PAM Financial News

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence will meet on Friday at 11 AM to hear oral evidence from representatives of the Ministry of Defence regarding the review of Sainik Schools, the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), and the Rashtriya Military Schools. The meeting will take place in the Committee Room of the Parliament House Annexe. Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is also a member of this committee. Last month, the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committees for 2024-2025 were constituted, with Congress members chairing four committees, including External Affairs.

humanitarian assistance sent by India to Lebanon. Lebanon's Health Minister Firas Abiad received the consignment of medicines. Indian Embassy in Lebanon expressed India's commitment to strengthening close ties with Lebanon. In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Lebanon stated, «First tranche of India's humanitarian assistance arrives in Beirut. Lebanon's Health Minister HE Dr Firas Abiad received the consignment of medicines in the presence of Amb @NoorRahman_IFS. India stands committed to strengthening close ties with Lebanon.»

Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina on Thursday condemned the terror attack in Gulmarg in which two porters working with the Army were killed and four people injured, and blamed Pakistan for trying to destabilise peace and tranquillity in the Union territory. Terrorists opened fire on an Army vehicle in the Bota Pathri area, six kilometres from tourist hotspot Gulmarg in north Kashmir, on Thursday evening. Three soldiers are among the injured. «We condemn the attack carried out by coward Pakistani terrorists on an Army vehicle while taking advantage of darkness. We express condolences to the families of the martyrs,» Raina said. The BJP leader said Pakistan is repeatedly trying to destabilise peace and tranquillity in Kashmir.

Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Madhabi Puri Buch, for skipping a meeting with the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday claiming that someone was behind the plan to protect her from being answerable to the PAC. «Why is Madhabi Buch reluctant to answer questions before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament? Who is behind the plan to protect her from being answerable to the PAC?» Rahul Gandhi posted on X. Meanwhile, the Parliament's PAC on Thursday postponed its meeting after it witnessed a ruckus after SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch did not appear before the committee.

Odisha's Bhadrak district experienced severe disruptions early on Friday as Cyclone Dana made landfall in the eastern state. Strong winds and heavy rains saw trees uprooted and roads blocked, with the cyclone's landfall expected to last a few more hours, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The IMD reported wind speeds of 100-110 km/h, with gusts reaching 120 km/h, saying, «The severe cyclonic storm 'Dana' moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 12 kmph and lay centred over north coastal Odisha, about 15 km north of Dhamara and 30 km north-northwest of Habalikhati nature camp (Bhitarkanika).» Odisha's Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, Suresh Pujari, noted that approximately 10 districts are likely to be affected. «Around 10 districts are likely to be affected by the cyclone, comprising 60 blocks, 2131 villages, 12 urban local bodies, and 55 wards in different urban local bodies. The evacuation process has already reached its conclusion...Three lakh seventy-seven thousand people have already been evacuated...,» he said.

2024 presidential election, Warren Buffett criticizes fraudulent claims on social media. This Wednesday, billionaire Warren Buffet announced that he will not support former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris in the run-up to the 2024 election. Buffett, who is among the wealthiest people in the world, supported Democrats in three of the previous four presidential contests, as quoted in a report by the New York Post.

Kamala Harris has found herself in the midst of a major plagiarism row for the second time this week itself, and this time it revolves around a Republican's congressional testimony. Fresh allegations are now emerging against Kamala Harris, with the first one being an accusation of taking more than a dozen sections from a book titled Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer, without due permission from the author.

former US President Donald Trump is having a slight edge over US Vice President Kamala Harris while Donald Trump is leading with 47% to 45% which marks a four point swing since the month of August. According to New York Post, Donald Trump’s approval rate during his term as US President has rose up to 52%. New York Post reported that on the other hand, Kamala Harris’s favorability point has seen a gradual drop during her term as the US Vice President while 53% of voters are viewing her unfavorably. Furthermore, the Wall Street Journal Poll also indicates the fact that Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has the lowest job approval rating as the US Vice President recorded at just 42%. Also Read: 71 bets a minute in favor of Donald Trump: That's what the Polymarket 'whale' is betting on

standard operating procedure (SOP) document for negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) is expected to be ready by the end of this year, an official said on Thursday. The official said that it is an internal document which aims to standardise the processes of negotiations of these pacts. The commerce ministry is formulating the document and it would seek «guidance» from higher authorities also on this for any changes if required. It has been circulated informally to 17 ministries, including agriculture, labour and environment, for their views as FTA negotiation is a multi-ministerial exercise.

Radha Yadav, drove India to a comfortable 59-run victory over New Zealand in the first women's ODI here on Thursday. India now lead the three-match series 1-0, after bowling out the Kiwis for 168 who were chasing a gettable 228. Left-arm spinner Yadav (3/35) was India's lead act in bowling. Debutant pacer Saima Thakor inflicted the first blow in only the second ball of her international career, removing Suzie Bates (1). Bates feathered an away-swinger to Yastika Bhatia behind the stumps.

Droupadi Murmu on Thursday appointed Mazhar Asif as the vice chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia, according to Union Ministry of Education officials. Asif is currently a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University's (JNU) School of Languages. «The president, in her capacity as the visitor of Jamia Millia Islamia, has appointed Professor Mazhar Asif, School of Languages, JNU, as the vice chancellor of Jamia for five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier,» a ministry official said. Asif, a JNU alumnus, was a member of the drafting committee for the new National Education Policy, 2020.

Unsecured loans like micro finance, personal loans, credit cards and business loans will continue to be a source of stress for non bank financial companies (NBFCs) this fiscal year as borrowers’ repayment capacities are likely to be hit due to higher interest rates, rating agency ICRA said. This rising stress is expected to cause a slowdown growth in microfinance loans by 10% to 12%, and a 19% to 21% in other unsecured loans. The stress will also spill over to secured loans like small mortgages, vehicle loans and other small ticket loans, the rating agency said. High credit growth in the previous two years has potentially resulted in over leveraging in some assets, and a slower credit growth due to higher risk weights by the regulator, can damage the refinancing ability of some borrows.

Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of online travel aggregator Ixigo, which went public in June, saw its net profit decline by 51% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 14 crore for the quarter ended September 2024. The company reported operating revenue of Rs 206 crore for the quarter, up 26% from Rs 164 crore a year ago. The company’s total expenses rose to Rs 191 crore in the September quarter from Rs 169 crore in the same period last year.

Blinkit, the quick-commerce arm of food delivery major Zomato, has introduced an option to purchase items on equated monthly instalments (EMI). “EMI options will be applicable on all orders above Rs 2,999 (except orders that contain gold and silver coins),” Blinkit chief executive Albinder Dhindsa wrote in a post on microblogging platform X. This is similar to ecommerce platforms, which have been offering EMI options for a while. The move is aimed at making purchases more affordable for consumers, driving higher spending, especially for big-ticket items.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said in a conversation with Nvidia chief executive officer (CEO) Jensen Huang. Speaking at the Nvidia AI Summit in Mumbai on Thursday, Ambani said India is now one of the top countries in digital infrastructure, alongside the US and China. “India now has the best digital connectivity infrastructure, apart from the US and China, with 4G, 5G, and broadband systems in the world,” he said.

paddy procurement in Punjab due to a shortage of storage space. Over the next three to four months, the Centre will move around 40 lakh tonnes of rice from the state to other rice-consuming regions, and plans are underway to create additional space for another 20 lakh tonnes, ToI reported. This move aims to ease the storage crunch and ensure smooth paddy procurement for farmers. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) will begin weekly transportation of rice stocks from Punjab to other states, helping free up space in the state’s warehouses. This decision follows a meeting between Union Food Minister Prahlad Joshi and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, where Mann raised concerns about the lack of storage facilities. He highlighted how the shortage was affecting paddy procurement from mandis (local markets), leading to frustration among farmers. In response, Joshi assured that the Centre would act swiftly to move surplus stocks and ensure that the targeted 120 lakh tonnes of paddy from Punjab would be procured.

Go Digit General Insurance posted a net profit of Rs 89.4 crore for the July-September quarter, up 222% from Rs 27.7 crore a year earlier. The new-age general insurance company reported a gross written premium of Rs 2,368.5 crore in the September quarter, up 14% from Rs 2,073.8 crore a year back. In a filing with the stock exchanges, the Fairfax-backed insurance company said it has reappointed its founder Kamesh Goyal as the non-executive chairman for a period of five years from October 24, 2024, subject to insurance regulator IRDAI’s approval.

Russia moved to ratify a key defence pact with North Korea on Thursday, while South Korea warned it would not «sit idle» if Pyongyang deployed thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Ukraine. Seoul's spy agency says thousands of North Korean soldiers are currently training in Russia and are likely to deploy to the front lines in Ukraine soon, with thousands more to be sent by December. Lawmakers in Russia's lower house of parliament voted unanimously on Thursday to ratify a treaty with North Korea that provides for «mutual assistance» if either party faces aggression.

telecom industry has demanded that the license fee paid by them to the government should be reduced to 0.5% to 1% of the gross revenues, from the current 8%, as the circumstances and regime have changed for the industry. The industry said a reduction in fees would facilitate telcos to plough the revenues back to the network for upgradation and expansion, which will enable digital inclusion. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which counts all the three private telecom operators –Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea –as its members, said, payments made basis the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) need to be reconsidered under the changed regime and circumstances. Telcos pay an 8% license fee to the government, which includes a 5% universal service obligation (USO) levy.

Artificial Intelligence and other innovative methods to check traffic violations and ensure that penalties are levied accurately, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. Addressing the 12th edition of the Traffic InfraTech Expo, the minister outlined plans for upgrading toll collection methods, including the exploration of satellite toll systems, which would improve efficiency and ensure transparency in toll collection. Gadkari noted that road safety cannot be achieved without integrating advanced engineering solutions, enforcement of laws, and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). Highlighting the ministry's approach to enhancing road safety, he said that the government has decided to appoint experts from the private sector to collaborate on developing technological solutions.

Pushpa 2: The Rule, has reached a new high with the announcement of its release date. Originally slated for December 6, 2024, the film will now hit theaters a day earlier on December 5, 2024. This thrilling update was shared by the producers during a press conference in Hyderabad and subsequently on social media.