Category: BUSINESS

Mumbai:  Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday expressed concern over the “rising” number of poor, and said wealth was getting concentrated in the hands of some affluent people.

There is a need for decentralisation of wealth, Gadkari said during an event in Nagpur, where he touched upon a range of issues, including agriculture, manufacturing, taxation and public-private partnerships in infrastructure development.

“Slowly the number of poor people is increasing and wealth is getting centralised in the hands of some wealthy people. It should not happen,” the Road Transport and Highways Minister said.

The economy must grow in a manner that creates jobs and uplifts rural areas, he said.

“We are looking at an economic option that will create jobs and (give a boost to the) growth of the economy. There is a need for decentralisation of wealth, and many changes have happened in that direction,” he said.

The senior BJP leader also credited former prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh for adopting liberal economic policies but cautioned against unchecked centralisation.

“We have to be worried about it,” he added.

Referring to India’s economic structure, he pointed out the imbalance in sectoral contributions to GDP.

“Manufacturing contributes 22-24 per cent, services 52-54 per cent, while agriculture, despite engaging 65-70 per cent of the rural population, contributes only around 12 per cent,” he said.

Invoking Swami Vivekananda, Gadkari said, “Philosophy cannot be taught to someone whose stomach is empty.”

He highlighted the evolving role of chartered accountants, Gadkari said, “CAs can be the growth engines of the economy. Our economy is changing rapidly. It is not only about filing income tax returns and GST submissions.”

Talking about the infrastructure development, Gadkari highlighted his own initiatives in the transport sector.

“I was the one who started the Build-Operate-Transfer system for road construction,” he claimed.

There is no shortage of funds for road development, he added.

“Sometimes I say I do not have a fund crunch but I have a shortage of work,” Gadkari said.

“Now, we earn nearly Rs 55,000 crore through toll booths and in the next two years, our income will go up to Rs 1.40 lakh crore. If we monetise it for the next 15 years, we will have Rs 12 lakh crore. New toll will add more money to our coffers,” he said.

The minister also spoke about projects aimed at enhancing regional connectivity and investment.

“We are constructing a rope of Rs 5,000 crore in Kedarnath. The contractor is ready to spend the amount and give Rs 800 crore royalty to the Union government. When the Uttarakhand government asked us to share the royalty, I asked whether they would also share the loss-making units,” he said.

On domestic investments, Gadkari said he has raised funds through Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) bonds without foreign assistance.

“I am not accepting money from foreign countries like Canada or the US. I will build roads from the money raised from the poor people of the country,” he said, adding that the share which was at Rs 100 has now jumped to Rs 160 and people will get nearly 18 to 20 per cent returns.

Bengaluru:  Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said new technologies will define India’s growth story in the coming years.

Addressing the IIT Madras Alumni Association’s Sangam 2025 event here, he said, “Your science, your technology, combined with this vibrant startup ecosystem, R&D, and innovation, will shape the India growth story of the future.”

Goyal said India is transforming from a country known for seeking jobs to becoming a nation of job creators.

“Of course, in some small measures, we have tried to be part of the startup ecosystem, the startup fund of funds, and various other initiatives to support the startup ecosystem, coupled with the work organisations like IIT Madras have done,” he said.

He said India’s policies are designed to build a future-ready nation—one that embraces technology, adapts to new ways of working and living, and leads in areas like artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, and data analytics.

“We don’t shy away from new technologies. We believe these technologies will help us as we climb the growth chart. Absorbing these technologies in our activities—in manufacturing, businesses, and the service sector—is holding us in good stead, helping us become the fastest-growing large economy in the world,” he said.

According to him, it helps India buck the trend of slowing global trade while continuing to expand its international engagements.

Later, Goyal also held an interaction session with industry leaders, startups & deeptech innovators in the presence of Karnataka Minister for Commerce and Industries and Infrastructure M B Patil, where he emphasised the importance of easing regulatory frameworks, expediting the process related to patents and trademarks to foster a business-friendly environment.

Highlighting India’s robust innovation framework at the session, Goyal detailed the government’s efforts in launching the Rs 10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) supporting early and growth-stage deeptech startups; the Rs 1 lakh crore Research & Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, offering long-term, low-cost capital to private sector R&D offering long-term, low-cost capital through a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), an official release said.

He also emphasised the remarkable resilience of India’s economy post-COVID, powered by innovation, entrepreneurship, and robust policy support, which is now globally recognised.

The Union Minister also underscored the rising global reputation of ‘Made in India’ products, driven by improvements in quality, design, and competitiveness, across sectors including electronics, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and textiles also stands testament to India’s growing economic stature.

He also reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to enabling inclusive, innovation-led growth and building a globally competitive industry ecosystem aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.

New Delhi: Markets regulator Sebi has barred US-based Jane Street Group from the securities markets and directed the group to disgorge unlawful gains of Rs 4,843 crore for allegedly manipulating stock indices through positions taken in derivatives segment.

This could be the highest disgorgement amount ever directed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

In its interim order, the regulator has debarred JSI Investments, JSI2 Investments Pvt Ltd, Jane Street Singapore Pte Ltd, and Jane Street Asia Trading — entities collectively referred to as the Jane Street Group — from trading until further notice, while continuing its investigation.

Established in 2000, Jane Street Group LLC is a global proprietary trading firm in the financial services industry. It employs more than 2,600 people across five offices in the US, Europe, and Asia, and conducts trading operations in 45 countries.

The Jane Street (JS) Group has come under Sebi’s scrutiny for allegedly manipulating index levels in the stock market to earn illegal profits, primarily through the highly liquid Bank Nifty and Nifty index options segments.

An investigation by Sebi revealed that over 21 expiry days between January 2023 and May 2025, the group executed large trades in the underlying cash and futures markets to influence index movements and profit from massive positions in the options market.

Two key strategies were identified– one involved buying heavily in Bank Nifty stocks and futures in the morning and selling them aggressively in the afternoon to create a softer close, while the other involved concentrated selling or buying in the last two hours of the expiry day to sway index levels.

These actions helped the group earn illegal profits of about Rs 4,843 crore, even as they incurred smaller losses in cash and futures trades, the regulator said.

Sebi also noted that between January 2023 and March 2025, the JS Group recorded substantial trading activity across various segments of the market. The group made gains of Rs 44,358 crore from index options trading, which formed the bulk of their profits.

However, these were partially offset by losses of Rs 7,208 crore in stock futures, Rs 191 crore in index futures, and Rs 288 crore in the cash market. After accounting for all gains and losses, the JS Group reported a net total profit of Rs 36,671 crore during this period, Sebi noted.

The case stems from media reports in April 2024, which suggested that Jane Street and its related entities may have used unauthorised proprietary  trading strategies in the Indian options market.

Sebi noted that the JS Group continued to carry out suspicious trading activities, mainly near market closing on expiry day, by making large and aggressive trades to unfairly influence the index, even after receiving a warning in February and making promises to the NSE to stop such practices.

“Such egregious behaviour, in clear disregard/ defiance of the explicit advisory issued to them by NSE in February 2025, amply demonstrates that unlike the vast majority of Foreign Portfolio Investors and other market participants, JS Group is not a good faith actor that can be, or deserves to be, trusted.

“In the face of such a strong prima facie case that allowing the JS Group to continue as before may severely compromise investor protection on an extraordinary scale, Sebi has a duty to directly intervene,” Sebi added.

Accordingly, Sebi said, “the total amount of unlawful gains earned by the JS Group from the alleged violations, Rs 4,843.57 crore, shall be impounded jointly and severally.”

The entities have been “restrained from accessing the securities market and are further prohibited from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities, directly or indirectly.”

Additionally, banks where the entities are holding accounts have been directed to ensure that no debits are made, without Sebi’s permission, except for the purpose of complying with this order.

Mumbai Air India on Friday said it has paid the compensation to families of nearly two-thirds of the victims who died in the June 12 plane crash in Ahmedabad.

An Air India Dreamliner from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed moments after takeoff on June 12, killing 260 people onboard and on the ground.

“Our teams have been helping families receive interim compensation. Every affected family is being directly assisted by an Air India representative, with nearly two-thirds having already received payment or are in the final stages,” Air India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson told the airline employees in an internal post.

Tata Sons is in the process of establishing the apparatus to provide longer-term assistance to the families and survivors, the Tata Group-owned airline said.

In an internal post to airline employees, Air India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson also said the carrier will continue to “invest in upgrading aircraft, products, service, systems, capabilities and, most of all, people”.

The crash, one of the worst air disasters in India in decades, involved a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating as Air India flight AI171.

Of the 242 people onboard, 241 were killed, while the total death toll stood at 260, including casualties on the ground.

Soon after the crash, Air India parent Tata Sons announced that it will provide Rs 1 crore each to the families of each person who died in the crash.

And on June 14, Air India announced that it will provide an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh, or approximately GBP 21,500, to the families of each of the deceased and survivors of the Ahmedabad plane crash to help address immediate financial needs.

Air India’s on-ground presence in Ahmedabad to see this process to completion, he said, will continue for as long as required.”

The Air India Chief also said “the process of reuniting next of kin with their loved ones, and repatriating them to their final destinations, is now complete”.

“As we transition from the immediate aftermath to mapping the journey ahead, many efforts are underway. Among them, Tata Sons is in the process of establishing the apparatus to provide longer-term assistance to the families and survivors, and will share more when the time is right,” Wilson noted.

Air India continues to observe its “Safety Pause”, the deliberate temporary scale-back of its international and domestic networks, he said, acknowledging that, besides the customer impact, this temporary curtailment of flights put extra pressure on Air India frontliners in call centres and at airports, and has “disrupted crew rosters”.

“The ‘pause’ was an important and necessary move to accommodate voluntary additional aircraft checks, navigate the volatile international airspace environment and to stabilise our flight schedule to restore faith and trust,” Wilson said.

Besides providing extra resilience, the extra aircraft ground time is allowing the airline to accelerate its aircraft reliability enhancement programs, he said.

Air India on June 18 had announced a 15 per cent reduction in international flights operated with widebody planes till mid-July as amid operational disruptions due to enhanced safety inspections and geopolitical situation, among others.

“Irrespective of any cause, the accident of AI171 and the loss of so many lives will forever stand as one of our darkest days. It must also signal the start of a new era,” Air India chief said in the internal post, adding, “we will continue to invest in upgrading aircraft, products, service, systems, capabilities and, most of all, people”.

Washington: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar suggested that India has shared its concerns with US Senator Lindsey Graham over his bill proposing a 500 per cent tariff on nations buying oil from Russia.

“I think our concerns and our interests in energy security have been made conversant to him,” Jaishankar said while replying to a media query in Washington DC on Wednesday.

A legislation proposed by Graham calls for imposing 500 per cent tariffs on nations buying oil from Russia if Moscow refuses to participate in peace negotiations with Ukraine.

Jaishankar said that the Indian Embassy and officials have been in touch with Graham over the issue while adding that “we’ll then have to cross that bridge when we come to it, if we come to it.”

Jaishankar added that any development happening in the US Congress is of interest to India “if it impacts our interest or could impact our interest”.

Hectic parleys are underway between officials of India and the US in Washington on the proposed interim trade agreement between the two countries.

While India is seeking greater market access for its labour-intensive goods, the US wants duty concessions for its agricultural products.

The Indian team, headed by special secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal, is in Washington for negotiations.

New Delhi: The ISRO transferred 10 technologies, including two inertial sensors to reduce import dependence, to six Indian industries for commercial use in space and other sectors, India’s space sector promoter said on Thursday.

The transfer of technology was facilitated by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe).

Technologies of two advanced inertial sensors – the Laser Gyroscope and the Ceramic Servo Accelerometer – developed by the ISRO’s Inertial Systems Unit were transferred to Hyderabad-based Zetatek Technologies Pvt. Ltd, making it the first company to get the niche technology.

Zetatek, a company with over 25 years of expertise in Inertial Navigation System (INS) testing, calibration and QA/QT equipment, will manufacture the sensors in the country which may help reduce import dependence.

“The transfer of these technologies marks yet another significant step towards empowering the private sector to harness and commercialize space technologies,” IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka said in a statement.

In the midstream segment, three technologies related to ground station operations – S/X/Ka tri-band dual circular polarised monopulse feed, tri-axis antenna control servo system, and Ku/C/L and S Band Cassegrain feed – developed by the ISRO –  have been transferred to Avantel and Jisnu Communications, both Hyderabad-based firms specialising in end-to-end communications solutions for space and defence platforms.

These technologies, currently sourced from foreign vendors, will enable self-reliance in critical ground station infrastructure.

The technology transfers aim to give private players an opportunity to access the developed technologies available with the ISRO, enabling them to use space-related technology for commercial applications in space as well as other sectors, a statement from IN-SPACe said.

The tripartite Technology Transfer Agreements (TTAs) were signed between NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the recipient industries, and IN-SPACe at the IN-SPACe headquarters in Ahmedabad.

“ISRO has a flourishing repository of R&D in space technologies and it is time we leverage that to the optimum to strengthen India’s space industrial ecosystem, and in that, industry-led innovation will play a key role,” Goenka said.

“These technologies are vital and currently sourced from foreign suppliers. With this transfer, we are taking a pivotal step toward building indigenous capabilities within India,” said Rajeev Jyoti, Director, Technical Directorate, IN-SPACe.

Jyoti said the ISRO, IN-SPACe and NSIL will collaboratively provide comprehensive handholding support to all the industry players to ensure successful absorption of the technology.

On the downstream front, two geospatial models developed by SAC/ISRO for pest forewarning and semi-physical crop yield estimation were transferred to Amnex Info Technologies, Ahmedabad, to be deployed in agricultural decision-making and crop protection.

A compact, multi-parameter, portable bathymetry system developed by NRSC/ISRO has been transferred to Jalkruti Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad, to enable UAV-based integration for water resource monitoring.

VSSC/ISRO’s ceramic-based flame-proof coating technology – originally developed for launch vehicle applications – has been acquired by Ramdev Chemicals, Ahmedabad, for wider industrial applications.

New Delhi:  Online auctions for 730 FM radio channels in 234 cities across the country are scheduled to start later this month, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju said on Thursday.

Addressing the Broadcasting Engineering Society Expo here, Jaju said over 20 top companies from across the country have participated in bids that were invited for the auction under the Private FM Radio Phase III policy.

“There are a lot of gains being made now in terms of the private FM radio. The auctions for private FM radio are slated to start this month,” Jaju said.

“I am sure that it will get good participation from many of the players,” he said.

In August last year, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal to conduct the third batch of e-auctions for 730 channels in 234 new cities with an estimated reserve price of Rs 784.87 crore, under the Private FM Radio Phase III policy.

In October last year, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting invited applications for e-auctions. Six months later, in April this year, the Ministry issued Amendment No. 1 to the Auction Rules for Private FM Radio Batch III channels e-auction under Phase III.

According to the amendment, the Ministry has extended the duration of each round in the Rank-wise Multiple Rounds allocation stage from 30 minutes to 60 minutes.

This change aims to provide bidders with more time per round during the allocation stage, potentially facilitating a more considered bidding process.