Category: Business

There are ways to mitigate some of the risks of relying so much on cloud computing, says this University of Melbourne researcher.

The world’s largest cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS), experienced a major outage that has impacted thousands of organisations, including banks, financial software platforms such as Xero, and social media platforms such as Snapchat.

The outage occurred on Monday (Oct 20). It was caused by a malfunction at one of AWS’ data centres located in Northern Virginia in the United States. Later in the day, AWS said it had fixed the underlying issue but some internet users were still reporting service disruptions at the time of writing.

This incident highlights the vulnerabilities of relying so much on cloud computing – or “the cloud” as it’s often called. But there are ways to mitigate some of the risks.

RENTING IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of diverse IT resources such as computing power, database storage, and applications over the internet. In simple terms, it’s renting (not owning) your own IT infrastructure.

During Diwali week, the Prime Minister was a de-light-ful winner of the national Fancy Dress Contest cosplaying as a brave soldier. You might have seen the reels by now and the blanket coverage. You might have also spotted a mugshot of the same gent looking straight into the camera for all the self-congratulatory colourful communication created for the ‘GST Bachat Utsav’. Yes, it has been exactly a month since the Union government revised the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates. Happy Diwali to all of you. And since this column is called “Calling Attention”, allow me to call your attention to the much hyped ‘GST Bachat Utsav’ that ends this week.

Amidst all the hoopla, it is the State governments that truly deserve recognition for coming together for the GST revision. Because the States are the ones bearing the brunt of massive revenue losses. In fact, more credit should be given to Opposition-ruled States as they not only face revenue loss but also unfavourable and partisan flow of funds under different schemes and heads.

Look At The Data
Data from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) study of private corporate investment intentions revealed that Gujarat and Maharashtra, both BJP bastions, topped the list, averaging over 79 and 45 projects respectively between 2014 and 2023. During this period, the Prime Minister’s home State accounted for 88 additional projects. Among the top 10 States, which also included four Opposition-led States, an average of 343 projects were chalked up between 2014 and 2023. However, nine out of 10 projects went to BJP-ruled States. Gujarat itself accounted for nearly one-fourth of this share.

What do these numbers tell us. Either BJP-ruled States are the best governed States or investors and businesses are ‘strongly encouraged’ to invest in these States. Considering BJP-ruled States have the highest crimes against women, highest zero food children, lowest literacy rates in the country, the first reason cited is not convincing. The latter is closer to the truth. Chief Ministers of many Opposition-ruled States have often alleged that the Union government ‘diverts investments’. Consider this. Investments worth Rs 6,000 crore for Tamil Nadu were moved to Gujarat. The Chief Minister of Telangana alleged that he had evidence to suggest that the PMO told more than one company to opt for Gujarat. The Information and Technology Minister of Karnataka has made similar allegations. Even investments going to Maharashtra, which itself is an NDA-ruled State, were diverted to Gujarat’s GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) city. Media reports suggest that 17 major projects have been shifted from Maharashtra to Gujarat.

Why States Wanted Assurances

The Union government has been boosting funding and investments to States run by the BJP by announcing various financial incentives. One such example is the GIFT city. Earlier, the UPA government had envisioned developing the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) as a financial hub. In 2007, the government committee chaired by former World Bank official Percy Mistry recommended transforming Mumbai into a global financial centre. However, focus shifted to the GIFT city in Gujarat. Many concessions have been given and extended until 2030.

In this situation, it is not surprising that many States, particularly those ruled by non-BJP parties, demanded assurances on revenue loss when the revised GST policy was rolled out a month ago. That is why, critics suggest that the ‘GST Bachav Utsav’ was high on noise and low on purpose.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/why-states-not-centre-should-get-all-the-credit-for-gst-savings-9495107

The AWS outage disrupted hundreds of websites and apps, including Venmo, Robinhood Markets Inc. and Apple Inc.’s Apple Music and Apple TV.

Amazon.com announced on Monday afternoon that its cloud services had returned to normal after a widespread internet outage disrupted thousands of websites worldwide, including major platforms such as Snapchat and Reddit.

However, the company said certain AWS services were still dealing with a backlog of messages that could take a few more hours to clear.

AWS hosts applications and computer processes for companies around the world, and the disruption knocked workers from London to Tokyo offline and halted others from conducting normal everyday tasks like paying hairdressers or changing their airline tickets. Users on Monday afternoon had complained of lingering difficulties using services such as digital wallet Venmo and video calling site Zoom, news agency Reuters reported.

Since last year’s CrowdStrike malfunction, it was reportedly the largest internet disruption.

It was at least the third time in five years that AWS’s northern Virginia cluster, known as US-EAST-1, contributed to a major internet meltdown.

Domain Name System
The problems stemmed from what is known as the Domain Name System, or DNS, which prevented applications from finding the correct address for AWS’s DynamoDB API, a cloud database relied upon to store user information and other critical data.

Earlier, AWS said the root cause of the outage was an underlying subsystem that monitors the health of its network load balancers used to distribute traffic across several servers.

The issue, AWS said, originated from within the “EC2 internal network”, Amazon’s “Elastic Compute Cloud” service, which provides on-demand cloud capacity within AWS.

Shortly after 3 p.m. PT (2200 GMT), Amazon said, “all AWS services returned to normal operations. Some services such as AWS Config, Redshift, and Connect continue to have a backlog of messages that they will finish processing over the next few hours.”

The outage, caused by a database network issue, disrupted hundreds of websites and apps, including Venmo, Robinhood Markets Inc. and Apple Inc.’s Apple Music and Apple TV.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/amazon-says-aws-cloud-service-back-to-normal-after-global-outage-101761009002023.html

China isn’t just fighting back, it’s fighting smart. By borrowing America’s own trade war tactics, Beijing is turning Washington’s long-arm rules against it in a high-stakes economic showdown.

China is fighting back in its escalating trade war with the United States, and it’s doing so by deploying the very same tactics Washington has used against it for years. In expanding export rules on rare earths this month, Beijing introduced a sweeping measure requiring foreign firms to seek Chinese government approval to export magnets containing even small amounts of China-originated rare earth materials or produced using Chinese technology.
That means, for example, a South Korean smartphone maker would need Beijing’s permission to sell devices to Australia if they contain China-originated rare earths. “This rule gives China control over basically the entire global economy in the technology supply chain,” an AP report cited Jamieson Greer, a US trade representative, as saying.
For anyone familiar with US trade tactics, this move mirrors America’s foreign direct product rule, which extends the reach of US law to foreign-made products and has been used to restrict China’s access to critical technologies. It’s a clear signal that Beijing is now borrowing from Washington’s own playbook.

Learning From the Best
“China is learning from the best,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. “Beijing is copying Washington’s playbook because it saw firsthand how effectively US export controls could constrain its own economic development and political choices.”

He added pointedly: “Game recognises game.”
This strategy is the culmination of years of preparation. Since the start of the trade war in 2018 under then-US President Donald Trump, Beijing has been building a legal and policy arsenal inspired by Washington’s methods.
Beijing’s Countermeasures Take Shape
In 2020, Beijing launched its Unreliable Entity List, closely resembling the US Commerce Department’s entity list that restricts foreign firms from doing business with American companies, the report further highlighted.
A year later, it enacted the anti-foreign sanctions law, empowering agencies like the Foreign Ministry to freeze assets and deny visas to individuals and businesses — a mirror image of US sanction mechanisms.
State-run China News Service described this strategy as “hitting back with the enemy’s methods.” Chinese scholar Li Qingming noted that the law was designed after reviewing foreign legislation and international legal principles, calling it a deterrent against further escalation.
Beijing has also introduced expanded export controls and foreign investment review tools, further aligning its regulatory approach with that of Washington.
Jeremy Daum, a senior research scholar at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center, said China often draws from foreign models. As it develops retaliation capabilities in trade and sanctions, the tools are often “very parallel” to those of the US. Both governments, he added, have adopted a “holistic view of national security,” widening the scope of trade restrictions.
Tools Deployed as Trade War Escalates
When Trump returned to the White House earlier this year and reignited the trade war, Beijing wasted no time deploying these tools.
In February, after Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese exports over fentanyl-related concerns, China added PVH Corp. (owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger) and Illumina, Inc. to its Unreliable Entity List — effectively barring them from new investments or trade with China. It also imposed export controls on key elements like tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum, and indium, essential for high-tech manufacturing.
In March, after another 10% tariff, Beijing targeted 10 more US firms and added 15 companies including defense giants General Dynamics Land Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, to its export control list, citing threats to national security.
Then came April’s “Liberation Day” tariffs: a 125% retaliatory tariff, an expanded blacklist, and new export restrictions on rare earth minerals. The move disrupted shipments of critical components needed for smartphones, electric vehicles, jet planes, and missiles.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/economy/china-turns-the-tables-beijing-is-playing-americas-game-but-to-what-end-article-153028010

New Delhi’s line is clear that it will not compromise on its strategic autonomy and will not be dictated to by anyone on whom it should be doing business with, particularly when it comes to Russia—an old and key strategic partner.

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ONCE again, US President Donald Trump has made a claim that may not square with facts — but is so closely linked to the ongoing diplomatic negotiations between India and US that New Delhi has little option but to tread with caution.

Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him Wednesday that India would stop buying Russian oil. The Ministry of External Affairs Thursday denied knowledge of any such conversation and reiterated its stated position on the Russian purchase for which the US had slapped an extra 25% tariff penalty in August.

Source : https://indianexpress.com/article/business/russian-oil-and-us-trade-talks-latest-trump-claim-frames-delhis-challenge-10311545

Female jobless rate hits a 3-month high; youth unemployment climbs to 15%

Google announced on Tuesday that it will invest $15 billion in India over the next five years to establish its first artificial intelligence hub in the country.

Located in the southern city of Visakhapatnam, the hub will be one of Google’s largest globally. It will feature gigawatt-scale data center operations, extensive energy infrastructure and an expanded fiber-optic network, the company said in a statement.

The investment underscores Google’s growing reliance on India as a key technology and talent base in the global race for AI dominance. For India, it brings in high-value infrastructure and foreign investment at a scale that can accelerate its digital transformation ambitions.

Google said its AI hub investment will include construction of a new international subsea gateway that would connect to the company’s more than 2 million miles (3.2 million kilometers) of existing terrestrial and subsea cables.

“The initiative creates substantial economic and societal opportunities for both India and the United States, while pioneering a generational shift in AI capability,” the company’s statement said.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the company’s ambitious plans.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/google-artificial-intelligence-visakhapatnam-modi-pichai-ba8fd50e11e41bbdb72097dd10262283

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Ashok Kumar Pal, CFO of Reliance Power Limited, in connection with a money laundering investigation involving fake bank guarantees.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested a top official in Anil Ambani’s firm in a money laundering case. Ashok Kumar Pal, CFO and Executive Director in Reliance Power Limited, was arrested in a fake bank guarantee case.
“ED arrested Ashok Pal, CFO of Reliance Power yesterday night after questioning in Delhi office in a case of fake bank guarantee. He will be produced before the judge today at 9.30,” Enforcement Directorate said in a statement.
Pal was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Company in January 29, 2023.

Wipro submitted that the company has used the trademark ‘WIPRO’ in relation to its consumer care and lighting products since at least 1977.

The Delhi High Court has declared the trademark ‘WIPRO’ as a well-known mark within the meaning of Section 2(1)(zg) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, formally recognising the brand’s enduring reputation, extensive commercial presence, and its association exclusively with Wipro Enterprises Private Limited [Wipro Enterprises Private Limited Vs Shivam Udhyog].

Justice Tejas Karia, while decreeing the suit in favour of Wipro Enterprises, observed that the company had established that the mark ‘WIPRO’ has acquired the status of a well-known mark under the Trademarks Act beyond a doubt.

The Court held that the mark’s continuous and widespread use since the 1970s, coupled with its significant financial and promotional footprint, justified its recognition as a well-known trademark.

The order was passed on a suit instituted by Wipro Enterprises Private Limited against Shivam Udhyog and its partners (defendants), who had applied to register “SHIVAM UDHYOG WIPRO WIRE MESH” as a trademark in Class 06.

Upon receiving summons, the defendants withdrew their application before the Registrar of Trade Marks and gave an undertaking that they would not use Wipro’s mark or any deceptively similar mark in the future.

Wipro agreed not to press its claims for damages or costs, provided a decree was passed restraining further use of the WIPRO mark and declaring it as a well-known trademark. The Court accordingly proceeded to consider the company’s request for recognition of its mark as a well-known trademark.

Wipro submitted that the company was originally incorporated in 1945 as Western India Vegetable Products Limited by MH Hasham Premji, and has used the trademark ‘WIPRO’ in relation to its consumer care and lighting products since at least 1977.

It further stated that over the decades, the brand has diversified into multiple sectors and established itself as one of India’s most recognised corporate names.

The company placed on record details of its extensive trademark registrations—both in India in Classes 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 16, 20, 29, 30, 35, 37, 40, and 42, and internationally in various foreign jurisdictions including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, Israel, Brazil, Canada, Malaysia, and Mexico.

To demonstrate its goodwill, Wipro filed evidence showing a cumulative turnover of ₹60,775.6 crore between FY 1994–95 and FY 2023–24, including ₹5,055.9 crore in FY 2023–24 alone, and a total promotional expenditure of ₹8,800 crore, with ₹702.2 crore spent in FY 2023–24. The company also pointed to its global recognition, awards, and media presence to establish that the mark ‘WIPRO’ had become synonymous with the group’s identity.

After examining the evidence, Justice Karia held that the material placed on record conclusively established Wipro’s longstanding and dominant market presence.

“The Plaintiff has been using the mark ‘WIPRO’ continuously and uninterruptedly at least since the year 1977… The mark ‘WIPRO’ has become synonymous with the Plaintiff alone,” it said.

Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/delhi-high-court-declares-wipro-a-well-known-trademark

Tata Trusts Boardroom Battle: Tata Trusts faces internal strife as Noel Tata and N Chandrasekaran meet Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman over governance disputes.

Tata Trusts Infighting: The rift within Tata Trusts, the principal shareholder of Tata Sons, has reached the corridors of power. Sources close to the Tata Group told CNBC-TV18 that the government cannot be a silent spectator to the coup attempt by four trustees of Tata Trusts. They said the government has taken note of the widening rift within Tata Trusts and is prepared to intervene if necessary to prevent instability in one of India’s most influential conglomerates.

“The government cannot be a silent spectator to the coup attempt by four trustees of Tata Trusts,” a source close to Tata Group told CNBC-TV18, adding that the Centre is “fully seized of the matter” and is closely monitoring developments.

The Tata Trusts board is scheduled to meet on October 10, even as government officials engage with both sides to defuse the crisis. According to CNBC-TV18, sources close to the Tata group warned the conflict could spill over into Tata Sons’ functioning if not swiftly resolved.

Importantly, the sources close to the Tata group said the October 10 meeting “has nothing to do with the recent tensions”.

On Tuesday evening, Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, along with Tata Trusts Vice-Chairman Venu Srinivasan and trustee Darius Khambata, arrived together at Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence for discussions. Finance Minister Sitharaman also joined the meeting, which came against the backdrop of mounting tensions among trustees over board appointments and governance structures, the issues that threaten to impact the functioning of the over $180-billion Tata Group.

What’s The Issue?

The meeting comes against the backdrop of infighting among trustees of Tata Trusts, a key shareholder in Tata Sons, over board appointments and control mechanisms that adversely affect the functioning of the over $180-billion conglomerate.

A faction of four trustees – Darius Khambata, Jehangir HC Jehangir, Pramit Jhaveri, and Mehli Mistry – has reportedly been operating as a “super board”, undermining Noel Tata’s authority and creating friction within the Trusts. This internal power struggle has drawn the attention of the government due to its potential impact on Tata Sons, the holding company that controls the 156-year-old group spanning around 400 companies, including 30 listed firms.

What’s Behind the Tensions?

CNBC-TV18 reported that some of the key flashpoints that have led to tensions include an equity infusion by Tata Sons into Tata International, which is chaired by Noel Tata. The proposed Rs 1,000-crore infusion was aimed at helping Tata International tide over its losses. Although the proposal was eventually cleared, the move became a source of disagreement among trustees.

Differences also emerged over Noel Tata’s suggestion to create a deputy managing director position at Tata Sons, which some trustees reportedly opposed. In contrast, other trustees are said to have proposed the appointment of Mehli Mistry to the Tata Sons board, an idea opposed by Noel Tata and his allies.

Source : https://www.news18.com/business/coup-attempt-at-tata-sons-tensions-spill-over-as-four-trustees-square-off-with-noel-tata-ws-l-9621766.html

The much-needed modernization of the U.S. Army’s battlefield communications network being undertaken by Anduril, Palantir (PLTR.O), and others is rife with “fundamental security” problems and vulnerabilities, and should be treated as a “very high risk,” according to a recent internal Army memo.
The two Silicon Valley companies, led by allies of U.S. President Donald Trump, have gained access to the Pentagon’s lucrative flow of contracts on the promise of quickly providing less expensive and more sophisticated weapons than the Pentagon’s longstanding arms providers.

Military drone and software maker Anduril boasted it had a prototype of the NGC2 communications platform working during a battlefield test just eight weeks after winning the contract award. But the September 5 memo provides fodder for critics who argue that Silicon Valley’s move-fast, break-things ethos may not be the best approach for vital military equipment.
The memo from the Army’s chief technology officer about the NGC2 platform that connects soldiers, sensors, vehicles and commanders with real-time data paints a bleak security picture of the initial product.
“We cannot control who sees what, we cannot see what users are doing, and we cannot verify that the software itself is secure,” the memo says.

Those concerns have been addressed already as part of the “normal process” of development, Anduril said. “The recent report reflects an outdated snapshot, not the current state of the program,” the company said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
A Palantir spokesperson said, “No vulnerabilities were found in the Palantir platform.”
However, the Army internal memo written by Gabriele Chiulli, the Army chief technology officer authorizing official on the NGC2 prototype, said, “Given the current security posture of the platform and the hosted 3rd party applications the likelihood of an adversary gaining persistent undetectable access to the platform requires the system be treated as very high risk.”
Palantir stock closed down 7.5% on Friday. Anduril is not publicly traded, although company founder Palmer Luckey has said a public offering is planned.

A September 30 article on Anduril’s website touted the NGC2 system’s performance during a live-fire exercise in Fort Carson, Colorado: “Soldiers fired 26 live missions with M777 howitzers on Fort Carson’s live-fire ranges, running AXS side-by-side with legacy crews. The contrast was visible: one team struggling with delays, the other firing digitally in seconds.”
Leonel Garciga, Army chief information officer and Chiulli’s supervisor, told Reuters in an interview on Friday that frank vendor communication is important.
“I think there’s only one application that still has some vulnerabilities that they were working on,” Garciga said, adding that many issues were fixed within a matter of weeks and days.
The Army CTO’s assessment, seen by Reuters and first reported by Breaking Defense, comes just months after Anduril was awarded a $100 million contract to create a prototype of NGC2 with partners including Palantir, Microsoft <MSFT.O> and several smaller contractors.

The memo said the system allows any authorized user to access all applications and data regardless of their clearance level or operational need. As a result, “Any user can potentially access and misuse sensitive” classified information, the memo states, with no logging to track their actions.
Other deficiencies highlighted in the memo include the hosting of third-party applications that have not undergone Army security assessments. One application revealed 25 high-severity code vulnerabilities. Three additional applications under review each contain over 200 vulnerabilities requiring assessment, according to the document.
Garciga said that next week the Palantir Federal Cloud Service, which the battlefield system relies on, could be approved by the Army to deploy software updates more quickly after receiving a milestone permission known as “continuous authority to operate.”
Palantir and Anduril are leading a new wave of defense firms aiming to transform the U.S. military with cutting-edge technologies, including drones, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/anduril-palantir-battlefield-communication-system-has-deep-flaws-army-memo-says-2025-10-03/

Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab founder Jeff Bezos predicted on Friday gigawatt-scale data centres will be built in space within the next 10 to 20 years and that continuously available solar energy meant they would eventually outperform those based on Earth.

Speaking at the Italian Tech Week in Turin, Bezos also compared the surge in artificial intelligence to the internet boom of the early 2000s, urging optimism despite the risk of speculative bubbles.

The concept of orbital data centres has gained traction among tech giants as those on Earth have driven up demand for electricity and water to cool their servers.

“These giant training clusters, those will be better built in space, because we have solar power there, 24/7. There are no clouds and no rain, no weather,” Bezos said in a public conversation with Ferrari (RACE.MI), opens new tab and Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab Chairman John Elkann.

“We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centres in space in the next couple of decades.”

Bezos said the shift to space infrastructure is part of a broader trend of using space to improve life on Earth.

“It’s already happened with weather and communication satellites,” he said. “The next step is data centres, then other kinds of manufacturing.”

Hosting data centres in space has its own challenges, including the difficulty of maintenance and carrying out upgrades and the cost of launching rockets, as well as the risk the launches may fail.

The executive chair of Amazon said the AI wave shares traits with the dot-com era, when massive hype was followed by a crash.

“We should be extremely optimistic that the societal and beneficial consequences of AI, like we had with internet 25 years ago, are for real and there to stay,” he said.

“It is important to decorrelate the potential bubbles and their bursting consequences that might or might not happen from the actual reality,” Bezos said, adding that the benefits of AI were expected “to be broadly diffused and it will go everywhere”.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/data-centres-space-jeff-bezos-thinks-its-possible-2025-10-03

US lawmakers have requested explanations from Tata Consultancy Services regarding the company’s ongoing submission of numerous H-1B visa petitions despite laying off American tech workers.

US senators are taking up the fight against the H-1B visa program, right up to the top management of major US corporations. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin have written a letter to 10 major U.S. employers, including Amazon, Apple, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Deloitte, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Meta, Microsoft, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Walmart.

Letters addressed to Companies

The biggest concern that emerges from the letters addressed to CEO’s of these 10 US companies is the practice that US firms adopted for filing thousands of H-1B skilled visa petitions following significant layoffs of American workers.

The H-1B visa program, which seeks to hire foreign workers, is at the center of the storm against America’s non-immigrant temporary population. US companies are accused of replacing American workers with low-skilled foreign workers at lower wages.

In the letters to the American companies, US lawmakers highlighted rising unemployment among tech workers and recent STEM graduates, citing large-scale layoffs directed by company leaders in recent years.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the only Indian company among the other nine US companies that have been sent letters by US lawmakers. All the companies have been asked to respond by October 10.

Letter to TCS

“TCS recently announced plans to lay off over 12,000 employees worldwide, including American staff. For example, TCS laid off nearly five dozen employees in its Jacksonville office alone last month.

At the same time you have been laying off American employees, you have been filing H-1B visa petitions for thousands of foreign workers. In fiscal year 2025, TCS received approval to hire 5,505 H-1B employees, making TCS the second-largest employer of newly approved H-1B beneficiaries in the nation.

With all of the homegrown American talent relegated to the sidelines, we find it hard to believe that TCS cannot find qualified American tech workers to fill these positions.

TCS is already under investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for allegedly firing older American workers in favor of newly hired South-Asian H-1B employees. TCS is doing itself no favors by replacing Americans with H-1Bs while this investigation is ongoing.

We would like to give you an opportunity to explain yourself. Please provide answers to the following questions, with accompanying data where appropriate, by October 10, 2025.”

Questions Asked

Why is TCS hiring foreign tech workers when hundreds of thousands of American tech workers have been laid off over the past few years?

Does TCS make a good faith effort to fill open positions with Americans before filing H-1B petitions? Explain in detail.

Does TCS hide H-1B recruitment ads by listing them separately from general hiring ads?

Has TCS displaced any American employees with H-1B employees?

Are your company’s H-1B hires provided the same salary and benefits as your American workers with the same qualifications? Please provide specific details.

How many H-1B workers at TCS were recruited and hired at level one wages? How many of those workers are still working at level one wages?

Does TCS outsource any hiring to contractors or staffing firms that place H-1B workers within your organization?

Source : https://www.financialexpress.com/business/investing-abroad-us-lawmakers-question-tcs-on-h-1b-wages-layoffs-and-hiring-practices-3995856/

The Pulses Mission is expected to benefit around 2 crore farmers with the supply of better seeds, post-harvest infrastructure and 100 per cent assured procurement of tur, urad, and masoor pulses from growers at the Minimum Support Price during the next 4 years, according to an official statement.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses with a financial outlay of Rs 11,440 crore.

The landmark initiative aimed at boosting domestic production and achieving self-sufficiency in pulses will be implemented over a six-year period from 2025-26 to 2030-31.

The Pulses Mission is expected to benefit around 2 crore farmers with the supply of better seeds, post-harvest infrastructure and 100 per cent assured procurement of tur, urad, and masoor pulses from growers at the Minimum Support Price during the next 4 years, according to an official statement.

Pulses hold special importance in India’s cropping systems and diets. India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses. With rising incomes and standard of living, pulses’ consumption has increased. However, domestic production has not kept pace with demand, leading to a 15–20 per cent increase in pulses imports.

To make improved varieties widely available, 126 lakh quintals of certified seeds will be distributed to pulse-growing farmers, covering 370 lakh hectares by 2030-31.

The Mission also seeks to expand the area under pulses by an additional 35 lakh hectares by targeting rice fallow areas and other diversifiable lands, supported by promoting intercropping and crop diversification. For this, 88 lakh seed kits will be distributed free of cost to the farmers.

To reduce this import dependency, meet rising demand, maximise production, and enhance farmers’ income, a 6-year “Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses” was announced in the FY 2025-26 Budget. The Mission will adopt a comprehensive strategy covering research, seed systems, area expansion, procurement, and price stability.

The emphasis will be placed on developing and disseminating the latest varieties of pulses which are high in productivity, pest-resistant and climate-resilient. Multi-location trials will be carried out in major pulse-growing states to ensure regional suitability.

By 2030-31, the Mission is expected to expand the area under pulses to 310 lakh hectares, increase production to 350 lakh tonnes, and raise yield to 1130 kg/ha. Alongside productivity gains, the Mission will generate significant employment.

In addition, to ensure availability for premium quality seeds, states will prepare five-year rolling seed production plans. The breeder seed production will be supervised by the ICAR Foundation, and certified seed production will be done by state and central level agencies, and closely tracked through the Seed Authentication, Traceability &amp; Holistic Inventory (SATHI) portal.

This will be complemented by convergence with the soil health programme, Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation, balanced fertiliser use, plant protection, and extensive demonstrations by ICAR, KVKs, and state Agriculture Departments to promote best practices.

Capacity building of farmers and seed growers will be taken up through structured training programmes to promote sustainable techniques and modern technologies.

To strengthen markets and value chains, the Mission will help develop post-harvest infrastructure, including 1,000 processing units, thereby reducing crop losses, improving value addition, and increasing farmer incomes. A maximum subsidy of Rs 25 lakh will be available for setting up processing and packaging units.

The Mission will adopt a cluster-based approach, tailoring interventions to the specific needs of each cluster. This will enable more effective allocation of resources, enhance productivity, and promote geographic diversification of pulse production.

A major feature of the Mission will be to ensure maximum procurement of tur, urad, and masoor under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) of PM-AASHA. NAFED and NCCF will undertake 100 per cent procurement in participating states for the next four years from farmers who register with these agencies and enter into agreements.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/pm-modi-led-union-cabinet-approves-11440-crore-mission-to-achieve-self-sufficiency-in-pulses

China’s Pop Mart (9992.HK), is borrowing from Disney’s (DIS.N), playbook to turn toothy monster Labubu’s blockbuster sales into long-term success, Executive Director and co-COO Si De told Reuters in a rare interview.
Pop Mart has already done what many thought impossible – making Labubu the first Chinese product to win a global audience for its emotional and creative appeal rather than because it represents value-for-money.

Now it aims to capitalise on the art toy’s success.
“We have learned from Disney for a long time. In fact, Disney’s great value lies in its ability to operate IP (intellectual property) over the long-term, even up to 100 years,” Si said, pointing to the example of Mickey Mouse, created as a cartoon nearly a century ago.
Even as analysts question Pop Mart’s reliance on Labubu and the company’s fate as the toy’s popularity inevitably cools, the firm itself still sees plenty of potential to develop content, entertainment, theme parks and more merchandise around the character – as Disney does with its most popular IP.

Si did not give a timeline or estimate on investment during the first interview a top executive from the firm has done with foreign media since 2022.
He said Pop Mart’s focus in the near-term was not to find the “next big hit” but to invest in “better products, finding better collaborations, developing content, theme parks, store displays” for Labubu, and the eventual goal was to have five to 10 IPs with similar long-term potential to Labubu.

THE LABUBU PARADOX

Labubu’s global success has sent the Hong Kong-listed company’s shares up almost 200% so far this year, and Pop Mart is now worth more than Hasbro, Mattel and Sanrio combined.
“Pop Mart is selling a lifestyle that consumers are buying because they want to be part of it,” said Louis Houdart, China managing partner at Mad, a consulting firm, adding that its margins rivalled some luxury brands.

It has also fuelled investment in China’s red-hot art toy industry, intensifying the competitive pressure on Pop Mart, the market leader.
Estimates in July from Industry World, a Chinese market intelligence platform, said the Chinese art toy market was expected to reach more than 120 billion yuan ($16.85 billion) in revenue this year, accounting for more than 35% of the global market and maintaining double-digit growth in China.

Though Pop Mart does not break out Labubu sales, the series it belongs to, The Monsters, accounted for almost 35% of total first-half revenue this year, raising questions about the company’s dependence on the character.
Labubu’s popularity has boosted sales of stablemates such as Molly, Skullpanda and Crybaby (which each had more than 1 billion yuan in sales in the first half), but also fuelled curiosity beyond Pop Mart’s offerings.

“Because of the success of Pop Mart, there are more people with money wanting to invest in this industry. You see right now there’s a lot of new companies and there’s definitely more and more artists trying to do IP as a way of making money,” said Runyu, the 24-year-old winner of China’s first art toy design competition reality TV show.
Other major art toy retailers in China include 52 Toys and Miniso (9896.HK), which traditionally relied on licensing IP from the likes of Disney and Sanrio (8136.T), but is now investing more in original IP development and signing partnerships with art toy designers.
“Pop Mart has blazed a trail” for the rest of China’s art toy industry, said Zhou Junyu, head of IP at Siguworks, one of the art toy companies working with Miniso.
As Pop Mart has studied Disney, other firms in China have studied Pop Mart. Whether the Disney model will help it see off the growing competition remains unclear.
“We all know Disney’s playbook, which overall is relatively easy to replicate, but its success is not,” said Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang. “I mean, compared to the legacy IP operators like Disney and Sanrio, Pop Mart still has a long way to go and during the process, there is also execution risk.”

FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS

Pop Mart’s success with Labubu did not happen overnight, and was largely due to strategic decisions taken by founder and CEO Wang Ning over the past decade, three current and former Pop Mart employees said. They declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
In 2010, Wang, only 23 but with a string of entrepreneurial ventures behind him, opened a hip lifestyle store in Beijing.
Within a few years he saw collectible figurines accounting for a significant portion of revenue, and decided to focus on art toys.
Wang also realised Pop Mart needed to own the IP it sold, according to two former employees, leading him to Kenny Wong – the designer of Molly, with her distinctive pouty face.
Hong Kong-based Wong was dismissive when Wang first approached him in 2016, but he eventually agreed to a trial collaboration.
“During my most difficult years, inventory was my biggest concern, then Wang Ning showed up. He first solved my inventory problem, selling out all of it in a short period of time,” Wong told Reuters. Wong handed regional licensing for Molly over to Pop Mart and the success continued. Labubu made its Pop Mart debut in 2019.
“Each time, they achieved remarkable results and progress, so much so that I finally gave them everything I had,” Wong said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/labubu-maker-pop-mart-learns-disney-capitalise-toys-viral-success-2025-09-30/

Consumer confidence fell sharply in September on growing worries about the labor market.

The consumer-confidence index dropped to 94.2 in September from a revised 97.8 in the prior month, the Conference Board said Tuesday. This is the lowest level since April.

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the index to slip to 96.0 in September from the initial estimate of 97.4 in August.

Consumers’ assessment of the availability of jobs fell for the ninth straight month.

Key details: A measure that looks at how consumers feel about the economy right now fell 7 points to 125.4. That’s the largest drop in a year.

A confidence gauge that looks six months ahead dropped by 1.3 points to 73.4. Since February, the expectations index has been below the threshold of 80, which has traditionally been seen as a signal of recession.

Economists focus on labor-market conditions by measuring the spread between the percentage of consumers who think jobs are plentiful and the percentage who think jobs are hard to get.

That spread, called the labor-market differential, has narrowed for nine straight months and is now at a multiyear low of 7.8.

Big picture: The decline in sentiment reflects worries about the labor market that spiked after the weak July jobs report.

People are pessimistic because it is difficult to upgrade a job, interest rates are high, the threat of tariffs remains and “there seems to be a new impactful development in economic policy each week,” said Elizabeth Renter, senior economist at NerdWallet.

Source : https://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-confidence-weakens-to-lowest-level-since-april-on-growing-concerns-about-job-availability-ea314d78

They’re flying off the shelves and not in the good way.

Amazon has pulled roughly 500 thousand units of various products from its virtual store in recent weeks after manufacturer recalls for safety concerns — including fans that cause fires and potentially suffocating baby crib attachments, according to a report.

A variety of imported goods were part of the latest waves of recalls with many of the products posing a significant risk — as serious as death — to infants and children, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Newsweek reported.

The products being yanked include Buddy Portable Misting Fans from company IcyBreeze Cooling have been recalled, ironically, for going up in flames.

Over 22,600 units sold from November 2023 and August 2024 feature lithium-ion batteries that are known to cause fires when they overheat, the outlet reported.

There have been reports of seven overheating incidents including two fires, according to CPSC data the outlet reported.

Chinese-made Baby Loungers and Crib Bumpers from LXDHSTRA that were sold on the website from May to August 2025 and are now being pulled for safety concerns.

The loungers were recalled on September 18th because of dangerously low sides, overly thick sleeping pads, and wide foot openings, regulators found, according to the report.

The crib bumpers pose suffocation risk and fail to meet the standards of the Federal Safe Sleep for Babies Act, Newsweek reported.

No injuries have been reported regarding these products, according to the outlet.

Over 480,000 Anker Power Banks from by Anker Innovations were recalled due to overheating lithium-ion batteries which have caused fires.

The recall includes models A1647, A1652, A1257, A1618 and A1689, which were sold between January and July 2024.

There were 33 reports of fire and explosion incidents, including four burn injuries, according to CPSC.

Company YooxArmor pulled 1,800 multi-purpose kids’ helmets sold on the everything website after they failed to meet federal bicycle helmet safety standards.

Regulators found the helmets lack proper impact protection, stability, labeling, and certification, thus posing a significant risk for head injury to kids — though no injuries have been reported.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/09/20/business/amazon-recalls-500k-consumer-products-here-are-the-five-popular-items-getting-yanked

BharatGen, India’s first government-supported multimodal AI initiative, has secured Rs 988.6 crore from the IndiaAI Mission 2025, as revealed by Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

BharatGen, India’s first government-backed multimodal sovereign AI initiative, has emerged as the single largest beneficiary of the government’s IndiaAI Mission 2025. The company has been awarded Rs 988.6 crore in funding by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Friday in New Delhi.

The funding is part of the Rs 1,500-crore IndiaAI Mission, designed to accelerate the development of indigenous artificial intelligence capabilities and reduce reliance on global AI ecosystems. BharatGen’s share underscores its pivotal role in shaping India’s sovereign AI roadmap.

Advanced Models in the Pipeline
With this infusion, BharatGen is set to build next-generation AI models, including large language models (LLMs) and multimodal systems with up to 1 trillion parameters—a scale comparable to some of the world’s most advanced AI projects. It will also develop smaller, domain-specific AI models aimed at practical use cases across industries.

India-Focused Innovation

Beyond large-scale models, the initiative will prioritise India-centric technologies such as:

• Text-to-speech and speech recognition tools tailored to Indian languages
• Vision-language systems for agriculture and governance
• AI-powered solutions in finance, healthcare, and education

These capabilities are expected to boost accessibility and drive innovation for citizens, businesses, and government institutions alike.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/companies/bharatgen-secures-rs-988-6-crore-funding-under-indiaai-mission-article-152859054f

In a statement, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) announced revision in price list of more than 700 product packs, offering full benefit of GST reduction to its customers, effective September 22, 2025.

New Delhi: GCMMF, which markets dairy items under Amul brand, on Saturday announced reduction of retail prices of more than 700 product packs, including ghee, butter ice cream, bakery and frozen snacks, as it decided to pass on benefits of the GST rate cut to consumers.

The new price will be effective from September 22.

In a statement, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) announced revision in price list of more than 700 product packs, offering full benefit of GST reduction to its customers, effective September 22, 2025.

“This revision is across the range of product categories like butter, ghee, UHT milk, ice cream, cheese, paneer, chocolates, bakery range, frozen dairy and potato snacks, condensed milk, peanut spread, malt-based drink, etc,” GCMMF said.

The MRP of butter (100 gm) has been reduced to Rs 58 from Rs 62.

Ghee rates have been cut by Rs 40 to Rs 610 per litre.

The MRP of Amul processed cheese block (1kg) has been cut by Rs 30 to Rs 545 per kg.

The new MRP of frozen paneer (200 gm) will be Rs 95 from September 22 as against Rs 99 now.

“Amul believes the reduction in prices will spur consumption of a wide range of dairy products particularly ice cream, cheese and butter as the per capita consumption remains very low in India, creating a large growth opportunity,” the statement said.

GCMMF, which is owned by 36 lakh farmers, said the reduction in prices will boost demand for its dairy products, leading to growth in its turnover.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/business/companies/amul-cuts-prices-of-700-product-packs-ghee-to-be-cheaper-by-rs-40litre-from-sep-22-3737152

Adani Group companies gained over Rs 69,000 crore in market capitalisation in a single session on Friday, fueled by a buying frenzy following SEBI’s clean chit in the Hindenburg case.

Adani Group companies gained over Rs 69,000 crore in market capitalisation in a single session on Friday, fueled by a buying frenzy following SEBI’s clean chit in the Hindenburg case.

Regulator Dismisses Allegations

The regulator’s order, which dismissed allegations of stock manipulation and related-party misuse, ignited a surge of investor confidence, sending Adani stocks sharply higher across the board.

Top Gainers Among Adani Firms

Leading the charge, Adani Power surged 12.40 per cent, emerging as the top gainer across the group’s listed entities. Adani Total Gas jumped 7.35 per cent, while Adani Green Energy and Adani Enterprises climbed 5.33 per cent and 5.04 per cent, respectively, according to stock exchange data.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican who leads oversight of the Federal Communications Commission, joined Democrats on Friday in criticizing FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s recent threats against Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab and local broadcasters for airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

The conservative senator from Texas, one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, said Carr’s threat to fine broadcasters or pull their licenses over the content of their shows was dangerous.

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican who leads oversight of the Federal Communications Commission, joined Democrats on Friday in criticizing FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s recent threats against Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab and local broadcasters for airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

The conservative senator from Texas, one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, said Carr’s threat to fine broadcasters or pull their licenses over the content of their shows was dangerous.
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“I got to say that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas’,” Cruz said, evoking the Martin Scorsese gangster movie. “That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here. It would be a shame if something happened to it’.”
The senator’s remarks are a rare example of a prominent member of President Donald Trump’s own party publicly criticizing the actions of the administration, highlighting deepening concerns over free-speech rights and Trump’s threatened crackdowns.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he disagreed with Cruz, calling Carr “an incredible American patriot with courage.”

Prominent Democrats and civil rights groups condemned the Trump administration’s pressure to punish Kimmel and others who speak negatively of the president.

Cruz, chair of the Senate’s commerce oversight committee, joined the criticism on the Friday episode of his podcast, saying Carr’s comments were “dangerous as hell.”

The senator, a former constitutional lawyer, then adopted a broad mafioso accent to quote Carr’s comments about broadcasters this week: “We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat who infrequently agrees with Cruz, has called on Carr to resign or for Trump to fire him. Schumer called Carr “one of the single greatest threats to free speech America has ever known.” Some Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Friday asked the FCC’s inspector general to investigate Carr’s actions and comments.

Carr and the FCC did not respond to requests for comment, but Carr said earlier this week he is “not going anywhere” and vowed to continue his work taking on media firms and defending the “public interest.”

TRUMP CELEBRATES COMEDIAN’S DOWNFALL

Trump, a former successful TV host himself, spoke several times during a state visit to Britain this week to commend Kimmel’s suspension, calling the Los Angeles comedian untalented and denouncing him for saying “a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.”

In Monday’s monologue, Kimmel, who frequently lampoons Trump, mocked the president for turning a question about his grief for Kirk into a cheerful promotion for his planned White House ballroom.

“This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend,” Kimmel said. “This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/jimmy-kimmel-suspension-puts-disney-back-hotseat-writers-hold-protest-2025-09-19

A woman approached the police five days and had loged a complaint against Samir, a senior police official told Hindustan Times.

Fugitive businessman and former IPL chief Lalit Modi’s brother Samir Modi has been arrested by the Delhi Police on rape charges. The arrest was made at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Thursday evening.

A woman approached the police five days ago and had lodged a complaint against Samir, a senior police official told Hindustan Times.

Based on the woman’s complaint, a case of rape and criminal intimidation was registered and Samir Modi was arrested. The woman had alleged that the incident took place earlier.

Samir Modi is the founder and managing director of Modicare, a direct selling company.

He was also in the news last year over an inheritance dispute with his mother Bina Modi. Back in June 2024, he had sought protection from Delhi Police citing threats from his mother amid a family feud.

The feud had stemmed from the distribution of a ₹11,000-crore inheritance following the death of family patriarch KK Modi in 2019.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/lalit-modi-brother-samir-modi-arrested-delhi-police-rape-charges-101758204522305.html

Nvidia has spent over $900 million to hire Enfabrica CEO Rochan Sankar and other staff at the artificial intelligence hardware startup and to license the company’s technology, CNBC reported on Thursday.

The AI chip giant is paying in cash and stock, CNBC said, citing two people familiar with the arrangement. The deal closed last week and Sankar has already joined Nvidia.

Enfabrica, a Silicon Valley-based chip startup, is tackling one of the biggest technical problems that has emerged in the AI field: how to tie tens of thousands or more chips together with a network to effectively work as a single computer.

If that network is too slow, expensive chips from companies such as Nvidia end up sitting idle and waiting for data.

The startup’s technologies can string together about 100,000 AI computing chips before the network starts to bog down.

Nvidia declined to comment, while Enfabrica did not immediately respond when contacted by Reuters.

Founded by veterans from Broadcom and Alphabet, Enfabrica has raised $260 million in venture capital. It released a chip-and-software system in July aimed at reining in the cost of memory chips in those centers.

The deal is reminiscent of the recent agreements by Meta and Google, according to the CNBC report.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/nvidia-spent-over-900-million-hire-enfabrica-ceo-license-technology-cnbc-reports-5357201

Russia’s oil pipeline monopoly Transneft (TRNF_p.MM), has warned producers they may have to cut output following Ukraine’s drone attacks on critical export ports and refineries, three industry sources said on Tuesday.
In a statement on its website, Transneft described the news as “fake” and part of the West’s “information war” against Russia.

Kyiv has stepped up attacks on Russian energy assets since August in a bid to impede Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine and reduce the Kremlin’s revenues as attempts to secure an end to the conflict through peace talks have stalled.

OIL AND GAS – RUSSIA’S KEY SOURCE OF FINANCING

Oil and gas revenues have accounted for between a third and half of Russia’s total federal budget proceeds over the past decade, making the sector the single most important source of financing for the government.
Ukrainian drones have hit at least 10 refineries – cutting Russia’s refining capacity by almost a fifth at one point – and damaged its leading Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk, Ukrainian military officials and Russian industry sources said.
Russian authorities have not publicly commented on the extent of the damage or its impact on production and exports.
However, Transneft, which handles more than 80% of all the oil extracted in Russia, has in recent days restricted oil firms’ ability to store oil in its pipeline system, two industry sources close to Russian oil firms told Reuters.

Transneft has also warned producers it may have to accept less oil if its infrastructure sustains further damage, the two sources said.
The attacks could force Russia, which accounts for 9% of global oil production, to ultimately cut output, said the two sources and a third source familiar with oil pumping operations.
The three sources asked not to be named due to sensitivity of the issue.
“The appearance of such fake news with reference to some unnamed sources in the Russian fuel and energy complex causes damage to the image of PAO Transneft,” Transneft said in its statement.
“It can only be caused by the attempts to destabilize the situation within the framework of the information war unleashed by the West against the Russian Federation,” it added.

The incursion of Russian drones in Poland has reignited safety concerns over the vulnerability of civil air transport in Europe, aviation and insurance experts said, the latest upheaval facing airlines from escalating global conflict.
Early on Wednesday, Poland shot down drones in its airspace with the backing of military aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Warsaw Chopin and Modlin airports, as well as Rzeszow and Lublin airports in the country’s east, temporarily closed before resuming operations.
Countries bordering on Ukraine have reported occasional Russian missiles or drones entering their airspace since Russia’s 2022 invasion, but not on such a large scale, and they are not known to have shot them down.

AIRLINES LEFT WITH FEWER OPTIONS, HIGHER COSTS

Proliferating conflict zones around the world have increased the burden on airline operations and profitability, adding to safety concerns and disrupting travel.
With airspace closures around Russia and Ukraine, throughout the Middle East, between India and Pakistan, and in parts of Africa, airlines are left with fewer route options.

Detours add to airlines’ fuel costs and lengthen journey times. Eurocontrol, a 41-nation coordination agency, has said Ukraine’s closed airspace has added to congestion in the region’s skies.
Since October 2023, many international carriers have suspended flights to the region due to fears of missile and drone interference.
Wednesday’s drone incident followed Israel’s attempt on Tuesday to kill the political leaders of Hamas in the Qatari capital Doha.

Worries about further disruption for the travel industry pressured airline stocks. Shares in British Airways owner IAG (ICAG.L), were down 4.1%, easyJet (EZJ.L), fell 2.2% to its weakest since April, while Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), and Ryanair (RYA.I), were both also 2.2% lower at the close of trade.
Flight disruptions were relatively limited because the drone incursion happened early in the morning, before many airlines had started flying.

Polish airline LOT redirected some flights to western Poland and said it expected cancellations and delays.
A spokesperson for budget airline Wizz Air (WIZZ.L), which operates in central and eastern Europe, said its security teams “closely monitored” the situation and adjusted flight schedules after airports closed.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said no advisory was needed for the drone incursion due to its temporary nature, adding that Poland’s aviation authorities were able to sufficiently handle the incident.

AIRLINES, INSURERS EYE RISKS

Aviation analysts say airlines are increasingly wary of the risks posed by incursions into civilian flight zones.
“This is a wake-up call, I think, for everyone in Europe that can expect this more often,” said Eric Schouten, head of security consultancy Dyami.
Two senior aviation insurance market sources said the market was watching events in Poland and Qatar closely.
If the market got a sense either that Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace were becoming consistent and deliberate, or that Israeli airstrikes in the Middle East were likely to continue, it would pose serious questions for insurers, one source added.
LOT, Lufthansa, Ryanair, and airBaltic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Poland’s civil aviation authority and air navigation service did not respond to a request for comment on additional measures taken to ensure airspace safety.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO

Following the drone incident, airlines may review their risk assessments in Poland, said Matthew Borie, chief intelligence officer at aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions.
They may consider flying further west in Poland away from the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian borders, operating during daylight hours and carrying extra fuel to cope with potential diversions, he said, similar to steps taken in the Middle East.
The worst-case scenario for airlines flying near a conflict zone is a plane being struck — either accidentally or deliberately — by weaponry.
Since 2001, six commercial planes have been unintentionally shot down, with three additional close calls, according to Osprey.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russian-drones-polands-airspace-stir-worries-europes-civil-aviation-2025-09-11/

Oracle shares surged about 43 percent to a record high on Wednesday, putting the company on track to join the elite trillion-dollar club and propelling co-founder Larry Ellison closer to the top of the world’s richest list.

The company unveiled four multi-billion-dollar contracts on Tuesday, amid an industry-wide shift, led by companies such as OpenAI and xAI, to aggressively spend to secure the massive computing capacity needed to stay ahead in the AI race.

The stock was last up 36.7 percent, after rising to hit a record high of US$345.69, set for its biggest one-day percentage jump since 1992.

Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that OpenAI has signed a contract to purchase US$300 billion in computing power from Oracle over roughly five years, marking one of the biggest cloud contracts ever signed.

A majority of the new revenue Oracle described on Tuesday will come from the OpenAI deal, the report said. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request, while Oracle declined to comment.

Ellison, 81, whose net worth is largely derived from his 41 percent stake in Oracle, saw his fortune rise by about US$100 billion to around US$392.6 billion, according to Forbes.

He is rapidly closing in on Tesla chief Elon Musk in the race for the title of the world’s richest person. Musk’s net worth last stood at US$439.9 billion.

Oracle will add about US$234 billion to its market valuation, taking the total to around US$913 billion, if gains hold, and bringing the company closer to the coveted US$1 trillion-dollar club.

Its shares have risen 45 percent so far this year, outperforming the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks and the broader S&P 500 index, with investors betting big on AI-driven cloud firms.

“Over the next few months, we expect to sign up several additional multi-billion-dollar customers and RPO is likely to exceed half-a-trillion dollars,” said CEO Safra Catz during a post-earnings call.

Currently, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud dominate the cloud computing market with a combined 65 percent share, while Oracle, Alibaba, CoreWeave and others hold a smaller slice of the market.

Oracle’s first-quarter results lifted shares of Nvidia, Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices, which supply semiconductors used in data centers. Shares of the companies rose between 2 percent and 8 percent.

Competitor CoreWeave’s shares were up about 15 percent.

The company has struck deals with Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft to let their cloud customers run Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) alongside native services. The revenue from these partnerships rose more than sixteen-fold in the first quarter.

“What matters here is that this figure now includes contributions from the Stargate venture and two other big AI players, meaning revenues beyond 2026 go much higher,” said Ben Reitzes, analyst at Melius Research.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/oracle-soars-ai-cloud-gains-ellison-closes-in-musk-worlds-richest-5341601

The market distribution for UPI transactions continues to be led by a few key applications. In terms of transaction volume, PhonePe was the market leader with an estimated 9.6 billion transactions, followed by Google Pay with 7.4 billion transactions and Paytm in third place with 1.6 billion transactions.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) network processed over 20 billion transactions in August 2025, marking the first time it has crossed the 20 billion monthly transaction thresholds.According to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the total value of these transactions was Rs 24.85 lakh crore.

The market distribution for UPI transactions continues to be led by a few key applications. In terms of transaction volume, PhonePe was the market leader with an estimated 9.6 billion transactions, followed by Google Pay with 7.4 billion transactions and Paytm in third place with 1.6 billion transactions. Their shares of the total transaction value reflected a similar trend, with PhonePe holding 48.64 per cent, Google Pay contributing 35.53 per cent, and Paytm accounting for about 8.5 per cent.Other notable platforms in the ecosystem include Navi and CRED, which also featured among the top five applications by transaction volume.

Navi processed around 406 million transactions, while CRED handled approximately 219 million. On average, the UPI network handled more than 645 million transactions each day throughout August.An analysis of UPI transaction data from August reveals a spending landscape weighted towards financial payments and essential goods.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/upi-transactions-exceed-20-billion-in-august-phonepe-google-pay-retain-top-spots

Poland shot down drones that entered its airspace during a widespread Russian attack in western Ukraine on Wednesday, with the NATO member calling the incursion “an act of aggression”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that he was in “constant contact” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Tusk has called for an emergency meeting of the council of ministers at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT), a government spokesman said.

Poland’s military command said drones repeatedly violated Polish airspace during the Russian attack across the border, in western Ukraine, but that operations against these violations had now concluded.
Radars tracked more than 10 objects and those that could pose a threat were “neutralised,” the command said.
“Some of the drones that entered our airspace were shot down. Searches and efforts to locate the potential crash sites of these objects are ongoing,” it said in a statement.
It urged people to stay at home, naming the regions of Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lublin as most at risk, adding: “This is an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens.”

Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been briefed, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins said on Tuesday. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NATO is yet to comment on the incident.
Since the war started in 2022, there have been several incidents of Russian drones entering the airspace of states bordering Ukraine, including Poland and Romania, but they have so far avoided shooting them down.
Officials have cited the physical danger that such actions could cause and a desire to avoid an escalation in tensions between Russia and NATO.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the violations of Poland’s airspace showed Russian President Vladimir Putin was expanding his war and testing the West.

“The longer he faces no strength in response, the more aggressive he gets,” Sybiha said on X. ” A weak response now will provoke Russia even more – and then Russian missiles and drones will fly even further into Europe.”

AIRPORT CLOSED

Chopin airport in Warsaw, the country’s largest, closed its airspace for several hours before reopening. It said there would be disruptions and delays through the day.
Most of Ukraine, including western regions of Volyn and Lviv which border Poland, had been under air raid alerts for nearly all night, according to Ukraine’s air force.
Earlier, Ukraine’s air force reported that Russian drones had entered NATO-member Poland’s airspace, posing a threat to the city of Zamosc, but it subsequently removed that statement from the Telegram messaging app.
In the United States, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said repeated violations of NATO airspace by Russian drones were a sign that “Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations.”

“After the carnage Putin continues to visit on Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored,” he said on X.
Republican representative Joe Wilson, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a post on X that Russia was “attacking NATO ally Poland” with drones, calling it an “act of war”.
Wilson urged U.S. President Donald Trump to respond with sanctions “that will bankrupt the Russian war machine”.
“Putin is no longer content just losing in Ukraine while bombing mothers and babies, he is now directly testing our resolve in NATO territory,” he said.
Trump, who warmly welcomed Putin to the United States for a summit in August, said over the weekend he was ready to move to a second phase of sanctioning Russia after months of fruitless talks about a peace deal.
It was his strongest indication yet that he may escalate pressure on Moscow or its oil buyers in response to the war in Ukraine.
The European Union’s top sanctions official was in Washington on Monday to discuss what would be the first coordinated transatlantic measures against Russia since Trump returned to office in January promising to end the war in 24 hours.
Poland has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a southern Polish village in 2022, killing two people, a few months into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/poland-shoots-down-drones-its-airspace-during-russias-ukraine-attack-calls-2025-09-09/

India and the European Union are intensifying talks to finalise their free trade agreement by year-end. The negotiations focus on resolving trade barriers while expanding strategic and defence ties amid global uncertainties.

India and the European Union are accelerating efforts on an ambitious free trade agreement (FTA), scheduling two critical rounds of negotiations within the next month to resolve longstanding differences, officials said.

A delegation of European officials is expected in New Delhi this week, with talks focusing on contentious issues such as rules of origin, market access, and duties on agricultural products, particularly wine and dairy.

The renewed push comes against the backdrop of US tariffs on India and the White House’s call for the EU to impose additional duties on Indian goods as a punitive measure for continuing crude oil trade with Russia.

Both sides aim to conclude the negotiations by the end of the year, as New Delhi seeks new markets to cushion the impact of the Trump tariff. The EU is India’s largest trade partner, with bilateral goods trade touching USD 135 billion in 2023-24.

While non-tariff barriers remain a hurdle, sources say negotiators are optimistic about bridging gaps to strike the “right equilibrium”. The commitment was reaffirmed in a recent phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top EU leaders, where both sides underscored the strategic importance of the partnership in advancing global stability and a rules-based order.

Beyond the trade pact, India and the EU are also working on a broader strategic agenda, including a new politico-strategic vision and frameworks to strengthen defence ties, steps seen as particularly significant amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.

The EU is expected to unveil its new strategic vision for ties with India on September 17, with formal adoption likely at the annual summit scheduled to be held in India early next year.

European Commission trade chief Maros Sefcovic and agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen will be in New Delhi for high-level talks with Indian counterparts.

The next three months will see a flurry of engagements: a visit by the EU’s Political and Security Committee, comprising envoys from its 27 member states; counter-terrorism talks in Brussels; and an October visit to New Delhi by the European Parliament’s Standing Committee on Trade. The Indo-Pacific ministerial forum is slated for November 20-21, followed by the next meeting of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC).

The 13th round of FTA negotiations is scheduled in New Delhi this week, with the next round in Brussels early next month. While 11 chapters — including customs, digital trade, and dispute settlement — have already been concluded, key issues like rules of origin and market access remain unresolved.

India’s main exports to the EU include a diverse range of products, with a strong emphasis on machinery and appliances, transport equipment, chemicals, and textiles. India is also a major exporter of diesel to Europe, and trade in gems, jewellery, and pharmaceuticals is also substantial.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/india-eu-europe-free-trade-deal-market-access-agricultural-duties-trump-tariff-2783480-2025-09-08

Addressing a news conference here, Haryana Chief Minister Saini said the wide-ranging reforms approved by the GST Council will prove to be a milestone towards “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. Saini said it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment “that we have to empower and strengthen the poor, farmers and common sections”.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday hailed GST reforms as a historic measure that will benefit every section of society, and said it is the Prime Minister’s commitment to empower the poor, farmers, and common sections.

Hailing slashing of goods and services tax (GST) tax rates on common use items, he said “middle class, poor and common people will benefit. This will not only lower inflation, but strengthen the poor”.Addressing a news conference here, Saini said the wide-ranging reforms approved by the GST Council will prove to be a milestone towards “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. Saini said it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment “that we have to empower and strengthen the poor, farmers and common sections”.

He said from common people to the poor to industrialists, everyone has welcomed the move.Replying to a question, Saini said the move should not be seen as linked with any election. “You will see one election or another happening somewhere in the country. Don’t link it with Bihar elections..,” he stressed.The GST Council’s decision to bring all products, except sin goods, under 5 per cent and 18 per cent slabs, while reducing it to zero on a host of essential items, will kick in from September 22, the first day of Navratra.With the Congress and its allies taking swipes at the government for “delayed” rationalisation of the GST regime, Saini hit back, saying they are left with no issues.

“Have Congress and other members of the INDI Alliance praised even one decision taken by the Prime Minister in the past decade?” Saini asked.Slamming the Congress, he said, “These days they have come up with ‘vote theft’ charge. Earlier, they blamed EVMs, then they said the constitution and democracy is in danger.

“Neither the constitution, nor democracy is in danger, but it is the Congress which is in danger, it is getting wiped out. It has no issues left. They have lost ground,” Saini said.People in Haryana including farmers, poor and common people will stand to benefit by nearly Rs 4,000 crore from the GST cuts, the chief minister said.

The rates on common use items will come down and increase the savings of the middle class, he said.Saini highlighted the reduction in GST rates on tractors and their parts, stating that this measure will lower input costs for farmers, promote the adoption of modern machinery, and contribute to the modernisation of agriculture.

Expressing gratitude to the central government and the GST Council, Saini said it has been decided to reduce the GST rate on dairy projects such as packaged milk and cheese from 5 per cent to zero.The chief minister described the GST, implemented in 2017 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the country’s biggest economic reform since Independence.

He stated that it has made the tax system simpler and more transparent, eliminated trade barriers between states, and realised the vision of ‘One India- One Tax- One Market’.What the Prime Minister says, he fulfils that, Saini said. Saini said the Haryana government extended its full support to all decisions by the GST Council.The panel approved simplifying the GST from the current four slabs — 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent — to a two-rate structure — 5 and 18 per cent. A special 40 per cent slab is also proposed for a select few items such as high-end cars, tobacco and cigarettes.

Source; https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/gst-reforms-a-historic-measure-that-will-benefit-every-section-of-society-pm-modi-empowering-the-poor-farmers-haryana-cm-saini

Noida Scam Alert: Police have seized four mobile phones, eight SIM cards, a laptop, a car, GST-related documents and a rent agreement from the accused.

The police has arrested a former employee of a private firm in Noida for allegedly generating fake invoices of around Rs 10 crore to fraudulently claim input tax credit of Rs 1.8 crore.
Accused Abhinav Tyagi, originally from Moradabad and currently residing in the Bisrakh area of Greater Noida, was nabbed by the Cyber Police, officials said. He allegedly colluded with an accomplice to carry out the fraud while working in the accounts section of the company and handling filings on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and tax-return portals, they added.
“On Saturday, the Cyber Police, Noida, arrested Abhinav Tyagi. He had prepared fake invoices amounting to about Rs 10 crore to claim GST of Rs 1.8 crore,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Shavya Goyal told PTI.

The visit, facilitated by the MHA, is seen as a significant step in ongoing legal proceedings in UK courts, senior officials confirmed.

A delegation from the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) recently visited Tihar Jail in Delhi to assess prison conditions, as part of efforts to strengthen India’s case for the extradition of , among others, high-profile economic offenders such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. The visit, facilitated by the ministry of home affairs (MHA), is seen as a significant step in ongoing legal proceedings in UK courts, senior officials confirmed.

According to officials, although the CPS team was generally satisfied with the standards of care and facilities provided to inmates, Indian authorities are learnt to have assured the delegation that, if necessary, a dedicated “enclave” could be established within the Tihar complex to accommodate high-profile extraditees, ensuring their specific needs are met in line with international expectations and there is no threat to them.

The inspection is expected to result in favorable feedback being relayed to UK authorities, bolstering the confidence of Indian investigators seeking the return of fugitives currently sheltering in the United Kingdom.

Three senior officials independently confirmed the high-level visit, which took place in July, to HT. Email queries to the CPS press office in London and British high commission in Delhi remained unanswered.

“A four-member team — two CPS experts and two British high commission officials — visited the Tihar prison in July to assess the prison conditions for extradition cases being pursued by CPS on behalf of the Indian government. They were largely impressed with the facilities available to the prisoners, including in high-security wards, and called them at par with international standards,” said one of the officers cited above.

A second officer cited above said the CPS team inspected the high-security wards in the prison and even interacted with some inmates during their visit.

“Besides, they also had a meeting with senior officers at the MHA, ministry of external affairs, investigating agencies and Tihar to comprehensively discuss various aspects related to extradition of suspects from the UK and legal requirements of the CPS prosecutors representing India,” the second officer said.

Several high-profile white collar fugitives including arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, diamantaire Nirav Modi, and others located in the UK have argued in courts there that if extradited to India, they would be at real risk of extortion, torture or violence in Tihar jail, from other prisoners or prison officials.

In fact, prison conditions were one of the major reasons the UK high court, on February 28 this year, refused Bhandari’s extradition to India. The HC, in April, also disallowed India to go into appeal to the Supreme Court, making Bhandari a free man in London. Citing similar arguments, on April 11, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring at Westminster Magistrate’s court discharged a fugitive couple — Virkaran Awasty and his wife Ritika Awasty (accused in a ₹750 crore fraud) — on unconditional bail. Goldspring referred to the Bhandari ruling in his order, saying “in the absence of assurances that Awasty won’t be held in Tihar, or if he is, that the issues raised in Bhandari (case) will not apply to him, the real risk remains”.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/as-india-seeks-to-bring-back-vijay-mallya-nirav-modi-fugitives-uk-team-assesses-tihar-facilities-101757202588872.html

Hundreds of federal agents descended on a sprawling site where Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles in Georgia and detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals.

This is the latest in a long line of workplace raids conducted as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. But the one on Thursday is especially distinct because of its large size and the fact that it targeted a manufacturing site that state officials have long called Georgia’s largest economic development project.

The detainment of South Korean nationals also sets it apart, as they are rarely caught up in immigration enforcement compared to other nationalities.

Here are some things to know about the raid and the people impacted:

THE WORKERS DETAINED

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Saturday that more than 300 South Koreans were among the 475 people detained.

Some of them worked for the battery plant operated by HL-GA Battery, a joint venture by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution that is slated to open next year, while others were employed by contractors and subcontractors at the construction site, according to Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations.

He said that some of the detained workers had illegally crossed the US border, while others had entered the country legally but had expired visas or had entered on a visa waiver that prohibited them from working.

But an immigration attorney representing two of the detained workers said his clients arrived from South Korea under a visa waiver program that enables them to travel for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

Attorney Charles Kuck said one of his clients has been in the US for a couple of weeks, while the other has been in the country for about 45 days, adding that they had been planning to return home soon.

Hyundai Motor Company said in a statement Friday that none of its employees had been detained as far as it knew and that it is reviewing its practices to make sure suppliers and subcontractors follow US employment laws. LG told The Associated Press that it couldn’t immediately confirm how many of its employees or Hyundai workers had been detained.

The South Korean government expressed “concern and regret” over the operation targeting its citizens and is sending diplomats to the site.

“The business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of US law enforcement,” South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong said in a televised statement from Seoul.

Most of the people detained have been taken to an immigration detention center in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida state line. None of them have been charged with any crimes yet, Schrank said, but the investigation is ongoing.

RAID RESULTS OF MONTHS-LONG INVESTIGATION
The raid was the result of a months-long investigation into allegations of illegal hiring at the site, Schrank said.

In a search warrant and related affidavits, agents sought everything from employment records for current and former workers and timecards to video and photos of workers.

Court records filed this week indicated that prosecutors do not know who hired what it called “hundreds of illegal aliens”. The identity of the “actual company or contractor hiring the illegal aliens is currently unknown”, the US Attorney’s Office wrote in a Thursday court filing.

THE SPRAWLING MANUFACTURING SITE
The raid targeted a manufacturing site widely considered one of Georgia’s largest and most high profile.

Hyundai Motor Group started manufacturing EVs at the US$7.6 billion plant a year ago. Today, the site employs about 1,200 people in a largely rural area about 40km west of Savannah.

Agents specifically honed in on an adjacent plant that is still under construction at which Hyundai has partnered with LG Energy Solution to produce batteries that power EVs.

The Hyundai site is in Bryan County, which saw its population increase by more than a quarter in the early 2020s and stood at almost 47,000 residents in 2023, the most recent year data is available. The county’s Asian population went from 1.5 per cent in 2018 to 2.2 per cent in 2023, and the growth was primarily among people of Indian descent, according to Census Bureau figures.

LARGEST SINGLE-SITE ENFORCEMENT OPERATION
From farms and construction sites to restaurants and auto repair shops, there have been a wide array of workplace raids undertaken in this administration. But most have been smaller, including a raid the same day as the Georgia one in which federal officers took away dozens of workers from a snack-bar manufacturer in Cato, New York.

Other recent high-profile raids have included one in July targeting a legal marijuana farm northwest of Los Angeles. More than 360 people were arrested in one of the largest raids since Trump took office in January. Another one took place at an Omaha. Nebraska, meat production plant and involved dozens of workers being taken away.

Schrank described the one in Georgia as the “largest single site enforcement operation” in the agency’s two-decade history.

The majority of the people detained are Koreans. During the 12-month period that ended Sep 30, 2024, only 46 Koreans were deported during out of more than 270,000 removals for all nationalities, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Community members and advocates have mixed reactions

Kemp and other Georgia Republican officials, who had courted Hyundai and celebrated the EV plant’s opening, issued statements Friday saying all employers in the state were expected to follow the law.

The nonprofit legal advocacy organisation Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta described the raid in a joint statement as “unacceptable.”

“Our communities know the workers targeted at Hyundai are everyday people who are trying to feed their families, build stronger communities, and work toward a better future,” the statement said.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/us-immigration-raid-south-korea-hyundai-plant-atlanta-georgia-5336066

A disgraced former FBI official tipped off an employee of a Chinese group that did business with the Biden family about planned arrests related to a criminal investigation, compromising the integrity of the probe, according to a Justice Department watchdog.

Charles McGonigal, who helmed the FBI’s counterintelligence division in New York from 2016 to 2018, was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison in 2023 for colluding with a Russian oligarch to evade US sanctions — but his leaks about the bureau’s investigation into China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC), its top executive Patrick Ho and affiliated companies, were only made public Thursday by the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General.

While overseeing the FBI probe into CEFC, McGonigal met with an Albanian official working for CEFC in June 2017 and told them “something to the effect of ‘we are looking into them’ or ‘we are going after them,’” the Albanian official, only identified as “Person B,” told the FBI in a 2022 proffer interview.

“Person B said that he understood ‘we’ to be the FBI and ‘them’ to be CEFC China or CEFC NGO,” the inspector general report noted.

Person B traveled to Washington, DC, the day after his meeting with McGonigal and notified Ho about what he had gleaned from the FBI mole.

He warned Ho that he believed the bureau had plans to arrest him and potentially others involved with CEFC.

Person B later shared the leaked intel with CEFC China Chairman Ye Jianming, who warned another FBI target — identified as “Target 3” in the report — about the potential of imminent arrests.

In November 2017, Person B contacted McGonigal after receiving an invitation from Ho to attend a CEFC-sponsored event in New York.

Person B was not in the US at the time and appeared to be wrestling with the idea of attending the event, given the FBI probe into CEFC.

“Stay in Albania,” McGonigal advised Person B, according to the report.

The FBI official also said something to the effect of “we are ready for them” or “ready for action,” Person B said in the proffer interview.

Person B claims he did not pass along this tip to anyone at CEFC, and Ho attended the event and was arrested on bribery and money laundering charges when he arrived in the US from China.

Documents obtained by the House Oversight Committee indicate that former first son Hunter Biden referred to Ho, the vice-chairman of CEFC, as his client and the “f–king spy chief of China,”

Ho agreed to pay Hunter a $1 million retainer for “Counsel to matters related to US law and advice pertaining to the hiring and legal analysis of any US Law Firm or Lawyer,” according to the documents.

In other correspondence between Hunter and CEFC, he said that any deals struck would be “interesting for me and my family.”

Hunter and his uncle James Biden raked in $4.8 million from CEFC’s affiliate company, CEFC China Energy, in 2017 and 2018.

As the FBI investigated the leaks, it was concluded that Ho “decided to attend the CEFC event after James Biden or another individual likely told Ho, relying on information provided by a private investigator, that it was safe for Ho to return to the United States.”

The inspector general report notes that the FBI interviewed a retired US Secret Service agent working as a private investigator who told the bureau that James Biden reached out to him in November 2017 with a request to determine whether there was an arrest warrant for Ho.

“Re new case I need ASAP—I’m in Hong Kong,” read the subject line on James Biden’s email to the retired agent.

“Have info on an individual I need a background on one specific issue. Very timely. Thanks Jim [phone number]. Please call,” the message read.

On a phone call, James Biden told the former Secret Service agent turned PI that “we have information from China that Ho may be arrested” and that Ho wanted to travel to the United States but was concerned about a potential warrant for his arrest.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/09/05/us-news/ex-fbi-official-tipped-off-chinese-firm-doing-business-with-biden-family-about-arrests-doj-watchdog

When asked what would be next on agenda for the finance ministry, Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about non-financial regulators.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reflected on the recently introduced reforms in the goods and services tax (GST) rates, and said it would fuel increased consumption, thus helping the economy.

When asked what would be next on agenda for the finance ministry, Sitharaman told Hindustan Times, “The next would be about regulators who are non-financial. That’s one area which is pending reform. I announced it in the budget. That’s very critical. Like Competition Commission of India (CCI), Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)…”

In her budget speech earlier this year, Sitharaman had said that a regulatory reforms committee would review all non-financial sector regulations, certifications, licenses, and permissions. “The objective is to strengthen trust-based economic governance and take transformational measures to enhance ‘ease of doing business’, especially in matters of inspections and compliances. States will be encouraged to join in this endeavour,” she was quoted in a government release.

It was also said that the high-level committee would make recommendations within a year.

‘Will see how GST 2.0 plays out’
The GST Council recently introduced major reforms to its structure, approving a two-tier rate structure of 5 and 18 per cent, to take effect starting September 22.

Talking about the reforms, Sitharaman appeared hopeful and said she looks forward to seeing how the reforms will play out and how people will benefit from it.

“I enjoyed this phase. It was rigorous. It was intense. It was like taking a tough exam. And passing. For the entire team. Whether this benefits people is a different exam — and I will take that too. The rejuvenation I feel… that’s the reward for the sweat and toil, I suppose,” she told HT.

Will revenues dip due to GST reforms?
Sitharaman was asked how states responded to the reforms introduced in the GST rates. To this, the Finance Minister said the only concern brought forth was: if revenues go down.

“…I explained to them that we were all in this together. That all the money was coming from the same pool,” she said.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/nirmala-sitharaman-interview-gst-reforms-non-financial-regulators-101757130393897.html

US President Donald Trump hosted top tech leaders at the White House, with AI and investments in focus. Five Indian-origin CEOs, including Nadella and Pichai, highlighted the diaspora’s growing influence in global technology.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday hosted a high-profile dinner at the White House with America’s top technology leaders, with discussions centered on artificial intelligence and corporate investments in the United States.
While the guest list featured industry heavyweights such as Bill Gates, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai, the evening stood out for the strong Indian-American presence at the table.
“The most brilliant people are gathered around this table. This is definitely a high-IQ group and I’m very proud of them,” Trump said

A federal jury has ordered Google to pay $425.7 million for improperly snooping on people’s smartphones during a nearly decade-long period of intrusions.

The verdict reached Wednesday in San Francisco federal court followed a more than two-week trial in a class-action case covering about 98 million smartphones operating in the United States between July 1, 2016, through Sept. 23, 2024. That means the total damages awarded in the five-year-old case works out to about $4 per device.

Google had denied that it was improperly tracking the online activity of people who thought they had shielded themselves with privacy controls. The company maintained its stance even though the eight-person jury concluded Google had been spying in violation of California privacy laws.

“This decision misunderstands how our products work, and we will appeal it,” Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said Thursday. “Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice.”

The lawyers who filed the case had argued Google had used the data they collected off smartphones without users’ permission to help sell ads tailored to users’ individual interests — a strategy that resulted in the company reaping billions in additional revenue. The lawyers framed those ad sales as illegal profiteering that merited damages of more than $30 billion.

Even though the jury came up with a far lower calculation for the damages, one of the lawyers who brought the case against Google hailed the outcome as a victory for privacy protection.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/google-smartphone-surveillance-verdict-damages-c93e0150089fd47ec396f1d0abacb4a8

Florida plans to end all state vaccine mandates, including for students to attend schools, the state’s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, announced on Wednesday, a move public health experts warned could trigger severe outbreaks among children, tourists and those with compromised immune systems.
Ladapo, along with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, cast the issue of vaccination as one of personal choice.

“Every last one of the them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo said at a press conference in Tampa. “Who am I as a government or anyone else, or who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what to do with your body?”

Ladapo said his agency would roll back mandates for a half-dozen or so vaccines under its authority but will need to work with the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature on a broader package of reforms. He did not specify which vaccine mandates his agency would do away with.
DeSantis, a Republican, made opposing COVID-19 mandates and precautions a central tenet of his first term in office.
“Medical freedom is something we’ve got to be very conscientious about protecting,” DeSantis said.
All U.S. states have vaccine requirements to attend public schools with specific exceptions varying by state.

Vaccination rates for several diseases, including measles, diphtheria and polio, decreased among U.S. kindergartners in the 2024-25 school year, according to federal data.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the new figures in July in the midst of a growing measles outbreak, with confirmed cases that month reaching the highest level since the disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.
Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said Florida’s move was “going to be a major disaster.”
“You’re going to get multiple outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease and spread of these diseases,” she said. “These kids are going to bring it home.”
If Florida follows through with dropping all vaccine mandates, it could also impact vaccination requirements at daycares or other places that require inoculations, she added.

It could also put people who are immunocompromised and unable to get vaccinated at risk of disease and death. And because Florida is a major vacation destination, the move could spread diseases to other states.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, called the decision “reckless.”
“Every parent of a child who dies or who is hospitalized with a vaccine-preventable disease will know exactly why,” said Osterholm, who is helping organize the Vaccine Integrity Project, a group of public health and infectious disease experts formed due to concerns about changes to U.S. vaccine policy.
Shares of COVID vaccine makers were down, Pfizer (PFE.N), by 0.9% and Moderna (MRNA.O), off 1.4%.

‘NEXT GOVERNOR GETS TO FIRE THIS GUY’

President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has long questioned the safety of vaccines and has promoted the view that vaccines contribute to rising rates of autism, contrary to scientific evidence.

Since taking office this year, Kennedy has taken steps to remake U.S. policy on vaccines, firing expert vaccine advisers to the CDC and replacing them with people who more closely share his views.
Last week, the CDC’s director was ousted after clashing with Kennedy over vaccine policy, prompting the resignation of four of the agency’s most senior officials who said they could no longer trust their ability to maintain scientific integrity.
DeSantis said on Wednesday he was establishing a commission to align the state with Kennedy’s healthcare agenda that will also provide input for a legislative package. The legislature does not convene until January.
Ladapo said, as the state’s top public health official, he lacks the authority to mandate certain vaccines.
“Your body is a gift from God,” he said. “What you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and your God. I don’t have that right.”
Ladapo has criticized the mRNA COVID shots from Pfizer and BioNTech (22UAy.DE), opens new tab and Moderna, and in 2023 called on regulatory agencies to study what he said were their harmful effects, without scientific evidence.
COVID vaccines in the first year of their use during the pandemic saved some 14.4 million lives globally, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
Ladapo also urged Florida communities to stop adding fluoride to drinking water.
During the COVID pandemic, Ladapo was counseled by Tracy Beth Hoeg, a sports medicine physician who worked for him as an epidemiologist. Hoeg opposed masks and universal mandates during the pandemic and the use of some childhood vaccines. She is now employed at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Before the White House nominated Susan Monarez to head the CDC, some media reports briefly raised Ladapo as a possible candidate. DeSantis on Wednesday again suggested he would make a good choice to take over the public health agency.
David Jolly, a Democratic candidate to succeed DeSantis as governor, blasted Ladapo on X.
“The next governor gets to fire this guy. I know I would,” he said.
CDC data shows that for the 2024-2025 school year, about 5.1% of Florida kindergartners were exempted from one or more vaccines, or about 11,287 children. As a percentage, Florida ranks alongside many states, though in absolute numbers, it is second only to Texas.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/florida-plans-end-all-state-vaccine-mandates-including-schools-2025-09-03/

President Trump has criticized India for its high tariffs, labeling it the “most tariffed nation.” He claims India has proposed a “no tariff” deal but warns it may be too late. Trump defends his 50% tariff on Indian imports, asserting that it is necessary for fair trade.

US President Donald Trump has once again lashed out at India over trade practices, branding it the “most tariffed nation” in the world and accusing New Delhi of maintaining a “totally one-sided” relationship with Washington. Speaking on The Scott Jennings Radio Show, Trump reiterated his long-standing claim that India has now offered a “no tariff” deal, though he warned that the offer might be “too late.”
Trump, who has made tariffs a central theme of his economic and foreign policy, defended his decision to impose a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods entering the US. “China kills us with tariffs, India kills us with tariffs, Brazil kills us with tariffs. I’ve understood tariffs better than they did; I understood tariffs better than any human beings in the world,” he remarked. “India was the most highly tariffed nation in the world… and you know what, they’ve offered me no tariffs in India anymore. No tariffs. If I didn’t have tariffs, they would never make that offer. So you have to have tariffs.”
The former businessman-turned-president claimed that the US has historically done “very little business” with India, while New Delhi has sold “massive amounts of goods” to America, making Washington its largest client. On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump described the relationship as a “one-sided disaster” spanning decades. He argued that US companies had been unable to expand in India because of what he called “the highest tariffs of any country,” and criticised India’s heavy reliance on Russian oil and defence imports instead of sourcing more from the United States.

The controversial remarks come even as a US appeals court recently ruled that Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports were unlawful, sparking debate within American political and business circles. Several lawmakers have argued that the tariffs risk hurting US consumers and manufacturers rather than balancing trade. Meanwhile, India’s top exports to the US, including textiles, gems, pharmaceuticals, and machinery, have all faced significant duties under Trump’s policy.

In India, officials have maintained that trade negotiations are ongoing. Commerce minister Piyush Goyal recently said that both sides remain in dialogue to resolve the tariff dispute, though Washington has kept the 50 per cent duties in place. Analysts suggest that Trump’s combative rhetoric may be aimed as much at a domestic political audience as at New Delhi, framing his tariffs as a tool of “tough bargaining.”
The criticism of Trump’s India policy has not been limited to trade. Former US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has accused Trump of weakening America’s long-term strategic ties with India while pivoting closer to Pakistan due to commercial interests. Sullivan, who served under President Joe Biden, said the US had spent decades nurturing relations with India in areas such as technology, talent and security cooperation against China, but Trump’s approach has “jeopardised” that foundation. He also warned that allies like Germany and Japan may now question Washington’s reliability as a partner.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/economy/donald-trump-accuses-india-of-killing-us-with-tariffs-claims-new-delhi-offered-a-no-tariff-deal-again-article-152650903

Insurance and warranties emanating from potential damage because of the use of the blended fuel would be honoured, stated the industry executives.

E20 is safe for use in any vehicle plying on Indian roads, said the chief of the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) Reji Mathai, on Saturday (August 30, 2025), referring to a 2021 study it carried out but refused to provide further details of the report which is not yet in public domain.

The report is “submitted to authorities,” Mr. Mathai said at a press conference when pressed for details of its content. “E20 is safe enough for any vintage of the vehicle plying on Indian roads,” he asserted while adding that there had been no instance of breakdown reported yet. He said that both two-wheelers and cars of 2-3 Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) had been tested on a total distance of 1 lakh km, and there was no impact found on non-E20 vehicles due to E20 blend or petrol blended with 20% ethanol.

Prashant Banerjee, Executive Director at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, assured that both car warranties and insurance would be honoured by car manufacturers and insurance providers, and the OEMs were in the process of writing to customers on this issue.

’Misplaced information’

Refuting assertions about a sizeable drop in mileage, the chief of the car makers’ association stated, considering the intrinsic nature of the fuel, there could be a “marginal drop”. He explained that the one-fifth ethanol blend, which holds a calorific value 30-35% lower, can only translate to a loss of a maximum of 6% in the base fuel’s energy output. Mr. Banerjee, however, sought to emphasise that the loss of energy can be mitigated. He held that several factors determine the mileage of a vehicle, underlining that vehicles in testing conditions prompted an efficiency loss of 2-4%.

“Any entity asserting (efficiency loss) by 20-50%, please be clear that this is a misinformation campaign,” he stated. Mr. Banerjee relayed the same for assertions about insurance and warranties on vehicles. He emphasised they would be honoured irrespective of the fuel compatibility envisaged in a vehicle manual.

No increase in price of vehicles

Speaking to The Hindu, Vikram Gulati, Executive Vice-President at Toyota Kirloskar Motors, said there shall be no increase in the price of vehicles to make them E20 compliant. “Complete E20 compliance came in starting April 1 this year. All the fine-tuning and emission testing have been done,” he explained, adding, “Thus, all vehicles being sold now all stand certified. So, there is no problem.”

Higher procurement costs of ethanol not helping lower fuel prices

Responding to queries about no visible impact of blending on retail prices of fuel, P.S. Ravi, Advisor at the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry, underlined that the procurement price of ethanol has been much higher than the price of petrol. However, he sought to emphasise that the oil industry has been able to maintain the price levels as earlier notwithstanding upward fluctuations in the recent past.

Source : https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/e20-fuel-safe-for-use-on-all-running-vehicle-types-assure-carmakers-oil-companys/article69993952.ece

On the eve of a visit to China, Russian leader Vladimir Putin blasted Western sanctions as his country’s economy teetered on the brink of recession, wounded by trade curbs and the cost of his war in Ukraine.
Russia and China jointly opposed “discriminatory” sanctions in global trade, Putin said in a written interview with China’s official Xinhua news agency published on Saturday.

Putin will be in China, Russia’s biggest trading partner, from Sunday to Wednesday in a four-day visit that the Kremlin has called “unprecedented.”

The Russian leader will first attend the two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin. The security-focused SCO, founded by a group of Eurasian nations in 2001, has expanded to 10 permanent members that now include Iran and India.
Putin will then travel to Beijing to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a massive military parade in the Chinese capital commemorating the end of World War Two after Japan’s formal surrender.
Earlier in May, Xi attended a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany. It was Xi’s 11th visit to China’s giant neighbour since he became president more than a decade ago.

Russia has been hammered by multiple rounds of Western sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. U.S. President Donald Trump said he might impose “massive” sanctions on Russia depending on whether progress was possible in his bid to secure a peace deal.
“To sum up, economic cooperation, trade and industrial collaboration between our countries are advancing across multiple areas,” Putin said of China, which the West accuses of backing Russia’s so-called special military operation in Ukraine.
“During my upcoming visit, we will certainly discuss further prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation and new steps to intensify it for the benefit of the peoples of Russia and China.”
When Western nations severed ties with Russia after Moscow’s launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China came to the rescue, buying Russian oil and selling goods from cars to electronics that pushed bilateral trade to a record $245 billion in 2024.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/putin-lambasts-trade-sanctions-eve-visit-china-2025-08-29/

A divided U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that most of Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal, undercutting the Republican president’s use of the levies as a key international economic policy tool.

The court allowed the tariffs to remain in place through October 14 to give the Trump administration a chance to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The decision comes as a legal fight over the independence of the Federal Reserve also seems bound for the Supreme Court, setting up an unprecedented legal showdown this year over Trump’s entire economic policy.

Trump has made tariffs a pillar of U.S. foreign policy in his second term, using them to exert political pressure and renegotiate trade deals with countries that export goods to the United States.

The tariffs have given the Trump administration leverage to extract economic concessions from trading partners but have also increased volatility in financial markets.

Trump lamented the decision by what he called a “highly partisan” court, posting on Truth Social: “If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country.”

He nonetheless predicted a reversal, saying he expected tariffs to benefit the country “with the help of the Supreme Court.”

The 7-4 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., addressed the legality of what Trump calls “reciprocal” tariffs imposed as part of his trade war in April, as well as a separate set of tariffs imposed in February against China, Canada and Mexico.

Democratic presidents appointed six judges in the majority and two judges who dissented, while Republican presidents appointed one judge in the majority and two dissenters.

The court’s decision does not impact tariffs issued under other legal authority, such as Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

‘UNUSUAL AND EXTRAORDINARY’

Trump justified both sets of tariffs – as well as more recent levies – under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. IEEPA gives the president the power to address “unusual and extraordinary” threats during national emergencies.

“The statute bestows significant authority on the President to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax,” the court said.

“It seems unlikely that Congress intended, in enacting IEEPA, to depart from its past practice and grant the President unlimited authority to impose tariffs.”

The 1977 law had historically been used for imposing sanctions on enemies or freezing their assets. Trump, the first president to use IEEPA to impose tariffs, says the measures were justified given trade imbalances, declining U.S. manufacturing power and the cross-border flow of drugs.

Trump’s Department of Justice has argued that the law allows tariffs under emergency provisions that authorize a president to “regulate” imports or block them completely.

Trump declared a national emergency in April over the fact that the U.S. imports more than it exports, as the nation has done for decades. Trump said the persistent trade deficit was undermining U.S. manufacturing capability and military readiness.

Trump said the February tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico were appropriate because those countries were not doing enough to stop illegal fentanyl from crossing U.S. borders, an assertion the countries have denied.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/most-trump-tariffs-are-not-legal-us-appeals-court-rules-2025-08-29

ISRO has unveiled an ambitious 22-year space roadmap to build 3D-printed habitats on Mars, set up a crew station on the Moon, and develop next-generation rockets capable of carrying massive payloads into deep space.

India has outlined an ambitious long-term space strategy that envisions a crewed lunar base by 2047 and eventual settlement on Mars, signalling its intention to emerge as a major spacefaring nation. The roadmap was presented by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) during the National Space Day celebrations last week.

According to the plan, ISRO aims to:

• Establish a human outpost on the Moon by 2047, complete with crew stations, lunar terrain vehicles and propellant depots to support interplanetary travel.
• Deploy 3D-printed dwellings on Mars, marking a potential first step towards extraterrestrial colonisation.
• Enable deep-space human missions over the next four decades.

The Lunar Module Launch Vehicle (LMLV)

To achieve these goals, ISRO is developing the Lunar Module Launch Vehicle (LMLV) — a super heavy-lift rocket standing 119 metres tall (40-storey equivalent), capable of carrying 80 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 27 tonnes to trans-lunar orbit. The LMLV is expected to be ready by 2035.

Currently, ISRO’s most powerful rocket, the GSLV Mark-III, can lift up to 8 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 4 tonnes to geosynchronous transfer orbit — a fraction of the new vehicle’s planned capacity.

“ISRO plans to use the LMLV for lunar missions, including the first human mission to the Moon, planned for 2040,” ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said.

Policy direction and milestones

The roadmap aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2023 directive, which set milestones of establishing the Bhartiya Antariksha Station by 2035 and sending an Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040.

Recent missions are laying the groundwork: astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s historic stay aboard the International Space Station and the upcoming Gaganyaan crewed missions are considered stepping stones to India’s long-term vision.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/industry/isro-charts-roadmap-for-lunar-base-and-mars-settlement-by-2047-for-india-article-152545258

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said that high tariffs are expected to be “short-lived” as both countries are in talks for the removal of the 25 per cent penal tariff and a subsequent bilateral trade deal.

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday exuded confidence that the Indian economy will grow at a rate between 6.3 and 6.8 per cent in the current fiscal on strong domestic demand, even though there would be some downside risks to the projections due to steep 50 per cent US tariffs.

Briefing reporters after the announcement of first-quarter GDP numbers, which came in at 7.8 per cent, he said that high tariffs are expected to be “short-lived” as both countries are in talks for the removal of the 25 per cent penal tariff and a subsequent bilateral trade deal.

“Despite the reciprocal tariffs and penal tariffs (imposed by the US), and after seeing the resilience of Q1 growth, we are retaining the growth rate projections for the current fiscal at 6.3-6.8 per cent,” Nageswaran told reporters in Delhi.

He said the downside to the GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal is unlikely to be significant.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/indian-economy-growth-us-tariffs-downside-risk-cea-v-anantha-nageswaran-2779002-2025-08-29

India’s economy grew 7.8% in Q1 FY26, a five-quarter high, defying US tariff pressure. Strong manufacturing, services, and public spending highlight resilience, proving Trump’s “dead economy” jibe wrong.

New Delhi: Just days after the 25% additional tariff by the United States came into effect, India’s GDP data from the April-June quarter has become the talking point. According to official data shared by the National Statistics Office (NSO), India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 7.8% in Q1 of FY26 (April–June 2025), marking a five-quarter high. What makes this figure even more noteworthy is the fact that very recently, US President Donald Trump had made a “dead economy” jibe at India; however, the numbers say otherwise.
The GDP data beat the estimates, showing India’s economy is a resilient one and cannot be discounted. At current prices, nominal GDP expanded by 8.8 per cent, reaching Rs 86.05 lakh crore compared to Rs 79.08 lakh crore in Q1 FY25. Real GDP, adjusted for inflation, stood at Rs 47.89 lakh crore.

What’s Driving 7.8% Growth Despite Tariff Headwinds
India’s economy surprised everyone by growing at 7.8% in the April-June quarter (Q1 FY26), the fastest pace in five quarters. The big question: what’s powering this growth, and can it withstand challenges like Trump’s new tariffs?

Manufacturing and Construction on the Rise
Growth wasn’t just about one sector — it was broad-based. The manufacturing sector grew 7.7%, while construction expanded 7.6%, thanks to strong demand for housing, infrastructure, and industrial goods.

Services Lead the Charge
The real star was the services sector, which jumped 9.3% compared to 6.8% last year. This reflects stronger consumer demand, rising travel, hospitality, and digital services — all signs of India’s post-pandemic resilience.
Agriculture Holding Steady
Even the farm sector improved, growing 3.7% versus 1.5% a year ago. While not spectacular, it shows steady support for rural incomes.
Weak Spots
Not all sectors shone: mining shrank by 3.1%, and utilities like electricity and water supply grew just 0.5%, pointing to areas of concern.
Spending and Investment Trends
Private consumption (PFCE) rose 7%, slightly slower than last year, while investments (GFCF) grew 7.8%, showing confidence in India’s growth story. Crucially, the government stepped up too, public spending jumped 9.7%, a big rebound from 4% growth last year.
Why Tariffs Won’t Break India
Donald Trump’s decision to double tariffs on Indian goods to 50% was meant to punish New Delhi for buying Russian energy. But here’s the catch — India isn’t an export-driven economy like China or Germany.
In fact, over 60% of India’s GDP comes from domestic demand, households, services, and infrastructure spending. That means tariffs, while painful for some industries like textiles and shrimp, won’t derail the whole economy.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/economy/dead-economy-really-indias-gdp-data-is-making-trump-eat-his-words-article-152558589

The U.S. tariff exemption for package shipments valued under $800 ends permanently on Friday, with a six-month transition period under which postal service shippers can opt to pay a flat duty of $80 to $200 per package depending on the country of origin, Trump administration officials said.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency will begin collecting normal duty rates on all global parcel imports, regardless of value after 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Friday. The move broadens the Trump administration’s cancellation of the de minimis exemption for shipments from China and Hong Kong earlier this year.

“President Trump’s ending of the deadly de minimis loophole will save thousands of American lives by restricting the flow of narcotics and other dangerous prohibited items, and add up to $10 billion a year in tariff revenues to our Treasury,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters.
“This is a permanent change,” said a senior administration official, adding that any push to restore the exemptions for trusted trading partner countries was “dead on arrival.”
The de minimis exemption has been in place since 1938 and was raised from $200 to $800 in 2015 as a means to foster small business growth on e-commerce marketplaces.

But direct shipments from China exploded after President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods during his first term, creating a new direct-to-consumer business model for e-commerce firms Shein and Temu (PDD.O).

Many of these packages entered without screening, and the Trump administration has also blamed the exemption for allowing fentanyl and its precursors to flow into the U.S.

CBP has estimated that the number of packages claiming the de minimis exemption jumped nearly 10-fold, from 139 million in fiscal 2015 to 1.36 billion in fiscal 2024.
A second senior Trump administration official said that CBP has collected more than $492 million in additional duties on packages shipped from China and Hong Kong since their exemptions were eliminated on May 2.
The official said that full tariff rates will apply to all packages shipped by express carriers such as FedEx (FDX.N), United Parcel Service (UPS.N), and DHL, with the firms collecting the duties and processing the paperwork.

Foreign postal agencies can opt to collect and process the duties based on the value of the package contents, or opt for the flat rate method by collecting a flat tax based on Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff rates currently in place on goods from the country of origin.
Based on CBP guidance, issued on Thursday, parcels would be charged $80 from countries with Trump-imposed duty rates below 16%, such as Britain and the European Union, $160 from countries between 16% and 25%, such as Indonesia and Vietnam, and $200 from countries above 25%, including China, Brazil, India and Canada.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/end-us-low-value-package-tariff-exemption-is-permanent-trump-officials-say-2025-08-29/

Nvidia’s business in China will be the focus of investors when the AI chipmaker reports earnings on Wednesday (Aug 27), following an unusual deal with the Trump administration and Beijing’s subsequent efforts to stall imports.

Caught in the crossfire of Washington and Beijing’s ongoing trade war, the fate of Nvidia’s China business hangs on where the world’s two largest economies land on tariff talks and chip trade curbs.

The artificial intelligence chip pioneer recently agreed to pay the US federal government 15 per cent of the sales it made in China in exchange for export licenses, a move that has drawn bipartisan criticism.

Beijing – despite a huge appetite for Nvidia’s chips in China – has urged domestic companies to limit purchases over apparent security concerns.

Reports have emerged that Nvidia has told some suppliers to suspend production of its China-special H20 chips. But Reuters has reported that Nvidia is developing a new and more powerful chip for China.

“We’ve got to get clarity on these two governments first, whether China wants the chips and whether the administration is going to allow it,” said Jamie Meyers, senior analyst at Nvidia shareholder Laffer Tengler Investments. “And if so, how is that going to work?”

Last year, China accounted for 13 per cent of Nvidia’s revenue. For the second quarter ended July 2025, many analysts did not factor in any revenue from H20 sales in that country, given the US approval came late in the quarter, while China’s pushback complicates forecast calculations for the year.

In May, Nvidia had said the curbs would shave off US$8 billion in sales from the July quarter. The curbs led to a US$4.5 billion charge in the previous three-month period.

Overall, the company is expected to report that second-quarter revenue jumped 53.2 per cent to US$46.02 billion, according to LSEG data, a far cry from the triple-digit growth it witnessed for many quarters.

But analysts said the overall AI chip business is booming, with strong demand pouring in from tech giants such as Meta and Microsoft, who have expanded their capital budgets.

Still, positive commentary on demand from CEO Jensen Huang could boost AI stocks that have sold off recently on worries that investors may be valuing them too highly.

Nvidia shares have gained more than a third so far in 2025, a smaller gain for the period than the previous two years. This still outpaces a more than 15 per cent gain in the broader chip index and the benchmark S&P 500 Index’s near 10 per cent year-to-date rise.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/us-china-trade-war-nvidia-earnings-results-5314846

Meta’s planned AI data center in Louisiana will cost $50 billion, President Donald Trump said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The social media company is building its largest data center in Richland Parish, which could handle intense computational power to support digital infrastructure, including artificial intelligence workloads.

The Facebook and Instagram parent declined to comment when asked about Trump’s remarks about the data center.

Meta has tapped U.S. bond giant PIMCO and alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital to spearhead a $29 billion financing for its data center expansion in rural Louisiana, Reuters reported earlier this month.

The company announced last year that it would spend over $10 billion to set up the data center.

Meta reorganized its AI efforts under Superintelligence Labs in June, a high-stakes push that followed senior staff departures and lukewarm reception to its latest open-source Llama 4 model.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/metas-planned-louisiana-ai-data-center-cost-50-billion-trump-says-5315916

Billionaire Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla (TSLA.O), rejected a $60 million settlement proposal in a lawsuit over the 2019 fatal crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S before a jury this month awarded a $243 million verdict in the case.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs disclosed the settlement proposal in a filing, on Monday in the federal court in Miami, Florida, as part of a request for legal fees from Tesla.

They said Florida law entitles them to the legal fees the plaintiffs accrued since May 30, when the settlement was proposed.
Tesla and a lawyer representing the company in the case did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attorneys for the plaintiffs had no immediate comment.
The trial focused on an April 2019 crash involving a 2019 Model S featuring Autopilot driver-assistance software. The driver’s Tesla struck the victims’ parked Chevrolet Tahoe as they were standing beside it on a shoulder.
Jurors awarded the estate of Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed, and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo, who was seriously injured, a combined $129 million in compensatory damages, plus $200 million in punitive damages. Tesla was held liable for 33% of the compensatory damages, or $42.6 million, and all of the punitive damages.

Jurors found the driver liable for 67% of the compensatory damages, but he was not a defendant.
Tesla has denied any wrongdoing, and said the verdict “only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla’s and the entire industry’s efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology.” Tesla has said it will appeal.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/tesla-rejected-60-million-settlement-before-losing-243-million-autopilot-verdict-2025-08-25/

The key features of the Umang app include claim submission, UAN card downloads, and even secure face-based login for new users.

The Umang app offers a digital platform to access several important services to EPFO subscribers, allowing them to skip physical paperwork and manage their Provident Fund account on the go. From checking passbooks to submitting claims, the app centralises everything in one place, making it easier for users to stay updated on their retirement savings.
The key features include claim submission, UAN card downloads, and even secure face-based login for new users.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday reported the first human case in the United States of travel-associated New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite, from an outbreak-affected country.
The case, investigated by the Maryland Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was confirmed by the CDC as New World screwworm on August 4, and involved a patient who returned from travel to El Salvador, HHS spokesman Andrew G. Nixon said in an email to Reuters.

Earlier, Reuters reported that beef industry sources said last week that the CDC had confirmed a case of New World screwworm in a person in Maryland who had traveled to the United States from Guatemala.
Nixon did not address the discrepancy on the source of the human case.
“The risk to public health in the United States from this introduction is very low,” he said.
The U.S. government has not confirmed any cases in animals this year.
The differing accounts from the U.S. government and industry sources on the human case are likely to further rattle an industry of cattle ranchers, beef producers and livestock traders already on high alert for potential U.S. infestations as screwworm has moved northward from Central America and southern Mexico.

The government’s confirmation of a screwworm case comes just over a week after U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins traveled to Texas to announce plans to build a sterile fly facility there as part of efforts to combat the pest.
The USDA has estimated a screwworm outbreak could cost the economy in Texas, the biggest U.S. cattle-producing state, about $1.8 billion in livestock deaths, labor costs and medication expenses.
An executive of the industry group Beef Alliance sent emails last week to about two dozen people in the livestock and beef sectors, informing them that the CDC had confirmed a human case of screwworm in Maryland in a person who had traveled to the U.S. from Guatemala, according to a source, who asked not to be identified, and who shared the contents of the emails with Reuters.

Beth Thompson, South Dakota’s state veterinarian, told Reuters on Sunday that she was notified of a human case in Maryland within the last week by a person with direct knowledge of it.CDC deferred questions to Maryland on a call with state animal health officials, Thompson said.“We found out via other routes and then had to go to CDC to tell us what was going on,” she said. “They weren’t forthcoming at all. They turned it back over to the state to confirm anything that had happened or what had been found in this traveler.”
Another source said that state veterinarians had learned about a human case in Maryland during a call last week with the CDC. A Maryland state government official also confirmed a case.
A spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
WHAT ARE SCREWWORMS?Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in wounds on any warm-blooded animal. Once the eggs hatch, hundreds of screwworm larvae use their sharp mouths to burrow through living flesh, eventually killing their host if left untreated.
The maggots’ feeding is similar to a screw being driven into wood, giving the pests their name.

Screwworms can be devastating in cattle and wildlife, and rarely infest humans, though an infestation in either an animal or a person can be fatal.
Treatment is onerous, and involves removing hundreds of larvae and thoroughly disinfecting wounds. But infestations are typically survivable if treated early enough.
The emails from the Beef Alliance executive said that due to patient privacy laws, there were no other details available about the positive human case of screwworm. The person was treated and prevention measures were implemented in the state, the email said.
A livestock economist at Texas A&M University was asked to prepare a report for Rollins on the impacts to industry of the border closure to Mexican cattle, according to the emails, a measure that has largely been in effect since November to prevent the arrival of screwworm to the United States.
The CDC was required to report the positive New World screwworm case to both Maryland health officials and the Maryland state veterinarian, one of the emails said, adding that the CDC also notified other agriculture stakeholders.
“We remain hopeful that, since awareness is currently limited to industry representatives and state veterinarians, the likelihood of a positive case being leaked is low, minimizing market impact,” the beef industry executive wrote.
A representative for the Beef Alliance did not respond to requests for comment.

IMPACT ON BEEF AND CATTLE FUTURES

Livestock traders and beef producers have been on edge about the potential for cases in cattle as prices have already hit record highs because the U.S. cattle herd is at its smallest size in seven decades.
A human case and the lack of transparency around it could present a political challenge for Rollins. The USDA has set traps and sent mounted officers along the border, but it has faced criticism from some cattle producers and market analysts for not acting faster to pursue increased fly production.
Rollins first announced plans for a sterile fly facility at Moore Air Force Base in Edinburg, Texas – near where a production facility to combat screwworm operated during the last major outbreak 50 years ago – in June, saying that the facility would take two to three years to come online.A spokesperson for the USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Mexico has also taken efforts to limit the spread of the pest, which can kill livestock within weeks if not treated. The Mexican government said in July that it started to build a $51 million sterile fly production facility in the country’s south.
The sole operating plant is in Panama City and can produce a maximum of 100 million sterile screwworm flies each week. The USDA has estimated that 500 million flies would need to be released weekly to push the fly back to the Darien Gap, the stretch of rainforest between Panama and Colombia.
Screwworms have been traveling north through Mexico from Central America since 2023. They are endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and countries in South America, according to the USDA.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-confirms-nations-first-travel-associated-human-screwworm-case-connected-2025-08-25/

The launch of the satellite culminates a decade-long partnership between TI and the ISRO to optimise the performance of the electronic systems responsible for this Earth-observation mission.

Bengaluru: Nasdaq-listed semiconductor company Texas Instruments (TI) semiconductors are enabling the radar imaging and scientific exploration payloads for the NASA-Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) synthetic aperture radar (NISAR) satellite, which was recently launched into orbit.

The launch of the satellite culminates a decade-long partnership between TI and the ISRO to optimise the performance of the electronic systems responsible for this Earth-observation mission.

The ISRO describes NISAR as the first Earth-observation mission to use dual-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology, enabling the system to capture precise, high-resolution images during the day, night and all weather conditions. TI’s technology is enabling the satellite’s next-generation capabilities through efficient power management, high-speed data transfer, and precise signal sampling and timing.

“From selecting the right products to ensuring consistent support across development cycles, TI’s technical expertise helped us navigate complex payload requirements,” said Nilesh Desai, Director, Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO. “A deeply coupled partnership, specifically focused on high-impact mixed signal and analog semiconductors, enabled ISRO to meet the system-level requirements for a satellite in low Earth orbit. Together, we achieved the space-grade performance standards needed for this important mission,” he added.

Throughout the project life cycle, TI’s system expertise and space-grade semiconductors, which are designed to withstand the harshest space environments, helped enable the advanced S-band SAR capabilities of the NISAR mission, the company said in a release. The company provided a radiation-hardened power management die for SAC-ISRO developed a point-of-load hybrid power module, helping optimise size, weight and power for the mission payloads.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/business/companies/texas-instruments-semiconductors-power-isros-nisar-satellite-3691191

Many consumers reported problems such as poor service quality, non-refunds, overcharging, and failure to honour the guaranteed 5-minute auto arrival.

The ride-hailing company Rapido has been slapped with a Rs 10 lakh penalty by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) due to misleading advertising practices. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs said on August 21, 2025, that Rapido must also compensate customers who availed the “Auto in 5 minutes or Get Rs 50” offer but never received the promised refund. This follows an investigation revealing that Rapido’s claims of “Guaranteed Auto” and “Auto in 5 min or get Rs 50” were misleading and false.
According to the Ministry, “CCPA took cognisance of the misleading advertisements of Rapido that promised consumers “AUTO IN 5 MIN OR GET Rs 50” and “Guaranteed Auto”. After detailed examination, CCPA has held these advertisements to be false, misleading and unfair to consumers and has directed to discontinue the misleading advertisements with immediate effect.”
It added: “while the advertisement prominently claimed “Auto in 5 min or get Rs 50”, the Terms and Conditions stated that the guarantee was being offered by individual captains and not by Rapido itself. This contradictory stance attempted to shift liability away from the company, misleading consumers about the very assurance made in the advertisement.”

ChatGPT maker OpenAI on Tuesday launched ChatGPT Go, a new India-only subscription plan priced at 399 rupees (US$4.57) per month, its most affordable offering yet, as the company looks to deepen its presence in its second-largest market.

Global companies often offer cheaper subscription plans for India’s price-sensitive market, targeting the nearly one billion internet users in the world’s most populous nation.

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it is hiking steel and aluminum tariffs on more than 400 products including wind turbines, mobile cranes, appliances, bulldozers and other heavy equipment, along with railcars, motorcycles, marine engines, furniture and hundreds of other products.

The department said 407 product categories are being added to the list of “derivative” steel and aluminum products covered by sectoral tariffs, with a 50 per cent tariff on any steel and aluminum content of these products plus the country rate on the non-steel and non-aluminum content.

Evercore ISI said in a research note the move covers more than 400 product codes representing over $200 billion in imports last year and estimates it will raise the overall effective tariff rate by around 1 per centage point.

The department is also adding imported parts for automotive exhaust systems and electrical steel needed for electric vehicles to the new tariffs as well as components for buses, air conditioners as well as appliances including refrigerators, freezers and dryers.

A group of foreign automakers had urged the department not to add the parts, saying the U.S. does not have the domestic capacity to handle current demand.

Tesla unsuccessfully asked Commerce to reject a request to add steel products used in electric vehicle motors and wind turbines, saying there was no available U.S. capacity to produce steel for use in the drive unit of EVs.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/us-hikes-steel-aluminum-tariffs-imported-appliances-railcars-ev-parts-5303081

Under the proposed Regulation & Promotion of Online Gaming Act, banks and financial institutions will not be allowed to process or transfer funds for real-money online games.

The Union Cabinet has approved the Online Gaming Bill, a move aimed at regulating the rapidly growing digital gaming sector and putting a stop to online betting. According to sources, the Bill is likely to ban all money-based gaming transactions once it comes into force.

WHAT THE BILL PROPOSES

Under the proposed Regulation & Promotion of Online Gaming Act, banks and financial institutions will not be allowed to process or transfer funds for real-money online games.

The Bill also proposes a complete prohibition on advertisements promoting real money gaming, continued promotion of E-sports and non-monetary skill-based games and strict action against unregistered or illegal gaming platforms.

The legislation is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

WHY THIS IS BEING DONE

Online gaming has been under scrutiny ever since the government imposed a 28% GST on such platforms in October 2023. From FY25, winnings from online games are taxed at 30%, and offshore gaming operators have been brought within the Indian tax net.

In December 2023, new criminal provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita made unauthorised betting a criminal offence, punishable with up to seven years in jail and heavy fines.

While “betting and gambling” fall under the State List of the Constitution, the Centre has already blocked more than 1,400 websites and apps involved in online betting or gambling between 2022 and February 2025.

ADDRESSING CONCERNS OF ADDICTION

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that foreign companies that want to do business in Brazil are welcome, speaking at the opening ceremony for a factory for Chinese automaker GWM (601633.SS), in the state of Sao Paulo.
“Count on the Brazilian government. Whoever wants to leave, leave. Whoever wants to come, we welcome you with open arms,” Lula said at the ceremony.

During his speech, Lula criticized the 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, and said that his country is facing an “unnecessary turbulence.”

Lula said in an interview with Reuters earlier this month that he would initiate a conversation at the BRICS group of developing nations, which includes China, about how to tackle Trump’s tariffs.

The leftist leader noted that in the past automakers Ford (F.N), and Mercedes (MBGn.DE), have decided to scale back their operations in Brazil, but celebrated the arrival of other companies, like China’s GWM (601633.SS). Brazil is always open to negotiating business, he stressed.
GWM’s Brazilian arm has capacity to produce 50,000 vehicles per year and is expected to generate more than 2,000 jobs in the future when it begins exporting vehicles to Latin America, according to a press release.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/brazil-is-open-business-lula-says-chinese-factory-opening-2025-08-15/

Big GST relief soon! Prime Minister Narendra Modiin his Independence Day speech announced that the  Goods and Services Tax(GST) burden on the common man is set to come down from this Diwali with next-generation reforms slated to be rolled out.

PM Modi stressed the need for the next phase of GST reforms, which aim to provide relief to ordinary citizens, farmers, the middle class, and small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The ministry of finance has released details on the proposed GST reforms, saying that a two-slab GST structure is being mulled – standard and merit – and special rates on select items. The new GST structure will replace the current 5%, 12%, 18%, 28% slabs. A GST Council meeting is expected next month.

On the 79th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the significance of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduced in 2017, as a major reform that has positively impacted the country.

To achieve a self-reliant India, the Central Government is planning major GST reforms based on three main pillars:

1. Structural reforms

2. Rate rationalization

3. Ease of living

The government has submitted its GST rate rationalization and reform proposals to the Group of Ministers (GoM) formed by the GST Council for review.

The focus of the next-generation reforms includes adjusting tax rates to benefit all societal segments, particularly the common man, women, students, the middle class, and farmers.

The reforms aim to reduce classification disputes, correct inverted duty structures in certain sectors, ensure rate stability, and improve the ease of doing business. These efforts are expected to strengthen key economic sectors, boost economic activity, and promote sectoral growth.

Key Pillars of the Proposed GST Reforms:

1. Structural Reforms:

– Correcting inverted duty structures to align input and output tax rates, reducing input tax credit accumulation, and supporting domestic value addition.

– Resolving classification issues to streamline rate structures, minimize disputes, simplify compliance, and ensure equity and consistency across sectors.

– Providing long-term clarity on rates and policy direction to build industry confidence and support better business planning.

2. Rate Rationalization:

– Reducing taxes on essential and aspirational goods to enhance affordability, boost consumption, and make these goods more accessible.

– Moving towards a simpler tax system with two slabs—standard and merit—with special rates for select items.

– The end of compensation cess has created fiscal space, allowing for greater flexibility in rationalizing and aligning tax rates within the GST framework for sustainability.

3. Ease of Living:

– Implementing seamless, technology-driven, and time-bound registration, especially for small businesses and startups.

– Introducing pre-filled returns to reduce manual intervention and eliminate mismatches.

– Ensuring faster and automated processing of refunds for exporters and those with inverted duty structures.

The Centre’s proposal, based on these three pillars, has been shared with the GoM for further discussion. The initiative aims to foster a constructive, inclusive, and consensus-based dialogue among all stakeholders.

The GST Council will consider the GoM’s recommendations in its next meeting, with efforts to facilitate early implementation so that the benefits are realized within the current financial year, the ministry of finance said.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/big-gst-cheer-for-common-man-two-slab-tax-structure-to-replace-5-28-rates-finance-ministry-shares-important-details/articleshow/123317852.cms

Starting October 4, 2025, the Reserve Bank of India will implement a faster cheque-clearing system, reducing settlement time from up to two working days to just a few hours during business hours.

The government has proposed two rates – 5% and 18% – under the revamped Goods and Services Tax regime.

The Central government is expected to announce a huge respite in the GST structure, bringing the daily-use products in 5 per cent category while slashing the tax rate of 90 per cent of the items in the 28% tax bracket to 18%, PTI quoted government sources as saying on Friday.

The sources also said that 90% of taxable items in the existing 28% bracket are likely to shift to the 18% slab in the revamped regime. A special 40% GST will also be applicable on luxury goods.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi announced that the government was set to bring a major reform in GST, which would significantly relieve consumers and small businesses.

The PM stated that the revisions in the GST would be rolled out around Diwali and described them as a “double Diwali gift” for the people.

“This Diwali, I am going to give you a ‘double Diwali’ gift. A major announcement is coming for the people of the country. Over the past eight years, we implemented a major GST reform that significantly reduced the tax burden across the nation. Now, after eight years, the time has come to review it. We have formed a high-powered committee to begin this review process and have held consultations with the states as well. We are now bringing in next-generation GST reforms. This will become a Diwali gift for the nation,” PM Modi said.

“Tax rates on essential goods and daily needs will be reduced under a simplified framework. This will bring significant relief and convenience. Our MSMEs and small industries will also benefit greatly from these changes,” he added.

The government has previously said that it wants to change GST rates and reduce the number of brackets, referring to tax rates for different categories, under a tax regime introduced in 2017.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/centre-gst-new-tax-slabs-18-per-cent-brackets-101755259108519.html

President Donald Trump on Monday confirmed reports that semiconductor giant Nvidia would pay the United States 15 percent of its revenues from sales of certain artificial intelligence chips to China.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump argued that Nvidia’s “H20” chips are “obsolete,” despite previously being targeted for export restrictions.

He said that to lift the restrictions, he had agreed to a 15-percent cut from Nvidia: “If I’m going to do that, I want you to pay us as a country something, because I’m giving you a release. I released them only from the H20.”

The California-based company produces some of the world’s most advanced semiconductors but cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China due to concerns that Beijing could use them to enhance military capabilities.

Nvidia developed the H20 — a less powerful version of its AI processing units — specifically for export to China.

That plan stalled when the Trump administration tightened export licensing requirements in April.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with Trump at the White House last week and agreed to give the federal government the cut from its revenues, a highly unusual arrangement in the international tech trade, according to reports in the Financial Times, Bloomberg and New York Times.

“While we haven’t shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide,” a Nvidia spokesperson told AFP.

The company spokesperson added: “America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America’s AI tech stack can be the world’s standard if we race.”

Investors are betting that AI will transform the global economy, and last month Nvidia — the world’s most valuable company and a leading designer of high-end AI chips — became the first company ever to hit $4 trillion in market value.

The firm has, however, become entangled in trade tensions between China and the United States, which are waging a heated battle for dominance to produce the chips that power AI.

The United States has been restricting which chips Nvidia can export to China on national security grounds.

After Huang’s meeting with Trump, the Commerce Department on Friday started granting the licenses for chip sales, according to media reports.

Silicon Valley-based AMD will also pay 15 percent of revenue on Chinese sales of its MI308 chips, which it was previously barred from exporting to the country.

AMD did not respond to requests for comment.

Source : https://www.ibtimes.com/trump-says-nvidia-give-us-cut-china-chip-sales-3780673

JSW Cement sold its shares in the price band of Rs 139-147 apiece, which could be applied for a minimum of 102 shares and its multiples to raise Rs 3,600 crore.

JSW Cement is likely to finalize the basis of allotment of its shares on Tuesday, August 12. Applicant bidders will get the messages, alerts or emails for debit of their funds or revocations of their IPO mandate today or latest by Wednesday, August 13. The cement player saw a decent response from the investors.

The IPO of Mumbai-based JSW Cement was open for bidding between August 07-August 11. It had offered its shares in the price band of Rs 139-147 per share with a lot size of 102 shares. The company raised a total of Rs 3,600 crore via IPO, which included a fresh share sale of Rs 1,600 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 13,60,54,421 equity shares worth Rs 2,000 crore.

The issue was overall subscribed only 7.77 times fetching over 12.75 lakh applications. The allocation for the qualified institutional bidders (QIBs) was subscribed 15.80 times The portion for non-institutional investors (NIIs) booked 10.97 times. Allocations for retail investors and employees were booked 1.81 times.

The grey market premium (GMP) of JSW Cement has seen some correction, following a muted bidding and weak market sentiments. Last heard, the company was commanding a premium of Rs 5-6 in the unofficial market, suggesting a listing pop of 3-4 per cent for the investors. The GMP stood at Rs 13 when the issue had opened for bidding.

Incorporated in 2006, Mumbai-headquartered JSW Cement is a manufacturer of green cement in India. As part of the JSW Group, the company is committed to sustainability and innovation in the cement industry. The company operated seven plants across the country. It had an installed grinding capacity of 20.60 MMTPA as of March 31, 2025.

JM Financial, Axis Capital, Citigroup Global Markets India, SBI Capital Markets DAM Capital Advisors, Goldman Sachs (India), Kotak Mahindra Capital are the book-running lead managers of the JSW Cement IPO, while Kfin Technologies is the registrar for the issue. Shares of the company shall be listed on both BSE and NSE on August 14.

Investors, who had bid for the issue of JSW Cement, can check the allotment status on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) website:

1) Visit https://www.bseindia.com/investors/appli_check.aspx

2) Under the issue type, click Equity

3) Under the issue name, select JSW Cement Limited in the dropbox

4) Write the application number

5) Add the PAN card ID

6) Click on ‘I am not a Robot’ and hit search button

Source : https://www.businesstoday.in/markets/ipo-corner/story/jsw-cement-ipo-allotment-status-check-application-latest-gmp-listing-date-488978-2025-08-12

Check minimum average balance requirements for across various banks including SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and so on.

Minimum Balance Rules Comparison: The Private Lender ICICI Bank has recently announced that the minimum balance requirement for savings accounts opened on or after August 01, 2025 will be increased to Rs 50,000 from the earlier Rs 10,000. The move has been met with some criticism from various echelons of society, as it will hamper people with low income from getting access to financial and banking services.

In metro and urban branches, the minimum average monthly balance (MAMB) will be Rs 50,000, up from the earlier Rs 10,000. In semi-urban branches, it will rise to Rs 25,000 from Rs 5,000, while in rural branches, the requirement will double to Rs 10,000 from Rs 5,000. The higher MAMB will apply only to new accounts opened after August 1.

esla will streamline its AI chip research to focus on its development of inference chips used to run AI models and make real-time decisions, CEO Elon Musk said, after a media report he had ordered the closure of the in-house Dojo supercomputer team.

Bloomberg News on Thursday cited people familiar with the matter as saying Musk had ordered the Dojo team to be disbanded, with team leader Peter Bannon departing the company.

Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.

The Dojo supercomputer was designed around custom training chips to process vast amounts of data and video from Tesla EVs to train the automaker’s autonomous-driving software.

“It doesn’t make sense for Tesla to divide its resources and scale two quite different AI chip designs,” Musk said in an X post late on Thursday.

“The Tesla AI5, AI6 and subsequent chips will be excellent for inference and at least pretty good for training. All effort is focused on that,” he said, without directly mentioning Dojo.

Morgan Stanley analysts led by Adam Jonas valued the Dojo supercomputer at $500 billion in 2023, saying it opened a new market for the automaker beyond cars sales, similar to how Amazon’s cloud unit boosts profit for the ecommerce firm.

“Dojo is the key accelerant at the intersection of hardware and software,” the brokerage said on August 4. Jonas did not immediately respond to a query if the latest development would hurt Tesla’s valuation.

Tech companies are increasingly designing custom chips to cut latency, power and cost, while consolidating around fewer architectures.

Tesla has been restructuring over the past year, with its share price slumping as sales of its EVs were hit by rising competition and a backlash by European consumers in particular against Musk’s political views.

The company has seen multiple executive departures and cut thousands of jobs, and redirected its focus to AI-driven self-driving technology and robotics, with Musk pursuing an integration strategy across his tech business empire.

Musk has said next-generation AI5 chips would be produced at the end of 2026 and last month announced a $16.5 billion deal to source AI6 chips from Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab, without providing a production timeline.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-streamline-its-ai-chip-design-work-musk-says-2025-08-07

The Centre on Friday announced the subsidised retail sale price of tomatoes in the range of Rs 47-60 per kg in the national capital through the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF), to provide relief to buyers.

The Centre on Friday announced the subsidised retail sale price of tomatoes in the range of Rs 47-60 per kg in the national capital through the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF), to provide relief to buyers.

NCCF Sells 27,307 kg at Subsidised Rates

The NCCF, which has been procuring tomatoes from Azadpur mandi since August 4, is retailing them with minimal margins, the consumer affairs ministry said.

“To date, NCCF has sold 27,307 kilograms of tomatoes at retail prices ranging from Rs 47 to Rs 60 per kg, depending on the procurement cost,” the ministry stated.

Retail Outlets and Mobile Vans in Key Locations

Retail sales are being conducted through NCCF’s stationary outlets at Nehru Place, Udyog Bhawan, Patel Chowk, and Rajiv Chowk, as well as through 6-7 mobile vans operating at various locations across the city.

A similar initiative was undertaken by NCCF in previous years as well. The ministry said tomato prices have spiked temporarily in Delhi due to rains, but the all-India average remains stable.

Rain-Related Disruption Pushes Prices to ₹85/kg

The current average retail price of tomatoes in Delhi at Rs 73 per kg is primarily due to heavy rainfall in northern and north-western regions since the last week of July.

“This weather-related disruption caused prices to spike to as high as Rs 85 per kg by the end of July,” the ministry said in a statement.

Prices Begin to Stabilise as Arrivals Recover

However, with the recovery and stabilisation of daily arrivals at Azadpur mandi over the past week, both mandi and retail prices have begun to decline.

The retail prices at various centres across the country are influenced by temporary localised factors rather than any fundamental demand-supply imbalance or production shortfall, the ministry noted.

No Price Surge in Chennai or Mumbai

In contrast, major cities such as Chennai and Mumbai, which have not experienced abnormal weather conditions in recent weeks, have not witnessed a similar price surge.

The current average retail prices in Chennai and Mumbai are Rs 50 per kg and Rs 58 per kg, respectively – substantially lower than Delhi’s prevailing price.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/centre-launches-subsidised-tomato-sale-in-delhi-at-4760kg-to-tackle-rain-driven-price-spike

New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new U.S. weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India’s first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades.
India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said.

Trump on Aug. 6 imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50% – among the highest of any U.S. trading partner.
The president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the people said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarity on tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but “just not as soon as they were expected to.”

Written instructions had not been given to pause the purchases, another official said, indicating that Delhi had the option to quickly reverse course, though there was “no forward movement at least for now.”
Post publication of this story, India’s government issued a statement it attributed to a Ministry of Defence source describing news reports of a pause in the talks as “false and fabricated.” The statement also said procurement was progressing as per “extant procedures.”
Delhi, which has forged a close partnership with America in recent years, has said it is being unfairly targeted and that Washington and its European allies continue to trade with Moscow when it is in their interest.
Reuters is reporting for the first time that discussions on India’s purchases of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) have been paused due to the tariffs.

Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February announced plans to pursue procurement and joint production of those items.
Singh had also been planning to announce the purchase of six Boeing P8I reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during his now-cancelled trip, two of the people said. Talks over procuring the aircraft in a proposed $3.6 billion deal were at an advanced stage, according to the officials.
Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred queries to the Indian and U.S. governments. Raytheon did not return a request for comment.

RUSSIAN RELATIONS

India’s deepening security relationship with the U.S., which is fuelled by their shared strategic rivalry with China, was heralded by many U.S. analysts as one of the key areas of foreign-policy progress in the first Trump administration.

Delhi is the world’s second-largest arms importer and Russia has traditionally been its top supplier. India has in recent years however, shifted to importing from Western powers like France, Israel and the U.S., according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank.
The shift in suppliers was driven partly by constraints on Russia’s ability to export arms, which it is utilizing heavily in its invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian weapons have also performed poorly in the battlefield, according to Western analysts.
The broader U.S.-India defence partnership, which includes intelligence sharing and joint military exercises, continues without hiccups, one of the Indian officials said.
India also remains open to scaling back on oil imports from Russia and is open to making deals elsewhere, including the U.S., if it can get similar prices, according to two other Indian sources.
Trump’s threats and rising anti-U.S. nationalism in India have “made it politically difficult for Modi to make the shift from Russia to the U.S.,” one of the people said. Nonetheless, discounts on the landing cost of Russian oil have shrunk to the lowest since 2022.
India’s petroleum ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While the rupture in U.S.-India ties was abrupt, there have been strains in the relationship. Delhi has repeatedly rebutted Trump’s claim that the U.S. brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May. Trump also hosted Pakistan’s army chief at the White House in the weeks following the conflict.
In recent months, Moscow has been actively pitching Delhi on buying new defence technologies like its S-500 surface-to-air missile system, according to one of the Indian officials, as well as a Russian source familiar with the talks.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/india-pauses-plans-buy-us-arms-after-trumps-tariffs-2025-08-08/

Nebraska cattle rancher Craig Uden bought 200 extra mother cows and their babies over a few weeks in May to expand his herd as dry weather gave way to rain that rejuvenated land used for grazing.
In South Dakota, Troy Hadrick kept 16 more young female cows, known as heifers, on his farm than he did last year to be used for breeding, rather than sending them to be slaughtered for beef.

More than 1,400 miles south in Texas, the biggest cattle-producing state, Fausto Salinas was also preserving heifers to increase his herd.

In major U.S. livestock regions, some ranchers have slowly begun taking the first steps to boost cattle production after the nation’s inventory shrank due to a years-long drought that dried up pasture land used for grazing and hiked feeding costs.
By the beginning of the year, the herd had dwindled to 86.7 million cattle, the smallest number for the time period since 1951, according to U.S. government data.
When grass failed to grow on pasture land that turned from green to brown and as feed grains became too expensive, ranchers began to ship off more cattle to be slaughtered. Some producers searched miles away for hay to nourish their remaining animals.

The drop in supply drove U.S. food companies to increasingly import beef from other countries, including Australia and Brazil.
Though in its early stages, the herd expansion is now a sign of hope for consumers shelling out for expensive steaks and for meatpackers losing money buying high-priced cattle to slaughter.
“Cattle availability should improve in coming years,” Tyson Foods (TSN.N), CEO Donnie King said during an earnings call this week.
Farmers’ cautious plans to rebuild mark a turning point after a continuous downsizing of the herd for six years in a row pushed beef prices to record highs in 2025.
Cattle prices reached records too, slashing the profits of processors like Tyson and providing income for farmers who also grow grains and have struggled to turn a profit from selling crops.
Cattle production is the nation’s most important agricultural industry, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which said the sector consistently accounts for the largest share of total cash receipts for farm commodities.

After delays due to persistent dryness, improved rains are motivating the expansion, along with expectations that cattle prices will remain lofty during the long rebuilding process, ranchers said.
In Nebraska, the second biggest cattle-producing state, the portion of the herd in areas suffering from drought dropped to 19% in late July from 79% two years earlier, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Near Cozad, a city of 4,000 people where Uden works with his son-in-law, rains have not quit since starting around Mother’s Day in May, Uden said. Grass conditions look the best since 2011, he added.
The dramatic improvement comes as a record U.S. corn harvest is expected to boost available feed supplies.
“Everything has kind of fallen into place,” said Uden, 64. “The cattle will have plenty to eat this year.”

Ranches in South Texas also benefited from one of the greenest summers in years, a welcome reprieve after the punishing drought turned forage brown and dry and killed some cattle.
“Right now, we’re in the process of rebuilding,” said Salinas, a rancher in Rio Grande City, Texas, who sold cattle during the drought.

TIGHTER SUPPLIES

When ranchers retain heifers, beef production temporarily slows because the animals are not being sent to be slaughtered; it will also likely push meat prices even higher before they come down, agricultural economists said.
Consumers have shown resilience to the climbing cost of beef, but increased prices will test demand, they said.
It takes about two years before beef output rises after ranchers make initial moves to expand because that is how long it takes to raise full-grown cattle, ranchers said.
U.S. cattle and beef supplies are set to decline even further after President Donald Trump’s administration halted imports of Mexican livestock in July to keep out New World screwworm, a devastating pest.
U.S. beef imports from Brazil, a key supplier of meat used to make hamburgers, are also expected to fall after Trump imposed a 50% trade tariff on Wednesday.

MEATPACKERS LOSE BIG

Beef producers such as Tyson and Cargill have waited years for ranchers to begin rebuilding herds because companies must increasingly compete with one another to buy limited supplies.
Processors were losing about $300 on each head of cattle they slaughtered on Tuesday, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com.
Farmers have worried a processor may shutter a beef plant due to hefty losses, though Cargill told Reuters it had no plans to do so.
“It’s not overwhelmingly glaring that, ‘Hey we’re starting to rebuild the cow herd,’ but I think there are quite a few signals,” said Jarrod Gillig, senior vice president of Cargill’s North American beef business.
For one, strong prices for heifers at a major video livestock sale in July signaled the animals will be retained on farms, Gillig said.
In rural feedlots, about 4.2 million heifers were being fattened for slaughter as of July 1, down 5% from 2024, according to USDA data. The decline likely reflects that ranchers are keeping at least a few more heifers on farms to reproduce, analysts said.
Tyson said a 16% drop in beef cow slaughtering from January to June was another early indicator of ranchers retaining heifers on their farms. The meatpacker reported cattle costs climbed by about $560 million in the quarter that ended on June 28, compared to a year earlier.
Herd rebuilding will begin in earnest next year, and the beef business will see benefits in 2028, King said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-cattle-ranchers-slowly-start-rebuild-decimated-herd-2025-08-07/

RBI Governor Malhotra said UPI transactions aren’t free to run and someone has to bear the cost. With ICICI Bank introducing UPI fees for Payment Aggregators, free UPI may change soon.

After the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, Governor Malhotra addressed the media and made a key statement about UPI (Unified Payment Interface).

He clarified that while UPI has been free for users till now, it doesn’t mean it will stay that way forever.

“I never claimed UPI would always be free,” Malhotra said. “There are real costs in processing these transactions, and someone has to pay.”

He further added that it doesn’t matter who pays — users, banks, or businesses — but the costs must be covered for the system to survive in the long run.

UPI’s Massive Growth Story

UPI has become one of the biggest digital payment systems not just in India, but across the world.

According to a recent IMF report, titled Growing Retail Digital Payments: The Value of Interoperability, UPI is now:

– Handling 85 percent of India’s digital payments

– Powering nearly 60 percent of global real-time transactions

– Processing 640+ million transactions every day

In June 2025 alone, UPI recorded 18.39 billion transactions, worth Rs 24 lakh crore — a 32 percent increase compared to June 2024.

Are Free UPI Transactions Ending?

Governor Malhotra’s comments come amid rising signs that the free UPI model might change.

According to an ET Wealth Online report, ICICI Bank has started charging Payment Aggregators (PAs) for processing UPI transactions, effective August 1, 2025.

Although the bank hasn’t made an official public announcement, sources said the new charges were shared with PAs in June.

This move is seen as a signal that more banks or service providers might follow, eventually leading to UPI fees being passed to users — either partially or in full.

The additional 25 per cent import duty announced by US President Donald Trump on Indian goods could lead to a 30 per cent decline at USD 60.6 billion in India’s exports to America this fiscal, think tank GTRI said on Monday.

To help exports, it suggested the government to revive the interest equalisation scheme, create a helpdesk, use trade agreements strategically, and onboard new exporters.

India now faces a 25 per cent country-specific tariff and an extra unspecified penalty on its exports to the United States — one of the highest among Asian exporters, second only to China at 30 per cent.

In contrast, competitors such as Vietnam (20 per cent), Bangladesh (18 per cent), Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines (19 per cent), and Japan and South Korea (15 per cent) enjoy lower rates.

This puts Indian exports at a clear disadvantage across most sectors, barring a few exemptions, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said.

The new US tariff regime excludes pharmaceuticals, energy products, critical minerals, and semiconductors.

“But outside these, Indian goods are under pressure. As a result, India’s exports to the US — currently its largest export market — are projected to decline by nearly 30 per cent, falling from USD 86.5 billion in FY2025 to around USD 60.6 billion in FY2026,” it said.

GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said India’s garment exports are among the worst hit.

Knitted and woven garments — each worth USD 2.7 billion — now face steep US tariffs of 38.9 per cent and 35.3 per cent, much higher than the rates for Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Cambodia, GTRI said, adding made-up textiles like towels and bedsheets, which earn India USD 3 billion in exports (with nearly half going to the US), now face a 34 per cent duty.

This gives a clear advantage to competitors like Pakistan and Vietnam, he said.

He also said that India’s USD 2 billion shrimp exports, which make up 32 per cent of global supply, will now face a 25 per cent US tariff.

This wipes out their price edge over rivals like Canada and Chile, who benefit from free trade deals with the US, he added.

Jewellery exports worth USD 10 billion — 40 per cent of India’s global jewellery trade — now face a 27.1 per cent duty. With the sector adding just 3-4 per cent in value, margins are thin. Mechanical gold jewellery exports to the US (USD 3.6 billion) are likely to be hit the hardest.

India’s USD 4.7 billion in metal exports — mainly steel, aluminium, and copper — will also suffer, as the higher cost is expected to curb demand from US infrastructure and energy buyers, the think tank said.

India’s engineering exports — USD 6.7 billion in machinery and USD 2.6 billion in auto parts — now face over 26 per cent US tariffs, making them costlier than similar goods from Mexico (zero tariff) and Japan (15 per cent).

Petroleum exports worth USD 4.1 billion are still tariff-free, but India’s use of Russian crude could invite penalties, he said, adding pharmaceuticals (USD 9.8 billion) and smartphones (USD 10.6 billion) are currently exempt, but not safe — Trump has warned of tariffs on Indian medicines and tighter rules on electronics with Chinese parts.

He added that exporting more to other countries to make up for losses in the US market won’t be easy.

Further, he said Trump’s 27.1 per cent tariff on India’s USD 10 billion diamond and jewellery exports, 40 per cent of its global trade in the sector — delivers a “heavy blow” to the sector.

With value addition barely 3-4 per cent, margins are wafer-thin, and such duties can turn exports instantly unviable.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/indias-exports-to-us-may-fall-30-to-usd-606-billion-this-fiscal-due-to-trump-tariffs-gtri

China’s independent oil companies are ramping up operations in Iraq, investing billions of dollars in OPEC’s number two producer even as some global majors have scaled back from a market dominated by Beijing’s big state-run firms.
Drawn by more lucrative contract arrangements, smaller Chinese producers are on track to double their output in Iraq to 500,000 barrels per day by around 2030, according to estimates by executives at four of the firms, a figure not previously reported.

For Baghdad, which is also seeking to lure global giants, the growing presence of the mostly privately run Chinese players marks a shift as Iraq comes under growing pressure to accelerate projects, according to multiple Iraqi energy officials. In recent years, Iraq’s oil ministry had pushed back on rising Chinese control over its oilfields.
For the smaller Chinese firms, managed by veterans of China’s state heavyweights, Iraq is an opportunity to leverage lower costs and faster development of projects that may be too small for Western or Chinese majors.
With meagre prospects in China’s state-dominated oil and gas industry, the overseas push mirrors a pattern by Chinese firms in other heavy industries to find new markets for productive capacity and expertise.

Little-known players including Geo-Jade Petroleum Corp (600759.SS), United Energy Group (0467.HK), Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group (603619.SS), and Anton Oilfield Services Group(3337.HK), made a splash last year when they won half of Iraq’s exploration licensing rounds.
Executives at smaller Chinese producers say Iraq’s investment climate has improved as the country becomes more politically stable and Baghdad is keen to attract Chinese as well as Western companies.
Iraq wants to boost output by more than half to over 6 million bpd by 2029. China’s CNPC alone accounts for more than half of Iraq’s current production at massive fields including Haifaya, Rumaila and West Qurna 1.

PROFIT-SHARING, RISK TOLERANCE

Iraq’s shift a year ago to contracts based on profit-sharing from fixed-fee agreements – an attempt to accelerate projects after ExxonMobil and Shell scaled back – helped lure Chinese independents.

These smaller firms are nimbler than the big Chinese companies and more risk-tolerant than many companies that might consider investing in the Gulf economy.
Chinese companies offer competitive financing, cut costs with cheaper Chinese labour and equipment and are willing to accept lower margins to win long-term contracts, said Ali Abdulameer at state-run Basra Oil Co, which finalises contracts with foreign firms.
“They are known for rapid project execution, strict adherence to timelines and a high tolerance for operating in areas with security challenges,” he said. “Doing business with the Chinese is much easier and less complicated, compared to Western companies.”
Smaller Chinese firms can develop an oilfield in Iraq in two to three years, faster than the five to 10 years for Western firms, Chinese executives said.

“Chinese independents have much lower management costs compared to Western firms and are also more competitive versus Chinese state-run players,” said Dai Xiaoping, CEO of Geo-Jade Petroleum, which has five blocks in Iraq.
The independents have driven down the industry cost to drill a development well in a major Iraqi oilfield by about half from a decade ago to between $4 million and $5 million, Dai said.

TRADE-OFFS

A Geo-Jade-led consortium agreed in May to invest in the South Basra project, which includes ramping up the Tuba field in southern Iraq to 100,000 bpd and building a 200,000-bpd refinery. Geo-Jade, committing $848 million, plans to revive output at the largely mothballed field to 40,000 bpd by around mid-2027, Dai told Reuters.
The project also calls for a petrochemical complex and two power stations, requiring a multi-billion-dollar investment, said Dai, a reserve engineer who previously worked overseas with CNPC and Sinopec.
Zhenhua Oil, a small state-run firm that partnered with CNPC in a $3 billion deal to develop Ahdab oilfield in 2008, the first major foreign-invested project after Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, aims to double its production to 250,000 bpd by 2030, a company official said.
Zhongman Petroleum announced in June a plan to spend $481 million on the Middle Euphrates and East Baghdad North blocks won in 2024.
Chinese firms’ cheaper projects can come at the expense of Iraq’s goal to introduce more advanced technologies.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-independent-oil-firms-elbow-into-iraqs-majors-dominated-market-2025-08-04/

A sweeping 25 per cent tariff by the United States on Indian exports has triggered panic among domestic industries, especially textiles, steel and agriculture. Facing potential order cancellations and job losses, exporters have urged the Indian government to launch an emergency export promotion mission and extend financial support.

Indian exporters are staring at a crisis after the United States announced a uniform 25 per cent tariff—plus additional penalties—on all goods imported from India, starting August 7, 2025. The abrupt move has rattled key sectors like textiles, engineering, steel and agriculture, prompting an urgent call for government intervention.
“Exporters spoke about the adverse effects of tariffs. They want support,” a government official told The Economic Times, following a high-level meeting between commerce minister Piyush Goyal and industry leaders.
The tariff, significantly higher than rates faced by rivals like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Pakistan, could jeopardise nearly half of India’s $87 billion export volume to the US—New Delhi’s top trade partner and a key market for price-sensitive sectors.

In a major supply chain shift, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the majority of iPhones sold in the United States are now manufactured in India. While China focuses on non-US markets, Vietnam leads production of MacBooks and iPads. Cook also flagged a looming $1.1 billion tariff burden amid policy uncertainty.

In a milestone for India’s electronics manufacturing sector, Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed that most iPhones sold in the United States during the past quarter were assembled in India. Speaking after Apple’s quarterly earnings call, Cook’s remarks confirmed a major realignment in the company’s global supply chain strategy, reported The Times of India.
“There hasn’t been a change to that, which is—the vast majority of the iPhones sold in the US, or the majority, I should say—have a country of origin of India,” Cook told analysts, underscoring how India is now a key hub for Apple’s domestic US supply.
While India takes the lead in iPhone production for the American market, Cook clarified that Vietnam now serves as the primary production centre for MacBooks, iPads, and Apple Watches. China, once the dominant manufacturing base for nearly all Apple products, continues to produce for non-US markets.

Nvidia chips do not contain “backdoors” allowing remote access, the US tech giant has said, after Beijing summoned company representatives to discuss “serious security issues”.

The California-based company is a world-leading producer of AI semiconductors, and this month became the first company to hit US$4 trillion in market value.

But it has become entangled in trade tensions between China and the United States, and Washington effectively restricts which chips Nvidia can export to China on national security grounds.

“Cybersecurity is critically important to us. Nvidia does not have ‘backdoors’ in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them,” Nvidia said in a statement Thursday (Jul 31).

A key issue has been Chinese access to the “H20” – a less powerful version of Nvidia’s AI processing units that the company developed specifically for export to China.

Nvidia said this month it would resume H20 sales to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing curbs that had halted exports.

But the tech giant still faces obstacles – US lawmakers have proposed plans to require Nvidia and other manufacturers of advanced AI chips to include built-in location tracking capabilities.

Beijing’s top internet regulator said Thursday it had summoned Nvidia representatives to discuss recently discovered “serious security issues” involving the H20.

The Cyberspace Administration of China said it had asked Nvidia to “explain the security risks of vulnerabilities and backdoors in its H20 chips sold to China and submit relevant supporting materials”.

China is aiming to reduce reliance on foreign tech by promoting Huawei’s domestically developed 910C chip as an alternative to the H20, said Jost Wubbeke of the Sinolytics consultancy.

“From that perspective, the US decision to allow renewed exports of the H20 to China could be seen as counterproductive, as it might tempt Chinese hyperscalers to revert to the H20, potentially undermining momentum behind the 910C and other domestic alternatives,” he said.

Other hurdles to Nvidia’s operations in China are the sputtering economy, beset by a years-long property sector crisis, and heightened trade headwinds under US President Donald Trump.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/nvidia-says-no-backdoors-in-chips-china-questions-security-5271431

Nikhil Ravishankar, an India-origin executive, will assume the role of CEO at Air New Zealand starting October 20, 2025, after almost five years with the airline.

India-origin Nikhil Ravishankar is set to take over as the CEO of Air New Zealand from October this year after being associated with the carrier for nearly five years. Incidentally, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson is from New Zealand.
“Currently the airline’s Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil will officially take over as CEO on 20 October 2025. In the nearly five years that Nikhil has been at Air New Zealand he has gained a deep understanding of the aviation sector, and the airline. He has also led major advances in the airline’s technology backbone, loyalty programme and customer proposition,” Air New Zealand said in a statement on July 30.
Prior to joining the airline, Ravishankar was Chief Digital Officer at Vector and Managing Director of Accenture.

“I’m both thrilled and humbled to be given this opportunity to lead Air New Zealand… airlines are complex, and safety underpins every decision we make,” he said in the statement.
Air New Zealand offers more than 400 flights a day to 49 domestic and international destinations. It has a fleet of more than 100 planes, including Boeing 777s, 787s, Airbus 320s, ATRs and Q300s, as per its website.
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand and Air India, in March this year, announced that they will explore the introduction of a direct service between the two countries by the end of 2028, subject to new aircraft deliveries and approvals from relevant government regulators.
Both airlines had also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost air connectivity between India and New Zealand. Both airlines will have a new codeshare partnership on 16 routes between India, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/companies/india-origin-nikhil-ravishankar-set-to-become-air-new-zealands-ceo-article-152384349

Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that Starlink has been granted a Unified License to launch satellite internet services in India and that the frameworks for spectrum allocation and gateway establishment are ready.

India has officially granted Elon Musk’s Starlink a licence to provide satellite-based internet services, paving the way for the company’s entry into the country’s growing digital market, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. The approval comes as India marks the 30th anniversary of its first-ever cellular call, made on July 31, 1995.

“Starlink has been granted a Unified License to launch satellite internet services in India. Frameworks for spectrum allocation and gateway establishment are ready, ensuring smooth rollout,” news agency PTI quoted the Union minister as saying.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) granted Starlink the authorisation earlier in July. The company had first applied for permissions in 2021 but faced delays over spectrum allocation and regulatory approvals. The recent green light follows months of engagement with Indian authorities and marks a significant step toward offering internet access in remote regions of the country.

Starlink, operated by Musk’s SpaceX, is expected to compete with other players such as Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s JV with SES, both of which are awaiting spectrum allocation to begin operations. All three companies aim to deliver high-speed internet using a constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

INDIA’S DIGITAL GROWTH STORY

Announcing the approval, Minister Scindia also took the opportunity to reflect on India’s sweeping digital progress under the Narendra Modi government. Over the past decade, India has seen a dramatic expansion in telecom and internet infrastructure.

The number of telephone connections in India now exceeds 1.2 billion, while internet subscriptions have surged nearly 286 per cent to 970 million. Broadband usage, too, has grown more than 1,450 per cent — from 60 million users in 2014 to 944 million today. Also, low data costs, now at just Rs 8.9 per GB — a drop of 96.6 per cent — make data services among the most affordable globally.

BSNL’s TURNAROUND AND 5G EXPANSIONS

A major milestone highlighted was the financial turnaround of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the state-run telecom operator. After nearly two decades of losses, BSNL posted net profits of Rs 262 crore and Rs 280 crore in the last two financial years. The operator has deployed over 83,000 4G sites, 74,000 of which are now operational using indigenous technology.

The minister also noted the rapid rollout of 5G services across the country. As of now, 99.6 per cent of districts are covered with over 4.74 lakh 5G towers and a user base of 300 million. India also ranks among the top six countries in terms of 6G patent filings. “With the world’s highest per capita 5G usage—32 GB per month—India is demonstrating strong technological leadership,” Scindia added.

Now, Starlink’s entry adds a fresh dimension to India’s digital future, especially for regions that remain beyond the reach of traditional fiber and cellular networks.

The satellite-based approach promises to bridge the urban-rural divide and improve connectivity in remote locations such as mountainous areas, islands, and border regions.

Starlink aims to provide high-speed, low-latency broadband to users across India, and is now moving forward with plans to set up local gateways and ground stations, pending final spectrum allocation.

With the regulatory landscape now clarified and infrastructure support in place, India’s satcom sector is poised for rapid growth, complementing its already massive mobile network.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/starlink-gets-licence-to-start-ops-in-india-way-cleared-for-spectrum-allocation-2764432-2025-07-31

Microsoft (MSFT.O), forecast on Wednesday a record $30 billion in capital spending for the current fiscal first quarter, after booming sales in its Azure cloud computing business showcased the growing returns on its massive bets on artificial intelligence.
Shares of the software company rose 9% in extended trading after it said Azure sales surpassed $75 billion on an annual basis, the first time it has disclosed that figure, beating expectations for $74.62 billion.

Microsoft’s higher-than-expected capital expenditure forecast – its largest ever for a single quarter – put it on track to potentially outspend its rivals over the next year. It came after Google said it would spend more on data centers to meet demand for AI services, and Meta projected higher sales with only modest increases in spending. The trio of results could help resolve investor questions about whether Big Tech is benefiting from its massive data center buildout, with capital spending to reach $330 billion this year.
Microsoft and Meta’s results helped fuel a $500-billion gain in AI stocks.

“I feel very good that the spend that we’re making is correlated to basically contracted, on-the-books business that we need to deliver,” Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said on a conference call with investors.

Microsoft’s cloud business still trails market leader Amazon Web Services (AMZN.O), which had a head start in cloud computing and brought in $107.56 billion in its most recent fiscal year. But investors said Microsoft’s new revenue figure indicates its investments are translating to increased sales.
“Now that Microsoft’s disclosing that number, it’s really just helping justify the huge investments,” said Dave Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, which holds Microsoft shares.
Rival Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), earnings also showed last week that AI spending was rising, but so were the returns, as it beat revenue estimates and lifted its outlay forecast by $10 billion.

Microsoft said Azure revenue jumped 39% in the June quarter, more than the average analyst estimate of 34.75%, according to Visible Alpha. The company said it expects growth of 37% for the current quarter, beating analyst estimates of 33.5%, according to Visible Alpha data.

Microsoft has said the spending is crucial to overcoming supply constraints that have hampered its ability to meet soaring AI demand. The fiscal first-quarter capital expenditure estimate of $30 billion surpassed analysts’ expectations of $23.75 billion, according to Visible Alpha data.
In the just-ended fiscal fourth quarter, capital spending rose 27% to $24.2 billion, compared with estimates of $23.08 billion, per Visible Alpha.
Microsoft said its Copilot AI tools had surpassed 100 million monthly active users, the first time it has provided such a figure. Google has said rival Gemini has 450 million active users.

Overall revenue rose 18% to $76.4 billion in the April-June period, Microsoft’s fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts on average expected $73.81 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

LONGER-LIVED ASSETS

Microsoft said its capital spending trended slightly toward longer-lived assets such as data centers, after it previously told investors the mix would shift toward shorter-lived assets such as chips over its 2026 fiscal year. Jonathan Neilson, Microsoft’s vice president of investor relations, said that guidance does not mean that Microsoft will not continue to invest in longer-lived assets when capacity is needed to meet demand.
“We are going to absolutely invest against that,” Neilson said in an interview.
The company has emerged as an early leader in making money from AI thanks to its exclusive access to OpenAI’s technology. The tie-up has helped attract scores of businesses to its cloud service and allowed Microsoft to swiftly roll out AI products such as its M365 Copilot AI assistant for enterprises.
“The bar was set really high. And my impression is they delivered … They were able to execute in a very demanding environment,” said Dan Morgan, portfolio manager at Synovus Trust, which owns Microsoft shares.
Microsoft is just $200 billion short of becoming only the second company to hit a $4-trillion valuation, with its shares up about 20% this year.
But investor doubts have risen about the OpenAI tie-up as the companies renegotiate the deal and the startup shifts some workloads to rivals, including Google and Oracle .

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/microsoft-spend-record-30-billion-this-quarter-ai-investments-pay-off-2025-07-30/

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI roughly doubled its revenue in the first seven months of the year, reaching $12 billion in annualized revenue, the Information reported on Wednesday citing a source.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. OpenAI declined to comment.

The figure implies that OpenAI is generating $1 billion a month, the report said, adding that the company has around 700 million weekly active users for its ChatGPT products used by both consumers and business customers.

The Microsoft-backed company has increased its cash burn projection to roughly $8 billion in 2025, up $1 billion from the cash burn it projected earlier in the year, the Information said.

The firm has been lining up investors for the second $30 billion portion of its funding round, the report said, adding that shareholders Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the round.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/openai-hits-12-billion-in-annualized-revenue-information-reports-5268801

The Income Tax department denied claims of increased long-term capital gains tax on LLPs in the new Income Tax Bill, 2025

The Income Tax department on Tuesday categorically refuted the claims of a possible increase in the long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) in the new Income Tax Bill, 2025.

The Income Tax Department in a post on X has clarified that the new Bill, which is currently under parliamentary scrutiny, does not include any change in tax rates.

“There are news articles circulating on various media platforms that the new Income Tax Bill, 2025 proposes to change tax rates on LTCG for certain categories of taxpayers. It is clarified that the Income Tax Bill, 2025 aims at language simplification and removal of redundant/obsolete provisions. It does not seek to change any rates of taxes,” the I-T Department said in a post on X.

“Any ambiguity in this respect shall be duly addressed during the passing of the Bill,” it added.

Rumours were circulating on social media the draft Bill’s provisions on Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT) could effectively raise the LTCG tax on LLPs from 12.5% to 18.5%.

Several tax practitioners have voiced concerns that the way AMT provisions have been redrafted may result in higher effective tax liability for LLPs currently benefiting from lower LTCG rates.

Source : https://www.news18.com/business/income-tax-bill-is-18-5-ltcg-tax-rates-proposed-on-llps-under-new-draft-bill-ws-l-9471921.html

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced mass layoffs affecting approximately 12,000 employees, or 2% of its workforce, marking the largest reductions in the company’s history.

The announcement of mass layoffs at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has prompted the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) to reach out to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. On Sunday, India’s largest IT services firm confirmed plans to lay off around 12,000 employees this year, roughly 2% of its total workforce.
With this move, TCS is set to carry out the largest workforce reduction in its history. Back in 2015, the company had terminated around 3,000 employees, roughly 1% of its staff then. This latest layoff is now being seen as the biggest mass termination the Indian IT industry has ever witnessed.

TCS job cut: The move is part of a broader plan to adapt to changing technology trends and streamline operations as the company aims to become a “future-ready” organisation.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest software exporter, is planning to lay off around 12,000 employees, or about 2% of its global workforce, during the current financial year.

The move is part of a broader plan to adapt to changing technology trends and streamline operations as the company aims to become a “future-ready” organisation.

This comes shortly after TCS updated its HR policy, requiring employees to maintain at least 225 billable days a year and capping bench time at 35 days.

In a statement, TCS said, “TCS is on a journey to become a future-ready organisation. This includes strategic initiatives on multiple fronts including investing in new-tech areas, entering new markets, deploying AI at scale for our clients and ourselves, deepening our partnerships, creating next-gen infrastructure and realigning our workforce model.”

“Towards this, a number of reskilling and redeployment initiatives have been underway. As part of this journey, we will also be releasing associates from the organisation whose deployment may not be feasible. This will impact about 2% of our global workforce, primarily in the middle and the senior grades, over the course of the year.”

The company stressed that this change is being handled with care to ensure that client service remains unaffected.

“We understand that this is a challenging time for our colleagues likely to be affected. We thank them for their service and we will be making all efforts to provide appropriate benefits, outplacement, counselling, and support as they transition to new opportunities,” the statement added.

TCS CEO and MD K Krithivasan said that the layoffs will not be done in a rush. He explained that the process will involve identifying impacted employees carefully and giving them a fair opportunity to be redeployed.

“It’s a process through which we identify the people. It will be coming through the year. We won’t do it in a hurry. We will be first talking to the people that could be impacted. We will provide them an opportunity. When we are not able to provide the opportunity, then we need to do the step we need. And, that is, we will do whatever is the benefit that we have to provide,” Krithivasan told Moneycontrol.

He added that the company will follow its HR policy to ensure that outgoing employees are treated with dignity and provided adequate support.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/tcs-layoff-job-cut-12000-what-it-company-offer-to-affected-employees-updated-hr-policy-ai-2762192-2025-07-27

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the U.S. automaker had signed a $16.5 billion deal to source chips from Samsung Electronics, a move expected to bolster the South Korean tech giant’s loss-making contract manufacturing business.

Samsung shares rose more than 6 per cent after the news.

“Samsung’s giant new Texas fab will be dedicated to making Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip. The strategic importance of this is hard to overstate,” Musk said in a post on X on Monday.

If Musk was referring to Samsung’s upcoming Taylor, Texas, plant, the deal could revive the project that has faced delays amid Samsung’s struggles to retain and win major customers.

“Samsung agreed to allow Tesla to assist in maximizing manufacturing efficiency. This is a critical point, as I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress. And the fab is conveniently located not far from my house,” Musk said on his social media platform.

While no timeline was provided for AI6 chip production, Musk has previously said that next-generation A15 chips will be produced at the end of 2026, suggesting A16 would follow.

Samsung currently makes Tesla’s A14 chips, which power its Full Self-Driving driver assistant system, while TSMC will make the AI5 initially in Taiwan and then Arizona, Musk has said.

In October, Reuters reported that Samsung had postponed taking deliveries of ASML chipmaking equipment for its factory in Texas as it had not yet won any major customers for the project. It has already delayed the plant’s operational start to 2026.

Samsung, the world’s top memory chip maker, also produces logic chips designed by customers through its foundry business. The Texas project is central to Samsung Chairman Jay Y. Lee’s strategy to expand beyond its bread-and-butter memory chips into contract chip manufacturing.

Samsung currently trails a distant second in the global foundry market, with an 8 per cent share versus leader TSMC’s 67 per cent share, data from market researcher Trendforce show.

Samsung had earlier announced the $16.5 billion chip supply deal without naming the client, saying the customer had requested confidentiality about the details of the deal, which will run through the end of 2033.

Three sources briefed about the matter told Reuters that Tesla was the customer for the deal.

HELP FOUNDRY BUSINESS

The news comes as Samsung, which is due to report its earnings on Thursday, faces mounting pressure in the race to produce artificial intelligence chips, where it trails rivals such as TSMC and SK Hynix. This lag has weighed heavily on its profits and share price.

Pak Yuak, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said the deal would help reduce losses at Samsung’s foundry business, which he estimated exceeded 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in the first half of the year.

Analysts say Samsung has struggled with the defection of key clients to TSMC for advanced chips. TSMC counts Apple, Nvidia and Qualcomm among its customers.

It is not clear whether the Samsung-Tesla deal is related to ongoing trade talks between Korea and the United States. Seoul is seeking U.S. partnerships in chips and shipbuilding amid last-ditch efforts to reach a trade deal to eliminate or reduce potential 25 per cent U.S. tariffs.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/musk-says-tesla-samsung-electronics-sign-165-billion-chip-supply-deal-5261791

McDonald’s Corp is planning to sell eight prime retail properties in Hong Kong with a total market value of around HK$1.2 billion ($152.89 million), JLL, which has been appointed as the sole agent of the sale, said on Monday.

The McDonald’s outlets in the locations will continue to operate, JLL executive director of capital markets Eunice Tang said in a statement.

In a separate statement, McDonald’s Corp said it continually reviewed its property portfolio and that the Hong Kong sites were available for sale as part of that assessment.

The fast-food company, which is headquartered in Chicago, said it remained fully committed to the Hong Kong market.

Hong Kong Economic Times reported earlier on Monday McDonald’s planned to sell all of its 23 retail spaces – valued at nearly HK$3 billion in total – in batches, but it would continue operating in existing locations as tenants, and the sale would not affect its operations in the city.

McDonald’s has around 256 restaurants in Hong Kong, the report said, many in rented spaces.

In 2017, McDonald’s Corp sold an 80 per cent stake in its mainland Chinese and Hong Kong operations to a group that included CITIC Ltd, its investment arm CITIC Capital, and Carlyle Group for up to $2.1 billion. But the assets remain under McDonald’s Corp.

The sale of the eight retail properties is offered through a public tender that ends on September 16. JLL said it had already received significant interest from a wide pool of potential investors.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/mcdonalds-sell-8-hong-kong-retail-spaces-valued-153-million-jll-says-5262161

A bitter family feud has erupted in the RS 30,000 crore Sona Group after the sudden death of chairman Sunjay Kapur. His mother, Rani Kapur, alleges coercion and exclusion from key decisions, including the appointment of daughter-in-law Priya Sachdev Kapur.

Following the death of Sunjay Kapur, the fight for control over the Sona Group – an empire worth Rs 30,000 crore – took an ugly turn when his mother Rani Kapur alleged that she was “coerced” into signing some documents while she was grieving over his son’s untimely death. The issue escalated further when the company went ahead with the annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday, despite Rani Kapur’s objection. Furthermore, the flagship company, Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd, said that Sunjay Kapur’s mother has not been a shareholder since 2019, justifying the proceedings.
Kapur wrote to the board, asserting herself as the majority shareholder and requesting that the Annual General Meeting scheduled for this afternoon be postponed.
She alleged that she had been coerced into signing certain documents and raised objections over the appointment of “certain people (i.e., Priya Sachdev Kapur, her daughter-in-law)” who, she claimed, were representing the family without her consent.

In response, the company, in a filing to the stock exchanges, stated that in May 2019 it had received a “declaration of significant beneficial ownership” identifying Sunjay Kapur as the “sole beneficial owner…”.
The company justified Priya Sachdev Kapur’s appointment as a non-executive director, saying her name was “duly reviewed… and approved”. The company also clarified that Rani Kapur’s allegation of being coerced into signing documents was not true, as the board stressed that no documents had been signed or obtained from her since Sunjay Kapur’s death.
The family feud erupted after an email from Rani Kapur late Thursday, in which she requested the deferment of the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The board stated it sought legal advice on how to proceed “out of respect” for Ms Kapur.
“Based on the legal counsel and the fact Rani Kapur is not a shareholder of the Company, the Company concluded that it could not defer the AGM,” the exchange filing said.
Earlier, Kapur had accused her ‘enemies’ of attempting to usurp her family’s legacy while she was mourning the loss of her son. She said she had been informed of an item on the AGM agenda, i.e., “the passing of a resolution to appoint certain Director(s) as being the representative of the Kapur family”.
That ‘representative’ was Priya Sachdev Kapur.
Kapur made it very clear that she had not been consulted in this decision.
“For the record, I state I have not given any consent or officially nominated any person to come on the board of the company, or any other Sona Group company, after my son’s demise, or given any consent to any person to represent me in any capacity before any Sona Group company.”
“At this stage I do not wish to dilate any further on various gross illegalities… except to state, in no uncertain terms, that it is imperative that no decisions are taken without my consent,” she added.
According to a report in The Economic Times, Rani Kapur, who asserts that she holds majority ownership in the Sona Group based on her late husband’s 2015 will, may approach the high court next week to seek a declaration affirming her status as a shareholder and alleging she was excluded from voting at the AGM. Sources also indicated that she is likely to file a petition before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), accusing the company of oppression and mismanagement. However, her legal counsel, senior advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, has denied that any legal proceedings have been initiated at this stage.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/companies/who-controls-sona-group-now-kapur-familys-battle-over-legacy-and-power-after-sunjay-kapurs-death-explained-article-152348570

In a sweeping move under the Trump administration’s directive to streamline federal agencies, NASA is set to lose nearly 3,870 employees through a voluntary resignation programme, raising concerns about talent drain and mission safety.

In a significant reshaping of the United States space programme, NASA has confirmed that approximately 3,870 employees will resign from the agency as part of a Deferred Resignation Program launched in 2025, aligning with the Trump administration’s broader push to reduce the federal workforce, said a Bloomberg report.
The mass exits, expected to leave NASA with a civil servant base of roughly 14,000, mark one of the largest voluntary exits in the agency’s history. This includes both phases of the resignation offer and the normal attrition rate of around 500 staff.
“This is about ensuring we become a more streamlined and efficient organisation,” said NASA in an official statement issued Friday. “But safety remains a top priority as we pursue a Golden Era of exploration, including to the Moon and Mars.”

The first round of resignations began in early 2025, when about 870 employees, or 4.8 per cent of the agency’s workforce, opted in. The second round, launched in June with a July 25 deadline, saw a staggering 3,000 employees, or 16.4 per cent, agree to leave,reported Bloomberg.
Former acting administrator Janet Petro, during a June town hall, acknowledged the gravity of the situation, “The reason we are doing this is to minimise any involuntary workforce reductions in the future. That is our whole goal, minimising that.”
While NASA emphasised that participation in the programme is voluntary, and resignations are still under review, internal sources revealed concerns that the talent drain could affect NASA’s mission-readiness.
A letter titled “The Voyager Declaration”, signed by hundreds of current and former NASA employees, has been sent to interim administrator Sean Duffy, also head of the US Transportation Department. It warns, “Thousands of NASA civil servant employees have already been terminated, resigned or retired early, taking with them highly specialised, irreplaceable knowledge crucial to carrying out NASA’s mission.”
The letter calls for a reevaluation of the administration’s strategy, citing the risk to mission-critical operations and deep-space initiatives.
The Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk as part of Trump’s controversial federal reforms, has been instrumental in overseeing this reduction. However, critics argue the plan may have long-term consequences for America’s space ambitions.
The move has already drawn scrutiny from aerospace contractors, union representatives, and Congressional aides. Experts caution that an exodus of this scale — particularly of scientific and engineering staff — may result in delays to key programmes like Artemis, Orion, and deep-space robotic missions.
NASA has reportedly applied for a “blanket waiver” earlier this year in hopes of shielding probationary employees from forced layoffs, but its status remains unclear.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/companies/mass-resignations-at-nasa-spark-alarm-3870-employees-set-to-exit-amid-trump-era-workforce-cuts-article-152348674

A higher ethanol blend should theoretically lower the price of petrol. It has instead, potentially increased the average cost of vehicle ownership. Here’s how.

Having achieved its 20% ethanol blending targets five years prior to its deadline, it’s safe to say that biofuel is to play a key role in the central government’s plan to reduce crude oil dependence. It’s a win-win for both the government and the agricultural sector, which can now utilise excess sugar for ethanol production.

With the exception of Delhi, petrol prices range between ₹100 – ₹104.2 per litre. Earlier this year, the per-litre price of ethanol increased by ₹1.69, bringing the total ex-mill cost of ethanol produced for the purposes of blending with petrol to ₹57.97. Given that ethanol is a little over half the price of petrol, the 20% blend, which was achieved earlier this year, should theoretically be accompanied by a marginal drop in petrol prices. In 2021, a 20% blend was projected to reduce petrol prices by ₹8/litre, according to a report by CNBC TV18. That hasn’t turned out to be the case.

In India, retail fuel prices are determined by international crude oil prices and the existing tax structure imposed by states via excise and VAT. While there has been no major fluctuation in VAT in the last couple of years, excise duty did go up in April, although the cost was not passed on to the customers, according to a report by Reuters. However, the benefit of the lower cost of production of ethanol has also not been passed down to the customers. In fact, it has indirectly added to the running cost of a petrol vehicle as ethanol burns much faster than petrol and isn’t as energy efficient.

Translation: lower mileage. You have to buy a lot more blended petrol in order to go the same distance as you would without unblended petrol. The prices also depend on just how the ethanol is produced. According to a report by the Centre of Social and Economic Progress, ethanol derived from B-Heavy Mollases, Sugarcane juice, sugar, sugar syrup, and damaged food grains brings the ex-mill price range up to ₹60 – ₹65.6. Add transportation charges and a 5% flat GST charge per litre, and the weighted average comes down to ₹65.35/litre of ethanol. Theoretically, then, the average price of petrol should be around ₹95/litre, which is only available in Delhi at the moment.

The report goes on to claim there is enough evidence to suggest that the Ethanol Blend Petrol Programme has played a key role in reducing crude oil imports, saving foreign exchange and generating domestic revenue. However, no cost benefit has been passed down to the customer. With the government working to meet an E27 target ( a 27-30% ethanol blend by 2030) there’s no evidence to suggest that the consumer will benefit at all. In fact, as it stands, the move is costing the petrol car consumer due to lower mileage and wear and tear caused by the corrosive nature of ethanol.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/can-a-higher-ethanol-blend-negatively-impact-petrol-prices-101753498932155.html

An Antonov An-24 passenger plane carrying 48 people crashed in Russia’s far east on Thursday as it was preparing to land, killing everyone on board in an incident that spotlighted the continued use of old, Soviet-era aircraft.
The burning fuselage of the plane, which was made in 1976, was spotted by a search helicopter after it disappeared from radar screens. It had been attempting to land for a second time after failing to touch down on its first approach, the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

Operated by the privately owned Siberian regional airline Angara, it had been en route from the city of Blagoveshchensk near the Chinese border to Tynda, an important railway junction in the Amur region. It was carrying 42 passengers, including five children, and six crew.
The regional governor and federal investigators confirmed that everyone on board had been killed.
Investigators said they had opened a criminal case into the suspected violation of air traffic and air transport rules, resulting in the death of more than two people through negligence. The plane had recently passed a technical safety inspection, Russian news agencies reported, and had been involved in four apparently minor incidents since 2018.

The crash is likely to raise new questions about the viability of continuing to fly such old planes in far-flung corners of Russia at a time when Western sanctions have crimped Moscow’s ability to access investment and spare parts.
It may also prompt other countries that operate the aircraft to review their fleets. North Korea, Kazakhstan, Laos, Cuba, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Zimbabwe operate the An-24, according to the authoritative RussianPlanes web-portal.
Video shot from a helicopter showed pale smoke rising from the crash site in a densely forested hilly area around 15 km (10 miles) from Tynda. There were no roads to the site and a rescue team had to use heavy machinery to cut a path there.
President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and held a minute’s silence at the start of a government meeting.

At least one Chinese citizen was reported to have been on board and Chinese President Xi Jinping sent his condolences to Putin.
Moscow said it had set up a commission to deal with the aftermath in addition to the criminal and air safety investigations. A representative of Angara said they could not offer any more details.

‘FLYING TRACTORS’

Angara is based in the Siberian city of Irkutsk and serves airports in Siberia and Russia’s far east. Before Thursday’s crash, it operated 10 An-24s built between 1972 and 1976, according to RussianPlanes.
It was one of two Siberian airlines that last year asked the Russian government, to extend the service life of the Antonov aircraft, as Russian planemakers scramble to plug the gap left by an exodus of foreign manufacturers.
Nicknamed “flying tractors” by some, the propeller-driven An-24s are regarded as reliable workhorses inside Russia and are well-suited to Siberia as they are able to operate in sub-zero conditions and don’t have to land on runways.
But airline executives, pilots and industry experts say the cost of maintaining the Antonovs – which make up a fraction of Russia’s fleet of over 1,000 passenger planes – has increased after Western sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine hit investment and access to parts.
Almost 1,340 An-24 planes were built in the Soviet Union. Eighty-eight have now been lost because of crashes and 65 because of serious incidents without casualties, and 75 are currently in operation, according to data from the RussianPlanes web-portal and Reuters analysis.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/soviet-era-passenger-plane-crashes-russias-far-east-killing-all-48-board-2025-07-24/

Demand in China has begun surging for a business that, in theory, shouldn’t exist: the repair of advanced Nvidia (NVDA.O), artificial intelligence chipsets that the U.S. has banned the export of to its trade and tech rival.
Around a dozen boutique companies now offer repair services, according to two such firms in the tech hub of Shenzhen which say they predominantly fix Nvidia’s H100 graphics processing units (GPUs) that have somehow made their way to the country, as well as A100 GPUs and a range of other chips.

Even before it was launched, the H100 was banned from sale in China in September 2022 by U.S. authorities keen to rein in Chinese technological development, particularly advances that its military could use. Its predecessor, the A100, was also banned at the same time after being on the market for over two years.
“There is really significant repair demand,” said a co-owner of a firm that has been fixing Nvidia’s gaming GPUs for 15 years and began working on AI chips in late 2024.
Business has been so good that the owners created a new company to handle those orders, which now repairs up to 500 Nvidia AI chips per month. Its facilities, as shown in social media advertising, include a room which can accommodate 256 servers, simulating customers’ data centre environments to conduct testing and validate repairs.

The rapid growth of the repair industry from late last year supports the view that there has been a significant amount of smuggling of Nvidia chipsets into China. Tenders have shown that the government and the military have made purchases of the U.S. firm’s banned AI chips.
Concern about large-scale smuggling of high-end Nvidia products into China has prompted both Republican and Democratic lawmakers to introduce bills that would require the tracking of chipsets so that their location can be verified after they are sold. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration also backed the idea this week.
The thriving repair industry also highlights how Nvidia’s advanced GPUs remain in high demand despite new, albeit less powerful, products from Chinese tech giant Huawei (HWT.UL).
Though the buying, selling and repair of Nvidia GPUs is not illegal in China, sources for this article were reluctant to draw scrutiny from U.S. or Chinese authorities and declined to be identified.

Nvidia cannot legally provide repair or replacement items for restricted products in China. In contrast, sources said if an Nvidia GPU in another nation has a defect and is under warranty, which is normally three years, the company usually replaces it.
An Nvidia spokesperson said only the company and authorised partners “are able to provide the service and support that customers need. Using restricted products without approved hardware, software, and technical support is a nonstarter, both technically and economically.”

REPAIR DEMAND MAY NOT FADE

Nvidia has only just been allowed to recommence sales of its H20 AI chipset, which has been specifically developed for China to comply with U.S. restrictions. Switching over to H20 chipsets is, however, not necessarily a simple or good option for Chinese entities.
Price is an issue as one H20 server with eight GPUs inside will likely cost more than 1 million yuan ($139,400), industry sources say. H20 chipsets, which have increased memory bandwidth, have been specifically designed for AI inference work, but firms involved in the training of large language models would likely prefer H100 chipsets which are better suited to that task.

Industry sources said some of the H100 and A100 GPUs in China have been crunching data around the clock for years now, leading to an increase in failure rates. Depending on how frequently a GPU is used and how often it is maintained, an Nvidia GPU generally lasts two to five years before needing to be repaired, they said.
According to the first source, his company charges between 10,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan ($1,400 to $2,800) to fix a GPU depending on the complexity of the problem.
The second Shenzhen-based repair service provider – which shifted from GPU rentals to repairs this year – says it can repair up to 200 Nvidia AI chips each month, charging about 10% of the GPUs’ original selling price per repair.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-repair-demand-banned-nvidia-ai-chipsets-booms-2025-07-24/

In response to rising US-China tensions and intensifying data security laws, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has implemented strict new rules for employees traveling to China. The policy, effective 16 July, prohibits the use of company-issued devices and network access during both business and personal travel, signalling growing corporate unease over regulatory unpredictability in the world’s second-largest economy.

On 16 July 2025, BlackRock Inc., which manages over $10 trillion in global assets, introduced a new internal travel protocol that bars employees from using company-issued iPhones, iPads, laptops, or accessing the company’s network while in China, according to internal memos reviewed by Bloomberg and Reuters.
Instead, travelling employees must rely on temporary “loaner” devices and are not permitted to access BlackRock systems via VPN or any remote access methods while in the country—even during personal visits. The move reflects increasing operational caution in a climate marked by tightened data laws and geopolitical volatility.

A federal court in Marshall, Texas, said on Wednesday that U.S. telecom company Verizon Wireless must pay $175 million in damages for violating an inventor’s patent rights related to wireless communications technology.

The jury’s decision in favor of Headwater Research comes just months after the firm secured a $278 million verdict in a separate patent dispute against Samsung over wireless technology, also in the same Marshall, Texas, federal court.

Spokespeople for Verizon and attorneys for Headwater did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday’s verdict.

Tyler, Texas-based Headwater was founded by scientist and inventor Gregory Raleigh. Headwater said in its complaint in 2023 that its patented technology allows wireless devices to “reduce data usage and network congestion, extend battery life by decreasing power consumption, and enable users to stay connected.”

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/verizon-owes-175-million-in-patent-infringement-case-texas-jury-says-5255456

Tesla(TSLA.O), Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday that U.S. government cuts in support for electric vehicle makers could lead to a “few rough quarters” for the company before a wave of revenue from self-driving software and services begins late next year.
Shares fell nearly 5% after Musk responded on a quarterly results conference call to questions about new U.S. government policies under President Donald Trump.

Musk’s electric vehicle maker posted the worst quarterly sales decline in more than a decade and profit that missed Wall Street targets, but its profit margin on making cars was better than many feared. Musk is pursuing autonomous driving to power privately owned vehicles as well as robotaxis that it plans to put into production next year.
In the meantime, it is working on a new, cheaper car, though Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said that production would ramp up next quarter, slower than initially expected. It produced some initial units by the end of June. The company did not provide an update on its full-year deliveries forecast, citing the economy and timing of the new car rollout.

“Tesla’s disappointing results aren’t surprising given the rocky road it’s traveled recently,” said eMarketer analyst Jacob Bourne. “A truly affordable model will hit the bullseye in terms of boosting sales if Tesla can effectively position it right without detracting from its higher-priced models.”
The second straight quarterly revenue drop, with a 12% fall, comes despite the launch of a refreshed version of its best-selling Model Y SUV that investors had hoped would help revive demand.
A 51% dive in sales of automotive regulatory credits, which other automakers who have difficulty complying with government emissions rules buy from Tesla, also hurt revenue and profit.
Revenue fell to $22.5 billion for the April-June quarter from $25.50 billion a year earlier, slightly behind analyst targets compiled by LSEG. Adjusted profit per share of 40 cents lagged the Wall Street consensus.

The automotive gross margin, which excludes regulatory credits, was 14.96%, above Wall Street estimates, helped in part by lower cost per vehicle.
Pricing and margins are important as Tesla wrestles with demand and faces falling government support. Tesla global deliveries dropped 13.5% in the second quarter, and the U.S. government later this year is cutting $7,500 tax credits for EV buyers.
“We probably could have a few rough quarters,” Musk said, when asked about the credits. “I’m not saying we will, but we could – you know, Q4, Q1, maybe Q2, but once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I think I’d be surprised if Tesla’s economics are not very compelling.”

AUTONOMOUS RIDE HAILING

Tesla had said in April it would start producing the more affordable model by the end of the first half and sources had told Reuters the vehicle, a stripped-down version of its Model Y SUV, would be delayed by at least months. Tesla on Wednesday did not disclose any details of the model, how many units it had made, or how it would be priced. Musk responded to a question of what the vehicle would look like by saying, “It’s just a Model Y,” joking that he “let the cat out of the bag there.”

Tesla’s lineup is relatively old, despite a recent refresh of the flagship Model Y, and it faces rising competition from cheaper EVs, especially in China, and a persistent backlash against Musk’s far-right political views.
The company also said it continued to expect volume production of its custom-built robotaxi – called the Cybercab – and Semi Truck in 2026.
Much of the company’s trillion-dollar valuation hangs on its bet on its robotaxi service – a small trial of which was started in Austin, Texas, last month with about a dozen Model Y SUVs – and on its development of humanoid robots.
“Autonomy is the story,” Musk said on the conference call, describing plans to roll out autonomous ride hailing to about half of the U.S. population by the end of this year. Tesla is looking for robotaxi regulatory approval in the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, Arizona, Florida and other places, he said, and the company is close to getting regulatory approval for supervised Full Self-Driving driver assistance software in the Netherlands. The robotaxi business was likely to have a material impact on financials around the end of next year, Musk said.
Investors are concerned about whether Musk will be able to devote enough time and attention to Tesla after he locked horns with Trump by forming a new political party this month. He had promised weeks earlier that he would cut back on government work and focus on his companies.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-likely-faces-a-few-rough-quarters-end-us-ev-support-musk-says-2025-07-23/

Hundreds of thousands of doses of mpox vaccine that the United States had promised to send to African nations are in danger of going to waste, dozens of congressional Democrats said in a letter to the U.S. State Department on Wednesday.
Forty-eight Democratic members of the House of Representatives, led by Representatives Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Sara Jacobs of California, signed the letter, saying that the vaccines may expire as they sit in warehouses, wasting the U.S. taxpayer dollars that paid for them.

The letter said 800,000 doses of the vaccines are at risk, and that some 220,000 doses could be viable if the State Department begins shipping them immediately.
“This is a moral, strategic, and public health failure in the making,” the letter said.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Republican U.S. President Donald Trump has made sharp cuts to foreign aid programs since beginning his second term six months ago, firing thousands of aid agency employees and contractors and throwing global humanitarian operations into chaos.
The Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives passed legislation this month approving Trump’s request for about $8 billion in foreign aid cuts.

Trump has said the U.S. pays disproportionately for foreign aid, and he wants other countries to shoulder more of the burden.
The World Health Organization first declared the outbreak of mpox in August 2024, when an outbreak of a new form of the disease spread from the badly-hit Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring countries.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hundreds-thousands-us-taxpayer-funded-vaccine-doses-may-expire-lawmakers-say-2025-07-23/

CoinDCX in the FIR said that the full financial impact is being absorbed by the company’s treasury reserves, with no losses passed on to customers.

Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX has reported a major security breach resulting in a loss of approximately ₹378 crore ($44.2 million). The incident, which took place on July 19 at 4 am IST, involved unauthorized access to an internal operational account on a partner exchange. The company has assured users that their funds remain secure and unaffected.

In a FIR released on Sunday, CoinDCX said that the full financial impact is being absorbed by the company’s treasury reserves, with no losses passed on to customers. Co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal addressed the situation on the social media platform X, attributing the breach to a “sophisticated server attack” targeting an internal wallet used for liquidity provisioning.

“Today, one of our internal operational accounts – used only for liquidity provisioning on a partner exchange – was compromised due to a sophisticated server breach. I confirm that the CoinDCX wallets used to store customer assets are not impacted and are completely safe. This won’t cause any loss to our customers. CoinDCX will be bearing the full amount,” Gupta posted.

Khandelwal added, “The total amount lost was ₹378 crore ($44 million) out of our treasury assets. CoinDCX Treasury will be bearing these losses.”

The incident was first flagged by blockchain investigator ZachXBT, after which CoinDCX made the breach public. However, the delay of nearly 17 hours before disclosure has sparked criticism online, even as many commended the company’s decision to protect user assets.

Following the news, a rush of withdrawal requests overwhelmed CoinDCX’s systems, causing its portfolio APIs—which display user balances and transaction histories—to become temporarily unresponsive. Many users were unable to view their holdings for several hours, fueling speculation and anxiety across platforms. The company later confirmed that the APIs have been restored.

CoinDCX stated that the affected infrastructure has been completely isolated, and platform operations are functioning normally. Trading activities, INR deposits, and withdrawals continue without disruption. The company clarified that INR withdrawals below ₹5 lakh will be processed within 5 hours, while those above ₹5 lakh will be completed within 72 hours.

CoinDCX has reported the breach to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and initiated forensic investigations in collaboration with two globally reputed cybersecurity firms. The company has committed to sharing its findings publicly.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/coindcx-suffers-378-crore-security-breach-company-explains-what-happened-101753062902511.html

The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) has warned that unnotified trade restrictions imposed by China are disrupting supply chains and jeopardising India’s target of exporting $32 billion worth of smartphones in FY26. These measures, which impact capital goods, raw materials, and skilled personnel, could reverse India’s manufacturing gains and undermine its emerging role as a global electronics hub.

India’s electronics industry has raised serious concerns over China’s informal trade restrictions, which it claims are quietly undermining the country’s smartphone export ambitions. In a letter to the government, the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) said these curbs pose a significant threat to India’s export target of $32 billion for FY26, up from $24.1 billion the previous year.
The ICEA , whose members include Apple, Google, Motorola, Foxconn, Tata Electronics, Vivo, Oppo, Lava, Dixon, and Flex, said China has been deploying unofficial and sequential curbs on the export of capital equipment, rare minerals, and skilled Chinese personnel, all of which are critical to smartphone production in India.
“While domestic production remains relatively insulated for now, export-linked manufacturing to the tune of $24 billion in FY25, projected to cross $32 billion in FY26 in smartphones, has now come under serious risk,” ICEA said in its letter.