The Odisha government has announced a big relief for the elderly and the disabled. The social security pension of the elderly aged 80 years and above and those with more than 80 percent physical disability in the state has now been increased from Rs 1,200 to Rs 3,500 per month.
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The government announced
This proposal was approved in the state cabinet meeting held on Friday under the chairmanship of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi. This new pension rate will be applicable from January 2025. Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja told the media that this decision has been taken with the aim of bringing financial stability in the lives of the elderly and the disabled.
Free electricity will also be available
Apart from this, the cabinet has also announced the inclusion of 3 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar i.e. free electricity scheme. Under this scheme, along with the central government’s subsidy of Rs 30,000 for installing solar panels on the roofs, the state government will give an additional subsidy of Rs 25,000. This project is targeted to be completed by March 2027.
Sabdhra Scheme for Women
The Odisha government has decided to include all eligible women under its Sabdhra scheme by March 2025. Women who apply by March 31, 2025 and are found eligible will be given assistance in two installments of Rs 10,000 in 2024.
This decision was also taken
Apart from this, Odisha State Civil Supply Corporation was given a guarantee support of Rs 17,500 crore for five years and a guarantee fee of Rs 437.5 crore was waived. At the same time, the responsibility of managing minor minerals was handed over from the Revenue Department to the Steel and Minerals Department.
OYO Check-In Rules: OYO hotels in India are not only popular among the youth, but its demand is very high in every city of the country. At the same time, the common perception among people about OYO is that unmarried couples visit it the most.
At the beginning of the year 2025, OYO has taken a new step to change this perception. According to the new rule of OYO, unmarried couples will no longer be able to book rooms. Let us tell you that OYO has recently started a new check-in policy for its partner hotels and this rule will be applicable from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
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Entry of unmarried couples banned in OYO
OYO has amended the check-in rules for partner hotels and introduced new guidelines from this year. The new rule states that unmarried couples can no longer check-in at OYO hotels. Actually, OYO has implemented this new rule for Meerut city of Uttar Pradesh. Under this rule, unmarried couples will no longer be allowed to check-in at OYO hotels. OYO officials said that now all couples who book hotels will have to show valid documents during online or offline booking. The purpose of this step is to follow local social sensitivities and law and order. OYO has given its partner hotels the right to reject the booking of couples based on their discretion.
The rule will be implemented from this city of UP
OYO has instructed its partner hotels to implement this policy in Meerut immediately. According to sources, if the impact of this policy is good, the company can consider implementing it in other cities as well. OYO had earlier received feedback from civil society groups from some other cities including Meerut, demanding not to allow unmarried couples to check-in. The company said that the purpose of this new rule is to promote longer stay and repeat bookings of the rest.
This is why OYO took this step
Talking to PTI, Pawas Sharma, regional head of OYO North India, said, “OYO is committed to maintaining safe and responsible hospitality. We respect individual freedom and personal rights, but at the same time we also understand the responsibility to work with the law and civil society groups. We will review this policy and its impact from time to time.” The company said that this initiative has been brought to change the old perception. These rules have been brought to provide a safe experience for families, students, business, religious and solo travelers. Apart from this, this rule is being brought to improve the brand image.
The Indian startup ecosystem has seen major changes in the last few years and there has been an unprecedented rise in the participation of women entrepreneurs as the funding of female-led startups increased by over 90 per cent in 2024.
Women entrepreneurs are not only becoming founders and co-founders, but a large number of investors are also investing in women-led startups.
According to the Indian Startup Funding Report 2024 by Inc42, women-led startups raised around $930 million across 136 deals in 2024. This figure was $480 million across 118 deals in 2023, showing a growth of 93.75 per cent year-on-year.
The fintech sector topped the funding received by women-led startups. It had a share of 28.7 per cent or $266.91 million in the total funding. It was followed by the e-commerce sector with a share of 22.8 per cent or $212 million and enterprise tech at third place with a share of 14 per cent or $130 million in total funding.
The fintech sector has received this funding in only 17 deals. Meanwhile, E-commerce has received $212 million in funding in 53 deals.
[Representational Image]twitter
Apart from this, the share of health tech and cleantech in the total funding was 11 per cent ($ 102.3 million) and 14.1 per cent ($ 130.93 million) respectively.
Additionally, in 2024, a total of 13 new-age companies launched their initial public offerings (IPOs), as startups cumulatively raised more than Rs 29,200 crore from the stock market.
The 13 startups cumulatively raised Rs 29,247 crore from the cash market. Out of this, the fresh issue was nearly Rs 14,672 crore and Rs 14,574 crore Offer for Sale (OFS).
Among these startup IPOs, 10 were mainboard and three were SME IPOs.
The startup IPOs include TAC Security, Unicommerce, MobiKwik, TBO Tek, Ixigo, Trust Fintech, FirstCry, Menhood, Awfis, Swiggy, Digit Insurance, Blackbuck and Ola Electric.
Govt rolling out Rs 15,000 crore roadmap to help steel industry cut carbon emissionsIANS
Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy will launch ‘PLI scheme 1.1’ for the steel industry and call for applications at an event scheduled to be held at Vigyan Bhavan in the national capital on Monday.
Launched in November 2020, the Steel Ministry’s PLI scheme has attracted a commitment in investment of Rs 27,106 crore, direct employment of 14,760 and estimated production of 7.9 million tonnes of ‘Specialty Steel’ used in the aerospace, defence power and automotive sectors. As of November 2024, companies have already invested Rs 18,300 crore and generated over 8,660 in employment.
“The Ministry of Steel has been interacting regularly with the participating companies and based on feedback, it was felt that there was a scope to notify the scheme again to attract more participation,” according to an official statement issued on Sunday.
The concept of Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) was conceived during the global lockdowns of 2020, emphasising the need to boost domestic manufacturing. Initially launched for three sectors, the PLI scheme was later extended to include steel in November 2020.
The Ministry of Steel is also preparing the ‘Green Steel Mission’ with an estimated cost of Rs 15,000 crore for helping the steel industry to reduce carbon emissions and progress towards the Net Zero Target.
IANS
The mission includes a PLI Scheme for Green Steel, incentives for the use of renewable energy and mandates for government agencies to buy green steel to enhance the industry’s environmental sustainability.
The National Green Hydrogen Mission, spearheaded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, integrates the steel sector into the broader goal of producing and using green hydrogen, contributing to the decarbonisation of steel production.
A report on ‘Greening the Steel Sector in India on the basis of the recommendations of 14 Task Forces constituted by the Ministry of Steel on various key levers of decarbonisation of the steel sector, was released in September this year. This was followed by the release of the Taxonomy of Green Steel for India earlier this month which defines the star rating for green steel. The Steel Scrap Recycling Policy further complements these efforts by increasing the availability of domestically generated scrap, thus promoting resource efficiency, the review states.
The Ministry released the Taxonomy for Green Steel on December 12, 2024, to provide standards for defining and categorizing the low emission steel, facilitating the green transition of the steel industry. It provides a framework for the production of green steel, the creation of a market for green steel and seeking financial support.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission for green hydrogen production and usage. The steel sector is also a stakeholder in the Mission and has been allocated budgetary support of Rs 455 crore for the implementation of pilot projects in the iron & steel sector under the Mission up to the Financial Year 2029-30.
Under this mission, the Ministry of Steel has awarded two Pilot Projects to produce Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) using 100 per cent Hydrogen in the vertical shaft and one Pilot Project to use hydrogen in the existing Blast Furnace to reduce coal/coke consumption in September this year. Pilot projects for the injection of Green Hydrogen in existing vertical shaft-based DRI-making units to partially substitute the natural gas are also being explored.
The government is also formulating a comprehensive global strategy to position India as a leader in the steel industry, capable of meeting domestic needs while also becoming a significant exporter. A Working Group has been constituted to formulate India’s Steel Global Outlook Strategy with a focus on the four strategic areas for collaboration viz. Raw Materials, Investments, Technologies, and Steel Exports. After extensive consultations with the stakeholders, a Strategy Paper will be formulated identifying focused areas of cooperation and action plans for priority countries.
Weather Update: Almost the entire country is in the grip of cold and dense fog. According to the alert of the Meteorological Department (IMD), there is no relief in sight yet. Apart from the cold, the entire North India is in the grip of fog and cold wave. On one hand, snowfall on the mountains and westerly winds have increased the cold in the plains, while the next 24 hours are also special. There is a possibility of rain in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the next 24 hours. Along with this, light rain is also continuing in South India.
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The Meteorological Department has issued another alert. According to the IMD, thundershowers and lightning are likely to occur in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand on January 5 and 6. Along with this, rain is likely to occur in Delhi NCR and other plains states in the next 24 hours. The period of light rain starting from Monday may continue till January 10.
The Meteorological Department said that the minimum temperature in Delhi has dropped below 4 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature remains between 15 and 17 degrees Celsius. The average Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded at 318.
Temperature conditions in the last 24 hours
The Meteorological Department has released the temperature conditions for the last 24 hours. The minimum temperature in many parts of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh was 0-5 degrees, in Himachal Pradesh 0-5 degrees, in many parts of northwest India 6-10 degrees, in many parts of central, eastern and western India 10-14 degrees, in the plains the lowest temperature was recorded at 5.0 degrees in Mandala (east Madhya Pradesh). The minimum temperature in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, west Uttar Pradesh, west Rajasthan, west Madhya Pradesh and Delhi was between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius.
Meteorologists have predicted a change in the weather in the city from the afternoon of January 5. Meteorologists say that there may be intermittent light rain from the afternoon of January 5 to the afternoon of January 6. Dense fog had started falling in the City Beautiful since Friday night, which continued till 10-11 am today. After that, the sunshine came out, giving the city residents some relief from the bitter cold.
The market outlook for next week will be guided by Q3 results, crude oil price, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and domestic economic data, according to experts on Sunday.
Quarterly results for the October-December period (Q3) will start at the beginning of next week. IT giants such as TCS and Tata Elxsi will announce their results on January 9, 2025.
Meanwhile, the government will release the first advance estimates of GDP for the financial year (FY) 2024-25 on Tuesday.
Last week, the Indian stock market witnessed a sharp rally. Nifty rose 191 points or 0.80 per cent to close at 24,004 and Sensex rose 524 points or 0.67 per cent to close at 79,223. During this period, the performance of smallcap and midcap stocks was better than largecap stocks. This shows that the bullish stance is maintained in the stock market on the occasion of the New Year.
IANS
In the sectoral performance, Nifty Auto led the gains with a 4 per cent weekly rise, while Nifty Realty emerged as the top laggard. Global market activity remained muted due to Christmas and year-end holidays, with no significant economic data releases.
With the Christmas and New Year holiday season coming to an end, market activity is expected to normalize next week. Full participation from institutional and retail investors could amplify market movements, making it a crucial period for traders and investors alike, Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst at Swastika Investmart, said.
In the trading session from December 30 to January 3, FIIs sold shares worth Rs 11,041 crore in the cash market. Whereas, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) invested Rs 9,253 crore.
Puneet Singhania, Director at Master Trust Group, said: “Nifty has formed a strong base in the 23,500–23,700 zone, consolidating there for 10 sessions, signalling a potential bottom formation and hinting at a reversal. The sustained close above the key psychological mark of 24,000 adds to the bullish sentiment, with prices favouring a buy-on-dips approach with a favourable risk-reward ratio.”
Banknet: The government has launched a new portal named ‘Banknet’ for e-auction of commercial properties, industrial land, shops, vehicles and other properties. Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju introduced it on Friday. This portal provides all the information at one place for buyers and investors.
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Salient features of Banknet Portal
Detailed list of properties: flats, independent houses, plots, commercial and industrial properties, shops, vehicles, plants and agricultural/non-agricultural land information
All in one place: Data of all e-auctioned properties of public sector banks available on a single platform
Easy process: Everything from property information to participating in auctions is simple and transparent
Bancnet Portal New Features
Automated Payment Gateway
KYC Tools
Dashboard for spend analysis
MIS Report in one click
Helpdesk and Call Center
How will it be beneficial?
Recovery of banks’ dues will become easier: Sale of stressed assets will improve the financial performance of banks.
Great opportunity for investors: Information on various assets on a single platform will give investors better options.
Transparency and Efficiency: Use of technology makes the process more secure and faster.
1.22 lakh properties already added
1.22 lakh properties have already been transferred on the portal. Apart from this, public banks and recovery officers have been trained in the use of ‘Banknet’. M Nagaraju said that this initiative will not only help in improving the condition of banks but will also increase the confidence of investors. This step will also strengthen India’s economic progress. E-auction of properties with ‘Banknet’ will now be simple, transparent and beneficial for investors. Both banks and buyers will benefit from this portal. A link will be made available soon to visit this portal.
PAN 2.0: The Income Tax Department has introduced PAN 2.0 to improve the process, convenience and security of Permanent Account Number (PAN) allotment. If you also want to apply for PAN 2.0 and want to receive it on email, then here we will explain the complete process to you.
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The Income Tax Department has introduced PAN 2.0 to improve the process, convenience and security of Permanent Account Number (PAN) allotment. Allotment, updation and correction of PAN will be done for free and e-PAN will be sent to the registered mail ID. If your email ID is not registered in the income tax database, then under the PAN 2.0 project, it can be updated for free. If you also want to apply for PAN 2.0 and want to receive it on email, then here we will explain its complete process to you.
Before receiving PAN on email, it is important to check whether your PAN has been issued by NSDL or UTI Infrastructure and Technology and Services Limited (UTIITSL) . This information is written on the back of the PAN card. On the basis of this, you can apply for your PAN.
How to apply for e-PAN through NSDL
First of all visit the official website 1- https://www.onlineservices.nsdl.com/paam/requestAndDownloadEPAN.html.
After this enter your Aadhar and date of birth along with PAN.
Then check the details and select the option to receive one-time password.
After this, enter the OTP within 10 minutes to proceed.
You will get the option of three free requests within 30 days of the PAN issuance. After this, you will have to pay Rs 8.26 along with GST.
If the payment is successful, e-PAN will be delivered to your registered email ID within 30 minutes.
How to apply for e-PAN through UTIITSL
First of all go to https://www.pan.utiitsl.com/PAN_ONLINE/ePANCard.
After this enter PAN, date of birth and captcha code and click on submit.
If your email is not registered then you will have to update it when PAN 2.0 project is launched.
This is free for e-PAN issued within the last 30 days. After this, you will have to pay Rs 8.26.
Your e-PAN will reach your registered email ID in PDF format.
The PAN 2.0 project has not started yet but you can get your PAN on email. Please note that applicants will have to pay a fee of Rs 50 (domestic) for the delivery of physical PAN card.
Hyderabad, January 5, 2025: Come with your investments and set up industries, CM appealed to NRIs at the APTA Katalyst global business conference of Telugu NRIs at Hitex on Saturday late night. Mr Revanth Reddy arrived after the state cabinet meeting at the Hitex City venue and addressed a 1000-plus audience.
Hyderabad is a global city that competes with some of the best cities in the world, such as New York, London, and Tokyo. I am happy that the American Progressive Telugu Association (APTA) chose Hyderabad for its first-ever and biggest global Telugu NRIs Business Conference. As the state’s chief minister, I thank APTA for choosing Hyderabad as the venue. Hyderabad throws open a lot of opportunities—be it investments, politics, or films, he said.
APTA met me in the USA during my last visit and invited me to grace the occasion. Though I had a cabinet meeting this evening I made it a point to come to meet you and it is a good opportunity to be amongst you all in this new year, he added.
Telangana is a state with a lot of opportunities. It is an IT Hub and pharma capital and now is known for the Musi River project, AI and Future City. The infrastructure here is one of the best in the world. You can explore these opportunities. We will give you all the support and encouragement. Come to Telangana, come with your investments, business plans and industries. It is our government. Even if you need a single window clearance, we will do so. We have already announced the Tourism Policy. The cabinet today has given a nod to energy policy, Revanth Reddy told the audience.
Your investments are well secured. The law and order situation here is well maintained, he told them. Be the partner in the state’s progress. Come to Hyderabad with your investments he stressed.
The Chief Minister was received by the APTA team comprised of Dr. Subu Kota, Honorary Conference Chairman; Sagar Lagisetti, Conference Convenor; Chandra Sekhar Nallam, Conference Secretary; Tej Pakyala, Conference Treasurer; Madhu Vulli, APTA President 2025; Ramesh Thumu, Business Forum Chair and Vinay Velivela, PR & Media Chai,r and others
APTA Katalyst is the Biggest Ever Telugu NRIs Global Business Conference – APTA KATALYST 2025 being organised with the motto “Connect – Collaborate – Create,” this three-day conference aims to bring together thousands of Indian-origin entrepreneurs from 10 countries, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia including India, to share knowledge, collaborate, and create business opportunities.
American Progressive Telugu Association (APTA), a non-profit organisation primarily aimed at networking for Telugu people in the United States of America has conceptualised and curated this program. Over 1000 delegates from 10 countries are participating in the conference.
EPFO Rules Change: With the arrival of the new year 2025, many important changes are expected in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) system. The purpose of these changes is especially to provide facilities to the salaried class. If you are also employed and have an EPF account, then these changes can be important for you. Let us know what changes are going to happen in the new year and what effect it will have on you.
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PF money will be withdrawn from ATM
Recently there were reports that EPFO will soon issue an ATM card , which will allow people to withdraw money from their EPF account anytime. If this change is implemented, the process of withdrawing money from PF will become even easier and faster, giving you 24×7 access to your deposited capital.
The contribution limit in EPFO will increase
Currently, contribution to EPF is made only on basic salary up to ₹15,000 but the government is now planning to allow contribution to EPF on the basis of the entire salary. This means that if an employee’s basic salary is ₹1 lakh, then he will now be able to deposit ₹24,000 (employee and employer combined) in EPF every month. This will help in saving more money for the future.
Equity investment limit will also increase
EPFO invests the money deposited in your EPF account in various investment schemes so that it earns interest and the money grows. One way is to invest in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). EPFO is working on the idea of reinvesting the profit from ETFs in shares and other investment options so that more interest can be earned on EPF.
Facility for pension can be availed from any bank branch
In September 2024, the Central Government approved the Centralized Pension Payment System (CPPS). After this, about 78 lakh EPF pensioners will get the facility that they will be able to withdraw their pension from any bank branch and not from any particular bank branch. This will give more flexibility to the pensioners and they will be able to get their pension from any part of the country.
Last date for application for higher pension
EPFO has also announced that all companies should upload the salary details of their employees on the EPFO portal by 31 January 2025. Apart from this, if EPFO has asked for any other information, then it has to be made available by 15 January 2025. This step is for those employees who have applied for higher pension so that their application can be processed as soon as possible.
These changes are aimed at making the EPF system more convenient, transparent and beneficial. These steps will help you grow your EPF account and prove to be helpful in strengthening your financial position in the future.
