Top News on October 26: Q2 results, Maharashtra candidate lists, Israeli attacks against Iran and more

Several leading companies — including ICICI and IDFC First banks — released their second quarter results on Saturday while political parties in Maharashtra shared their candidate lists for the upcoming Assembly polls. Threat of a wider conflict continues to loom over the middle East with Israel bombing numerous military sites in Iran early on Saturday.  Delhi continues to battle air pollution with minister Gopal Rai insisting that the ‘next 15 days are crucial’ for the city. Meanwhile New Zealand thrashed India by 113 runs in Pune to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series — their first-ever series win on Indian soil.

Q2 Results
Yes Bank reported a 147% jump in its consolidated net profit to ₹566.59 crore for the September 2024 quarter — helped mainly by a reduction in provisioning. The core net interest income increased 14.3% to ₹2,200 crore for the reporting quarter on the back of a 12.4% growth in overall advances and the net interest margin inching up to 2.4%. The non-interest income grew 16.3% to ₹1,407 crore during the quarter. The overall deposits came at 18%, bucking an industry-wide trend of it falling short of credit growth.

ICICI Bank reported an 18.8% jump in its consolidated profit after tax to ₹12,948 crore compared to the year-ago period. The second largest private sector lender in the country saw its net profit rise 14.5% to ₹11,746 crore on a standalone basis. The total standalone income increased to ₹47,714 crore during the quarter under review against ₹40,697 crore in the same quarter last year.

Maharashtra Elections
The BJP and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) both released the names of 22 candidates each for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls. Voting will be held in a single phase on November 20 with counting for all 288 constituencies scheduled to take place three days later on November 23.

India-New Zealand Tests
New Zealand handed India its first home test series loss since 2012 on Saturday with a 113-run win in the second match. The Black Caps bowled out India for 245 in their chase of 359 on day three in Pune to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Until today a visiting team from New Zealand had never won a Test series in India — dating all the way back to their first trip in 1955.