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QUAD continues the momentum of its past three years under India's presidency in 2024, the White House has said. «The president (Joe Biden) is incredibly proud of the progress QUAD has made over the past three years,» White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday. Members of the QUAD — the US, Australia, India and Japan — had held their first summit at the White House in March 2021. «The (QUAD's) anniversary is coming up and we are hoping to continue that momentum in 2024, under India's host year, as you just stated. And, we are talking about not just the United States, obviously, India, Japan and Australia,» Jean-Piere said in response to a question.

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Wednesday that the conglomerate will announce its semiconductor chip fab «very soon,» and «it will be a very big investment.» The conglomerate has taken bets for the future — be it Air India or its electronics and semiconductor play, Chandrasekaran said while delivering the 20th Anantharamakrishnan memorial lecture on «India's Leadership in a Pivotal Decade» after being conferred with the MMA-Amalgamations Business Leadership Award 2023. He did not elaborate on plans for the semiconductor fab unit. ET had reported last week that the Tata group could be exploring partnerships with either one of two major Taiwanese chipmakers — Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) and UMC Group — for its proposed chip fabrication plant at Dholera in Gujarat.

One Punch Man Season 3 is highly anticipated by fans, promising more of Saitama's adventures. Despite no official release date, clues suggest a potential mid-2024 return. Here's a look at what to expect from the new season.

Ray Donovan, titled The Donovans. Directed and executive produced by Guy Ritchie, known for his stylish crime dramas, the series promises to deliver intense thrills and deep character exploration.

ICICI Bank has sanctioned Rs 500 crore debt facilities to Aditya Birla group-promoted jewellery retail store Novel Jewels to kick start its operations next quarter, said people with knowledge of the matter. The promoter companies infused Rs 290 crore in the company last year, the people said. Initially, Novel Jewels will launch about four to five stores sometime in July across various cities in north, west, and central India. Aditya Birla Group and ICICI Bank did not respond to ET's request for comments.

Indian Railways has barred for two years Jakson Ventures Private Ltd (JVPL), one of the largest and oldest suppliers of diesel generators in the country. Jakson is the authorised dealer for US-headquartered diesel genset maker Cummins Inc. Government officials aware of the development said JVPL had forged documents certifying earnest money deposit (EMD) as bank guarantee in a bid called by Central Periodical Overhauling (CPOH) Workshop of the Indian Railways in Prayagraj. Responding to queries from ET, Jakson Group said JVPL is an independent legal entity, which has filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court against the Railway Board order.

Congress, BJP is keeping a close watch on the developing political situation in Himachal Pradesh. Earlier in the day, the party demanded division of votes on the budget in the assembly. But before that, 15 BJP MLAs, including leader of the opposition, Jairam Thakur, were suspended from the assembly. «The Congress government in the state is in minority. They couldn't pass the budget on division of votes. Therefore, they have suspended 15 MLAs of our party. This has happened for the first time in the history of Himachal Pradesh,» Thakur told media persons outside the assembly. The six rebel Congress MLAs, who had come from Panchkula to attend the budget session, went back after the assembly was adjourned. Sources in BJP told ET that these MLAs are now supporting BJP along with three independent MLAs.

Varanasi district court on Wednesday fixed March 19 for hearing a plea seeking to stop Muslim devotees walking on top of Gyanvapi mosque's southern cellar, where the court recently allowed Hindu prayers. The plea filed by the Hindu side said the cellar's roof is very old and weak. It also said the pillars of this basement, also known as «Vyas Tehkhana», needed repair. Hindu side's counsel Madan Mohan Yadav said that in-charge District Judge Anil Kumar has fixed March 19 for hearing the petition which also seeks repair of the cellar's pillars. The fresh plea was filed days after the Allahabad High Court said Hindu prayers will continue in the «Vyas Tehkhana» of the Gyanvapi mosque, while dismissing the mosque committee's plea that had challenged the district court's order to this effect.

Iyer was on a Grade B contract last year while Kishan was handed a Grade C contract but despite playing in the 50-over World Cup last year, the BCCI said both players were not considered in this round of recommendations. Read More: BCCI announces annual player retainership 2023-24 for men's team; Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah and Jadeja in Grade A+

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.33 points, or 0.09%, at the open to 38,938.08.

Telecom operators are estimated to have spent an additional Rs 10,000 crore in 2022-23 to support traffic generated by large entertainment and communication apps, according to an estimate of telecom industry body COAI. Cellular Operators Association of India, Director General, SP Kochhar told PTI that the infrastructure support provided by telecom operators to top 4-5 apps large traffic generator apps also corresponds to their revenue growth and in the absence of fair share norms for large apps, the government has lost about Rs 800 crore revenue in 2023 alone. He said that the industry body has submitted a white paper to the Ministry of Finance in this regard in January. «The additional capex required to provide the infrastructure to carry the LTG-related data traffic for the year 2023 alone amounts to around Rs 10,000 crore.

BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is likely to get a majority in the Rajya Sabha in April this year once the remaining six vacancies under the nominated category are filled and those newly elected take oath. According to data available with the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, the BJP, which currently has 94 members, gained two seats in the Upper House in the just concluded elections, pushing its own strength to 96. The strength of NDA, which at present has 113 members, will cross the half-way mark of 123 in the 245-member House in April this year once all nominated members take oath. At present, there are only six MPs who have been nominated by the President of India as members in the Rajya Sabha, with some having joined the BJP later. There are a total of 12 nominated members in the House.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday hailed Bengaluru tax payers for their contributions in building a strong and 'Viksit Bharat', and said the Department of Revenue is running its entire national faceless income tax assessment scheme from Karnataka's capital city. Speaking after laying the foundation stone for the upcoming complex «HONGIRANA» for Income Tax officers and staff here, she said the tax payers of Bengaluru have been absolutely giving us the buoyancy, and thanked all individual and corporate taxpayers in this region for making sure for building a strong and 'Viksit Bharat'. «Your contribution is relentless. There has never been a dip. So thank you very much Bengaluru for keeping that momentum up», she said. Sitharaman also emphasised the investments that the Central government is making in Bengaluru.

The NSE Nifty index ended the session 247.2 points down at 21951.15, while BSE Sensex fell 790.34 points to 72304.88.

CPI declaring Annie Raja its candidate from Kerala's Wayanad, the Congress Wednesday said it is in alliance with the Left in different states but they have always and will continue to oppose each other electorally in Kerala. The Congress's assertion came after Annie Raja, wife of CPI general secretary D Raja, was nominated to contest from the pivotal Wayanad constituency, a seat presently held by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Asked about Annie Raja's candidature, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told reporters, «The Left parties are very much part of the INDIA group. It has always been understood that this does not preclude group partners from contesting against each other in different states especially Kerala.» «The Congress and the Left are allies in different states but in Kerala we have always and will continue to oppose each other electorally,» he asserted.

KKR & Co. is exploring options including selling its controlling stake in India’s JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. amid interest from potential buyers, according to people familiar with the matter. The US private equity firm is looking to hire financial advisers to help evaluate a sale of its 53.8% stake in the Mumbai-based company, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Other buyout firms and industry players have shown preliminary interest in buying KKR’s stake, the people said. Shares of the company, which is known as JB Pharma, have climbed 68% in the past 12 months, valuing the firm at just over $3 billion.

Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed that Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh, the main accused in sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing at Sandeshkhali, can be arrested by the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the West Bengal Police. On a prayer by the state's advocate general, the court clarified its order of February 26 in which it had ordered the arrest of Sheikh by the police authority. Also Read: Sheikh Shahjahan: From trekker driver to TMC strongman A division bench presided by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam clarified that the court in its February 7 order had only stayed the constitution of a joint special investigation team (SIT) of the CBI and West Bengal Police by a single bench to probe an attack on ED officials.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. traded 0.16 per cent down in Wednesday's trade at 01:54PM (IST). Around 48,898 shares changed hands on the counter. The counter opened at Rs 1739.95 and touched an intraday high and low of Rs 1739.95 and Rs 1688.0, respectively, in the session so far. Shares of the company of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. quoted a 52-week high of Rs 1739.95 and a 52-week low of Rs 1049.1.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday said he hasn't resigned from the post amid the brewing political storm in the state. «There are reports in some media houses that the CM has resigned. I want to clarify that I haven't resigned. I am a warrior,» he said. In addition to this, the state CM said, «We will prove our majority during the Budget Session. I also want to make it clear that the Congress government will complete its full 5-year term.»

Federal Bank Ltd. traded 1.49 per cent down at Rs 151.95 at 01:34PM (IST) on Wednesday, even as BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 508.09 points to 72587.13. The stock had closed at Rs 154.25 in the previous session. The stock quoted a 52-week high price of Rs 166.65 and 52-week low of Rs 120.9, respectively. As per BSE data, total traded volume on the counter till 01:34PM (IST) stood at 1222999 shares with a turnover of Rs 18.62 crore.

apex auditors of various nations, including India, are firming up an international framework for auditing regional and municipal bodies to gauge the performance of such grass-root level institutions, comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India Girish Chandra Murmu said on Wednesday. India is planning to host a conference of the supreme audit institutions (SAIs) of Asia in September where a preliminary draft framework for such auditing standards could be deliberated on, Murmu said on the side lines of an event. As many as 262,000 local bodies exist in rural India alone, he said. Local bodies directly get a 4.2% of the Union government’s total divisible tax pool. A global framework assumes significance, as these local institutions play a crucial role in the implementation of various welfare programmes and other projects of both the Union and state governments in every nook and cranny of the nation. Better audit standards will not just result in greater transparency but also effective last-mile delivery of various schemes.