Financial Aid

The telecom industry's financial health needs to improve if India's dream of digital connectivity across the country has to be fulfilled, Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman Akhil Gupta said on Tuesday. Very poor return on capital is a big hindrance in telecom development in India today and unless it changes, investments will dry up at some point or the other, he said while speaking at the Times Network India Digital Fest here. However, due to competitive reasons increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) has been difficult and the industry players need to work together so that the ARPU goes up to Rs 300 in a phased manner in the next few years. "The big hindrance in telecom development in India today is the very poor return on capital, which this industry has, and at some point in time, that will have to change because otherwise, the investments will dry up at some point or the other," Gupta said. Return on capital is a big hindrance today and that's the reason why "a very big and a

More than a thousand students from poor financial background studying at the Delhi University have received the benefit of the varsity's fee waiver scheme so far, an official said on Friday. Eighty per cent of them have received full waiver of their fees, the official told PTI, adding that the benefits amount to more than Rs 1 crore. The DU announced the fee-waiver scheme in November last year. The waiver includes all components of the fees paid by the students barring those for examination and hostel. Under the Financial Support Scheme (FSS) launched by the University of Delhi, so far more than 1,009 needy students have received benefits of about Rs 1 crore, DU's Dean of Students Welfare Pankaj Arora told PTI. The Dean of the Students Welfare Office collected the necessary data from the deserving candidates. Around 1,700 applications were received for the scheme for financially weak students, an official said on Friday. "After due verification, which includes the home visit of th

NBFC Moneyboxx Finance on Friday said it has secured a Rs 20 crore term loan from Maanaveeya Development & Finance, and the funds will be used for onward lending to micro entrepreneurs. Maanaveeya is an Indian subsidiary of Oikocredit. Moneyboxx is supported by 24 lenders, including SBI, IDFC First Bank, DCB Bank, AU SFB, and has raised cumulative debt of close to Rs 400 crore. With planned equity raise and continuous support from lenders and co-lending partnerships, the company is targeting asset under management (AUM) of Rs 1,000 crore by 2023-24 from current AUM of Rs 290 crore as of February 2023, it said in a release. "The loan from Maanaveeya will help boost our efforts in fostering financial inclusion by addressing the unmet and growing need for credit in the Rs 1-10 lakh small business loan segment," said Deepak Aggarwal, Co-Founder, Moneyboxx. The BSE-listed NBFC focuses on impact financing by providing business loans to micro entrepreneurs in Tier-III cities and below. .

The bank has consistently said it has sufficient liquidity, a position the backstop only strengthens

Credit Suisse's shares soared 30 per cent on Thursday after it announced it will move to shore up its finances by borrowing up to nearly USD 54 billion from the Swiss central bank, bolstering confidence as fears about the banking system moved from the US to Europe. It was a massive swing from a day earlier, when shares of Switzerland's second-largest commercial bank plunged 30 per cent on the SIX stock exchange after its biggest shareholder said it would not put more money into the Swiss lender. That dragged down other European banks after the collapse of some US banks stirred fears about the health of the global banks. Credit Suisse, which was beset by problems long before the US bank failures, said Thursday that it would exercise an option to borrow up to 50 billion francs (USD 53.7 billion) from the central bank. This additional liquidity would support Credit Suisse's core businesses and clients as Credit Suisse takes the necessary steps to create a simpler and more focused bank

The Pentagon's inspector general said on Tuesday that to date his office has found no evidence that some of the billions of dollars in weapons and aid to Ukraine has been lost to corruption or diverted into the wrong hands, but cautioned that those investigations are only in their early stages. Keeping military aid to Ukraine protected from waste or fraud has become a critical part of keeping continued support for Ukraine intact in Congress, where some lawmakers have already begun to question why the US is spending so much to help Kyiv. Robert P. Storch was pressed by Congress members several times about any fraud findings. He said that a number of tips and allegations have come in to a new hotline, but that there have been limited findings to date, with many reports pending. Storch, who was testifying with other Pentagon leaders before the House Armed Services Committee, repeatedly said he did not want to talk about investigations that have not yet been completed. Rep. Mike Rogers

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the second version of 'Orunodoi', the flagship scheme of the state government aimed at providing financial security to disadvantaged families

The World Bank has mobilised close to $17.8 billion in emergency financing to support Ukraine amid the economic impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to the bank's website

The statement added that the assistance measure will finance healthcare equipment to support military medical services and personal gear

The U.S. will send USD 400 million more in military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials announced Thursday, amid concerns that financial assistance for the war against Russia could decline a bit if Republicans take control of Congress. The aid comes as the vote counting from Tuesday's election continues, with Republicans inching closer to a narrow House majority and with control of the Senate hinging on tight races in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. According to the Pentagon, the aid package will contain large amounts of ammunition and, for the first time, four highly mobile Avenger Air Defense Systems. Include is ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, which Ukraine has been successfully using in its counteroffensive against Russia. There also will be Stinger missiles for the HAWK surface-to-air anti-aircraft system, 10,000 mortar rounds, thousands of artillery rounds for Howitzers, 400 grenade launchers, 100 Humvees, cold weather gear and 20 million ...

The United States announced Wednesday that it will give $80.5 million in aid for food assistance and solar-powered water pumping stations in the crisis-battered country of Lebanon. The announcement was made by USAID chief Samantha Power during a visit to Lebanon ahead of a trip to Egypt for the COP27 U.N. climate conference. During the visit, Power is set to meet with Lebanese political leaders to push for a resolution to the country's political vacuum and for leaders to carry out a slate of political and economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund to clinch a $3 billion aid package. The visit comes as Lebanon is in the grip of its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history. On Oct. 31, the six-year term of President Michel Aoun ended with no replacement elected. Power declined to say, however, whether any U.S. assistance would be contingent on Lebanon taking these measures. We are not focused on what happens if those reforms don't happen. The refor

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that his war-torn country will soon get new military and humanitarian assistance from Spain

The UK on Friday announced an additional GBP 10 million humanitarian assistance for flood relief efforts in Pakistan, bringing the country's total contribution to GBP 26.5 million. According to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, the unprecedented floods that have submerged huge swathes of the country have so far killed nearly 1700 people and destroyed or damaged 2 million houses. As many as 546,000 people are living in relief camps. The disaster has also damaged 12,716 km of roads and 22,000 schools. In total, 745 health centres have been damaged or destroyed. The British High Commission here said in a statement that the UK will provide a further GBP 10 million of humanitarian aid to Pakistan for flood relief efforts, bringing Britain's total contribution to GBP 26.5 million. Of the total aid, GBP 21.5m has been allotted to the relief efforts in the areas worst hit by the flooding. The remaining GBP 5m will go directly to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) ...

The International Monetary Fund should issue $650 billion in new emergency reserves to help its member countries grapple with overlapping crises, 140 civil society groups said in a letter

The Punjab government has sought financial assistance from the Centre for the solarisation of agriculture pump sets with up to 15 horsepower on the pattern of northeast and hilly states. In a letter written to RK Singh, Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Punjab Minister Aman Arora said the ministry has made a provision for providing central financial assistance (CFA) to farmers of northeast and hilly states for their pumps up to 15 HP capacity last month. But, this facility is available only for up to 7.5 HP agri-pumps in Punjab, he pointed out. The financial assistance is given under the PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan) scheme. "Punjab was the pioneer state in the green revolution, which is rightly known as the food bowl of India. Thus, farmers of the state also need hand-holding of the Central government and they also deserve to avail benefits of the scheme. "Punjab is predominantly an agrarian state, and around 14 lakh ...

The governor also announced the kickstart of the cleaning of the Miramar beach before inaugurating a Cow shelter home with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for 20 cows

The visiting IMF delegation is expected to conclude talks with the Sri Lankan government and make a formal announcement on Thursday on the much-awaited bailout package and staff-level agreement for the cash-strapped island nation, media reports said on Wednesday. Sri Lanka is going through its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948 which was triggered by a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves. The second such visit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in three months comes at a time when Sri Lanka is scrambling to chalk out a staff-level agreement with the Washington-based global lender for a USD 5 billion programme, which could be the antidote for the country's current economic travails. "The IMF Mission in Colombo has been extended by one day because discussions are still ongoing with the authorities, Colombo Page news portal reported, quoting Senior Mission chief Peter Breuer, as saying. Breuer, who is an expert in debt restructuring, said his team pla

The US on Tuesday announced USD 30 million to help cash-starved Pakistan and people affected following severe rains and flooding in the country. The devastating floods caused by record monsoon rains have displaced more than 33 million or one-seventh of the country's population. The US embassy in Islamabad said in a statement that Pakistan's government has declared the floods a national emergency, with 66 districts reported to be calamity hit. The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), today announced an additional USD 30 million in life-saving humanitarian assistance to support people and communities affected by severe flooding in Pakistan, the embassy said. It further said that the US is deeply saddened by the devastating loss of life, livelihoods, and homes throughout Pakistan and in response to the Pakistani government's request for assistance, it will prioritise urgently needed food support, safe water, sanitation and hygiene improvements,

Warning that Afghanistan faces deepening poverty with 6 million people at risk of famine, the U.N. humanitarian chief on Monday urged donors to restore funding for economic development and immediately provide $770 million to help Afghans get through the winter as the United States argued with Russia and China over who should pay. Martin Griffiths told the U.N. Security Council that Afghanistan faces multiple crises -- humanitarian, economic, climate, hunger and financial. Conflict, poverty, climate shocks and food insecurity have long been a sad reality in Afghanistan, but he said what makes the current situation so critical is the halt to large-scale development aid since the Taliban takeover a year ago. More than half the Afghan population -- some 24 million people -- need assistance and close to 19 million are facing acute levels of food insecurity, Griffiths said. And we worry that the figures will soon become worse because winter weather will send already high fuel and food ..

The death toll from the devastating floods in Pakistan neared 1,100 Monday, as international aid began to trickle in following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led cash-strapped government's desperate appeal for aid to deal with the crisis that has displaced 33 million or one-seventh of the country's population. Pakistan's Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman called it the "monster monsoon of the decade," while Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the floods have impacted Pakistan's economy by USD 10 billion. At least 1,061 are dead and 1,575 injured, according to the latest data issued on Monday by the National Disaster Management Authority, the chief national organisation tasked to deal with natural calamities. It said that about 992,871 houses were totally or partially damaged, leaving millions without access to food, clean drinking water and shelter. Around 7,19,558 livestock are also dead, as millions of acres of fertile farmlands have been inundated by weeks of constant ...