New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved the targeted subsidy of Rs 300 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 9 refills per year (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 kg cylinder) to the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) during FY 2025-26 with an expenditure of Rs 12,000 crore.The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in May 2016 with the objective to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women fr…

Seoul, Aug 8 (IANS) The South Korean government on Friday delayed its decision on Google’s request to export high-precision map data overseas, the transport ministry said, amid pressure from Washington to resolve the issue, calling it a non-tariff barrier.In February, the U.S. tech giant submitted an application to the state-run National Geographic Information Institute under the ministry, seeking approval for the transfer of 1:5,000-scale high-precision map data to its data centres abroad, repo…

Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS) The Indian stock market ended lower on Friday amid heavy selling across the sectors and persistent FIIs outflow due to US tariff jitters.Sensex closed at 79,857.79, down 765.47 or 0.95 per cent. The 30-share index opened in negative territory at 80,478.01 against last session’s closing of 80,623.26 following selling pressure due to US tariff concerns. The index touched an intraday low at 79,775, falling about a per cent to a three-month low, amid overall selling.Nifty ended …

Washington, Aug 8 (IANS) Former US Vice President Mike Pence, in a scathing attack against President Donald Trump’s trade policy, said on Thursday that American companies and consumers are paying the cost of US tariffs.Pence took to X to highlight that the cost of production of US companies like auto giant Ford has shot up following the increase in tariffs on inputs. US consumers are also ending up paying higher prices for goods due to the tariffs levied by Trump, he added.The former Vice Pres…

Brasilia/New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) A day after United States imposed additional 25% tariff on imports from India, bringing it at par with Brazil, a leading scholar reflected on its likely impact on global economic order and how the two nations – members of BRICs can come togther to cushion the impact.In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Emilio Diaz, researcher from the University of Sao Paulo offered deep insights into the consequences of 50% tariffs, imposed by Trump administration on both n…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Income Tax Bill, 2025, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 13 to replace the existing Income Tax Act, 1961, has been formally withdrawn, sources said on Friday.A new version of the Income Tax Bill, incorporating most of the recommendations made by the Select Committee chaired by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda, will be introduced in Parliament on Monday, according to people in the know.To avoid confusion by multiple versions of the Bill and to provide a clear…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved Rs 30,000 crore compensation to three public sector Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, BPCL and HPCL) for the under-recoveries incurred on the sale of domestic LPG.The distribution of the compensation within the OMCs will be done by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The compensation will be paid in 12 tranches, a Cabinet communique said.According to the government, this significant step al…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Union Cabinet on Friday approved four new components under the existing Central Sector Scheme of Special Development Packages (SDPs) for Assam and Tripura with a total outlay of Rs 4,250 crore.According to a Cabinet statement, Rs 500 crore will be given for the development of infrastructure in Adivasi-inhabited villages/areas of Assam as per the Memoranda of Settlement (MoS) signed by the Central government and the Assam government with the Adivasi groups of Assam.Thr…

Washington, Aug 8 (IANS) Former US Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade and senior foreign policy expert, Christopher Padilla, has warned that the ongoing trade tensions could pose a risk of long-term damage to the India-US relationship.”I’m concerned that for the sake of short-term issues, we’re putting this relationship at risk,” Padilla told IANS.He also feared that “there will be a long memory” of US actions in India, potentially leading to “a questioning of whether the United …

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) India’s residential real estate market is witnessing a notable shift in buyer preferences, with the Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore budget segment emerging as the most in demand, accounting for approximately 28 per cent of homebuyers in 2022, rising to 32 per cent in 2023 and further to 35 per cent in 2024, a report said on Friday. Simultaneously, demand in the lower budget segment, or homes priced up to Rs 25 lakh, has declined from 16 per cent in 2022 to 14 per cent in 2024,…