Tuesday, October 06
Britain's Labour government pledged to cut a backlog in asylum applications and end "the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers", saving £1 billion ($1.3 billion) annually, finance minister Rachel Reeves announced Wednesday."Funding that I have provided today... will cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return people who have no rights to be here, saving the taxpayer a billion pounds a year," Reeves said in her Spending Review that sets out Treasury expenditure and savings over the next few years.The number of UK asylum seekers has risen sharply in recent years, with tens of thousands of applications waiting to be decided, according to official figures. Labour, which came to power last July, has set about tackling the situation.Prime Minister Keir Starmer has started f
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi enters in his 12th year leading the government, India’s economy stands on solid macroeconomic foundations, but economists warn that generating jobs and reviving private investment will be key challenges in the years ahead, TOI has reported.With GDP growth averaging 6.2 per cent over the past 11 years (2014-15 to 2024-25), and inflation largely within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) comfort zone, the government has pointed to a decade of fiscal prudence and economic stability. If the distortions of the COVID-19 pandemic years (2020-21 contraction and 2021-22 rebound) are excluded, the average growth rate stands at a healthier 7.1 per cent.Even though, the World Bank has brought down India's growth projection at a steady 6.3 per cent, New Delhi continues t
A manager at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, has fallen victim to an elaborate online trading scam, losing nearly Rs 50 lakh after being lured into a bogus IPO investment scheme through a WhatsApp group promoting stock market “tips.”According to The Times of India, the 49-year-old victim, who resides in Chandkheda, filed a complaint with the Cybercrime police on Monday after discovering that his in-app trading account had been blocked and his phone number cut off from further contact with the fraudsters.Lured through Facebook, hooked by fake profitsThe incident began on February 19, when the complainant clicked on a WhatsApp group link titled “E-28 ASK Capital Circle” while browsing Facebook. Group administrators began offering investment “tips” and instruc
The Andhra Pradesh government will disburse Rs 8,745 crore on Thursday under 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme, which promises Rs 15,000 annually to every school-going child. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu approved the extension of 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme on June 12, said an official release on Wednesday. The expanded roll out of 'Talliki Vandanam' will coincide with the TDP-led government completing one year in office on Thursday. "CM Chandrababu has gave the green signal for an important component of Super Six. On the occasion of the coalition government completing one year, a special gift for mothers - "Talli Ki Vandanam" to be launched tomorrow," said the press release. In the run up to 2024 polls, Naidu made several welfare promises under the banner of Super Six, which in
Mumbai: Investors booked some profits in equity mutual funds and held back from allocating fresh money in May in the wake of the rebound in the stock market. Flows into equity schemes dropped 22% to ₹19,013 crore in May from ₹24,269 crore in April."After a robust performance in the preceding months, elevated stock valuations prompted investors to take a cautious stance, resulting in a noticeable slowdown in equity inflows," says Viraj Gandhi, CEO, SAMCO Mutual Fund.While lump-sum flows dried up, investors continued to put money in equity-oriented funds through monthly systematic investment plans (SIPs), with allocations hitting another all-time high of ₹26,688 crore. Debt funds saw outflows of ₹15,908 crore, compared with inflows of ₹2.19 lakh crore in April.Led largely by mark-t
Mumbai: Private sector banks HDFC, ICICI, IDFC First and Kotak Mahindra have reduced interest rates on fixed deposits (FD) by 10-35 basis points (0.1-0.3 percentage point) for retail depositors, following the policy rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday.Public sector Canara Bank and Indian Bank have also reduced rates, as lenders adjust to lower benchmark interest rates.HDFC Bank reduced its FD rates by 25 basis points across tenures. Its one-year deposit rate is now 6.25%. It has also cut the savings bank interest rate on balances above ₹50 lakh by 50 basis points to 2.75%, bringing its rate on par for all savings deposits. The bank had in April reduced the savings rate to 2.75% for deposits below ₹50 lakh.ICICI Bank also reduced its one-year deposit rate by 25 basis points
