Business
Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal bags Asian Business Philanthropy Award 2021
Indias leading industrialist and philanthropist, Anil Agarwal, Chairman of the Vedanta Group, one of the worlds biggest Oil & Gas and Metals companies, has been bestowed with the Philanthropy Award at the Asian Business Awards 2021 for his outstanding contribution towards humanitarianism initiatives centering on healthcare, education, sanitation, skill development and sustainable livelihood.
His philanthropic pursuits have been an inspiration across the globe for his charitable foundation, the Anil Agarwal Foundation, which has created an exemplary social impact in rural India with Vedanta’s multiple care initiatives. These initiatives, including Swatch Goan Abhiyaan, Nand Ghar, have touched upon over 4.23 crore lives helping them better their quality of life. To bring in sustainable and inclusive growth integrated with social-economic development, the group spent over Rs 331 crore in the year 2020-21.
The Asian Business Award, now in its 23rd year, is hosted every year by Eastern Eye, Britain’s biggest selling English language Asian newspaper. The award is known for celebrating Asian entrepreneurship and business success, wherein the winners are honoured at the annual gathering of the UK’s wealthiest and most successful businessmen and women. This year’s esteemed assemblage, held on November 19 in London, recognised Agarwal for his exceptional contribution towards empowering underprivileged communities. His universal mission of giving back to society has made him a living inspiration for many across the globe.
Sharing his thoughts concerning his recent accolade, Agarwal said: “I am extremely humbled to receive this award. It has further energised me to uphold my commitment towards sustainably strengthening the rural communities of the country. I take pride in living up to my ‘Giving Pledge’ as this year Vedanta, under its social initiatives, has spent Rs 331 crore and has vowed to spend Rs 5000 crore more. Philanthropy has given more meaning to my life, and I draw immense satisfaction in giving back to society.”
Anil Agarwal Foundation CEO, Bhaskar Chatterjee, expressed great joy over international acknowledgement of Agarwal’s efforts and the honourable distinction.
Chatterjee said: “We are extremely humbled and honoured to receive this award. We have always been committed to uplifting society and creating a more egalitarian social structure where basic necessities of life are accessible to all. The Anil Agarwal Foundation was set up to facilitate sustainable and inclusive growth to protect and provide for our communities. Such a prestigious award has boosted our spirit to continue our efforts towards serving society and motivates us to do more and better.”
It is not the first time his philanthropic vision gained traction, as he was also featured in the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020. The list ranked him among the top five philanthropists in the country. In the pandemic-marred year of 2020, Agarwal’s contribution towards humanitarian initiatives rose by 90 per cent compared to the previous year. In order to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 contagion, the foundation launched a Rs 5,000 crore social impact program called ‘Covid Mukt Villages’ to help the rural communities build a robust healthcare infrastructure. Last year alone, Vedanta contributed more than the government-mandated 2 per cent towards corporate social responsibility. The group outdoes itself every year with its transformation work at the grassroots level.
One of Vedanta’s flagship initiatives, ‘Swasth Gaon Abhiyaan’, provides end-to-end healthcare services across 1,000 villages in 12 states, improving the lives of over 2 million people. Besides, the foundation also continues to significantly scale up its state-of-art Anganwadi project called ‘Nand Ghar’. With the key focus on women empowerment and child development, the foundation is operating 2400-plus Nand Ghars across the nation. These aim to recreate anganwadis, powered with technology, especially to surpass the pandemic-induced challenges, by establishing e-learning for children along with providing nutritional meals and healthcare at their doorsteps. Vaccination being the most important shield against the virus, Vedanta rolled out a mega vaccination drive covering 1.2 lakh employees, their families and business partners. Under the guiding light of Agarwal, the foundation continues to work towards creating a better world by elevating the quality of life of various communities.
Agarwal, staying true to his philanthropic commitment, took the ‘Giving Plege’, in March this year and vowed to give 75 per cent of his wealth towards the socio-economic welfare of the rural communities. The Giving Pledge is a movement comprising global philanthropists wherein the world’s big-hearts commit to donating the majority of their wealth towards philanthropic programs and charitable causes.
Business
India’s growth firmly anchored in domestic factors amid global volatility: FM Sitharaman

New Delhi, Oct 3: We are in an era of an unprecedented global volatility where rules of international engagement are being rewritten, but India’s growth is firmly rooted in domestic factors and the country’s capacity to absorb global shocks is strong, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Friday.
She highlighted that India’s robust domestic factors minimise impact of global uncertainties.
“We are in a shifting global landscape which resembles a zero-sum approach. Indian economy is resilient and continues to grow sustainably,” FM Sitharaman said while delivering an inaugural address at the ‘Kautilya Economic Conclave 2025’ in the national capital.
“By 2047, becoming Viksit Bharat by self reliance does not mean we wish to be a closed economy. We have to reach 8 per cent GDP growth to get to the goal for a developed nation,” she told the gathering.
According to the Finance Minister, we cannot afford to be passive spectators in today’s era.
“We must be active participants. Nations need to make choices between new monetary architecture. No nation can insulate itself from systemic changes, we must prepare to engage with them. Tariffs, sanctions and decoupling strategies are reshaping supply chains. International institutions need to reflect today’s realities,” she stressed.
Finance Minister further stated that what we face is not a temporary disruption but a structural transformation.
“The scale of challenge is too big. We will be understating the challenge at hand; it is structural transformation,” she said.
“The world as a whole is looking to come out of uncertainty, the global order is shifting. The world that emerged out of cold war and pushed for globalisation seems to be a thing of the past. Rules of international engagement are being rewritten,” she mentioned.
FM Sitharaman pointed out that the global order is shifting, with multilateral institutions currently undermining confidence in the international community. She cited the recent G20 discussions, where experts deliberated on the need for reforms in multilateral institutions to restore stability.
Highlighting India’s twin-track approach, the finance minister said the nation aims to simultaneously attain developed economy status by 2047 and strengthen self-reliance, clarifying that self-reliance does not imply pursuing a closed economy.
Business
Sensex, Nifty open lower over sustained FII selling

Mumbai, Oct 3: The Indian benchmark indices opened with mild losses on Friday due to sustained FII selling, despite positive global cues and market optimism driven by the Reserve Bank of India’s dovish pause.
As of 9.20 am, the Sensex was down 191 points, or 0.24 per cent at 80,792 and the Nifty declined 56 points, or 0.23 per cent at 24,780.
The broad cap indices, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100, inched up 0.22 and 0.14 per cent respectively. Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors and Asian Paints were among major gainers on the Nifty pack, while losers included Max Healthcare, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance and ICICI Bank, among others.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal, the top gainer, advanced 0.89 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank (up 0.59 per cent) and Nifty Pharma (up 0.30 per cent) were other major gainers. Nifty Media and Nifty FMCG were the top losers down 0.65 per cent and 0.45 per cent respectively.
Analysts said that from a technical perspective, a sustained move above 24,900 could pave the way for a rally toward 25,000 and 25,150. The immediate support is placed at 24,750 and 24,600, which may act as potential entry points for long trades.
The US markets ended in the green zone overnight, as Nasdaq edged up 0.39 per cent, the S&P 500 added 0.06 per cent, and the Dow moved up 0.17 per cent in the last trading session.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Friday, tracking Wall Street gains as investors shrugged off the US government shutdown. Investors are waiting to see how long the shutdown will last to assess the gravity of its economic repercussions.
While China’s Shanghai index added 0.52 per cent, and Shenzhen advanced 0.35 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei added 1.44 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.84 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi added 2.70 per cent.
Analysts said that the central bank’s bold initiatives to boost credit growth in the economy can positively sustain the momentum in the market, particularly in Bank Nifty. However, the sustained selling by FIIs in the market is unlikely to sustain this momentum.
FIIs are likely to further accelerate selling since the market construct provides them the opportunity to sell aggressively. Robust buying from DIIs can provide some support to the market, particularly in large-cap auto stocks, which have strong fundamental support now, they added.
In the last trading session on Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,605 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 2,916 crore.
Business
Welfare of India’s farmers is top priority for Govt: PM Modi

New Delhi, Oct 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the welfare of the country’s farmers, who play a vital role in building a developed India, is a top priority for his government.
“To this end, the decision to increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for rabi crops has been taken. While this will strengthen our food security, it will also benefit our farmer brothers and sisters,” the Prime Minister said in a post on X.
He was referring to the Cabinet decision taken on Wednesday to increase the MSP for rabi crops for the 2026-27 marketing season to ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce.
The highest increase in MSP has been announced for Safflower at Rs 600 per quintal, followed by Lentil (Masur) at Rs 300 per quintal. For rapeseed and mustard, gram, barley, and wheat, there is an increase of Rs 250 per quintal, Rs 225 per quintal, Rs 170 per quintal and Rs 160 per quintal, respectively.
The Prime Minister further stated: “We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the welfare of our farmer brothers and sisters across the country. In this regard, our government has approved the Mission on Self-Reliance in Pulses. While this historic initiative will boost the production of pulses, it will also strengthen our resolve for self-reliance.”
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, on Wednesday approved the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses with a financial outlay of Rs 11,440 crore. The landmark initiative aimed at boosting domestic production and achieving self-sufficiency in pulses will be implemented over a six-year period from 2025-26 to 2030-31.
The Pulses Mission is expected to benefit around 2 crore farmers with the supply of better seeds, post-harvest infrastructure and 100 per cent assured procurement of Tur, Urad and Masoor pulses from growers at the Minimum Support Price during the next 4 years, according to an official statement.
Pulses hold special importance in India’s cropping systems and diets. India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses. With rising incomes and standard of living, pulse consumption has increased. However, domestic production has not kept pace with demand, leading to a 15-20 per cent increase in pulse imports.
In another post on X, PM Modi highlighted a Cabinet decision on the decision on widening and upgradation of the Kalibor-Numaligarh section of NH-715 in Assam.
“A historic decision for Assam and the Northeast! The Cabinet decision on widening and upgradation of the Kalibor-Numaligarh section of NH-715, including an elevated corridor with wildlife-friendly measures in the Kaziranga stretch, will boost development as well as ensure animal safety. Tourism to Kaziranga will receive a big boost,” the Prime Minister wrote.
He also took to Twitter to underline the Cabinet’s approval for Phase-III of the Biomedical Research Career Programme, which “will nurture scientific talent, support fellowships, collaborative grants and build world-class biomedical research capacity across India.”
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