Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the priority of the government for next decade should be to reduce the debt burden and borrow only to build assets.

Sitharaman’s comment comes ahead of the Budget for the next financial year (FY26), to be presented in February next year, in which the government is expected to chart a new path towards debt targeting for the country from FY27 onwards, departing from the current practice of targeting the fiscal deficit.

The Bhartia family, promoters of the Jubilant Bhartia Group, is set to acquire a 40 per cent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), the wholly owned bottling arm of Coca-Cola India, for Rs 12,500 crore, according to a report by The Economic Times. If successful, this will mark the family’s largest acquisition to date. The formal announcement of the deal is expected later today, the news report said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. In a statement on X, the party declared, “Aam Aadmi Party will be fighting this election on its own strength in Delhi. There is no possibility of any alliance with Congress.”

The announcement follows media reports suggesting an impending seat-sharing arrangement between the Congress and AAP.

Naxalites have killed a 35-year-old BJP worker in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district while claiming he was acting as a police informer, an official said on Wednesday.

This is the fifth murder of a civilian by Naxalites in the district in the last seven days.

The latest incident took place on Tuesday night when the deceased, identified as Kudiam Mado, was at his house in Somanpalli village under Farsegarh police station limits, the official said.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Wednesday targeted the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), asking whether the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led party will have the courage to support the opposition's motion seeking the removal of the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

"Will Jagan party have the courage to support the opposition's motion on the Rajya Sabha Chairman issue, or will he stay loyal to Modi and Shah while making empty statements?" Manickam Tagore said in a post on X.

The shares of recently listed NTPC Green Energy were in high demand on Wednesday, as around 12.8 million shares of the company changed hands on the NSE.

NTPC Green Energy share price surged up to 5.28 per cent at Rs 154.40 on the NSE in the early morning trade of Wednesday. The stock’s up move came after the company said that NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd, a subsidiary has won a 500 MW solar power project in an e-reverse auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on December 9, 2024.

Dhanlaxmi Crop Science IPO closes today: The initial share sale of Dhanlaxmi Crop Science, which opened for public subscription on Monday, December 9, 2024, is set to conclude today, Wednesday, December 11, 2024. The Rs 23.80 crore offering, which comprises an entirely fresh issue of 4,328,000 equity shares, has been oversubscribed by around 61 times, as per the NSE data.

The INDIA bloc is united in its strategy to defeat the BJP, Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev said on Tuesday, even as the chorus grew for Mamata Banerjee to take over the coalition's leadership. The Rajya Sabha MP also said Banerjee's ability to defeat the BJP electorally has spurred many leaders to express a desire to see her in a larger leadership role.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Tuesday accused the Election Commission of "colluding with the BJP" as he reiterated his party's claims of deletion of voters' names from electoral rolls ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference here, the Rajya Sabha MP said an application for the deletion of 3,800 voters' names has been submitted in RK Puram constituency and they belong to booths where the AAP has been winning elections.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday attacked the central government and alleged that the BJP is "scared" of discussing the Adani issue in the Parliament.

"They (BJP) are scared of discussing the Adani issue. I am new in Parliament but till now the PM was not seen in the Parliament. Why should we not raise this issue?" Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

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