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Express Tribune
19-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Gold up Rs4,000 as dollar dips
Gold prices in Pakistan continued their upward trajectory on Monday, mirroring gains in the international market where the yellow metal rose due to a weaker US dollar and renewed safe-haven demand following the US credit rating downgrade. In the domestic market, the price of gold per tola surged Rs4,000 to settle at Rs342,500, according to data released by the All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA). Similarly, the price of 10-gram gold rose Rs3,429 to Rs293,638. This rally follows Saturday's momentum when gold rose Rs2,400 to hit Rs338,500 per tola, reflecting sustained buying interest and global cues. Analysts note that with the rupee holding relatively stable, gold's local price movements are being closely dictated by international trends and investor sentiment in response to the economic uncertainties abroad. Globally, gold prices drifted higher on Monday, steered by a softer dollar and safe-haven demand after Moody's downgraded the US government credit rating, according to Reuters. Spot gold rose 1% to $3,234.70 an ounce by 1050 EST (1450 GMT). Moody's cut the US rating to "Aa1" from "AAA" on Friday, citing rising debt and interest cost "that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns". "Overall, over the next few months, I think gold is a good safe bet considering the downgrade on the United States. It's still to me a buy-and-hold market," said Bob Haberkorn, Senior Market Strategist at RJO Futures. The US dollar index hit its lowest level since May 8 while Wall Street's main indexes slipped. A weaker US currency makes gold less expensive for other currency holders. Financial markets were also rattled a bit when US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that President Trump would impose tariffs at the rate he threatened on April 2 if trading partners did not negotiate in "good faith." "Gold prices remained range bound on Monday, with limited movement observed in the international market," said Adnan Agar, Director at Interactive Commodities. Speaking on the day's trend, Agar noted that the metal traded within a narrow $50 band, fluctuating between a high of $3,250 and a low of $3,206. Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered a slight decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at 281.77, down Rs0.11 from the previous session. This follows a modest gain recorded last week, when the rupee appreciated Rs0.05, or 0.02%, closing at 281.66 compared to 281.71 a week earlier.
Business Recorder
19-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Gold price per tola gains Rs4,000 in Pakistan
Gold prices in Pakistan continued to grow in line with their increase in the international market o Monday. In the local market, gold price per tola reached Rs342,500 after it accumulated Rs4,000 during the day. As per the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), 10-gram gold was sold at Rs293,638 after it increased by Rs3,429. On Saturday, gold price per tola reached Rs338,500 after it accumulated Rs2,400 during the day. The international rate of gold also jumped on Monday. The rate was at $3,241 per ounce (with a premium of $20), a gain of $40, as per APGJSA. Meanwhile, silver price per tola remained at Rs3,410.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
She shunned tuition; now eyes IAS
Chennai: K Dharshini , daughter of a welder, emerged as the top scorer among 638 students at Ashok Nagar Govt Girls Higher Secondary School , securing 587 marks out of 600 in the board exams . Dharshini's father works as a welder, and her mother is a housekeeping staff in a scored a perfect score in two subjects, Accountancy and Economics. "I've always wanted to be independent and successful in life," she said. From what I experienced in my life so far, my parents collectively make less than a lakh in a year, and it was not easy for someone like me to afford her gratitude to her teachers at Ashok Nagar Girls Higher Secondary School, she said, "I've never been to tuitions in my life. Excluding the affordability factor, I know that I am confident enough to prepare all by myself, and with the help of my school teachers. Operation Sindoor Operation Sindoor: Several airports in India closed - check full list Did Pak shoot down Indian jets? What MEA said India foils Pakistan's attack on Jammu airport: What we know so far " She expressed that she wants to pursue a B Com and then become an IAS officer .Dharshini's mother, K Malini, said, "I'm extremely proud and grateful that all the efforts Dharshini put in are paying off." She's a first-generation learner from our family. I studied only till the 10th standard, and my husband studied till the 5th standard. It really is a dream come true for us to witness our daughter's achievements, she K Vasuki said that Dharshini was also a school topper in SSLC exams, where she scored a perfect score in Maths. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Rust Vanishes Before Your Eyes With This Powerful Spray Destroy Rust Forever! Undo "Our pass percentage is 98.6%. We have given the students our all in every way to boost their confidence and motivate them to score more in the board exams. Dharshini is one such student we always expected to shine, and she did not let us down," she said. MSID:: 121000714 413 |
Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Drug syndicates prefer air route to smuggle high-value drugs: DRI
MUMBAI: Seizures made by the Mumbai unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have indicated that narcotics-trafficking syndicates have begun preferring the air route to smuggle high-value contraband like cocaine. From April 2024 to March 2025, the Mumbai unit, in 12 separate cases, seized over around 18 kg of foreign-origin cocaine estimated to be worth around ₹180 crore. All the cases involved smuggling bids by passengers using the air route, often employing unique concealment methods. This modus operandi marked a departure from the two preceding years when a significant part of the seizures came from cocaine smuggled by the sea route, which was concealed primarily in trade containers. The DRI's seizure data reveals that there was a sharp drop in cocaine smuggling bids from April 2024 to March 2025 compared to the preceding two years. While 18 kilos of cocaine worth around ₹180 crore was seized during 2024-2025, the seizures during 2023-24 and 2022-23 were considerably more: approximately 63.5 kg worth around ₹638 crore in 18 cases in 2023-24, and around 82.31 kg worth approximately 820.1 crore in 11 cases in 2022-23. The 2024-25 seizures were, however, larger than the corresponding figures for 2020-21 and 2021-22, the Covid-19 pandemic years when there were travel restrictions. In 2020-21 and 2021-22, the DRI had seized cocaine weighing 4.94 kg (worth ₹29.75 crore) and 6.19 kg (worth ₹46.81 crore) respectively. The seizures from the non-air route were significant: around 23 kg of cocaine worth around ₹230 crore during 2023-24 and around 59 kg worth ₹590 crore in 2022-23. Interestingly, the use of non-air route, which refers to mainly the sea route, was missing entirely during 2024-2025, DRI data revealed. Syndicates prefer air route Plant-based narcotics like cocaine are mostly smuggled into Maharashtra from abroad while synthetic drugs are largely manufactured locally. Cocaine is usually trafficked into the state from South America via African or Gulf countries, DRI sources said. When asked about the exclusive use of the air route in cocaine-smuggling cases in 2024-2025, an agency source said, 'The trend in India and globally is to use the air route and passengers (known as carriers) to smuggle cocaine and avoid the sea route using containers. This has been happening increasingly over the past three to four years.' A source said that drug trafficking through the air route had become a potent method for smugglers due to the speed and increasing volume of international air traffic. 'Drugs are often concealed in luggage, courier packages or ingested by carriers who are known as mules,' he said. The source said that there were several reasons for the switch to the air route. 'Thanks to increased interception of cocaine consignments by the sea route over the last few years, syndicates have probably become wary, as each such interception is a huge financial loss and exposes the supply network,' he said. 'In comparison, smugglers can employ several carriers via the air route at a maximum fee of USD 1,000 per trip to India. Also, it is possible for the carriers to evade the scanner at airports if there is no specific intelligence.' The source added that air passengers usually carried small quantities of narcotics, ranging from a few grams to a few kg. Thus, while such a mode of smuggling could bring down the total worth of the contraband, the interception would not be too big a financial hit for the trafficking syndicate, which was another reason for their preferring the air route. DRI sources said that the agency had intensified its intelligence-gathering mechanism to detect all possible routes of cocaine and other narcotics smuggling to ensure that no consignment escaped its scanner, whether brought in via air, land or sea. Air route poses stiff challenges The number of cases involving cocaine-smuggling by air route, particularly using mules, has risen year on year recently, presenting significant challenges to Indian law enforcement agencies. DRI sources said that a significant proportion of offenders were foreign nationals, and most of the smuggling involved body concealment of narcotics. 'This method often evades detection through standard airport screening methods, posing a considerable challenge for enforcement agencies,' said a source. 'However, DRI units have been successful in profiling and identifying passengers who conceal cocaine in their bodies. Baggage concealment remains the second-most prevalent form of smuggling.' India, with its strategic geographic location and vast borders, faces significant challenges in combating the trafficking and abuse of narcotic substances, the sources said, adding that as the global drug trade evolved, so did the methods and routes used by traffickers. 'The country's robust economy and burgeoning youth population targeted as a lucrative market by the drug syndicates further complicates the efforts in controlling the drug menace,' the DRI source said. Sea route for big consignments In the preceding two years, the DRI's seizures of cocaine substantially pertained to drug trafficking via the sea route. 'The chief characteristic of the sea route or the cargo container route is that it facilitates the bulk smuggling of narcotics, which are well concealed within the declared trade cargo,' said another DRI source. Among the many examples of sea-based seizures of cocaine and heroin during 2022-23, the DRI, on October 6, 2022, intercepted a shipping container at the busy Nhava Sheva port in Navi Mumbai. The container appeared to be normal, one among several carrying imported goods. Its declared cargo was a consignment of green apples and pears from South Africa. But closer scrutiny revealed that inside the boxes were 50 one-kg bricks of high-quality cocaine. In this, the largest seizure in recent years, the value of the drug was a whopping ₹502 crore in the international market. Weeks earlier, on September 30, DRI officials had intercepted another imported consignment at the same Nhava Sheva port—of Valencia oranges that had arrived in a shipping container from South Africa. A thorough examination of the consignment yielded nine kg of high-purity cocaine worth around ₹90 crore and 198 kg of the synthetic narcotic methamphetamine worth ₹1,476 crore.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Nagpur civic body sells 1.25 lakh sq ft plot for Rs 235 crore
NAGPUR : The city's widening sprawl and rising skyline is being equally complemented by spiralling land rates. In a landmark deal, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) sold 1,25,107.1 sqft land (plot no. 3) on Orange City Street at a jaw-dropping rate of Rs 18,784 per sqft — the highest price ever fetched by any land parcel in the city's recent history and swelling its coffers by Rs 235 crore. The plot is set to be developed into a premium commercial complex. The deal not only sets a new benchmark for Nagpur's real estate market but also highlights the growing commercial appeal of Orange City Street corridor. The project area is rapidly emerging as Nagpur's next major business district. With this latest deal, NMC has earned Rs561 crore so far by monetising select land parcels under the Orange City Street initiative — a key land-value unlocking effort aimed at funding urban infrastructure, said a senior official from NMC's project department. Plot no. 3 has outperformed all previous land deals under the project in terms of per sqft rate. For instance, plot no. 1B (35,607.02 sqft) which houses Orange City Mall , was sold for Rs45 crore at approximately Rs12,638 per sqft. Similarly, plot 2A (36229.39 sqft) fetched Rs 42 crore at Rs11,593 per sqft. A mall-cum-commercial complex is currently under construction on that site, the official added. So far, six plots have been sold through competitive bidding and tenders for several others at various stages of processing. Among the upcoming plots are 2B and 2C, both earmarked for hospitality-cum-commercial use, and plot no. 6 — a 181739.15 sqft tract — designated for mixed residential and commercial development. Plot No. 14, the largest parcel at 2,15,417.17 sqft is planned as a convention centre. Officials said that the civic body's strategy of leveraging prime land along Orange City Street has proven highly effective in drawing both institutional and private developers. The funds raised will be reinvested in key city-wide infrastructure projects, including roads, drainage systems, public transport, and affordable housing. These land deals reflect rising investor confidence and a strong market appetite for strategically located, highly-lucrative properties offered by the NMC. The civic body also clarified that plot no. 20, originally tendered in 2019 for an economically weaker sections (EWS) housing project, was cancelled in 2020 due to a lack of funds. With several high-value plots still to be monetised, the Orange City Street project is expected to boost municipal revenues and transform the corridor into a modern commercial and residential hub.
