The suspense continues in Maharashtra as the CM chair awaits its occupant, while Zee’s boardroom drama has shareholders saying “no” to Punit Goenka’s reappointment.In corporate developments, Aster DM Healthcare has confirmed its merger with Blackstone-backed Quality Care India Ltd. via a share swap, with Aster DM set to acquire 1.9 crore shares of QCIL.In weather news, Cyclone Fengal intensifies over the Bay of Bengal, prompting a red alert for Chennai and Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the Adani saga inches deeper into legal corridors, and Volkswagen’s tax headache takes centre stage. Globally, Australia leads the way with a historic social media ban for children under 16, while India firmly says “no” to travelling to Pakistan for next year’s Champions Trophy.
CEA Anantha Nageswaran on India’s GDP growth: Numbers are disappointing, but not alarming
India’s Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Dr V Anantha Nageswaran, has described the country’s second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.4% as “disappointing” but reassured that the situation is “not alarming.” Speaking at a media briefing in the national capital on Friday, November 29, Nageswaran listed key factors contributing to the slowdown while pointing to sectors showing resilience.
“The GDP growth print of 5.4% is on the lower side. It’s disappointing, but it’s not an alarming situation,” he stated.
The GDP growth in the world’s fastest-growing large economy slowed to a near two-year low of 5.4% in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal owing to poor performance of the manufacturing and mining sectors as well as weak consumption.
The GDP had expanded by 8.1% in the July-September quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal and 6.7% in the first quarter of the current fiscal (April-June 2024).
FIIs flip the script: Early-week optimism crushed by ₹16,000 crore sell-off in two days
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) ended the week with heavy selling, registering a net outflow of ₹16,139 crore over the last two trading sessions, wiping out gains from earlier in the week.
Despite the volatility in FII flows, Indian equities showed remarkable resilience, ending the week on a positive note. The Nifty50 rose 0.94%, while the BSE Sensex gained 0.87% this week.
Friday’s rally coincided with the release of India’s Q2FY25 GDP data and was led by a broad-based uptrend in large-cap stocks. The markets shrugged off weak GDP data as it had largely been priced in.
The BSE Sensex surged 0.96% to close at 79,802.79, touching an intraday high of 79,923.90. Similarly, the Nifty50 climbed 0.91% to settle at 24,131.10 after hitting a session high of 24,188.45
Aster DM announces merging Blackstone-backed Quality Care India with itself via share swap
In confirmation of a CNBC-TV18 newsbreak, Aster DM Healthcare has announced a merger with Blackstone-backed Quality Care India Ltd. through a share swap ratio.
As per the merger, Aster DM will allot 1.86 crore shares of itself to acquire 1.9 crore shares of QCIL held by BCP Asia II TopCo IV Pte. Ltd. and Centella Mauritius Holdings Ltd. in Quality Care India.
The shares will be acquired by Aster DM at a price of ₹445.8 per share, by issuing shares at a price of ₹456.33 per share. The issue price is a 9% discount to Aster DM’s closing price on Friday.
Who will be the next Maharashtra CM?
Nearly a week after the Maharashtra election results, the top leaders of the Mahayuti alliance have held several meetings in Mumbai and New Delhi, but the suspense over who will be the next chief minister of the state continues. The crucial Mahayuti leaders’ meeting at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence in New Delhi on Thursday night mostly focused on cabinet berth allocations, according to a News18 report.
The leading Mahayuti alliance partner, the BJP has been trying to retain the plum posts, while caretaker CM and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who has been offered the deputy CM’s post, is eyeing the home and urban portfolios, the report added.
The report added Shinde, Fadnavis and NCP chief Ajit Pawar will finalise the list of cabinet ministers and later fly to Delhi on Monday for another meeting with the BJP top brass before making any announcement. They said that the oath-taking ceremony for the new Maharashtra CM and his minister will likely be organised on December 5, said sources.
Here are the latest updates from the Maharashtra govt formation
Adani indictment a legal matter between private firms and US DOJ, says India
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday (November 29) described the US court indictment of Gautam Adani, founder chairman of the ports-to-energy conglomerate, and others as a legal matter concerning private entities and the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
This comes after Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar, and another key executive have been charged by the US Department of Justice of being part of an alleged scheme to pay $265 million bribes to Indian officials to win contracts for the supply of solar electricity that would yield $2 billion profit over a 20-year period.
Cyclone Fengal: Red alert issued for Chennai and Tamil Nadu as storm approaches
As Cyclone Fengal intensifies, Tamil Nadu’s Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has issued updates about the storm’s movement and impact. The deep depression over the Southwest Bay of Bengal, which had been moving north-northwest at 13 kmph, became a cyclonic storm at 2:30 pm on Friday, November 29.
At the time of its intensification, the storm was located approximately 310 km north-northeast of Trincomalee, 260 km east of Nagapattinam, 270 km southeast of Puducherry, and 300 km southeast of Chennai.
Volkswagen India unit issued $1.4 billion tax evasion notice over import misdeclaration
India has issued a notice to German automaker Volkswagen for allegedly evading $1.4 billion in taxes by “wilfully” paying lesser import tax on components for its Audi, VW and Skoda cars, a document shows, in what is one of the biggest such demands.
A notice dated Sept. 30 says Volkswagen used to import “almost the entire” car in unassembled condition – which attracts a 30-35% import tax in India under rules for CKD, or completely knocked down units, but evaded levies by “mis-declaring and mis-classifying” those imports as “individual parts”, paying just a 5-15% duty.
Such imports were made by Volkswagen’s India unit, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, for its models including the Skoda Superb and Kodiaq, luxury cars like Audi A4 and Q5, and VW’s Tiguan SUV. Different shipment consignments were used to evade detection and “willfully evade payment” of higher taxes, the Indian investigation found.
Zee shareholders block proposal to reappoint Punit Goenka as director
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd informed the exchanges that its shareholders have rejected a proposal to reappoint Chief Executive Officer Punit Goenka as a Director at its annual general meeting (AGM).
As many as 50.45% shareholders were against Goenka being reappointed as Director, whereas 49.54% of shareholders voted in favour, according to the exchange filing.
“Resolution No. 3 (re-appointment of Goenka as Director) failed to get requisite majority of votes as required under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015,” the firm said in the exchange filing.
Australia’s social media ban for children under 16
Australia has introduced the world’s first nationwide ban on social media for children under 16, passing legislation that fines platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram up to 50 million AUD ($33 million) for non-compliance.
While the law’s sweeping nature is unprecedented, several countries have enacted or proposed similar restrictions in recent years, reflecting a growing global concern over children’s safety online.
Here’s how Australia’s strict new rules compare to measures in other nations
India team will not travel to Pakistan for next year’s Champions Trophy
India cricket team will not be traveling to Pakistan to play the next year’s ICC Champions Trophy.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s stand when he was asked on the team’s participation in the eight-team tournament.
“… The BCCI has issued a statement… They have said that there are security concerns there and therefore it is unlikely that the team will be going there…”Jaiswal said during his Friday’s press conference in Delhi.
But wait, there’s more! Here are some weekend reads packed with fun and intrigue—perfect for your downtime. Enjoy the binge!
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