Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman of the Afghan caretaker government, will lead a delegation to the third round of UN-convened talks on Afghanistan, an official said.

The conference is scheduled for Sunday and Monday in the Qatari capital of Doha, reports Xinhua news agency.

A series of issues, including sanctions on Afghanistan, restrictions on financial activities and the banking system, and details about the Doha meeting, were discussed at a foreign ministry meeting on Tuesday, a spokesman of the administration’s foreign ministry, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, said on its X account.

It marks the first time the caretaker government will participate in the UN-led meeting. The government was not invited to the first meeting last May and rejected the second in February. AGENCIES

One person was killed and seven others injured when a train rammed into a bus at a railway crossing in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, police have confirmed.

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the police said the accident happened around 4:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

“A bus with 66 passengers on board was hit by a train after the bus driver failed to stop at the railway crossing. Subsequently, one person died on the spot, and seven others were injured,” the police added.

The accident happened just over a week after nine passengers were killed on a bus which caught fire just outside the small town of Rusape in Manicaland Province, reports Xinhua news agency.

Road traffic accidents involving passenger transport vehicles are common in Zimbabwe, prompting the government to engage operators to minimise them. AGENCIES

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved $150 million in financing for Sri Lanka to improve the quality and utilisation of its primary healthcare services, according to a statement.

The World Bank on Monday said the project would help improve the quality of care and increase the use of primary medical care institutions, which provide essential health services to local communities, reports Xinhua news agency.

Capacity challenges and the absence of a formal referral mechanism have led to the underutilisation of primary healthcare facilities and overcrowding in tertiary care facilities in Sri Lanka, according to the statement.

The previous World Bank-supported project already enhanced 550 Primary Medical Care Institutions with essential equipment, medicines, health workers and basic laboratory testing facilities.

The new project will scale up these efforts to cover 100 per cent of Primary Medical Care Institutions across all districts of Sri Lanka, expanding to over 1,000 facilities with a more comprehensive service package and improved quality of care, it said. AGENCIES

In a bid to curb spam calls and messages, the government has issued fresh directions to mobile services providers.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has mandated mobile services providers to enhance their mobile apps and web portals to make them more user-friendly for registration of unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) complaints.

The TRAI has mandated mobile services providers to ensure that options for UCC complaint registration and preference management are easily accessible on their mobile applications and websites.

“Also, essential details for the registration of complaints should be automatically populated, if users grant permission to access their call logs and other relevant data,” said the telecom regulatory body.

The TRAI has also implemented amendments to the performance monitoring report formats (PMRs).

All mobile services providers will now be required to submit PMRs on a monthly basis, as opposed to the previous quarterly reporting cycle, said the Ministry of Communications.

Earlier this month, the TRAI allocated 160 mobile phone series for making transactional and service voice calls for all entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA in the first phase, in order to prevent the duping of citizens from the fraudsters.

Once the 160 mobile series is implemented, it will help in the easy identification of the calling entity. AGENCIES

Indian equity indices opened in the green on Tuesday following positive cues from Asian peers. At 9:55 a.m., Sensex was up 212 points or 0.27 per cent, at 77,553 and Nifty was up 53 points or 0.23 per cent, at 23,591.Buying is being seen in midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty Midcap 100 index is up 265 points or 0.48 per cent, at 55,842 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index is up 202 points or 1.11 per cent, at 18,417.

In the Sensex pack, Ultratech Cement (NS:ULTC), HDFC Bank (NS:HDBK), M&M (NS:MAHM), Axis Bank (NS:AXBK), SBI (NS:SBI), Bharti Airtel (NS:BRTI), Bajaj Finance (NS:BJFN) and Tata Steel (NS:TISC) are top gainers. HCL Tech (NS:HCLT), Bajaj Finserv (NS:BJFS), NTPC (NS:NTPC), Asian paints, Infosys (NS:INFY) and TCS (NS:TCS) are top losers.

Asian markets are bullish. The markets of Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Seoul are in the green. At the same time, Shanghai and Jakarta are in the red. American markets closed higher on Monday. Crude oil benchmark Brent crude is at $85 per barrel and WTI crude at $81 per barrel.

Mandar Bhojane, Research Analyst at Choice Broking, said, “On the daily chart, Nifty formed a bullish piercing candlestick pattern with good volume, indicating a bullish reversal from the support level of 23,400.”

“If the index closes above the 23,600 level, it could further rise to 23,800 and 24,000 levels in the upcoming days. On the flip side, if the price breaks the 23,300 level, it could correct further to the 23,000 level,” he added.

Among the sectoral indices, PSU banks, Auto, Fin Service, Metal and Media are major gainers. IT, FMCG and Realty are major laggards. AGENCIES

Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) said on Tuesday it has completed building infrastructure to produce faster and more efficient chips for artificial intelligence (AI) computing.The infrastructure for so-called compute express link (CXL) technology was built at Samsung Memory Research Center in Hwaseong, about 45 kms south of Seoul, the company said in a statement.

The CXL technology allows an efficient operation among computer processing units, accelerators and memory chips. It is considered next-generation memory technology following high-bandwidth memory, reports Yonhap news agency.

Samsung said the infrastructure was certified by Red Hat, a US software company.

Song Taek-sang, head of the new DRAM solution development team at Samsung Electronics, said the company’s partnership with “Red Hat is able to deliver CXL memory products with enhanced reliability to our customers.”

“Through our continued collaboration spanning software and hardware, we will remain at the forefront of developing innovative memory solutions as well as the CXL ecosystem,” Song said in the statement. AGENCIES

Propelled by strong government impetus and the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, the revenue of the top 25 private aerospace and defence companies is set to grow 20 per cent to Rs 13,500 crore this fiscal (FY25), a report showed on Tuesday.Operating margin is likely to rise 50-60 basis points on sustained revenue growth, economies of scale and better-fixed cost absorption, and should remain stable over the medium term, aided by price escalation clauses in contracts, according to the report by CRISIL (NS:CRSL) Ratings.

While public sector undertakings (PSUs) dominate the Indian defence industry, the revenue share of private players has been on the rise.

This is because liberalisation in defence equipment manufacturing and increasing transparency in bidding guidelines have helped private entities secure more orders in domestic and overseas markets.

According to Jayashree Nandakumar, Director, CRISIL Ratings, the order book to operating income is expected to improve to around 4.5 times in fiscal 2025 to Rs 50,000-Rs 51,000 crore, from 3.5 times in fiscal 2023, driving revenue growth.

The report further mentioned that gross current assets may increase further from the already high level of 450-500 days on average, driven by large inventory and receivables of around 230 and 120 days, respectively.

“Players may undertake capital expenditure (Capex) of Rs 650-700 crore this fiscal to expand their existing capacities by 12-14 per cent and require an additional Rs 600-700 crore to meet the incremental working capital expenses,” said Sajesh KV, Associate Director, CRISIL Ratings. AGENCIES

JSW Steel USA, a subsidiary of India’s leading steel company, on Tuesday said it plans to invest $110 million in steel projects in the state of Texas.

The company said this investment will enable the production of high-quality monopile steel plates to support the Joe Biden administration’s new actions to expand offshore wind energy by deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, enough to power 10 million homes with clean energy.

JSW Steel USA is part of the $24 billion JSW Group, with over 800 employees.

“The new investments will enable us to progressively deliver high-quality steel products while further defining our niche markets through a ‘Made in America’ speciality steel portfolio,” said Parth Jindal, Director of JSW Steel USA.

“These investments have the potential to significantly reduce US import reliance in the infrastructure and renewable energy sectors,” he added.

This portfolio expansion will also support the expanded development of the domestic renewable energy market by increasing JSW USA’s service capacity towards its customers within the offshore wind market.

These new projects, which further build upon JSW USA’s recent $145 million investment in its Mingo Junction facility (Ohio), are expected to be completed and commissioned by FY26.

“Without a doubt, the ‘Lone Star State’ is the best place to live, work and raise a family — and continued investment will ensure future growth and economic opportunities for the entire region. I’m proud to represent JSW and am excited for what is in store,” said Congressman Brian Babin, representing the 36th district of Texas and the city of Baytown.

Atul Keshap, President of the US-India Business Council (USIBC), said through initiatives like this, the US and India will continue to see convergence based on trust, partnership and mutual progress. AGENCIES

Buoyed by the government policies, the Indian automotive and ancillary sector is likely to double its size to Rs 15 lakh crore, providing employment to over 19 million people by the end of 2023, a report said on Tuesday, adding that Indian corporates are navigating global challenges with superior risk handling.

The automotive and ancillary sector is projected to contribute 7.1 per cent to the national GDP, according to the report by ICICI Lombard in collaboration with Frost and Sullivan.

Two-wheelers currently dominate the sector with 77 per cent market share, followed by passenger cars at 18 per cent.

India currently ranks second globally in two-wheelers, seventh in commercial vehicles and sixth in passenger vehicles.

Government initiatives such as ‘Make in India,’ continued investments in infrastructure, and the promotion of sustainable energy management have played a pivotal role in bolstering sector resilience.

Meanwhile, despite facing global headwinds and increased risk exposure in certain sectors, Indian enterprises have demonstrated resilience and strategic advancements, leading to improved risk management scores, according to the report.

The Corporate India Risk Index (CIRI) 2023 shows an improvement in the risk index score from 63 in 2022 to 64 in 2023.

“The improved score is a testament to the efficient risk management practices adopted by Indian corporates in the face of global headwinds and challenges,” said Sandeep Goradia, Chief – Corporate Solutions Group at ICICI Lombard.

The manufacturing, metals and mining, and new-age sectors displayed notable advancements in their risk index scores.

“The steady improvement in risk index score for the country as a whole, combined with the fact that there are no sectors below the optimal risk index category, indicates a very positive outlook for Indian corporate,” said Aroop Zuthsi, Global President and Managing Partner at Frost & Sullivan.

The ongoing digital transformation and AI integration across sectors have further enhanced operational efficiencies and risk management practices, the report mentioned. AGENCIES

Driven by the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, the country’s manufacturing sector is projected to expand threefold, reaching a market size of $1.66 trillion from the current $459 billion (FY24), a report showed on Tuesday.

This growth surpasses the average increase of $175 billion experienced over the last decade.

The manufacturing sector’s contribution to the GDP is anticipated to rise from 14 per cent in FY24 to 21 per cent by FY34, bolstered by lower logistics costs and improved infrastructure, according to the report by DSP Mutual Fund.

Investments in infrastructure are set to climb from 33 per cent of GDP in FY24 to 36 per cent by fiscal year 2029, sparking a ripple effect on the economy.

“We continue to be positive on the manufacturing theme as we believe most of the segments are at the cusp of a significant pickup in demand which would drive earnings growth for the companies,” said Charanjit Singh, Fund Manager, DSP Mutual Fund.

The last five years focused on key reforms by the government and policy changes.

“We believe that the period from FY 25-30 is going to be about execution,” Singh added.

Private capex which had been weak for a very long time could witness a revival from FY26 led by rising utilisation levels, strong corporate balance sheets and political stability, the report mentioned.

The PLI scheme has the potential for significant capital expenditure. It’s anticipated that sectors will spend around $39 billion between fiscal years 2024 and 2026.

“While current PLI investments are focused on pharmaceuticals, mobile phones, and solar PV modules, upcoming sectors like semiconductors, speciality steel, textiles, and automobiles are set to witness increased investment in the fiscal year 2025,” the report mentioned.

Sectors like power, defence, water and manufacturing are primarily fueled by demand rather than a push, it added. AGENCIES