Latest Developments

India
The Hindu BusinessLine

2 rice export bodies seek review of Apeda move to appoint new law firm to handle Basmati GI, IPR cases

Two rice exporters’ organisations have urged the Commerce Ministry to reconsider the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apdea) decision to “arbitrarily” appoint a new law firm to handle global cases on basmati geographical indication (GI) and intellectual property rights (IPR). However, Apeda sources said the law firm has been engaged after due process of tender by an expert selection panel. The All-India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) and The Basmati Rice Millers and Exporters Association (Punjab), or BRMEA, in separate letters to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Apeda Chairman Abhishek Dev, said the new law firm has been selected without consulting stakeholders and exporters. Both organisations said their representations do not question the law firm’s professional competence and were not against the law firm. One of the main reasons for raising concern was the law firm’s “conflict of interest.” “Our concern relates to institutional governance, stakeholder confidence and adherence to the Memorandum and Rules of BEDF (Basmati Export Development Foundation) in matters concerning protection of India’s Basmati Geographical Indication,” said AIREA President Satish Goel. “... it concerns the preservation of India’s long-standing legal doctrine, international credibility and the substantial public and stakeholder investment made over several decades,” said Bal Krishan Garg, President of BRMEA. Garg said one of the most contentious issues in recent years has been the demand to include Madhya Pradesh regions in the Basmati GI area. The law firm selected by Apeda had represented petitioners for the inclusion of some regions in the State where Basmati rice is grown. Apeda had been “historically opposing” the inclusion of Madhya Pradesh regions in the GI area for Basmati rice. “Any firm representing parties favouring the expansion of basmati rice growing area while simultaneously advising Apeda is in conflict of interest,” he said. “Concerns have been raised by stakeholders regarding past positions taken (by the law firm) in matters relating to the territorial scope of Basmati GI. Without commenting on the merits of such issues, we believe these concerns deserve consideration before any final appointment is made,” said AIREA’s Goel. The GI defines that Basmati rice is grown in the Indo-Gangetic plains. The law firm, picked by Apeda, questioned this and termed it arbitrary. It had also said that agro-climatic factors should prevail over historical and reputational considerations, and public perception has no “independent significance” in GI law, said BRMEA’s Garg.

2 rice export bodies seek review of Apeda move to appoint new law firm to handle Basmati GI, IPR cases
India
The Hindu BusinessLine

SEPC secures ₹673 crore SAIL expansion project

The projects are scheduled for execution over a period of 30 to 33 months, further enhancing SEPC’s long-term revenue visibility and execution pipeline. | Photo Credit: KAMAL NARANG The industrial infrastructure engineering, procurement and construction company is set to work on a 4.08 mtpa crude steel expansion project for IISCO Steel Plant in Burnpur comprising two key packages under the expansion project. The Coke Oven BOP (Balance of Plant) Package – COB-3 (excluding civil and structural works) is valued at ₹376.56 crore, while the Sinter Plant BOP Package – SP-2 (including civil and structural works) is valued at ₹296.77 crore. The aggregate contract value stands at ₹673.32 crore. The projects are scheduled to be executed over a period of 30-33 months, further enhancing SEPC’s long-term revenue visibility and execution pipeline. In a statement, the managing director of SEPC, Venkataramani Jaiganesh, said, “India’s steel industry is entering a phase of sustained capacity expansion driven by infrastructure development, manufacturing growth, and the nation’s long-term economic ambitions. We believe this order positions SEPC favourably to participate in this transformation while strengthening our order book and enhancing future revenue visibility.” Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

SEPC secures ₹673 crore SAIL expansion project
Europe
BBC Business

As more US business owners retire many are selling up to their staff

Staff at Softstar Shoes in Oregon have discovered a newfound enthusiasm for eking out resources and growing profits. It started in January when the shoemaker became owned by its 30-strong workforce. Former sole owner and chief executive Tricia Salcido had decided to sell the business to the employees, because at age 56 she is starting to plan for her future retirement. Salcido, who for next few years is staying on as chief financial officer, says that colleagues are now offering lots of suggestions for how to best run aspects of the business. "I'm getting personal emails from employees saying, 'well, have you thought about this idea?'," she says. These are business insights that weren't forthcoming before!" Salcido is among a small but growing number of business owners in the US said to be choosing to entrust their ventures to employees, rather than sell to an outside buyer. One 2025 study said that up to 600 US firms are now being sold to their workers per year, with investment funds available to help finance the deals rising 78% to $865m last year from $500m in 2024, an indication of more businesses making the transfer. As well as motivating staff – who share in the risks and rewards of ownership – research shows that employee-owned companies can be more productive, less likely to make staff redundant, and that they pay higher wages. For Salcido, it was a way to preserve local jobs and prevent her firm's artisan shoemaking from being taken out of the US – which she was convinced would happen under a cost-cutting corporate buyer. "It's something you put your life's work into… most small business owners really care," she says. A huge number of other US entrepreneurs are in the same boat as Salcido – they are approaching retirement age, and therefore having to decide what to do with their businesses. The "baby boomer" owners of about six million American small and medium-sized companies will retire between now and 2035, says a report this year from business consulting firm McKinsey. Some commentators have dubbed this a "silver tsunami".

As more US business owners retire many are selling up to their staff
Europe
BBC Business

Surge in scams as fraudsters use AI to target people

Cases of fraud in the UK have surged with criminals using AI to manipulate people and even marrying victims of romance scams to steal more money. More than four million cases in which money was lost were reported last year - the equivalent of nearly eight on average every minute, according to new figures. The total has increased by more than one million in two years, with almost £1.3bn stolen by scammers in 2025, according to an annual report by UK Finance. The enormous scale of the problem could only be tackled if tech companies stepped up monitoring and security of their platforms, the banking trade body said. Banks said fraud posed "a national security threat" given the impact on victims and the huge sums stolen by organised criminals. Fraudsters also use fake profiles on social media and dating sites to meet, groom and ultimately steal from victims who believe they are in a loving relationship. UK Finance said examples even included a fraudster marrying a victim to continue stealing money. "The impact goes beyond financial loss; it can cause huge emotional harm, leaving victims burdened by guilt and shame, which is why we must tackle the problem at its source to protect consumers," said Paul Davis, head of economic crime at Barclays. Experts believe the majority of scams are unreported, so do not even register in the statistics. Scammers are so embedded that the first four men matched with Julie Osgood when she tried out a dating site were all potential fraudsters, the 60-year-old recently told the BBC. She spotted the problem before being tricked, but many thousands of others were not so lucky. Kirsty Guest, a florist from North Yorkshire, was scammed out of £80,000 after meeting a man on a dating app, who called himself Patrick. The relationship developed over months, but was based on a lie, because "Patrick" was a scammer using photos of another, completely innocent, man.

Surge in scams as fraudsters use AI to target people
Europe
BBC Business

UK electric car sales target set to be weakened

The UK government is set to water down its target for how many new cars that are sold need to be electric vehicles (EVs). Under the current rules, 80% of all new cars sold in the UK need to be EVs by 2030, but car makers and trade unions have been lobbying government for years to reduce the target because of concerns over costs and jobs. Meanwhile, sustainability groups say any weakening of the target will threaten the UK's long-term electrification and climate goals. The government will hold a consultation on what the new 2030 target should be, meaning it could take months before it is decided, but numbers ranging from 50% to 70% are under consideration. A ban on sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 was first announced by former prime minister Boris Johnson in 2020 and pushed back to 2035 by Rishi Sunak when he was prime minister. Alongside this change, Sunak introduced phased targets for EV sales in the UK, known as the Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) mandate. Under the ZEV mandate, the percentage of new car sales that need to be EVs increases each year. The target was 28% for 2025, 33% for 2026, and so on until it reaches 80% by 2030. Labour has pledged in its manifesto to bring the petrol and diesel ban back to 2030. Meanwhile, a policy review on the separate ZEV mandate had been expected early next year but the industry has pushed for it to happen sooner. Downing Street is expected to meet with the UK car industry this week to discuss the shift in policy, which was first reported by the Sunday Times. Labour has previously accused the Conservative government of "moving goalposts on phase out dates". Companies that fail to hit the ZEV mandate face a fine of £15,000 per car. They also have the option of buying credits from rivals who have sold more electric cars than they needed to. To sell their quota of EVs, many car makers use discounts. This has cost the industry more than £10bn over the past two years, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The SMMT told the BBC that "unless there is urgent relief of the mandate, which is still running well ahead of demand and about to ramp up, then the cost will be in jobs, investments and the viability of some businesses".

UK electric car sales target set to be weakened
India
The Hindu BusinessLine

Iran to give up nuclear weapons, US to lift sanctions: Here’s what’s in the final draft of the peace deal

A senior Iranian official told Reuters a final draft ​of the memorandum of understanding with the ‌US covered a range of issues ​from Tehran’s nuclear work ⁠to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and US waivers on oil sanctions, with a final ‌deal to be discussed in the 60 days following agreement by ‌the two sides. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Iran to give up nuclear weapons, US to lift sanctions: Here’s what’s in the final draft of the peace deal
Europe
BBC Business

Why the US economy keeps defying the odds

In Dresden, in east Germany late last year, the final car rolled off the assembly line at Volkswagen's "Transparent Factory", built to showcase the pinnacle of European industrial power. Thousands of miles away in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a different German giant, BMW, is running its biggest plant in the world. The contrast between the two plants helps explain a puzzle economists have been debating for a while: why has the American economy continued to outperform so many of its peers, despite facing the same global shocks? Over the past few years, much of the developed world has buckled under a succession of shocks. Trump's sweeping tariffs have disrupted global trade. Mass deportations are changing labour markets. And conflict in the Middle East has sent oil prices lurching. Many economists expected those pressures to weigh heavily on the US. Instead, the economy has continued to grow at a steady pace. Inflation has proved stubborn at times, but the combination of weak growth and persistently rising prices that many feared hasn't happened. Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, argues the trade war itself became the strongest proof of American resilience. "The own goals that the Trump administration has imposed on the US with respect to trade and immigration are probably the single best example of the underlying dynamism of the American economy," he says. Faced with a sudden tax on foreign components, US corporations didn't accept lower margins, they invested harder. "CapEx (capital expenditure) right now is 13.9% of US GDP," says Brusuelas. "That should be slowing, given the mix of supply and demand shocks the economy is absorbing, and it's not." Instead, much of that pressure has been offset by a notable rise in productivity. The broader US economy has continued to expand at an annualised rate of around 2%. Energy markets offer another explanation. The war in the Middle East has pushed oil prices higher, a development that historically would have posed a major threat to US growth. But the shale revolution fundamentally altered America's exposure to energy shocks. Over the past two decades, the US has become one of the world's largest oil and gas producers, while businesses have steadily reduced their reliance on petroleum. "The development since the early 2000s of fracking in the United States, alongside the evolution of alternative fuels, has created the conditions where oil's contribution to GDP per unit has fallen by half over the past 50 years," says Brusuelas. The difference with Europe is clear. While the US has focused on flexibility, embracing fracking and letting prices respond to the market, Europe has relied on long-term contracts and interconnected supply networks to guarantee energy security. That approach left many countries exposed when Russian gas supplies were cut after the Ukraine invasion. And given the current tensions in the Middle East, that vulnerability remains.

Why the US economy keeps defying the odds
Europe
The Guardian

Why is the UK launching an ‘Australia plus’ social media ban and how will it work?

The move by Labour follows a consultation with the public looking at ways to reduce harms young people face online. Photograph: Daniel de la Hoz/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenThe move by Labour follows a consultation with the public looking at ways to reduce harms young people face online. Photograph: Daniel de la Hoz/Getty ImagesSocial media banExplainerWhy is the UK launching an ‘Australia plus’ social media ban and how will it work?Government wants to back parents against tech companies though some feel the process has been rushed Keir Starmer is expected to announce sweeping “Australia-plus” restrictions on under-16s accessing harmful social media apps, a move the government has framed as taking the side of parents against the big technology companies. A consultation on online safety closed on 26 May, giving ministers just weeks to come up with policies after receiving more than 116,000 responses. Industry sources and child safety advocates have described the process as “rushed” and driven by a political timeline. It is not clear when the ban could come into force. Key to the ban is one of the thorniest issues in technology regulation worldwide: how can tech companies verify details about their users without invasive measures – such as requiring government-issued IDs? The UK regulator Ofcom offers some flexibility in how age verification is done under the Online Safety Act. That could change under the ban. Starmer is preparing to ban access for under-16s to a number of social media apps – sources close to the process expect this to include all the major social media apps. Currently, the age restriction for major social media platforms is 13 but there is no official government-mandated age limit. He is also expected to announce restrictions for platforms that are not banned, with certain features withheld for under-16s. Those features will include chats with adult strangers and livestreaming. It has also been reported that 16 and 17-year-olds will be set time limits for using social media. Under-18s are also expected to be blocked from using romantic or sexual AI chatbots. The prime minister has been sceptical about introducing a ban. His concerns have included whether such a move would push teenagers on to the dark web or leave them with the “cliff edge” scenario of entering the world of social media at the age of 16 with no experience of how to handle it. However, the introduction of an under-16 ban in Australia has led to a change of heart, having prompted many Labour MPs and some cabinet ministers to push for the UK to do the same. In January, more than 60 Labour MPs wrote to the prime minister calling for a ban. There has also been a steady drumbeat of pressure from safety campaigners for further restrictions, although views on an under-16 ban are mixed within that group. The Molly Rose Foundation, a charity established by the family of Molly Russell, a British teenager who took her own life after viewing harmful online content, said a ban would be “unenforceable” and “masks the absence of any credible plan to stop childhoods being blighted and young lives lost by out of control algorithms”. Parents support a ban, with nine out of 10 parents who responded to the consultation expressing support for it. The UK already has a legal framework for tackling harmful content, the Online Safety Act, which is overseen by the communications watchdog, Ofcom.

Why is the UK launching an ‘Australia plus’ social media ban and how will it work?
India
The Economic Times

Silver beats gold, stocks and bonds in 10-year returns. Here's the data

In the last 10 years, silver topped the return chart, outperforming gold, equity and bonds. Here is how the asset classes performed, as reported by ETWealth. Silver as an asset class has delivered a 21.3% return in the last 10 years. Silver is gaining not just from investment demand, but also from its vast industrial usage across electronics, solar energy and electric vehicles. Gold has delivered a return of 18.5% in the last 10 years. Gold has reinforced its role as an effective hedge against macroeconomic uncertainty. In 2026, gold continues to shine with an 11.7% return as investors prioritise capital preservation over aggressive return-seeking amid global volatility, geopolitical risks and concerns over economic growth. Mid caps and small caps delivered returns of 16.4% and 13.2%, respectively, in the last 10 years. Mid- and small-cap segments have shown relative resilience, supported by some strong domestic sectors. Large caps delivered a return of 11.1% in the mentioned time period. Large-cap stocks are facing pressure from foreign investor outflows. In 2026 so far, large caps are down 10.2%. G-sec 10-year and short-term debt funds delivered returns of 6% and 5.9%, respectively, in the mentioned time period. Short-term debt has ranked third among asset classes this year, as investors opt for capital preservation and liquidity in a volatile environment. Long-term debt has delivered marginal losses, saddled with rising bond yields and ongoing interest rate uncertainty. Real estate delivered a return of 5% in the last 10 years. Real estate has delivered the weakest returns over the long term. This can be attributed to regulatory disruptions, low rental yields and a shift in household savings towards financial assets.

Silver beats gold, stocks and bonds in 10-year returns. Here's the data