Business
SPI rises 4.18% YoY on sugar, gas, wheat prices | The Express Tribune
Rs134 billion has been made by sugar profiteers. PHOTO: PIXABAY
KARACHI:
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which gauges short-term inflation trends based on essential commodities, recorded a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 4.18% for the week ended November 6, 2025, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
On a week-on-week (WoW) basis, however, prices fell 0.59%, offering modest relief to consumers amid ongoing price volatility in food and energy markets. The SPI, computed weekly to monitor price movement of 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities, reflects consumption patterns across five income quintiles.
All quintiles recorded declines in weekly inflation, ranging from -1.04% for the lowest income group to -0.44% for the highest, signalling broad-based moderation across income brackets.
The most significant weekly fall was seen in tomato prices, which plunged 37.93%, followed by onions (-4.88%), garlic (-3.23%), pulse gram (-1.58%) and chicken (-0.68%). Prices of sugar (-0.64%), gur (-0.60%), pulse masoor (-0.55%), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (-0.15%) also registered declines.
Overall, out of the 51 tracked items, 18 (35.29%) became costlier, 12 (23.53%) saw price reductions, while 21 (41.18%) remained unchanged.
Conversely, egg prices rose 2.40%, while bananas got costly by 2.32%. Prices of firewood (1.61%), diesel (1.12%), beef (0.93%), tea prepared (0.92%) and petrol (0.91%) also increased during the week.
Essential staples such as bread (0.55%), wheat flour (0.34%), powdered milk (0.31%) and cooking oil (5-litre tin) (0.21%) experienced mild upward adjustments.
Compared with the same week of last year, the SPI showed a 4.18% increase, indicating a sharp slowdown in annual inflation compared to the double-digit rates observed for most of 2024 and early 2025.
The most notable yearly increases were recorded in ladies’ sandals (55.62%), sugar (43.67%), gas charges for Q1 (29.85%), wheat flour (19.50%), gur (18.88%), firewood (14.25%), beef (14.09%) and vegetable ghee (up to 11.53%).
Meanwhile, significant declines were observed in garlic (-33.54%), pulse gram (-29.82%), electricity charges for Q1 (-26.26%), potatoes (-22.32%), tomatoes (-19.69%), tea (-17.79%), pulse mash (-15.52%) and chicken (-15.16%).
Business
‘Made strong entry’: Amit shah hails semiconductor sector’s growth despite being ‘bit late’; confident of ‘exports soon’ – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: India would soon establish itself in the semiconductor industry by starting exports, even though it’s entry was late, said Union home minister Amit Shah.“We have made a strong entry into the semiconductor industry, although a bit late. In no time, we will not only become self-reliant in the semiconductor sector, but will also start exporting it,” he said, addressing the ‘Abhyudaya Madhya Pradesh Growth Summit’.Speaking at the summit, Shah highlighted Madhya Pradesh’s attractive geographical location and fertile land.He also inaugurated industrial projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore, on the occasion of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s 101st birth anniversary. He remembered Vajpayee as “a great orator, a sensitive poet, a leader dedicated to public welfare and remained ‘ajatashatru’ (person without enemies) in politics.”He noted that even small investments in the state could yield substantial returns. He praised Madhya Pradesh’s transformation from a power-deficient state to one with surplus electricity. He also commended the state’s achievements in cleanliness, saying it has surpassed other states in this aspect.During the event, Shah also paid tributes to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya on his birth anniversary and C Rajagopalachari on his death anniversary. The Growth Summit attracted 25,000 beneficiaries and thousands of entrepreneurs and investors. Officials confirmed that the industrial projects launched during the event will create 193,000 new jobs.Shah’s visit also included inaugurating the Gwalior Fair and dedicating the renovated Atal Museum to the public, further marking the celebrations of Vajpayee’s birth anniversary.
Business
Planning Your Taxes For 2026? What Freelancers And Gig Workers Should Know
Income doesn’t come regularly
Freelancers earn from different clients at different times, making it hard to know the final income figure early

Multiple clients mean scattered TDS
Tax is deducted by many payers under different sections, and details don’t always update together in AIS or Form 26AS.

Income details settle very late
Many payments and TDS entries appear only near the year-end, delaying tax calculations.

First-time taxpayers lack clarity
Young gig workers often don’t know ITR deadlines, advance tax rules, or penalties for late filing.

Paperwork isn’t ready on time
Forms like 16A, invoices, bank statements, and expense bills are often unorganised or missing.

TDS deducted ≠ filing done
A common myth is that if tax is already deducted, filing the return is optional. It’s not.

Refund expected, filing delayed
Many assume that if no tax is payable or refund is due, filing late won’t matter — but penalties still apply.

E-verification gets ignored
Returns filed but not verified within 30 days are treated as invalid, almost like not filing at all.

Portal issues at the last moment
Heavy traffic, OTP failures, and technical errors near deadlines push filings beyond the due date.

No regular income tracking system
Not maintaining client-wise records of invoices, payments, and TDS creates confusion at filing time.

Deductions are gathered too late
Proofs for insurance, mutual funds, PPF, health cover, or tuition fees are often collected at the last minute.
Business
SFIO probes IndusInd’s Rs 1,960 crore derivatives hole – The Times of India
MUMBAI: Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has opened a formal probe into IndusInd Bank after a Dec 23, 2025 letter triggered an investigation under the Companies Act, 2013, over accounting lapses tied to internal derivative trades.In a filing, the bank said SFIO, under the MCA, seeks information after the lender flagged on June 2 issues spanning internal derivatives, unsubstantiated “other assets/liabilities”, and microfinance interest/fee income. It disclosed the update on Dec 18, pledged full cooperation, and posted details on its website.Derivatives irregularities have hit P&L by about Rs 1,960 crore as of March 31, 2025, eroding reported net worth by roughly 2.3% as of Dec 2024. Earlier profits were overstated as notional gains flowed into P&L while losses sat parked as assets, inflating NII and earnings quality. The derivatives irregularities saw several members of the senior management stepping down with the board bringing in Rajiv Anand from Axis Bank to head the private lender.The bank recognised the losses, absorbed pain in its FY25 earnings which tipped the bank into a Q4 FY25 net loss after one-off write-offs/provisions. Capital/net worth took a 2–2.5% post-tax hit, trimming buffers and nudging growth appetite and capital pricing.The derivatives loss resulted in the shares of the bank sliding as investors reassessed earnings credibility and governance. The scrutiny also sharpened on the board/management/audit committees, intensifying regulatory pressure and SFIO oversight.
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