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As the <keyword id="19938590" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="NDA" source="keywords">NDA</keyword> is all set to form the government, <keyword id="19949381" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fitch-Ratings" source="keywords">Fitch Ratings</keyword> on Thursday said <keyword id="21935526" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="coalition-politics" source="keywords">coalition politics</keyword> and a <keyword id="21957811" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="weakened-mandate" source="Orion">weakened mandate</keyword> could make it challenging to pass legislations on ambitious reforms. "We believe major reforms to land and labour laws will remain on the new government's agenda as it seeks to enhance India's manufacturing sector, but these have long been contentious and the NDA's weaker mandate will complicate their passage further. This could reduce the potential upside to India's medium-term growth prospects," <keyword id="19950093" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fitch" source="keywords">Fitch</keyword> said in a statement. The <keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bjp" source="keywords">BJP</keyword> fell short of a single-party majority in the 543-seat lower house of parliament for the first time since its latest period in government that began in 2014. But Fitch expects it to secure enough support from allied parties in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to form a government with Narendra Modi remaining Prime Minister. The outcome should support broad policy continuity, with the government continuing to prioritise infrastructure capex, improvements to the business environment, and gradual fiscal consolidation, Fitch Ratings said. "However, coalition politics and a weakened mandate could make it challenging to pass legislation on the more ambitious parts of the <keyword id="21957445" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="government-reform" source="keywords">government reform</keyword> agenda," it said in a detailed note post the Lok Sabha election results which were announced late on Tuesday. The NDA appears set to retain power with a narrower majority after India's recent election, following a weaker performance by its dominant member, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "We do not think that the government's losses at the ballot box will lead to substantial policy adjustments, but the post-election budget in July should provide greater clarity on its economic reform priorities and fiscal plans over the coming five years," Fitch said. It said implementation of <keyword id="20404815" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-reforms" source="keywords">economic reforms</keyword> during the first two NDA terms was mixed, but some positive measures were passed including the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law and Bankruptcy Code in 2016. The government also increased public infrastructure investment significantly, helping to put India among the fastest-growing major economies in recent years, with real GDP growth reaching 8.2 per cent in the fiscal year ending March 2024 (FY24). Fitch expects growth to remain rapid at 7 per cent in current fiscal (April-March). "We expect India's medium-term growth performance to remain around our trend estimate of 6.2 per cent through FY28, despite the government's slimmer majority. The continued public capex drive to address infrastructure gaps, ongoing digitalisation efforts, and improved bank and corporate balance sheets - relative to the pre-pandemic situation - should facilitate a strong outlook for private investment," Fitch said. The rating agency expects the Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme to remain intact, which will help attract FDI in target sectors, such as electronics. However, private investment has not yet accelerated meaningfully, which represents a risk for the outlook. Fitch believe land and labours laws reforms will continue to advance at the state level in some parts of the country. There is also some potential for judicial reforms that would look to lower costs and speed resolution of court cases. Weaker fiscal metrics relative to peers are a significant constraint for India's sovereign rating, which we affirmed at 'BBB-' with a Stable Outlook in January 2024. "The next government's ability to address high fiscal deficits and reduce debt will be important considerations for the rating in the next few years. "Sustained deficit reduction, particularly if underpinned by durable revenue-raising reforms, would be positive for India's sovereign rating fundamentals over the medium term," Fitch added. The government has improved its record on achieving deficit targets and has advanced fiscal consolidation gradually over the past few years. We expect this focus on gradual consolidation to broadly be sustained. The FY24 budget deficit came in at 5.6 per cent of GDP, below the revised budget estimate of 5.8 per cent (which matched Fitch's estimate). Fitch expects the 5.1 per cent deficit target for FY25 to be attained, and said government's goal of reducing the deficit to 4.5 per cent of GDP in FY26 appears increasingly achievable, although the election marginally increased risks of higher spending or slippage in capex to accommodate greater social spending.

Coalition politics, weakened mandate could make passing legislations on ambitious reforms challenging: Fitch

New Delhi [India], June 5 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (<keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bjp" source="keywords">BJP</keyword>)-led National Democratic Alliance (<keyword id="19938590" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NDA" source="keywords">NDA</keyword>) secured a majority in the general elections, securing a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This victory indicates continuity in policy, particularly in <keyword id="21785272" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="infrastructure-spending" source="keywords">infrastructure spending</keyword> and boosting domestic manufacturing, which are expected to support robust <keyword id="19900794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-growth" source="keywords">economic growth</keyword>. However, the NDA's slim margin of victory and the BJP's loss of an outright majority in parliament may slow down more extensive economic and fiscal reforms, potentially impeding <keyword id="20101140" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fiscal-consolidation" source="keywords">fiscal consolidation</keyword> efforts. In fiscal 2023-24, India's real GDP accelerated to 8.2 per cent from 7.0 per cent the previous year, driven by significant gains in gross fixed capital formation as the government's infrastructure programs gained momentum, even as private consumption remained subdued. <keyword id="20227907" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Moodys" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Moody's" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Moody's">Moody's</keyword> projects India's economic strength to continue, with an anticipated real <keyword id="19972825" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GDP-growth" source="keywords">GDP growth</keyword> of around 7 per cent over the three-year period from fiscal 2023-24 to 2025-26. This growth is expected to benefit from ongoing infrastructure development and digitalization efforts. Despite this outlook, structural weaknesses pose risks to long-term growth potential. High youth unemployment and low productivity growth in the agriculture sector constrain economic expansion. The agricultural sector's modernization has been stalled by political challenges, as evidenced by the repeal of key reforms in 2021 following widespread farmer protests. Additionally, gains in manufacturing have been uneven, limiting labour force diversification away from agriculture, which still accounts for 40 per cent of total employment. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have declined over the past three years, despite a favourable geopolitical climate amid US-China tensions. This trend suggests persistent constraints within India's investment climate. To address these challenges, further structural reforms and enhanced implementation of existing initiatives, such as the production-linked incentive schemes to promote manufacturing, calibrated liberalisation of cross-border trade, and reconsideration of labour reforms, are necessary. The government's focus on fiscal consolidation is expected to continue, but significant improvements in debt ratios and interest servicing have yet to be realised. Since the trough in fiscal 2020-21, the central government's deficit has likely narrowed for three consecutive years. The interim budget for fiscal 2024-25 projects a deficit of around 5 per cent of GDP, aiming for a 4.5 per cent deficit by fiscal 2025-26. However, India's fiscal consolidation post-pandemic has not outpaced other emerging markets in Asia-Pacific, and its fiscal and debt metrics remain weaker than those of Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and other Baa-rated peers globally. India's general government debt is projected to stabilise above 80 per cent of GDP over the next three years, compared to 70.5 per cent in fiscal 2018-19. General government interest payments are forecast to fall to around 24 per cent of general government revenue over the next two years, down from over 28 per cent in fiscal 2020-21, but still higher than the pre-pandemic ratio of less than 23 per cent. While increased budgetary allocations for infrastructure indicate an improvement in spending quality, debt servicing remains a significant portion of expenditure, reflecting ongoing constraints on fiscal flexibility. This situation underscores the need for the incoming government to balance fiscal consolidation with growth-supportive measures. The upcoming final budget for the fiscal year ending March 2025 will provide further insights into India's fiscal policy direction through 2029. As the Modi administration embarks on its third term, the focus will likely remain on sustaining economic growth while addressing the persistent <keyword id="21500054" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fiscal-challenges" source="keywords">fiscal challenges</keyword> that hinder India's long-term economic potential.

Modi 3.0 will offer policy continuity, but BJP's loss of outright majority may slow down fiscal reforms: Moody's

New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): With counting progressing in <keyword id="19912155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-polls" source="keywords">Lok Sabha polls</keyword>, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led <keyword id="20344628" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Democratic-Alliance" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="National Democratic Alliance" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="National Democratic Alliance">National Democratic Alliance</keyword> is leading on more than 100 seats as per the latest trends according to TV channels. Around 642 million people voted in Lok Sabha elections held over seven phases in a mammoth six-week period. The counting of votes began starting with postal ballot papers amid tight security. The counting for State Legislative Assemblies of 175 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha and results of bypolls in 25 Assembly constituencies also began. The Lok Sabha elections for 543 seats of the lower house were held across seven phases. The <keyword id="19931558" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharatiya-Janata-Party" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Bharatiya Janata Party" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Bharatiya Janata Party">Bharatiya Janata Party</keyword> is eyeing a third straight term in power, while the Opposition under the umbrella of the <keyword id="19895684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="INDIA-bloc" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="INDIA bloc" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="INDIA bloc">INDIA bloc</keyword> is seeking to wrest power from the ruling party.Most exit polls predicted a straight term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with quite few of them projecting a two-thirds majority for the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (<keyword id="41281" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NDA" source="Orion">NDA</keyword>). The Congress party and its allies dismissed the exit polls as "orchestrated" and a work of "fantasy", asserting that the opposition INDIA bloc will form the next government at the Centre. Strict security has been put in place for the smooth conduct of counting of votes for over 8,000 candidates in this general election. With counting began for the Lok Sabha elections, which have seen the largest voter participation, the electoral fate of several leaders across the political spectrum will be decided. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are among the senior BJP leaders in the fray. Key opposition leaders, including former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, NCP's Supriya Sule, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, are also contesting the poll. Two polls predicted the BJP would also improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In the 2019 elections, NDA wrested 353 seats, of which the BJP won 303 alone. The Opposition's UPA got only 93 seats of which the Congress got 52. Even before the counting of the votes, the Bharatiya Janata Party won one seat of Surat Lok Sabha. Earlier on April 22, Mukesh Dalal won the election "unopposed". Congress nominee Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination was rejected. His candidacy was rejected because of alleged discrepancies in the signatures of the proposers.

Lok Sabha election results: BJP-led NDA leading in 100 plus seats in early trends

The votes are in, the election commission is armed, and tallies are finally being made. As lakhs of viewers tune into their news to update themselves, many are coming away shocked at the current standings. Despite confident promises of capturing 400 of the 543 Indian seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (<keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP" source="keywords">BJP</keyword>) has barely won a dozen or two seats more than the halfway mark of 272, as per the initial few rounds of counting. This is still an impressive position to be in, and certainly enough to help the BJP-led <keyword id="105903" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-democratic-alliance" source="Orion">National Democratic Alliance</keyword> (<keyword id="19938590" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NDA" source="keywords">NDA</keyword>) make another term. However, the overwhelming, yet lukewarm, support has inadvertently deflated the ‘Abki baar 400 paar’ chant echoed by the party throughout its campaigning. Further, this comes mere days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called the slogan the ‘common man’s mantra’. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Exit polls gone wrong" comment="subhead" text="Exit polls gone wrong"><keyword id="21129157" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="exit-polls" source="keywords">Exit polls</keyword> gone wrong</cmsannotation> Party conjecture aside, most exit polls had also predicted a landslide victory for the NDA, with some even predicting the party crossing the 400 marks, helping the alliance comfortably bring in a third term for current Prime Minister <keyword id="19895781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="keywords">Narendra Modi</keyword>. However, Congress leaders staunchly dismissed these findings, asserting that the <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">INDIA</keyword> alliance will achieve at least over 250 seats this election. While exit polls have exercised a notoriously patchy reputation for delivering inaccurate findings in the past, the surveys might have gotten it wrong far more than usual this time around. For instance, the BJP has been predicted to win 400 seats by News 24-Today’s Chanakya poll, 358 as per Times Now-ETG, 392 per India V-CNX. <table class="redcator-table-advance" style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; box-shadow: none; width: 955.049px; font-family: Merriweather; padding-bottom: 10px !important; background-image: inherit !important; background-position: inherit !important; background-size: inherit !important; background-repeat: inherit !important; background-attachment: inherit !important; background-origin: inherit !important; background-clip: inherit !important;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">NDA</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">INDIA</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">Others</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">Times Now - ETG </td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">358</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">152</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">33</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">Matrize - Republic</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">361</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">126</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">56</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">Jan Ki Baat - NDTV </td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">377</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">151</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">15</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">PMARQ - Republic</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">359</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">154</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">30</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">India News - D-Dynamics</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">371</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">125</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">47</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">Today's Chanakya - News24</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">400</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">107</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">36</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">India TV</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">386</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">124</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">33</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">Poll of polls</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">369</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">143</td><td style="padding: 5px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top;">31</td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> However, the Modi-led alliance has yet to cross the 300 mark. If this trend holds, a majority government will form with BJP-led NDA acquiring slightly below 300 seats, almost mirroring exact forecasts by on-ground reporters and some political experts. However, this is quite in contrast with almost all exit polls this election season. If the scorecard settles at the current mark, this will end up becoming the poorest performance for NDA since their historic win in 2014. The alliance came to power after winning an overwhelming 336 seats in 2014, and 353 seats in 2019. However, the main point of shock has come from the performance of Congress and the INDIA bloc, who have maintained a steadfast 200+ seats since the initial polling rounds. Out of the nine odd exit polls that came out with results recently, none had predicted the INDIA bloc to win over 150-170 seats. As the tallying moves into its final phases, let’s look at how exit polls performed in the previous election cycles. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="2014 elections" comment="subhead" text="2014 elections">2014 elections</cmsannotation> In 2014, 834 million voters participated in the largest-ever elections worldwide — only to be surpassed by the 2019 <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> elections. An average of eight exit polls had indicated that the BJP would see a 283-seat victory, while the opposition would have had to settle for 105 seats. Just as predicted, the BJP saw a landslide victory and swooped in 282 of the 543 seats, with a vote percentage of 31.3%. This win was a huge blow to the INC, which only won 44 seats compared to the 206 in 2009. Since a party must win at least 55 seats to become an official opposition party in India, the Congress’s defeat meant that there was no official opposition party for India. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="2019 elections" comment="subhead" text="2019 elections">2019 elections</cmsannotation> The previous Lok Sabha elections turned out to be an even bigger win for the BJP! In 2019, exit polls had predicted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance would peak at 306 and that the INC-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) would win just 120. However, the post-poll statistics turned out to be underwhelming. The BJP won a whopping 37.36% of the vote — the highest by a political party since the 1989 general elections. It won 303 seats, while the NDA collectively won 352 seats. It was another crushing defeat for the Congress, which won just 52 seats, failing to claim the post of Leader of the Opposition once again.

Trends indicate INDIA maintaining 200+ seats, defying all exit poll predictions; how accurate have these surveys been since 2014?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A former SAP account manager is breaking her NDA to speak out about a workplace sexual assault.</li><li>Nondisclosure agreements are often used to silence employees following claims of workplace abuse.</li></ul>By March of 2020, Ashley Kostial thought she'd been through the worst of it. She'd worked through months of intensive treatment for post-traumatic stress and was focused on managing her mental health and landing a new job.It had been nearly a year since Kostial reported being raped by a colleague during a work trip for a subsidiary of the global enterprise software firm, SAP. She'd met him for the first time in May 2019, when she was an account manager, as they prepared for a sales meeting in Plano, Texas. Afterward, they got drinks at the Marriott hotel bar. The last thing Kostial remembered from that night, she later told a police detective, was getting into the elevator with him.Her account of what happened next is based on interviews, a forensic exam, and a police report.The next morning, Kostial woke up in a panic, fearing she'd missed her flight, only to find scratches on her body and her bra and underwear ripped. Disoriented, she walked into the bathroom and saw her colleague's credit card on the white shag carpet. She looked at her phone and realized that around 2 a.m., she'd called her then-girlfriend repeatedly, in what dawned on her were frantic cries for help.Only later, after rushing to the airport, did another memory come back, she told police: her colleague on top of her on the hotel bed.Surveillance footage showed her exiting the hotel elevator with her colleague that night; a rape exam conducted after she flew back home documented bruising on her shoulder, arm, and thigh, and abrasions on her pelvis.Kostial recounted what she could piece together about that night to police in Plano, where the incident took place, and in Phoenix, where she lived. She cooperated with an HR investigation by SAP. All that was left was to sit through a grueling all-day mediation to reach a settlement agreement that would both end her employment with Ariba, the SAP subsidiary, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7?r=tsr">gag her from ever speaking about</a> the most traumatic day of her life.That's when the men with cameras started showing up. Men, parked outside of her house, who she came to suspect were representatives of her employer-sponsored disability insurance provider, Aetna.Unable to work and consumed by her recovery, Kostial had filed for long-term disability care as she grappled with symptoms of PTSD that her psychologist attributed to the sexual assault. In a letter to Aetna, her psychologist had written that Kostial was experiencing insomnia, depression, emotional turmoil, dissociation, and intrusive thoughts, and she had been unable to return to work "due to clinically significant symptoms and major impairment to occupational and social functioning."Aetna denied her claim.It was in March 2020, after Kostial fought back, appealing Aetna's decision, that the men showed up. Kostial would spot them, or her security camera would, so often that she began to wonder whether she could take her dog for a walk without being followed. Her attorney, Brad Schleier, would later tell her it wasn't unusual for insurance companies to monitor people appealing denials. (Schleier declined to comment.)"It was harder than the initial assault," Kostial said of being stalked. She started carrying a knife.The men only disappeared after Aetna denied her appeal. In a lengthy phone call with Aetna, her psychologist described the details of her assault and the array of trauma symptoms that still persisted. But Aetna's representative was not swayed."Psychological complaints themselves are not sufficient in determining functional impairment," she wrote. A week later, in April 2020, Aetna issued its formal denial.Kostial turned to an option of last resort, hiring Schleier to file a lawsuit alleging she'd been wrongfully denied coverage.By the time Schleier called her with Aetna's settlement offer, in June 2021, she hadn't received a paycheck from SAP in almost two years. She was exhausted and broke, facing mounting medical bills. The offer, after attorney's fees, amounted to just a few months of her old salary — and it came with another non-disclosure agreement. Read more:<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7?r=tsr">How tech giants use NDAs to create a culture of silence in Silicon Valley</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-sec-response-under-scrutiny-after-whistleblower-comes-forward">Apple agrees to "make improvements" to its NDAs after whistleblower comes forward</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/six-things-nda-contract-look-for-tech-job-2021-7">These are the 6 most important things to watch out for when you sign an NDA</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-paid-250000-to-a-flight-attendant-who-accused-elon-musk-of-sexual-misconduct-2022-5">A SpaceX flight attendant said Elon Musk exposed himself and propositioned her for sex. The company paid $250,000 for her silence.</a> Like so many in her situation, Kostial took the money and signed.The pair of NDAs weighed heavily on her. Her agreement with SAP specified damages of up to $20,000 "for each occurrence of a breach of this confidentiality provision," a terrifying prospect while she was out of work. The NDA with Aetna allowed the insurer to claw back the settlement money she needed to pay her mortgage, and it didn't cap the amount of additional damages the firm could seek if she broke it."It feels like you're wearing this bomb that's strapped to you, which could detonate at any time if you speak up," she said.<h2 id="fc6197bc-a2e3-4f69-a6a4-835265ec33ad">An effort to hide insurance settlements</h2>NDAs have become ubiquitous in the workplace. The secrecy pacts, originally designed to protect sensitive intellectual property from being shared, are also used by companies to silence employees following allegations of sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and other workplace misconduct.When Kostial entered into one with Aetna, she became one of an untold number of Americans who have agreed to NDAs in another context altogether: to hide settlement terms with an insurance provider in the wake of a coverage dispute.The Aetna NDA only silenced her about the terms of her settlement, not the sexual assault. She remembers being stunned that she would have to sign a second NDA.<div type="image" title="Settlement agreement" height="2668" width="4000" msid="111258868" hostid="261" sizebytes="127992"></div>Initially, Kostial planned to return to her job at SAP once she was cleared to work again. Before the assault, she had loved working for the company, she said, and envisioned a long career with the firm. But then SAP's HR officer alerted Kostial to the results of the firm's investigation. SAP found that her colleague's conduct was "contrary" to company policy and that he "exhibited poor judgment," an email message shows, yet he would be allowed to continue working for SAP."That's when I knew that I couldn't work there anymore," Kostial said.SAP and Aetna, through spokespeople, declined to comment on Kostial's case or answer questions about their use of NDAs, such as whether they remain standard practice today.BI <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7?r=tsr">documented the spread of these enforced secrecy pacts</a> in the tech industry in 2021, finding that tech companies both large and small routinely deploy NDAs in all sorts of situations, from protecting intellectual property to restricting discussion of workplace misconduct. BI reported Kostial's story then but referred to her by a pseudonym, Kira. She's decided to risk coming forward now because she views the NDAs she signed as unjust — and would like to see the use of NDAs ended for other victims of sexual assault.At BI's request, seven employment attorneys and scholars reviewed Kostial's settlement with Aetna. Several said that while it's common for health insurance firms to include NDAs in settlement agreements as a way to maintain negotiating leverage with other insured members, there is no way to know exactly how many are reached. That's because most NDAs are subject to mandatory arbitration, a private process that creates minimal publicly available records."Disability insurance has a lot of leverage in these situations. The insured typically doesn't have any income," said Nina Wasow, an attorney in Berkeley, California, who often represents clients with disability claims. "It's in their best interest not to have people be well-informed about what the marketplace is for the disability settlements. They don't want people talking about how crappy they are."Collecting data on the prevalence of NDAs is nearly impossible, legal experts said, as companies can use multiple statutes to go after breaches and the vast majority of individuals who sign such agreements never disclose them publicly.<h2 id="031c1406-731b-439f-b904-72fab3adcf31">A lack of data on the spread of NDAs</h2>Even as NDAs have spread into more and more sectors, how often they're enforced has remained a mystery. In 2022, Congress passed the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ224/PLAW-117publ224.pdf">Speak Out Act</a>, which bans the use of NDAs to gag victims of sexual abuse that were signed before the dispute arises, typically in employment agreements completed on the first day of an employee's new job. But the law doesn't prevent NDAs in settlements reached after the fact, such as the one Kostial signed.Judges in California and New York have historically refused to enforce NDAs, legal scholars said. New state laws in Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and elsewhere have further limited their use in settlements where sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace was alleged, based on where the employee lives. But Arizona, where Kostial was living at the time she was assaulted, doesn't prohibit NDAs in workplace settlements."Under some state laws, her employer would not be able to enforce an NDA against her for speaking out about this situation," said Jodi Short, a law professor at University of California College of the Law, San Francisco who has studied NDAs. "It seems odd that an insurer would be able to."While the National Labor Relations Board keeps statistics on complaints related to noncompete agreements, the agency doesn't track how often companies pursue employees for violating the terms of an NDA. In a sample of more than 100 state and federal court records containing the words "nondisclosure" and "sexual harassment" reviewed by BI, none had to do with the enforcement of NDAs.Several experts who study NDAs, including Evan Starr of the University of Maryland's business school, who co-authored a <a target="_blank" href="https://digital.sandiego.edu/law_fac_works/112/">2022 white paper </a>examining the spread of NDAs in the workplace, told BI that their primary purpose is to intimidate signatories from speaking publicly about something that could embarrass the company.Kostial experienced a form of this intimidation recently.Soon after BI sought comment on her case from Aetna, an email from Schleier, the lawyer who previously represented her, landed in her inbox. Aetna's attorneys "wanted me to contact you and remind you of the confidentiality obligation in the agreement," Schleier wrote. "Look forward to hearing back from you."<div type="image" title="A woman with long brown hair sits on a porch with her dog" height="2668" width="4000" msid="111258860" hostid="261" sizebytes="290176"></div>After Kostial settled her case against Aetna, she began to pick up the pieces of her life. She spent nearly a year applying for jobs and landed several first-round interviews. But she was often stymied during those conversations, she said, when questions would come up about her previous employer."I couldn't answer the questions," Kostial recalled. Anything she said, she feared, would risk breaking the terms of her first NDA. "SAP always loomed large in the back of my mind."Many other tech workers bound by NDAs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nondisclosure-agreements-silence-control-workers-silicon-valley-2021-7">told BI</a> that the agreements posed similar obstacles to a new job search.Eventually, in 2021, Kostial landed a job at a small Oakland-based software company working in data analytics, where she remained for nearly three years.She often finds herself thinking back to the chain of events that led her to this point. Especially galling was the wall of disbelief Kostial encountered, from HR officials to police.SAP's HR team seemingly gave credence to the claim by her alleged attacker that the two had consensual sex, ignoring Kostial's bruises and scrapes that were documented during her rape exam — and the fact that she is gay. In an email to Kostial, the detective assigned to her case from the Plano Police Department in Texas said of her alleged attacker, "I am not able to prove any part of his story that night was a lie." (No criminal charges were filed against Kostial's colleague and Plano police closed their investigation a month after the alleged assault.)Kostial has discussed her situation with Vincent White, a New York city-based lawyer who specializes in workplace NDAs and advises signatories on the risks associated with breaking them. Kostial said that whenever she has brought up wanting to speak out about her agreement, White has reminded her that doing so could entail "inflicting self-harm," whether by triggering attempts by SAP or Aetna to claw back her settlement monies or by effectively blacklisting herself from future work in the tech industry.Kostial's journey has led her to meet with lawmakers in Arizona and advocates in Illinois. She's participated in an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cantbuymysilence.com/testimonies-1/story-5">international advocacy campaign</a>, Can't Buy My Silence, led by Zelda Perkins, a former assistant of Harvey Weinstein's, and legal scholar Julie Macfarlane, to bring awareness to how NDAs are used to silence victims of assault and harassment. She's also developing an app, called Face Uncomfortable, to help employees report instances of workplace misconduct and save documentation.Kostial recently left her software job to focus on preventing other workers from being silenced by the kinds of secrecy pacts that have shaped her life. Though she's long been engaged, the couple have put off marriage. Kostial is fearful that if they wed, her wife's finances could be affected if either SAP or Aetna pursues her for breaking her NDA.Whenever she's seized by anxiety, Kostial reminds herself of how hard she's fought to move past the sexual assault and why she's coming forward."There's nothing that could happen after this that would be worse than what I've already been through," she said. "I hope that if there's one person who needs to hear this, they will."Just two weeks ago, Kostial received another email from her former lawyer."Hey Ashley — Just following up," he wrote. He said he'd received another message from Aetna, reminding him about her NDA.Kostial never replied.

An SAP employee reported a workplace sexual assault. Now she's breaking her NDA.

If there is one word to aptly describe the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha <keyword id="20515965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="election-results" source="keywords">election results</keyword>, specifically for the incumbent party, it would be jolting, startling, and perhaps, even surprising. The exit polls were wide off the mark, and then some. Less than a week ago, India reported a remarkable <keyword id="19972825" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GDP-growth" source="keywords">GDP growth</keyword> rate of 8.2% for the fiscal year 2023-24. Over the weekend, exit polls predicted a clear and easy majority for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its alliance NDA. Consequently, benchmark indexes, Sensex and <keyword id="6354813" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nifty" source="Orion">Nifty</keyword>, both zoomed more than 3 per cent on Monday, breaching the all-time high records. On Tuesday, the tides turned! Putting a harsh full stop on the ruling party’s “abki baar 400 paar” narrative, the electoral situation on Tuesday evening shows less than 300 seats to the NDA and over 230 seats to the opposing INDIA bloc. What’s even more concerning for the ruling party is its tally dropping from 303 in 2019 to less than 245 this year. Consequently, on Tuesday, Sensex witnessed the steepest drop in over four years since the pandemic, recording a drop of 4,389 to settle just over 72,000. Nifty also dipped by almost 6%, standing at 21,884 points. If the trends hold, the BJP will lack a clear, simple majority on its own for the next five years, even if it manages to form a government with its pre-poll allies. The question is, how stable the new government would be, what would be the overall impact of this verdict on India’s economy, and what’s the story behind the jitters exhibited by the markets on Tuesday? <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="India’s incredible economic growth story" comment="subhead" text="India’s incredible economic growth story">India’s incredible <keyword id="19900794" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="economic-growth" source="keywords">economic growth</keyword> story </cmsannotation>Perched to be the world’s 3rd largest economy by 2027, India’s current GDP value stands at $3.9 trillion. As per FM <keyword id="20200167" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Seetharaman" source="keywords">Nirmala Seetharaman</keyword>, the Indian economy is anticipated to grow at a rate of close to 7% in FY25 and hit $7 trillion by 2030. The <keyword id="3530620" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gross-Value-Added" source="Orion">Gross Value Added</keyword> (GVA) data supports the optimistic outlook, with a growth rate of 7.2% in FY24 compared to 6.7% in FY23. And notably, this strong economic growth has come at a time when most of the major economies across the globe are grappling with a slowdown. While few expect India to maintain a robust growth of 8.2%, most economists agree that GDP growth could moderate to around 7% in FY25. But most of these growth forecasts are contingent on a stable government and policy reforms at the centre. So, does the sharp fall in benchmark indices on Tuesday foretell a twist in India’s growth story? <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Is there a twist in the tale?" comment="subhead" text="Is there a twist in the tale?">Is there a twist in the tale? </cmsannotation>Firstly, the <keyword id="16791710" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="foreign-portfolio-inflows" source="Orion">foreign portfolio inflows</keyword> (FPI), indicative of the global confidence reposed in the Indian markets, have been on a consistent decline over the past 3 months. As of 4th June 2024, foreign institutional investors had withdrawn a total of Rs 14,339 crores from the Indian equity markets while investing Rs 55,273 crores in debt instruments, which are traditionally reflective of safety, security, and a low-risk and change appetite. Foreign institutional investors had also withdrawn Rs 25,586 crores during May 2024, and Rs 8,671 crores during April 2024. If anything, the Indian market stands atop the strong confidence of domestic investors. The AUM (assets under management) of the Indian mutual fund industry stood at a record high of around $57 lakh crores in April 2024, even as the SIP AUM hit a record high of Rs 11.26 lakh crore. "The steep fall is due to the results so far falling short of the exit polls which the market had discounted yesterday. If BJP doesn't get a majority on its own there will be disappointment and this is getting reflected in the market. Also it is possible that Modi 3.O may not be as reform-oriented as the market expected and may turn more welfare- oriented," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Cautiously optimistic investors could prevail" comment="subhead" text="Cautiously optimistic investors could prevail">Cautiously optimistic investors could prevail </cmsannotation>But does this mean India’s growth story stands threatened or even jeopardized? Even though social media is flooded with memes that might lead one to believe it is all over for India’s story, the country remains the fastest growing economy amongst all G-20 nations in 2024, compelling almost all rating agencies to positively hike the country’s potential growth rate. But, equally noticeable is the fact that India’s private consumption, a major indicator of the economy’s growth, jumped by only 3.5% over the last 3 months of 2024. India now makes up 6.7% of the world’s GDP by purchasing power parity (PPP). As figures go, India is set to become a $10 trillion economy by 2030. Veteran investors like Raamdeo Agrawal, who heads Motilal Oswal Financial Services, believe that India’s potential growth rate of 8-8.5% is not going anywhere and that NDA’s leadership is here to stay. In his words, if an investor has managed to make 4-5x in the last 3-4 years, one will have to give in 20-30%. But that is where you will have to persist as an investor. "With the NDA still looking to form a government, though with the important support of coalition partners, markets look jittery about the prospects of strong decision making. Markets believe that the reformistic approach, which was a hallmark of the previous two terms, might take a backseat in the third term. However, our sense is that it is still early to jump to conclusions and should ideally wait for a clearer picture," said Manish Chowdhury, Head of Research, StoxBox. But all in all, the NDA government is most likely to stay for the full term, and those who bet on the same stand to stay safe despite the surprisingly strong performance of the INDIA alliance. However, in the end, the only one who wins in the market stays put in the market in the long run. Because NDA, or INDIA, compounding is here to stay, all set to immensely benefit long-term investors. (With inputs ANI)

You Searched For "NDA majority" and got 6 results

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An SAP employee reported a workplace sexual assault. Now she's breaking her NDA.

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Economic implications of Lok Sabha Election 2024 results: Would lack of a clear majority for BJP impact India’s growth story?

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