A combination of strong earnings and economic growth, and hopes of the Federal Reserve ending the rate-hike cycle have pushed gross buying of Indian equities by foreign portfolio investors (IPO) to a new high. In 2023, FPIs have been gross buyers of shares worth Rs 25.5 trillion, the highest ever in a calendar year. FPIs also sold shares worth Rs 23.9 trillion. On a net basis, they were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1.6 trillion, the highest since 2020.
Gold, a safe-haven bet, is likely to continue its record-smashing journey in the New Year, rising to Rs 85,000 per 10 grams and even Rs 90,000 level in domestic markets if geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainties continue.
R Ravindra, India's Deputy Permanent Representative (DPR) to the United Nations, on Wednesday, underlined New Delhi's efforts to send humanitarian assistance to civilians in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, saying that it has sent 38 tonnes of food and critical medical equipment to the region.
Ahead of his much-anticipated visit to conflict-torn Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India firmly believes that no problem can be solved on the battlefield and it is ready to extend all possible cooperation for the restoration of peace and stability in the region.
Employees of Go First, which has filed for bankruptcy, hope that the airline will fly out of the crisis with government support but some are already scouting for work. Some Go First pilots have joined airlines in West Asia in recent weeks and others have approached IndiGo, India's largest domestic airline. Calls to IndiGo's human resources and operations department increased after Go First said on Tuesday it will suspend flights for three days starting May 3, sources said.
'The race is now on for Indian IT firms to develop their AI prowess and focus on a software-first approach to services as the people element becomes more complicated with Trump's expected new regulations.'
Genset manufacturer Cummins India has seen its share price rise by 45 per cent in the past three months. The management has reaffirmed that growth would be in double digits over the coming two fiscal years. Growth is expected to be driven by a pickup in domestic infrastructure spending.
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
The effect of the subprime crisis that began to be felt around early 2007 hasn't affected domestic sales of super luxury cars priced between Rs 1 and 3 crore. Super luxury car manufacturers such as UK's Bentley grew by 20 per cent last year and expect to clock similar growth in the country this year.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
All eyes will be on star India batter Virat Kohli, who is perhaps battling the biggest form crisis of his career.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Oil and LNG prices are likely to shoot up if Iran is to block Strait of Hormuz, through which countries like India import crude oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE, leading to a spike in inflation, analysts said on the Iran-Israel conflict. The Iran and Israel conflict has escalated over the last few days. Iran first launched drone and rocket attacks on Israel, which retaliated by firing a missile. Crude oil prices have hovered around USD 90 per barrel since the conflict.
'Elections are fought to win.' 'In our party, the leadership takes the final decision, and our leaders are very clear about it.'
It is rare for Cabinet ministers to tick off state-owned companies publicly, yet that was what then petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan did for ONGC. Speaking at an event on June 29, Pradhan said he has asked India's premier exploration company to find fresh oil acreages fast. "Do it yourself through some joint venture (or) through a new business model. But the government cannot permit you to hold resources for an indefinite time." The reason for this stricture is India's rising dependence on imported oil and gas. Or, to put it another way, falling domestic production (see chart: "Crude truth"), especially from ONGC, which faces a simple problem.
With the West Asian/North African crisis not likely to end soon and investors' appetite increasing for gold, it is expected to touch $1,600 an oz by the year-end.
The only real solution to the jobs crisis, whether in India or abroad, is to direct tech innovation towards job enhancing sectors, and disincentivising job-replacing ones, observes R Jagannathan.
"Now we live in a completely independent Afghanistan. The new government will be announced very soon," said Anaamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban's cultural commission, reported Tolo News.
'This funding provides support directly to some of the more than 18 million vulnerable Afghans in need in the region'
Message for India is that its key challenge has to be to avoid falling into the middle income trap.
The Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan has said that India will resume work in at least 20 stalled projects in several provinces across the war-torn country.
Putin said work would be completed on building storage units for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus on July 1, a move he likened to US nuclear deployments in Europe.
US envoy Eric Garcetti on Thursday said he respects that India likes its "strategic autonomy", but in times of conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy, even as he pitched for forging a stronger partnership between New Delhi and Washington.
Asian Development Bank has asked Dhaka to send a formal request by Sunday.
The recent issues dogging West Asia have become a major cause for concern due to the spike in the crude oil prices.
Noting that the country could 'well experience the effects of an oil-price shock,' Deloitte said that political instability in West Asia and a payment crisis with Iran are causes for concern.
Israel temporarily put on hold a decision on a possible ground invasion of Gaza to give more time to Egypt's truce efforts, but seven days of incessant raids took the Palestinian death toll to 111 amid warnings by Hamas that it won't succumb to Israeli conditions.
Major General S C N Jatar, who passed into the ages on Monday night, thwarted anti-national forces at the peak of the Assam agitation. Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) salutes this officer and gentleman.
Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet have suspended flights to China and Hong Kong.
Sources suggested that the Ministry of External Affairs had expressed reservations over Chidambaram's visit. The MEA believed that President-elect Barack Obama and his team were presently pre-occupied with the crisis in West Asia. Apparently, Washington had communicated the same to New Delhi.
Referring to the impact of political turmoil in West Asia, he said the crisis would not hurt the economy unless the crude oil prices rise to 'abnormally' high levels.
Wipro Ltd, a provider of IT solutions and services including systems integration, information systems outsourcing and IT-enabled services, says it has not been affected by the crisis in West Asia and will continue to invest in the region. Wipro already has a company -- Wipro Arabia, formed in 2007 through a joint venture with the Dar Al Riyadh Group -- providing IT solutions and services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
US President Barack Obama will meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon next week in Washington to discuss a host of issues, including the global economic crisis, Sudan conflict and situation in Afghanistan and West Asia
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to visit Iran soon, said Manbir Singh, India's ambassador to Iran.
An AirAsia flight from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people aboard reportedly went missing on Sunday morning after losing contact with air traffic controllers.
The grotesque irony is that while Hussein was hanged for killing 148 people, the leaders of the US and its allies won't be tried for killing half-a-million Iraqi children through the post-1991 sanctions, nor for the death of 655,000 Iraqi civilians.
India may see a structural shift in supplies of crude oil with Russia emerging as a key source of fuels, a development that reduces New Delhi's dependence on West Asian oil, gives Indian refiners better bargaining power with price-setter Saudi Arabia, and improves overall energy security. The unexpected surge in supplies of Russian crude in the last few months, unthinkable until the war in Ukraine, may also deliver other unforeseen gains such as boosting exports of refined fuels to Europe, which historically has counted on Russian shipments. India has jumped on to the bandwagon of opportunistic buying of Russian crude but if calibrated carefully, Urals crude can be a long-term asset for India refiners.
The IMF and World Bank have stopped loans, and the FATF warned its 39 member nations to block Taliban assets.
India must be prepared to deal with climate disasters, geopolitical confrontations, and social strife linked to global events, asserts Jayant Sinha, chairman of Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance.
'The pay cuts have been very tough on those with entire families to support.'
