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New Zealand government has increased visa fees across all categories, effective from October 1. As a result, Indians will face higher charges while applying for work, visit or study visas in the country. The New Zealand government had made the announcement in August. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford had said were made to create a more sustainable immigration system by shifting the financial burden from taxpayers to visa applicants. “We’re ensuring the system is self-funding and more efficient,” Stanford said. “The changes we’re making are shifting the cost to those benefiting from the system.” She added that this move is expected to reduce the need for public funding by over $563 million over the next four years.

Muzaffarnagar's Titora village, Atul Kumar studied for 18 hours a day, taking breaks only for food and sleep, as he prepared for the much-dreaded IIT entrance. Despite the gruelling schedule he sustained for 11 months, the 18-year-old, who almost didn't go to IIT despite cracking the test, advises against letting the pressure get to the head. «At my coaching institute, they said if you think that the IIT entrance examination is tough, then it is indeed tough. And if you consider it as an easy exam, then it is an easy one,» Kumar told PTI. Son of a daily wage labourer, Atul Kumar had lost his seat at IIT-Dhanbad after missing the fee deadline. He got a second chance when in an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court asked the institute to admit him to the BTech course.

maritime industry expert said on Wednesday. Modernisation and upgradation of Indian shipyards is in progress, while older dockyards are being assessed for reopening and adding more capacities for green shipbuilding given a strong pickup in global demand, said Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, Regional Manager South East Asia, Pacific & India, Maritime at DNV, a Norway-based testing, certification and technical advisory services provider. «We see great potential in India emerging as a hub for green shipbuilding, driven by its government's strong focus on alternative fuels and renewable energy like biofuels and wind power,» said the industry veteran. The Indian government is encouraging investments and technology transfer from Japanese and Korean shipyards to establish shipbuilding and ship repair clusters in the country. This comes at a time when most traditional shipbuilding yards in Asia are fully booked while demand for green-maritime assets is surging ahead of the phase-based elimination of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

credit ratio, or the proportion of upgrades to downgrades, indicating an improvement in Indian firms' credit quality. But they warn of some concerns like rise in unsecured lending and household debt, and stress in export oriented sectors.

NTPC Ltd generated 219.94 billion units in the first half of FY25, at a growth of 3.91% compared to the corresponding period of previous year. The state-owned power generator’s coal stations recorded a plant load factor of 76.3% during Apr-Sep. NTPC is India's largest integrated power utility, contributing a fourth of the power requirement of the country. The company’s mining division produced over 19 million tonnes of coal in the first half of the financial year registering an on-year growth of 20% and has dispatched 19.7 million tonnes of coal to NTPC’s power stations with a growth of around 16% compared to last financial year.

Piyush Goyal discussed the potential investment opportunities in India’s electronics manufacturing, data infrastructure and logistics sectors and new areas of collaboration particularly in advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, and sustainable technologies with American companies during his ongoing visit to the US, commerce and industry ministry said in a statement Tuesday. “He invited American companies to leverage India’s unmatched scale and take advantage of the Make in India initiative, particularly in high-tech manufacturing and quality production,” the ministry said. During his meeting with Blackstone, Goyal said that the company has already invested about $50 billion in India and is one of the largest commercial and real estate investors in the country.

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu on Tuesday called for further bolstering local bodies, arguing that all-round development at the grass-root levels is a prerequisite for turning India into a developed India by 2047. “More than 50% people live in rural areas, and until their governance, their development, their administration, their resources are not augmented, we will not be able to reach (Viksit Bharat goal),” Murmu said. Murmu inaugurated the ICAI’s local governance synergy conclave here, aimed at strengthening government accounting at the municipal levels.

vessels sustained damage after being hit with missiles and a sea drone off Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah early on Tuesday, maritime security agencies and sources monitoring the area said. Both vessels reported that their crews were safe. One of the vessels, the Panama-flagged tanker M/T Cordelia Moon, reported being hit by an Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) 64 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.

Bharti Airtel is combating the «growing menace» of cyber frauds with network intelligence and Al to analyse patterns and accurately identify spammers, CEO Gopal Vittal said as he asked customers to be vigilant on 'suspected spam' indicator, now available. The regulator TRAI and the industry have upped the ante to crack down on the spam menace, and the regulator's new missive on whitelisted (approved) URLs has also come into effect from October 1. An HDFC Bank spokesperson, in response to a specific query, told PTI that the bank is «compliant as of today» with norms, and does not expect any difficulties. Meanwhile, Vittal penned a note to subscribers promising that Airtel will continue to work on identifying verified scammers and permanently blocking them from its network.

CIL's coal production dropped marginally by 1 per cent to 50.9 million tonnes (MT) in September. The coal behemoth, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal output, produced 51.4 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year, Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a filing to the BSE. However, the PSU's coal output in the April-September period of the current fiscal year increased 2.5 per cent to 341.5 MT, over 332.9 MT in the year-ago period.

Avaada Group on Tuesday announced plans to invest Rs 1 lakh crore in Rajasthan in the renewable energy industry. The planned investment will fund major green energy initiatives, including a 1.2 GW-pumped hydro storage project, a 1 MTPA-green ammonia project, a 1 GW-wind power project, and a 10 GW-solar power project, the company said in a statement. These projects will come up across Jhalawar, Kota, Barmer, and Bikaner. These are expected to generate massive employment opportunities, promote green manufacturing, and significantly boost Rajasthan's contribution to India's renewable energy targets, Avaada Group said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Imagine a world where waste is transformed into valuable resources, reducing landfill clutter while fuelling industries from construction to automotive. This isn’t a distant vision—it's happening now.

A startup called HopfON — a play on Hopfen, the German word for hops — and a research society in Bavaria are seeking to solve the problem of waste created during the hops harvest in Germany

A study out in Science this month finds that states' attempts to cut the amount of food waste going into landfills are rarely succeeding

Speaking at the National Association for Business Economics Annual Meeting yesterday (30 September), Powell said the US economy was «strong» and had made «significant progress over the past two years» towards achieving its dual mandate goal of maximising employment and stable prices. Investors relieved by 'aggressive' Fed rate cut but question need of large snip Powell pointed to a «solid» labour market, and said «I have greater confidence that [inflation] is it on a sustainable path back to 2%». Last month, the Fed cut US interest rates by 50bps, the first rate reductions in four ...

hustle culture, many netizens have stopped romanticising working odd and unreasonable hours and celebrating the culture of workaholism. Recently, a post shared by an entrepreneur sparked yet another debate on the dismal state of work-life balance in India Inc. Taking to LinkedIn, Tushar S, the CEO of Vaani Research Labs, penned a gushing post, praising his co-founder Abhnash Khare’s relentless work routine. He waxed poetic at how his colleague did not hesitate to work overtime and overnight, prioritising company growth over anything else. In his post, Tushar explained how Abhinash’s workday frequently stretches into the early hours of the morning, with his bed positioned merely three feet from his computer. He shared how Abhinash immediately starts coding at 8 AM, skipping any typical morning routine.

SME segment is responsible for nearly one-third of the country’s manufacturing output. With advancement in technology, more and more small businesses are adapting to the latest technology, including AI. The Indian mid-market businesses are prioritising the implementation of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) at a moderate or strong priority at 96%, ahead of the rest of the world at 91%, says Rajeev Singh, Vice President & Head of Mid-Markets, SAP Indian Subcontinent, citing a SAP survey released in September. Singh also believes there is an immense potential in the segment in terms of technology adoption. In an interaction with ET Digital, Singh says that many SMEs are still evaluating how they can make business outcomes out of AI. Edited excerpts:

The announcement comes amid a wave of investments by global tech firms in Malaysia over the past year, as they seek to build critical infrastructure to cater to growing demand for their cloud and AI services. Anwar said Malaysia's national cloud policy will focus on four core areas, namely public service innovation and efficiency, economic competitiveness and growth, strengthening user trust and data security, and empowering citizens through digital inclusivity.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Bull markets, like the one we are witnessing, are typically characterised by rising investor confidence, widespread optimism, and a surge in stock prices. The Nifty 50 is heading higher to new highs of 26,000.

GMR Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire UK's Hampshire Sport & Leisure Holdings Ltd (HSLHL), owner of Hampshire Cricket and Utilita Bowl stadium, in a landmark deal that marks the first instance of a county cricket team being acquired by an overseas company. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. People close to the matter pegged the total deal value at £43 million (Rs 483 crore). Initially, GMR will buy a 53% stake along with performance-linked incentives. The balance 47% will be acquired over a two-year period. The people said the acquisition is unlike other deals in the space as it also includes associated infrastructure in the form of Utilita Bowl, featuring a cricket stadium, hotel complex, and golf course.

Since graduating with a degree in economics from the University of Birmingham in 2018, Joel has worked as a financial market/cryptocurrency analyst. He firmly believes that emerging crypto technology...