Top headlines: Adani draws scrutiny in US, 1.3 bn to have diabetes globally

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Sky not the limit for India-US partnership, says PM Narendra Modi

India and the US upgraded their strategic partnership by a few crucial notches on the second day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “state visit” to Washington, DC, with the signing of agreements spanning mega defence deals, semiconductors, critical minerals, cooperation in critical and emerging technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, telecommunications and space cooperation on Thursday. Read more

Adani Group draws regulatory scrutiny in the US after short seller's report

US authorities are looking into what representations Adani Group made to its American investors following a scathing short seller’s report that accused the company of using offshore companies to secretly manipulate its share prices. The US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, has sent inquiries in recent months to institutional investors with large holdings in the India conglomerate, one person familiar with the inquiries said. The requests for information were focused on what Adani Group told those investors, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the probe isn’t public. The Securities and Exchange Commission also has a similar probe underway, two other people said. Read more

Under scanner: Insurance companies likely to soon face GST audits

Insurance companies may soon face goods and services tax (GST) audits as tax authorities plan a “deep dive” into their business practices to check for the possibility of a raft of tax-linked irregularities. Several insurance companies are being probed for wrongly availing of the input tax credit without the underlying supply of goods and services based on fake invoices generated by their channel partners and intermediaries. Read more

Truck operators raise heat over govt's air-conditioned cabin proposal

Truck operators are up in arms over the government’s plan to make air-conditioned cabins mandatory for truck drivers by 2025. If implemented, the move will not only increase the cost of trucks by up to Rs 50,000, but also lead to a spike in freight rates, they claim. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) recently announced its decision to make air-conditioned driver’s cabins mandatory for trucks by 2025. Read more

Over 1.3 billion people globally to have diabetes by 2050, finds study

Global aging and rising body weight will more than double the number of people with diabetes by 2050, researchers predicted, putting millions more people at risk of a variety of dangerous disorders. More than 1.3 billion people worldwide will have diabetes at the half-century mark, up from 529 million in 2021, according to estimates released Thursday by the Lancet medical journal. The vast majority of patients will have type 2 diabetes, the form of the disease that’s often linked to being overweight. Read more