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In an unprecedented meteorological occurrence, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has witnessed an extraordinary deluge, marking the most substantial rainfall recorded within 24 the hours until 9 pm on Tuesday. This surpasses any documented precipitation event since the inception of data collection in 1949, affecting various regions across the nation, according to UAE Centre of Meteorology. One person was reported to be dead due to the unprecedented rains in the UAE.What is causing the rains?Dubai is grappling with severe flooding, as the amount of rain received in a single day equals what typically falls over the span of 1.5 years, according to climate scientist Colin McCarthy. Approximately 5 inches (127 mm) of rainfall inundated the area within a 24-hour period, he said. The climate scientist the heavy rains in the region to multiple rounds of intense thunderstorms forming off the warm waters of the Persian Gulf. Climatologist Friederike Otto said the extreme rainfall in UAE and other regions was likely that global warming played a part.Read More: Dubai Floods: Flights Disrupts as Airport Terminals and Runways got Waterlogged"It is highly likely that the deadly and destructive rain in Oman and Dubai was made heavier by human-caused climate change," said Otto told AFP. 109361716 Remarkably, the highest rainfall was registered in the "Khatm Al Shakla" locality in Al Ain, reaching an astonishing 254 mm in less than 24 hours. This substantial downpour represents a significant event in the UAE's meteorological history, contributing to an elevation in the country's annual rainfall average and bolstering its groundwater reservoirs.In response to the adverse weather conditions, the Ajman Department of Human Resources has declared the continuation of remote work for government employees on Wednesday, April 17, acknowledging the ongoing inclement weather.Dubai airport shut temporarilyEtihad Airways has issued a statement cautioning passengers about potential delays in flights due to the heavy rains affecting Abu Dhabi on April 17. Additionally, operations at Dubai International Airport were briefly suspended for 25 minutes on Tuesday due to an intense storm, with subsequent resumption reported by the airport authorities.Also read: Dubai Airport disrupts flights amid heavy rains and flooding in UAE“Guests are advised to regularly check etihad.com for the latest information about their flight departure and allow plenty of time to travel to the airport," added the statement.— anandmahindra (@anandmahindra) "Etihad will be working closely with guests affected by any disruption to assist them with changes to their itineraries and to reach their final destination .The safety and comfort of our guests and crew is our number one priority and we regret any inconvenience caused.”Dubai, renowned as the Middle East's financial hub, encountered significant disruptions as the torrential rain led to widespread flooding not only in the city but also across the UAE and Bahrain. The adverse weather conditions, which claimed 18 lives in Oman, prompted the suspension of numerous flights and caused logistical challenges, including flooded access roads to Dubai Airport.Many regions in the emirate had already announced online schooling for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Despite several measures, including various incentives to farmers, India is still dependent on imports of pulses for its domestic requirements.Pulses imports have almost doubled in 2023-24 to USD 3.74 billion.However, the official figure is yet to be disclosed, and estimates suggest shipments have crossed 45 lakh tonnes in the just-concluded financial year 2023-24 as against 24.5 lakh tonnes a year ago.Government sources said that to meet domestic demand and keep prices in check, government is negotiating with new markets like Brazil and Argentina for long-term contracts for pulses imports.Over 20,000 tonnes of urad will be imported from Brazil and negotiations are almost at the final stage to import arhar from Argentina.The government has also contracted with Mozambique, Tanzania, and Myanmar to import pulses.The surge in imports in recent months is to boost domestic supply and keep prices in check.Earlier, the government has allowed duty-free imports of yellow peas till June of this year and duty-free import of arhar and urad till March 31, 2025.Inflation on pulses is a major concern for the government when the election process is underway. Recent figure suggests pulses inflation at 17 per cent in March and 19 per cent in February this year.To keep prices in check, the government has imposed stock limits on pulses on Monday, April 15, and asked states to be vigilant against hoardings.But the concern is that despite various incentives by government, like guaranteed purchase and higher MSP, domestic production of pulses has declined in last 2-3 years. Agriculture ministry estimates suggest pulses production in 2023-24 will be at 234 lakh tonnes.Last year, the production was 261 lakh tonnes.In 2019-20, domestic pulses production was 230.25 lakh tonnes, but after various incentives from the government in 2020-21, production rose to 254.63 lakh tonnes, in 2021-22 it further rose to 273.02 lakh tonnes but in 2022-23, it declined to 260.58 lakh tonnes.Kharif Production this year (FY24) is expected to come down from 76.21 lakh tonnes to 71.18 lakh tonnes, Urad Production is expected to come down from 17.68 lakh tonne to 15.15 lakh tonnes, whereas Moong Production is expected to come down from 17.18 lakh tonnes to 14.05 lakh tonnes.Experts say the decline in domestic output is also because of erratic climate conditions in key producing regions.But the concern is also that, after seeing an uptrend, the pulses sowing area has also reduced in the last 3-4 years, from 307.31 lakh hectares in 2021-22 to 257.85 lakh hectares in 2023-24. In two years, sowing area reduced by 16 per cent and production by almost 14 per cent.The Reserve Bank of India has also highlighted that food price pressures are posing challenges in bringing inflation down to the target of 4 per cent, and the price of pulses is playing an important role in inflation numbers.India is a large consumer and grower of pulses and it meets a portion of its consumption needs through imports. India primarily consumes chana, masur, urad, kabuli chana, and tur.

Debt-ridden telco Vodafone Idea (VI), which has been plagued by losses and subscriber erosion, is coming up with a follow-on public offer (FPO) on April 18.The Rs 18,000 crore share sale is expected to attract some marquee investors including GQG Partners, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, AustralianSuper, Fidelity among others.Bloomberg reported that GQG will place bids for equity worth at least $300 million and as much as $400 million, which might come as a shot in the arm for the telco.Despite the backing of big funds, analysts are quite cautious about retail investors putting their money into the FPO, the largest on D-Street so far.Even though the offer might be a step in the right direction and alleviate some of the company's concerns, one cannot be sure on how long it will take for the company to show some profitability and reduce debt significantly. The telco hasn’t reported an annual profit since 2016.Analysts further said given the size of the FPO, investors are selling shares in the secondary market and planning to apply in the primary market."The FPO will bring big funds and it will get oversubscribed. But, investors must not expect major listing gains and avoid taking a blind call. Its a loss making company and cant see them being profitable in the next 12-18 months," said Avinash Gorakshakar of Profitmart Securities.VI is the third largest telco in India based on subscriber base. The company is raising funds for capex purposes of increasing its network infrastructure by expanding the capacity of the existing 4G sites and setting up new 4G and 5G infrastructure as well.The company said it expects to roll out 5G services in select pockets in 6-9 months of the issue. The 5G rollout will cover 40% of the company's overall revenue base in the next 24-30 months.VI has not been able to roll out 5G services because of lack of funds. It can be noted that both its rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio -- to whom it has ceded market share -- have been active on 5G for some months now."India’s ARPU ($2.1 per month) is the lowest amongst the major economies, an increase in the cost of data plans by the telecom industries indicates a higher scope for ARPU improvement to generate a reasonable return on investment. Improving teledensity will also help the company’s growth in the future," said SBI Securities.While the fund-raise should improve the company's near-term fortunes, analysts don’t expect the company to gain any meaningful market share from peers and remain concerned about potential large equity dilution."Potentially, the government could own an 80%+ stake in Vi on a fully diluted basis in the worst case, which would limit any meaningful upside for Vi’s minority investors," said Kotak Institutional Equities.However, the issue should help bridge the network coverage gap and improve competitiveness versus peers.The company has set a price band of Rs 10-11 per equity share.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

New Delhi: iPhones powered an over 35% surge in India’s mobile phone exports to a record $15 billionplus in FY24, according to government data seen exclusively by ET. Exports stood at $11.1 billion in FY23.Apple contributed 65%, or about $10 billion, double the $5 billion of phone exports from India in FY23, when the US major became the first smartphone brand to achieve this feat.India’s fledgling mobile electronics manufacturing ecosystem has helped create more than 1.2 million jobs, while producing goods worth $50 billion, in FY24, show the data.“We’ve had great success in mobile phone production,” electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told ET. “Local value addition has increased, as a lot of components have started being manufactured in India. The domestic value addition is increasing steadily, quarter by quarter.”109355350Vaishnaw, also the minister for telecom and railways, said the pace of growth in manufacturing and exports will accelerate as companies are starting to set up their entire component ecosystem locally, while design inputs are increasing.Overall, electronics exports jumped nearly 24% to $29.12 billion in FY24, from $23.55 billion in the previous year, provisional data released by the commerce ministry showed. Merchandise exports, however, saw a 3.11% drop in FY24.Mobile phone exports received a major fillip with the start of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme in FY22. Apple’s three Taiwanese contract manufacturers — Foxconn Hon Hai, Pegatron and Wistron (now owned by Tatas) — as well as Korea’s Samsung and Bharat FIH (a Foxconn company that makes devices other than iPhones) were selected.India’s Dixon, Lava, Bhagwati, UTL and Optiemus also qualified for the PLI scheme.However, among the latter, only Dixon has claimed incentives under the scheme so far, though its share of exports to total sales is currently small, as most of the production is consumed locally.Among global firms, only Bharat FIH has never claimed sops as it has failed to meet the production targets.Electronics exports have been growing sharply, lifting the category to the league of top five export segments.“Mobile (phone) manufacturing has exhibited spectacular results in the last eight years; and especially in the last three,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). “But we can’t rest on our laurels. Extreme competitiveness via tariffs, taxation and industrial infrastructure is key to reaching the $50-billion export mark by 2026-27.” “Mobile (phone) manufacturing has exhibited spectacular results in the last eight years; and especially in the last three,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). “But we can’t rest on our laurels. Extreme competitiveness via tariffs, taxation and industrial infrastructure is key to reaching the $50-billion export mark by 2026-27.”

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked self-reporting organisations (SROs) including banks, post offices, co-operatives, fintechs and mutual fund houses to file details of all high-value transactions carried out in 2022-23 by June 30.There are about 6,000 reporting entities that have either not filed the information or provided incomplete information or given it in incorrect format, ET has learnt.The CBDT has nudged its field formations to ensure that each reporting entity is compliant."There are about 6,000 entities which are non-filers or defect-filers, meaning that the details furnished are incomplete," a senior official told ET, adding that the field formations need to ensure that all the reporting entities are complying with the law and are filling all the details for FY23 before June 30.109354751According to the income tax rules, all reporting authorities including banks, post offices, registrars, companies and mutual fund houses are required to intimate the director of income tax (intelligence and criminal investigation) about high-value transactions through Form 61A, called Statement of Financial Transaction, under Section 285BA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 read with Rule 114E of the income tax rules, 1962.Any transaction above ₹50 lakh, share purchase and sale above ₹10 lakh and post office deposits and withdrawal of ₹5 lakh and above has to be reported. Officials said while all large banks and mutual fund houses are compliant, regional banks, post offices and regional registry offices are sometimes not filling on time. This is a significant source of information on high-value transactions for the investigation wing of the department.The department conducts regular surveys to check if reporting authorities are in compliance.