NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said Israel had helped India in military conflicts and been a reliable source of defence technology, even as he maintained that ties with Iran remained friendly, pointing to the latter’s decision to allow passage of four Indian ships through the Strait of Hormuz.His assertion at the all-party meeting about close ties came in response to a question from NCP’s Supriya Sule about the benefits of relations with US and Israel, said sources.While the US is a big trading partner of India and a source of high-end technology, Israel is a leading technological ally and has helped India during military conflicts, sources quoted the minister as saying at the meeting.While the minister did not elaborate, his comment on Israeli assistance during military conflicts was seen as referring to the help that Israel had speedily provided during confrontations with Pakistan.While Israeli assistance is hardly a secret, this was the first time that the minister, going by sources, had confirmed the same, although in an in camera meeting.The minister’s statement and its trigger came against the backdrop of suggestions of a tilt towards US-Israel that seemed to underpin questions of representatives of opposition parties.Jaishankar dismissed the charge that India had maintained silence over the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and had delayed offering condolences. He said that foreign secretary Vikram Misri had signed the condolence book the day it was opened.While denying that the decision not to condemn the attack on Iran has damaged ties with the Shiite country, the minister said that govt had to take into account the “outrage” in the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the damage caused by Iranian drones and missiles. He said over 8 million Indians work in these two countries.Jaishankar also said that Iran had expressed considerable appreciation for India saving its naval ship, IRIS Lavan, by allowing it to anchor at Kochi port when a US nuclear submarine that had sunk a sister ship, IRIS Dena, was lurking in the Indian Ocean. The minister said that IRIS Dena would also have survived if it had availed of India’s offer of safe harbour and not drifted towards international waters, where it was hit by a torpedo fired by the US submarine.Govt functionaries noted in the meeting that Iran had allowed four Indian ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which it has blocked since the war broke out, and five more were on the way.

NEW DELHI: With hopes of a resolution to the West Asia conflict rising, sensex rallied over 1,200 points in late session on Wednesday to close above the 75,000 mark again.As diplomatic initiatives to end the war between the US-Israel and Iran picked up pace, markets around the world rallied, crude oil prices slipped, and precious metals gained. The global bullish sentiment also led to a slowdown in foreign fund selling in domestic equities, which, combined with strong domestic buying lifted sensex by 1,205 points (1.6%) to 75,273 points. On the NSE, Nifty gained 394 points (1.7%) to close at 23,306 points.

The day’s rally added Rs 8.2 lakh crore to investors’ wealth with BSE’s market capitalisation now at Rs 431 lakh crore, official data showed.According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, markets continued to build on the previous day’s momentum as global risk sentiment improved, with hopes of peace emerging on the radar. “Potential diplomatic progress between the US and Iran-despite mixed geopolitical commentary-led to easing crude oil prices below $100/barrel, which was welcomed by the market. Early signs of normalisation in maritime movement through the Strait of Hormuz are likely to further support investor confidence, although it may be early to comment.“On Wednesday, despite a muted close to the US markets the previous night, global markets rallied. Across Asia, Nikkei in Japan closed nearly 3% up while Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 1.1% and Shanghai 1.3%. In Europe, in late trades FTSE in the UK was up 1.5% while Dax in Germany was up 1.6%. In early trades in US, Dow Jones and S& indices were up nearly 1% each while Nasdaq Composite was up 1.3%. And in Brazil, iBovespa was up 2% in opening trades.The sensex rally came despite a Rs 1,805-crore net selling by foreign funds, the lowest single-session figure since the war started. During the day, domestic investors were net buyers at Rs 5,430 crore, BSE data showed.

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Finance Bill, with 32 amendments moved by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, including specifying that in case of buyback of shares, additional income tax on capital gains made by promoters will face a 12% surcharge.The Finance Bill had proposed to replace dividend tax applicable to buybacks and had reintroduced capital gains tax. It had provided for an additional capital gains tax applicable in a case where the buyback of shares was from a promoter, where the amendment will now apply.“The Finance Bill 2026 shifts buyback taxation to the shareholder level, but the applicable surcharge was initially unclear, especially for promoters and high-income taxpayers. The amendment now suggests that surcharge on buyback income will be taxed at 12%, which would reduce the effective tax burden,” said Amit Maheshwari, managing partner at consulting firm AKM Global.Besides, there are changes related to tax holiday for startups too which applies to those with turnover up to Rs 100 crore.“The threshold has been increased to Rs 300 crore, with the result that an eligible start-up with turnover up to Rs 300 crore can now qualify for the tax holiday from financial year 2026-27,” said Pranav Sayta, partner and national leader for international tax and transaction services at consulting firm EY India. “Most of the amendments are largely to bring about greater clarity and ensure that the language is in line with the intent of provisions,” he added.He also pointed out that currently, there is no stipulated minimum time for a taxpayer to file an income tax return in response to notice for reopening or reassessment. “Now the amendments specifically provide that the taxpayer must be given a minimum time of 30 days for filing such a return in response to a notice for reopening/reassessments,” Sayta added.Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said that the budget has taken several “facilitative” steps for the middle class and small businesses. She also said there is a trust-based tax administration, that is being improved by reducing unnecessary hardship for honest taxpayers. FM said India is riding on the “reform express” with reforms not happening out of compulsion, but out of conviction, clarity, confidence and commitment.

NEW DELHI: The empowered group of officials to deal with the fallout of the West Asia conflict got down to business on Wednesday, and began mapping the demand and supply situation, and also started identifying potential sources to ensure that supply chains are not disrupted.Food and fuel availability are top priority and detailed reports have been sought, including from the states. At the same time, when it comes to fuel, the panel led by petroleum secretary Neeraj Mittal is studying industry consumption trends and comparing it with the availability levels.Products are being identified where there are disruptions and sources are being studied along with measures – including possible duty cuts – in a bid to keep industries going without burdening them and consumers with a significant increase in prices. Chemicals, pharma and petrochemicals have been identified as areas where there is a need to augment supplies.Govt had set up seven empowered groups on Tuesday. For most businesses, gas has been an area of concern, which is sought to be addressed, especially with petroleum minister Hardeep Puri telling an all-party meeting on Wednesday that the curbs on commercial cooking gas cylinders are temporary.While govt has tapped alternate markets, such as Surinam, Guyana, Canada and the US to get LNG, getting LPG (cookig gas) has been more challenging as India relied on imports to meet 60% of its demand with 90% of the quantities coming from West Asia.Although govt is working to get supplies from other countries, there will be a lag in organising the required quantities of fuel. For instance, it takes around 11 days from ships to deliver goods from the Gulf region and 36-37 days from Russia. From the US and Canada, the sail time can be 40-45 days. Supplies are expected to normalise once oil companies align production with the new cycle.For the moment, they are focusing on tapping as many sources as possible. Over the last few years, starting 2023, India had stepped up purchases from Russia, which was a source for around 1.5% of the crude around four years ago. After acquiring more than 30% share, they accounted for nearly 20% of the pie in Feb. With sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil lifted, Russian oil share is expected to move up again, with some quantities from Iran also adding to the supply.