Prime Minister Narendra Modi will depart for Italy on Thursday to attend the 50th G7 Summit. During his visit, Modi is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. This marks the prime minister’s first overseas trip since beginning his third consecutive term.

“At the invitation of the Prime Minister of Italy (Giorgia Meloni), Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be traveling to Apulia, Italy tomorrow to participate in the 50th G7 Summit on June 14, where India has been invited as an Outreach Country,” stated Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Wednesday.

“This will be the prime minister’s first overseas travel after assuming office in his third consecutive term. It will also afford him an opportunity to engage with other world leaders present at the G7 Summit on issues important to India and the Global South,” he added.

Kwatra mentioned that this will be India’s 11th participation in the G7 Summit and the 5th consecutive participation by PM Modi.

He noted that Modi’s participation in the G7 Summit would provide an opportunity to follow up on the outcomes of the G20 Summit held under India’s presidency last year.

“Prime Minister’s participation in the G7 Summit would also provide a timely opportunity to follow up on outcomes of the G20 Summit held under India’s presidency last year and deliberate on issues significant for the Global South,” he said.

Modi will participate in the Outreach session along with other invited countries on June 14.

“At this session, the focus will be on Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa, and the Mediterranean. It will be a block agenda item where the G7 and the Outreach Countries will share their views and perspectives,” the foreign secretary said.

Last year, PM Modi attended the G7 summit in Hiroshima, where he held talks with Zelenskyy and other world leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

The owners of Haldiram Snacks Pvt Ltd. are considering an initial public offering (IPO) for the food producer and restaurant operator after plans to sell to foreign investors stalled, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Agarwal family is exploring a listing because bids ranging from $8 billion to $8.5 billion did not meet their valuation expectation of around $12 billion, sources revealed anonymously due to the private nature of the information.

In May, Haldiram’s received bids from a Blackstone Inc.-led consortium, which included the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and GIC Pte, as well as from a consortium led by Bain & Co. and Temasek Holdings Pte, according to local media reports.

The IPO considerations are still in the preliminary stages, and the controlling shareholders might still decide to lower their asking price and proceed with a sale, the sources added.

India has become a hotspot for IPOs, raising approximately $3.9 billion so far this year—double the amount raised during the same period in 2023 and surpassing the combined totals of Hong Kong and Korea, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Founded by Ganga Bishan Agarwal in the 1930s in North India, Haldiram’s offers a variety of foods, including sweet and savory snacks, frozen meals, and breads. The company also operates 43 restaurants in and around Delhi, according to its website.

Days after the Supreme Court directed the Himachal Pradesh government to urgently release 137 cusecs of surplus drinking water to Delhi, the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) informed the court on Monday that there is no way to measure Himachal’s compliance. The state lacks storage facilities to measure the additional flow, and no data is available to verify the surplus water released after meeting its own requirements.

A vacation bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice PK Mishra, adjourned the hearing to June 12 because a copy of the UYRB report was not before it. The Haryana government, also party to the proceedings, claimed to have submitted a document to the court. The bench reprimanded the Delhi government for not addressing a filing defect noted by the registry, which prevented the court from receiving reports and applications.

Justice PB Varale, also on the bench, remarked, “The defects were pointed out last week and still they have not been removed.” Addressing the Delhi government, represented by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Shadan Farasat (virtually), and advocate Talha Abdul Rehman (physically present), the bench warned, “You cannot take this court for a ride. Let the office verify if you have removed the defects. If not, this petition will be dismissed.” Rehman assured the court that the defects would be resolved by the end of the day.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjit Banerjee, representing the Centre and UYRB, along with senior advocate Wasim Qadri, informed the court that the Board had filed its status report in accordance with the June 6 order. This order required Himachal Pradesh to supply 137 cusecs of surplus water to Delhi and directed Haryana to ensure the surplus water received at Hathnikund Barrage (HKB) reaches Delhi via Wazirabad. The Board was instructed to measure the surplus flow at HKB and report compliance.

The UYRB report stated, “Himachal Pradesh does not have any storage from where it can release the additional water amounting to 137 cusecs in pursuance to the June 6 order.” The report also noted, “The complete information ascertaining the utilization by HP has not been supplied (to the UYRB)…in the absence of which the board is not in a position to estimate the unutilized share of the state of HP which they want to share with the national capital territory of Delhi and pass through the state of Haryana.”

The Board further informed the court that it had written to both the Haryana and Himachal Pradesh governments to establish modalities for measuring the excess flow at HKB. While Haryana responded, Himachal Pradesh did not. A letter from HP Jal Shakti Vibhag to its Haryana counterpart on June 6 stated that “137 cusecs of unutilized water is already flowing uninterruptedly from HP to HKB in river Yamuna.”

The Board concluded, “It therefore emerges that HP is not releasing any additional water subsequent to the order of Supreme Court on June 6 which could be measured by UYRB.” This was supported by inflow data at HKB from June 6, which showed variations in the recorded cusecs, indicating no significant change in water flow post the order.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing the Haryana government, informed the court that the state had also filed a response, which was not available to the court.

Recognizing the importance of reviewing the reports amidst extensive media coverage, the court noted, “There is so much reporting in the media and if we do not read the files, then the media reports can impress us, which is not a good thing.”

Raymond Realty, the real estate arm of Raymond Group, announced on June 10 that it has been selected to redevelop a housing project in Mumbai’s Bandra East area, with an estimated revenue potential exceeding ₹2,000 crore, according to a regulatory filing.

Raymond Realty secured the redevelopment project with unanimous approval from the members of the housing society MIG VI CHS Ltd. The project, strategically located in Bandra East, aligns with the company’s growth plans for real estate development in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), as stated in the filing.

Previously, the company signed three joint development agreements for projects in Mahim, Sion, and Bandra, with an estimated development value of over ₹5,000 crore. Including the new Bandra project, the estimated Gross Development Value (GDV) of Raymond Realty’s ongoing projects in Mumbai will be around ₹7,000 crore.

“The addition of another project in Bandra has solidified our position as one of the leading developers in the area. Receiving unanimous approval from the society members of MIG VI CHS underscores our commitment to providing luxurious living spaces and highlights our expertise in large society and MHADA redevelopment,” the company stated.

Raymond Realty’s first project in the Mumbai real estate market was announced in February 2024 in Bandra East. This project will offer a mix of 2, 3, and 4 BHK apartments, along with 30 amenities and a clubhouse spanning 16,000 sq ft.

Adani Realty also has a presence in the Bandra East micro-market, having acquired a 24-acre plot in Bandra West earlier this year. The company is also involved in the redevelopment and rehabilitation of Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum cluster, located about 10 minutes from Bandra.

Local brokers note that the market rate in Bandra East is around ₹50,000 to ₹60,000 per sq ft, depending on the building, its amenities, and its proximity to the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), one of India’s most expensive commercial districts.

New Delhi: The central government is planning a special focus on reducing imports of pulses and edible oil, increasing ethanol supply, and stabilizing food prices as part of its 100-day agenda, according to a senior official.

This effort will involve introducing stringent policy measures similar to those implemented over the past year and a half.

The agriculture ministry is drafting a new scheme to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses by 2027. This initiative aims to cut the government’s significant expenditure on importing pulses and edible oil to boost domestic supply. In the 2023-24 financial year, India’s import bill was $854.8 billion, compared to $898 billion in FY23. Agricultural exports in FY24 reached $48.9 billion, marking an 8% decline from $53.2 billion in FY23.

Although agricultural imports fell due to a decrease in edible oil imports, pulse imports reached a six-year high. The country spent $3.75 billion on importing pulses and $14.8 billion on vegetable oils, compared to the previous year’s $1.94 billion and $20.84 billion, respectively, according to the commerce ministry.

“Our 100-day agenda will surely focus on oilseeds, pulses, and biofuel, alongside the welfare of 140 million farmers. However, a major focus will be on reducing the import bill. Another crucial aspect is the price stabilization of agricultural commodities,” a senior official said.

“We aim to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses within the next 3-4 years. We are open to all kinds of support, similar to what we have for oilseeds. A new programme focusing on development is being prepared to promote pulses production significantly, and it is expected to be unveiled in the coming days.”