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private sector's contribution to the 'toxic mix of habits' like social media, screen time and unhealthy food that can undermine public health, productivity and diminish India's economic potential is substantial, the Economic Survey said on Monday. The survey, tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament, also pointed out that 'privileging capital over labour is inimical to long-term corporate growth prospects', referring to reluctance shown by businesses to make investments citing lack of demand visibility.

The US presidential race was thrown open by President Joe Biden’s decision to step aside and endorse Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic party’s candidate against Donald Trump. This brightens the ruling party’s odds of White House retention, but her being a woman—and “of colour" too—makes some folks wonder if her candidacy will do anything to stop Trump from cruising to victory.

Ahead of a lunch meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House in March, JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon didn’t know what to expect. Dimon wasn’t sure of her political agenda when it came to the economy and business.

In July 1944, exactly 80 years ago, representatives of 44 countries met in an obscure New Hampshire village to negotiate the Bretton Woods Agreement that established the International Monetary Fund (IMF). For many, reaching the ripe old age of 80 would be cause for celebration. For the IMF, the anniversary only highlights the urgency of reform.

Market veteran Madhu Kela feels that the one engine of the economy of India doing well is the stock market. It is aiding a lot of capital formation. There has never been a healthier situation for the government. Today, if the government wants to raise even Rs 1 lakh crore, they have to only sell 2-3% of the PSUs and that can give them fiscal space of maybe 0.3-0.4%. There are lots of levers. Why will they want to kill the market? The taxation is not low. When long-term capital gains or short-term capital gains tax is combined with dividend distribution, buyback taxation, STT, and income tax, it is not low and there is a marginal tax on F&O already. The most important point in the mind of the market right now is in the Budget tomorrow, especially in the backdrop of so much commentary coming in that regulator is saying mutual funds are taking away the bulk of deposits from the banking. The regulator, SEBI, is sounding worried about rising speculation on the F&O side. The market is expecting some move in the Budget to curb that. Is it justified to expect some move? Madhu Kela: Not a question I would have loved to start with.

blockchain technology presents a game-changing alternative. Blockchain guarantees transparency in the context of unclaimed assets at every stage of the transaction, from the first share issuance to the declaration and dividend distribution. The defining feature of blockchain technology, smart contracts, can reduce administrative costs and guarantee regulatory compliance by automating the process of identifying rightful owners and transferring assets based on predetermined criteria.

Last week, speaking at the Defense News Conclave: Stories of US-India Defense and Security Partnership in New Delhi, the US envoy to India, Eric Garcetti invoking the qualities of “trusted friends” remarked that the bilateral relationship is still “not yet deep enough” to be taken for granted and emphasised that “there is no such thing as strategic autonomy” during a conflict. Garcetti stressed that in times of conflict, strategic autonomy gives way to the necessity of acting together as trusted friends, understanding each other's equipment, training, systems, and even as human beings.

Abhay Agarwal, MD & CIO, Piper Serica, says that in markets like this, it is very difficult to analyse momentum because segments of the market are in a frothy zone – stocks that have gone up 10 times. All stocks in sectors like railways, defence, and power are at 5 times, 10 times. So, it is difficult to stay with the momentum. It is a very risky bet. Agarwal says: “We like to explore sectors that have not done well and are not on investors’ radar for the time being.” What spooked the markets on Friday? Is this just par for the course and are we headed for that 25,000-26,000 level soon? Abhay Agarwal: I have not read too much about this weakness over the last couple of days, including today. This will continue till the Budget announcement. It is a big event. We are very close to it. So, traders are probably lightweighting their long positions and booking profits.

budget should arm the central bank with a time-tested tool to deal with a potential surge in bond flows on the nation’s entry into a key global index, according to the nation’s largest asset manager. “Rather than selling long bonds from their book and distorting the market, you can issue short-term government securities,” Rajeev Radhakrishnan, chief investment officer for fixed income at SBI Funds Management Ltd., said in an interview. “The market stabilization scheme is the right tool to have and at some point, at least in this budget, they should have that.”

Drilled down to its basics, a budget, whether of the government or a household, is essentially the same. It must balance expenditure on one hand with receipts or income on the other. But there is one key difference.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court against the directives by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display the names of their owners. In her plea before the top court, Moitra has sought a stay on the orders passed by the two state governments saying such directives aggravate discord between communities. The plea is yet to be listed for hearing. The TMC leader said by forcing the disclosure of the names of proprietors and even those of their staff, on the stated ground of respecting pilgrims' dietary choices, «makes it clear that dietary choices is a pretext, or a proxy, for the compelled disclosure of personal — and, in this case, religious — identity», the plea said.

NEET-UG candidates have scored zero or negative marks in the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam this year, according to the centre-wise results announced by the National Testing Agency. The lowest marks scored by any candidate in the crucial exam is -180 at a centre in Bihar. According to an analysis of the city- and centre-wise results released on Saturday by the NTA, over 2,250 candidates have scored zero marks, while over 9,400 candidates have scored marks in negative. There are several candidates at the centre under scanner in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh who have scored less than zero marks.

Paris Olympics boldly declared that France's capital would be " the safest place in the world " when the Games open this Friday. Tony Estanguet's confident forecast looks less far-fetched now with squadrons of police patrolling Paris' streets, fighter jets and soldiers primed to scramble, and imposing metal-fence security barriers erected like an iron curtain on both sides of the River Seine that will star in the opening show. France's vast police and military operation is in large part because the July 26-Aug. 11 Games face unprecedented security challenges. The city has repeatedly suffered deadly extremist attacks and international tensions are high because of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Rather than build an Olympic park with venues grouped together outside of the city center, like Rio de Janeiro in 2016 or London in 2012, Paris has chosen to host many of the events in the heart of the bustling capital of 2 million inhabitants, with others dotted around suburbs that house millions more. Putting temporary sports arenas in public spaces and the unprecedented choice to stage a river-borne opening ceremony stretching for kilometers (miles) along the Seine, makes safeguarding them more complex.

In the past few years, there has been a gradual positive shift in the right direction. The government has provided clarity on taxation, and crypto exchanges are now reported entities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). However, the tax rate remains high, which is negatively impacting the growth of the ecosystem. This situation has led to a migration of trading volume to international exchanges, posing higher risks in terms of compliance and customer protection.

Infosys reported robust Q1 numbers, leading to a host of positive brokerage views on the counter. The Nifty50 index on Friday closed 1.09% or 270 points lower at 24,530 while the S&P Sensex closed the day nearly 1% or 739 points lower at 80,604.65.

Chabutaras are 11-22ft tall structures made of wood, stone or concrete, designed specifically for birds. These traditional bird-feeders, though slightly outlandish looking, are an intrinsic part of the city’s visual and cultural lexicon. Ahmedabad is a city with an admirable population of sparrows, mynas, pigeons, old world babblers and purple sunbirds.

BJP government in UP for eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route. Violators will have to pay a Rs 2,000 fine for the first offence and Rs 5,000 if they defy this order for the second time, Ujjain Mayor Mukesh Tatwal said on Saturday. This order is aimed at ensuring safety and transparency and not intended to target Muslim shop-keepers, the mayor said. Ujjain, the hometown of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, is known for its sacred Mahakal temple, attracting devotees from around the globe, especially during the Savaan month, which starts on Monday. Tatwal said the Mayor-in-Council of Ujjain had approved a proposal for shopkeepers to display their names on September 26, 2002, followed by the Corporation House, and subsequently sent it to the state government for objections and formalities. «All formalities have been already completed. The implementation was delayed as the nameplates were initially required to be of the same size and colour. Now, we have relaxed these terms. Displaying the names and mobile numbers of shopkeepers will suffice,» he told PTI over the phone.

Shoppers Stop, Reliance Retail, Lifestyle and VMart bet on a flurry of nuptial celebrations in the second half of this fiscal to reverse their tepid sales growth and boost demand. There will be about 47 auspicious wedding dates in the second half, three times more than 14 in the first half, they reason. “We are looking at a very strong festive campaign, and weddings will be very, very big as we have somewhere around 50-odd (auspicious) days,” Kavindra Mishra, managing director of Shoppers Stop, said during its first quarter earnings call on Friday. “We believe we have got the right kind of merchandise to be a wedding destination,” he said. In FY24, year-on-year retail sales growth rate declined every month, reflecting weak consumer sentiment across segments such as apparel, footwear, and quick service restaurants (QSR).

Karnataka’s only registered union of IT/ITeS sector employees has called for the state government to reconsider its plan to extend the working hours of employees in the IT/ITeS/BPO sector, terming the move “inhuman” and an “attempt to impose slavery”. Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union, which has more than 10,000 members, also said the plan to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961 is an “open challenge” to the 2 million employees working in the IT/ITeS sector in the state.

Lounge story titled, Is There A Perfect Way To Stretch?This piece is about whether those 90-120 seconds which we take to catch our breath between sets, might also be a good time to ease the muscles before using them again. One of the most cited researches on this was published in the Journal Of Strength And Conditioningfive years ago. Titled, Interset Stretching Vs. Traditional Strength Training: Effects on Muscle Strength and Size in Untrained Individuals, the study concluded that the interset stretching group gained more muscle mass than the group which did not stretch between sets.

“The utilization has improved and is perhaps at a reasonable high. Every time we have said that we have improved quarter-on-quarter, but right now it is safe to say that it is where we would like it to be. There are other factors such as improvement in fixed price productivity, optimization of our overheads, and inducting freshers into the workforce that help in improving the pyramid,” said Aparna Iyer, CFO, Wipro. Edited excerpts: ET Now: Walk us through the various tailwinds and the various headwinds that have been at play when you arrived at your margins this time.