Retail activity in the country is set to increase, with about 20 foreign brands likely to enter India in the next eight months, according to a report in The Financial Express (FE).

This is double the number of foreign brands entering India annually in the pre-pandemic period.

Experts said that growing affluence and consumer taste drive these brands to India.

Shares of South Indian Bank zoomed over 11 per cent to a high of Rs 23.45 on heavy volumes in intra-day deals on Friday in an otherwise weak market after RBI approved the appointment of P R Seshadri as Managing Director & CEO of the bank.

At 11:30 AM, the stock was up 8.2 per cent at Rs 22.80 on trades of around 13.82 million shares as against the 2-week average traded volume of around 7.4 million shares on the BSE. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.5 per cent at 64,857.

Indian officials are considering a plan to reallocate as much as 1 trillion rupees ($12 billion) from the budgets of various ministries to contain a surge in food and fuel costs without imperiling the federal deficit target, according to people familiar with the matter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a decision in the coming weeks, which could include lowering taxes on local gasoline sales and easing import tariffs on cooking oil and wheat, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan transferred Rs 207 crore to the bank accounts of 460,000 students with a single click for purchasing bicycles on Thursday.

CM Chouhan also performed the bhoomi pujan of the CM Rise Government Mahatma Gandhi Higher Secondary School building to be constructed at a cost of Rs 81.12 crore at BHEL (Barkheda) Bhopal.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday launched a centralised web portal UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation), to make it easier for the public to search for their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks in one place.

The web portal will help users identify and approach their banks for either claiming unclaimed deposits or making their deposit accounts operative at their banks, the central bank said in a release.

As the Telangana Assembly elections approach closer, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is making aggressive preparations for large public gatherings aimed at rallying support, Telangana Today (TT) has reported. The rallies are likely to begin on October 16.

The planned massive rally is expected to be a significant political event in Telangana. The event will be organised in the vicinity of Devannapet and Unikicherla villages which is about eight kilometres away from Hanamkonda City and is part of Warangal, the report stated.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has approved the operations of Indigo Airlines to Tashkent with effect from September 6.

A senior DGCA official informed that IndiGo has been given approval to operate between Delhi and Tashkent four days a week.

The 10th edition of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 2023) is set to kick-start on December 12, 2023. PKL 2023 will mark the return of the 12-city caravan with all teams hosting their home matches at their respective bases.

The much-awaited PKL season 10 auction will take place on September 8 and 9, 2023 in Mumbai. The complete schedule of the league will most likely be out in the coming weeks, according to Pro Kabaddi League's media statement.

Australia-listed investment firm GQG Partners on Wednesday invested $1.1 billion (Rs9,000 crore) in Adani Power by buying an 8.1 per cent stake from the Adani family via multiple block deals.

With this investment, GQG Partners has bought Rs34,000 crore ($4.2 billion) worth of shares in Adani group companies since March this year. Interestingly, the move comes days after Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign fund, picked up a 2.7 per cent stake in Adani Green Energy for Rs3,920 crore.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the expansion of the Digital India Programme, with a Rs 14,903 crore booster to scale up digital skilling, cybersecurity, e-governance services, and the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

Cybersecurity is set to be at the forefront of initiatives under the extended Digital India scheme. Around 265,000 citizens will be trained in information security under the Information Security & Education Awareness Phase (ISEA) Programme.

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