The Sen Times

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Silver prices extended its steep fall for the third straight day, tumbling Rs 52,000 to Rs 2.60 lakh per kg in the national capital on Monday, while gold fell to Rs 1.52 lakh per 10 grams amid weak global trends and a firm US dollar. According to the All India Sarafa Association, the white metal nosedived Rs 52,000, or nearly 17 per cent, to Rs 2,60,000 per kilogram (inclusive of all taxes). On Saturday, the metal tanked 19 per cent, or Rs 72,500, to Rs 3.12 lakh per kilog

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday claimed that he was not being allowed to quote from former army chief M M Naravanes unpublished book in the Lok Sabha because it indicts Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for letting down the army during the 2020 conflict with China. Speaking to reporters in the Parliament House complex here, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the government is afraid of a line that he wants to quote from

Mumbai, Feb 2 (PTI) Indias white-collar hiring began with a steady foot with a 3 per cent year-on-year increase in January mainly driven by non-IT sectors and fresher hiring, a report said on Monday. White-collar hiring began 2026 on a steady footing, with the Naukri JobSpeak Index witnessing 2,637 points in January a 3 per cent YoY rise from 2,550 points in January 2025 Naukri said in a report. Non-IT sectors were the primary drivers of this growth, with BPO/ITES surging 21 per cent, hospital

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Wearing black shawls as a mark of protest, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with some SIR-affected families and party leaders on Monday met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar here. Last week, CEC Kumar had given time to Banerjee, who has been demanding a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound West Bengal, for a meeting on Monday. Banerjee, who reached the national capital on Sunday, was being accompanied by Trin

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Gold prices recovered to Rs 1.48 lakh per 10 grams in futures trade on Monday after an early sharp fall that triggered the lower circuit level, while silver extended losses to witness heavy selling for the third consecutive day. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures for April delivery opened on a weak note and plunged Rs 10,688, or 7.2 per cent, to hit a low of Rs 1,37,065 per 10 grams during early trade. Later, the metal rebounded strongly, erasing all of it

NEW DELHI, February 1, 2026 (AP) Prime Minister Narendra Modis government presented its annual budget to Parliament on Sunday, focusing on sustaining the countrys economic growth despite volatile financial markets and trade uncertainty. In a speech introducing the budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the governments plans to boost investments in infrastructure and domestic manufacturing while sticking to fiscal prudence. The budget for the 2026-27 financial year, which starts April

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Congress leader Amitabh Dubey on Sunday claimed the Budget was just a series of flashy announcements and alleged that the Modi governments policies had shaken investor confidence and led to a fall in the value of the rupee. One has to be sceptical of the announcements, given the governments past track record on implementation, he said. Dubey, the in charge of research and monitoring in the partys communications department, also slammed the government over the falling rupee

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday used a cricketing analogy to express his disappointment with the Union Budget, saying Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seems to have missed the ball. In an interview with PTI at the news agencys headquarters, Tharoor said Sitharamans Budget speech seemed to have lots of subheadings but very few specifics, and was completely short of an overall vision. As a Kerala MP, Tharoor said, he had nothing to be happy about in this B

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday accused the Centre of branding people of West Bengal as Bangladeshis and lambasted the finance minister for not mentioning the state in her Budget speech. Asked about the Budget, Banerjee said it has no solutions for any community, and called it a faceless, baseless and visionless Budget. The Budget speech was 85 minutes long 5,100 seconds Bengal was not even mentioned. Forget Bengal; farmer, youth

NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (Reuters) Indias government on Sunday handed a major win to Apple by allowing foreign companies to freely provide machines to their contract manufacturers set up in certain areas for five years, without fearing any tax risk. Smartphone manufacturing is a key plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modis agenda, but Apple had been lobbying Indias government to modify its income tax laws to ensure the company is not taxed for ownership of high-end iPhone machinery it provides to its con

MUMBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) Indias annual federal budget was tactical but not a breakthrough, Moodys Ratings said in its reaction to a government roadmap for the next financial year. Planned fiscal consolidation, which will bring the budget gap to 4.3% from 4.4% in the current year, will not change Indias credit profile, Christian de Guzman, senior vice president at Moodys Ratings, told Reuters. (Despite Indias) lengthening track record of deficit consolidation or fiscal discipline, this deficit is

MUMBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) Indias central government will borrow a record 17.2 lakh crore rupees ($187.6 billion) in fiscal year 202627, with the bond supply higher than most market estimates, the annual budget showed on Sunday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a budget that makes a fresh bet on the local manufacturing sector in Asias third-biggest economy, pledging to accelerate growth amid a volatile global environment. The gross borrowing will be 17% higher than the current fiscal

Jan 30 (Reuters) C.J. Roy, the founder and chair of real-estate firm Confident Group, died by suicide in the southern city of Bengaluru on Friday, local police said. Roy shot himself and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, Bengaluru city police chief Seemanth Kumar Singh told the media in a briefing. Initial reports suggest that there was an ongoing tax raid, Singh said, without disclosing further details. Authorities were conducting income tax raids against the group in Bengaluru when Ro

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) Declaring the right to menstrual health as part of the right to life under the Constitution, the Supreme Court on Friday directed all states and Union Territories to provide free oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins to girl students and functional, gender-segregated toilets for all the students. In a landmark judgment to ensure gender justice and educational equity, a bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued a slew of directions to all states and UTs t

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) Gold prices tumbled by Rs 14,000 per 10 grams and silver prices tanked by Rs 20,000 per kg in the national capital on Friday as investors booked heavy profits amid weak global trends and a rebound in the US dollar. According to the marketmen, gold of 99.9 per cent purity plunged by Rs 14,000, or 7.65 per cent, to Rs 1,69,000 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes). The precious metal had hit an all-time high of Rs 1,83,000 per 10 grams on Thursday, after rising by Rs 12,000

WASHINGTON, January 30, 2026 (AP) President Donald Trump said Friday that he will nominate former Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Fed, a decision likely to result in sharp changes to the powerful agency that could bring it closer to the White House. Warsh would replace current chair Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. Trump chose Powell to lead the Fed in 2017 but this year has relentlessly assailed him for not cutting interest rates quickly enough. I ha

GENEVA, Jan 30 (Reuters) A World Health Organization official said on Friday that the risk of the spread of the Nipah virus is low, saying that none of the over 190 contacts of the two people infected in India had tested positive or developed symptoms of the disease. Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are among the Asian locations that tightened airport screening checks this week to guard against such a spread after India confirmed infections. The risk on a national, regional

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 30 (PTI) Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday lauded party leader Rahul Gandhi as a sincere person who was a strong voice on various issues like communalism in the country. Tharoor said that everyone likes Rahul as he constantly speaks against the politics of communalism, hatred and divisiveness in the country. I do not have a different opinion on that, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram told reporters here. Tharoor also said that he had never agreed with any wrong c

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) A day after the Economic Survey called for re-examining the RTI law, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday asked whether it was RTIs turn to get murdered after MGNREGAs killing. In a post on X, Kharge accused the Union government of systematically weakening the RTI Act and unleashing a climate of terror that punishes truth-seekers as he pointed out that over 100 RTI activists had been murdered since 2014. The Economic Survey has called for re-examination of the

Mumbai, Jan 30 (PTI) The rupee on Friday hit its record low of 92.02 before ending a tad higher at 91.97 against the US dollar, amid a firm American currency and volatile geopolitical cues. Forex traders said sustained withdrawal of foreign funds and a negative trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiment. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.89 and gained ground, touching 91.82 against the greenback during intraday trade. The currency touched its lowest-ever lev

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 30 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 78th death anniversary and claimed that the Sangh Parivar was still afraid of him and his memory and that is why his name was removed from the rural employment guarantee scheme. Vijayan, in a Facebook post, said that Gandhi was killed because of his uncompromising stance on secularism and his vision of a pluralistic India that embraces diversity and disagreement. He claimed that

With a scarf dangling from your coat pocket and those gloves left behind at the coffee shop, there are simply more things to lose in winter. Thats not counting your misplaced keys at home or those exasperated moments looking for your phone when you say, I just had it! Try not to beat yourself up. Even Mark McDaniel, who has been studying human memory and learning for almost 50 years, left a hat under his chair recently at a restaurant. He doesnt usually wear hats, so he forgot it. I should know

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday lamented the exploitation of workers by service provider agencies and said now they have emerged as the real exploiters in urban centres. I have personally and officially seen this. The Supreme Court paid to an agency for hiring a particular set of skilled employees, paying Rs 40,000, and actually those poor girls were getting only Rs 19,000, Chief Justice Surya Kant said. The bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, was hearing a PIL

Bhubaneswar, Jan 29 (PTI) World Bank Group President Ajay Banga on Thursday said India should think less about tariffs and focus more on opportunities, amid concerns over global trade due to geopolitical tensions. Elaborating on Indias opportunities in trade deals, Banga said over 100 regional and bilateral pacts have been signed by the country in the last 20 years, and the recent India-EU free trade agreement is an example of that. Think less about the tariffs, and more about the opportunities

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Silver prices surpassed the Rs 4 lakh per kilogram mark in the national capital on Thursday, while gold hit a new peak of Rs 1.83 lakh per 10 grams, tracking a sharp rally in global markets and strong investor demand for the safe-haven assets. According to the All India Sarafa Association, silver extended the gains for the fourth consecutive session and surged Rs 19,500, or 5.06 per cent, to a record Rs 4,04,500 per kilogram (inclusive of all taxes). The white metal had c

Mumbai, Jan 29 (PTI) Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Thursday, helped by a rally in blue-chip Larsen & Toubro and the Economic Survey projecting the GDP growth of 6.8-7.2 per cent for the next fiscal. Erasing its early losses, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 221.69 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 82,566.37. During the morning trade, it tanked 636.74 points or 0.77 per cent to 81,707.94. The 50-share NSE Nifty edged higher by 76.15 points or 0.30 per cent to end at

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas including the one filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms challenging the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of electoral rolls in Bihar. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi concluded the final hearing after a battery of lawyers including Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Prashant Bhushan and Gopal Sankaranarayan argued in the matter. The poll panel was represente

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Silver prices extended their blistering rally on Thursday, soaring 6 per cent to cross the Rs 4 lakh per kilogram-mark, while gold scaled a lifetime high of Rs 1.8 lakh per 10 grams, tracking record gains in the global markets amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Extending the gains for the fifth straight day, silver futures for March delivery surged by Rs 24,434, or 6.34 per cent, to a new record of Rs 4,09,800 per kilogram. In the last five trading sessions, the

NEW DELHI, Jan 29 (Reuters) Indias chief economic adviser called on the government to set age-based limits on access to social media apps to counter digital addiction, cautioning against use of platforms by children in the largest user market for Meta and YouTube. A shift in India would align with a growing global trend. Australia last year became the first nation to enforce a social media ban for children under 16. Frances National Assembly on Monday backed legislation to ban children under 15

DHAKA, Bangladesh, January 29, 2026 (AP) From her exile in India, Bangladeshs ousted leader Sheikh Hasina has slammed the countrys upcoming election after her party was barred from the polls, remarks that could deepen tensions ahead of the pivotal vote next month. Hasina, who was sentenced to death for her crackdown on a student uprising in 2024 that killed hundreds of people and led to the toppling of her 15-year rule, warned in an email to The Associated Press last week that without inclusive

Mumbai, Jan 29 (PTI) The rupee hit an all-time low of 92.00 against the American currency in early trade on Thursday, weighed down by steady dollar demand and a cautious global mood. Forex traders said the rupee fell after the dollar index rose from its 4-1/2-year lows, following the FEDs announcement that it kept rates unchanged at the conclusion of its first policy decision of 2026. Moreover, rising geopolitical uncertainty has increased risk aversion, keeping emerging market currencies under

New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) Gold and silver prices showed no signs of cooling as both precious metals scaled fresh records in the national capital on Wednesday amid a weak US dollar and strong buying trends in global markets. According to the marketmen, silver extended its gains for the third straight day by soaring Rs 15,000, or 4.05 per cent, to touch an all-time high of Rs 3,85,000 per kilogram (inclusive of all taxes). In the previous session, the white metal jumped sharply by Rs 40,500 to Rs 3,

Deoria/Raebareli, Jan 28 (PTI) Protests against the new UGC rules intensified in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, with large-scale demonstrations reported from Deoria, an agitator writing a letter to the prime minister with his blood in Kaushambi, and a BJP functionary quitting his post in Raebareli. The row erupted after the University Grants Commission (UGC) on January 13 notified the new regulations, making it mandatory for all higher education institutions to constitute equity committees comprisi

HYDERABAD, Jan 28 (Reuters) Adani Airports on Wednesday urged India to ease limits on how many seats foreign airlines can sell on flights to and from the country, saying the curbs are holding back its ambition to become a global aviation hub. The limits, part of bilateral air service agreements, are designed to protect domestic airlines, but have long been a source of frustration for overseas carriers. Dubais Emirates, for example, has said demand was much higher than the weekly seat caps under

Mumbai, Jan 28 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher on Wednesday, extending their previous days rally, on optimism over the India-EU landmark free trade agreement. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 487.20 points or 0.60 per cent to settle at 82,344.68. During the day, it soared 646.49 points or 0.78 per cent to 82,503.97. The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 167.35 points or 0.66 per cent to end at 25,342.75. From the 30-Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics surged nearly 9 per cent pos

Mumbai, Jan 28 (PTI) The rupee pared initial gains and settled for the day in the negative territory, down 11 paise at 91.79 (provisional) against the US dollar, as the support from the retreating dollar index was negated by sustained foreign fund outflows. Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, selling pressure from foreign funds and ongoing geopolitical tensions dented inve

New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) A deeply concerning picture of Indias mental health landscape emerged at the 77th Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS 2026), where experts revealed that nearly 60 per cent of mental disorders were diagnosed in individuals below the age of 35. The data shared during high-level scientific deliberations underscores that mental illness in India is no longer confined to later stages of life but is increasingly affecting adolescents, young adult

HONG KONG, Jan 28 (Reuters) A team of Hong Kong scientists has developed an artificial intelligence weather-forecasting system to predict thunderstorms and heavy downpours up to four hours ahead, compared with the range of 20 minutes to two hours now. The system will help governments and emergency services respond more effectively to increasingly frequent extremes of weather linked to climate change, the team from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said on Wednesday. We hope to use

New York, Jan 28 (PTI) India came out on top in the trade deal with the European Union and is going to have a heyday with this, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in the first reaction from the Trump administration on the free trade agreement. Greer was responding to a question on the trade agreement, billed as the mother of all deals, sealed between India and the EU on Tuesday. Ive looked at some of the details of the deal so far. I think India comes out on top on this, frankly. They

Pune, Jan 28 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other persons were killed after an aircraft carrying them crashed in Pune district on Wednesday morning, officials said. The incident occurred when the plane carrying Pawar (66) and others landed near Baramati, they said. According to Flight Radar, the flight took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and it disappeared from radar around 8.45 am. Pawar was traveling to Baramati from Mumbai to address public meetings as part of the cam

New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) Gold and silver prices dazzled in the national capital on Tuesday, with both precious metals vaulting to uncharted highs, driven by strong investor demand and a global rally amid rising geopolitical and trade tensions. According to marketmen, gold of 99.9 per cent purity increased Rs 7,300, or 4.6 per cent, to touch an all-time high of Rs 1,66,000 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes). The yellow metal had closed at Rs 1,58,700 per 10 grams on Friday. Bullion markets rema

Lucknow, Jan 27 (PTI) Protests erupted in several districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Aligarh, Sambhal, and Kushinagar, against the University Grants Commissions new regulations, with student groups and organisations demanding immediate rollback. In Aligarh, members of the right-wing student organisation Rashtrawadi Chaatra Sangathan and Kshatriya Mahasabha blocked the cavalcade of Hathras BJP MP Anoop Pradhan at the district collectorate on Tuesday. The protestors also burnt an effigy of the

NEW DELHI, January 27, 2026 (AP) After nearly two decades of negotiations, India and the European Union announced Tuesday they have reached a free trade agreement to deepen economic and strategic ties. The accord, which the EU chief described as the mother of all deals, could affect as many as 2 billion people. The deal between two of the worlds biggest markets comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major econo

NEW DELHI, Jan 27 (Reuters) India and the European Union have finalised a landmark trade deal that will represent a quarter of the worlds economy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, as the two sides seek to hedge against fickle ties with the U.S. After nearly two decades of on-off negotiations, the deal will pave the way for India to open up its vast and guarded market, the worlds largest, to free trade with the 27-nation EU, its biggest trading partner. Yesterday, a big agree

New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) Banking operations at public sector banks across the country were impacted on Tuesday as the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) went on nationwide strike demanding the immediate implementation of a five-day work week. The strike call by the UFBU, an umbrella body of nine unions representing officers and employees, comes after a conciliation meeting with the Chief Labour Commissioner on January 23 failed to yield a positive outcome. Since there was no positive outcome and

LAKSHMIPUR, Bangladesh, January 27, 2026 (AP) A labor recruiter persuaded Maksudur Rahman to leave the tropical warmth of his hometown in Bangladesh and travel thousands of miles to frigid Russia for a job as a janitor. Within weeks, he found himself on the front lines of Russias war in Ukraine. An Associated Press investigation found that Bangladeshi workers were lured to Russia under the false promise of civilian work, only to be thrust into the chaos of combat in Ukraine. Many were threatene

SINGAPORE, Jan 27 (Reuters) India and China cut emissions from electricity generation by accelerating clean energy deployment, researchers say, offsetting growing coal use in the U.S. and capping global growth in pollutants linked to climate change. Power sector emissions by China and India, the worlds top coal users who accounted for 93% of the rise in carbon dioxide discharges in the decade through 2024, declined simultaneously for the first time in 52 years, according to a report by Centre f

A large U.S. study finds that lifetime alcohol consumption raises 91% risk of colorectal and rectal cancer, while people who quit may see their risk drop back toward light drinkers. The findings add new urgency to conversations about alcohol, cancer and prevention. A long-term study of more than 88,000 U.S. adults has found that people who averaged at least 14 alcoholic drinks a week across adulthood faced a substantially higher risk of colorectal cancer and an especially high risk of rectal ca

BERLIN, Jan 27 (Reuters) European carmakers, squeezed by U.S. tariffs and price wars in China, will get a welcome boost from an EU-India trade deal that sharply drops tariffs on car imports, but face a tough market dominated by homegrown firms and compact Japanese kei cars. India and the European Union are set to sign a trade deal on Tuesday, including slashing tariffs on imports of EU-made cars to 40% from as high as 110%, the biggest opening yet of Indias vast market for Volkswagen and Renaul

DAVOS, Switzerland, January 23, 2026 (AP) Leading global economic policymakers at the World Economic Forum in Davos urged countries and businesses to filter out the turmoil from a week of clashes with the Trump administration and focus on boosting growth and fighting inequality in a world where trade will continue to flow and international cooperation is still badly needed. The global economy is showing unexpected resilience despite the noise, European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde, Inter