex and termed him «comedy king» who is trying to stay relevant. Leaders of some INDIA bloc parties on Monday protested in Parliament complex over the Adani row, with Gandhi conducting a mock 'interview' over the issue with Congress members wearing masks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani «Rahul Gandhi is indulging in what he does best — Stand-up comedy! His malicious claims and rants have crumbled under the weight of comprehensive investigation every time. Playing the role of a pawn to perfection, he yet again attempts to mislead despite his misinformation campaigns failing to cut ice with the people of India,» Pradhan wrote on X tagging a video of the protest.