World Bank Raises India’s GDP Growth Forecast to 7.5 pc For 2023-24

by Swati Sucharita

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The World Bank has raised India's economic growth forecast by 1.2 per cent to 7.5 per cent for 2023-24, on the back of robust activity in services and industry in its latest update for South Asia.

New Delhi, Apr 3: The Indian economy is projected to grow at 7.5 per cent in 2024, the World Bank has said, revising its earlier projections for the same period by 1.2 per cent.

The World Bank has raised India's economic growth forecast by 1.2 per cent to 7.5 per cent for 2023-24, on the back of robust activity in services and industry in its latest update for South Asia.

The increase in the projected growth rate for the Indian economy comes following the surprise 8.4 per cent surge in the country’s GDP during the Oct-Dec quarter. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated that the economy is on track to post an 8 per cent growth rate in the Jan-March quarter.

However, the World Bank expects the growth rate to moderate to 6.6 in 2025. The expected slowdown mainly reflects a deceleration in investment from its elevated pace in the previous year.

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Over the medium term, fiscal deficit and government debt in India are projected to decline, supported by strong GDP growth and consolidation efforts by the Central government.

In its latest South Asia Development Update, released on April 2, the World Bank predicts a healthy growth for the region, which is primarily attributed to India's strong performance.

The report indicates that South Asia is poised to remain the world's fastest-growing region for the next two years, with a projected growth rate of 6.1 per cent in 2025.

Bangladesh is expected to see a rise in output by 5.7 per cent in 2024-25, while Pakistan's economy is projected to grow by 2.3 per cent and Sri Lanka's GDP growth is expected to increase by 2.5 per cent during this period.

(IANS)

Stock Market In Top Gear After Budget, Logs Best Weekly Streak In Last 6 Years

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

Mumbai, July 27: Indian stock market witnessed a stellar rally in the Budget week. Last week, Sensex and Nifty surged by 728 points or 0.90 per cent and 303 points or 1.24 per cent respectively. This was the eighth consecutive week when the market closed with gains.

This is the first time since January 22, 2018 that the market has continued to rise for such a long period.

On a weekly basis, Tata Motors (13 per cent), HDFC Life Insurance (10.6 per cent), Sun Pharma (9.3 per cent), NTPC (8.7 per cent), BPCL (8.2 per cent), Titan (7.2 per cent), SBI Life Insurance (6.3 per cent) and Cipla (6 per cent) were the top gainers in the Nifty pack.

During this period, no Nifty stock posted negative returns.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Pharma soared by 5.77 per cent, Nifty Media saw a gain of over 5.5 per cent, Nifty Auto surged by 5.16 per cent, Nifty Energy climbed by 2.79 per cent and Nifty FMCG posted 2.69 per cent weekly gains.

However, Nifty Bank (1.86 per cent), Nifty Realty (1.69 per cent), Nifty Finance (1.19 per cent) and Nifty PSU Bank (0.44 per cent) were the major laggards.

Nifty made a new all-time high of 24,861 and Sensex closed near its lifetime high Friday. Sensex closed at 81,332, up 1,292 points or 1.62 per cent, and Nifty closed at 24,834, up 428 points or 1.76 per cent.

According to market experts, "The market has now recovered its losses from budget day, driven by positive US GDP data and expectations of improved global demand. Moving forward, the direction of the domestic market will likely be influenced by the progress of the earnings season."

"DIIs continue to employ a 'buy on dips' strategy, which contributed to market gains on the week's last trading day, particularly in the pharma, auto, metal, IT, and FMCG sectors," they added.

(IANS)

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Priyanka Chopra's Daughter Malti Marie Invents Indo-Italian Cuisine

by Utkalika Mohanty

Mumbai, July 27: Global star Priyanka Chopra on Saturday shared an adorable glimpse of her daughter Malti Marie, who has come up with a new Indo-Italian cuisine -- Mortadella and roti.

The 'Miss World 2000', who has 91.7 million followers on Instagram, posted a story featuring her little bundle of joy wearing a white floral T-shirt and holding a roti wrapped with mortadella.

Priyanka captioned the picture: "Mortadella and roti," followed by Indian and Italian flag emojis.

In another story, the actress shared a picture of an Australian snack and wrote: "Australia killing it in the snack game."

The 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi' actress also shared a behind-the-scenes video from the shoot of her project on an island.

In the video, she says, "When filming on a Saturday is not that bad."

Currently, Priyanka has been busy shooting for her upcoming action-thriller 'The Bluff'.

The American swashbuckler drama, co-written by Frank E. Flowers and Joe Ballarini, is directed by Flowers. The movie also stars Karl Urban, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Safia Oakley-Green, and Vedanten Naidoo.

Priyanka is married to American singer and actor Nick Jonas.

The couple tied the knot in December 2018. In January 2022, they welcomed their first child, a girl named Malti Marie, via surrogacy.

On the professional front, Priyanka made her acting debut with the 2002 Tamil film 'Thamizhan'. Her Bollywood debut came in 2003 with the spy thriller 'The Hero: Love Story of a Spy'.

She was last seen in the 2023 American romantic comedy-drama ‘Love Again’, co-starring Sam Heughan and Celine Dion.

Priyanka also narrated the wildlife documentary ‘Tiger’, directed by Mark Linfield, Vanessa Berlowitz, and Rob Sullivan.

The 42-year-old actress also has 'Heads of State' in the pipeline.

The action-comedy film, directed by Ilya Naishuller, also stars Idris Elba and John Cena.

--IANS

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"This One Is For My Fans": Ranveer Singh Announces New Film With Aditya Dhar

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

Mumbai, July 27: Ranveer Singh and Aditya Dhar have officially confirmed their new project, featuring a stellar cast that includes Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna and Arjun Rampal.

Taking to his Instagram account Saturday, Ranveer shared the announcement as he posted a black-and-white collage of the cast.

Along with the post, Ranveer added a caption that read, "This one is for my fans, who have been so patient with me, and been clamouring for a turn like this. I love you all, and I promise you, this time, a cinematic experience like never before. With your blessings, we embark on this great, big motion picture adventure with spirited energy and pure intent. This time, it's personal."

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A post shared by Ranveer Singh (@ranveersingh)

The black-and-white photo collage included Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, Aditya Dhar, and Arjun Rampal, all dressed in black and sporting serious expressions.

Aditya Dhar, who is best known for his national-award-winning film 'URI: The Surgical Strike', is directing this major feature.

The film's production involves Jyoti Deshpande from Jio Studios and Lokesh Dhar, alongside Dhar, under their B62 Studios banner.

Meanwhile, Ranveer Singh will also star in Farhan Akhtar's upcoming 'Don 3'. The actor will also appear in Rohit Shetty's Singham Again, where he will be seen sharing the screen with Arjun Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar, and Tiger Shroff.