MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: India’s incoming government will be greeted with a $25 billion cheque from the central bank, giving it the option to either boost spending or narrow the fiscal deficit quicker, both of which will be cheered by investors.
On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a record 2.11 trillion rupees dividend transfer to the government, more than double New Delhi’s and street estimates, leading to a decline in bond yields and a rise in equity markets.
The surplus fund can help the new government, which will take charge after the current elections, bring down its fiscal deficit by 0.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) or increase spending on infrastructure or “populist” stimulus, Citi Research’s Samiran Chakraborty said.
“The bond markets would likely hope that the government follows the deficit reduction route, while the equity markets would likely prefer the government taking the expenditure increase one,” said Chakraborty.
During the election campaigns, the opposition Congress promised annual cash handouts of 100,000 rupees ($1,202.07) to poor women and unemployed youth. The party’s star campaigner Rahul Gandhi also promised debt waiver for farmers.
But Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has avoided promising any new major welfare measures.
“Despite higher revenue from the RBI dividend, we doubt the government would opt for more populist expenditure in its budget, if the government is BJP-led,” said Shreya Sodhani, an economist at Barclays.
“The current government has not shown a disposition toward populist spending even in an election year.”
The BJP-led government resisted the temptation of spending trillions of rupees on schemes for the poor in its last budget before the election while raising spending on infrastructure to 11.11 trillion rupees, more than three time the sum spent in 2019.
QUICKER FISCAL CONSOLIDATION
The new government will likely present the final budget in July, leaving the administration with only eight months to spend funds allocated to them.
Government spending has been slow so far in the year, with the start of elections from April. Tax collections, meanwhile, have been strong due to buoyancy in the economy.
India collected a record 2.10 trillion rupees in goods and services taxes in April, the first month of the financial year, ensuring the government is on track to meet its planned fiscal goal of 5.1 percent of GDP this year.
This could mean the government will lean toward using the bumper dividend for fiscal consolidation.
There is scope for a slight reduction in the targeted fiscal deficit for the current year, said Ashima Goyal, a professor and an external member of the country’s monetary policy committee, who expects the government to comfortably achieve the targeted fiscal deficit of 4.5 percent by 2025/26.
India’s fiscal deficit ballooned to 9.2 percent during the pandemic but the government has steadily brought this down.
But bringing down the deficit by 130 basis points from 5.8 percent in 2023/24 was seen as challenging and dependent on one-off revenue from either privatization or auction of telecom spectrum.
($1 = 83.1900 Indian rupees)
India’s new government will be spoilt for choice with $25 billion extra in kitty
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India’s new government will be spoilt for choice with $25 billion extra in kitty
- Indian central bank has announced record 2.11 trillion rupees dividend transfer to government, more than double New Delhi’s and street estimates
- Surplus fund can help the new government bring down fiscal deficit by 0.3 percent of GDP or increase spending on infrastructure or “populist” stimulus
Putin tells Trump Russia is ready for next round of Ukraine talks
- Putin and Trump held a call for the fifth time since the Republican took office and sought to reset relations with Moscow
- Zelensky urges the US to “shift tone” in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was “too warm” and would not help to end the fighting
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump Saturday that Moscow was ready to hold a fresh round of peace talks with Kyiv after June 22, once the sides complete exchanging prisoners and soldiers’ bodies.
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile did not mention whether Ukraine would agree to the next round of talks, only saying that “the exchanges will be completed and the parties will discuss the next step.”
Putin and Trump held a call for the fifth time since the Republican took office and sought to reset relations with Moscow, in a stark pivot from the approach of his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration.
Trump’s approach has stunned Washington’s allies, raising doubts about the future of US aid to Kyiv and leaving Europe scrambling to work out how it can fill any gap in supplies if Trump decides to pull US military, financial and intelligence support.
“Both leaders expressed satisfaction with their personal relations” during the call, in which they also discussed the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, the Kremlin said.
It added that the presidents “communicate in a businesslike manner and seek solutions to pressing issues on the bilateral and international agenda, no matter how complex these issues may be.”
Trump posted on Truth Social to say Putin had called “to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday” on the day he turned 79, but that “more importantly” the two discussed the Iran-Israel crisis.
“He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,” Trump said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Zelensky urged the United States to “shift tone” in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was “too warm” and would not help to end the fighting.
“Any signals of reduced aid, or of treating Ukraine and Russia as equals, are deeply unfair. Russia is the aggressor. They started this war. They do not want to end it,” the Ukrainian President said on X.
The recent escalation sparked fears Washington might relocate resources at its expense, to beef up the defense of its close ally Israel which unleashed a large-scale attack on Iran Friday.
“We would like to see aid to Ukraine not decrease because of this,” he said. “Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.”
Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine and Russia swapped prisoners in the fourth such exchange this week, part of a large-scale plan to bring back 1,000 wounded prisoners from each side and return bodies of killed soldiers.
The prisoner agreement was the only visible result of two recent rounds of talks in Istanbul.
Photos published by Zelensky on Telegram showed men of various ages, mostly with shaved heads, wearing camouflage and draped in Ukrainian flags.
Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling.
Moscow’s defense ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting “Glory to Russia” and “hooray,” some raising their fists in the air.
As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv also said it had received another 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia.
It said Moscow had said they were those of “Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel.” Ukraine did not say whether it returned any bodies to Russia.
Russia has rejected calls to halt its three-year offensive. It has demanded Ukraine cede territory and renounce Western military support if it wants peace.
Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the assault has forced millions of people to flee their homes as towns and cities across eastern Ukraine have been flattened by heavy bombardments.
Meanwhile, Russia intensified its advances along the front line, especially on the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy, where it seeks to establish a “buffer zone.”
By doing it, Moscow seeks to protect its bordering region of Kursk, previously partly occupied by Ukraine.
Zelensky said Russia’s advance on Sumy was stopped and that Kyiv’s forces had managed to retake one village.
He also denied Moscow’s earlier claims that its troops entered the Dnipropetrovsk region.
He said 53,000 Russian soldiers were involved in the Sumy operation.
US capital divided by Trump’s military parade
- The divided US capital epitomized a political rift in the United States that Saturday’s display of soldiers, tanks and fighter jets looked to further deepen
WASHINGTON: As Donald Trump supporters queued to watch a military parade in Washington, hundreds of protesters marched less than a mile away chanting that the US president was a “fascist.”
The divided US capital epitomized a political rift in the United States that Saturday’s display of soldiers, tanks and fighter jets looked to further deepen.
For Shaun Dailey, who traveled from neighboring Pennsylvania, the parade was simply a chance to honor the US Army on its birthday, which coincided with Trump’s 79th.
“Some of them say that, ‘Oh, it looks like North Korea. Oh, it looks like Russia,’ because America doesn’t do very many military parades. I don’t know, because we’re told to be ashamed of who we are,” the 22-year-old said.
“But I personally don’t see that as authoritarian. I don’t see it as fascist or whatever. I just see it as a celebration.”
Brent Kuykendall, 66, who flew from Texas with his wife to see the parade, agreed that it was a form of “patriotism.”
“It’s more than Trump. It’s to celebrate our country,” said Kuykendall, who carried a bag styled with US flags.
But many in liberal Washington were uneasy with the huge military display that has seen much of the downtown area shut down by roadblocks.
Secret Service agents, some with sniffer dogs, prowled the entry points to the National Mall area where the parade was taking place Saturday.
The White House — typically visible for tourists behind a single metal fence — was cordoned off with a large black barrier reading “Do not enter.”
A few hundred protesters marched to the perimeter to voice their opposition to the military parade — and Trump’s second presidency.
“I flew in to oppose Trump’s fascist birthday parade,” said Sam Richards, a US army veteran from Minneapolis, some 1,000 miles from Washington.
“All of this feels like a cruel joke, to use people that swore an oath to the Constitution and are devoting their lives to the military as pawns for a guy who wants to be a king,” Richards, 34, said.
He was surrounded by activists who held signs reading “Pro USA, anti Trump” and “Americans will not be ruled.”
There was also a wooden model where protesters had gathered earlier depicting Trump with an elongated nose, sitting on a toilet with suit trousers around his ankles.
Organizers emphasized the rally should be nonviolent — but some were still wary of Trump’s promise last week that anyone trying to derail the military parade would be met by “heavy force.”
“It’s very important to stand out here today because there’s so many people that are afraid,” said Anahi Rivas-Rodriguez, 24, who is from Washington.
She acknowledged she felt “intimidated” by comments made by the president.
“But that does not stop me, because protesting is patriotic.”
The Washington protest was among hundreds of rallies taking place across the United States on Saturday, including New York City and Los Angeles.
Bill Kennedy, 68, traveled to the capital from neighboring Pennsylvania as he believed it was crucial to display opposition to Trump.
“I think he needs to see that. You know, he’s not going to get away with intimidation, threats, violence and thuggery, that people will still be opposed no matter what,” he said.
Thousands of protesters crowd into streets, parks and plazas at anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ demonstrations
Thousands of protesters crowd into streets, parks and plazas at anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ demonstrations
- Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity “No Kings” rally quickly reached its limit, with thousands more demonstrators gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol
PHILADELPHIA: Thousands of demonstrators crowded into streets, parks and plazas across the US on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump, marching through downtowns and blaring anti-authoritarian chants mixed with support for protecting democracy and immigrant rights.
Governors across the US urged calm and vowed no tolerance for violence, while some mobilized the National Guard ahead of marchers gathering in major downtowns and small towns. Through midday, confrontations were isolated.
Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity “No Kings” rally quickly reached its limit, with thousands more demonstrators gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol. Huge, boisterous crowds marched in New York, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, some behind “no kings” banners.
In Minnesota, organizers canceled demonstrations as police worked to track down a suspect in the shootings of two Democratic legislators and their spouses. Meanwhile, ahead of an evening demonstration in Austin, Texas, law enforcement said it was investigating a credible threat against lawmakers.
Intermittent light rain fell as marchers gathered for the flagship rally in Philadelphia’s Love Park. They shouted “Whose streets? Our streets!” as they marched to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where they listened to speakers on the steps made famous in the movie “Rocky.”
“So what do you say, Philly?” Democratic US Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland shouted to the crowd. “Are you ready to fight back? Do you want a gangster state or do you want free speech in America?”
Trump was in Washington for a military parade marking the Army’s 250th anniversary that coincides with the president’s birthday. There, a massive demonstration toured the city’s streets, led by a banner reading, “Trump must go now.”
In Charlotte, demonstrators trying to march through downtown briefly faced off with police forming a barricade with their bicycles, chanting “let us walk,” while law enforcement in northern Atlanta deployed tear gas to divert several hundred protesters heading toward Interstate 285. A journalist was seen being detained by officers and police helicopters flew above the crowd.
In some places, organizers handed out little American flags while others flew their flags upside down, a sign of distress. Mexican flags, which have become a fixture of the Los Angeles protests against immigration raids, made an appearance at some demonstrations Saturday.
Protests were planned in nearly 2,000 locations across the country, from city blocks and small towns to courthouse steps and community parks, organizers said. The 50501 Movement orchestrating the protests says it picked the “No Kings” name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement.
The demonstrations come on the heels of protests across the country over federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.
Philadelphia
Thousands gathered in downtown Love Park, with organizers handing out small American flags and people carried protest signs saying “fight oligarchy” and “deport the mini-Mussolinis.”
Karen Van Trieste, a 61-year-old nurse who drove up from Maryland, said she grew up in Philadelphia and wanted to be with a large group of people showing her support.
“I just feel like we need to defend our democracy,” she said. She is concerned about the Trump administration’s layoffs of staff at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fate of immigrant communities and the Trump administration trying to rule by executive order, she said.
A woman wearing a foam Statue of Liberty crown brought a speaker system and led an anti-Trump sing-along, changing the words “young man” in the song “Y.M.C.A.” to “con man.”
One man in Revolutionary War era garb and a tricorn hat held a sign with a quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson: “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”
Los Angeles
Thousands gathered in front of City Hall in a boisterous crowd, waving signs and listening to a Native American drum circle and dance performances before marching through the streets.
Signs included “They fear us, don’t back down California,” “Protesting is not a crime,” “We carry dreams not danger” and “ICE out of LA.”
Protesters staged impromptu dance parties and, on the march, passed National Guard troops or US Marines stationed at various buildings. Most interactions were friendly, with demonstrators giving fist bumps or posing for selfies, but others chanted “shame” at the troops.
One demonstrator carried a 2-foot-tall (60-centimeter) Trump pinata on a stick, with a crown on his head and sombrero hanging off his back while another hoisted a huge helium-filled orange baby balloon with blond hair styled like Trump’s.
North Carolina
Crowds cheered anti-Trump speakers in Charlotte’s First Ward Park and chanted “we have no kings” before marching, chanting “No kings, no crowns, we will not bow down” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”
Marchers stretched for blocks, led by a group of people holding a giant Mexican flag and bystanders cheering and clapping for protesters along the way.
Jocelyn Abarca, a 21-year-old college student, said the protest was a chance to “speak for what’s right” after mass deportations and the deployment of the National Guard to deal with protesters in Los Angeles last week.
“If we don’t stop it now, it’s just going to keep getting worse,” she said of the Trump administration’s actions.
Minnesota
Before organizers canceled demonstrations in the state, Gov. Tim Walz took to social media to issue a warning after the shootings.
“Out of an abundance of caution my Department of Public Safety is recommending that people do not attend any political rallies today in Minnesota until the suspect is apprehended,” he wrote.
Florida
About a thousand people gathered on the grounds of Florida’s old Capitol in Tallahassee, where protesters chanted, “This is what community looks like,” and carried signs with messages like “one nation under distress” and “dissent is patriotic.”
Organizers of the rally explicitly told the crowd to avoid any conflicts with counterprotesters and to take care not to jaywalk or disrupt traffic.
One march approached the gates of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where sheriff’s deputies turned them back.
Ancient Malian city celebrates annual replastering of mosque
- The annual replastering with “banco” — a mix of earth and water — shields the mosque from harsh weather
DJÉNNÉ, Mali: Thousands of Malians have replastered the iconic earthen mosque in the historic city of Djenne during an annual ceremony that helps preserve the World Heritage site.
To the sound of drums and festive music, townsmen on Thursday coated the towering three-minaret mosque with fresh mud plaster.
The annual replastering with “banco” — a mix of earth and water — shields the mosque from harsh weather ahead of the Sahel region’s often violent rainy season.
“This mosque belongs to the whole world,” said Aboubacar Sidiki Djiteye, his face streaked with mud as he joined the “unifying” ritual.
“There’s no bigger event in Djenne than this,” he told AFP.
“Replastering the mosque is a tradition handed down from generation to generation,” said Bayini Yaro, one of the women tasked with carrying water for the plaster mix.
Locals prepared the mix themselves, combining water, earth, rice bran, shea butter and baobab powder — a hallmark of Sahel-Sudanese architecture.
Chief mason Mafoune Djenepo inspected the fresh coating.
“The importance of this mosque is immense. It’s the image on all Malian stamps,” he said.
A blessing ceremony followed the replastering, with Qur’anic verses recited in the mosque courtyard. Participants then shared dates and sweets.
First erected in the 13th century and rebuilt in 1907, the mosque is considered the world’s largest earthen structure, according to the United Nations’ cultural body, UNESCO.
Djenne, home to around 40,000 residents and known for preserving its traditional banco houses, has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage list since 1988.
The site was added to the endangered heritage list in 2016 due to its location in central Mali, where jihadist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group, as well as ethnic militias and criminal gangs, have waged a violent insurgency since 2012.
Regulator orders inspection of Boeing 787s
- The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Britain’s Gatwick Airport began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world’s worst aviation disaster in a
AHMEDABAD: India’s aviation regulator has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected after an Air India crash killed 270 people this week, the aviation minister said on Saturday, adding the authorities were investigating all possible causes.
The aviation regulator on Friday ordered Air India to conduct additional maintenance checks on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including assessments of certain take-off parameters, electronic engine control tests, and engine fuel-related checks.
“We have also given the order to do the extended surveillance of the 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian fleet,” Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told a media briefing in New Delhi.
“Eight have already been inspected, and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done.”
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Britain’s Gatwick Airport began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
Air India operates 33 Boeing 787s, while rival airline IndiGo has one, according to data from Flightradar24.
In a statement, Air India said it is currently completing the one-time safety checks directed by the Indian regulator, adding that “some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes.”
The planes, however, have not been grounded, but a source on Friday said the Indian government was considering that as an option.
Naidu also said the government will look at all possible theories of what led to the crash.
Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash, including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down, Reuters has reported.
At least 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash, said Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at B.J. Medical College.
Only one of the 242 passengers and crew on board survived, while others were killed as the plane struck the medical college’s hostel as it came down.
The crisis has cast a shadow on Air India, which has for years struggled to rebuild its reputation and revamp its fleet after the Tata Group took over the airline from the Indian government in 2022. Tata’s chairman said on Friday the group wants to understand what happened, but “we don’t know right now.”
Naidu said a government panel was investigating the crash and will issue a report within three months.
“We are going to improve every necessary thing that is going to come our way, to improve the safety,” he said at the briefing, declining questions from journalists.
Dozens of anxious family members have been waiting outside an Ahmedabad hospital to collect the bodies of loved ones killed in the crash, as doctors were working overtime to gather dental samples from the deceased to run identification checks and DNA profiling.
Rafiq Abdul Hafiz Memon, who lost four relatives in the incident, said he was not getting any answers from authorities and was “very hassled.”
“We have lost our children ... we are not understanding anything. Please help us get information about our children. Tell us when they are going to release their bodies,” Memon said.
Another father was upset about not being able to get the body of his son, Harshad Patel, saying he was told by authorities it would take 72 hours for DNA profiling.
“The authorities are trying to help, but our patience is running out,” he said.
Most bodies in the crash were badly charred, and authorities are using dental samples to run identification checks.
Jaishankar Pillai, a forensic dentist, told reporters on Friday that they had the dental records of 135 charred victims, which can then be matched through reference to victims’ prior dental charts, radiographs, or other records.
Even for doctors, things are getting difficult, as the plane struck a hostel building of the B.J. Medical College, where many of the dead are undergoing identification checks.
“Most of us are struggling with our emotions and are mentally disturbed because of the loss of friends and colleagues,” said one doctor who did not wish to be named.
“The loss of so many colleagues and friends in this incident is difficult.”
