The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at multiple locations in Tamil Nadu on Thursday as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), including the purported role of its minister Senthil Balaji. The raids covered the offices of TASMAC, its employees, corporate offices of distilleries and plants, as well as "key associates" linked to Balaji, but not the minister's premises. The ED is looking into liquor sale transactions and the role of alleged middlemen in connection with TASMAC. Balaji, the minister for electricity, is also in charge of TASMAC, which holds a monopoly over liquor trade in the state. The agency is also investigating Balaji's role in an earlier money laundering case linked to the "cash for jobs scam" in the state transport department. He was arrested in that case but is currently out on bail.
'Many of these issues will be resolved within 6 months because the US economy has started unravelling.'
'Binary fission will happen -- startups will lead to more startups.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Australia on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious roadmap to deepen and diversify its trade and investment ties with India. The roadmap identified four "superhighways of growth" -- clean energy, education and skills, agribusiness, and tourism. Broadly, it sets out a pathway to focus ongoing efforts, including to boost two-way investment, and work with Indian-Australian communities and businesses.
India is not reaping the benefits of demographic dividends, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said on Tuesday, emphasising that there is a need to focus on improving the human capital and enhancing their skill sets. "I think we are in the midst of it (demographic dividend), but the problem is we are not reaping the benefits," Rajan said at a conference on "Making India an Advanced Economy by 2047: What Will it Take" at the George Washington University in Washington DC. "That's why I said 6 per cent growth.
'As you gain experience, you realise that none of this is personal.' 'The failures actually teach you bigger and better lessons.'
'The finance minister has done as much as she can when you look into the fiscal constraints she had.'
'The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there.'
'A major IT services firm that previously had a demand of 1,000 to 2,000 employees now requires 7,000 to 8,000 -- a sizeable jump from the previous quarter.'
The rate of unemployment rose from 7.3 per cent in 1999-2000 to 8.35 per cent in 2004-05, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. The 11th Five-Year Plan has special schemes to encourage the organised sector to employ more labour and simultaneously, to improve labour productivity in the unorganised sector.
'Could the impending new crisis, vibe coding, similarly create not a disaster like what befell Indian handlooms during the Industrial Revolution but another opportunity like what the Y2K crisis created?' asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
'Every Indian should move to an EV, and the government should not buy any fossil fuel cars. The government should become the first driver of EV adoption.'
Adani Ports, NTPC, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies and Sun Pharma were among the other big gainers. However, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were amonh the major laggards.
Stopping SIPs during a downturn undermines the benefit of rupee-cost averaging.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced income tax relief for the middle class, a Rs 2 lakh crore outlay for job creation schemes over the next five years and a spending splurge for states run by her party's new coalition partners as she unveiled the Modi 3.0 government's first budget after the general elections.
Intuitively solving a problem like multiplying 43 by 11, they might first multiply 43 by 10, and then add 43, reaching the final answer of 473.
Various industry bodies have sought immediate government intervention through the imposition of anti-dumping duties, claiming India has seen a surge in imports of Chinese goods over the past two weeks.
Forget smarts or cheek, there's little novelty to be found in Jewel Thief's juvenile script, barring its now free usage of the F-word to make it sound all hip and adult, observes Sukanya Verma.
India needs another shot of difficult reform, of the kind only possible at gunpoint. Mr Trump holds that gun to our heads now. A drastic reduction in tariff protection, other elements of sarkari wet-nursing will force entrepreneurial India to become competitive again, argues Shekhar Gupta.
On India, the chart showed that the country charged 52 per cent tariffs on the US "including currency manipulation and trade barriers," and America will now charge India "discounted reciprocal tariffs" of 26 per cent.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Thursday advised market regulator SEBI and the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) to exercise caution amid a significant surge in equity markets and pitched for more tribunal benches to ensure that the "backbone is stable". Inaugurating the new SAT premises here, CJI Chandrachud pitched for authorities to consider opening up new benches of the SAT given the higher workloads because of higher quantum of transactions and newer regulations.
Pratham Barot, CEO and co-founder, Zell Education, explains how specialised courses in finance can help you earn a cushy six-figure salary.
'The main worry is lots of new investors coming into the markets in order to make a quick buck/easy money.' 'Those things are happening again and have happened in the past as well.' 'All that has led to problems.' 'We are not there yet, but will get there eventually.'
rediffGURU Shekhar Kumar, senior manager, talent acquisition, at the Shri Venkateshwara University in Gajraula, Uttar Pradesh, offers career advice on how to optimise your skills, build your network and make the most of your workplace.
rediffGURU Ashwini Dasgupta offers advice on what you can do to grow in your career and shine at the workplace.
The RBI on Wednesday slashed key interest rate by 25 basis points, for the second time in a row, to support a shuttering economy hit by reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US. Following the rate cut, the key policy rate eased to 6 per cent providing relief to home, auto and corporate loan borrowers.
rediffGURU Krishna Kumar, founder and CEO of GoMoTech, offers expert advice on how to scale up in your career and life.
'We face the risk of remaining a low-income country for a very long time unless something changes in the next few years.' 'Instead of constantly talking about becoming a developed economy, we need to start fixing the problems of the economy one by one.' 'There is so much potential, and we are squandering away the opportunity.'
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed down by half a per cent on Friday following losses in IT and banking shares amid overall weak global market trends. The BSE Sensex declined 316.94 points or 0.52 per cent to settle at 61,002.57. During the day, it fell 508.84 points or 0.82 per cent to 60,810.67.
Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported a 25 per cent rise in net profit attributable to the owners of the company for the January-March quarter of 2024-25, owing to higher revenues and an exceptional gain. For the quarter under review, L&T posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,497.3 crore, while revenue rose 10.9 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 74,392.28 crore.
'It can position itself as a China Plus One solution, fulfilling the demands of developed economies.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'Someone posts a job on LinkedIn and there are a thousand resumes in an hour? This is not the America IT professionals are used to.' 'Once they lose their job, it's impossible to get a job.'
Trump's sweeping tariffs and penalties on China-built ships have turned global shipping into the front line of economic war, observes Shyam G Menon.
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's scathing remarks on Indian startup ecosystem and its innovation priorities have drawn sharp reaction from the industry, with Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha putting up a strong defence citing the company's contribution to jobs, FDI and terming it a "miracle in Indian innovation".
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, ITC, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and JSW Steel were the major laggards. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Maruti, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
The tech community, which was getting ready to use the ChatGPT fever and raise unlimited capital for their businesses, is going to face tougher obstacles now, predicts Ajit Balakrishnan.
India's manufacturing sector growth started the year 2025 on a strong footing and touched a six-month high in January, fuelled by the steepest upturn in exports in nearly 14 years, a monthly survey said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from December's one-year low of 56.4 to 57.7 in January supported by the fastest upturn in new export orders since February 2011.