Highlights of the Day: HCLTech Q4 revenue rises 7.1% to Rs 28,499 cr, misses estimates

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8:19 PM

Bank of Maharashtra Q4 profit jumps 45% to Rs 1,218 cr; aims fund raising in FY25

State-owned Bank of Maharashtra on Friday reported a 45 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,218 crore for the March 2024 quarter, helped by a decline in bad loans and a rise in interest income. The Pune-based lender had earned a net profit of Rs 840 crore in the year-ago period. For full fiscal 2023-24, its net profit jumped 55 per cent to Rs 4,055 crore. Its core net interest income grew 18.17 per cent to Rs 2,584 crore for the March quarter on the back of a 16 per cent growth in advances and a nearly 0.20 per cent widening in the net interest margin at 3.97 per cent. Interest income grew to Rs 5,467 crore during the period under review from Rs 4,495 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The bank's non-interest income rose 24 per cent to Rs 1,022 crore during the fourth quarter and was helped by a 40 per cent growth in the core fee income.

7:07 PM

IndiGo's wide-body aircraft order augurs well for Indian aviation: CRISIL

Budget carrier IndiGo's decision to acquire wide-body planes augurs well for the Indian aviation industry as international long-haul routes are comparatively more profitable and will also help in creating an aviation hub in the country, according to rating agency CRISIL. Till January last year, IndiGo operated single-aisle Airbus aircraft fleet and in February 2023, it started operating wide-body Boeing 777 wet-leased from its codeshare partner Turkish Airlines. Currently, the airline has two wet-leased B777 operating flights to Istanbul from Delhi and Mumbai. On Thursday, the country's largest airline announced placing a firm order for 30 wide-body Airbus A350-900 planes, to be powered by Rolls-Royce's Trent XWB engines, and also has the option to purchase 70 more such aircraft.

6:19 PM

Edu ministry, CBSE to hold consultations meeting next month on plan for conducting board exams twice a year

Education ministry and CBSE to hold consultations with school principals next month on plan for conducting board exams twice a year, reports PTI. It further reported that the education ministry has asked CBSE to work out logistics for conducting board exams twice a year:

5:49 PM

In second consecutive week of decline, India's forex kitty drops $2.28 bn to $640.33 bn

India's forex reserves decreased $2.282 billion to $640.334 billion for the seven days ended April 19 in the second consecutive week of drop in the kitty, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. The reserves had dropped $5.401 billion to $643.162 billion in the previous reporting week, ending a multi-week trend of an increase, which also saw the overall reserves touching a new all-time high of $648.562 billion for the week ended April 5. In September 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached a high of $642.453 billion, which was breached in March this year. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global events, but there had been a steady accretion over the past few months.

4:57 PM

Supreme Court seeks EC's reply on PIL for fresh poll if NOTA gets majority in constituency

The top court today asked for a response from the Election Commision on a PIL seeking framing of rules to nullify an election and order fresh one if NOTA (none of the above) option gets majority over other candidates. The SC issued notice to the Election Commission on the PIL filed by author, activist and motivational speaker Shiv Khera.

4:54 PM

Go First case: DGCA directed to process deregistration of leased planes

Delhi HC directs DGCA to forthwith process re-registration applications moved by lessors 54 aircraft on lease with crisis-hit airline Go First.

4:49 PM

Delhi news update: Couple arrested with nearly 800g of heroin in Tilak Nagar

A couple was arrested with nearly 800 grams of heroin, for allegedly selling it here, police said today. The police was searching for Neelam, a proclaimed offender, an official said. "On Wednesday, tip-off was received about the presence of Neelam in the Tilak Nagar area. A raid was conducted and Neelam and her husband were nabbed," Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vichitra Veer said.

4:09 PM

News update: Maruti Suzuki Q4 standalone profit rises 47.8% to Rs 3,878 crore

India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported fourth-quarter profit on Friday that marginally missed estimates. According to LSEG data, Maruti's standalone profit rose 47.8 per cent on-year to Rs 3,878 crore, compared with analysts' estimate of Rs 3,897 crore on average.

 

 

4:02 PM

Concerted effort to weaken India's progress has to be nipped in the bud: Justice Datta

Supreme Court judge Dipankar Datta today put forward the argument that there seems to be a concerted effort to discredit, diminish and weaken India's progress on every possible frontier and any such attempt has to be "nipped in the bud". Justice Datta, who was part of the SC bench which dismissed pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), said in recent years, a trend has been fast developing of certain vested interest groups endeavoring to undermine the achievements and accomplishments of the nation.

3:52 PM

Hope US takes 'positive view' of China's development: China President Xi Jinping to Blinken

US secretary of state Antony Blinken met Chinese President Xi Jinping today. Antony Blinken held a meeting with China's foreign minister Wang Yi for more than five and half hours, which Blinken called "extensive and constructive".

President Xi told Blinken that the world's two biggest economies should be "partners, not rivals", adding that "There are still a number of issues that need to be resolved, and there is still room for further efforts."

Xi added that he hopes the United States will take a "positive view" of his country's development.

3:47 PM

News update: Four people killed in road accident UP's Rae Bareli

Four people were left dead and four injured today when their car crashed into a culvert and hit a tree on the roadside, police said. The incident took place around 3 am near Malin Purva village of Mill Area police station area, when the victims, part of a marriage procession, were returning from Fursatganj in Amethi.

3:07 PM

Issuance of LOCs at instance of public sector banks sans law is violation of fundamental rights: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has said that issuance of a Look Out Circular (LOC) at the instance of public sector banks against alleged default borrowers in the absence of a statute or law is violative of a person's fundamental rights. The court made the observation on April 23 while quashing the Centre's decision empowering such banks to seek issuance of LOCs.

2:11 PM

Salman Khan firing incident : Arms suppliers sent to Mumbai Crime Branch custody

The Esplanade Court in Mumbai has sent both arms suppliers to Mumbai Crime Branch custody till 30th April.

1:24 PM

Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to protect old friend Trump

As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, David Pecker, the National Enquirer's publisher, was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them under the wraps. But when it came to the claims by performer Stormy Daniels, Pecker said he put his foot down.

 

1:23 PM

Arms and ammunition seized by CBI during operations in Sandeshkhalli

Arms and ammunition, including foreign-made pistols, captured by CBI during search operation in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, officials said today.

12:54 PM

Why is WhatsApp threatening to leave India? Here is what you need to know

 WhatsApp, along with its parent company Meta, has said it will pull the plug on its services in India if pushed to compromise its end-to-end encryption and divulge user data to the government. WhatsApp and Meta have filed a petition challenging India's 2021 IT rules for social media intermediaries. Read here for more details.

12:18 PM

Delhi Services case: SC to consider listing plea of Delhi government on services row with Centre

The Supreme Court gives assurance that it will look into Delhi government's request seeking early listing of its plea before SC bench. The top court on Friday told the Delhi government that it would consider listing the plea challenging the central government's law establishing pre-eminence of the lieutenant governor over the elected dispensation in controlling services.

11:53 AM

2 terrorists dead, 2 Army personnel injured as gunbattle resumes in J-K's Baramulla

Two terrorists were killed while as many Army personnel got injured today asa gunbattle between the militants and security forces continued for the second day in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, officials said.

11:25 AM

What Advocate Prashant Bhushan said on Supreme Court's EVM-VVPAT verdict

"Supreme Court rejected all of our demands and said that if a barcode is put on all ballot paper, then examine if it can be mechanically counted by machine. They also said that Symbol Loading Unit should also be sealed for at least 45 days after elections so that if a petition is filed and court orders something, it can be taken care of," said Prashant Bhushan.

11:08 AM

Supreme Court directs ECI to examine ways to count paper slips

Justice Khanna asked the Election Commision of India (ECI) to examine the suggestion for a electronic machine for vote counting the paper slips and whether along with the symbol there can be a bar code for each party.

11:05 AM

Blindly distrusting a system can lead to unwarranted suspicions: SC bench

"The expenses for the verification (of the program) to be borne by the candidates making the request, in case the EVM is found to be tampered, the expenses will be refunded," the Supreme Court bench said today. Blindly distrusting a system can lead to unwarranted suspicions, Justice Datta emphasised.

10:51 AM

Blindly doubting a system can breed scepticism; democracy is all about maintaining trust: Supreme Court

"While balanced perspective is important, but blindly doubting a system can breed scepticism and thus, meaningful criticism is needed, be it judiciary, legislature etc, Democracy is all about maintaining harmony and trust among all the pillars. By nurturing a culture of trust and collaboration, we can strengthen the voice of our democracy," Justice Datta said in the judgment.

10:46 AM

Symbol Loading Unit should be sealed, should be stored for a period of 45 days at least: SC

"We have given two directions. One direction is after the completion of symbol loading process, the Symbol Loading Unit should be sealed. The SLU should be stored at least for a period of 45 days," the Supreme Court said while delivering the verdict on the EVM-VVPAT case.

10:44 AM

Burnt memory in EVM microcontroller to be checked on request by candidates: Supreme Court

"The burnt memory in the microcontroller EVM shall be checked by a team of engineers after the declaration of  results on a request by candidates in serial number 2 and 3, such a request to be made within 7 days after the declaration of results," the Supreme Court said today.

10:39 AM

News update: Supreme Court rejects all petitions for 100% EVM-VVPAT verification

The Supreme Court has dismissed all petitions seeking 100 per cent verification of VVPAT slips during polls.

10:36 AM

Within 6 yrs, India achieved 80% financial inclusion: Ruchira Kamboj

Highlighting India's digital public infrastructure, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, on Thursday said that India has achieved an 80 per cent financial inclusion rate within six years.

Addressing a session at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, Kamboj said that India's journey offers powerful lessons for other nations embarking on digital transformations.

 

10:02 AM

NDMC to set up control rooms to check waterlogging during monsoon: Official

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will set up six control rooms to check waterlogging during the monsoon season this time, officials said on Thursday.The control rooms will be set up at the Sangli Mess, Khan Market, Netaji Nagar, Malcha Marg, Mandir Marg and Hanuman Road drainage service centres, and will be equipped with portable pumps with generator set, trucks, tools with facilitation of duty officers and manpower, he said.

10:00 AM

ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US instead of selling it

TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down the app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the US, news agency Reuters reported today citing sources.

9:58 AM

Indian-origin man shot and killed by San Antonio police as they tried to apprehend him

A 42-year-old Indian-origin man was shot and killed by police in San Antonio after he struck two officers with his vehicle as they were trying to apprehend him in connection with an aggravated assault case. Sachin Sahoo was pronounced dead at the scene after police officer Tyler Turner shot at him on April 21.

9:57 AM

India holds talks on Vijay Mallya extradition with France where he has properties

India has asked French officals, in a meeting held earlier in April, to approve the extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya “without preconditions”, The Indian Express reported today citing sources. Mallya’s extradition was raised in the 16th meeting of the India-France Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, held on April 15.