Peerzada Abrar &Amp; Abhijit Lele

Stories by Peerzada Abrar &Amp; Abhijit Lele

IDBI Bank back in black in FY21 after five years

IDBI Bank back in black in FY21 after five years

Rediff.com   5 May 2021

The bank expects to grow loan book by 10 per cent in the current financial year with calibrated exposure to corporate accounts and thrust on the retail segment.

FinMin asks PSBs, insurers to postpone staff promotions

FinMin asks PSBs, insurers to postpone staff promotions

Rediff.com   4 May 2021

The finance ministry has asked public sector banks (PSBs) to postpone the annual exercise of promoting and transferring their staff in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The advisory issued by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) states that the promotion process has coincided with a spike in Covid-19 cases across the country along with localised lockdowns and an increase in micro-containment zones. As there are cases of bank employees or their family members being hospitalised due to Covid-19, bank, insurance companies and financial institutions must take cognizance of the issue, the advisory issued by DFS said.

Negative outlook list may get longer, Q1 biz to be hit

Negative outlook list may get longer, Q1 biz to be hit

Rediff.com   3 May 2021

At risk of entrenched rough times are sectors like hospitality and those with discretionary spends.

Zomato's revenue from operations doubles to Rs 2,604 cr amid pandemic

Zomato's revenue from operations doubles to Rs 2,604 cr amid pandemic

Rediff.com   29 Apr 2021

Zomato said it has consistently gained market share over the last four years to become the category leader in the food delivery space in India in terms of gross order value from October 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

South Africa's FirstRand Bank to exit India after 12 years

South Africa's FirstRand Bank to exit India after 12 years

Rediff.com   23 Apr 2021

The plan was to expand further, add more branches and also eventually become the third bank in India to start a wholly owned subsidiary after Singapore's DBS Bank and State Bank of Mauritius, but those plans never materialised due to lack of scale and rising non-performing assets in the country.

How Banks will Pester Customers to Pay

How Banks will Pester Customers to Pay

Rediff.com   23 Apr 2021

Although such alerts are not compulsory for the banks, this may become the norm now if payments are missed even for a day.

50 more start-ups likely to join unicorn club in year or two

50 more start-ups likely to join unicorn club in year or two

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

There seems to be no dearth of funds to fuel this growth, report Peerzada Abrar and Shivani Shinde.

Top UPI players stare at uncertain future

Top UPI players stare at uncertain future

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

'How can we be told not to grow?'

Indian economy in better shape to tackle Covid 2nd wave: CEA Subramanian

Indian economy in better shape to tackle Covid 2nd wave: CEA Subramanian

Rediff.com   17 Apr 2021

'Overall, compared to the previous episode, we are in a better shape because the vaccine is already out there and vaccination drives are proceeding'

How Xiaomi passed the Covid lockdown test

How Xiaomi passed the Covid lockdown test

Rediff.com   16 Apr 2021

'One out of three phones sold in India is a Xiaomi phone.'

Byju's buys Aakash Educational Services for $1 bn over Zoom call

Byju's buys Aakash Educational Services for $1 bn over Zoom call

Rediff.com   6 Apr 2021

The stock-and-cash deal is the biggest in the education space.

How govt can boost infra funding in India

How govt can boost infra funding in India

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2021

For development finance institution to succeed now, the government must stand like a rock behind it and be patient.

Udaan, 'Bharat ka e-commerce' see huge surge in business

Udaan, 'Bharat ka e-commerce' see huge surge in business

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2021

Categories such as lifestyle, food and electronics accounted for over 1,350 sellers across the country last year.

RuPay takes on Visa and Mastercard with a little govt help

RuPay takes on Visa and Mastercard with a little govt help

Rediff.com   30 Mar 2021

RuPay is working on how to increase offers to customers. It is also focused on technology innovation in the card payment system.

Foreign e-com cos creating massive unemployment, alleges RIL

Foreign e-com cos creating massive unemployment, alleges RIL

Rediff.com   23 Mar 2021

Capital dumping is being used by foreign e-commerce firms to subsidise and engage in predatory pricing, oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL) has told the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) in an internal document. The document alleges that this is leading to massive unemployment and financial distress among small merchants and kirana stores. It consists of various recommendations and proposed changes that deal with Press Note 2 of 2018 (PN 2), which RIL wanted Assocham to present to the government, according to sources.

Draft e-commerce policy is 'nationalistic'

Draft e-commerce policy is 'nationalistic'

Rediff.com   22 Mar 2021

Many industry executives have said the draft e-commerce policy is being perceived as nationalistic but not overly protectionist and it is providing preference to Indian players against foreign companies. This might have an impact on investment by large players such as Walmart and Amazon in the country, said the executives. They said e-commerce was a very small portion of the retail industry and at a nascent stage and did not require heavy hammer regulations. Though the policy talks about being equally applicable to foreign and domestic players, it mentions that foreign direct investment (FDI) takes precedence over the e-commerce policy in any area of overlap.

Data privacy: Tension between big technology firms and govt boils over

Data privacy: Tension between big technology firms and govt boils over

Rediff.com   22 Mar 2021

There is a perception getting built inside the government that big technology companies -- a common term used for firms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon and the like - are becoming very powerful and present multiple threats to entire nations and their citizens today. The digital ecosystem is replete with CSAM (child sexual abuse material), fake news, drug trade, radicalisation, trolling among other social vices. Given the network effect that these platforms have, it is important to ensure that these platforms are not misused.

Whistleblower accuses Edelweiss ARC of fund diversion, other irregularities

Whistleblower accuses Edelweiss ARC of fund diversion, other irregularities

Rediff.com   20 Mar 2021

The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has launched a probe into the books of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company (EARC) following allegations by a whistleblower of fund diversion and irregularities. The whistleblower, Paras Kuhad, a former additional solicitor general of India, had written to the Prime Minister's Office and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Kuhad has alleged that Edelweiss Group and Caisse de depot et placement du Qubec (CDPQ), a Canadian institutional investor, which hold stakes in the ARC, diverted funds and did not adhere to norms while making investments in EARC's instruments. Sources have indicated that a probe has been initiated, but the MCA did not comment on the issue.

Has Amazon actually broken India's e-commerce laws?

Has Amazon actually broken India's e-commerce laws?

Rediff.com   19 Mar 2021

Last November, a lawyer for Future Retail Limited (FRL) told Delhi high court that Amazon is interfering with its lawful business and thousands may lose their jobs and FRL may go bankrupt. Senior advocate Harish Salve, who appeared for FRL, likened Amazon to East India Company. Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, who represented Amazon, told the Future counsel to keep the "East India Company" rhetoric aside, as Amazon has invested $6.5 billion all over India and created 900,000 jobs. This drama played out in the case in which Amazon has challenged Future's $3.4-billion deal with Reliance, alleging the retailer's deal breached an agreement with the American e-commerce firm.

Indian firms reject Google Play's new bill plan

Indian firms reject Google Play's new bill plan

Rediff.com   19 Mar 2021

Indian industry snubbed Google Play's decision to cut by half its commission for developers when they make $1 million in annual revenue for in-app purchases, saying the US tech giant may continue its "abrasive & monopolistic abuse" as it owns the Android system. Google Play said Tuesday that beginning July 1 it would slash its 30 per cent billing fee to 15 per cent for developers globally when they make the first $1 million of their annual revenue.