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Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress and CPI (M) on Friday welcomed the announcement of the assembly polls by the Election Commission and said people were eagerly waiting for the restoration of democracy in the Union Territory. The Election Commission said the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir would be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1, and the votes will be counted on October 4. «Better late than never,» Pradesh Congress Committee senior vice-president Ravinder Sharma told PTI reacting to the announcement by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. He said the people in Jammu and Kashmir were waiting for the assembly elections for the past six years after the fall of the PDP-BJP government in June 2018.

Rajasthan will undertake land reforms to improve its availability for green field manufacturing units, state Principal Secretary (Industries), Ajitabh Sharma told ET. Sharma said the state had received fresh proposals for renewable energy equipment and petrochemical manufacturing and investment commitments of over Rs 5.2 lakh crore ahead of the Rising Rajasthan Investment Summit. “We are coming out with policies for supporting the development of private industrial parks,” he said, adding that the state is now readying a Private Land Aggregation bill.

assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. The elections in J&K will be held in three phases starting from September 20. In Haryana, the elections will be held on October 1. The results will be out on October 4 for J&K and Haryana. While many anticipated that Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar would announce the schedule for the Maharashtra elections as well, he explained why this wasn’t the case. He said, Maharashtra elections will be announced later due to security requirements for Jammu and Kashmir. «In the past, Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections were held together, and at that time, Jammu and Kashmir was not a factor. This year, however, we have four elections to manage initially—J&K, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand—and a fifth one shortly after in Delhi.»

Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Ltd.(up 5.90%), Avadh Sugar & Energy Ltd.(up 4.01%), Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd.(up 4.00%), Mawana Sugars Ltd.(up 3.51%), Dhampur Sugar Mills Ltd.(up 2.07%), Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd.(up 1.93%), Ugar Sugar Works Ltd.(up 1.62%), Ponni Sugars(Erode)Ltd.(up 1.55%), EID Parry(India)Ltd.(up 1.48%) and Sakthi Sugars Ltd.(up 1.26%) stood among the top gainers.

Mahindra Finance said on Friday that it appointed Bijoy Thaplial as chief business officer (leasing, partnerships and payments) and named Mod Narayan Singh its chief compliance officer. With more than 27 years of experience, Thaplial will lead Quiklyz (the vehicle leasing and subscription business of Mahindra Finance), identify and foster meaningful alliances and strengthen the execution strategy across all payment products, the company said. Thaplial, who previously worked at Axis Bank, will also focus on advancing leasing strategies, fostering partnerships, and improving payment and lending solutions to drive growth and enhance customer satisfaction, it said. The company said last month that Thaplial would join on August 1.

Deutsche Bank has appointed Manik Chhabra as its head of global corporate coverage for India and Sri Lanka, starting August 19, sources aware of the development said. Chhabra is moving to the German bank from US-based lender Citibank where he held many senior corporate banking roles over the last 22 years. He leaves Citibank as India head for mid corporates. A Deutsche Bank spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

R N Agarwal, regarded as the father of Agni missiles in the country, passed away here. He was 84. Agarwal, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, died on Thursday following mild old-age related ailments, DRDO sources said. He had served as the Agni programme director and also as the director of ASL (Advanced Systems Laboratory) in Hyderabad.

Srinagar Assembly Elections 2024: Jammu and Kashmir will be holding its first assembly elections since the BJP-led central government abrogated Article 370, which gave the union territory a special status. The Election Commission is likely to announce dates for the assembly elections on Friday.

Indian shares as more volatility, lukewarm earnings and a surprise tax hike on equities take a toll on the enthusiasm for the market. Global funds have turned bearish on Indian stocks for the first time in two months, with net shorts of 30,547 index futures as of Wednesday’s close. Just a month ago, large investors abroad were net long about 400,000 contracts, their most bullish stance since 2015.

Pakistan government has confirmed that it was upgrading its «web management system» to cope with cyber security threats amid speculation about the installation of a so-called 'firewall' that could be leading to internet disruptions in the country, according to a media report on Friday. Millions of people across Pakistan have been facing trouble accessing internet services for some time now due to limited connectivity, particularly while using mobile data in some regions. So far, official stakeholders in Pakistan have either been feigning ignorance in response to public outcry and media queries, or claiming that the problems were because of telecom and internet service providers, or even Meta.

Supriya Sule has slammed her cousin brother and political rival Ajit Pawar for thinking about his sister (sule) only after his party suffered a drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls. Sule taunted Ajit Pawar had never understood the relations between a brother and sister and has been trying to mix love and business together. Sule was reacting to Ajit’s remarks made earlier where he regretted putting a candidate against her as she was his sister. “No one remembered their sister prior to the Lok Sabha campaign, only after the result they (Ajit) have started remembering their sisters. It's unfortunate that our brother has never understood the relations between a brother and a sister. He has been mixing love and business together.”said Sule. She was speaking at a joint meeting of leaders and party cadres of the Maha Vikas Aghadi joint opposition alliance in Mumbai when she made these remarks. This is the first time that Sule has reacted to her brother Ajit’s remarks.

Taking Odisha's dues into account, the total arrears for mineral-rich states since 2005 are expected to exceed the industry estimate of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. This figure includes financial impacts for both public sector undertakings, estimated at Rs 70,000 crore, and private industries. Starting in April 2026, Odisha will receive these pending dues in installments spread over 12 years. Additionally, the state will collect an annual tax of approximately Rs 12,000 crore under the Orissa Rural Infrastructure and Socio-Economic Development (ORISED) Act, 2004, according to government sources. Odisha enacted the ORISED Act in February 2005, but it was struck down by the Odisha High Court later that same year. However, the Supreme Court's recent verdict overturned the High Court's decision. This law permits Odisha to levy up to 20% of the annual value of mineral-bearing land. Tata Steel, in a July 31 exchange filing, disclosed that it would owe Rs 17,300 crore in mineral tax to Odisha under the Supreme Court's ruling.

On the BSE, Ganga Pharmaceutical(down 20.00 per cent), CHD Chemicals Ltd.(down 15.32 per cent), Prag Bosimi Syn(down 13.90 per cent), Shri Jagdamba(down 13.28 per cent) and OK Play India(down 11.68 per cent) were among the stocks that plunged over 5 per cent during the session.

The NSE Nifty index was trading 106.0 points up at 24249.75, while BSE Sensex was up 301.1 points at 79406.98 at the time of writing this report.

Hindustan Zinc (HZL) fell 7.8% to a day’s low of Rs 528 on the BSE on Friday, following the opening of Vedanta’s offer for sale (OFS) at a discounted floor price of Rs 486. The mining conglomerate, which is the promoter of HZL, is selling up to 3.31% of its stake, or 14 crore shares, from August 16-19. Shares of Vedanta, which is expected to raise approximately Rs 6,498 crore from the OFS at the floor price, were trading 2% higher at Rs 430 on the BSE.

real estate developer Kalpataru has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday to raise ₹1,590 crore through an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO will be a fresh issue of shares with no offer for sale from existing investors. The company plans to use the net proceeds to repay certain borrowings by it and subsidiaries and general corporate purposes.

Election Commission of India, is likely to announce the schedule for upcoming Assembly elections in three states at 3pm today. India's election authority on Friday morning announced in a release that it would hold a press conference «to announce the schedule for General Election to Legislative Assemblies.» Elections are expected to be held for the legislative assemblies of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand in 2024, with the five-year terms of these states coming to an end. The BJP currently governs Haryana independently and leads a coalition government in Maharashtra, with the support of the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena. In Jharkhand, power rests with the Soren family-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress alliance. The BJP is expected to announce the first list of assembly candidates for all three states later this month, sources informed ET. The party is reportedly preparing to reveal 30-35 candidates for Maharashtra, around 20 for Haryana, and 25 for Jharkhand.

Ola Electric, Hindustan Zinc, SpiceJet, SBI, Glenmark Pharma among others will be in focus due to various news developments and first quarter results. Hindustan Zinc Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) has announced its offer for sale from August 16 to 19 and has set the floor price at Rs 486 per share according to reports.

China's central bank will plan more policies to support growth, governor Pan Gongsheng said, as the economy struggles to gain momentum. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) will strengthen efforts to effectively implement monetary and financial policies that have been introduced this year and further steps will be made in accordance with the requirements of the State Council, Pan said in an interview with state broadcaster China Central Television on Thursday. He didn't elaborate on potential policies. Latest data show China's economic growth remains lackluster, with domestic demand faltering under a prolonged downturn in the housing market. That's drawing renewed attention to the need for more stimulus. Still, Pan said China's financial system is relatively stable and overall risk has eased significantly.

Airtel and the sale of some capital assets by associate Globe Telecom. Singtel's net profit rose 42.9% to S$690 million in the first quarter ended June 30 from S$483 million a year ago, Southeast Asia's largest telecom provider said on Thursday. The exceptional gain came as Singtel reduced its effective stake in Airtel to 28.7% from 28.9%.

Carlsberg global chief executive officer Jacob Aarup-Andersen said the Danish brewer does not need a new strategy for the Indian market after it completes the deal to fully own the business in the market growing four times faster compared to the overall beer segment. Earlier this month, Carlsberg agreed to buy a third of its stake from Khetan group, its joint venture partner, to take full ownership of the India and Nepal operations. «We do expect to get full control of the business in a couple of months once the process has run its course. It's going to allow us to accelerate investments to capture the long-term opportunities in these markets,» Andersen told investors, adding it was too early for us to start laying out the strategy for India.