fund

These state-specific fiscal vulnerabilities need appropriate policy considerations to enable sustainable fiscal recovery and innovative ways to augment the revenue space

Widening cracks in state finances: Revenue deficits risk fiscal stability

Business Standard

The 8.9 per cent GDP growth in FY22 (9.2 per cent prelim estimates) partly also captures past revisions

FY22 GDP estimates: Weak patches start to appear

Iran's supreme leader on Sunday said that young Syrians will resist the new government emerging after the overthrow of President Bashar Assad as he again accused the United States and Israel of sowing chaos in the country.
Iran had provided crucial support to Assad throughout Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, which erupted after he launched a violent crackdown on a popular uprising against his family's decades-long rule. Syria had long served as a key conduit for Iranian aid to Lebanon's militant Hezbollah.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in an address on Sunday that the young Syrian has nothing to lose" and suffers from insecurity following Assad's fall.
What can he do? He should stand with strong will against those who designed and those who implemented the insecurity," Khamenei said. God willing, he will overcome them.
He accused the United States and Israel of plotting against Assad's government in order to seize resources, saying: Now they feel victory, the 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ali, Ayatollah

This initiative aims to bolster the country's medical sector, which currently operates approximately 50,000 ambulances

Ambulance

Against the backdrop of Parliament witnessing poor productivity due to disruptions, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday called for accountability of lawmakers and said people would force them to think why they were sent to Parliament.
He also said that for any democracy to succeed, expression and dialogue must go hand in hand with great responsibility on both sides.
Dhankhar is the Rajya Sabha's ex-officio chairman.
Calling for accountability among parliamentarians, he said, "... Make no mistake, I am referring to parliamentarians. People have learned to take disorder as order. There is no sense of revulsion."
Hopefully, people will write and their thoughts will move, the vice-president said, according to an official statement.
"People will force you to think, why did you go there (Parliament)?" he said.
Addressing awardees of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Awards - 2024, the vice-president said agriculture was the spine of rural development.
"Unless agriculture develops, the 

Jagdeep Dhankar, jagdeep, Vice President, VP

India has the potential to be a key producer of sustainable aviation fuel by utilising its ethanol supplies and availability of lipids feedstocks like non-edible industrial oils, according to a senior official at the global airlines' grouping IATA.
With decarbonisation in focus, efforts are being made to reduce emissions and over the years, Indian carriers have operated some flights with a blend of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and traditional Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).
Hemant Mistry, Director of Net Zero Transition at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said the ecosystem for SAF has developed but there is more work to be done.
"There are some very good opportunities for India right now. One is in terms of SAF feedstocks like agricultural waste... there is a growing understanding on what to do for SAF production. We are talking to a number of companies to understand how we can collaborate... oil companies," Mistry told PTI in a recent interview in Geneva.
The .

aviation fuel, SAF

The death toll from stampedes during two Christmas charity events in Nigeria has increased from 13 to 32, police said Sunday. The victims, including at least four children, collapsed during crowd surges as people grew desperate for food items while the country grapples with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
The dead included 22 people in southeastern Anambra state's Okija town, where a philanthropist on Saturday organised a food distribution, local police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga said. Ten others died in the capital, Abuja, during a church-organised similar charity event.
Police said they were investigating the two incidents, only days after another stampede in which several children were killed.
Africa's most populous country is seeing a growing trend by local organisations, churches and individuals to organise charity events ahead of Christmas to ease economic hardship caused by a cost-of-living crisis.
Witnesses of the Abuja stampede told The Associated Press the

Nigeria stampedes

GST Council addresses disaster levy, clarifies tax exemptions, and revises ITC norms, while deferring insurance premium GST cut and key rate rationalisation decisions

GST council meeting

After two weeks of buying, FPIs turned net sellers in Indian equities this week, with a net withdrawal of Rs 976 crore amid a strengthening US dollar and steady rise in US 10-year bond yields, impacting investor sentiment.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) began the week on a positive note, investing Rs 3,126 crore in equities during the first two trading sessions (December 16-20).
However, the trend reversed in the latter half of the week, with FPIs offloading equities worth over Rs 4,102 crore in the subsequent three sessions. This resulted in an overall net outflow of Rs 976 crore during the week, data from National Securities Depository Limited showed.
Despite this short-term reversal, the broader December trend remains positive. FPIs have infused Rs 21,789 crore into Indian equities so far this month, reflecting continued confidence in India's economic growth potential and its resilient markets.
FPIs adopted a cautious approach due to the US Fed meeting and uncertainty about 

Foreign portfolio investor exodus: Financial sector bears the brunt, FPI

Fundraising via IPOs in India hit another landmark as economic growth, favourable market conditions and improvements in the regulatory framework helped companies raise a record Rs 1.6 lakh crore in 2024, while the pipeline for the next year holds out bigger promise.
This exceptional year not only reflected the confidence of issuers but also highlighted investors' eagerness to seize listing-day gains or back companies with strong long-term growth potential.
The year was marked by Hyundai Motor India's historic IPO, the largest in the country's history, which raised Rs 27,870 crore.
Companies of varying market capitalisations -- large, mid, and small -- tapped into the IPO route in 2024, with the average issue size rising significantly from Rs 867 crore in 2023 to over Rs 1,700 crore in 2024.
The exceptional vibrancy of the IPO market was evident, with December alone seeing at least 15 launches.
"Rising retail participation, strong domestic inflows and active participation by FPIs (

ipo market listing share market

The accumulated losses of state public sector enterprises (PSEs) rose from Rs 3,953.70 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 4,778.70 crore in 2022-23, while the profit earned by 13 SPSEs stood at Rs 20.21 crore as on September 30, 2023, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on finances tabled in the Assembly on Saturday.
The net worth of nine out of these 14 PSEs has been completely eroded by losses and their worth was (-) Rs 1,932 crore against an equity investment of Rs 2,085.59 crore, while three PSEs have outstanding government loans amounting Rs 3,132 crore, the report said.
Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board topped the list of loss making enterprises with accumulated losses of Rs 1,809.61 crore, followed by Himachal Pradesh Road Corporation at Rs 1707.12 crore, HP Power Corporation at Rs 552 crore, Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation at Rs 395.91 crore, HP Financial Corporation at Rs 180.97 crore, State Forest Corporation at Rs 113.04 crore, HPM

The Centre may overshoot the Rs 56,260 crore target for dividend receipts from central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs) set for FY25 and is likely to end up getting around Rs 65,000 crore this financial year, according to a senior government officia

A 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia, who has been living in Germany since 2006, is the prime suspect in the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg, which killed five people

Germany police

The EFL Cup is the last trophy Tottenham won, back in 2007/08, when they triumphed over Manchester rivals in the quarter-finals before defeating Arsenal and Chelsea to claim the title.

Carabao Cup

The commerce ministry this time around may witness a repeat of 2011 when a discrepancy of about USD 9 billion was detected in the trade data for the April-November period.
This time, the issue involves suspected errors in calculating gold import figures for November 2024.
In 2011, there was over-reporting of export data on account of miss-classifications and double counting due to problems in the computer software, which was getting upgraded.
Noticing an unusual surge in the gold imports in November this year, pushing the country's trade deficit to a record, a commerce ministry official on Wednesday said that DGCIS (Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics) has taken up detailed examination of the gold import data and reconciliation would be done with the data received by CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs).
The country's gold imports in November reached a record high of USD 14.86 billion, registering a four-fold increase, mainly on account of ..

trade, containers, trade deal

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will embark on a three-day trip to Mauritius beginning Friday against the backdrop of the new Mauritian Prime Minister proposing to reopen talks with the UK over Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
It will be the first high-level engagement between India and Mauritius after the formation of the new government headed by Navinchandra Ramgoolam in the island nation.
Misri's visit is reflective of the priority India attaches to its relation with Mauritius, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, announcing the trip.
It is understood that the issue relating to the Chagos Islands deal may figure during Misri's visit to Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius.
In October, the UK had announced its decision to hand over the sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius after more than half a century under a historic agreement.
Under the deal, sealed during tenure of previous Mauritian PM Pravind Jugnauth, the UK would give up sovereignty over

Vikram Misri

A research has found an increased hospital admissions for all causes, including mental illnesses, in relation to a long-term exposure to air pollution.
The Scottish study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open, found that a higher exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) combined was linked to a higher hospitalisations for cardiovascular, respiratory and infectious diseases.
Researchers from the University of St Andrews, UK, found that for every one micron per cubic metre increase in PM2.5 and NO2 pollutants, the incidence for hospitalisations for respiratory conditions rose by over four per cent and one per cent, respectively.
Further, higher hospital admissions for mental or behavioural disorders were associated with an increased exposure to nitrogen dioxide.
While the average yearly levels of NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 were lower than the 2005 World Health Organization guidelines, the levels of NO2 and PM2.5 were higher than those in the 

Pollution, Air pollution

NSTANT-XP, founded by brothers Rajbir Singh and Jasveer Singh, leverages proprietary technology to streamline services for customers, consignors, truckers, and drivers

Over 450 promoters cut stake in shareholding amid new market highs

The latest Economic Survey said, India has to find the right balance between importing goods from China and importing capital (FDI) from China

How policymakers are split over attracting Chinese investment into India

Congress calls FIR against Rahul Gandhi over Parliament scuffle a 'badge of honour', alleging BJP's vendetta and diversionary tactics to counter his protest against Amit Shah's Ambedkar remarks

Rahul Gandhi, Rahul, congress leader

The Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities Bill calls for the CBI to handle probes in cases spanning multiple states or UTs

The Centre, in collaboration with states, has proposed to classify unregulated lending as a cognizable and non-bailable offence, with penalties including imprisonment of up to 10 years. The finance ministry has invited feedback by February 13 from st

The I-T department probes Rs 7,500 crore spent on lavish weddings, targeting Jaipur planners and fake billing networks linked to foreign destination events and cash transactions

weddings, marriage

The official further noted that this year's Budget consultations are particularly significant due to the political outcomes of recent state elections

Madhavi Arora

Madhavi Arora

Madhavi Arora

Widening cracks in state finances: Revenue deficits risk fiscal stability

FY22 GDP estimates: Weak patches start to appear

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Syrian youth will resist incoming govt, says Iran's supreme leader

Five OEMs express interest in manufacturing e-ambulances: MHI official

V-P Dhankar calls for accountability of MPs over Parliament disruptions

India holds potential to produce sustainable aviation fuel: IATA official

Stampedes at Christmas charity events in Nigeria leave at least 32 dead

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55th GST Council takes key decisions, defers rate cuts on insurance premium

FPIs pull out Rs 976 crore from Indian equities amid rising dollar

IPO boom: Record Rs 1.6 trn raised in 2024; bigger gains expected in 2025

Losses of Himachal's 30 PSEs rose from Rs 3,953 cr to Rs 4,778 cr: CAG

Who is the Saudi-born suspect behind Germany Christmas market attack?