In a notification issued on Monday, India's Ministry of Finance also hiked the import duty on spent catalysts containing precious metals to 14.35 per cent from 10.1 per cent

The easing of prices came as U.S. consumer confidence increased during the quarter after months of decline, with Americans growing more optimistic about current and future business conditions

It added that India's economic forecast faces a significant risk in the event of a prolonged spell of disruptions

The mandated percentage of earnings that goes as ABS ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 per cent of sales, depending on the company's revenue, according to AYUSH industry estimates

Negotiations for a free trade agreement between India and the four-nation EFTA bloc are at an advanced stage as both sides have reached a shared understanding on key issues, a senior official has said. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. India and the EFTA have been negotiating the pact, officially dubbed as Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), since January 2008 to boost economic ties. "Following extensive negotiations, a shared understanding has been achieved on key issues during the ministerial meeting. Ongoing efforts are now focused on shaping the convergence that has emerged," the official said. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting recently with Swiss Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin in Mumbai. Parmelin, in a social media post on X, has said that officials are working around the clock to settle last details so that it can be signed as soon as possible. "At the last-minute ..

The issue may have been discussed during recent bilateral meetings between the countries last week when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to Iran

The government should not cut import duties on electronic components used in making smartphones in the forthcoming Budget as the current tariff structure has already proven successful and changing them could harm local manufacturing, a GTRI report said on Monday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that maintaining the current rates would help balance industry growth and long-term development in India's growing smartphone market. "Currently, tariffs on imported parts for smartphones in India are between 7.5 per cent and 10 per cent. The Budget should maintain these taxes. The Budget should not cut the import tariffs on parts used to make smartphones," it said, adding that the current rate of levies supports duty-free imports for making products to exports. The Budget is scheduled to be presented on February 1. The suggestion is in contrast to the demand of industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) that import duty cuts on mobile phone components c

Also, inflation has been falling faster than expected, and the labor market is cooling but not collapsing

India's electronics exports record 22.24% growth in the first nine months of FY24, with iPhones leading the surge

The consultant noted that diverse industries, including e-commerce, retail, and manufacturing, chose to outsource their supply chain operations to 3PL firms

With private investment still muted, the government is likely to maintain its momentum on increasing capital expenditure, especially for the infrastructure sector in the upcoming Budget to propel economic growth. Post COVID-19, the Budget has been laying special emphasis on capex. It has kick-started a dormant cycle for the economy. As a result India has witnessed over 7 per cent growth in the last three years, the highest among the large economies of the world. During the current financial year, the government has made a record high provision of Rs 10 lakh crore towards capex. During 2020-21, the government earmarked Rs 4.39 lakh crore which increased by 35 per cent to Rs 5.54 lakh crore in the subsequent year. Another 35 per cent hike in capex was done in 2022-23 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore which subsequently reached a high of Rs 10 lakh crore, an increase of 37.4 per cent. In the upcoming Budget too, the government is expected to earmark a large amount towards capex as such investment

The total loan guarantees extended by 17 major states to their entities have more than tripled to Rs 9.4 lakh crore by FY23 from Rs 3 lakh crore in FY17, says a report. While guarantees are contingent liabilities, they may pose a risk to states' fiscal health if a substantial proportion of the stock needs to be serviced by them, warranting robust guarantee monitoring and prudent extension of guarantees in the future so that the financial system as a whole remains resilient. States often sanction and issue on behalf of their various enterprises, cooperative institutions, and urban local bodies guarantees in favour of their lenders which are generally banks or other financial institutions. The total loan guarantees extended by the 17 major states to their entities have more than tripled to Rs 9.4 lakh crore as of FY23 from Rs 3 lakh crore in FY17. This is equivalent to the entire increase in such guarantees of these states during FY2017-22, Icra Ratings chief economist Aditi Nayar sai

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched a unique mission to develop region-specific smart agro-technologies for paddy in south India, besides for other crops, aiming to improve soil health and productivity and thereby enhance the farmers' income, a senior scientist said. This endeavour will help the Central government to introduce the use of automation, sensors, drones, and Artificial Intelligence gadgets for agriculture in the future. "This is one of the first of the mission mode projects that have been conceived and implemented on the ground," he said. The project envisages the use of Internet of Things (IoT) based sensors and drone-based hyper and multi-spectral imaging to generate a real-time precision database to develop knowledge on phenological and physiological indicators as influenced by micro-environment of various target crops being grown across different agro-climatic conditions of the country. A team of scientists and technologists from CS

While the Fed wants to guard against a re-acceleration of inflation, a further softening of price pressures risks making policy even more restrictive

In November 2023, the number of new monthly subscribers under the EPF decreased by nearly 10 per cent to 736,015 from 816,721 in October, according to the latest monthly payroll data

In the federal budget for 2023-24, the government had outlined a plan to purchase crude oil worth Rs 5,000 crore for caverns in the southern cities of Mangalore and Visakhapatnam

Suezmax ships - so-called for their ability to sail full through the canal that links Asia and Europe - are up about 50% to almost $70,000 a day

The government is aiming to narrow the fiscal deficit to 4.50% of GDP by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year (FY) from 5.90% in the current year to end-March 2024

Brent futures settled 54 cents lower at $78.56 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 67 cents to settle at $73.41

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he is resolute in leading the state to its ambitious target of becoming a USD 1 trillion economy as the state government secured investment MoUs worth Rs 3.53 lakh crore (USD 44 billion) this week at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. The state also received an expression of interest for an additional Rs 1 lakh crore investment, taking the total to Rs 4.5 lakh crore (nearly USD 57 billion) with a potential to create about two lakh jobs across sectors, including electronics, IT, data centres, gems and jewellery, agriculture, automobile and renewable energy, an official statement said. During his visit here accompanied by Industries Minister Uday Samant and several senior officials, Shinde signed 19 MoUs (Memoranda of Understanding). Presenting Maharashtra as the premier investment hub under the theme "Bringing Confidence during a changing World", Shinde held meetings with a large number of global political leaders, industr