Poor consumer sentiment hurts sales Maruti Suzuki sold more than 1.19 lakh passenger vehicles (PVs) in the domestic market in December 2018, an increase of 1% from the over 1.18 lakh units sold in the year-ago month. The company said while the sales of mini segment cars (Alto and Wagon …

Loans of up to Rs. 25 crore eligible for relaxation of provision Following a demand from the government for a debt recast package for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed the provisioning norms for lenders for restructuring loans of up to Rs. …

Panel questions rationale behind move; says banks stretched to help Centre post note ban The Committee on Government Assurances has questioned the rationale behind banks being asked to bear the cost of soiled and counterfeit notes, particularly during the demonetisation exercise of 2016. In its report tabled in the Rajya …

At Rs. 94,726 cr. in December, it is lower than the Rs. 97,637 cr. collected in November The government’s collections from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) declined for the second month in a row to Rs. 94,726 crore in December, official data released on Tuesday showed. Collections declined from …

Supporters of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are calling for constitutional changes that would allow him to stay in power once his second term ends in 2022. Backers of the former military chief want Parliament to discuss repealing an article limiting Presidents to two consecutive four-year terms. In an editorial …

The U.S. and Israel officially quit the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural agency (UNESCO) at the stroke of midnight, the culmination of a process triggered more than a year ago amid concerns that the organisation fosters anti-Israel bias. The withdrawal is mainly procedural, yet serves a new blow to UNESCO, …

Trump hails ‘solid friendship’ with Xi The Presidents of China and the U.S. have exchanged messages vowing to boost cooperation despite a bruising trade war, on the 40th anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic relations, state media reported. In the messages sent on Tuesday, President Xi Jinping underlined the importance of …

Labour Party not to partner with Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah Israel’s centre-left opposition dramatically split on Tuesday ahead of an April 9 election, with leader Avi Gabbay announcing that he would no longer partner with veteran politician Tzipi Livni as she sat stone-faced next to him. The announcement means the end …

Analysts say an Opposition-less Parliament is not conducive for democracy Eta ektu barabari hoye gesse [this is a bit too much] — this is how Awami League supporters reacted a day after the party swept 97% of seats in the national Parliament in Sunday’s general election. Perhaps the Opposition should …

The Union Home Ministry has approved a Uttar Pradesh government proposal to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj. The decision comes days ahead of the Kumbh Mela being organised by the State government in the city, and over two months after the State Cabinet decided to rename it. The Kumbh Mela will …