Facing opposition fire for exit polls allegedly being used for stock market manipulation, Axis My India's chief Pradeep Gupta has said he is open to facing all kinds of investigations and it would help do business in a much better way if the government frames specific regulations for pollsters.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
The expectations of a borrowing cut by the government faded among bond-market participants after the general election results because they feel the compulsions of running a coalition may put pressure on the exchequer, according to dealers. The recent trend of moderate depreciation in the rupee's nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) might not persist if there are significant changes to the structural reform agenda.
The high-octane campaigning for the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections concluded at 6 pm on Monday, with big guns from all three major parties holding roadshows, public meetings, padayatras and bike rallies in a final push to sway voters. The Aam Aadmi Party remains confident of securing a third consecutive term, highlighting its governance record and welfare schemes. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), aiming to reclaim power in Delhi after more than 25 years, held 22 roadshows and rallies across the city. The Congress, seeking a revival after failing to win any seats in the last two elections, also intensified its efforts. The election battle has seen sharp political exchanges, with AI-generated spoofs, catchy slogans, and roadshows dominating the discourse. The outcome of this fiercely contested election will determine whether the AAP continues its dominance, the BJP breaks its losing streak, or Congress makes a surprising comeback. The final verdict will be revealed on February 8, as Delhi awaits the results of what has been one of its most high-stakes electoral battles.
With the Congress in power in the state and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) snapping at its heels, the BRS is now fighting an existential battle.
State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) reported a weak performance in the fourth quarter of FY24 (January-March 2024), and the turmoil in the energy market indicates it could endure another lacklustre quarter. The oil marketing company (OMC) reported an Ebitda of Rs 10,400 crore, down 27 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) due to weak reported gross refining margin (GRM) of $8.4 per barrel in Q4FY24, which was almost half the consensus expectation of $15 per barrel.
Just eight months after its good showing in the Lok Sabha polls, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) seems to be running out of steam with internal bickering and conflicting ambitions resulting in diminishing electoral returns that have once again put the Bharatiya Janata Party in the driver's seat in national politics.
The plea is likely to be heard on Wednesday by a vacation bench.
'If Pakistan has fired one bullet at us then we have to respond by firing 10 bullets at them. It is our right to do so.'
The last batch of quarterly earnings, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors will guide the equity market movement in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Volatility may continue amid investors' cautious approach in the election season. Markets will remain closed on Monday due to the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai.
The Delhi assembly results have underscored that a section of Arvind Kejriwal's committed supporters abandoned him because they were let down by his refusal to take a stand on crucial issues that impinge on the security and Constitutionally enshrined rights of the people, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The IPO market is set to be bustling next week, with 11 companies like Vishal Mega Mart, TPG Capital-backed Sai Life Sciences and fintech firm One Mobikwik Systems gearing up to launch their initial share sales, collectively aiming to raise nearly Rs 18,500 crore. Other mainboard IPOs to be launched during this period are Inventurus Knowledge Solutions Ltd and Blackstone-owned diamond grading firm International Gemmological Institute (India) Ltd.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress are prepping for the upcoming May 12 Karnataka polls. Here's a sentiment meter.
'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) gave a huge blow to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance by winning 43 seats out of total 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, as per the Election Commission.
'Within India, people want high-quality, personalised banking services, and the demand for such services has exploded.'
The BJP which won only three seats in the last assembly election is looking confident to make inroads is Mamata's den.
BSP supremo Mayawati, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee have been at the centre of intense debate in political circles on which way they will go after May 16, the day of election results.
'Maybe this has created some minor issues which can happen in any party.'
Devendra Fadnavis, a seasoned politician known for his strategic maneuvering and resilience, has been sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time. His political journey has been marked by both triumphs and setbacks, including a short-lived coalition with the NCP and a period in opposition. Fadnavis's leadership is expected to focus on infrastructure development and addressing the concerns of the Maratha community.
The seven seats -- Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura -- went to poll on September 5.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has earmarked assets worth about Rs 15,000 crore that will be restored to victims of real estate, Ponzi and other frauds across India during the current financial year. The agency has been "aggressively" initiating this provision for restitution since last year to ensure rightful claimants duped by financial crime get their dues. The ED has already restored Rs 31,951 crore worth of assets under this provision, including Rs 15,201.65 crore from 2019-21 in cases related to Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL). The ED Director has issued directions to all regions to actively work on cases marked for restitution of assets worth Rs 15,000 crore during the financial year 2025-26.
Why did Modi single out the Congress and its leaders for the most pugnacious verbal assault while sparing other regional adversaries? If he is trying to get some parties to break the Opposition ranks, it means that the BJP's present bravado is for effect. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times, begins a new column for Rediff.com.
The broom, the hand or the kite, listen to the mind or the heart, 'tunnel vision voting' to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party or electing the 'right party'. With only two days to go for polling, the choice is anything but clear for Delhi's Muslims, say many voters.
Assembly elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 9 and 14.
In response to the panic triggered by Trump's trade policies, the RBI net sold approximately $43 billion in the second half of FY25 to curb volatility, as the rupee plunged to a low of 87.95 per dollar in February this year.
The meeting in New Delhi etc is just the BJP being nice to the man who helped it realise its dream by stabbing Uddhav in the back, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra has collected letters of support from more than 160 of its candidates and some independents, pledging their backing for the alliance in forming a government in the state if voted to power. The counting of votes for the elections to the 288-member legislative assembly held on November 20 began on Saturday. The letters of support collected from more than 160 candidates will be presented to the governor after declaration of results, sources said.
Pakistan was waiting for an opportunity to bring the Jammu and Kashmir issue to the global agenda and resorted to the terrorism route to provoke India, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The court directed the State Election Commission, the state government and the central government to file affidavits dealing with all the allegations made in three petitions alleging malpractices.
A gender row involving two female boxers at the Paris 2024 Olympics was the result of a Russian fake news campaign, said International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach.
'2019 was fought on delivery. But in 2024, you can see the before and after effects.'
Gujarat will go to polls in two phases on December 1 and 5 with the counting of votes on December 8 along with that of Himachal Pradesh, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced.
'Leave aside the negative fallouts of phraseology like 'urban Naxals' and 'terrorists', both the BJP and the Congress have to re-discover themselves in the context of the 2024 election results, including those of the upcoming ones for Maharashtra and Jharkhand,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kejriwal described the BJP's election manifesto as "dangerous for the country".
Over the years, with some amount of experimenting, I have learnt exactly what freezes well and what does not.
Given that the BJP made all these moves and that these moves were presumably approved by Modi if not directed by him, who should accept the responsibility for the party's rout? asks Aakar Patel.
Unfazed by the popularity, Bagga said, "My face resembles Donald Trump, that is why people take selfies with me. I feel very good."
