Hyderabad: Tollywood has always been a lucrative business in India, with its films being watched by millions of people around the world. However, in recent years, the industry has not limited itself to just producing movies. Many Tollywood celebrities have also diversified into other businesses, with real estate being a popular choice. One such celebrity is Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who has been making headlines for her recent purchase of a new property in the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The news has generated a lot of buzz among her fans and followers, who are eager to know more about her latest investment in the real estate market.
According to latest report in Economic Times, Samantha bought herself a breathtaking duplex apartment in Financial District, one of the prime locations in Hyderabad for a whopping amount of Rs. 7.8 crore! The luxurious property is located in Jayabheri Orange County, a well-known gated community in Nanakramguda.
This magnificent duplex is spread across the 13th and 14th floors and boasts a sprawling 7,944 square feet of super-built-up area, offering a breathtaking view of the city’s skyline.
As per the report, the stunning abode has an exquisite design that seamlessly blends modernity and timeless elegance. From the moment you walk in, you will be greeted by an unparalleled ambiance of luxury and sophistication. The spacious living areas are flooded with natural light, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere ideal for relaxing and entertaining.
Apart from this, Samantha also owns a lavish multi-crore house in Jubilee Hills where she currently resides. It is reportedly worth Rs 100cr!
On the work front, Samantha plans to get back on track with her upcoming Tollywood film ‘Kushi,’ which she will co-star in with Vijay Deverekonda. She will also appear alongside Varn Dawan in the Amazon web series ‘Citadel’ in Bollywood.
SRINAGAR: Finance Department on Wednesday organised a day-long workshop on “Transformation and Reforms in Financial Management” at SKICC.
The workshop aimed at apprising the participants about the priorities of the government and implementation of its schemes through digital platforms for better outcomes at the field level.
Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta who was Chief Guest on the occasion highlighted major reforms taken up by J&K government to bring greater transparency and accountability in the financial system making it more robust and outcome oriented. He said that since 2019 many reforms had been taken in the financial management system which has resulted in producing far better outcomes.
Chief Secretary said that the key reforms introduced by the government in its financial structure envisaging added transparency and accountability and has brought UT’s fiscal system at par with any other system in the country. He maintained that implementation of transformative reforms such as Budget Estimation and Allocation Monitoring System (BEAMS), online submission of bills through J&K PaySys, mandatory administrative approvals, technical sanctions and e-tendering, digital payments, GFR, GeM and related measures have greatly helped the financial systems in J&K to be efficient, transparent and result oriented.
Dr Mehta complimented the finance department for bringing in necessary changes for the overhaul of the system and said that the department has been at the forefront in eradication of corruption at all levels. “Today we could safely conclude that the financial system in J&K is one of the most transparent systems anywhere and is among the key changes that have taken roots in the UT after 2019” he added.
Chief Secretary said that the government has completed 92000 works during 2022-23 which was unthinkable in the recent past as the number of completed works would be around 9000 before 2019.
He also said that the feedback taken from the panchayats is highly encouraging as no complaint is being received from them regarding the works. He said that works are taking place 3-4 times more on the same amount of money and without facing any obstacles as this year 43000 works have been completed in panchayats which was just about 3000 before this system was put in place. He said that the officers involved in this transformation should feel proud to be part of this journey.
Regarding the number of beneficiaries receiving old age pension, widow pension, the CS said that number of beneficiaries has increased from 4.5 lakh to 10 lakh without putting any further burden on the state exchequer. He also said that 11.5 lakh beneficiaries have been weeded out from the CAPD department without anyone complaining about the same. He said that the money is reaching where it is intended to reach and there is no siphoning of public money now due to DBT and digitisation of services.
He recalled that the officers of the finance department are the protectors of the public exchequer and they should make this department most happening department in the country and achieve the financial discipline for achieving saturation of all the beneficiary led schemes.
Dr Mehta said that promoting good governance in the financial management has been one of the core objectives of the government and people are able to oversee works being executed in their areas on a real time basis on EMPOWERMENT portal.
CS also reiterated that the government has zero tolerance against any kind of irregularity in any recruitment process undertaken by any recruiting agency of the J&K Government. He assured that the confidence of our youth in these institutions is paramount for the administration and it would be safeguarded at any cost to ensure that the government jobs are acquired by deserving candidates on merit only.
Some of the main topics which came under discussion during this day-long workshop includes Role of GST as a fulcrum of J&K’s Own Tax Revenues, People’s participation through EMPOWERMENT/ JANBAGHIDARI, E-Audit and performance auditing, PFMS and CNA/SNA Module, Introduction of IT in GP Fund, Co-relation between Finance and Investigations, and Digital Payments & DBT.
Reiterates Zero tolerance against irregularities in recruitment
SRINAGAR, MAY 03: Finance Department today organised a day-long workshop on “Transformation and Reforms in Financial Management” at SKICC here.
The workshop was attended by Director General(s) of Finance and Planning Departments, Director(s) Finance in Administrative Departments, FA&CAOs in Administrative Departments, FAs/CAOs/Accounts officers posted with HODs/DDCs, Treasury officers and other senior officers of the Department.
The focus of the workshop was to apprise the participants about the priorities of the government and implementation of its schemes through digital platforms for better outcomes at the field level.
Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta who was Chief Guest on the occasion highlighted major reforms taken up by J&K government to bring greater transparency and accountability in the financial system making it more robust and outcome oriented. He said that since 2019 many reforms had been taken in the financial management system which has resulted in producing far better outcomes.
Chief Secretary said that the key reforms introduced by the government in its financial structure envisaging added transparency and accountability and has brought UT’s fiscal system at par with any other system in the country. He maintained that implementation of transformative reforms such as Budget Estimation and Allocation Monitoring System (BEAMS), online submission of bills through J&K PaySys, mandatory administrative approvals, technical sanctions and e-tendering, digital payments, GFR, GeM and related measures have greatly helped the financial systems in J&K to be efficient, transparent and result oriented.
Dr Mehta complimented the finance department for bringing in necessary changes for the overhaul of the system and said that the department has been at the forefront in eradication of corruption at all levels. “Today we could safely conclude that the financial system in J&K is one of the most transparent systems anywhere and is among the key changes that have taken roots in the UT after 2019” he added.
Chief Secretary said that the government has completed 92000 works during 2022-23 which was unthinkable in the recent past as the number of completed works would be around 9000 before 2019.
He also said that the feedback taken from the panchayats is highly encouraging as no complaint is being received from them regarding the works. He said that works are taking place 3-4 times more on the same amount of money and without facing any obstacles as this year 43000 works have been completed in panchayats which was just about 3000 before this system was put in place. He said that the officers involved in this transformation should feel proud to be part of this journey.
Regarding the number of beneficiaries receiving old age pension, widow pension, the CS said that number of beneficiaries has increased from 4.5 lakh to 10 lakh without putting any further burden on the state exchequer. He also said that 11.5 lakh beneficiaries have been weeded out from the CAPD department without anyone complaining about the same. He said that the money is reaching where it is intended to reach and there is no siphoning of public money now due to DBT and digitisation of services.
He recalled that the officers of the finance department are the protectors of the public exchequer and they should make this department most happening department in the country and achieve the financial discipline for achieving saturation of all the beneficiary led schemes.
Dr Mehta said that promoting good governance in the financial management has been one of the core objectives of the government and people are able to oversee works being executed in their areas on a real time basis on EMPOWERMENT portal.
CS also reiterated that the government has zero tolerance against any kind of irregularity in any recruitment process undertaken by any recruiting agency of the J&K Government. He assured that the confidence of our youth in these institutions is paramount for the administration and it would be safeguarded at any cost to ensure that the government jobs are acquired by deserving candidates on merit only.
Some of the main topics which came under discussion during this day-long workshop includes Role of GST as a fulcrum of J&K’s Own Tax Revenues, People’s participation through EMPOWERMENT/ JANBAGHIDARI, E-Audit and performance auditing, PFMS and CNA/SNA Module, Introduction of IT in GP Fund, Co-relation between Finance and Investigations, and Digital Payments & DBT.
New Delhi: In a major blow to its passengers, low-cost airline Go First has announced that all its flights will remain cancelled on May 3-4. The decision was communicated to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by the airlines and as per sources, a detailed report will be submitted soon to the civil aviation regulator.
Adding to the uncertainty, the Mumbai-based airline has also stopped taking bookings for the next two days.
The move came after Go First, which has around 5,000 employees, filed an application for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), as confirmed by its CEO Kaushik Khona.
The airline is currently facing financial difficulties due to non-supply of engines by Pratt & Whitney (P&W), which has led to the grounding of 28 planes.
In a statement, the airline said, “Go First is facing a financial crunch due to non-supply of engines by P&W that has forced grounding of planes. The CEO has filed an application for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings before the NCLT.”
The sudden announcement has left many fliers disappointed and it remains to be seen what steps Go First takes to address its financial issues and how it compensates its passengers for the sudden cancellation of flights.
The passengers who had already booked their tickets with Go First have been expressing their outrage on different social media platforms.
AMSTERDAM — The world’s financial system needs a “massive adjustment” to cope with higher interest rates, and key rules will have to be revisited, according to a top global regulator.
Klaas Knot, chair of the Financial Stability Board, an international standard-setting body, told POLITICO that rising interest rates fueled problems at several regional U.S. banks and similar losses may show up elsewhere.
“The speed with which interest rates have changed, that, of course, implies a massive adjustment in the financial system,” the Dutchman said in an interview from his office in Amsterdam. He added it was unclear exactly where those losses would be.
“In many, many places of the financial system, that adjustment will go well because it has been well-anticipated and has been well-managed. But history teaches us that is not always the case everywhere.”
The warning of potential trouble ahead echoes fears of other global officials and comes after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, a $200 billion lender to the tech sector, sparked contagion across U.S. regional banks. The subsequent market panic contributed to bringing down Credit Suisse in Europe, forcing the Swiss government to hastily merge the lender with UBS.
Any domino effect can have huge impacts for the economy, businesses and households.
“We’ve seen the impact of rapidly changing interest rates manifest in the second tier of the regional U.S. banks,” Knot said. “But I would be very surprised if that was the only sub-sector of the financial system where you would have a significant impact.”
Despite the turmoil, Knot said he was more worried about risks stashed at “nonbanks” — a term that encompasses investment funds, insurers, private equity, pension funds and hedge funds — where authorities have less visibility on hidden losses.
“If they are hidden for a very long period of time, sometimes the problem then grows so big, that it only becomes unhidden or visible when it’s too big to deal with,” he said.
The FSB boss pointed to financial players that took the wrong side of a bet on interest-rates and may now be nursing losses. “I hope, of course, that this is well-dispersed over the financial sector,” he said. “Where we are worried is specific concentrations of such risk.”
In particular, he said, those losses could be amplified when there is a mismatch between hard-to-sell assets and easy withdrawals, and borrowed money is used to juice returns.
That combination has worried authorities for some time — but Knot said this didn’t mean regulators are behind. For instance, the FSB, whose membership includes central bankers, financial regulators and finance ministries, will issue recommendations for open-ended investment funds in July.
Under the plans, regulators would get more powers to trigger restrictions in a crisis, rather than leaving those decisions in the hands of the fund manager.
Rewriting the rules
The financial rulebook will need to be revisited substantially in light of recent events, he said.
“It’s a mistake to see the regulatory framework as something that is fixed, and something that should not be touched,” he said. “The financial industry is not at all fixed, it is continuously evolving. So, the regulatory framework should evolve with the evolving risks.”
The Dutchman said this means revisiting assumptions about how quickly banks can sell assets to meet depositor withdrawals, the speed of those withdrawals in a digital era, and the reserves that have to be set aside to cover potential unrealized losses from interest-rate risks — all of which were factors in the U.S. bank collapses.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
Hyderabad: An eight-year-old was allegedly killed by a transgender here over financial issues with the boy’s father, police said Friday.
Police received a complaint about the boy missing and they examined CCTV footage during investigation. The CCTV footage revealed that the boy went to the residence of the accused for playing but there was no evidence of him coming out, police said.
An auto-rickshaw was seen arriving near the house and a bag being taken out. The accused killed the boy over financial disputes with the boy’s father, they said.
On claims by some that the boy’s killing was a case of human sacrifice, police said no such evidence had been found.
State Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav visited the spot and expressed anguish over the killing. He assured tough action against the culprits and justice to the family members of the deceased.
Hyderabad: Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has disputed Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy’s claim that it has slipped into debts of Rs 10,000 crore. clarifying that it has deposits of Rs.11,665 crore.
Hours after Tourism and Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy addressed a news conference in Delhi to allege that due to “inefficiency” of the BRS government of Telangana, Singareni’s debts were mounting by day, the public sector company released a statement saying it’s ridiculous to say that Singareni, which has revenues of Rs 27,000 crore, has huge debts.
Without naming the minister, the SCCL stated that false propaganda was being carried out against it. The company claimed that it is marching ahead with sustainable financial performance.
The SCCL, in which Telangana has 51 per cent stake, said it has deposits of Rs 11,655 crore and it is earning Rs 750 crore every year in the form of interest every year.
The coal company said that its turnover is Rs 32,000 crore while net profits stand at Rs 2,000 crore.
The SCCL said out of Rs 5,300 crore loan raised for thermal power plant, only Rs 2,800 crore is outstanding.
The company management issued the statement after Kishan Reddy told a news conference that Singareni had a bank balance of Rs 3,500 crore in 2014 but it now has debts of Rs 10,000 crore.
He alleged that the BRS government was trying to eat away Singareni, remarking that Singareni which is like a goldmine for Telangana was becoming a victim of BRS corruption.
Kishan Reddy also said that if the Telangana government tried to invest the money of SIngranei into Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Singareni employees will not keep quiet. He was referring to the plans of the Telangana government to bid for Visakhapatnam Steel Plant through the SCCL.
The central minister alleged that the interference of the BRS government and Chief Minister KCR’s family into Singareni has gone up. He remarked that Singareni had become a pocket company of the KCR family.
Kishan Reddy said KCR government was spreading lies that the Centre was trying to privatise Singareni.
The bill was eventually paid, according to Somerset GOP Chair Tim Howes and former Sen. Christopher “Kip” Bateman, who said he interceded to get it done. But the episode shows just how far the party has fallen.
As recently as 2017, Republicans completely controlled the wealthy suburban county, where they had dominated for decades. The county produced Republican Gov. Christie Whitman and even the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2021, Jack Ciattarelli. They also had one of the strongest fundraising operations in the state.
Now, Somerset County Republicans hold no county-wide offices and there isn’t a single Republican from Somerset County in the Legislature.
The party’s financial woes didn’t end with the steakhouse bill. They were months late on rent for their Somerville headquarters and, most alarming to Howes’ critics, the party hasn’t filed a legally-required campaign finance disclosure with the Election Law Enforcement Commission since January 2021, when it reported just shy of $12,000 in the bank.
The lack of disclosure risks major fines for the cash-strapped committee. And some party officials say there’s even less of an excuse for that under the leadership of Howes, an election attorney.
A group of Somerset Republicans including Bateman is now attempting to get Howes to resign and, failing that, to get a detailed accounting of the party’s finances. But Howes, who was easily reelected chair in 2022, plans to stay in office until his term is up in 2024, leaving his critics to see if there’s a way to force him out.
“My interest is just making the Republican Party relevant again in Somerset. It hasn’t been for a lot of reasons. You can’t blame the chairman for everything, but we haven’t won an election in years,” Bateman said in a phone interview with POLITICO.
On April 4, almost two dozen current and former party officials, as well as several former elected officials from the county — including Bateman and former Gov. Donald DiFrancesco — outlined their complaints in a letter to Howes calling for his immediate resignation.
“Your failure to comply with the mandatory legal requirements set forth by ELEC, as well as your utter lack of transparency and your denial surrounding this failure, are indisputable and indefensible,” reads the letter, which accuses Howes of “financial malfeasance and deception.”
The letter claims that the party’s fundraising has dropped to “historic lows,” that it’s six months behind in rent payments for its Somerville headquarters, and notes that all eight countywide Republican candidates during his tenure have lost “by record margins.”
“If you refuse [to resign], we will call a special meeting of the SCRO to remove you from office,” they wrote.
Years of decline beginning with Trump election
Howes, who took on the chairmanship in 2020, can’t be blamed for the drastic political shift in Somerset county. Republican losses there started before Howes took the reins, with the GOP going from holding every county-wide office in 2017 to none by 2021.
“I came in the sixth inning. I was the middle relief pitcher,” Howes said in a phone interview.
Howes said party officials had a “difference of opinion” with Char Steakhouse on how many people attended the holiday party and that “once we settled that, I dropped off the check.”
Howes also said that the party’s rent has since been paid and that he’s “working on perfecting” the overdue ELEC reports now that he has a new treasurer in place, but declined to say why the party has gone two years without filing them.
“As far as an explanation, I’m not there yet,” Howes said. “As far as what happened, we’ll get to that. At some point we’re going to hold a meeting so that everybody’s questions can be answered. I think the committee’s questions need to be answered before they read it on the internet.”
The effort to oust Howes was first reported by New Jersey Globe.
The Somerset County Republican Party’s downfall coincided with the presidency of Donald Trump, whose gains for Republicans in formerly competitive blue collar areas were offset by stunning losses in middle-class and wealthy suburban counties like Somerset, and whose continued presence on the political stage has allowed Democrats to cement their control.
“Can he just go away?” Bateman said. “He’s the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats, unfortunately.”
But Howes’ critics within the GOP don’t believe the party will be in position to stage a comeback under his leadership. The party’s former treasurer, Robert Damiano, resigned on March 30 over the filings with ELEC, according to a letter he sent to Howes.
“You and I have had conversations regarding the accuracy of the records that I need to file correct ELEC reports. Each time, I was told that I would get all the information that we needed. However, that never happened,” Damiano wrote.
Howes did not explicitly blame Damiano, but said “we got back control of our records from the former treasurer.”
“At this point, I took the steps within 24 hours of accepting his resignation of getting a new treasurer with a good reputation, very ethical, hard working and we’ve begun the process of going back to making sure everything was filed.”
Damiano declined to comment.
Howes isn’t up for reelection as chair until 2024, and he says there’s no mechanism to remove him. His critics acknowledge it’s not in the party bylaws, but believe that state laws provide a way to remove him.
Howes said that under his leadership Somerset County Republicans have gained 14 seats at the municipal level and noted that they have performed better in off-year elections, when federal candidates aren’t on the ballot.
“It’s not your mother’s Somerset County. In a D+10 county we still outperformed both by way of margin and by percentage the deficit,” Howes said. “I’m here to win county races. I didn’t come here to be the nice guy that runs good campaigns but we still don’t win. We came very close in 2021 — very close. We intend to win this year and we’ve been moving forward despite this distraction.”
Beirut: The development of Lebanon’s real estate sector is slowing down, with demand for properties falling by around 80 per cent in 2022 and 2023 compared to the years before the ongoing financial crisis which first erupted in 2019, according to economists.
Nassib Ghobril, head of the economic research department at Byblos Bank, told Xinhua news agency that demand for properties has dropped by at least 80 per cent in the four years after the crisis, due to the lack of market liquidity.
In 2020 and 2021, buyers could still pay for their properties through cheques, which were needed by the real estate developers to settle their bank loans, said Ghobril.
However, after paying off most of their bank debts, the developers only accepted cash, making it very difficult for Lebanese buyers to afford properties as the bankrupt banks froze tens of billions of dollars saved in their accounts, he noted.
Adnan Rammal, a real estate developer and representative of the trade sector in the Economic and Social Council, attributed the decline in demand to Lebanese buyers’ reduced purchasing power following the devaluation of their currency as a result of the severe financial crisis.
Before the crisis, according to Rammal, around 60 to 70 per cent of properties sold were small apartments priced at approximately $150,000.
However, buyers of these apartments, mostly employees paid on wages, saw their purchasing power decreased a great deal during the crisis.
Making matters worse, the collapse of the banking sector made those employees who relied significantly on loans no longer had access to them.
According to developers, the sharp decrease in property demand in Lebanon led to a price drop of around 50 per cent from pre-crisis levels.
Developers have stressed the necessity for the government to take urgent measures to revive the real estate market and some other sectors of the economy.
Rammal said that the banking sector must be restructured in order for it to provide loans to buyers as before.
The economic and financial crisis that started in October 2019 has been further exacerbated by the dual economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the massive Port of Beirut explosion in August 2020, according to the World Bank.
Of the three, the economic crisis has had by far the largest (and most persistent) negative impact.
In July last year, Lebanon was reclassified by the World Bank as a lower-middle income country, down from upper middle-income status.
Unemployment has also increased from 11.4 per cent in 2018-19 to 29.6 per cent in 2022.
Earlier this month, the Lebanese currency collapsed to 100,000 LBP per US dollar for the first time in history.
Lebanon’s economists have been calling on authorities to elect a new president and form a new cabinet to end the political deadlock and allow the country to implement necessary reforms and stop the collapse.
New Delhi: Around 74 percent of Indians are concerned about their personal financial situation, as opposed to 50 percent globally, while 63 percent of Indian consumers are cutting back non-essential spending altogether, a new report said on Thursday.
According to the 2023 PwC Global Consumer Insights Pulse report, most Indian consumers expect to reduce their expenditure across all surveyed categories over the next six months, a significant decline in planned spend across all categories since the previous pulse survey in June 2022.
“Consumers will continue to demand world-class buying experiences in both physical and digital channels with work cut out for brands to reduce costs, enhance availability, and for ‘going local’. The silver lining here remains the unequivocal growths in adoption of digital channels and the desire to spend more on travel in the coming months,” said Ravi Kapoor, Partner and Leader – Retail & Consumer, PwC India.
Moreover, the report mentioned that the industries, including luxury and premium products, travel, and fashion, expect to see the greatest portion of consumer spending reductions over the next six months, whereas the groceries segment is expected to decline the least.
About 47 percent of Indian consumers say they will shop with retailers that offer free/discounted product delivery.
The report further said that half of the Indian consumers (50 per cent) said rising prices remain the most frequently experienced issue when shopping in-store, supply chain issues also dominate with larger queues and busier store locations (35 per cent), along with product availability (28 per cent), which is also impacting consumer behaviour.
In spite of a planned cut in spending and challenging economic conditions, Indian consumers say they are still willing to pay more for sustainable products.
Over 88 per cent of respondents say they would pay more for a product produced or sourced locally, made from recyclable, sustainable, or eco-friendly materials (87 per cent), or produced by a company with a reputation for ethical practices (87 per cent).
