SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch and other officials failed to appear before the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for questioning on Thursday, after which the meeting was postponed.

“Today morning at 9:30, we got a communication from the SEBI chairperson and other members that because of a personal exigency, she is unable to travel to Delhi,” PAC chairperson K C Venugopal said.

Considering that the request was made by a woman, the committee decided to postpone the sitting to another day, he said.

Buch, who is facing allegations of conflict of interest by US-based short-seller Hindenburg, had been summoned to appear before the PAC to review the performance of the market regulator.

After the postponement, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad raised concerns about Venugopal’s suo motu decision and expressed that several committee members, including those from the BJP and its allies, are approaching Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to address Venugopal’s conduct.

The PAC is also examining matters related to the Department of Telecommunications and that meeting will go ahead as scheduled during the post-lunch session.

Despite the postponement, the agenda for reviewing the Department of Telecommunications proceeded as scheduled during the post-lunch session, while the move to summon Buch raised objections from BJP members due to its political implications.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker, accusing Venugopal of raising “non-existent” issues to tarnish the central government’s reputation and “destabilise” the country’s financial structure and economy.

He alleged that the Congress leader’s conduct was politically motivated by his party’s position in the opposition following the Lok Sabha elections and that the accusations against Buch were part of a larger campaign, known as the ‘India Chapter’ of the toolkit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks on Wednesday on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan, in their first structured meeting in the last five years.

The meeting took place two days after India and China firmed up an agreement on patrolling by their militaries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.

In a post on X, PM Modi said he met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Kazan BRICS Summit. “India-China relations are important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability. Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations,” he said.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi emphasised the importance of not allowing differences to disrupt the peace and tranquility in the region. He welcomed the recent agreement on the India-China border and stated that maintaining peace on the border should be India’s top priority.

Expressing his pleasure at the meeting, Jinping acknowledged that it was the first official meeting between both leaders in five years. Jinping said China and India are both ancient civilizations, major developing countries, and important members of the Global South.

“For both sides, to keep to the trend of history and the right direction of our bilateral relations, both sides need to have more communication and cooperation, properly handle differences and disagreements, and to facilitate each other’s pursuit of development aspirations. It’s also important for both sides to shoulder our international responsibility, set an example for boosting the strength and unity of developing countries, and to contribute to promoting multipolarization and democracy in international relations,” said Chinese President Jinping.

In November 2022, PM Modi and President Jinping engaged in an exchange of pleasantries and held a brief conversation during a dinner hosted by the Indonesian President for the G20 leaders.

Similarly, in August of the preceding year, Modi and Jinping engaged in a brief and informal conversation in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

The last structured meeting between the two leaders took place during their second informal Summit in Mamallapuram in October 2019. The eastern Ladakh border dispute emerged in May 2020.

Online food delivery firm on Wednesday launched the ‘Swiggy Seal’ initiative to improve hygiene and food quality standards among their restaurant partners.

The program is currently active in Pune and will expand to cover over 650 cities in India by November.

Participating restaurants will display a ‘Swiggy Seal’ badge on their menu pages to showcase their commitment to providing hygienic, high-quality meals in quality packaging.

“Since the program’s launch two weeks ago, restaurant partners have shown high interest, with hundreds of requests for hygiene audits already received. Should any concerns arise about a restaurant holding the Seal, Swiggy will thoroughly review the feedback and may revoke the badge if the restaurant fails to maintain the established standards,” Swiggy stated.

The initiative includes hygiene audits, feedback reviews, and support for restaurant partners to maintain established standards. Swiggy aims to enhance restaurant hygiene practices by offering insights from customer reviews and professional hygiene audits through FSSAI-accredited agencies. 

“Leveraging insights from over 7 million verified customer reviews in the past six months, the Swiggy Seal program aims to elevate restaurant hygiene practices. It offers restaurant partners comprehensive insights and actionable support to ensure the delivery of hygienic, well-cooked food in high-quality packaging,” Swiggy said.

Earlier in July this year, the food delivery majors, Zomato and Swiggy, both increased their platform fees by 6 per cent for food orders.

The food giants were initially charging in the national capital and IT hub, Bengaluru, the platform fee, distinct from delivery fee, goods and services GST, handling charge and restaurant charges.

After the hike, the platform fee went up to Rs 6 per order from an earlier Rs 5 per order. Gradually, the higher platform fee was roll out to other cities as well.

Notably, this fee applies universally to all food orders, irrespective of customer enrollment in loyalty programs offered by both food giants. The charges directly contribute to the companies’ revenue streams and cost management efforts. The platform fee goes to the food aggregators to apparently control costs and increase revenues.

In April, they charged Rs 5 per order, but now it’s been increased by Rs 6 per order. That’s a 20% increase in fees for food delivery. This change in their strategy to adjust the price in a market as they expand their services.