Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) posted its highest consolidated net profit of Rs 3,764.2 crore during the second quarter of 2023-24 (FY24). This comes in the backdrop of its highest-ever quarterly sales, a softening of commodity prices, cost reduction efforts, and favourable foreign exchange rates In Q2 of FY24, the company’s net profit increased by 78.2 per cent compared to the same period last year when it was Rs 2,112.50 crore.

India’s largest carmaker reported a 6.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales, at 482,731 units, in Q2 of FY24.

How much time should one devote to work? Do long working hours mean more productivity? How important is the work-life balance in fostering creativity? India Inc seemed to be divided on such questions after Infosys founder Narayana Murthy suggested a 70-hour work week for “youngsters” to make the country competitive globally.

While some corporate leaders endorsed Murthy’s “sane advice” at a time when “we are in a nation-building stage”, others said productivity was not linked to hours employees put in.

The U.N. General Assembly scheduled a vote Friday on a nonbinding resolution calling for a humanitarian truce in Gaza leading to a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers.

Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Mahmoud Hmoud, speaking on behalf of the U.N.'s 22-nation Arab group, which drafted the resolution, called for an afternoon vote before all 112 speakers get to the assembly's rostrum, because of the urgency of taking action.

The US economy grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years last quarter, fuelled by a surge in consumer spending.

Gross domestic product accelerated to a 4.9 per cent annualised rate, more than double the second-quarter pace, according to the government’s preliminary estimate Thursday. The economy’s main growth engine — personal spending — jumped 4 per cent, also the most since 2021.

Ola Electric announced that it has secured about Rs 3,200 crore in funding as part of its equity and debt round. This funding was obtained from Temasek-led marquee investors and project debt from State Bank of India. The funding round, which includes equity, has raised the Bengaluru-based firm’s valuation to $5.5 billion, up from its previous valuation of $5 billion, according to sources.

The funds raised are expected to create an interim event and pave the way for an initial public offering (IPO), which may be in the range of $800 million to $1 billion.

The price of 24-carat gold jumped Rs 160 in early trade on Thursday, with ten grams of the precious metal selling for Rs 61,960, according to the GoodReturns website. The price of silver saw an increase of Rs 500, with one kilogram of the precious metal selling at Rs 75,100.

The price of 22-carat gold also rose by Rs 150, with the yellow metal selling at Rs 56,800.

Hamas’s armed wing on Thursday said that ‘almost 50’ Israeli hostages held by its operators in the Gaza Strip have been killed since Israel began bombarding the Palestinian territory. “(Ezzedine) Al-Qassam Brigades estimates that the number of Zionist prisoners who were killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Zionist strikes and massacres has reached almost 50,” the group said in a statement issued on its Telegram channel.

Late on Wednesday, Russia and China vetoed a US push for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to act on the Israel-Hamas conflict by calling for pauses in fighting to allow humanitarian aid access, the protection of civilians and a stop to arming Hamas and other militants in the Gaza Strip.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the threshold limit of non-callable deposits to Rs 1 crore from Rs 15 lakh now, a move that would provide more flexibility to depositors.

These new norms for commercial and co-operative banks are applicable with immediate effect.

US President Joe Biden has said that he is convinced that one of the reasons why Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel was because of the recent announcement during the G-20 Summit in New Delhi on the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor that integrates the entire region with a network of railroad.

Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive against Hamas after unprecedented attacks by the militant group on October 7 killed more than 1,400 people.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday revised the per kilogramme subsidy under the nutrient-based regime, lowering it for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur for the October-March period compared to the April-September period. The cost to the exchequer is estimated at Rs 22,303 crore. Between first half of FY-24 and October to March period, the per kilogram subsidy on nitrogen(N) has gone down by 38 per cent, phosphorus(P) by 49 per cent, potassium(K) by 84 per cent and sulphur (S) by 32.5 per cent (see chart).

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