Sonal Varma, Economist, Nomura shares her views on the RBI monetary policy announced today

Sonal Varma, Economist, Nomura

The telecom department has waived the requirement of bank guarantee to be submitted for spectrum auctions held prior to the reform package, telecom operator Vodafone Idea said on Saturday, adding that the latest "relief" will boost 4G and 5G investments in India.
Prior to this reform, bank guarantees aggregating to about Rs 24,800 crore were required to be provided by VIL against each spectrum instalment, 13 months prior to the instalment falling due for the above auctions, the company said in a BSE filing.
"As per our understanding of the terms and conditions, out of all the 5 auctions mentioned above, no BGs (bank guarantee) will be required to be provided by VIL for the 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2021 auctions," the telco said.
There would, however, be a one-time partial shortfall, only for the 2015 auction, where the net present value or NPV of all payments made would be less than the pro-rated value of spectrum used, VIL said and informed that it is "in discussion with the DoT to ...

Prior to this reform, bank guarantees aggregating to about Rs 24,800 crore were required to be provided by VIL against each spectrum instalment, 13 months prior to the installment falling

Domestic carrier IndiGo on Saturday said it has arranged an alternative aircraft to fly the stranded passengers after its Mumbai-Istanbul flight of December 28, scheduled to depart at 6.55 am, had to be cancelled due to a technical glitch.
The long delay prompted some of the  passengers to vent their anger on social media. No food or even water was served and there was no representative from the airline willing to listen to their grievances, some passengers claimed.
The alternative aircraft will depart for Istanbul at 11 pm, the airline said in a statement.  "We regret that our flight 6E17, originally scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Istanbul, faced a delay due to technical issues. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to rectify the issue and dispatch it to the destination, we eventually had to cancel the flight," IndiGo said in a statement.
"Mumbai to Istanbul journey suspended after 10 hours waiting by passengers. Information that there are around 100 passengers in this ...

The long delay prompted some of the passengers to vent their anger on social media. No food or even water was served and there was no representative from the airline willing to listen

Artificial intelligence (AI) transitioned from a temporary trend to a widespread reality, gaining traction across industries due to its potential to enhance efficiency, generate revenue and create entirely new roles, yet concerns around its use and impact on jobs remained.
Gone are the days when it was merely a buzzword; AI has now become an integral part of business strategy across various sectors. But its full impact on jobs is little known and so is the issue of intellectual property, data ownership and its privacy implications, and liability - who is liable if an accident or mishap occurs due to the use of AI.
As technology becomes increasingly human-like and pervasive, organisations are now striving to unlock business value through innovative methods to engage customers and employees, enhance operational efficiencies, and generate new revenue streams, Wipro CIO Anup Purohit said.
"We are working towards a future where AI is integrated seamlessly into everyday operations beyond

As technology becomes increasingly human-like and pervasive, organisations are now striving to unlock business value through innovative methods to engage customers and employees

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The National Green Tribunal has asked a petitioner to approach the Delhi Pollution Control Committee or the mining department regarding allegations of illegal instream and riverbed sand mining from the Yamuna in north Delhi.
The tribunal gave the order to enable the committee or department to ascertain the extent of the illegal activity.
The green body was hearing a petition by the Jagatpur village chief, or 'pradhan', who alleged that the sand mafia was illegally extracting huge quantities of the sand in the area.
The petition also alleged that a bund (check dam) created near Jagatpur and Burari villages in Delhi had developed cracks because of unauthorised activities.
In an order dated December 24, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel said that the complaint first required to be looked into by the DPCC or the mining department to find the "reality and extent" of the illegal mining.
"Hence, we dispose of the original application (

The tribunal gave the order to enable the committee or department to ascertain the extent of the illegal activity

Overseas Indians showed great enthusiasm in registering as electors, with nearly 1.2 lakh enrolling in the voter list, but a minuscule turned up to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections this year.
According to the data released by the Election Commission, as many as 1,19,374 registered as overseas electors in 2024, with Kerala witnessing the highest registrations at 89,839. In 2019, as many as 99,844 had registered as overseas electors.
The poll authority said only 2,958 overseas electors flew down to India to participate in the largest democratic exercise in the world. Of these, an overwhelming 2,670 were from Kerala alone.
Several large states such as Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu saw zero turnout of overseas electors.
Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, saw only two out of 885 overseas electors casting their votes in the Lok Sabha elections.
The same was the story in Maharashtra, where only 17 of the 5,097 NRI electors voted.
Despite an

Several large states such as Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu saw zero turnout of overseas electors

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam to discuss India Post's path to profitability, an official release said on Saturday.
Scindia, along with officials from the Department of Posts, presented their capital expenditure demands to the finance minister to make it a profit centre by 2029.
Scindia aims to make India Post globally competitive and has been leading Department-wide efforts to drive higher customer acquisition, retention and operational efficiency.
During the meeting with the finance minister, Scindia presented a new development plan for India Post and said the department is working on rationalising costs and aiming to make most processes digital.
The minister hopes to make the department a profit-making logistics company with a focus on customer satisfaction, as per the release.
He also mentioned that the ongoing Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) exercise will benefit a lot from the investment from the finance ministry.

Scindia, along with officials from the Department of Posts, presented their capital expenditure demands to the finance minister to make it a profit centre by 2029

The move could benefit tens of millions of taxpayers, especially city dwellers burdened by high living costs, if they opt for a 2020 tax system that strips exemptions like housing rentals

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Sonal Varma, Economist, Nomura

Sonal Varma, Economist, Nomura shares her views on the RBI monetary policy announced today

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