DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ India's economy grows faster-than-expected in Jan-March on strong manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Employees check the trunk door on the bodywork of a Volkswagen AG Vento automobile on the production line at the Volkswagen India Pvt. India's economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace of 7.8% year-on-year in the January-March quarter, helped by strong growth in the manufacturing sector, and economists expect the momentum to remain strong this year. However, it was higher than the 6.7% growth forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. India's economic growth for the full fiscal year 2023/24 was revised up to 8.2%, the highest among large economies globally, from an earlier government estimate of 7.6%. Manufacturing output rose 8.9% year-on-year in the three months ending in March, compared with a revised expansion of 11.5% in the previous quarter, while farm output growth accelerated to 0.6% after revised 0.4% growth in the previous quarter, the data showed.

Persons: Narendra Modi Organizations: Volkswagen AG, Volkswagen India, Indian Locations: Chakan, Maharashtra, India

☆ CNBC's Inside India newsletter: Could markets sink even if Modi wins?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

This report is from this week's CNBC's "Inside India" newsletter which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse and the big businesses behind its meteoric rise. Separately, the stock market will also deliver its verdict when markets open on Monday. Nervousness among investors over the results has meant that the India VIX index, the market's so-called fear gauge, has shot up by more than 135% since its April lows. However, some equity strategists point out that even a landslide victory for Modi's BJP could potentially sour the stock market. Meanwhile, Gautam Chhaochharia, head of global markets for India at UBS, said foreign investors are in a "wait and watch mode" ahead of India's election results despite economic fundamentals looking "very, very strong."

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Modi, Bradley Saunders, Saunders, Venugopal Garre, —, Garre, Fitch, SRH, Mark Mobius, Gautam Chhaochharia Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, BJP, Traders, " Bank of America, Capital Economics, Modi's BJP, —, Reuters, Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Sunrisers, Knight Riders, CNBC, UBS Locations: Delhi, India, Kolkata, Sunrisers Hyderabad

☆ S&P upgrades outlook on India's sovereign rating to 'positive'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, arrives at the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi, India, on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. S&P Global Ratings raised India's sovereign rating outlook to 'positive' from 'stable' while retaining the rating at 'BBB-', saying on Wednesday the country's robust economic expansion was having a constructive impact on its credit metrics. "This reflects India's solid growth performance and a promising economic outlook for the coming years," said in a social media post. The rating agency's positive outlook on India is predicated on its robust economic growth, pronounced improvement in the quality of government spending, and political commitment to fiscal consolidation, it said. India's weak fiscal settings had always been the most vulnerable part of its sovereign ratings profile, S&P said.

Persons: Narendra Modi, India's, Nirmala Sitharaman Organizations: Bhartiya Janata Party, BJP, Bharatiya Janata Party Locations: New Delhi, India

☆ India’s Election Is the ‘Talk of the Town’ in Its Diaspora
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The dishes at a community center potluck for Indian expatriates near Washington, D.C., ranged from chana masala, a popular northern Indian chickpea curry, to idli, a southern Indian rice cake. The guests’ views on India’s general election were equally varied. Supporters of candidates challenging Mr. Modi’s party criticized what they saw as his disregard for minorities and democratic norms. “What is the vision for India in 2024?” the host, Somu Kumar, a manager at a cloud computing company, said recently of that winter potluck. Expatriate Indians also cannot cast absentee ballots under India’s electoral laws.

Persons: chana, Narendra Modi’s, Modi’s, Somu Kumar Organizations: Washington , D.C Locations: Washington ,, India, Delhi’s

☆ Modi heads for two days of island meditation as Indian election nears end
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

India’s election is the world’s largest, a mammoth exercise in democracy that has taken place over six weeks. Modi will visit the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, a pilgrimage site off India’s southernmost tip, from May 30 to June 1, according to Indian state broadcaster DD News. The Vivekananda Rock Memorial was built in 1970 in honour of Swami Vivekananda, who is said to have attained enlightenment on the rock. Toward the end of the 2019 national elections, which he also won, Modi went to meditate in the revered Kedarnath shrine dedicated to Hindu deity Lord Shiva high in the Himalayas. Modi and the BJP have increasingly resorted to overtly Islamophobic language during his recent election speeches.

Persons: CNN —, Narendra Modi, –, Modi, Swami Vivekananda, “ I’m, God, doesn’t, ”, Vivekananda, Shiva Organizations: CNN, CNN — India’s, Vivekananda Rock, NDTV, India, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Maratha Locations: Kanyakumari, Varanasi, Maharashtra, Ayodhya

☆ India’s election campaign turns negative as Modi and ruling party embrace Islamophobic rhetoric
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is increasingly resorting to overtly Islamophobic language during his election campaign, critics and observers say, as he seeks a third straight term governing the world’s most populous nation. It’s coming directly from the prime minister. The BJP did not respond to a request for comment on the rhetoric being used by party leaders during this campaign. The prime minister has set an ambitious target for his alliance to win 400 seats in the country’s Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament, in this election. BJP party spokespeople subsequently said Modi was talking specifically about undocumented migrants.

Persons: Narendra Modi, –, Modi, we’ve, ” Milan Vaishnav, “, surrogates, “ Modi, it’s, ”, Asim Ali, It’s, ” Modi, he’s, Jaiveer Shergill, Irfan Nooruddin, Weeks, Arvind Kejriwal, Ali, Santosh Kumar, Alishan Jafri, Vaishnav, ” Nooruddin, Prakash Singh, spokespeople Organizations: CNN, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, South Asia, Carnegie Endowment, International, Home Minister, Indian National Congress, “, Georgetown University, Indian Army, Hindustan Times, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: “, BJP, Lok, Delhi, Pataliputra, India, Australia, United States, China, Britain, Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh

☆ Modi’s latest campaign message to supporters: ‘God has sent me’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a new message for supporters on the campaign trail: God has chosen him. “This is why I have dedicated myself to God.”Modi continued: “God doesn’t reveal his cards. This, he added has “rallied his base who feel pride in such religiosity.”India is a deeply religious country. “(He is) the first prime minister, they say, to be unashamed about this faith,” Sinha said. It ignited widespread anger among Muslim leaders and opposition politicians and calls for election authorities to investigate.

Persons: CNN —, Narendra Modi, “ I’m, God, ”, ” Modi, doesn’t, Modi, Subir Sinha, “, ” Sinha, Ganga, I’m, Ram, Modi’s, ” Modi fasted, Lord Ram, Pratishtha ”, –, spokespeople Organizations: CNN, CNN — India’s, NDTV, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, South Asia Institute, SOAS University of London, ” Locations: India, Varanasi, Ayodhya

☆ Payal Kapadia: India celebrates historic win at Cannes Film Festival
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Filmmaker Payal Kapadia made history Saturday, as she became the first person from India to clinch the prestigious Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, the second highest prize after the Palme d’Or. It is the first Indian movie in three decades to compete in Cannes’ main competition. “Please don’t wait another 30 years to have an Indian film,” she said to the audience. “Indian stars shining bright… These women have scripted history, and inspired the entire Indian film fraternity,” he wrote on the platform. In 1947, filmmaker Chetan Anand took Cannes’ top prize for his film “Neecha Nagar,” becoming the only Indian to win the accolade.

Persons: Payal Kapadia, Palme, ” Kapadia, Greta Gerwig, Lily Gladstone, ”, Narendra Modi, ” Rahul Gandhi, India’s, Anasuya Sengupta, “, Chhaya, Divya Prabha, Stephane Cardinale, Corbis, Hridhu Haroon, Kartiki Gonsalves, Chetan Anand, Neecha, Kapadia Organizations: CNN, Prix, Cannes Film, Cannes, Indian National Congress, Grand, “ Salaam, Hollywood, Cannes ’ Locations: India, Mumbai, Cannes, “, “ Salaam Bombay, Kani, Indian

☆ The Bitter Bargain that India’s 200 Million Muslims Face - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Mohammad Ali | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I don’t wear a skullcap, and in public I avoid wearing the loosefitting Pathani kurta and peppering my speech with Urdu words, all of which are identity markers for Indian Muslims. For 10 years, Mr. Modi’s Hindu-chauvinist government has vilified the nation’s 200 million Muslims as dangerous undesirables. As offensive as that was, it is sadly familiar to Indian Muslims like me who — after a decade of denigration, violence and murder — live in daily fear of being identified and attacked, forcing us into self-denial to protect ourselves. Islam came here around 1,300 years ago, and Indian Muslims descend from natives of this land who converted to Islam centuries ago. Many Indian Muslims fought against British colonization, and millions rejected the 1947 partition of the country into a predominantly Hindu India and a mostly Muslim Pakistan.

Persons: “ Salam, ”, Narendra Modi Locations: India, Modi’s, Islam, Pakistan

☆ Cyclone Remal: Over 1 million evacuated as Tropical Cyclone brings heavy rain to Bangladesh and India
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Tropical Cyclone Remal made landfall in Bangladesh on Sunday, bringing torrential rain and heavy winds as it continues to move inland across eastern India, toppling trees, turning roads into rivers and causing large-scale damage. Cyclone Remal made landfall in Bangladesh on May 26, 2024. Locals stand near the sea as Cyclone Remal made landfall in Bangladesh on May 26, 2024. Tropical Cyclone Remal has been churning across the Bay of Bengal since late last week prompting authorities to prepare ahead of its arrival. People are riding on a scooter as rains hit Kolkata, India ahead of Cyclone Remal's landfall on May 26, 2024.

Persons: Remal, K M Asad, ”, Md Liakath Ali, Ali, Sudipta Das, Narendra Modi, “, ” Modi Organizations: CNN, Indian Meteorological Department, CNN Weather, Bangladesh Meteorological Department, BRAC, Coast Guard, Cyclone, Indian, Sunday, Cyclones, Shenzhen Institute of Meteorological, Chinese University of Hong Locations: Bangladesh, India, West Bengal, Bengal, Mongla, Payra, Myanmar, Cox’s Bazar, Kolkata, West, North America, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Asia, Western, Central India

☆ Free Food? Modi Makes Sure Every Indian Knows Whom to Thank for It.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Suhasini Raj | Alex Travelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Durga Prasad, an 80-year-old farmer, was resting under the shade of a tree in front of his home when the party workers came. An app on their smartphones could tell them in an instant who Mr. Prasad was, whom he might vote for — and why he should be grateful to India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. “You get installments of 2,000 rupees, right?” asked a local official from Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P. Mr. Prasad concurred. He receives $72 a year through a farmers’ welfare program started and branded by Mr. Modi.

Persons: Durga Prasad, Prasad, Narendra Modi, “, ”, Modi’s, Modi Organizations: Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr

☆ Is Modi Worried? India’s Long-Deflated Opposition Finds Some Momentum.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Mujib Mashal | Pragati K.B. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered India’s general election projecting supreme confidence. “Ab ki baar, 400 paar” went his party’s slogan, meaning this time his side aimed to surpass 400 seats in the lower house of Parliament, a staggering majority. But as the seven-week voting period enters its final stretch, with results expected on June 4, India is witnessing something unusual from its powerful leader. As Mr. Modi crisscrosses the country for rallies in 100-degree heat, he has often appeared on the defensive, and sometimes rattled. He has resorted to stoking anti-Muslim sentiments to fend off attempts to split his Hindu support base, only to deny his own words later.

Persons: Narendra Modi, paar ”, Modi, — Locations: India

☆ India’s free press is not so free after a decade of Modi
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Analysis Aishwarya S. Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

And as Modi looks to win another five years in power in an ongoing nationwide election, critics fear further erosion of the protections afforded to India’s free press. “I think many times before I write stories,” Kappan told CNN. Since his bail, Kappan has struggled to find a permanent job to provide for his family. Kumar told CNN he resigned because Adani’s proximity to Modi and the BJP would leave him unable to continue asking tough questions of the government. “They gave no reasons nor any justifications for why they denied my permit,” she told CNN from Paris.

Persons: Siddique Kappan, Narendra Modi’s, Modi, “, ” Kappan, Kappan, ”, Kaushik Raj, Narendra Modi, Gareth Copley, Shakuntala Banaji, RSF, Kunal Majumder, NewsClick, Prabir Purkayastha, Banaji, Kanchan Gupta, Ravish Kumar, Kumar, Gautam Adani, Vishal Bhatnagar, Dinesh Joshi, Gupta, Avani Dias, Vanessa Dougnac, Dias, Gaurav Bhatia, Dougnac Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, CNN, Getty, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, ICC Men's Cricket, India, Journalists, London School of Economics, “, Press, ”, Protect Journalists, Police, LSE, Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, Amnesty, New Delhi Television, NDTV, YouTube, Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s, Ministry of Home Affairs, India’s, Ministry, BBC Locations: New Delhi, India, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, AFP, Hathras, Paris, Ahmedabad, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Delhi, Jaipur, Modi, Asia, Dougnac

☆ How India Is Coping With Extreme Heat
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Manuela Andreoni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since April, heat waves, most likely fueled by climate change, have reached dangerous levels across India and other Asian countries. This week, many Indian cities, including New Delhi, the capital, recorded temperatures above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Local governments sent out heat alerts warning people to avoid staying outside and schools in several states were ordered to close. The grueling heat crisis, one of several in India over the last few years, made me wonder if the nation’s leaders had made climate change more central in their campaigns. Not really, my colleague Suhasini Raj, who covers India, told me.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Suhasini Raj, “ Organizations: Local, Bharatiya Janata Party Locations: India, New Delhi

☆ Mumbai, India: Billionaires, Bollywood celebrities cast their vote in the world’s largest election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, along with his family, leaves a polling booth after casting his ballot in Mumbai on May 20, 2024. Sujit Jaiswal/AFP/Getty ImagesThe “King of Bollywood” Shah Rukh Khan was seen leaving a Mumbai polling booth with his family – wife Gauri, daughter Suhana, and sons Aryan and Abram. Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone arrive to cast their ballots at a polling station in Mumbai on May 20, 2024. Residents queue to cast their vote on May 20, 2024 in Mumbai, India. Voters wait to cast their vote in Chandivali, Mumbai, on May 20, 2024.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Shah Rukh Khan, Sujit Jaiswal, ” Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri, Suhana, Aryan, Abram, Amitabh Bachchan, ” Khan, “ Let’s, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Mukesh Ambani, Nita, Akash, Akshay Kumar, “, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Stringer, Shiv Sena —, Satish Bate, Sachin Chaudhary Organizations: CNN, Getty, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, Hindustan Times, Getty Images Locations: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India’s, AFP, Andheri, “, India, Mumbai’s, West Bengal, Getty Images Mumbai, New York, Chandivali

☆ Modi's strongman rule raises questions about India's 'democratic decline' as he seeks a third term
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, center, during a campaign rally in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Photographer: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesA decade into power, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears set to secure a rare third term, with the general elections now underway. Opposition 'witch hunt'Ahead of the elections, India's main opposition — the National Congress party — accused the Modi government of freezing its bank accounts. "This is a criminal action on the Congress party done by the prime minister and the home minister," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a fiery attack. "During Manmohan Singh's time, India was also growing very fast," he added, referring to the economic reforms under the former prime minister in the 1990s.

Persons: Narendra Modi, India's, Modi, Prakash Singh, Asim Ali, Ali, Milan, Modi's, —, Rahul Gandhi, Chietigj Bajpaee, Arvind Kejriwal, consecrating, Ronojoy Sen, Neelanjan Sircar, Manmohan Singh's, Sircar Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty Images Bloomberg, Getty, India's, East, CNBC, Dem, Freedom House, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Newsweek, Bharatiya Janata Party, National Congress, South Asia, Chatham House, Aam Aadmi Party, Modi's BJP, BJP, Institute of South Asian Studies, Centre for Policy Research Locations: Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, East Asia, New Delhi, Sweden, U.S, Milan Vaishnav, South Asia, Gujarat, Ali, Delhi, Lok, Ayodhya, Ayodhya —, BJP

CNN —A federal judge on Friday sentenced David DePape to 30 years in prison, after he was convicted in the violent October 2022 attack on Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul. DePape was sentenced to 30 years for assault and 20 years for attempted kidnapping, which will run concurrently. DePape recalled that he was looking for Nancy Pelosi and that her husband had not been on his list of targets. She’s in Washington,” Pelosi recalled answering. He was violently struck in the head following a struggle with DePape, Pelosi said.

Persons: David DePape, Nancy Pelosi’s, Paul, DePape, Jacqueline Scott Corley, ”, Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, “, ‘, I’ll, ” DePape, Pelosi “, ” Paul Pelosi, Narendra Modi, Stefani Reynolds, Pelosi, “ She’s, ” Pelosi, “ I’ve Organizations: CNN, Northern, Northern District of, India's, White, Getty Locations: Northern District, Northern District of California, San Francisco federal, Washington ,, AFP, Washington

☆ Bollywood and Indian politics: Influence of Modi and BJP on world’s largest film industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

And most of these are Hindi films, meaning Bollywood holds an outsized influence on the country’s culture, identity and economy. A screengrab from the 2022 Bollywood film "The Kashmir Files." CNN reached out to several people from the film industry for this story, some of whom declined to be interviewed due to sensitivities around the topic. It encouraged some Bollywood filmmakers to “(lean) into the caricature of the Muslim villain,” he says. These films are growing fast; outside Bollywood, earnings from the South Indian media and entertainment industry have nearly doubled year on year, according to a 2023 report by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Persons: India’s, Narendra Modi, Indranil Mukherjee, ”, Raja Sen, “ It’s, Modi, Tanul Thakur, …, Veer Savarkar, –, ” Adah Sharma, Pandits, Vivek Agnihotri, ” Sudipto Sen, Debashree Mukherjee, it’s, Thakur, Sen, Darab Farooqui, Sonu Mehta, Farooqui, “, she’s, Aamir Khan, ” Farooqui, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mukherjee, Yash Chopra, ” That’s, ” Thakur, ” Sen, “ We’ve, ’, Dharmendra, Noemi Cassanelli, “ Something’s Organizations: India CNN —, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Observers, Hollywood, Republican, Modi’s, Getty, CNN, Ministry of Culture, of, Netflix, Columbia, Social Democratic Party of India, Hindustan Times, Columbia University, Journalists, Confederation of Indian Industry Locations: Mumbai, India, Kerala, Kashmir, Jammu, Columbia University’s, Middle Eastern, South, Jaipur, New Delhi, Pakistan, United States, Tamil Nadu

☆ Opinion | The Authoritarians Have the Momentum
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The central struggle in the world right now is between liberalism and authoritarianism. In this contest, we liberals should be wiping the floor with those guys! Modi seems to be on the verge of re-election. Over the last two centuries liberalism has evolved into a system that respects human dignity and celebrates individual choice. As other moral systems, like religion, have withered in many people’s lives, liberalism itself has expanded to fill the hole in people’s souls.

Persons: Donald Trump, Viktor Orban, Narendra Modi, Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Trump, Modi, ” Alexandre Lefebvre, isn’t Locations: Iran, Russia

☆ Mumbai, India: Wealth gap on voters’ minds as country’s richest city gears up for election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Mumbai, India CNN —For millions of Indians, it’s the city where dreams come true – just look around. Vegetable seller Sachin Chaudhary poses for a picture during an interview with CNN in Mumbai, India, on April 16, 2024. A billboard with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi displayed on a road in Mumbai, India on April 15, 2024. Noemi Cassanelli/CNNA man cycles along a road in front of the Shiv Sena headquarters in Mumbai, India, on April 16, 2024. Sanjay Sardesai sits on his motorbike outside of the Indian National Congress headquarters during an interview with CNN in Mumbai, India, on April 16, 2024.

Persons: Mukesh Ambani, ’, ”, Sachin Chaudhary, Noemi Cassanelli, Rajani Bhat, “ I’m, “, ” Rajani Bhat, Narendra Modi, ” Kalpita Shinde, it’s, Helen D’Souza, ” Helen D’Souza, CNN ‘, Shiv Sena, Bhat, chai, Parag Sawla, Parag, Chaudhary, Modi, Sanjay Sardesai, CNN Sanjay Sardesai Organizations: India CNN, CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, India's, sips, Indian National Locations: Mumbai, India, New York, Colaba, Modi, Dadar

☆ Indian election enters fourth phase amid heightened rhetoric over religion, inequality
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

GHAZIABAD INDIA - APRIL 06: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets supporters at a roadshow on April 06, 2024 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. India's 2024 general election is set to be the world's largest democratic exercise, with over 969 million registered voters, more than the combined population of the EU, US, and Russia. (Photo by Elke Scholiers/Getty Images)India voted on Monday in the fourth phase of a seven-week long general election, as campaign rhetoric became more strident over economic disparities and religious divisions. "I appeal to all to vote for a decisive government," said Amit Shah, Modi's powerful aide and the country's interior affairs minister, as voting began. The lower turnout has raised doubts over whether BJP and its allies can win the landslide predicted by opinion polls.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Elke Scholiers, Amit Shah Organizations: EU, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP Locations: GHAZIABAD INDIA, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, Russia, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

☆ There’s a surprising bit of good news lurking in the stock market
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Traders fear that elevated rates will uphold painfully high borrowing costs for consumers, squeeze corporate profit and weigh down the market. The labor market has stayed strong, consumers have continued spending and stocks have notched repeated record highs. The April jobs report was a welcome sign that the labor market is cooling without cratering. The labor market added just 175,000 positions last month, marking its lowest tally since October 2023 and a sharp cooldown from the upwardly revised 315,000 jobs added in March. First-time applications for unemployment benefits climbed last week to 231,000, the highest level since last August, in another sign that the labor market is cooling.

Persons: “, ”, Jeff Buchbinder, Jerome Powell, ” Powell, April’s, David Russell, Matt Egan, Wally Adeyemo, Read, Diksha Madhok, Narendra Modi, Modi, Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Ambani, Ji, ” Modi, Rahul Gandhi Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal, Traders, CNN, Fed, LPL, ” Treasury, Treasury, Reliance Industries, Adani, Indian National Congress Locations: New York, Thursday’s, ’, India

☆ CNBC's Inside India newsletter: A disconnected stock market
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

CNBCThis report is from this week's CNBC's "Inside India" newsletter which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse and the big businesses behind its meteoric rise. For local investors, Indian stocks would have underperformed the U.S. benchmark by more than 45 percentage points since Buffett's 2008 bet. It appears that India's near 8% GDP growth isn't transforming into stock market returns. But that has also meant significant competition for the incumbents, many of which are listed on the stock market. This year has also been particularly unlucky for Indian stock market investors thanks to the uncertainty added by politics.

Persons: Warren Buffett, it's, Jonathan Pines, Federated Hermes, Rajeev Agrawal, Agrawal, Narendra Modi's, Kevin Carter, Buffett, Carter, Modi, Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar Organizations: Berkshire, CNBC, BSE, Federated, DoorDarshi Advisors, Narendra Modi's BJP, India, Ecommerce, One97 Communications, Ujjivan Financial, BJP, Russia, Indian, Ukraine, India's Central Bureau of Investigation, Indian Premier League, Wednesday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, Omaha, BSE India, India, United States, Gandhinagar Lok Sabha, Russia, Mumbai, Punjab Kings

☆ India election and economy: Meet the winners of rising power’s boom
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Noemi Cassanelli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Mumbai, India CNN —As Indians head to the polls in a massive ongoing nationwide election, much attention has focused on the country’s explosive growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. There is expected to be 740 million active smartphone users in India by 2030, according to EY India. “I wanted to make similar shoes that were printed with ‘Made in India,’” Shah says. After four years of trial and error, Shah Shoes was born. Some 17 years on, Shah Shoes has helped support his family back in Bihar, including six siblings.

Persons: Narendra Modi’s, — Modi, Javed Khatri, Noemi Cassanelli, he’d, Khatri, “, ”, –, ’, Apoorva Mukhija, —, Instagram, Mukhija, ” Mukhija, That’s, she’s, she’d, Jameel Shah, CNN Jameel Shah, Shah, wasn’t, CNN Shah, Kylie Minogue, ” Shah, ‘, ’ ” Shah, Shah Shoes, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, He’s, Modi’s Organizations: India CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, CNN, EY, World Bank, Facebook Locations: Mumbai, India, “, Bangalore, Silicon, ”, EY India, Dubai, London, California, …, Delhi, Bihar, India’s, Dharavi, Australian

☆ India elections: Asia’s most powerful billionaires Ambani, Adani are getting drawn in after Modi’s speech
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New Delhi CNN —Two of the planet’s richest businessmen are becoming embroiled in India’s increasingly divisive election campaign. “Why has Shahzade Ji stopped talking of Ambani and Adani in this election all of sudden? “How much money have you taken from Ambani and Adani?” he said at the rally. Adani took over NDTV, an influential broadcaster, in 2022, while Ambani owns Network 18, which includes the CNN-News18 TV channel, a CNN affiliate. Billionaire RajIn the last decade, both Ambani and Adani have stunned the world with their success and influence.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Ambani, Ji, ” Modi, Rahul Gandhi, ”, Gandhi, Modi ” Gandhi, “, Abhinandan Sekhri, Adani, Billionaire Raj, Cassanelli, Jeff Bezos, Hindenburg’s, ferociously Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Reliance Industries, Adani, Indian National Congress, Reliance, CNN, India’s, Bank of India, NDTV, Billionaire, Bloomberg, Hindenburg Locations: New Delhi, India, Asia, American

Search resuls for: "Narendra"

25 mentions found