RAI Financial News

Karnataka Minister Sharan Prakash Patil on Wednesday expressed his concerns over the proposed delimitation process and demanded that the Centre should protect the number of seats in the south if they want to do the delimitation. After the all-party meeting on delimitation, Patil told ANI, «The BJP government is not comfortable with the southern states because they don't have numbers in the south. They are trying to do this thing. If they have to be fair, they should protect the number of seats in the south if they want to do the delimitation. He also argued that the number of seats in the Southern states would be affected on account of the delimitationn

PSG have played against each other in European competitions four times, with each side winning twice.

telecom gear contract for upgrading Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) network to 5G, people familiar with the matter said. While a final decision is yet to be taken, this still marks a major shift in the government's thinking as it had till now backed only indigenous technology for the state-run carrier's 4G services, and also for 5G upgradation. The change in the government's stance comes amid growing recognition of the need to accelerate upgradation of BSNL's countrywide 5G mobile broadband rollout to boost its market competitiveness.

This economic dynamism has not only increased the billionaire count but has also spurred the growth of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), further strengthening India's luxury property markets including Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. With 191 billionaires, India now ranks third globally in billionaire wealth, behind only the US and China. A total 26 individuals joined the billionaire club in just the last year, a stark contrast to the mere seven additions recorded in 2019, showed the Knight Frank global wealth report.

entrepreneurship and innovation in family businesses and career choices. Next gen is apparently adopting an investor mindset, focusing on the family office and wealth preservation. This suggests heirs lack entrepreneurial ability. While this trend surely exists, understanding its root cause is key. Rather than viewing this shift as a lack of ambition or drive, the environment in which next gen is raised should be examined. Entrepreneurial spirit is not just inherited. Many times, it's cultivated. The mindset required to build and grow businesses does not emerge overnight. It develops through exposure, experience and a strong sense of purpose. Responsibility of grooming, nurturing and curating the entrepreneurial drive in next gen lies with old gen.

clinical research organisations in India will have to get registered with the country's drug regulatory authority by April 1, in what could bring more transparency and accountability to the clinical research industry in India. Online registration of clinical research organisations is now functional on the SUGAM portal, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) said in an order dated March 4. Applications for registration should be submitted only through the SUGAM portal, it said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to visit London later this month to deliver a lecture at the University of Oxford, a well-placed official said on Wednesday. Banerjee is likely to leave for London on March 21, he said. She was invited to deliver the lecture by the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University Jonathan Michie, during the Bengal Global Business Summit in November 2023. «The CM has accepted the invitation of the University of Oxford, where she is scheduled to deliver a lecture. Her flight to London is scheduled on March 21 via Dubai,» the official said, adding that the lecture is scheduled on March 27.

foreign aid payments. The court, in its first significant ruling on a legal challenge to the Trump administration, voted 5-4 to uphold a lower court order requiring that payments be made on aid contracts that have already been completed. The justices said the federal judge who ordered the resumption of payments for contracts with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department «should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill.»

The base model of the new laptops will be priced at $999, which is $100 cheaper than the outgoing generation of the devices. Pre-orders will begin on Wednesday and the devices would be available in-store from March 12, Reuters reported.

digital ecosystem, said Unique Identification Authority of India Director S M D Jeelani here on Wednesday. Jeelani inaugurated Bengaluru-based forensics-driven cybersecurity company SISA's Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence Lab at Dayananda Sagar University (DSU). «The lab is a step in the right direction-a critical step in shaping a new generation of cyber leaders who can play a key role and offer out-of-the-box thinking and expertise to protect our digital ecosystem,» said Jeelani.

Germany's outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday discussed U.S. President Donald Trump's role in negotiations to achieve peace in Kyiv's three-year-old war with Russia. «Both agreed on the importance of the U.S. president's leadership role, also with a view to achieving a swift start to a ceasefire and lasting peace for Ukraine», a German government spokesperson said. Following the call, Zelenskiy said on X he had held «an honest conversation about various issues and our vision for the future security architecture» with Scholz.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said that Mexico could shift trade alliances «if necessary,» referring to the possible continuation of the tariffs. Trump's new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with fresh duties on Chinese goods, standing to seriously alter supply chains and long-standing trade partnerships.

trade and commercial ties with India has urged both countries to focus on normalising trade and business relationship between them for the welfare of the people of both sides. In a letter to the Pakistan-India Joint Business Forum (PIJBF) Wednesday, the Pak-India Business Council chairman Noor Muhammad Kasuri asked it to play its due role in creating circumstances where the two countries may save approximately USD 10 billion in the fields of energy sector, petroleum products, raw material for pharmaceutical industry, consumers' goods, cotton items and infrastructure development. He said the businessmen of both countries suffered due to passive ties for the last six years. «Strenuous efforts should be made to create a conducive atmosphere where businessmen of both the countries may avail trade and business opportunities present in their respective countries,» he said.

female workforce participation by 2047 as it is pivotal for building a Viksit Bharat and will help unlock immense economic potential and foster growth, labour and employment secretary Sumita Dawra said. Speaking at the Women in Services Sector — the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Dialogue 2025 on Wednesday, Dawra said over the past six years, the labour force participation rate for women has risen from 23% in 2017-18 to approximately 42% in 2023-24. “This uptick is evident across various sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing and services, with a notable increase in educated women joining the workforce,” she said.

Reliance Jio and Airtel have urged the government to ensure a level playing field in the satellite communications sector as it prepares to decide on a licence and spectrum allocation for Elon Musk’s Starlink, ToI reported. The companies have called for “comparable” spectrum pricing for satellite operators to prevent what they term as “market distortions.” In a petition to the government, the telecom firms have accused the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) of not addressing the competitive imbalance between satellite and terrestrial spectrum allocation. “Comparable spectrum pricing to terrestrial services should be enforced for competing satellite services in urban/semi-urban/rural areas for retail/enterprise customers,” the representation said. It argues that satellite operators providing similar services must comply with the same pricing, regulatory levies, and fees as terrestrial telecom providers. The new telecom law passed in December 2023 allows satellite spectrum to be assigned administratively for a fee, unlike terrestrial spectrum, which is auctioned. However, the specifics of pricing and allocation are still being worked out by Trai.

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing may have just pulled off one of his boldest transactions yet. Under pressure from the Trump administration over two ports at the Panama canal controlled by CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., Li’s company announced a plan to sell off the bulk of its global ports business to a consortium led by BlackRock Inc. In return, the Hong Kong firm will receive cash proceeds of more than $19 billion. Investors, and even some of CK Hutchison’s closest advisers, were surprised that what began with two Panamanian ports has now evolved into a much larger deal. Under the agreement, the company will sell 43 ports in 23 countries, while keeping facilities in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Steve Smith announced his retirement from One Day Internationals (ODIs). Virat Kohli’s 84-run knock was key to India’s successful chase of 265 runs.

Bandhan Mutual Fund has announced the launch of the Bandhan CRISIL-IBX Financial Services 3-6 Months Debt Index Fund, an open-ended Constant Maturity index fund designed to provide investors with a structured short-term fixed-income investment opportunity. The new fund offer or NFO of the scheme will open for subscription on March 6 and will close on March 11. Also Read | NFO Insight: Samco Large Cap Fund opens for subscription. Are largecaps best now?

Darwinbox, which specialises in human resource (HR) services, has closed a $140 million funding round co-led by global private equity firms Partners Group and KKR. The round—largely secondary with a small primary component—also saw participation by Gravity Holdings. Sources said the blended valuation of the round was around $950 million. The company was last valued at $1 billion in 2022, following a $72 million funding round led by Netflix-backer TCV.

DRDO) has successfully conducted high-altitude trials of an indigenous life support system for pilots onboard Tejas light combat aircraft. The defence ministry said cutting-edge life support systems have been designed to generate and regulate breathable oxygen for pilots during flight, eliminating dependence on traditional cylinder-based oxygen. The trials were conducted on Tuesday. With appropriate modifications, the system can also be adapted for use in MiG-29K and other aircraft, the ministry said.