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The government has pushed the pedal on its disinvestment and asset monetisation plan in the current fiscal, raising about 31 per cent of its full-year budgeted target in the first quarter itself. Recording the fastest pace of disinvestment ever in the first quarter of any fiscal, the period between mid-May and June this year saw one offer for sale from the government every week for disinvestment of public sector enterprises. Faced with the stress of increased expenditure on subsidy due to a higher import bill, the government is making all-round efforts to garner revenues, especially from the non-tax side. Over the past six weeks, offer for sale (OFS) of six public sector enterprises hit the capital markets wherein the government garnered a cumulative Rs 18,561 crore. The six entities are Central Bank of India, Coal India, NHPC, NLC India, GIC and IRFC. Separately, Rs 6,367 crore has come from asset monetisation under the Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT). As against the ful
Government agencies and private sector firms are among a select group of Indian organisations that have secured access to Anthropic's Mythos artificial intelligence model as part of the recent expansion of Project Glasswing, according to sources familiar with the matter. Asked about the number of Indian entities that have got access to the model, sources said the figure is in the single digit for now. An email sent to Anthropic did not elicit an immediate response. Sources indicated that participating Indian entities span both government and private sectors, but did not disclose specific names. Described as a "collaborative effort to secure the world's most important software", Project Glasswing is Anthropic's initiative aimed at strengthening cybersecurity by giving select organisations access to Claude Mythos Preview, an advanced AI model that can identify software vulnerabilities. When the programme was announced globally in April, about 50 partners were granted access to the m
The government has announced the extension of the minimum import price on virgin multi-layer paper board till September 30, 2026, according to a notification. The MIP was first imposed in August 2025. "Minimum Import Price (MIP) @ INR 67,220 per MT on Cost, Insurance, and Freight )CIF) value, imposed on import of Virgin Multi-layer Paper Board (VPB)'has been extended for the period up to 30.09.2026," the directorate general of foreign trade has said in notification. The product is used in the packaging of pharmaceuticals, FMCG products, food and beverages, electronics, high-end cosmetics, liquor, book covers, and publishing. Below this MIP, imports would not be allowed.
Senior government officials and representatives from the auto industry held a meeting to reach a consensus on the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE-III) norms, with sector stakeholders indicating their acceptance of the latest draft proposals, according to sources. The meeting was called by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power, and attended by secretaries from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways(MoRTH), Ministry of Power (MoP) and Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), and auto industry stakeholders, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The meeting was held to gauge the views of stakeholders, especially automakers, over the draft rules before a final shape is given to them. Differences had emerged among auto manufacturers over the draft rules, with small car makers arguing that leniency should be granted to them under the CAFE-III norms on the basis of weight and affordability, even as large OEMs were opposed to differential treatment,
The government on Wednesday said it has notified a special economic zone to be set up by Tata Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt Ltd for electronic hardware and software, including IT/ITeS, at Dholera in Gujarat. The company has proposed an investment of Rs 91,000 crore to set up India's first chip fabrication unit. The proposal was approved by the board of approval, the highest body for SEZ related issues. It is chaired by the commerce secretary. "The department of commerce on April 9 has notified a special economic zone to be set up by Tata Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt Ltd exclusively for electronic hardware and software including IT/ITeS at Dholera, Gujarat," Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Ajay Bhadoo told reporters here. The SEZ will be set up on an area of 66.16 hectares. It is expected to generate 21,000 jobs. To promote the sector, he said, the government last year reduced the minimum contiguous land requirement from 50 hectares to 10 hectares for the ...
Thailand's incumbent Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul won a vote in Parliament on Thursday to remain in office, according to an official tally. The leader of the Bhumjaithai Party garnered 293 votes, exceeding the required majority of the 498 members who attended the session in the House of Representatives. Anutin is expected to take office a few days after obtaining a formal appointment from King Maha Vajiralongkorn and the new cabinet is expected to be appointed in the following weeks. Anutin's Bhumjaithai Party won 191 seats in February's general election, according to official results, and has since built a coalition with several other parties to form a governing majority. Among those partners is the populist Pheu Thai Party, which placed third with 74 seats. The progressive People's Party, which finished second with 120 seats, has said it will not join the Bhumjaithai-led government. Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut received 119 votes after being nominated in what the
The government on Thursday said there was no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene or aviation turbine fuel in India after the Opposition criticised it over the handling of the fallout of the West Asia crisis by citing instances of scarcity and panic buying across the country. Responding to concerns raised by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said it was the foremost priority of the government that the kitchens of over 33 crore families, especially the poor and the underprivileged, did not face any shortage of gas. Domestic supply was fully protected and the delivery cycle unchanged, he said. "There is no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation turbine fuel or fuel oil. The availability of petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, kerosene, and fuel oil is fully assured," Puri said. He said retail outlets across the country were well stocked, supply chains were functioning normally, and additional allocation of PDS (pub
IndiGo has the lowest pilots-to-aircraft ratio at 7.6 compared to other domestic airlines, the Civil Aviation Ministry informed Parliament on Thursday. SpiceJet has the highest at 9.4 pilots per aircraft followed by Akasa Air having 9.33 pilots per aircraft, according to data presented by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha. Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have 9.1 pilots per aircraft and 8.8 pilots per aircraft, respectively, the data showed. In response to another question, the minister said that Air India Express had employed the highest number of expat pilots at 48, while IndiGo hired 29 foreign pilots. The minister said that IndiGo has a total of 5,200 pilots, including 970 female pilots in the company, while Air India has 3,123 pilots with 508 female pilots. The number of total pilots with Air India Express is 1,820, and 234 of them are females, the minister said. Akasa Air has 761 pilots, including