LIVE: NTPC net profit rises 7.3% in Q3 FY24, revenue decreases 4%

NTPC Ltd.’s consolidated profit rose 7.3 per cent in the third quarter of fiscal 2024 on the back of net movement in regulatory deferral account balances, beating analysts’ estimates. The state-run power producer’s profit increased to Rs 5,208.9 crore in comparison with Rs 4,854.4 crore in the year-ago period, according to an exchange filing on Monday. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had estimated it at Rs 4,866.4 crore. Margin declined to 26.5 per cent, as compared with 32.4 per cent on the back of a drop in revenue and higher fuel costs. Revenue down 4 per cent at Rs 42,820.4 crore vs Rs 44,601.8 crore. Ebitda declined 21.5 per cent to Rs 11,362.1 crore vs Rs 14,477.6 crore.

The first phase of the Rahul Gandhi-led ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in West Bengal concluded on Monday as it crossed into Bihar from Islampur, with plans to resume its journey in the state on January 31.

The Congress yatra has exposed internal rifts within opposition bloc INDIA in West Bengal, with the TMC, which has opted to contest the Lok Sabha elections independently, abstaining and the Left extending support.

The yatra after a night halt in Siliguri travelled to Chopra in Uttar Dinajpur before moving to Islampur and finally entering Bihar.

Party supporters and enthusiasts were seen greeting the Congress leader who was in a vehicle with a tight security cordon around the convoy.

The yatra, which commenced in Manipur on January 14, entered West Bengal from Assam on Thursday morning, with a brief hiatus as Gandhi returned to New Delhi.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar unveiled a new statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside a temple in Queens here, replacing a previous sculpture that was vandalised twice more than a year ago.

Last year, the statue of Gandhi that stood in South Richmond Hill was destroyed. But our solidarity and spirit to rebuild was not. Today, we stood with the community to say in one voice: Hate has no place in our city, Adams said in a post on X.

We embody the values of justice for which Gandhi gave his life, he said after the new statue outside the Shri Tulsi Mandir in South Richmond Hill was unveiled last week.

Rajkumar, Adams, and community leaders unveiled the brand new Mahatma statue, which replaced the one that was “infamously destroyed in a hate crime in August 2022, Rajkumar’s office said.

The unveiling of the new statue sends the message that love will always triumph over hate, her office added.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said he would allay the concerns of his cabinet colleague Chhagan Bhujbal over the OBC quota issue in view of the draft notification on the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas.

Without specifically mentioning the notification, Fadnavis said the government would make amendments if necessary.

His comments came against the backdrop of the draft notification issued by the government accepting the demands of Maratha quota leader Manoj Jarange regarding the issuance of Kunbi caste (OBC) certificates to the “sage soyre” (blood relatives) of Marathas.

He also said the government’s decision (on Kunbi certificate notification) is not a blanket one.

King Charles III on Monday was discharged from a private London clinic after undergoing a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate.

The 75-year-old monarch was admitted to the London Clinic, where the Princess of Wales, his daughter-in-law, also recently had abdominal surgery.

Charles, who ascended the throne 16 months ago, was diagnosed with the benign condition on Jan. 17 after he experienced undisclosed symptoms. He canceled engagements and was urged to rest before the procedure, which had concluded by Friday afternoon.

The king decided to announce the surgery in advance in an effort to encourage other men to have their prostates checked in line with public health advice.

Nearly 18 crore domestic and about 17 lakh foreign tourists visited Rajasthan last year, the state assembly was informed on Monday.

According to a government reply in the Rajasthan Assembly, about 32.44 crore domestic tourists and over 22.20 lakh foreign tourists came to the state from January 2020 to December 2023 to visit its heritage sites.

In the year 2023, more than 17.90 crore domestic tourists and about 16.99 lakh foreign tourists visited Rajasthan, the government said in its reply to a question raised by BJP MLA Kalicharan Saraf.

A total of 1,51,17,239 domestic tourists and 4,46,467 foreign tourists visited Rajasthan in 2020, 2,19,88,734 domestic and 34,806 foreign tourists in 2021 and 10,83,28,156 domestic and 39,684 foreign tourists visited in 2022, the government said.

Notably, the Covid pandemic had affected the tourism industry during the period from 2020 to 2022.

MLA Saraf had asked for year-wise details of domestic and foreign tourist visits made in the state from January 2020 to December 2023.

A lawyer for Prince Harry asked a judge Monday to order the publisher of the Daily Mirror tabloid to pay nearly 2 million pounds ($2.5 million) for a portion of the legal fees spent to prove that Mirror Group Newspapers invaded his privacy by hacking his phone and using unlawful means to dig up scoops on him.

The Duke of Sussex was awarded 140,000 pounds ($178,000) in damages last month after the judge found that phone hacking was widespread and habitual at Mirror newspapers and executives at the papers covered it up.

The award was only a fraction of the sum he sought, but represented a major victory in his legal crusade against the British media. It is only one of several cases he has pending against tabloid publishers as he bucked his family’s longstanding aversion to litigation and in June became the first senior member of the royal family to testify in court in over a century.

Brazil’s federal police on Monday searched the homes and office of Carlos Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and a Rio de Janeiro city councilman, an officer with knowledge of the operation told The Associated Press.

The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to comment publicly about the case.

Police said in a statement that they conducted nine searches Monday as part of a broader investigation into the nation’s intelligence agency and alleged spying on political opponents during Bolsonaro’s term, which ended in Dec. 2022.

Carlos Bolsonaro’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP. Bolsonaro has not commented publicly on the search.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said his government was mulling a law to curb corruption and bring transparency to the system.

Sukhu chaired meetings with MLAs during the day regarding their priority for development-related schemes for the state’s 2024-25 budget.

In the first session, he held talks with legislators from Una, Hamirpur and Sirmaur districts. During the second session in which he met with MLAs from Solan, Chamba, Bilaspur and Lahaul-Spiti districts, Sukhu said, “We are committed to provide transparent and accountable governance, and completely axe corruption.”

The IP University will start the online admission process for all programmes from February 1 to March 31, an official release on Monday said.

The university released three separate admission brochures for the UG, PG and Ph.D programmes for the upcoming academic session 2024-25.

The online application portal for the old programmes of the university will open from February 1 while for new programmes it will be initiated from February 7,” Vice-Chancellor Mahesh Verma told the media.

He added that the university has set up a Centre for Distance and Online Learning to widen the ambit of learning.

The university has this year also opened doors to the international students for Ph. D admissions, Verma said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will next week meet chief executives of top Indian and foreign oil and gas companies, where topics like energy supplies amid geopolitical conflicts and attracting investments are likely to be discussed.

Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the meeting will happen on the sidelines of the second edition of India Energy Week being held in Goa from February 6 to 9.

Prime Minister had in recent years used annual jamboori of oil and gas sector — previously as CERA India Week and now India Energy Week — to meet chief executives of major oil and gas companies with a view to understanding the emerging energy scenario as well as to drum up investments in the energy sector of the country.

India and Asean member countries are set to revisit their free trade agreement (FTA). A delegation from Southeast Asia, comprising about 50 members, including high-ranking officials, will arrive in New Delhi for a three-day discussion starting 17 February, according to two people aware of the matter. –

The review will focus on the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), which has been in place for over a decade, and will likely include more goods and services under non-tariff barriers, said one of the persons cited above. 

“There is also a need to modernise the ATIGA, which has been signed over a decade ago,” the person said, requesting anonymity.

Officials from India and Asean have established a quarterly negotiation schedule, aiming to conclude the review by 2025. A key aspect of this review will be updating the Rules of Origin (ROO), to enhance the efficiency of the agreement, the person added.

State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Monday said the board of the bank has given green signal for raising Rs 7,500 crore through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP)/Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) during 2024-25.

The decision in this respect was taken in a meeting held on January 29.

The board gave nod for raising of equity capital for an amount aggregating up to Rs 7,500 crore in one or more tranches during FY2024-25 through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP)/Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) or any other permitted mode or a combination, PNB said in a regulatory filing.

The fund raising should be done in such a manner that the shareholding of the Government of India does not fall below 52 per cent, it added.

Donald Trump cannot “bully” his way through nomination, Indian-American presidential aspirant Nikki Haley has said after her party said that it’s time for Republicans to unite around the former US president and frontrunner in the race for the White House in 2024.

Haley is the only remaining Republican after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Indian-origin entrepreneur turned politician Vivek Ramaswamy withdrew from the 2024 presidential race earlier this month with both endorsing Trump.

After the New Hampshire primary, where she came in second to Trump, there has been increasing pressure on the 52-year-old politician to withdraw from the race in favour of her former boss. Trump, 77, has also called on her to withdraw from the race.

ITC Ltd reported standalone net profit at Rs 5,572 crore for the December quarter of FY24, registering a growth of 13 percent from Rs 4,927 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year. The results beat Street estimates.

Total revenue from operations of the company fell marginally on year-on-year basis at Rs 17,651.85 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing on January 29.

The cigarettes-to-hotel conglomerate also announced an interim dividend of Rs 6.25 per share for the financial year 2023-2024. The board fixed the record date for the same on February 8.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday expressed apprehension that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections would be the last opportunity for the people to save democracy, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi might prefer dictatorship in case his party wins the upcoming polls.

He also urged people to keep away from the BJP and its ideologue RSS, alleging that they are “like poison”.

“This will be the last opportunity for the people to save democracy in India. If Narendra Modi wins another election, there will be dictatorship in the country. The BJP will rule India like Putin in Russia,” Kharge said while addressing a party rally.

Launching a scathing attack on the BJP and RSS, Kharge said that the present government under Modi is being run by threatening states and leaders of the opposition.

 The Delhi Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have won the best marching contingents in the Republic Day parade of 2024, an official document from the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.

While the Delhi Police wins the best women contingent trophy in ‘judges choice category’, the CRPF in ‘popular choice category’, the document said.

Expressing delight, Delhi Police PRO and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Suman Nalwa in a post on her ‘X’ account said, “A moment of immense pride…Delhi Police marching contingent in Republic Day parade has been declared the ‘Best Marching Contingent’ among the CAPF and other auxiliary forces in Judges Choice category.” “Thanks to everyone who voted for Delhi Police’s Nari Shakti at Kartavya Path,” Nalwa said.

Ships are calling the Spanish port of Barcelona with a delay of 10 to 15 days as they have to travel around Africa to avoid potential attacks in the Red Sea, port chief Lluis Salvado told reporters on Monday.

The official said the delays affected ships carrying all kinds of products, including liquefied natural gas.

Barcelona is one of the largest LNG terminals in Spain.

Still the delays in the western part of the Mediterranean are shorter, as those ports are closer on the detour route around Africa, he said.

“It affects in a very significant way the ports in the Eastern Mediterranean, those like us on the western side are less affected,” Salvado said.