India has asked an international committee on spices to set limits on the use of ethylene oxide in spices, a senior government official said on Wednesday, amid a sales ban on two popular Indian brands.

The Kerala-based Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) has been established under Codex Alimentarius Committee, Rome – the international organisation - for developing international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice to protect the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the trade.

New Zealand's food safety regulator on Wednesday said it is investigating possible contamination in spice products of top Indian brands MDH and Everest after they faced scrutiny in other countries.

The United States and Australia have been looking into contamination after Hong Kong last month suspended sales of three spice blends of MDH and one of Everest, saying they contained high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide, ethylene oxide.

The Canadian government has fined IT giant Infosys approximately Rs 82 lakh for allegedly failing to fulfil the complete employee health tax obligation for the financial year ending December 31, 2020.

This fine translates to over 134,000 Canadian dollars, according to a recent regulatory filing. "Penalty imposed on alleged underpayment of Employee Health Tax for the year ended December 31, 2020," stated the filing.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has got a three-year-extension from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to achieve 10 per cent public shareholding, the state-owned firm told the exchanges on Wednesday.

LIC has to get its public shareholding to 10 per cent on or before May 16, 2027.

India’s largest cinema operator is in discussions to screen key matches during the International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup, in a bid to lure patrons as movies continue to struggle at the box office.

“Our biggest focus is to stay relevant as a medium,” PVR Inox Ltd.’s Chief Financial Officer Nitin Sood said in an interview. The operator would show key games from the tournament, which starts next month, he said.

Aadhar Housing Finance made a flattish stock market debut on Wednesday with its shares of housing finance company (HFC) getting listed at Rs 315 per share, a 0.22 per cent discount over its issue price of Rs 315 per share.

However, after listing the stock of the company moved up to 4.7 per cent at Rs 329 a piece in intraday deals on the BSE.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday declared his total assets amounting to Rs 3.02 crore in his Lok Sabha poll affidavit, as required for contesting elections in India.

According to the election affidavit, PM Modi has Rs 52,920 in cash and fixed deposits worth Rs 2.85 crore (Rs 2,85,60,338) in SBI. The gross total value of his assets is Rs 3,02,06,889.

PM also has four gold rings worth Rs 2,67,750.

Public sector banks' cumulative profit crossed Rs 1.4 trillion in the financial year ended March 2024, recording a growth of 35 per cent over the previous year on a high base of Rs 1 trillion.

The 12 Public Sector Banks (PSBs) together had earned a net profit of Rs Rs 1,04,649 crore in 2022-23.

Shares of Vedanta hit 14-year high of Rs 438.30, surging 6 per cent on the BSE in Tuesday’s intra-day trade amid heavy volumes after the company said its board will meet on Thursday, May 16 to consider fund raising plan. The board will also consider first interim dividend on equity shares, if any, for the financial year 2024-25.

Currently, Vedanta is trading at its highest level since May 2010. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 494.30 on April 8, 2010. In past two months, the market price of Vedanta has appreciated by 75 per cent.

Quant Money Managers has got the banking regulator's approval to acquire an aggregate holding of up to 9.98 per cent of the paid-up share capital or voting rights in RBL Bank within May 12, 2025.

The stake can be acquired through various schemes of Quant Mutual Fund, a subsidiary of the investment management firm. As of May 10, Quant Money held 4.68 per cent of RBL Bank's equity share capital.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.