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
ED arrests real estate firm MD in PMLA case, accused sent to 14-day custody

New Delhi, Nov 15: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ocean Seven Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. (OSBPL) Managing Director Swaraj Singh Yadav after conducting searches at nine locations across Delhi-NCR and other regions in a money-laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, an agency statement said on Saturday.
The action stems from allegations that Yadav diverted and laundered funds collected from homebuyers across multiple projects, including those under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
The searches on Thursday led to the recovery of Rs 86 lakh in cash, suspected to be proceeds of crime, along with incriminating documents and digital evidence.
According to the ED, Yadav orchestrated a large-scale diversion of homebuyer funds through fraudulent cancellation and resale of units at inflated prices, cash-based premiums collected outside banking channels, and misuse of escrow accounts.
He allegedly routed substantial sums into shell entities and concealed cash proceeds with relatives, the ED statement said.
Investigators also found a pattern of rapid liquidation of assets held personally and through company entities in Gurugram, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, which the agency believes was intended to secure illicit gains and evade legal scrutiny.
His wife and children have already relocated to the United States, the probe revealed.
The agency said Yadav operated a dual-payment mechanism in the resale of PMAY flats and even in the sale of parking spaces — routing only nominal amounts through banks while collecting the bulk in cash. These activities form part of a wider probe linked to multiple FIRs alleging cheating, forgery, and other predicate offences.
Following his arrest, Yadav was produced before the Court of ASJ-06 at Patiala House Courts on Friday, in compliance with Supreme Court directions.
After detailed submissions from both sides and a pass-over granted to allow him legal assistance, the court sent him to ED custody for 14 days, until November 28.
The agency has been directed to produce him before the court at 2 p.m. on the date of expiry of remand.
The ED said it is pursuing further investigation to trace, freeze, and attach assets acquired from the laundered funds, to ensure recovery and restitution to affected homebuyers.
Business
IndiGo to start flights from Navi Mumbai International Airport from Dec 25

Mumbai, Nov 15: Low-cost airline IndiGo on Saturday announced flight operations from the newly-opened Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) starting December 25, connecting the airport to 10 cities across the country.
IndiGo will connect the future-ready airport to 10 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, North Goa (Mopa), Jaipur, Nagpur, Cochin, and Mangalore, the airline said in a statement.
The airline said it plans to expand operations at NMIA progressively by adding direct routes to more destinations in due course.
NMIA, the second airport in the Mumbai metropolitan area, is designed to complement Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and meet growing demand for air travel from India’s financial capital.
NMIA is expected to enhance regional connectivity and support economic development in western India due to its strategic location.
By enhancing regional connectivity and supporting economic development in western India, the launch of IndiGo’s operations will connect the airport to its vast domestic network of 95 airports across the country, it added.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, as a major achievement in India’s economic development and “a symbol of Bharat’s aspirations”.
PM Modi said that Mumbai welcomed its second international airport, marking a significant milestone in its journey to becoming Asia’s premier connectivity hub. “Through this new airport, the farmers of Maharashtra will be able to connect with supermarkets in Europe and the Middle East as well,” he observed.
NMIA will ease congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and significantly increase India’s aviation capacity.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport Private is designed to accommodate both domestic and international passengers, featuring state-of-the-art facilities. It includes a 3,700-metre runway capable of handling large commercial aircraft, modern passenger terminals, and advanced air traffic control systems.
Business
Stock markets end week on a strong note as NDA secures landmark win in Bihar

Mumbai, Nov 15: Indian equity markets ended the week on a strong note, with benchmark indices gaining on the resolution of the US government shutdown, supported by strong domestic fundamentals, better-than-expected Q2 earnings, easing inflation and NDA’s historic victory in Bihar, according to analysts.
Record-low October inflation reinforced expectations of an RBI rate cut, adding momentum to domestic equities.
According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, sectoral momentum was broad-based, led by gains in IT, Pharma, healthcare and Auto stocks.
“Toward the week’s close, the NDA’s Bihar election victory bolstered investor confidence, but fading expectations of a U.S. Fed rate cut triggered profit booking in IT stocks, tempering their earlier gains,” he mentioned.
The indices remained under pressure for most of the session on Friday, oscillating between losses and brief recoveries, before a strong late-afternoon rebound pushed them into the green.
Volatility picked up as markets tracked the Bihar election outcome, the day’s key trigger.
Sentiment was also weighed down by weak global cues after Wall Street fell sharply overnight, led by declines in Nvidia and other tech majors as investors dialled back hopes of near-term rate cuts amid lingering inflation worries, according to a note by Bajaj Broking Research.
At close, the Sensex ended 84 points or 0.1 per cent higher at 84,563, while the Nifty finished 31 points up at 25,910. Sectoral trends were mixed, with PSU banks leading gains at 1.17 per cent, followed by firm moves in pharma and FMCG.
Energy and infrastructure saw mild upticks. On the downside, IT declined 1.03 per cent, while auto, metal, and realty ended lower.
Among the broader market space, Nifty Small-cap 100 rose 0.38 per cent, while the Midcap 100 gained 0.08 per cent.
According to analysts, Nifty on the weekly chart has formed a strong bull candle with a higher high and a higher low signaling pullback after two weeks of corrective decline, “in line with our expectations from the key support area of 25,400-25,300”.
Going ahead, bias continues to remain positive and a follow through strength above last month high of 26,100 will open upside towards the previous all-time high of 26,277 in the coming week.
Looking ahead, market direction will hinge on key macro triggers such as India’s PMI data, US jobless claims, FOMC minutes and progress on US–India trade negotiations.
-
Crime3 years agoClass 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra1 year agoMumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra1 year agoMumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Maharashtra1 year agoFalse photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News1 year agoMinistry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Maharashtra1 year agoMaharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News1 year agoJ&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface
-
Crime1 year agoBaba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
