Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday expressed anguish over Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge trooping into the Well of the House during an opposition protest, saying it is for the first time that a person occupying the post has engaged in such conduct.
'Nobody really talks about the middle of relationships or the mundane parts... (When the end comes) we think, "Wow, this is the worst time of my life. This is horrible. It's never been worse". But actually, I feel the endings are what makes us who we are.'
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with her team of bureaucrats, delved into the fine print of the 2024-25 Budget documents in a press conference, detailing the government's road map on bringing down the debt-to-GDP ratio and bold tax measures.
World Bank president Ajay Banga is among the Indians who have made it to the prestigious Times's list of 100 most influential people in the world released on Wednesday. Time's profile of the former Mastercard CEO, written by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, said, "It's not easy to find a leader with the skill and drive to take on the monumental task of transforming an essential institution, but since becoming World Bank president last June, Ajay Banga has done just that." She said Banga comes to the World Bank after leading a global organisation through which he brought millions of unbanked people into the digital economy.
The value of FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors) holding in Indian equities reached $738 billion in the three months ended December 2023, marking a surge of 13 per cent from the preceding quarter, driven by the strong performance of the domestic stock market, according to a report by Morningstar. The value of FPIs investment was at $651 billion in the September quarter of the current fiscal. On a year-on-year basis, the value of such investments rose 26 per cent from $584 billion in December 2022.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice in the post-lunch period on Thursday as a war of words broke out between the treasury and opposition benches, triggered by Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi's spat with the Bharatiya Janata Party's Ravneet Singh Bittu.
The US treasury department informed about the sanctions following the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas.
The US Treasury's new acronym in its long list of programmes - PPIP or the Public-Private Investment Programme - has lifted market hopes that the administration is moving closer to restoring stability in the US financial system.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday did a four-day variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auction to reduce liquidity in the banking system as the overnight money market rates fell below the repo rate, said market participants. The repo rate is 6.50 per cent. Banks parked Rs 18,750 crore at the auction against a notified amount of Rs 50,000 crore at a weighted average rate of 6.49 per cent.
The US considers Indian a critical financial centre.
Of the eight RBI governors who have held office since the 1991 economic liberalisation, Bimal Jalan had the longest stint and S Venkitaramanan, the shortest. Current Governor Shaktikanta Das will overtake Bimal Jalan before completing his second term in December, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The US Department of Treasury plans to sell its 27 per cent stake in Citigroup Inc, says a media report. The stake selling is part of a programme of regularly scheduled sales.
'There is also a possibility that Andhra Pradesh may demand a similar package. But as of now, we are only working on a package for Bihar.'
The trouble started when the SP member wanted to make a point on an ongoing heated discussion between Opposition parties and the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha over certain remarks made by BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari on Kharge a few days ago.
After Bandhan MF's US Treasury Bond 0-1 year Fund of Fund (FoF), Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSL) MF has come out with US Treasury 1-3 Year Bond ETFs FoF and 3-10 Year Bond ETFs FoF. US bonds, which generally offer low yields, have turned attractive post the 525-basis point hike in US interest rates. According to Bloomberg data, the 1-year and 2-year US treasury yields now stand at 5.4 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively. Although the yields remain lower than what Indian government bonds offer, the differential has come down steeply.
From the Sensex basket, Sun Pharma, Maruti, Power Grid, Titan, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were the major laggards. Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services and Nestle were the gainers.
The boost from treasury income has helped RIL juice up its earnings at a time when the margins in its core refining & petrochemicals business are running low.
Paulson has also taken a dig at China "for not being bold" despite the fact that Beijing is integrated into the global economy.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has suggested that Satyam Computer deposit the salary of directors nominated to its board by the government after a multi-crore accounting fraud was exposed at the IT firm in the government treasury.
Amid much fanfare, the makers and star cast of Ishq Vishk Rebound unveiled the trailer for their coming teen romance.
That he hasn't done so yet, has continued to be active on the political street, in public debate and on social media, signals an important change. It will give his party hope. Maybe the achievement of reducing Mr Modi well below the majority mark will now motivate him to stay committed, observes Shekhar Gupta
US's terrible political and economic leadership will ultimately cost the dollar its value. India must act early to avoid being dragged down, suggests R Jagannathan.
Short-term government bonds fell behind longer-dated securities in demand this month so far due to a liquidity crunch in the banking system and expectations of a delay in a rate cut, said market participants. Investors have favoured longer-tenure government bonds, or g-secs, with insurance companies and pension funds leading the charge by stocking up on those with maturities of 30 years and more. Preference for longer-term securities was strengthened by the conclusion of the borrowing programme, which compelled institutional investors to fulfil their requirements in the secondary market.
The BJP leader said the Congress wants to divide the country on the basis of religion and region.
'I would have become a big star 11 years ago if things had worked as per my plans.'
The Democrats have elected a set of state representatives who will act as an electoral panel. These representatives will have to pick someone else. This could be Vice President Kamala Harris, who is widely seen as a top contender, but is not popular, points out Aakar Patel.
National Democratic Alliance nominee Om Birla was elected as Lok Sabha speaker on Wednesday after a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was adopted through voice vote, capping intense debate on the issue with the opposition in a rare move proposing its own candidate.
The Rajya Sabha chairman asked him to authenticate his assertions and refused to accept newspaper clippings that the Congress leader showed to buttress his points.
Foreign portfolio investors' (FPIs') net investment in the domestic debt market in October was the third highest during the current calendar year as foreign investors rushed to lock in higher returns amid global uncertainty and geo-political tensions, market participants said. FPI inflows in debt stood at Rs 6, 322 crore in October against Rs 768 crore in September, according to data on the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). Market participants said that the majority of the inflows were channelled through corporate bonds.
As soon as the House resumed at noon, Joshi said, "In protest against the action of their party's former president (Rahul Gandhi) and in your honour and in honour of the Constitution, we would participate in the Question Hour while remaining standing in silence. We request for your permission".
United States President Barack Obama, in an effort to rejuvenate the battered US economy, on Thursday nominated his chief-of-staff and budget specialist Jack Lew as the next treasury secretary.
It was almost as if we were back to 'acchey din', when Parliament was a forum where two sides fought ferociously as equals. For that we need to thank Rahul Gandhi, notes Jyoti Punwani.
He was previously Chief-of-Staff and Budget specialist.
The climate for 'doing business' remains forbidding, taxtortion is still rife, corruption at state and district levels has increased, oil prices remain extortive with high taxation, and the continued red tape has kept the enterprise system as stifled as before, points out Debashis Basu.
'Didi would always say, 'Why would these young talented singers want to do my songs? Originality has very long legs.' I wonder what she would have to say about this new technology that threatens to tamper with the voices of the singing greats.'
It is possible to be blind to this and pretend to carry on as if nothing has happened but that will not change the reality, asserts Aakar Patel.
The other recent reforms initiative of the government include the decision to raise FDI cap in insurance from 26 to 49 per cent and allowing foreign investment in pension.
In a significant gesture ahead of the high level Sino-US talks, China has increased its holdings of United States treasury debt by $17.7 billion, consolidating its position as the number one holder of US treasury securities with a total of $895.2 billion.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances