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Sonia slams Congress leaders for speaking to media

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 Addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, interim President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday slammed party leaders for speaking to the media.

In her opening remarks, she said: “I have always appreciated frankness. There is no need to speak to me through the media. So let us all have a free and honest discussion. But what should get communicated outside the four walls of this room is the collective decision of the CWC.”

Sonia Gandhi’s statement comes after after senior party leader Kapil Sibal had recently said that “there is no president in our party, so we do not know who is taking all the decisions. We know it, yet we don’t know, one of my senior colleagues perhaps has written or is about to write to the interim president to immediately convene a CWC meeting so that a dialogue can be initiated”.

In her remarks on Saturday, she also said the party is ready for the internal elections.

“The entire organisation wants a revival of the Congress. But this requires unity and keeping the party’s interests paramount. Above all, it requires self-control and discipline. I am acutely conscious of the fact that I have been interim Congress President ever since the CWC asked me to return in this capacity in 2019. We had thereafter, you may recall, finalised a roadmap for electing a regular President by June 30, 2021.”

But due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the country, this deadline was extended indefinitely by the CWC in its meeting held on May 10, she added.

“Today is the occasion for bringing clarity once and for all. A schedule for the full-fledged organisational elections is before you.”

She also praised young leaders for taking over leadership role

“In the last two years, a large number of our colleagues, particularly the younger ones have taken on leadership roles in taking party policies and programmes to the people, whether it be the agitation of farmers, provision of relief during the pandemic, highlighting issues of concern to youth and women, atrocities on Dalits, Adivasis and minorities, price rise, and the destruction of the public sector. Never have we let issues of public importance and concern go unaddressed.”

Regarding the farmers protests, the Congress interim President said: “The shocking incidents at Lakhimpur Kheri betrays the mindset of the BJP, how it perceives the Kisan Andolan, how it has been dealing with this determined struggle by Kisans to protect their lives and livelihoods.

She said that the economy continues to be a cause of great concern in spite of the government propaganda and the only answer the Centre seems to have for the country’s economic recovery is selling off national assets built with great effort over the decades.

“The public sector has had not just strategic and economic objectives, it has had social goals as well, as, for instance, empowerment of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and development of backward areas. But all this is in jeopardy with the Modi government’s single-point agenda of ‘Becho, Becho, Becho’.”

She said that prices of essential commodities, including food and fuel continue to rise unabated.

“Could anyone in the country ever imagine that petrol prices would be over 100 Rs rupees a litre, diesel would be nearing the Rs 100 a litre mark, a gas cylinder would cost Rs 900 and cooking oil would be Rs 200 a litre. This is making life unbearable for people across the country.”

Sonia Gandhi also condemned the killings in Jammu and Kashmir and said minorities clearly have been targeted.

“This must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. We have done so and I do so again this morning. Jammu and Kashmir has been a Union Territory for two years. The entire responsibility for bringing the perpetrators of these barbaric crimes to justice is that of the Union government. Restoring social peace and harmony and confidence amongst the people in Jammu and Kashmir rests with the Modi government too.

“There has always been a broad consensus on foreign and neighbourhood policy in our country. But that consensus has been damaged because of the Prime Minister continued reluctance to take the Opposition into confidence in any meaningful manner. Foreign policy has become a diabolical instrument of electoral mobilisation and polarisation. We face serious challenges on our borders and on other fronts. The Prime Minister telling the opposition leaders last year that there had not been any occupation of our territory by China and his silence ever since is costing our nation dearly,” she added.

The Congress faces many challenges but, “if we are united, if we are disciplined and if we focus on the party’s interests alone, I am confident that we will do well”.

Business

BSE launches 4 new BSE 100 large-cap TMC universe factor indices

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New Delhi, Dec 10: The Bombay Stock Exchange’s (BSE) subsidiary BSE Index Service on Wednesday announced the launch of four new factor Indices from the universe of BSE large-cap total market capitalisation (TMC) index with 5 per cent stock level capping.

The newly introduced indices are BSE large-cap 100 momentum 30, BSE large-cap 100 low volatility 30, BSE large-cap 100 enhanced value 30, and BSE large-cap 100 quality 30.

“BSE Index Services Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of BSE, today announced the launch of 4 new BSE factor indices from the BSE 100 large cap TMC index as the universe with 5 per cent stock level capping,” the exchange said in a press release.

These Indices are Reconstituted Quarterly, have a base value of 1000, and the first value date is June 20, 2005, along with the additional screening for the liquidity profile, the release added.

BSE large-cap 100 Momentum 30 will track the performance of the 30 companies in the BSE 100 large-cap TMC that exhibit the most persistence in their relative performance, based on their momentum scores. Constituents are weighted based on their momentum score.

BSE large-cap 100 Low Volatility 30 will measure the performance of the 30 least volatile companies in the BSE 100 large-cap TMC. Constituents are weighted by their inverse volatility.

BSE large-cap 100 Enhanced Value 30 measures the performance of the 30 companies in the BSE 100 large-cap TMC with the most attractive valuations, based on their value scores. Constituents are weighted based on their value score.

BSE large-cap 100 Quality 30 measures the performance of the 30 companies in the BSE 100 large-cap TMC that exhibit the most persistence in their relative performance, based on their momentum scores. Constituents are weighted based on their momentum score.

“Building on the success of factor launches on the BSE 500 universe earlier in the year, we are pleased to expand our factor family with the launch of four new factor indices, this time on the large-cap universe,” BSE Index Services Pvt. Ltd MD & CEO Ashutosh Singh said.

“These indices, in the same vein as our BSE 500 universe factor family, will be reset on a quarterly basis with the introduction of an innovative score-based only weighting method,” he added.

The index said that these new indices can be used for running passive strategies such as ETFs and Index Funds.

It can also be used for benchmarking of PMS strategies, MF schemes and fund portfolios. Additionally, investors can now access a broader spectrum of market opportunities, further enriching their investment strategies with this latest addition to BSE’s suite of indices.

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Business

Installed renewable energy capacity in India reaches 250.64 GW: Govt

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New Delhi, Dec 10: The total installed renewable energy (RE) capacity in India reached 250.64 GW (as on October 31), with solar energy constituting a major chunk, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

The solar energy capacity increased from 2.82 GW in March 2014 to 129.92 GW, wind energy capacity increased from 21.04 GW in March 2014 to 53.60 GW, and biomass power capacity has increased from 8.18 GW in March 2014 to 11.61 GW within the given period, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy, Shripad Yesso Naik, said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

India is a key driver of this explosive global surge in renewable energy. In the last 11 years, the country’s solar capacity has grown from 2.8 GW to nearly 130 GW, a rise of more than 4,500 per cent. Between 2022 and 2024 alone, India contributed 46 GW to global solar additions, becoming the third-largest contributor.

The country recorded its highest-ever addition of non-fossil capacity in the current financial year at 31.25 GW, including 24.28 GW of solar.

According to reports, the share of India’s electricity generation from renewable energy (RE) capacity, including large hydro, is expected to cross 35 per cent by FY30 from 22.1 per cent in FY25, with expected incremental capacity addition of around 200 GW between FY25 and FY30.

This, in turn, also hinges on the extent of implementation of the ongoing project pipeline, where the projects are bid out and the PPAs are signed, the development of adequate transmission connectivity infrastructure as well as timely bidding for new RE projects, along with the power purchase agreements (PPAs) signing by Central nodal agencies, states the report by rating agency ICRA.

With global mechanisms now shaping industrial competitiveness, India’s shift towards renewable energy has become even more urgent and strategically important.

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National News

Maha govt steps up detection of fake medicines, cough syrups

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Nagpur, Dec 10: Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Minister Narahari Zirwal on Wednesday informed the state Assembly that his department is aggressively undertaking the detection of spurious (fake) medicines and cough syrups in the state.

In a written reply to a question by BJP legislator Amit Satam and others, the minister said a special campaign was launched by the Food and Drug Administration, and the cough syrup and samples were sent to the State Government Hospital and the drug testing laboratory for testing and analysis, and the report has been received.

About 176 retailers and 39 wholesalers were cancelled. Further, 136 retailers and 93 wholesalers were inspected. Show-cause notices were issued, and licenses were cancelled for selling substandard cough syrups.

During an FDA campaign, fake cough syrup was found in drug stores and companies in October 2024.

Doctors, clinical establishments, and pharmacists were instructed not to prescribe or sell Propranolol-containing medicines.

About 36 samples were tested at 10 locations across Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur divisions. Out of these, 34 samples were found to be of substandard quality, said Minister Zirwal.

They included medicines for high blood pressure, Diabetes, Tuberculosis, heart disease and blood purification. Six samples of a specific brand of pediatric cough syrup in Maharashtra were found to be substandard, said the minister.

According to the minister, some components were allegedly altered or combined, and the new medicine was sold in the market under a new name (“Pankreatine/Pancreatin”). Furthermore, some fake/substandard medicines were allegedly supplied to government hospitals by unauthorised companies.

“Due to 176 posts (19.4 per cent) of Drug Inspectors being vacant, the work of regular drug testing and control in many districts has been hampered. Maharashtra has three testing laboratories in Mumbai, Nagpur, and Pune. The government has acknowledged the need for inquiry and strict action. About 109 posts of Drug Inspectors are to be filled through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC). Substandard/fake drugs are taken for analysis, and legal action is initiated in court against unauthorised /spurious drugs,” he said.

However, the minister clarified that regular drug testing and control are being implemented through the human resources available with the Food and Drug Administration.

Work is underway to upgrade the laboratory in Nashik and Pune. Drugs are taken for analysis from time to time as per the instructions of the Drug Inspectors, and action is initiated in the court against unauthorised/fake drugs.

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