RAI Financial News

By Karen Brettell and Alun John

Delhi Village Development Board on Monday sanctioned 167 schemes to develop roads, drainage systems, community facilities, green spaces, and sports infrastructure in rural areas, according to an official statement. A total of Rs 115.52 crore will be spent on works to be undertaken under these schemes, it said.Delhi minister Gopal Rai, who chairs the board, also issued strict directions to ensure timely completion of all village-centric projects. Pertinent issues surrounding pending and prospective development proposals were also deliberated upon, the statement said. Under the schemes, ponds and water bodies will be augmented to improve water resources.

New Delhi: Industry body Retailers Association of India (RAI) on Monday said restrictions imposed on retail stores, malls, and restaurants during the upcoming G20 Summit, which is set to take place in Delhi from 08 September to 10th September, could hinder business in the capital. “While RAI commends the Delhi government’s decision to declare a three-day public holiday in the capital, they strongly advise revisiting the comprehensive shutdown of retail operations. Pledging complete adherence to any Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) provided, RAI suggests a more measured approach to closures, potentially focusing on peak times or specific areas close to G20 venues like Lutyens Delhi," the association said in a note released Monday.

Cuemath has laid off 100 more employees amid a challenging macroeconomic environment for edtech companies, the media reported on Saturday.Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) backs the startup. «Unfortunately, our revenue and cost trajectories are still divergent from expectations, and our problems are compounded by the bad macro situation around capital availability, particularly for edtech,» Cuemath's Founder and CEO, Manan Khurma, told employees in an email dated August 25, which is seen by Moneycontrol. «This means that we will have to move to a leaner team structure, in which some roles will get redundant. That exercise is being carried out today,» he added. In May, the company had laid off about 100 employees to improve efficiencies amid a worsening global landscape for K-12 edtech. «Post the May8 exits, I had said that hopefully the company will not need to take a similar action again.

Lifestyle International, the company that runs an eponymous department chain in India, grew 46% in the year to March 31, 2023 to '11,810 crore. According to financials sourced from Tofler, Lifestyle International reported a net profit of '700 crore in 2022-23, a 160% jump from the last financial year. Total expenses for the fiscal was at '10,877 crore. In comparison, Shoppers Stop reported '5,066 crore annual revenue and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail reported '12,418 crore in revenue. Lifestyle International, part of Dubai-based Landmark Group, operates Lifestyle department store chain, value format Max, and home furnishing store Home Centre. Sales of organised retail segments grew 34% in FY22-23 compared to pre-pandemic (FY20), largely driven by quick service restaurants, sporting goods and electronics, a report by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) said. However, in the last few months, the growth rate has slowed down.

Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) taking suo motu cognizance of the matter and directing the Director General of Police (DGP) to inquire into the matter and submit a report by September 15. The state government on Tuesday transferred North Central Range DIG, Angul, Brijesh Kumar Rai and posted him at the State Police Headquarters. EOW/STF IGP, JN Pankaj has been asked to look after the NC Range, official sources said. In a written complaint to DG Home Guard, Sudhanshu Sarangi on August 13, the victim accused the senior IPS officer's wife of verbally abusing her and beating her up if she failed to perform her job properly. Rai, however, rejected the allegations and claimed that the woman home guard, identified as Souridri Sahu of Angul district, was disturbed because of some family issues. The DG Home Guard said the allegations will be verified. In her complaint, Sahu alleged that on August 4, she was also dragged out of the house and abused by the officer's wife as she could not wash some clothes. Suffering humiliation and torture, the victim claimed in the letter that she decided to die by suicide by jumping before a running train.

Aishwarya Rai. The video of the remarks, made by Maharashtra tribal minister Vijaykumar Gavit at a public function in Nandurbar district, north Maharashtra, has gained widespread attention on social media. Minister Gavit's said, «People who consume fish on a daily basis develop smooth skin and their eyes sparkle. If anyone looks at you, the person will get attracted (towards you).

Sachin Tendulkar will on Wednesday be designated as a «national icon» of the Election Commission (EC) to encourage greater voter participation in the electoral process. A memorandum of understanding will be signed between Tendulkar and the poll panel on Wednesday. As part of the three-year agreement, Tendulkar will spread voter awareness. «This collaboration would mark a significant step towards leveraging Tendulkar's unparalleled impact with the youth for increasing voters' participation in the forthcoming elections, especially in general elections (to Lok Sabha), 2024,» the EC said in a statement. Through the partnership, the EC seeks to address the challenges of urban and youth apathy toward voting. The EC has been associating itself with renowned Indians from various fields by designating them as its «national icons» to motivate voters to participate in the electoral process.

₹12.06 crore nett in India on Sunday. On Monday, the Bollywood film collected around ₹3.6 crore, according Sacnilk.com. The movie has so far made ₹117.2 crore nett in India in all languages.

BJP on Monday attacked the AAP government over the arrest of a WCD department officer on charges of raping a minor and demanded resignation of minister Kailash Gahlot, claiming the accused worked as his OSD when he was heading the department. No immediate reaction was available from Gahlot over the issue. «The officer charged with raping a minor was serving as the OSD to the Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD).

Maharashtra minister for tribal development, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijaykumar Gavit invited trouble for himself within his own ranks, when on Monday he was heard saying that daily consumption of fish would enable one to get eyes as beautiful as former Miss World and Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. A video of the remarks by state tribal minister Vijaykumar Gavit, made at a public function in north Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district, has gone viral on social media. “People who consume fish on a daily basis develop smooth skin and their eyes sparkle.

rites will be performed in Tripathi's Belsand village in Gopalganj, Bihar. Tripathihas left for the Belsand village. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar on Monday expressed his sadness at the demise of Tripathi’s father Pandit Banaras Tiwari.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was among nine MPs who took oath as members of the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The oath was administered by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar in Parliament House.

Also read: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath inspects Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya Rai expressed that the dreams of millions of Ram devotees will soon come true, and after years of controversy, Ram Lalla will finally be enshrined in his grand temple in Ayodhya. "The consecration of the idol of Ram Lalla in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple will take place on any date between January 16 and 24, 2024, after Makar Sankranti," said Rai.

BJP MLC Hari Sahani will be the leader of the opposition in the Bihar legislative council, the party announced here on Sunday. The announcement was made at the BJP state headquarters by state party chief Samrat Choudhary, in presence of senior leaders like Union minister Nityanand Rai and leader of the opposition in the assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha.

G20 summit called on Rahul Gandhi's flying kiss blowing incident a ‘despicable behaviour.’ Smriti Irani's comments came while speaking at the Aaj Tak G20 Summit on 19 August. In a fierce attack at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, she said, “A person from the Gandhi dynasty may not have an interest in Parliament, but can you imagine that a female Cabinet minister who happens to be there now has to gleefully talk about why did the man do what he did? Why should I? It was shame on him...not me, or any other woman who was there that day severing our country in Parliament," India Today has quoted.

Lok Sabha Elections, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took a dig at the grand old party and said that Congress has ‘used Amethi like a chewing gum’. “They (Congress) have used that city’s (Amethi’s) people like chewing gum. They didn’t do anything for development, whereas PM Modi and UP CM Yogi's leadership has changed the landscape of the city and have brought various positive changes," the former Union minister told news agency PTI.

Congress workers as well as leaders are demanding that Rahul Gandhi contest from the constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party's Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai said. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had contested the 2019 general elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad in Kerala. He lost Amethi to BJP leader Smriti Irani.

Rahul Gandhi will contest from Amethi, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai on Saturday said that the people of Amethi consider him as their family because he fulfilled the promises. «The people of Amethi consider him (Rahul Gandhi) as their family because he fulfilled the promises. Rahul Gandhi has connected with local people by doing the Bharat jodo yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and people now believe that it is the Gandhi family who understands our problems and concerns.

Congress Committee, Ajay Rai, on Friday said party MP Rahul Gandhi will contest the 2024 general election from Amethi, the Gandhi family's legacy seat that Gandhi represented three times before losing to the BJP's Smriti Irani in 2019. «Rahul Gandhi will absolutely contest polls from Amethi,» Rai told media persons a day after he was appointed UP Congress' new chief, replacing Brijlal Khabri.

Lok Sabha Elections, according to media reports citing newly appointed President of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, Ajay Rai. "Rahul Gandhi will contest from Amethi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," Ajay Rai said. Notably, Rahul Gandhi had lost the Amethi seat to Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.