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PhysicsWallah gets ₹263 crore tax notice, says will challenge order

Edtech firm Physicswallah has received an income tax demand notice of Rs 263.34 crore for the assessment year 2023-24. The demand was raised after the Income Tax Department treated investments received by the company from investors during the period, including funds from SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), as taxable income, Physicswallah said in a regulatory filing. The company plans to challenge the assessment order. "Based on its preliminary assessment, the company believes that it has strong legal and factual grounds to file an appeal before the appropriate appellate authority," Physicswallah said. PhysicsWallah posted about a 33 per cent increase in consolidated profit to Rs 102.27 crore in the December quarter. Its revenue from operations also grew about 33 per cent to Rs 1,082.41 crore during the quarter from Rs 809.67 crore a year earlier. Shares of Physicswallah settled 7.87 per cent higher at Rs 86.81 crore on the BSE on Wednesday. The statut

Trump grants 60-day waiver from Jones Act shipping rules to ease oil costs

The White House said President Donald Trump would waive, for 60 days, Jones Act requirements for goods shipped between US ports to be moved on US-flagged vessels. The 1920s law, designed to protect the American shipbuilding sector, is often blamed for making gas more expensive. The moves highlight the increased pressure that the Republican administration is under to ease soaring oil prices as the United States, along with Israel, wages a war with Iran without a foreseeable end date. Global oil prices have since spiked as Iran halted traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world's oil typically passes through from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

Pakistan announces 'temporary pause' in operation against Afghan Taliban

Pakistan on Wednesday announced a "temporary pause" in the ongoing operation against the Afghan Taliban in view of Eid and at the request of several countries, a day after the Afghan government accused Islamabad of killing 400 people in an attack on a rehabilitation hospital in Kabul. Information Minister Ataullah Tarar made the announcement in a post on X, hours after Pakistan carried out fresh attacks on alleged Taliban positions in the border region. "In view of the upcoming Islamic festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, upon its own initiative as well as on the request from the brotherly Islamic countries" of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye, Pakistan has decided to announce a temporary pause amidst ongoing Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq, he said. Tarar said the pause would be applicable from "midnight March 18/19 to midnight March 23/24". He, however, added that in case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan, the operation will immediately resume. Pakist

WGC proposes shared infrastructure to fix fragmented digital gold market

The World Gold Council has proposed a 'Gold as a Service' model to standardise digital gold and address trust and interoperability gaps

Over 1.7 million tonnes of India's oil, LNG, LPG stuck in Strait of Hormuz

India's 1.67 million tonnes of crude oil, 3.2 lakh tonnes of LPG and about 2 lakh tonnes of LNG are stuck on the 22 Indian-flagged ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, waiting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Shipping Ministry, said Wednesday. Originally, there were 28 Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz when the war in the Middle East broke out following US-Israel attacks on Iran. Of these, 24 were on the west side of the strait and four on the east side. In the last week, two vessels from each side have managed to sail to safety. "All 611 seafarers on 22 vessels (on the west side of the Strait) are safe," he told a news briefing. There are now 3 vessels on the east side after one more Indian-flagged ship joined them. Of the 22 remaining Indian-flagged vessels on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz, six are LPG carriers, one is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker, four are crude oil tankers, one is transporting ...

About 260,000 passengers returned to India from West Asia since Feb 28: MEA

Amid the escalating West Asia conflict, the government on Wednesday said around 2.6 lakh people have returned from the region to India since February 28. At an inter-ministerial briefing here on the West Asia situation, Additional Secretary (Gulf), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Aseem R Mahajan, said that on Wednesday, around 70 flights were expected to operate from various airports in the UAE to different destinations in India. The flight situation is "reassuring," he said. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal spoke about a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday. "The two leaders discussed the current situation in West Asia. The prime minister reiterated India's strong condemnation of all attacks on the UAE that have resulted in loss of innocent lives and damage to civilian infrastructure," he said. The two leaders agreed on the importance of "ensuring safe and free navigation through the Strai

West Asia conflict sends Indian startups into wait-and-watch mode

Indian startups are turning cautious on expansion and investments in West Asia amid the ongoing conflict, with fintech and travel sectors seeing early stress while edtech remains relatively stable

Rupee hits record low at 92.63 as oil prices surge, capital outflows rise

The rupee closed at 92.63 per dollar, eclipsing its previous lifetime low of 92.4750 hit last week

Company, customers, and professionals can all win: Pronto's Anjali Sardana

Pronto's 23-year-old founder says daily bookings have grown 18-fold in seven months, as the startup targets 70,000 bookings a day by June

Fourth Indian tanker reaches India after crossing Strait of Hormuz

Indian-flagged oil tanker Jag Laadki has reached Mundra port in Gujarat after sailing safely from Fujairah in the UAE, despite an attack on the terminal, taking the total number of vessels transiting the conflict-hit zone to four. The tanker, with 80,886 tonne of crude oil sourced from the UAE, departed from Fujairah Port following the incident and completed its voyage to Mundra Port on Wednesday, according to shipping sources. Jag Laadki is the second vessel from the war zone to have reached Adani group's Mundra port. Previously, LPG tanker Shivalik reached the port on Monday. Adani's Mundra port provided the safe berthing of the vessel and maritime coordination in safeguarding vital energy lifelines of India, they said. All 22 Indian seafarers onboard are reported safe. Originally, there were 28 Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz when the war in West Asia broke out following US-Israel attacks on Iran. Of these, 24 were on the west side of the strait and 4 on the east

Bank job aspirants must have good credit score for final selection: Govt

Aspirants seeking jobs in public sector banks are required to maintain a healthy credit score to be considered for final selection, a measure aimed at promoting responsible financial behaviour among employees entrusted with public funds, Parliament has been informed. Candidates applying for Common Recruitment Process (CRP) conducted by IBPS, are required to ensure that they maintain a healthy credit history at the time of joining the participating banks and the minimum credit score will be as per the policy of participating banks, amended from time to time, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had informed Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Tuesday. Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) is a test-conducting agency engaged by member banks for conducting recruitment examinations, as per their mandate and requirements. However, he said, this is not a pre-condition to apply and not applicable to candidates with no bank account/credit history. The final discretion in

ReNew Energy set to secure $800 million refinancing loan this year

The five-year facility will be priced at about 185 basis points over the benchmark Secured Overnight Financing Rate, the people said. Final terms may change

Cuba emerges from another blackout and tries to woo exile investors

The precariousness of the island of 10 million people was on full display earlier, when it suffered another national blackout, at least the sixth such outage in the span of a year

Assam Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi quits party before Assembly polls

In a jolt to the opposition Congress, Assam's Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi on Tuesday resigned from the party, barely 20 days ahead of assembly elections in the state. Bordoloi has sent his resignation letter to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, state media department chairman Bedabrata Bora told PTI. A former state cabinet minister and two-time MP from Nagaon constituency, Bordoloi's son is a Congress candidate from Margherita seat for the state polls due on April 9. In the one-line resignation letter addressed to Kharge, the MP said, "With an overwhelming sense of sadness today, I hereby tender my resignation from all posts, privileges and the primary membership of the Indian National Congress." A copy of the letter is available with PTI. Bora said state party chief Gaurav Gogoi and AICC general secretary in-charge of Assam Jitendra Singh are meeting with Bordoloi over the issue at the national capital.

Running Behind Lakshmi: A 200-year saga of Indian bulls and bears

From the first great speculative episode in India to the rise of electronic trading, the book reconstructs the history of Indian stock market and evolution from informal beginnings to a modern system

Trump says US will be leaving Iran operation 'in very near future'

He said Washington would step back soon, even as he criticised Nato allies and reasserted US military success

Census 2027 offers historic chance to record disability data: Athawale

Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday said the upcoming Census 2027 presents a "historic opportunity" to accurately capture data on all 21 recognised categories of disabilities and enable targeted policymaking for persons with disabilities. Speaking at the launch of a handbook titled 'Beyond the Visible: A Handbook on Disability Inclusion for Parliamentarians', Athawale said the exercise would be the first census conducted after the enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. He emphasised that improved enumeration and disaggregated data would help the government design effective interventions and ensure better inclusion of persons with disabilities. "The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, was a landmark reform that expanded recognition to 21 disabilities, shifted from a welfare-based to a rights-based approach, and aligned India with the UNCRPD. For the first time, the law explicitly recognised political barriers as a major obstacle for ..

Jio Payments Bank introduces UPI-based cash withdrawal services

Jio Payments Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Financial Services, has introduced UPI-based cash withdrawal through its business correspondent touchpoints, marking an important step towards strengthening digital payments ecosystem and advancing financial inclusion. The feature enables customers, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas, to conveniently withdraw cash by simply scanning a UPI QR code and authorising the transaction through their UPI application, eliminating the need for debit cards or access to traditional ATM infrastructure, Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) said in a statement on Tuesday. By enabling cardless cash withdrawals at business correspondent (BC) touchpoints, the initiative bridges the gap between digital payments and physical cash access, while providing first-time digital users with an assisted and secure way to experience UPI transactions, it added. Through this initiative, Jio Payments Bank Ltd (JPBL) continues to leverage the digital payments .

Crude above $100: What it means for India's economy and energy

Crude oil above $100 a barrel threatens to widen India's CAD, stoke inflation, and strain key sectors, even as upstream firms gain and downstream players face margin pressures

Lack of alternatives, pilferage, pricing gaps strain OMCs' LPG network

A lack of effort to push alternative fuels, weak monitoring, rising demand under PMUY, and a widening gap between retail and market prices are straining India's LPG ecosystem