Social Financial News

Opposition Congress party on Wednesday raised in Rajya Sabha the issue of dropping of Preamble to the Constitution from certain NCERT textbooks saying this was an attempt to impose communal ideology on the country — a claim which Union Minister J P Nadda countered saying the government was committed to protecting the constitution. Raising the issue, Leader of the Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Preamble, which is the soul and foundation of the Indian Constitution, used to be published in NCERT textbooks. The objectives stated by the Preamble are to secure justice, liberty, equality to all citizens and promote fraternity to maintain unity and integrity of the nation, he said and went on to read the debate in Constituent Assembly in November 1948, where it was argued that political democracy in the country should also be made a social democracy. «Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy. What does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life,» he quoted from the debate.

Groww experienced a technical glitch this morning, disrupting users' ability to place orders and access their Demat balances. The outage has caused widespread difficulties, leaving many users unable to use essential platform services. Taking to platform X (previously known as Twitter), one user wrote, “@_groww unable to use my Demat Balance, what's wrong?”

GST of 18% on life or health insurance policies pinches policyholders and discourages citizens from taking a new or higher insurance cover. The pain of policyholders gets amplified as insurance is a product where most beneficiaries will get the benefit only when they face an eventuality like death or hospitalisation. What this means is that in some cases, they would pay the premium and high tax but not get the benefit. While the insurance industry has been raising its voice against this, the issue of 18% goods and services tax (GST) on life and health insurance premiums has again come to the forefront now. The political parties of the INDIA bloc have recently protested the high tax outside the Parliament building and demanded that the central government withdraw this GST. At least one person in the government has also aired similar views. A few days ago, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urging her to roll back the 18% GST on such financial products. After Gadkari's letter, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also urged Sitharaman to remove GST on insurance premiums. So will the central government remove the 18% GST and bring down your life and health insurance premium? As the Centre looks into the issue, let us understand why everyone wants the government to remove GST from insurance premiums and how it can lower your insurance premiums.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her newly selected vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, campaigned for the first time together on Tuesday in Philadelphia, kicking off a multi-day tour of battleground states aimed at introducing Walz to the national stage. In his remarks to a raucous crowd of more than 10,000 at Temple University, Walz described his upbringing in a small Nebraska town, his 24 years serving in the Army National Guard and his prior career as a high school social studies teacher and football coach. «It was my students who encouraged me to run for office,» he said. «They saw in me what I was hoping to instill in them: a commitment of common good, a belief that one person can make a difference.»

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal joined the other NDA MPs from Assam to call on PM Narendra Modi. Speaking on the occasion, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “We are extremely inspired by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji that has explored many possibilities of the rich region of the Northeast to become the growth engine of India’s next economic growth. Today, under Modi Ji’s visionary leadership, the region is making remarkable strides in transformational progress be it in transport, business, social sector, infrastructure among others. There was a time when we had to fight for one bridge over Brahmaputra and today, under Modi ji, five new bridges are being constructed. Under the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi ji, the possibility of Northeast is being harnessed to empower next economic resurgence. Northeast has full potential to become hub of production and business of the South East Asia and Guwahati is going to be the lynchpin of this economic possibility, unlocking immense potential of the Northeast.” During the meeting, the MPs thanked the Prime Minister for the last 10 years that has been transformational for the state marking a new era of peace, progress and prosperity.

Mahua Moitra on Tuesday hit out at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying she has made a mockery of people of India in the budget by doing absolutely nothing and whatever little changes are there are regressive and ill thought of. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Moitra criticized the budget for failing to address the needs of the common people. «People wanted a course correction, but you have done the exact opposite. You have kept the same Cabinet, the same Finance Minister, who has given the same shoddy budget,» Moitra said. «The Finance Minister has made mockery of people of India in the budget by doing absolutely nothing, whatever little changes are there are regressive and ill thought of,» she added.

Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday asked Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray to withdraw his «anti-reservation» remarks or else Dalits and backward classes will boycott MNS candidates in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections. Athawale said Thackeray's remarks on reservations were uncalled for. Speaking to reporters in Pandharpur town, Thackeray on Monday said local people should be given priority in job opportunities. «My stance is that locals should be given priority in job opportunities. Why should caste be a factor in this? If the private sector continues to create jobs, we should think about how many people will benefit from reservation in government jobs,» the MNS chief had said.

Bangladesh is currently hogging headlines everywhere for all the wrong reasons. Its long-time leader Sheikh Hasina has just been overthrown, causing her to flee the country. The nation is not new to such violent political events. It has seen it all — assassinations, army rule, copious political bloodletting — at various points in its short history. Here follows a recap:

Sheikh Hasina arriving in India, a video of popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, shared by BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, went viral on social media. In the video, Rathee praised Bangladesh for its development and happiness index. Poonawalla shared the video on X with the caption “Joker of the century!”

Indian consumers prefer human customer service support when shopping online, according to an EY report. While 61% consumers find AI driven product recommendations extremely beneficial, data breaches are the primary cause for concern among Indian online shoppers. 84% consumers have made purchases based solely on the recommendations or promotions of influencers as per the recent EY Future Consumer Index (FCI), which included responses from 1,000 Indian participants within a worldwide poll.

Nahid Islam, a student from Dhaka University's Sociology Department, has emerged as a pivotal figure in Bangladesh’s recent political upheaval. His leadership of the Students Against Discrimination movement has made him a central player in the protests that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024. Earlier, Nahid vowed to ensure the country of 170 million never returns to what he called «Fascist rule» and asked fellow students to protect its Hindu minority and their places of worship. We won't betray the blood shed by the martyrs for our cause. We will create a new democratic Bangladesh through our promise of security of life, social justice and a new political landscape." The Rise of Nahid Islam

South Korean prosecutors are set to try a crypto market maker they think masterminded a $59.6 million altcoin-themed “scam coin” fraud.

Armand Duplantis of Sweden made headlines on Monday as he shattered his own world record, clinching the pole vault gold medal at the Paris Olympics. In a thrilling conclusion to the fifth day of track and field events at the Stade de France, Duplantis soared over a height of 6.25 meters, surpassing his previous world record of 6.24 meters set at the Xiamen Diamond League in April. The crowd of 69,000 erupted in applause as the Swedish pole vaulter achieved this remarkable feat, marking his ninth world record-breaking performance. Following his victory, he emulated the shooting pose of Turkish athlete Yusuf Dikec, who gained viral fame for his silver medal performance at the Paris Games. Dikec’s reaction to Duplantis’s success further highlights the camaraderie and shared celebration among athletes.

Middle class’ is a term used rather loosely by individuals wanting to project that they are not as well-off as others think they are. And it has been used extensively on social media since the Narendra Modi government decided to remove indexation benefits available on long-term capital gains made on the sale of property. We have been told by rich mutual fund agents, chartered accountants and registered investment advisors in the business of managing other people’s money that this is an anti-middle class move.

Vinod Kambli was reportedly seen in a disoriented state, requiring assistance from passersby to maintain his balance. A video circulating on social media shows Kambli struggling to walk, with bystanders helping him reach his destination. However, ET could not verify the video's authenticity, time and place of the video.

South Korean regulators are investigating value fluctuations of the altcoin AVAIL on Bithumb last month “on suspicion of price manipulation.”

Several online brokerage firms including Charles Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard appeared to be down for thousands of users Monday morning, with disruptions arriving on one of the biggest stock markets sell-off days in 2024

Noah Lyles set the stage on fire with his amazing run in the men's 100m, and delivering up to the expectations of American fans, Sha'Carri Richardson fulfilled her hopes of an Olympic medal with a silver, narrowly missing out on a gold medal, grabbed up by Julien Alfred, the St. Lucian star, who has become a celebrity overnight.

Recreational marijuana sales will begin across Ohio on Tuesday when the state issues its first operating certificates

Officials from the European Union’s executive commission said Monday that TikTok has agreed to end a rewards feature that raised concerns about encouraging excessive screen time and its effects on children

Warner Brothers, the company that produces «Game of Thrones,» had a trademark on the name «Khaleesi.» The mother, Lucy, expressed her shock to the BBC, explaining how this news ruined their plans for a dreamy vacation to Disneyland Paris. As per the reports of the New York Post, Lucy was shocked to hear that the application was denied by the Passport Office due to a trademark dispute. Considering that her daughter's birth certificate was granted without the incident, she was confused as to why this had not been reported earlier. She had never heard of a name being trademarked. She was disappointed and frustrated by this scenario.