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The government should consider launching public offerings of highly profitable Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to attract market capital and promote stronger corporate governance standards, a Parliamentary panel has said in its report. Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab noted the successful completion of the structural consolidation of RRBs, reducing their number from 43 to 28 highly viable entities across 11 states, eliminating the need for further capital infusion in 2026-27. RRBs have achieved a historic consolidated net profit of Rs 7,720 crore in just the first nine months of FY 2025-26, driving gross NPAs down to a 13-year low of 5.4 per cent, though vulnerabilities remain, particularly the 13.8 per cent GNPA in priority sector education loans. The panel recommend that RRBs actively mitigate these specific sectoral risks by fully leveraging their inclusion in the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans (CGFSEL) and aggressively .
LPG refill bookings have declined to about 77 lakh from 88.8 lakh earlier, indicating some easing of panic buying, even as the government said there is no shortage of petrol, diesel or cooking gas, and supplies remain stable despite the West Asia conflict. In a daily update on the impact of the West Asia situation, the government said the share of online LPG bookings has risen to about 87 per cent from 84 per cent, attributing the increase to a campaign by oil marketing companies promoting digital booking and discouraging people from queuing up at LPG dealerships for panic purchases. All domestic "refineries are operating at high capacity and maintaining adequate crude oil inventories," the update said. "The country remains self-sufficient in the production of petrol and diesel, requiring no imports of the fuels to meet domestic demand." Oil marketing companies have reported no dry-outs at fuel retail outlets or LPG distributorships, and petrol, diesel and LPG supplies are being ...
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced that her government will clear DA arrears of its employees and pensioners, including teachers, non-teaching staffers, and workers of grant-in-aid institutions, from March this year. The announcement came within minutes of hiking the honorarium for purohits and muezzins, ahead of the scheduled announcement of state assembly polls. "They will start receiving their ROPA 2009 DA arrears from March 2026 onwards as per the modalities detailed out in the notifications issued by our finance department," Banerjee said in a post on X. The arrears relate to the Revision of Pay and Allowances (ROPA) 2009, a long-standing demand of government employees and pensioners, covering salaries and allowances of teachers, municipal and panchayat staffers, and other grant-in-aid institutions. A section of state government employees had moved the Supreme Court on the contentious issue, demanding clearance of DA dues. The top court ordered the
The Aluminium Association of India (AAI), has urged the government to exempt aluminium products from the recent RoDTEP rate cut as it would help Indian exporters remain competitive in the international market. AAI, the apex body representing the top aluminium producers within the country, in its representation to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), has requested the government to remove aluminium exports from the recent 50 per cent RoDTEP cut, just like the government has already done for agricultural products. The export support scheme, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP), launched in 2021, provides for a refund of taxes, duties and levies that are incurred by exporters in the process of manufacturing and distribution of goods, and are not being reimbursed under any other mechanism at the Centre, state or local level. It also made a plea to the government to fix RoDTEP rates for 2026-27 based on the actual taxes exporters bear, so that aluminium
Clouds of toxic smoke unleashed into the atmosphere by US-Israeli airstrikes on Iranian oil facilities made a dangerous return to Earth in the form of "black rain," prompting international health officials to warn of serious risks to the public. Residents in Tehran complained last week of burning eyes and difficulty breathing when the dark and oily precipitation fell near the Iranian capital after several fuel oil depots and a refinery were struck. Plumes of dark smoke have also been seen across other parts of the region over two weeks of war, as Iran retaliates against US-Israeli airstrikes by firing drones and missiles at the oil and natural gas facilities of its Persian Gulf neighbours. Rain washes hazardous chemicals out of the atmosphere in a relatively short period of time, experts said, but people exposed to black rain should take precautions to avoid short- and long-term health risks. Here's what to know: What is black rain ------------------------ It occurs when soot, a