The issue of overpriced food and beverages at airports has long troubled travelers across India. During the winter session of Parliament, Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha from the Aam Aadmi Party had highlighted this issue to the forefront, criticizing the exorbitant prices of water, tea, and snacks at airports. Responding to his efforts, the government has taken cognizance and introduced the "Udaan Yatri Cafe" initiative, starting with Kolkata Airport, where affordable food and beverages will now be made available soon.

Riding on resilient economic growth, the domestic stock markets are ending 2024 on a positive note, with Nifty registering a 13 per cent gain (year-to-date) -- its ninth consecutive year of positive gains, a Motilal Oswal Wealth Management report said on Saturday.

The first half of the year saw robust corporate earnings, a surge in domestic flows, and a resilient macro landscape, driving the Nifty to an all-time high of 26,277 in September.

In fact, the markets navigated significant events, such several global geo-political issues, General Elections and Budget in India, and any dips were swiftly met with strong buying activity, the report mentioned.

“The year 2025 could unfold as a tale of two halves. The first half may continue to see market consolidation, while a recovery could take place in the second half,” it added.

There has been a massive 233 per cent growth (year-on-year) in overall net inflows in systematic investment plans (SIPs) in India this year, according to a new report, as the Indian economy remains resilient amid rough geo-political conditions.

Overall net inflows stood at Rs 9.14 lakh crore from January to November this year, as against Rs. 2.74 lakh crore in 2023 which tantamount to a growth of 233 per cent, according to the report by ICRA Analytics.

Number of new SIPs registered increased to 49.47 lakh at the end of November, as against 30.80 lakh in November 2023.

Moreover, SIP asset under management (AUM) stood at Rs 13.54 lakh crore in November, as against Rs. 9.31 lakh crore in 2023, said the report.

Indian mutual fund (MF) industry witnessed over 135 per cent surge in net inflows and nearly 39 per cent growth in net AUM (Assets under Management) over the last one year, the report said, adding that the industry is likely to witness a multi-fold growth in the coming years with India being in a bright spot in the global economy.

Indian benchmark indices declined 5 per cent this week amid global selloff, mainly triggered by the US Federal Reserve's caution approach for rate cuts next year, which resulted in relentless selling by the foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

With this, Sensex lost over 1,000 points in three out of five trading sessions this week, and nearly Rs 17 lakh crore worth of market cap was eroded out of BSE-listed firms.

According to market experts, it had been a dreadful week for the equity markets, as the key indices fell dramatically, erasing the gains of the last four weeks.

“The benchmark index experienced a significant decline, plummeting approximately 1,200 points from the previous week's closing figure. As a result, it finished the week below 200 simple moving average (SMA), marking a total loss of nearly 5 per cent,” said Osho Krishnan from Angel One.

The Nifty50 experienced a significant decline, as it breached all essential support levels. This downward movement has led the index to approach its most recent swing low, signalling potential volatility in the market.

The Indian stock market shed more than 1,000 points on Friday amid the global selloff, after the US Federal Reserve hinted at a slow pace of interest rate cuts in the future.

Heavy selling was seen in the realty and PSU bank sectors of Nifty.

At closing, Sensex settled at 78,041.59 down by 1,176.46 points, or 1.49 per cent, and Nifty ended at 23,587.50 down by 364.20 points, or 1.52 per cent.

According to Krishna Appala of Capitalmind Research, the markets are becoming increasingly stock-specific while the broader indices take a pause.

"Several key events are influencing the current sentiment, including the upcoming US Presidential regime change with Donald Trump set to take office in January, and the Indian Union Budget announcement just weeks away," Appala added.

The Indian stock market opened flat on Friday as the hawkish stance from the US Fed began to fade away. Buying was seen in auto, media and energy sectors in Nifty.

The negative market reaction to the recent US Fed comments was not seen for long term and a large cap-led recovery is expected in the near future, said experts.

At around 9:32 am, Sensex was trading at 79,122.61 after declining 95.44 points or 0.12 per cent, while the Nifty was trading at 23,932.10 after declining 19.60 points or 0.08 per cent.

The market trend remained positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 992 stocks were trading in green, while 694 stocks were in red.

Yet another bomb threat was reported on Friday, this time at Delhi Public School (DPS) in Dwarka, marking the sixth such incident in the national Capital in just ten days.

The school authorities informed the fire department at 5:15 A.M., prompting the dispatch of police personnel, fire brigade teams, and bomb squad units to the campus.

As a precautionary measure, the school was evacuated, and classes were shifted to the online mode.

This incident follows similar threats earlier in the week. On Tuesday, Indian Public School in South Delhi and Crescent Public School in North West Delhi also received bomb threats, causing widespread panic.

Last Friday, six schools, including Bhatnagar Public School (Paschim Vihar), Cambridge School (Sriniwaspuri), DPS (East of Kailash), South Delhi Public School (Defence Colony), Delhi Police Public School (Safdarjung Enclave), and Venkatesh Public School (Rohini), were targeted via email.

The Indian equity indices closed in red on Thursday amid weak global cues after the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance on rate cuts, as with moves towards maximum employment and price stability, its FOMC halved the number of rate cuts expected for 2025.

Sensex closed at 79,218.05 down by 964.15 points, or 1.20 per cent, and Nifty settled at 23,951.70 down by 247.15 points, or 1.02 per cent.

According to market experts, the Indian market saw a widespread decline following a global sell-off driven by the US Fed’s hawkish stance on interest rates. Sectors sensitive to interest rates, such as banking and real estate, significantly bore the brunt.

"However, the Bank of Japan's decision to keep its interest rate steady, which surprised economists, aided in reducing the selling pressure. Despite this, investor caution persisted amid ongoing FII selling, with a strategic shift towards defensive sectors like pharma as evidenced by their outperformance," an expert added.

The search and rescue operations resumed on Thursday morning to trace out at least two tourists still ‘missing’ after an Indian Navy speedboat crashed into a passenger ferry off the Gateway of India in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday evening claiming 13 lives, including that of four naval personnel, officials said.

In one of the worst-ever maritime disasters around Mumbai, 13 people were killed while another 105 were rescued when the chockful ferry, ‘Neelkamal’ was going from Gateway of India to Elephanta Isles, the famed UNESCO World Heritage site and was hit by the Navy speedboat.

An official said that the Indian Navy, Marine Police and other agencies have deployed their vessels to search for the two persons who were thrown into the waters after the deadly collision in mid-sea, around 5 kms from the Gateway of India, in the water channel near the tiny Butcher Island oil terminal.

The Indian Navy officially said that one of its speedboats which was on engine trials developed a snag, the pilot lost control and rammed with full force into the tourist boat, as chilling videos of the incident surfaced late last night.

The Indian stock market opened in red on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, but warned that rate cuts may not come so easily in 2025 as anticipated earlier.

As Fed’s focus moves towards maximum employment and price stability, the FOMC halved the number of rate cuts expected for 2025.

“Post US markets sharp negative reaction to the overall commentary, all Asian markets have opened negatively as well,” said market experts.

At around 9:30 am, Sensex was trading at 79,158.53 after declining 1,023.67 points or 1.28 per cent, while the Nifty was trading at 23,892.4 after declining 306.45 points or 1.27 per cent.