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The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the decision to give grace marks to 1,563 candidates of NEET-UG 2024 by the National Testing Agency (NTA) has been cancelled.These 1,563 students will also be given an option to apply for a re-test.The top court was hearing petitions concerning the dispute over the NEET-UG, 2024 exam for entrance into MBBS, BDS, and similar programs.One of the petitions was filed by Alakh Pandey, the chief executive of EdTech firm 'Physics Wallah', who has challenged the alleged random awarding of grace marks by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to more than 1,500 candidates who appeared for the NEET-UG, 2024.Alakh Pandey, the CEO of the EdTech company 'Physics Wallah' also filed a petition contesting the purported arbitrary allocation of grace marks by NTA to over 1,500 NEET-UG, 2024 candidates.Several petitions have been submitted to high courts and the Supreme Court, raising various allegations, including paper leaks, grace marks, and a significant increase in high scorers.However, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that no evidence of paper leak in NEET-UG has been found.What is the NEET-UG 2024 controversy?The NEET (UG) 2024 examination was conducted by the NTA on May 5 across 4,750 centers, with approximately 24 lakh candidates participating. Although the results were initially expected to be announced on June 14, they were released on June 4, possibly due to the early completion of the answer sheet evaluation.The plea stated that the NTA's decision to award grace marks was a reaction and not a proactive measure taken at the time of declaring the results.The petition argued that the NTA's decision to grant grace marks was a reaction rather than a proactive measure implemented at the time of announcing the results."So much so this clarification came about only when queries were raised as to how 718/719 marks out of total 720 marks can be awarded when the same was not technically possible as per the marking scheme," the plea said. The plea has called for a comprehensive investigation into the conduct of the examination by an independent high-powered committee.The plea questioned the basis for adopting the policy of awarding grace marks, as it was not a practice followed by the NTA in previous years. It demanded that the NTA provide details of the 1,563 candidates who received compensatory marks, including their original marks, the grace marks granted, and their revised marks.June 10 saw many students in Delhi rallying in protest, calling for an inquiry into the reported irregularities. Allegations suggest that the awarding of grace marks resulted in 67 students jointly attaining the highest rank.On Wednesday, the NTA released a document with frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the exam, reiterating that there was no question of paper leaks. NTA officials stated that 63 cases of students using unfair means were reported in NEET-UG, out of which 23 have been debarred for varying periods. However, they emphasized that the sanctity of the medical entrance exam has not been compromised.Last week, the Education Ministry formed a four-member panel to review the grace marks awarded to 1,563 students to compensate for the loss of time due to delays in starting the examination at certain centers.According to NTA officials, the adjustments were made to address inconsistencies in NCERT textbooks, which resulted in 44 candidates receiving full marks and many others seeing an increase in their scores, contributing to the high number of perfect scores. Despite the exam results becoming a political issue, NTA sources maintain that the majority of the claims are an attempt to create a false narrative surrounding the exam.

Investing at the age of 65 requires a thoughtful approach to ensure financial stability and consistent returns.Swapan Giri, ET Mutual Funds reader, a senior citizen looking to invest Rs 20 lakh, sought expert advice on the best investment strategy for his situation.ET Mutual Funds spoke to Aditya Agarwala, Co-founder, Head of Research and Investment at Invest4Edu, who offered a comprehensive plan tailored for low-risk tolerance and steady income.Retirement planning is crucial for individuals. It ensures a stable and sufficient income post-retirement, allowing you to maintain your lifestyle and meet essential expenses without relying on others.Agarwala's recommendation emphasized the advantages of SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) for rupee cost averaging, along with the strategic use of SWP (Systematic Withdrawal Plan), and highlighted top-performing hybrid funds that are ideal for senior citizens.Query by Swapan Giri: My age is 65 years. I want to invest Rs 20 lakh. Could you tell me how to invest it properly? Should I do a lump sum or SIP/STP for the next 5 years?Aditya Agarwala of Invest4Edu: Considering that Swapan Giri is now a senior citizen, I advocate a low-risk profile with exposure to debt funds, dividend funds, short duration funds, flexi cap funds and hybrid funds to ensure consistent and stable returns.Furthermore, given that the equity markets have already witnessed significant gains over a year and half it is prudent to opt for a SIP for the next 5 years as it will give rupee cost averaging. As far as investing a lump-sum of Rs 20 lakh is concerned, I would recommend allocating it to funds which allow placing SWP orders.The Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) is a mutual fund withdrawal technique in which you receive a fixed payout in each withdrawal cycle.For a monthly payout through SWP, you deposit a lump sum amount in a mutual fund and receive the benefit as fund returns.Few of the top performing Hybrid Funds which allow SWP are -1) ICICI Prudential Debt & Equity Fund2) HDFC Hybrid Equity Fund3) SBI Equity Hybrid Fund4) Quant Absolute Fund(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in alongwith your age, risk profile, and twitter handle.

Asian stocks and currencies advanced on Thursday after the double-whammy of a Federal Reserve rate decision and US consumer price data.Equities and dollar-denominated bonds are seen benefiting, even if the bullish inflation reading was tempered by Fed officials pulling back their rate cut forecasts for the year, according to strategists. Currencies like the rupiah and won are expected to outperform, they said, though some warned that the chance of a stronger dollar hadn’t gone away.The decision was “broadly supportive for risk assets given the nice inflation surprise and lower rates. The dot plot reversed some of the bond rally as the market digested the removal of a rate cut in 2024,” said Matthew Haupt, a portfolio manager at Wilson Asset Management. “Potentially lower US rates and a lower dollar should be supportive of risk assets.” 110956490Here are some views from market participants:Currency Strength…“I think Asia can perform well,” with currencies like the Indonesian rupiah and South Korean won outperforming in a risk-on type environment, said Brendan McKenna, emerging markets economist and strategist at Wells Fargo in New York. “Most of the EM currencies that underperformed had a local story that spooked markets. For the time being, the idiosyncratic stories impacting some Latam FX aren’t as present in Asia, so general risk sentiment supports regional FX.”“A softer dollar puts considerably less pressure on Asian currencies, which have come under pressure from the strong dollar,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial. “Also, commodity imports, particularly crude oil, are less of a burden.” “There’s a sense markets are comfortable assuming inflation will continue to ease enough for the Fed to begin cutting rates in September.”...or Not“Asian currencies are likely to remain under pressure,” said Win Thin, global head of markets strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York. “The strong dollar narrative remains in play despite the good CPI data.”Modestly Positive“The net impact of CPI plus Fed was positive, just less positive than if it was just CPI, so I wouldn’t expect a really negative impact” in Asia, said Shamaila Khan, head of fixed income for emerging markets and Asia Pacific at UBS Asset Management. “The Asia local markets tend to be not the high carry ones” and aren’t as volatile on day-to-day moves as the rest of the emerging market landscape, she said. “Generally speaking, they’ll all be in a range.”Risk-On“The net impact of the two events, FOMC and CPI, would be positive for Asian central banks,” said Tomo Kinoshita, a global markets strategist at Invesco Asset Management. The results are likely to lead to stronger Asian currencies against the dollar and higher stock prices. Meanwhile, lower US yields are expected to be a positive factor for Asian growth stocks.“The ‘turning-point-potential’ CPI report prompts investors to adopt a glass-half-full view,” said Hebe Chen, an analyst at IG Markets. “With at least five rate cuts remaining firmly on the table over the next 18 months, continuing the current upward journey of risk equities seems fairly justified.”Hesitation“Wall Street has a tendency to see what it wants, and I can’t say I’m seeing the same bullish enthusiasm” in Asia, said Matt Simpson, a senior market strategist at City Index Inc. “I’d have expected a stronger follow-through from Nikkei futures overnight given the Nasdaq’s surge to its latest record high, yet with the May high looming and the yen holding ground, it seems upside potential for the Nikkei could be relatively limited.” Moves in China equity futures also lacked conviction, he added.Higher AussieThe Aussie unwound some of its post-CPI gain and may be weighed further should Australia’s unemployment rate remain high later today, said Kristina Clifton, senior economist and currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “However, we consider the next big move is up because of undervaluation, low volatility, and rate cuts that will improve the global economic outlook.”Tight Credit Spreads“Although credit spreads are tight by historical standards, last night’s benign US CPI and the Fed’s ongoing commitment to future rate cuts — even if pushed into 2025 — should drive continued demand for dollar investment-grade bonds due to their attractive all-in yield,” said Mark Reade, head of credit strategy at Mizuho Securities Asia. “Combined with satisfactory corporate fundamentals and scarce regional supply, that’s likely to keep Asian USD credit spreads tight for at least a few more months.”

West Indies qualified for the Super Eights of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 after beating New Zealand by 13 runs at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Thursday.West Indies gave a target of 150 runs after batting in the first inning and Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph led the Caribbean bowling attack to stop the Kiwis from chasing the target.Devon Conway (5 runs from 8 balls) and Finn Allen (26 runs from 23 balls, 3 fours and 1 six) opened for the Kiwis but failed to give them a powerful start. The opening partnership could only make 20 runs after Akeal Hosein made the first breakthrough of the inning after he removed Conway in the third over.Finn Allen was the standout batter for the Kiwis in the opening part of the inning but Alzarri Joseph removed him in the sixth over.The Caribbeans displayed a spectacular performance in the powerplay, gifted only 36 runs and bagged two wickets.Just after the end of the powerplay, Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson (1 run from 2 balls) was removed by Gudakesh Motie after the New Zealand batter showcased a poor performance.Rachin Ravindra (10 runs from 13 balls), Daryl Mitchell (12 runs from 13 balls, 1 four) and James Neesham (10 runs from 11 balls, 1 six) also failed to stand still in front of the Caribbean bowling attack.Glenn Phillips' (40 runs from 33 balls, 3 fours and 2 sixes) knock helped the Kiwis come in a better place but he was removed by Alzarri Joseph in the 18th over. In the same over, Tim Southee lost his wicket for a golden duck against Joseph.Andre Russell picked up the ninth wicket of the inning as he removed Trent Boult (7 runs from 4 balls, 1 six) in the 19th over.In the last over, 33 runs were needed from 6 balls. Mitchell Santner (20 runs from 11 balls. 3 sixes) started the 20th over by hitting two consecutive sixes, trying to turn around the match but dot balls from Shepherd stopped the Kiwis to win the game.Santner and Lockie Ferguson were unbeaten on the crease till the last over as West Indies clinched a 13-run win over New Zealand.Joseph bagged four wickets and gave 19 runs in his four-over spell. While Motie picked up three wickets and gave 25 runs. Akeal Hosein and Andre Russell took one wicket each in their respective spells.Recapping the first inning of the match, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl first. They had Windies down and out at 30/5, but Rutherford helped them pose a strong comeback.West Indies was off to a poor start as they lost Johnson Charles for a duck in the first over itself, clean bowled by Trent Boult. WI was 1/1 in the first over.Left-hander Nicholas Pooran joined opener Brandon King. He hit Boult and Tim Southee for some fine boundaries. However, his stay was cut short by Southee, who got him caught behind by Devon Conway for just 17 in 12 balls, with three fours. WI was 20/2 in 3.5 overs.Roston Chase was the next batter to go, as pacer Lockie Ferguson got his scalp for a duck. Rachin Ravindra took a fine catch running from mid-on. WI was 21/3 in 4.3 overs.Skipper Rovman Powell could not survive the onslaught by Kiwi pacers, as Southee got his second wicket when Powell nicked the ball into Conway's gloves for just one. WI was 22/4 in 5.4 overs.WI was 23/4 at the end of six overs, with Brandon King (3*) and Sherfane Rutherford (1*) unbeaten.This time, all-rounder James Neesham struck for the Kiwis, sending back King for just nine runs in 12 balls, bringing half the Windies side down for 30 runs in 6.3 overs.Rutherford was joined by Akael Hosein. The two built a decent partnership and halfway through, WI was 49/5, with Hosein (13*) and Rutherford (6*) unbeaten.With a massive six by Rutherford to the deep square region, WI brought up their 50-run mark in 10.1 overs.The 28-run partnership between Hosein and Rutherford came to an end, with Hosein getting caught by Neesham at deep mid-wicket for 15 in 17 balls, with a four and six. Spinner Mitchell Santner got the wicket. WI was 58/6 in 11 overs.Andre Russell was next up on the crease and tried to launch a counter-attack by hitting Ferguson for two fours and a six, but was dismissed by Boult for 14 in seven balls. It was Ferguson who took the catch at short third man. WI was 76/7 in 12.3 overs.Romario Shepherd joined Rutherford, who held the other end steady. Windies reached the 100-run mark in 15.4 overs as Rutherford launched Neesham for a six over backward square leg.Shepherd was trapped leg-before-wicket by Ferguson for 13 in 13 balls. WI was 103/8 in 16.2 overs.West Indies lost their ninth wicket, Alzarri Joseph, for six runs in six balls to Boult. WI was 112/9 in 17.5 overs.In the 19th over, Rutherford relieved pressure big time by smashing Daryl Mitchell for three sixes, followed by a couple of boundaries against Santer in the last over. He also reached a valuable half-century in 32 balls, with five sixes.WI ended their innings on high with a fighting total of 149/9 in 20 overs, with Rutherford unbeaten at 68 in 39 balls, decorated with two fours and six sixes along with Gudakesh Motie (0*).Brief score: West Indies 149/9 (Sherfane Rutherford 68*, Nicholas Pooran 17, Akeal Hosein 15; Trent Boult 3/16) beat New Zealand 136/9 (Glenn Phillips 40, Finn Allen 26, Mitchell Santner 21*; Alzarri Joseph 4/19).

Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), the operator of the Mumbai International Airport, has raised ₹150 crore in debt for four years at 9.95% payable annually, said people aware of the development.The company raised the debt on Tuesday by issuing senior secured listed non-convertible debentures maturing in June 2028, the people said. The proceeds will be used to fund capital expenditures of restricted firms for undertaking improvements of certain airport facilities and meet transaction costs or financing expenses, the company said in a regulatory filing. AAHL is the holding company of several special purpose vehicles (SPVs) that run airports in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram. AAHL did not respond to ET's request for comment.The principal amount of the NCDs and interest component are secured by a first pari passu charge over all receivables under the NCDs and compulsory convertible debentures issued by each restricted company and subscribed to by the company, including but not limited to the airport NCDs, the company said.Rating agencies Crisil and India Ratings have assigned an A+ rating for AAHL's proposed bond issue of ₹400 crore. The company had raised ₹150 crore in March, followed by an equal amount on Tuesday.AAHL has proposed a ₹33,000 crore capex outlay for Navi Mumbai International Airport and Mumbai International Airport over fiscal years 2023-26, Crisil said. Given the large capex plan, bond market players are surprised by the company raising a relatively small amount of debt.

Indian elections may have sprung a surprise, denying an outright majority on its own to the BJP, but the likelihood of policy continuity and prospects of strong growth through Narendra Modi's third premiership provide sufficient comfort to international businesses to commit funds here, Jose Vinals, chairman, Standard Chartered, tells Bhaskar Dutta and MC Govardhana Rangan. Edited excerpts;Europe has cut interest rates, while the US Fed remains on hold. India has said that interest rates will be determined by local factors. What does this mean for capital flows?Yes, that may lead to a bit more currency volatility, a little more foreign exchange volatility. But I would expect that sooner or later, all interest rates in the advanced economies will come down and this is something which will be a relief for several emerging markets, particularly those that have borrowed more in foreign currency, or those with relatively less developed local currency markets. An important thing is that even after these interest rates have come down, they will remain higher than what they have been in the past. Economies with good fundamentals and good prospects like India will be able to claim an increasing share of that global capital pool. India is certainly at the top.Recently, there has been a change in the political landscape in India. Is there a change in how international businesses look at India?No, I don't think so. The Indian economy continues to have strong fundamentals and that's very important. It continues having a reform agenda, which in the view of international investors will be continued. It is a country whose bonds have been included recently in the JPMorgan index and the country has very good plans in terms of the new economy. It's very important that democracies function and India is a functioning democracy. India is on a very strong growth path. It has already achieved the 5th position in the world in terms of the size of the economy and it is likely to now become number 3 by 2027.There are segments that may interest investors. Which sectors of the economy are foreign investors looking at?India is now very important in terms of services; it is trying to attract international investment. The government has programmes to provide subsidies - the PLI (performance linked incentive) programme. The focus on electronics, on semiconductors, on electric vehicles, renewable sources of energy - these are areas of immense opportunity for India, these are areas which are likely to attract tremendous investment from foreign direct investors and for foreign investors like what they see in terms of growth. This is something that bodes very well for India.New tensions are emerging and today we have the EU slapping duty on Chinese EVs. How do you see these things evolving?Global trade in services is growing significantly faster than global trade in goods and India has doubled its exports of services over the past five years. The growth of trade in digital services is even faster than the growth in trade in total services; and again, India has very significant comparative advantages. If we look at the next 20 years or even at the end of the decade - we have done a study on the future of trade - emerging markets are going to be the main drivers of global trade because emerging markets trade is going to be much more dynamic than advanced economies.A very large portion of Standard Chartered's profits and revenues come from Asia. Where does India fit?We bank in 53 markets around the world. India is one of the top three contributors in terms of our operating profits. In terms of the bottom line, it's one of the top 3. That tells you a lot. It's a market which has tremendous promise, tremendous potential and one of the things that we are discussing is how we can further sharpen our activities in India as a cross-border bank, as an international bank, as a bank for the affluent and the small- and medium-enterprises so that we can maximise the opportunity provided by the Indian economy.Global trade - one of the biggest business areas for international banks - has been uprooted by geopolitical tensions. How is Standard Chartered reading these and reshaped strategies?We have been helping this process of reorganisation of global supply chains and benefiting from it because we have helped our clients establish shops in places like Vietnam, India, and Indonesia. We have been banking on this corridor between northern Asia, south Asia and south-east Asia and this has been leading to very significant middle or high double-digit growth rates.Global banking system was supposedly strengthened post the financial crisis with the BIS leading the agenda. But we saw a few banks blow up in the US and Credit Suisse went down. Where are the cracks now?Why didn't things happen in the rest of the banking system? Because banks were well-regulated, banks were well-supervised. Watch out for the non-bank financial system. That was not regulated after the global financial crisis because it wasn't the cause of the problem at the time. Now it's come under the focus of regulation. So, look at the areas there - you have insurance companies, you have hedge funds, you have private equity, you have private credit, you have many different things. First of all, get better data, second, see if there are pockets of leverage that you don't know about. If at the end of the day, there are intermediaries there which are doing the same activity and carrying the same risks as banks, they should have the same regulatory outcomes as banks.Where does Standard Chartered fit in India's banking space among MNCs?There are huge opportunities in things like GIFT City. India has a large-scale local market. We are the top bankers for large local corporates. We are leading among international banks in terms of arranging external bond financing and local currency bond financing. Again, we have a very attractive customer value proposition regarding the affluent in India. All of this gives us a tremendous upside. We are looking at GIFT City as a very important opportunity. We were the first international bank to establish a presence in GIFT City and we want to capitalise on that by ramping up our focus on investment and trying to do as much as we can.

Benchmark indices ended higher on Wednesday, with the Nifty hitting its fresh record closing level amid a largely positive trend in global equities. In today's trade, shares of L&T Finance, Arvind, Nestle India, Sobha, Whirlpool India among others will be in focus due to various news developments.L&T FinanceBain Capital is likely to sell its entire stake in L&T Finance through a Rs 1,500-crore block deal, according to reports.Arvind The strike has been called off by the workers at Santej Plant and operations were partially impacted due to the strike getting back to normalcy. The company has estimated potential loss of revenue of around Rs 180-200 crore.Nestle IndiaFMCG major Nestle India on Wednesday said it has changed the record date for the payment of final dividend to July 16 from July 15 earlier. Further, the board of Nestle India gave nod to continuation of payment of general licence fees (royalty) at the current rate of 4.5% to its Swiss parent Nestle.SobhaThe board of Sobha approved a rights issue of up to Rs 2,000 crore with an issue price at Rs 1,651 per share.PTC India Financial ServicesSebi passed an order in PTC India financial services matter where it fined Pawan Singh ₹25 Lakh and bars him from taking Director’s post in a listed company for 2 years.Whirlpool IndiaWhirlpool entered into a joint marketing agreement with Hindustan Unilever for 3 years.

Indian home builders may have to construct as many as 100 million new dwelling units this decade as rising household incomes in the world’s fastest-growing major economy buoy demand for new residences, according to a top official at one of the country’s largest developers.About 70 million Indian households will turn eligible for home ownership over the next 10 years, which, along with people seeking to upgrade their apartments, should create requirement for as many as 100 million new houses, Abhishek Lodha, chief executive officer at Mumbai-based Macrotech Developers Ltd. said in an interview earlier this month. Macrotech’s flagship projects include the Trump Tower in Mumbai.Narendra Modi, who was sworn in as India’s prime minister for a third straight term on Sunday, has vowed to continue pushing growth especially in the housing and infrastructure sectors. Real estate consulting firm Knight Frank expects the demand for homes created by rising income levels to translate into $906 billion of economic output over the next ten years. 110952784The South Asian nation’s property market has heated up since the pandemic, with 2023 being the best year for home sales in at least 15 years. The momentum allowed Macrotech, which operates under the brand name Lodha, to report its highest ever quarterly sales in the three months ending March.In 2023 about 600,000 primary homes were built in India and even a fast pace of growth in the construction sector would struggle to meet the demand for 100 million homes over this decade, he said.Macrotech Developers, also best known for its gated communities in upscale neighborhoods, last year entered tech hub Bengaluru and expanded in the city of Pune, about 150 kilometers from India’s financial capital, Mumbai. The company is the second-biggest listed real estate developer by market value, after DLF Ltd. and its shares have risen over 43% so far this year, compared with a 40% climb in the NSE Nifty Realty Index.Lodha said the rising demand for homes “is a fifteen-plus year cycle. We are only in year four and there is a long, long way ahead to go before India has real estate at its rightful share in its economic mix.”