RAI Financial News

rural employment scheme slowed in February, with officials and experts attributing it to improved economic activities. Strong economic activities open up more remunerative employment prospects in various sectors, reducing demand for the mainly unskilled jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. About 26.6 million people sought work under the scheme in February, up 1.5% from a year earlier. In January, the growth rate stood at 13.4%. The number of households that these workers represented hit 21.81 million, a 2.9% increase year-on-year. In January, the increase was 14.4%.

Manoj Sinha on Monday said his government remains steadfast in its commitment to address the legitimate desire of restoration of full statehood. The 40-day budget session started in the winter capital of Jammu with Sinha's address who reiterated his commitment to holding panchayat and urban local bodies elections in the Union Territory. «One of the foremost aspirations of the people of J&K is the restoration of full statehood. My government remains steadfast in its commitment to addressing this legitimate desire of the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir,» said Sinha. The LG said his government recognises the 'emotional and political significance of statehood' for the people of J&K. «We are actively engaging with all stakeholders to facilitate this process in a manner that ensures peace, stability and progress,» said Sinha.

Public Financial Management System 2.0 to ensure efficient and transparent utilisation of funds of urban and rural local bodies, harnessing the Treasury Single Account (TSA) mechanism. The Controller General of Accounts (CGA) is working on a standard accounting process for the urban and rural local bodies and the target is to add at least all large local bodies ahead of FY27, officials said. The move is part of the next set of policy reforms that aim to make local bodies accountable for transparent usage of public money and to prevent fund diversion and delay in allocation of money.

Invincible Season 3 continues its weekly episode release, with Episode 7 set to premiere on March 6, 2025. The season features significant events. Fans can expect major developments as the storyline progresses.

winter storm Lola is set to bring blizzard conditions across parts of the Plains and Midwest this week. The travel conditions are also going to be affected due to the winter storm. While snow is forecasted to be moderate, the alliance of strong winds with snow may produce whiteout conditions. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued blizzard warnings and winter storm watches in a number of areas due to the probable whiteout conditions the storm can cause.

Australia captain Steve Smith addressed the media in a pre-match press conference ahead of their high-stakes ICC Champions Trophy semifinal clash against India on Tuesday. With India entering the match on the back of an unbeaten run, Smith acknowledged their dominance and shared his thoughts on the challenges ahead. When asked if Australia had a plan to silence the Indian crowd, Smith responded, «Yeah, I don't really have a message to be honest. Just going out and playing, and hopefully, we can put on a good show.» Discussing whether India had an advantage playing in Dubai, Smith admitted that familiarity with the conditions could play a role.

Congress MLA and a Kannada activist have vented their ire against actress Rashmika Mandanna for declining the invitation to attend Film Festival in Bengaluru and for calling herself as someone from Hyderabad. Mandya MLA Ravi Kumar Gowda, popularly known as Ravi Ganiga, said Mandanna hails from Kodagu district of Karnataka and she should be taught a lesson for identifying herself as someone from Hyderabad. «Rashmika Mandanna started her career from Karnataka by debuting in Kannada film 'Kirik Party'. Last time when she was invited for the Film Festival, she had said that she stays in Hyderabad,» Ganiga told reporters. The MLA alleged that the actress had said she did not know where Karnataka is and refused to attend the film festival here saying she did not have time.

Infosys for the mass termination of trainees, seeking immediate intervention of two central ministries, the Education and the Skill Development & Entrepreneurship ministry. “NITES…seeks your urgent intervention in a grave matter concerning Infosys Ltd’s blatant violation of The Apprentices Act, 1961, and The Apprenticeship Rules, 1992,” advocate Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES, told union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in a letter reviewed by ET. This comes days after the Karnataka labour department found no violations of labour laws by the Bengaluru-headquartered IT company in the layoffs of over 300 trainees. Infosys terminated these workers claiming that they had failed to clear three rounds of an internal assessment programme.

Pancard Clubs Limited (PCL), its former directors and others, the federal agency said in a statement. This is a case of alleged fraud through a collective investment scheme (CIS), in violation of the SEBI Act, where more than 50 lakh investors were allegedly duped of over Rs 4,500 crore, it said. The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police had filed a case under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishment) Act, 1999, against Pancard Clubs Limited and others and the ED took its cognisance to file a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The data highlights key industries such as IT, BFSI, Manufacturing, and Healthcare as major contributors to this growth, alongside a rising demand for specialised talent in emerging technology roles. “The Indian job market is evolving rapidly, creating greater access and opportunities for women, particularly in high-growth industries and tech-driven roles,” said Anupama Bhimrajka, VP-Marketing, foundit in a statement.

The February figure marks a 19.5% uptick from $1.38 billion in total funding in January 2025. On a year-on-year basis, the total amount of fundraise was down from $2.06 billion secured in February 2024.

Ola Electric Mobility has laid off around 1,200 employees and contract workers over the past two months, as it grapples with deepening losses and growing regulatory scrutiny, people familiar with the matter told ET. The job cuts span multiple departments, including procurement, fulfilment, customer relations, and charging infrastructure, according to a Bloomberg report earlier in the day. ET has reached out to Ola Electric for comments.

The festival features Lathmar Holi, Flower Holi, Laddu Holi, and Huranga. Key events include flag hoisting at Ladliji Temple on February 3rd, a Holi procession on February 28th, and Lathmar Holi in Barsana on March 8th and Nandgaon on March 9th. Vrindavan's Banke Bihari Temple will host Phoolon ki Holi on March 10th, and Holika Dahan will occur on March 13th. Huranga celebrations will take place at Baldev's Dauji Temple and other locations from March 15th to 21st.

Radhakrishna Kishore said the state's economy is expected to grow at a rate of 7.5 per cent in the financial year 2025-26. «I lay on the table of the House a budget of Rs 1.45 lakh crore for the 2025-26 financial year,» the finance minister said in the assembly. He said that the fiscal deficit in the budget for the upcoming fiscal is estimated to be at Rs 11,253 crore.

It will not be a straightforward task, though, as the Aussies are a resilient beast in global tournaments even without their lead cast of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Their stunning chase of 352 against England at Lahore a few days back validates the thought.

Unifi Mutual Fund launches Unifi Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund, a fund that aspires to deliver meaningful returns that beat inflation across economic cycles. The new fund offer or NFO of the scheme is open for subscription and will close on March 7. The scheme will reopen for continuous sale and repurchase on March 21. Also Read | Sensex down over 12,700 points from peak. What strategy should mutual fund investors follow?

The consumer price index fell 0.09% year-on-year last month, the first annual measure of deflation since March 2000, and well below market expectations for 0.60% inflation. It was the second month in a row the annual CPI rate has come in below the central bank's inflation target range of 1.5% to 3.5%. January's inflation rate was 0.76%.

Donald Trump's adviser Elon Musk on Sunday (Eastern time) took to X to retweet a post demanding the closure of America's Central Bank, the Federal Reserve. The post, which showcased a graph, was shared with the caption 'End the Fed', to which Musk wrote 'The Fed is absurdly overstaffed'. This, however, is not the first time that the billionaire tech entreprenuer has rallied behind the idea of scrutinising the top independent body.

US Republicans had suggested he may have to resign after US President Donald Trump dramatically turned against him during a contentious Oval Office meeting about the war with Russia on Friday. «If they replace me, given what is going on, given the support, simply replacing me will not be simple,» Zelensky told British media.

Elon Musk, founder of xAI, has endorsed the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Grok. In a recent post on X, Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and X, responded with “yes” to a user who wrote, “Don’t Google it, just Grok it.” Competing with Google

Rekha Gupta on Monday said the Delhi government will present the 'Viksit Delhi' budget for 2025-26 in the assembly between March 24 and 26. Addressing a press conference, she said the budget will be prepared after incorporating suggestions from various sections of society. «To make this a people's budget, we will meet representatives from different women's organisations on March 5 on the assembly premises. Additionally, we will hold discussions with stakeholders from the education sector and traders on March 6,» the chief minister said. She also shared an email ID and a WhatsApp number where Delhi residents can send their suggestions for the budget.