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A powerful blast in Myanmar's Kaungtup village has claimed over 45 lives. The explosion occurred at a building reportedly storing mining explosives. Around 70 others sustained injuries. The incident took place near the Chinese border in an area controlled by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army.

Equity markets saw broad-based selling pressure after weak monsoon forecasts raised concerns over food inflation, though falling crude oil prices and easing bond yields helped limit downside risks. Investors now await key domestic triggers, including the RBI policy decision and GDP data, while analysts have flagged YES Bank and NBCC as stocks with strong short-term bullish momentum and upside potential.

Nippon India Mutual Fund's Rupesh Patel remains constructive on midcaps despite concerns over valuations, citing resilient earnings growth and improved valuation comfort after a prolonged time correction. He favours financials, consumer discretionary and select industrials, while emphasising a bottom-up stock-picking approach to navigate geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties.

Suzlon Energy plans to challenge Sebi's order imposing penalties of nearly Rs 29 crore on the company and former executives over alleged accounting and disclosure violations related to FY14-FY18. The company will appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal, while Sebi maintains that certain transactions and disclosures misrepresented its financial position.

Zepto’s unlisted shares have dropped sharply despite Sebi approval for its IPO, signalling investor caution in a volatile market. The decline reflects broader weakness in pre-IPO valuations, macro uncertainty and funding pressures, even as the quick commerce firm prepares for a high-profile public issue amid intense competition.

Equity mutual funds generated strong returns last week, with international funds dominating the performance chart. Mirae Asset Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF FoF emerged as the top performer, while several global, emerging market and thematic funds delivered gains of more than 3%, according to ACE MF data.

India’s IPO market is set to revive with two mainboard issues, CMR Green Technologies and Hexagon Nutrition, opening this week after a lull. Together aiming to raise nearly Rs 770 crore, the offerings come amid volatile markets, with investors closely watching subscription trends for signals on primary market sentiment.

The World Health Organization has announced a significant development in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A confirmed Ebola patient has recovered and been discharged from a care center. This marks the first such recovery among laboratory-confirmed cases. The outbreak has seen numerous deaths and suspected cases. Neighboring Uganda has also reported confirmed cases and one death.

China's export prices surged 5% in April, the fastest in three years, driven by global energy costs and AI demand for commodities like oil, metals, and semiconductors. While these sectors saw price hikes, most Chinese goods remain subject to falling prices due to intense domestic competition and oversupply, limiting manufacturers' ability to pass on rising costs.

India and Canada have launched a trade and investment forum to boost commercial engagement and enhance connectivity. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's visit also saw discussions on an ambitious economic partnership agreement. Separately, Goyal met with US business leaders in New York to expand trade, investment, and innovation partnerships.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to expand its digital rupee pilot to more direct benefit transfer schemes and the domestic retail space in the current fiscal year. Additionally, the RBI is exploring the use of CBDC in cross-border transactions, signing MoUs and engaging in bilateral discussions for pilot projects.

Speaking at the CII Summit on Friday, road transport and highways secretary V Umashankar said since diesel consumption is almost two times that of petrol consumption, the impact of diesel blending will be far greater on our energy security than even petrol blending. The event saw the launch of a CII Knight Frank Report which said cumulative investments of nearly $360 billion in infrastructure development in the country over the last decade has slashed India’s logistics cost to 10-10.7% of GDP in FY 2026, from 13–14% of GDP a decade ago, translating into estimated annual savings of $123–133 billion for the economy.

A tragic fire struck Utumishi Girls School in Kenya's Gilgil region, leading to the untimely deaths of sixteen students and injuries to seventy-nine more. The flames began in the dormitories, leaving a community in mourning and shock. Investigators are working to determine what sparked this horrific blaze, as concerns about the safety of boarding schools in Kenya continue to surface.

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence will now aggressively pursue tax recovery from online gaming companies after the Supreme Court upheld a 28% GST levy on the full bet value. This ruling validates tax evasion allegations of approximately ₹1 lakh crore against around 80 companies, paving the way for significant recovery proceedings.

British sailors are on standby aboard RFA Lyme Bay for a mine-clearing mission in the Strait of Hormuz. This operation awaits a peace agreement between Iran and its allies. The UK and France are leading the potential international effort. Advanced technology will be used to detect and neutralize mines. The mission aims to secure vital shipping lanes.

White House Shooting Breaking news. Who was Nasire Best? A shooting incident near the White House perimeter has concluded with the suspect, identified as Nasire Best, dead. A bystander also sustained injuries during the exchange of gunfire. Best was reportedly known to the Secret Service due to previous encounters. The incident caused panic among tourists and journalists. Investigations into the motive are ongoing.

Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, advises the Reserve Bank of India to allow the Indian rupee to weaken. He believes aggressively defending the currency with foreign exchange reserves is a losing strategy. Panagariya suggests that letting the rupee depreciate is the correct response to rising oil prices and currency pressure.

India's manufacturing growth is hampered by low R&D spending, currently at 0.6% of GDP, a report highlights. To boost its manufacturing share, India aims to increase R&D expenditure to 2% by 2035, requiring greater private sector involvement and stronger innovation ecosystems. This transition to innovation-driven manufacturing is crucial for long-term global competitiveness.

Himanshu Srivastava, Principal - Manager Research at Morningstar Investment Research India, said the latest outflow trend reflected persistent uncertainty surrounding global growth, elevated geopolitical tensions across key regions and volatility in crude oil prices, which continued to weigh on risk appetite towards emerging markets, including India.

Oil prices have surged past $100 per barrel amid escalating Iran–Israel tensions and fears of a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy chokepoint. Analysts warn crude could climb to $150 if disruptions persist, raising inflation risks and pressuring Indian equities, which have already seen sharp declines amid foreign outflows, rupee weakness and energy supply concerns.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the seat-sharing deal for the upcoming assembly elections is complete. The NDA alliance, including BJP, AGP, UPPL, and BPF, has finalized its contest plan. The state leadership will present the candidate list to Union Home Minister Amit Shah soon. Elections for the 126-member assembly are anticipated in March-April, following a recent delimitation exercise.

As global markets outperform India, diversification is gaining urgency. Subho Moulik explains why a 70:30 India global portfolio improves risk adjusted returns, reduces concentration risk, and provides access to long term global growth themes such as AI, defence, and quantum computing.

Kaynes has plunged 43.5% from its October peak, with Friday’s 12.5% drop marking the steepest single-day decline. Momentum indicators remain bearish, signaling a risk of further slide toward the year’s low of Rs 3,825. However, being nearly 26% below its 200-day SMA suggests potential mean-reversion, with a contrarian recovery target at Rs 4,541 and downside below Rs 4,300.

Warren Buffett and Michael Burry are taking opposing stances on the AI boom, highlighting investor uncertainty. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has added a major stake in Alphabet, signaling confidence in the AI-driven growth, while Burry shorts Palantir and Nvidia, criticizing Big Tech accounting practices. Their contrasting positions coincide with transitions in their careers and growing debate over whether AI hype is justified or a bubble.

SoftBank-backed digital-commerce ecosystem AceVector Ltd has filed updated draft papers with markets regulator Sebi for an initial public offering (IPO), which will include a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 300 crore.

The Election Commission's 'Special Intensive Revision' of Bihar's electoral rolls has ignited political debate, differing from past revisions. While intensive revisions aren't new, the timing of Bihar's SIR, months before assembly elections, is unusual. Unlike previous 'de novo' exercises, it builds upon the 2002-03 roll, incorporating new enumeration forms and document submission.

BJP has accused Arvind Kejriwal of orchestrating hoax calls to mislead voters, alleging that the AAP is claiming votes are being cut by the BJP to support AAP. They also allege distribution of money in slum areas and raised concerns about voter data confidentiality, demanding an investigation.

Lok Sabha election 2024: ​​The BJP-Shiv Sena won 41 of the 48 seats in the 2019 polls, but the Sena has split since and a vast majority of the Bal Thackeray-founded party is now allied with the BJP. The Nationalist Congress Party also split as well with Ajit Pawar joining the ruling alliance in the state, led by Eknath Shinde. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP emerged the top party with 23 seats, followed by the undivided Sena with 18.

Gujarat's upcoming Lok Sabha elections are influenced by PM Narendra Modi's charisma, anti-incumbency, unemployment, inflation, education, healthcare challenges, and BJP's endeavor to secure all 26 seats. ​​Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7. Counting of votes will be held on June 4. Anti-incumbency, unemployment, inflation, education and healthcare facilities are some of the other important issues in the election, where the ruling BJP in Gujarat will attempt to retain all the 26 Lok Sabha seats it won in 2019.

The BJP, riding high on its growing voter base in Telangana, is now aiming to win over 12 out of the total 17 seats and 35 per cent vote share, in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The party doubled its vote share to nearly 14 per cent resulting in eight seats in the assembly elections held on November 30, last year. BRS, which ruled the state for about a decade since its emergence, is low on morale following the defeat, even as its founder and former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha was arrested on the eve of poll dates announcement, adding insult to the injury.

Anita Nariani Schulze is part of the Sindhi minority. Her complaint alleges that her senior and direct managers, both male, consistently excluded her from meetings while inviting her male counterparts, criticised her, micromanaged her work and deprived her of bonuses, despite positive performance evaluations and significant team contributions.

But two senior envoys who attended said there was no direct response from the ministers gathered in Brussels when Blinken said: "We must push back on China together and show strength in unity."

This comes as the San-Francisco based firm is at the receiving end of the Indian government over an issue of blocking and unblocking certain handles tweeting about farmer protests.

Foreign companies looking for incentives under the scheme may have to invest Rs 500 crore over four years, while the threshold for domestic firms is likely to be around Rs 20 crore for five years, the source who did not wish to be named said.

Growth More than in MetrosAccording to companies like Aisle and Truly Madly, which have millions of users and position themselves as “serious” dating apps, and bespoke high-end dating services like Sirf Coffee, a lot more users from such places are not only keen on using these apps, but also willing to pay for it.

“Indian companies need to re-skill, train, and acquire more relevant talent, if they are to successfully integrate AI technologies. Most importantly, they should be willing to make the continued investment. It is an uphill race in which there will be winners and losers,” said Deloitte India CEO N Venkatram.

Ambassador Joao Cravinho, head of the EU delegation, led Ambassadors of various European countries to a quiet lunch with Modi at the capital last year.

"It is the collective wisdom of the marketplace that there is action and we will move with speed. That improves the confidence level of industry."

Directives from the Centre have to be executed at the state level. So, there are many things that are not in Modi’s hands, says Raamdeo Agrawal.

"The fact that we are the world’s largest democracy and we are all aware that power and a role in global affairs for a nation comes from economic strength."

"Now there is a stage three and stage four of digitisation, we will take a call on this only after taking all things into account."

"There is a leadership vacuum in the company, because they made the wrong choice of CEO three years ago and that is playing out right now."

Rupee#CAD#Economic crisis#Food Bill

The team behind The Artist will have spent the first day of the rest of their lives conforming to the grandest, and most lucrative, of Hollywood traditions.

It's the World Book fair, which comes around once every two years sprawling across the giant halls of Pragati Maidan. This is the fair's 20th edition.

An elephant figurine gifted by the then HM LK Advani to US Secretary of State Colin Powell in 2002, has made its way to the State Department hall.

Statistical models used by IMD will still be used for monsoon forecast, but the ministry of earth sciences is putting more emphasis on dynamic models.

Newly discovered documents have revealed the first telegraph messages and joy when England was linked for the first time with India on 23 June, 1870.

Hundreds of worried fans of ailing Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan today performed a yagna here to pray for his speedy recovery.

Alfa Laval (India) today said its parent firm has raised the delisting offer price to Rs 2,850 a share.