'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a 70-year-old Punjab farmer leader, is on his 21st day of a hunger strike demanding the Indian government address farmers' concerns, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. His health has deteriorated, and doctors have recommended immediate hospitalization. However, Dallewal, a cancer patient, has refused medical treatment.
A woman in Uttarakhand was forced to transport her brother's body on the roof of a taxi after ambulance drivers demanded exorbitant fees. The incident sparked outrage, prompting the state's chief minister to order an investigation.
EPS has had its way on most things, alliance-wise. A week earlier, he reiterated that he would not re-admit OPS and Sasikala Natarajan back in the party. It was a message not just to detractors in the AIADMK. It was even more so for the BJP leadership in Delhi. Even more important for the AIADMK was their demand for accepting EPS as the chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that the party would form, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Trump administration wanted a positive tone at this summit, but there was still some anxiety that there could be some awkward moments -- and there were not.'
A garland presented to Mahatma Gandhi during the iconic Dandi March of the Indian freedom struggle in 1930 failed to meet its estimated price at a UK auction. The garland, which was presented to Gandhi by the wife of his personal physician, Dr Balvantrai N Kanuga, was offered as part of an "Islamic and Indian Art" sale by Lyon & Turnbull in London. Despite failing to find a buyer at the auction, the auction house said it has received significant interest since the sale and hopes to sell it to the highest bidder.
India should convert the Trump threat to an India opportunity, re-embracing a more liberal trade regime as a way of reviving manufacturing output and exports.
'The central bank has highlighted that the slowdown in growth has been limited to a few sectors and overall growth is expected to pick up in the second half of the year.'
Do we have enough trained oncologists and medical professionals in India to man these over 4,500 beds in the public sector?
Industry insiders in India warn that any such move in the pharmaceutical sector could be counterproductive for the US as it may face increased drug shortages if tariffs are imposed on such imports.
'The RBI's MPC will maintain the current policy rates (6.50%) at the policy meeting, given ongoing inflationary pressures.'
Addressing a rally in Mhow on Monday, Gandhi said Dalits, backwards and tribals had no rights before Independence, when "only maharajas and rajas enjoyed rights".
Dr Nagesh Kumar, one of the three new MPC members, wanted the MPC to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%.
The ticket prices will remain same as the previous rates for the upcoming third Test of the India versus New Zealand series to be played here from November 1-5, the Mumbai Cricket Association has said.
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
In a remarkable comeback to power, Donald J Trump Monday took oath as the 47th president of the United States and immediately promised a blitz of executive orders as he announced the beginning of a 'golden age' of America.
'The present generation, either due to historical amnesia or political propaganda, has been fed a narrative that paints India as an adversary rather than an ally.'
Analysts are expecting pharmaceutical companies to post sales growth of 10-11 per cent in the second quarter this financial year while the Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) margins are anticipated to improve by about 110 basis points. Ebitda improvement will be led by lower input costs because prices of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are 5-15 per cent lower year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Axis Capital said sales growth would be around 10 per cent, of which growth in the India market would be 11 per cent or so.
The November 5 US presidential elections, Federal Reserve interest rate decision, trading activity of foreign investors, and the upcoming quarterly earnings from domestic firms are the major triggers that would influence sentiments in the equity market this week, analysts said. In an eventful week ahead, a host of macroeconomic data announcements and global trends would also drive the markets, experts said. "The upcoming week is poised to be eventful on the global front.
The BSE Healthcare Index is up 19 per cent as compared to BSE Sensex returns of 11 per cent during this period. Nitin Agarwal of DAM Capital highlighted this trend in a report last month. "After a sustained period of underperformance over FY21-23, the BSE Healthcare Index has once again captured the spotlight. "The recent uptick in performance has been driven by hospitals and emerging green shoots in pharmaceutical exports, particularly to the US, along with sustaining momentum in domestic branded formulations," he said.
The three day MPC meeting began on Monday and the decision will be announced on Wednesday by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
An acute drug shortage in the US and stable pricing along with product launches are likely to boost revenues of India's pharmaceutical companies during the first quarter of this financial year, analysts said. Most brokerages estimate a top line growth of around 14-15 per cent, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) growth of 24-30 per cent for Q1 of FY24. Hospitals are, however, likely to report lower occupancy rates, and diagnostics companies may witness an impact from delayed monsoon.
There is a definite attempt to put the landslides on the backburner because news of them and climate change worry Wayanad's tourism and real estate businesses greatly. Whatever I experienced of Wayanad's 2024 by-elections; the July landslides were not a burning issue, observes Shyam G Menon.
Muhammad Yunus proved that he was neither an armchair economist nor a slogan mongering political activist, but a doer destined to do what Mahatma Gandhi said -- to remove every tear from every eye, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE on Tuesday said they will conduct a special trading session in the equity and equity derivative segments on May 18 to check their preparedness for handling major disruptions or failure at the primary site. The special live trading session will have an intra-day switchover from the Primary Site (PR) to the Disaster Recovery (DR) site.
'Slogans like 'Ek hai toh safe hai' and 'Batenge toh katenge' resonated with voters.'
'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
Do not underestimate the ingenuity of the Deep State in America to have its way. Keeping the guard down will be a catastrophic mistake on the part of the Delhi establishment. We could get hit when least expected. That's what happened in Bangladesh and Syria, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Never, not even once, has Kamala Harris said that she is Indian American. I know why.' 'From the Indian American community she can get maybe 1% percent votes. But if she says she's African American she gains about 20% votes.'
Sarma, while responding to reporters' questions on high price of veggies in Guwahati, had said, "Vegetables are not priced so high in villages. Here the Miya vendors charge us more. Had it been Assamese vendors selling vegetables, they wouldn't have fleeced their own people."
'Money power was deployed like an army in a war.' 'None of the MVA parties had that kind of money.'
'That was my mistake.' 'Gautam Adani was not involved in forming the Maharashtra government.' 'Adani was not there in the meeting.' 'The meeting was at his guest house and we were sitting in his guest house.'
Notwithstanding the fact that the country's pharmaceutical (pharma) pricing regulator has allowed a 12 per cent price increase for medicines listed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) in 2023, analysts and industry insiders predict that the overall domestic pharma industry will only witness a price hike of 5-6 per cent. This is attributed to higher competitive intensity in the market. Krishnakumar V, executive director and chief operating officer (CEO) of Eris Lifesciences, a domestic-focused pharma company, noted that the NLEM segment experienced growth suppression of around 150 basis points due to price reductions during the January to July period this year.
'A rigid or overly broad interpretation could lead to a chilling effect on investments and growth in sectors traditionally driven by private initiative.' 'Entrepreneurs may fear that their assets could be arbitrarily appropriated by the State under the guise of serving the 'common good' without sufficient legal safeguards.' 'The judgment thus supports a more nuanced view, one that balances individual property rights with public welfare objectives.'
The Jawa 42 FJ 350 cc was launched at a surprising price of 199,142 ex-showroom Delhi, reports a nostalgic Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com.
rediffGURU Dr Pananjay Tiwari lists the options and cost of pursuing an MBBS education outside of India.
Gland Pharma beat muted expectations for Q2FY25. There was increased Ebitda (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) loss at Cenexi, the CRAM subsidiary. However, overall Ebitda margin was better than expectations at 21.1 per cent. But given two years of earnings decline in FY23 and FY24, the business may have bottomed and upper-teens EPS (earnings per share) growth looks possible over next two financial years.
Brokerages have cut their estimates of listed diagnostics players for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) after mixed December quarter results and muted near-term outlook. Their volumes and realisations will be under pressure due to weakness in Covid-adjusted performance and higher competitive pressures, the brokerages believe. In a post-Q3 results note on Dr Lal Pathlabs, Bhavesh Gandhi of YES Securities pointed out that there has been a lack of volume revival in recent quarters, with an increasing likelihood that FY24 too would be a work-in-progress year for the company's initiatives to bear fruit.
'For me, if I want to buy a house to stay, I don't care about indexation because I don't want to sell that house.' 'The only thing that matters to me as a buyer is that the home price should be within my reach.' 'Any market, when speculators and investors go out, it will benefit the middle class.'
The specter of how the Munambam issue was exploited during the November by-elections is proof of the price Kerala is paying for its emergent politics. Controversies become the stuff of slow-burn and brinkmanship. The former promises mileage; the latter searches for an advantage, notes Shyam G Menon.
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