Business
Fitch put Pakistan’s debt ratings under review | The Express Tribune
KARACHI:
Fitch Ratings has placed the long-term debt ratings of 25 sovereigns, including Pakistan, Under Criteria Observation (UCO) following an overhaul of its sovereign rating methodology.
The action, announced late Friday, covers 435 long-term sovereign debt instruments and follows the release of Fitch’s updated Sovereign Rating Criteria on September 15, 2025. Although the UCO designation does not represent an immediate change in the ratings, it signals that they may shift once Fitch completes its reassessment under the revised framework within the next six months.
The update introduces loss severity considerations into the assessment of long-term sovereign debt, meaning creditors’ recovery prospects in the event of a default will now play a direct role in determining ratings. Sovereigns with long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) of B+ or below could see their debt ratings adjusted upward, downward, or equalised depending on expected recovery outcomes. According to Fitch, the recovery rate estimates will be linked to the assignment of Recovery Ratings, making the methodology more consistent with how corporate and structured finance credits are evaluated.
Analysts in Pakistan view the move as technical rather than immediately consequential. Waqas Ghani Kukaswadia, Research Head at JS Global, said Fitch’s criteria change was primarily about recalibrating recovery expectations. “They have made some changes to the recovery expectations and loss severity, based on which they will now issue these ratings. They have changed some rules in estimating loss severity – whether recovery prospects are below average or above average. That’s about it. It is a technical update and apparently has no immediate impact,” he explained.
Even so, the update could have meaningful implications for sovereigns already under financial strain. Fitch noted that long-term debt instruments could be notched up if recovery expectations are “above average”, better, or notched down if expectations are “below average” or worse. Those deemed “average” will be equalised with the issuer’s IDR. While the criteria technically apply across the rating scale, the most visible effects are expected among lower-rated sovereigns – typically frontier and emerging market economies grappling with weak external finances, heavy debt burdens, or limited access to global capital markets.
Countries affected by the UCO placement include Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Ukraine, among others. Pakistan’s global sukuk programme has also been specifically flagged as under review. Fitch emphasised that the UCO action does not indicate any deterioration in these countries’ fundamental credit profiles, nor does it alter their current outlooks or rating watches. Pakistan’s sovereign rating was last affirmed at CCC+ earlier this year, reflecting a fragile external liquidity position despite ongoing reforms under the International Monetary Fund programme.
Fitch plans to complete its reassessment within six months, after which the UCO designation will be resolved. Ratings may remain unchanged, be upgraded, or downgraded depending on the final recovery assessments. Market analysts suggest that while investors may not react sharply in the short term, the eventual resolution could influence sentiment toward countries with high debt rollover needs and constrained fiscal positions.
By introducing loss severity into sovereign ratings, Fitch is bringing its approach closer to that already applied in corporate and structured finance sectors, where recovery assumptions are standard practice. Although the methodology update may not carry immediate market consequences, some countries with lower ratings could face movement, either upward or downward, once Fitch applies its new framework in practice.
Business
Software Engineering To Be Obsolete In A Year? Anthropic CEO Warns, Vembu Says Pay Attention
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Dario Amodei of Anthropic warns at Davos that AI could make software engineering obsolete within a year, a view supported by Sridhar Vembu of Zoho.
Dario Amodei of Anthropic warns at Davos that AI could make software engineering obsolete within a year, a view supported by Sridhar Vembu of Zoho. (Pic: Wikipedia)
Software engineering may be the profession feeling the sharpest impact of artificial intelligence, with core tasks such as coding increasingly being handled by AI systems. Tech giants like Google, Amazon and Microsoft are already using AI to generate portions of new codebases—a trend expected to accelerate.
Against this backdrop, Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, has issued a stark warning: software engineering as a profession could effectively become obsolete within the next 12 months. While the claim has sparked debate, it has also drawn support from industry leaders, including Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, who says the warning deserves serious attention.
Amodei made the remarks last month at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, where he spoke about how rapidly AI is reshaping jobs, productivity and the global economy. He argued that the impact of AI on employment is no longer theoretical, particularly in software development.
The comments went viral online, drawing both agreement and scepticism. Responding to a clip of Amodei’s remarks shared on X, Vembu urged people not to dismiss the warning. “We better pay attention to him because he has the best coding tool in the world,” Vembu wrote, noting that the message carries weight because it comes from the head of a company building some of the most advanced AI coding tools.
Explaining his concern, Amodei said AI is rapidly shifting from being a productivity aid to becoming the primary executor of work. Software development, he noted, is among the clearest examples of this transition. At Anthropic itself, engineers increasingly rely on AI models to generate code, stepping in mainly to review and refine outputs.
“I have engineering leads who have basically said to me, ‘I don’t write any code anymore. I just let Opus do the work and I edit it,’” Amodei said.
While his warning focused on coders, Amodei cautioned that the implications extend far beyond software teams. He said AI could drive significant job losses across industries as models grow more capable at an accelerating pace.
“We basically have a Moore’s Law for intelligence, where the model is getting more and more cognitively capable every few months,” he said, arguing that as AI takes on increasingly complex tasks, the need for large teams of human programmers could shrink dramatically—potentially eliminating job categories that took decades to build.
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February 07, 2026, 21:35 IST
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Guwahati: Indian Railways plans to build a new underground railway line to improve connectivity in the Northeastern states. The line will pass through the Siliguri corridor in North Bengal, known as the ‘Chicken’s Neck’.
Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma stated that the underground route will run from Tinmile Hat to Rangapani and Bagdogra in the Darjeeling district, West Bengal. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has emphasised that the project is intended to provide secure, reliable, and continuous rail connectivity within this strategically significant corridor.
The Katihar Division of NFR will manage the project, which will cover areas in the Darjeeling and Uttar Dinajpur districts of West Bengal and in the Kishanganj district, Bihar.The underground line will extend 35.76 km between Dumdangi and Bagdogra, including a 33.40 km Dumdangi-Rangapani segment. This alignment will provide resilient connectivity through the 22 km Siliguri Corridor, which connects mainland India to the Northeast.
Due to its proximity to the borders with Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, as well as its susceptibility to natural disasters and security risks, the underground line is regarded as highly significant. It will provide a secure alternative route for defence personnel, military equipment, and emergency relief materials.
The project will facilitate air-rail logistics integration, given its proximity to Bagdogra Air Force Station and Bengdubi Army Cantonment. It will incorporate advanced technologies such as a 2×25 kV AC electrification system, Automatic Signalling (Standard-IV) with VOIP-based communication, bridges designed to RDSO 25-ton axle load standards, and twin tunnels constructed using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) techniques.
The development of this underground line demonstrates Indian Railways’ commitment to enhancing strategic infrastructure in the Northeast and aligns with the government of India’s vision for integrated and secure development. NFR, headquartered in Maligaon near Guwahati, operates in the Northeastern states, seven districts of West Bengal, and five districts of northern Bihar.
Business
Income Tax Dept Releases Draft Rules for New Income Tax Act, 2025; Public Feedback Open Till Feb 22
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The Income Tax Department released draft Income-tax Rules, 2026 for stakeholder consultation, aiming to simplify compliance and modernise tax administration from April 1, 2026.
The Income Tax Department released draft Income-tax Rules, 2026 for stakeholder consultation, aiming to simplify compliance and modernise tax administration from April 1, 2026.
The Income Tax Department has released the draft Income-tax Rules, 2026, laying out the detailed procedural framework for implementing the Income-tax Act, 2025, from April 1, 2026. The move marks a key milestone in India’s largest direct-tax overhaul, aimed at simplifying compliance and reducing litigation.
The draft rules and proposed forms have been placed in the public domain for stakeholder consultation until February 22, 2026, giving taxpayers, professionals and industry bodies time to prepare ahead of the new law’s rollout.
“We all remember that on Budget Day, the Hon’ble Finance Minister had clearly stated that the new Income-Tax Forms and Rules would be released soon, so that taxpayers and professionals are not caught unprepared ahead of the new Act,” said Himank Singla, Founding Partner at SBHS & Co., talking to Money Control. “With the Act scheduled to come into force from April 1, 2026, the government has now taken an important step by releasing the draft rules and forms for consultation.”
While the new Act sets out the legal framework, the draft rules explain how it will work in practice covering aspects such as valuation norms, filing formats and procedural requirements for taxpayers, professionals and tax authorities.
According to Pratibha Goyal, a New Delhi–based chartered accountant, the draft rules significantly simplify the system. “The Income-tax Act, 1961 contained 511 rules. These have now been reduced to 323, making the new Act far simpler and easier to understand,” she said.
Once finalised, the Income-tax Rules, 2026 will replace the Income-tax Rules, 1962, which have governed tax administration alongside the 1961 Act for more than six decades. The government says the objective is to modernise tax administration and make the law easier to interpret and apply.
Singla noted that the drafting philosophy mirrors the intent of the new Act. “The focus is on simplification, removal of redundancy and better readability. The draft rules use simpler language, supported by tables and formulas, so that compliance becomes more objective and less interpretational,” he said.
On the compliance front, the draft income-tax return (ITR) forms have also been rationalised. The government has indicated that forms will be standardised across categories and redesigned with features such as automated reconciliation, pre-filled data and technology-driven processing.
“This is expected to reduce errors, improve taxpayer experience and enhance the efficiency of centralised processing systems,” Singla added.
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February 07, 2026, 19:58 IST
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