Nearly 100 companies, including Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Coforge, Vedanta Aluminium and others, have fixed their record dates for corporate actions such as stock splits and dividends for the upcoming week between August 3 (Monday) and August 7 (Friday).

Interested investors need to hold shares of these companies in their demat accounts on the record date to be eligible for the respective corporate actions. The list remains tentative, as more companies may announce record dates for dividends, bonus issues and stock splits during the week.

Here is a day-wise list of corporate actions to watch out for this week.

August 3 (Monday)

Around 12 companies have fixed August 3 (Monday) as the record date for their respective dividends. The most notable name among them is ICICI Bank. The heavyweight private lender has fixed Monday as the record date for its final dividend of Rs 12 per share.

IT player Coforge also has fixed Monday as the record date for its interim dividend of Rs 4 per share, while Emkay Global Financial Services will turn ex-record date for a final dividend of Rs 1.5 per share.
Other stocks that will turn ex-record date on this day include Bannari Amman Spinning Mills (Rs 0.25 per share), Ganesh Infraworld (Rs 0.1 per share), Kakatiya Cement Sugar & Industries (Rs 3 per share), Kanpur Plastipack (Rs 1.2 per share), Khazanchi Jewellers (Rs 0.5 per share), Lakshmi Engineering and Warehousing (Rs 10 per share), Prima Plastics (Rs 2 per share), Sai Silks (Rs 1.5 per share) and Transrail Lightning (Rs 3 per share).August 4 (Tuesday)

Bosch accounts for the highest dividend payout among the stocks turning ex-record date for dividends on Tuesday. The company will pay a dividend of Rs 270 per share to its eligible shareholders.

CONCOR will pay an interim dividend of Rs 1.6 per share, while Alembic Pharma and Balkrishna Industries will pay dividends worth Rs 2.4 per share and Rs 4 per share, respectively. Other stocks turning ex-record date on Tuesday include Andhra Paper (Rs 0.5 per share), CE Info Systems (Rs 3.5 per share), Eveready Industries (Rs 2.5 per share), Greenply Industries (Rs 0.5 per share), Hirect (Rs 1.4 per share), Mysore Petro Chemicals (Rs 2 per share), PCBL Chemical (Rs 4.5 per share), Sonam (Rs 0.3 per share), TCPL Packaging (Rs 25 per share) and The Grob Tea Company (Rs 2 per share).

August 5 (Wednesday)

Disa India accounts for the highest dividend payout among the stocks turning ex-record date for dividends on Wednesday, with a final dividend of Rs 200 per share.

Bayer CropScience and Automotive Axles will pay final dividends of Rs 60 per share and Rs 32 per share, respectively, while Goodyear India will pay a final dividend of Rs 26.5 per share. Gandhi Special Tubes will pay a final dividend of Rs 15 per share, Matrimony.Com will pay Rs 5 per share, Munjal Showa will pay Rs 4.5 per share, Berger Paints India will pay Rs 4 per share, Fermenta Biotech will pay Rs 3.75 per share, and Sika Interplant Systems will pay Rs 3.5 per share.

Other companies turning ex-record date for final dividends on Wednesday include Brigade Enterprises (Rs 2 per share), Indef Manufacturing (Rs 2 per share), Somany Ceramics (Rs 2 per share), Anuh Pharma (Rs 1.5 per share), Indag Rubber (Rs 1.5 per share), Shreyans Industries (Rs 1.5 per share), Mukesh Babu Financial Services (Rs 1.2 per share), TD Power Systems (Rs 1.1 per share), ADF Foods (Rs 0.6 per share), and Oriental Aromatics (Rs 0.5 per share).

In addition, Ajanta Pharma, IRB Infrastructure Developers, and Vedanta Aluminium Metal will turn ex-record date for their respective dividends, while Tembo Global Industries will turn ex-record date for a stock split from Rs 10 to Rs 1 per share.

Also read | Explained: Why Kospi skyrocketed 18% today after massive selloff and what’s ahead for South Korea’s ‘bipolar’ stock market

August 6 (Thursday)

Lumax Industries accounts for the highest dividend payout among the stocks turning ex-record date for dividends on Thursday, with a final dividend of Rs 55 per share.

Rane Holdings will pay a final dividend of Rs 47 per share, while Linde India will pay a combined dividend payout comprising a final dividend of Rs 4 per share and a special dividend of Rs 8 per share. Tasty Bite Eatables will pay a final dividend of Rs 10 per share, Lumax Auto Technologies will pay Rs 5.5 per share, Praj Industries will pay Rs 3.6 per share, and Hercules Investments will pay Rs 2.5 per share.

Other companies turning ex-record date for final dividends on Thursday include Bharat Gears (Rs 1 per share), Investment & Precision Castings (Rs 1 per share), Mindteck (India) (Rs 1 per share), and Bemco Hydraulics (Rs 0.1 per share).

August 7 (Friday)

Maruti Suzuki India accounts for the highest dividend payout among the stocks turning ex-record date for dividends on Friday, with a final dividend of Rs 140 per share.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation will pay a final dividend of Rs 54 per share, while Avanti Feeds, Grasim Industries, Jasch Gauging Technologies, PI Industries, United Breweries, and Venus Remedies will pay dividends of Rs 10 per share each. Sharda Cropchem will pay a final dividend of Rs 9 per share, Ipca Laboratories will pay Rs 6 per share, KEC International and Nava will pay Rs 5.5 per share each, BDH Industries will pay Rs 5 per share, and Lodha Developers will pay Rs 4.25 per share.

Bhagwati Autocast will pay a final dividend of Rs 3.5 per share, while Mukand, Netweb Technologies India, and Quess Corp will pay Rs 3 per share each. Shyam Metalics And Energy will pay Rs 2.7 per share, and Aarvi Encon and Wonderla Holidays will pay Rs 2 per share each.

Arvind Fashions will pay a final dividend of Rs 1.6 per share, while Rubicon Research, Sahyadri Industries, Shri Dinesh Mills, Tube Investments of India, and Varroc Engineering will pay Rs 1.5 per share each. Cholamandalam Financial Holdings will pay Rs 1.3 per share, Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands and BN Rathi Securities will pay Rs 0.5 per share each, Steelcast will pay an interim dividend of Rs 0.45 per share, Westlife Foodworld will pay an interim dividend of Rs 0.4 per share, and IDFC First Bank, Manba Finance, and Sagility will pay Rs 0.25 per share, Rs 0.25 per share, and Rs 0.1 per share, respectively.

In addition, JOJO Ltd. will turn ex-record date for a stock split from Rs 10 to Rs 5 per share.

Also read | Odyssey of stock market: What investors can learn from the Greek epic hero’s journey back home?

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Artificial intelligence may be disrupting India’s $280-billion IT services industry today, but the technology could ultimately create its next wave of growth rather than destroy it, according to Rohan Korde, Fund Manager at Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

The fund house believes the recent correction in IT stocks reflects concerns over tariffs, AI-led disruption and weak near-term earnings guidance, but says the long-term opportunity lies in the industry’s transition from pilot AI projects to large-scale enterprise deployments. Korde sees emerging demand for data engineering, cybersecurity, cloud integration, specialised semiconductor infrastructure and AI-enabled hardware as potential growth drivers, even if traditional revenue streams come under pressure.

“While the existing revenue pools may get impacted, every disruption provides an opportunity as well, as has been witnessed in the past,” he said in an interview with ETMarkets.

Edited excerpts from a chat:

The government’s policy thrust is firmly behind manufacturing, yet you are more bullish on services. What is the market underestimating about the services opportunity?

While there has been a visible thrust on the manufacturing sector through various measures such as introduction of Production Linked Incentives (PLI) and promoting Make in India, it is also quite noticeable that the service sector has not been ignored. Various policies such as national Tourism Policy 2015, National Education Policy 2016, National Health Policy 2017, and initiatives like the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) to name just a few, have helped drive growth in the services sector as well. Interestingly, The Gross Value Added by the Services sector has averaged 7.1%* year on year growth in the past 20 years, higher than both Industry and Agriculture average growth rate.
Which segments within services—financials, IT, healthcare, telecom, travel or digital businesses—offer the strongest earnings visibility over the next three to five years?The services sector offers multiple sectoral opportunities to invest in: Financial Services, Information Technology, Consumer Services, Power, Healthcare, Telecommunication, Oil & Gas, Telecommunication, Services, and Media & Publication. A lot of companies within these sectors have been growing at a fair clip in the past 5 years. We project good growth visibility in Financial Services (on low credit penetration and financialization of savings), Healthcare (aging demographics, expanding middle class, lifestyle diseases and wellness focus, and potential to see increase in medical value tourism), and Consumer Services (rapid digital acceleration boosting growth in e-commerce and quick commerce driving volumes across audience).

Indian IT services face uncertainty from AI-led disruption. Do you see AI as a threat to existing revenue pools or as the sector’s next growth driver?

The IT Sector has corrected by 23% over the last 1 year led by concerns around uncertainty led by tariffs and AI dominance. Even the growth guidance for FY27 remains weak, though the sector is a beneficiary of the weaker local currency. So, while the impact on stock prices has been immediate, there hasn’t been adequate clarity on how the opportunities might manifest. However, there can be potential prospects as the move from pilot AI projects to scaled enterprise deployments occur, which may be in the form of massive data engineering, new cybersecurity frameworks, or cloud integration & architectures and specialized semiconductors (GPUs, NPUs, TPUs), edge-AI devices, and data center infrastructure on the hardware side. To sum up, while the existing revenue pools may get impacted, every disruption provides an opportunity as well, as has been witnessed in the past.

Financial services represent a significant part of the listed services universe. Where do you currently see the best risk-reward—banks, NBFCs, insurers, asset managers or capital-market businesses?

Within the Financial Services space, we have a preference for Mid cap banks, NBFCs and platform companies in that order.

From a broader market perspective, do you expect returns over the next year to be driven by earnings growth, valuation expansion or sector rotation?

Generally, the markets do well when there is confidence in the earnings growth trajectory. IMF projects India’s GDP growth at ~6.4% for FY27* and identifies India as the fastest-growing major global economy, bolstered by resilient domestic consumption, robust services activity, and reduced external tariffs. This is higher than their projected growth rate of 3.9% for emerging markets and developing economies and 3.1% for the World. In this scenario, earnings growth, especially if the war scenario tapers off, can be a good growth driver for the markets. Of course, if this war extends further, or in case of additional hostilities elsewhere, corporate earnings are vulnerable to the tune of 300-500bps, in which case instead of earnings growth, sector rotation can be the driver.

Midcap valuations remain elevated despite uneven earnings delivery. Where do you still find a favorable risk-reward, and which segments appear priced for perfection?

While Midcap valuations may appear expensive in isolation, the current valuation is at a 6% discount to the past 8 year average PE multiple of the index. Similarly, even the large cap Nifty 100 index is trading at a lower valuation (by~8%) to its past 8 year average. At the same time, the small cap index is trading at a premium to its historical valuation. Hence risk reward broadly appears to be favourable in valuation terms for both mid cap and large cap segments.

Which sectors currently offer the strongest overlap between the midcap and value frameworks, and will return over the next three years be driven primarily by earnings growth, valuation rerating or successful corporate turnarounds?

To answer the latter part of the question, as mentioned earlier, earnings growth for India should be a key driver for returns. Successful corporate turnarounds are unique and company specific events, so they cannot be classified as a category driver, while valuation rerating is often derived as a function or outcome of improved earnings growth trajectory.

In the context of Indian markets, the mid cap framework is largely growth oriented, but following the Growth at Reasonable Prices (GARP) philosophy helps in identifying some themes closer to the value philosophy. We see Financial Services and IT offering good overlap between these frameworks due to stock correction, discounted valuation as compared to historical averages, overall good management quality, and healthy cash flow generation.

If you must start an SIP of Rs 10,000 as an investor with moderate risk appetite at this stage, how would it be spread out across various fund categories? Consider a long-term horizon of 10 years.

While it is difficult to be generic when individual investor risk return profile and tenure are different, and a planner with a holistic view of the client can be a better judge on these aspects, we believe a broad core portfolio from a longer term perspective would appear as spread 20% in hybrid (BAF), 20% each in the large / mid / small categories and the balance 20% in a thematic (value / services / consumption).

New Delhi: India and Canada are working towards concluding negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of 2026, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said on Friday that three rounds of CEPA negotiations have been held so far, with the latest round taking place in Ottawa from July 6-10. “Progress has been made across multiple negotiating tracks, with both sides working towards concluding the process by late 2026,” he said. PM Narendra Modi plans to visit Canada later this year to give further momentum to bilateral ties, which have improved under the current dispensation in Ottawa. The MEA said the proposed India-Canada CEPA aims to establish a free trade area by eliminating or reducing tariffs and other trade restrictions. The agreement is also intended to progressively liberalise trade in goods and services, promote a more transparent, predictable and facilitative trade and investment regime, and strengthen economic cooperation and people-to-people ties.

Canada represents a market of 41.65 million people, as of 2025, and $2.34 trillion in terms of GDP in terms of purchasing power parity.
The India-Canada CEPA holds significant potential to unlock and expand bilateral trade, which stood at $8.66 billion in 2024-25, comprising exports worth $4.22 billion from India and imports of $4.44 billion, according to an official.

New Delhi: In a major structural push to reset urban governance and accelerate infrastructure development, the Centre has executed a complete top-to-bottom overhaul of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, replacing senior bureaucrats and appointing new leadership to spearhead its flagship missions.

The administrative revamp follows the government’s decision last Thursday to split the ministry into two specialised verticals: Department of Capital Development (Rajdhani Vikas Vibhag) and the Department of Urban Development (Shehari Vikas Vibhag). The division is designed to enable dedicated focus on distinct aspects of urban planning while streamlining service delivery, execution, and policy interventions.

The administrative reshuffle moved at breakneck speed. Within 24 hours of the Gazette notification, secretary Srinivas Katikithala (a 1989-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre) handed over charge of the newly-created department of capital development to D Thara, a 1995-batch IAS officer from the same cadre. Simultaneously, the Centre posted Satendra Singh (a 1995-batch Jharkhand cadre IAS officer) as secretary to lead the Department of Urban Development. The overhaul extends deep into the operational leadership of Centre’s core urban schemes.
Crucial personnel shifts include Kuldeep Narayan, who was directing the flagship housing scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), moving to Niti Aayog. Roopa Mishra, who spearheaded the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), has also been reassigned. New directors are slated to assume charge within the next fortnight to ensure seamless administrative continuity. At the heart of this structural realignment is a targeted policy focus on the national capital. The Centre has set its sights on resolving Delhi’s long-standing, complex urban challenges through a bifurcated strategy. With a BJP government in power in Delhi, the ministry bifurcation will also help in better implementation of infrastructure projects, including the ambitious Central Vista project.

This article was written by

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of SOFI either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Z Fold 8 during a Galaxy Unpacked event in London on July 22, positioning the foldable phone as its most AI-integrated device to date ahead of its general availability date of August 5. Here are 10 new artificial intelligence features Samsung has built into the device.

1. My FanCam. This video-editing feature allows users to select a subject within a video and have Galaxy AI automatically track and follow that person throughout the clip. Users open the AI icon during editing, press the My FanCam button, and tap on the specific subject they want the software to detect and follow, a feature Samsung has positioned as particularly useful for concert footage, sports events or any recording involving multiple moving subjects.

2. Call Brief. This feature automatically summarizes phone calls, giving users a condensed overview of a conversation’s key points without requiring them to review a full transcript or recording, a tool designed to help users quickly recall important details from calls without needing to take detailed notes during the conversation itself.

3. Enhanced Now Nudges and Now Brief cards. Samsung has expanded its proactive, context-aware notification system with enhanced Now Nudges, which surface timely, personalized suggestions based on a user’s habits and daily patterns, alongside customizable Now Brief cards that summarize relevant information for a user’s day. As of July 2026, Now Nudge supports 16 languages, including Korean, English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Hindi, Arabic, Indonesian and Russian.

4. Photo Assist. Boosted by Galaxy AI, Photo Assist lets users move, resize or remove objects within a photo, or fill in background areas left behind after an object has been removed, streamlining photo touch-ups without requiring separate editing software. The tool also includes a Create section that allows users to make personalized edits using written text prompts, and lets users compare original and edited versions of a photo side by side to more easily track changes. Photo Assist currently supports 41 languages.

5. Gemini Intelligence integration. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 runs on One UI 9 and integrates Google’s Gemini Intelligence, an agentic AI assistant designed to handle more complex, multistep tasks across apps rather than responding only to single, isolated commands. TM Roh, CEO, president and head of Samsung’s Device eXperience Division, framed the broader push toward agentic AI as central to the device’s design philosophy. “As AI becomes more agentic, mobile devices will become the most personal entry point to experiences that understand and adapt to each user,” Roh said during the Galaxy Unpacked event. “By setting a new standard for foldables, we are once again advancing the premium mobile experience and opening the next era of intelligence to more people.”

6. Gemini Notebook. Formerly known as NotebookLM, Gemini Notebook is now built directly into the new foldables, taking advantage of the Fold 8’s larger inner display to let users drag photos, documents and recordings into a shared, side-by-side workspace rather than switching between multiple separate apps to organize research or notes.

7. Circle to Search. This feature lets users circle, highlight or tap on anything visible on their screen, whether within an app, a photo or a webpage, to instantly search for more information about it without needing to leave the app they are currently using or manually describe what they are looking at in a separate search query.

8. Live Translate. Building on Samsung’s existing real-time translation tools, Live Translate provides on-the-fly translation for conversations and calls, allowing users communicating across different languages to understand each other in real time through the phone’s built-in AI processing.

9. Samsung Health AI tools, including Energy Score and AI Health Coach. The device’s AI capabilities extend into Samsung Health, where Energy Score uses sleep, heart rate and activity data collected from a paired Galaxy Watch to generate a daily energy rating along with personalized recommendations. A companion AI Health Coach feature offers customized fitness and nutrition suggestions based on a user’s logged health data and stated personal goals.

10. On-device, privacy-focused AI processing. Rather than routing all AI tasks through external servers, Samsung has emphasized that sensitive data, including calls, voice recordings and notes, is processed directly on the device by default and does not leave the phone, a design choice the company has detailed in its published AI privacy policy. The Galaxy Z Fold 8’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor includes a dedicated neural processing unit specifically built to handle this kind of on-device AI workload efficiently.

Samsung has said all of the Galaxy AI features included on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will remain available at no additional cost, though the company has left open the possibility that future premium features or third-party AI model integrations could eventually introduce subscription-based pricing tiers.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 itself features a 7.6-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch cover screen, and a redesigned hinge intended to reduce the visibility of the display crease that has historically been a point of criticism for book-style foldable phones. The device weighs 201 grams, which Samsung describes as its lightest foldable to date, and includes a 4,800mAh battery rated for up to 26 hours of continuous playback. The phone is available in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage configurations, with pricing starting at $1,899 in the United States for the base 256GB model. Samsung is also offering up to seven years of software updates for the device, extending the phone’s expected AI feature support well beyond the typical software lifespan of earlier smartphone generations.

The Maryland Department of Health announced Friday that a resident has tested positive for West Nile virus, marking the state’s first confirmed human case of the virus so far this year.

West Nile virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of mosquitoes that have themselves become infected after feeding on birds carrying the virus. In rare cases, the virus can also spread from person to person through organ donation, blood transfusion, breastfeeding, or from a pregnant mother to her fetus, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

The disease primarily affects the nervous system, though most people who become infected never develop noticeable symptoms. Up to 80% of people infected with West Nile virus will show no signs of illness at all, according to state health officials. Among those who do develop symptoms, common signs include fever, headache and body aches, which may occasionally be accompanied by a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks in people who become symptomatic.

While most infections resolve without serious complications, certain populations face a higher risk of severe illness from West Nile virus. People older than 50 and those with underlying immunocompromised conditions are more likely to develop serious illness if infected, according to the Maryland Department of Health, making prevention particularly important for those groups during periods of active mosquito transmission.

Dr. Meg Sullivan, Maryland’s deputy secretary for public health services, emphasized that preventing mosquito bites remains the most effective way to protect against the virus. “Your best defense against West Nile virus is to protect yourself from mosquitoes, such as using insect repellent, covering exposed skin, and eliminating standing water near your home,” Sullivan said.

Standing water represents a particularly important target for prevention efforts, since mosquitoes require stagnant water to breed and lay eggs. Common sources of standing water around residential properties can include clogged gutters, unused flowerpots, birdbaths, discarded tires, and other containers capable of collecting rainwater, all of which can become breeding sites if left unaddressed during the warmer months when mosquito activity peaks.

West Nile virus was first identified in the United States in 1999 and has since become the most common mosquito-borne illness in the country, with cases reported annually across most states during the warmer months when mosquito populations are most active. The virus follows a seasonal pattern tied closely to mosquito activity, typically peaking during the summer and early fall before declining as temperatures cool and mosquito populations diminish heading into winter.

There is currently no vaccine available to prevent West Nile virus infection in humans, and no specific antiviral medication exists to treat the illness once contracted. Treatment for symptomatic cases generally focuses on managing symptoms through supportive care, such as rest, fluids and over-the-counter pain relief for milder cases, while more severe cases affecting the nervous system may require hospitalization.

Public health officials commonly recommend a range of preventive measures beyond the use of insect repellent and elimination of standing water. These include wearing long sleeves and pants during peak mosquito activity hours, typically dawn and dusk, using screens on windows and doors to prevent mosquitoes from entering homes, and ensuring that any outdoor water features, such as ponds or fountains, are properly maintained or treated to prevent mosquito breeding.

Maryland’s confirmation of its first human case this year adds the state to the broader pattern of seasonal West Nile virus activity tracked nationally by public health agencies each summer. Health departments across affected states typically continue monitoring both human case counts and mosquito surveillance data throughout the summer and early fall, using that information to guide local public health messaging and, in some cases, targeted mosquito control efforts in areas where infected mosquito populations have been detected.

With the state’s first confirmed case of the year now on record, Maryland health officials are expected to continue monitoring for additional cases throughout the remainder of the summer mosquito season, and have reiterated their guidance urging residents, particularly older adults and those with weakened immune systems, to take proactive steps to reduce their exposure to mosquito bites in the weeks ahead.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing criticism from Jewish legal organizations after his newly appointed judicial advisory panel was found to include no Jewish members, prompting demands from bar associations that the mayor correct what they described as a significant omission.

Mamdani’s office announced the 19-member Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary on July 22, describing it as a “truly representative cross-section” of New York City’s legal profession. The panel is responsible for screening and recommending candidates for judgeships across the city’s five boroughs and multiple court types, including Criminal Court, Family Court and, on an interim basis, Civil Court. Four Jewish bar associations, backed by the Anti-Defamation League, said no Jewish attorney, law professor or former judge was included among the appointees.

Elizabeth Forspan, head of the Brandeis Association of Queens, a Jewish bar group, said the omission stood out given the committee’s long history. “It was shocking for us to learn that this all important committee that every mayor since 1978 has put together did not include a single Jewish attorney, law professor, former judge,” Forspan said.

In a joint letter sent to the mayor on July 27, the presidents of the Brandeis Association of Queens, the New York County Jewish Lawyers Guild, the Brooklyn Brandeis Society and the Bronx County Jewish Bar Association said they were “deeply disappointed” by the committee’s composition. “Excluding Jewish representation from this committee is neither reflective nor inclusive,” the letter said. “It follows a troubling pattern that has left many Jewish New Yorkers feeling increasingly marginalized.” The letter urged Mamdani to “correct this exclusion” and “reaffirm that Jewish New Yorkers are entitled to the same representation, respect and protection as every other community.” New York City is home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the United States, and Jews are heavily represented within the legal profession from which the committee traditionally draws its members.

The letter also pointed to the rejection of retired Appellate Division Justice John Leventhal, who is Jewish, during the committee’s vetting process, calling the decision “disconcerting” given what the groups described as a broader lack of outreach to Jewish attorneys. Mamdani spokesman Joe Calvello addressed that specific case directly, saying the mayor’s team declined to include Leventhal after learning the retired justice had served on the legal team representing Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Mamdani forcefully denied that religion played any role in how the panel was assembled. “I did not ask for the religion of each of the person that was put forward,” he said during a press conference addressing the controversy. He said his broader commitment to diversity in judicial appointments includes the Jewish community specifically. “The thing that matters most to me is that in the judges that have been appointed and reappointed, that they do reflect that diversity of New York City, and that diversity includes Jewish New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.

Calvello separately pushed back on suggestions that the panel’s composition reflected discriminatory intent, telling reporters it was “false” to say the selection of committee members was “motivated by religion.” He noted that Mamdani has already appointed a dozen judges from a range of backgrounds during his time in office, including Jewish judges. Calvello did not specify whether other Jewish candidates had been considered for the advisory committee itself, and he did not directly dispute that none of the 19 appointees are Jewish.

The panel that drew criticism does include a range of other backgrounds. Its members include former prosecutors, former judges, law professors, public defenders and divorce attorneys, drawn from institutions ranging from CUNY to Ivy League law schools. Among them is Joseph Drayton, a partner at the law firm Proskauer Rose with decades of experience in commercial litigation, and Dianisbeth Acquie, a Harvard Law graduate who worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York before becoming assistant dean of judicial careers at Columbia Law School.

The controversy adds to broader tension between Mamdani’s administration and segments of New York’s Jewish community, which has largely centered on the mayor’s positions regarding Israel and related foreign policy issues. Critics cited in the bar associations’ letter also pointed to Mamdani’s prior omission of Jewish communities from a map of New York’s ethnic enclaves and his decision to revoke a definition of antisemitism previously used by the city that some Jewish groups had supported.

Under former Mayor Eric Adams, Jewish attorneys had held seats on the same judicial advisory committee. The panel’s composition carries practical significance beyond symbolism, since it directly filters the pool of candidates considered for judgeships handling a wide range of cases, from criminal matters to family court disputes.

As of the most recent reporting, Mamdani had not indicated any plans to alter the committee’s current membership in response to the bar associations’ letter, leaving the dispute unresolved as of early August.