Top news on August 19: Sensex ends flat, PM Modi to visit Ukraine, & more

Top news today: On 19 August, a series of events are set to take place right from politics to business. The domestic benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50 closed slightly changed amid some profit booking and mixed global cues as investors considered the approaching Federal Reserve meeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine on Friday and meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv announced. BJP on Monday demanded the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the gut-wrenching alleged rape and murder of a post-graduate intern doctor in RG Kar hospital.
The domestic benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50 closed slightly changed amid some profit booking and mixed global cues as investors considered the approaching Federal Reserve meeting. This came after Wall Street saw its best week since November, which culminated in a little increase in US equities on Friday. The market saw gains primarily driven by metal, PSU bank, and energy stocks, with some profit booking observed in banking and auto stocks. Read more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine on Friday and meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kyiv announced on Monday. “Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to Ukraine on August 23,” the Ukrainian presidency said in a statement, adding that this would be his first trip and “a number of documents are also expected to be signed”. Read more
Junior doctors on Monday continued protesting the rape and murder of RG Kar Hospital trainee. The medics marched from Calcutta National Medical College to Kolkata Police Headquarters, Lalbazaar. In another part of West Bengal’s capital city, medics formed human chain blocking roads, all while demanding justice. Read more
In a major relief to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the high court on Monday asked the concerned lower court to defer all proceedings after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s recent sanction to prosecute him in connection with the alleged MUDA (Mysuru Urban Development Authority) ‘scam’. The court has posted the hearing on August 29. Read more
The IPO of Interarch Building Products has seen robust demand from both retail and non-institutional investors on its first day of bidding. The IPO, which opened today and is set to close on Wednesday, August 21, was fully subscribed just hours after the bidding began. Read more
BJP on Monday demanded the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the gut-wrenching alleged rape and murder of a post-graduate intern doctor in RG Kar hospital. BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia, at a press conference in Delhi, termed the Bengal CM as “Mamata the Destroyer” and alleged that it was “through her misdeeds” that the dignity of a woman, who was a doctor was destroyed. Read more
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has recommended that the Finance Ministry regularly identify high-risk taxpayers within the GST composition scheme and verify their declared sales figures using additional sources, including third-party data, to prevent tax evasion. Read more