New hospital building norms ease capacity limits, NATHEALTH says healthcare access to improve

Healthcare industry body NATHEALTH on Sunday welcomed the government’s National Building Construction Standards (NBCS) 2026, saying the new norms easing height restrictions for hospitals are expected to reduce infrastructure bottlenecks and improve access to healthcare, PTI reported.The industry body said the revised standards allow hospitals to build beyond earlier limits and permit Intensive Care Units…

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Crude beyond $120: Oil prices touch four-year peak, here’s what analysts are saying

Oil prices soared to a four-year peak on Thursday before retreating, as fears over the intensifying US-Iran war rattled global energy markets and fueled concerns over disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, briefly climbed to $126.41 a barrel overnight, its highest level in four years, before easing back to…

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OPEC+ raises crude oil’s June output quotas, group signals continuity after UAE exit

Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other OPEC+ countries on Sunday raised their oil production quota in an expected move aimed at projecting continuity after the United Arab Emirates’ surprise exit from the producers’ alliance, AFP reported.The seven producers will add “188,000 barrels per day” to their combined production quota for June, according to a statement…

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FPIs continue to exit Indian markets, sold Rs 60,847 cr worth equities in April

Foreign investors continued their selling spree from Indian equities in April, pulling out Rs 60,847 crore from the market. This comes after a massive sell-off in March, when overseas investors had already offloaded shares worth Rs 1,17,775 crore, according to National Securities Depository Limited data. The back-to-back withdrawals have pushed cumulative foreign portfolio investor (FPI)…

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Air India board to review losses on May 7, cost-saving plans and CEO hunt in focus

Air India’s board will meet on May 7 to review cost-saving measures, discuss CEO succession plans and consider the airline’s FY26 financials as mounting losses and the Middle East conflict intensify pressure on the Tata Group-owned carrier, PTI reported.Sources told news agency PTI that the board, chaired by Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, is scheduled…

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ADB launches $70 billion connectivity plan; Asia power and digital networks to expand by 2035

The Asian Development Bank on Sunday rolled out an ambitious $70 billion regional investment roadmap to strengthen electricity links and digital infrastructure across Asia and the Pacific by 2035, in a push to improve resilience, reduce costs and widen access, PTI reported.The package combines two large programmes –a $50 billion Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative and…

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Gold, silver rate outlook: Prices may stay range-bound next week; US-Iran tensions, jobs data in focus

Gold and silver prices are likely to remain range-bound next week as investors track developments in the US-Iran conflict, key global macroeconomic data and domestic political cues, analysts said, PTI reported.Market participants will watch PMI readings from major economies early in the week, followed by US labour market indicators and non-farm payroll data later in…

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Private credit risks may trigger wider crunch; Fed’s Michael Barr warns of ‘psychological contagion’

US Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr has warned that stress in the fast-growing private credit market could trigger “psychological contagion” and spill into the broader financial system, Reuters reported citing an interview with Bloomberg News.Barr said direct links between banks and private credit firms do not currently appear “super worrisome”, but other areas such as…

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New building standard makes fire safety advisory, raises height threshold to 24m

New Delhi: Residential buildings under 24 metres in height — a category that includes a large number multi-storey homes, such as the ill-fated one in Delhi’s Vivek Vihar — will fall outside the scope of “fire and life safety” provisions under the newly notified National Building Construction Standards (NBCS), which replaced the National Building Code…

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