Sachin P Mampatta And Ishaan Gera

Stories by Sachin P Mampatta And Ishaan Gera

New projects drop for 2nd straight quarter

New projects drop for 2nd straight quarter

Rediff.com   3 Jan 2022

New projects fell 6.3 per cent in the December quarter compared with the September quarter. The value of new projects in the just-concluded quarter was Rs 2.1 trillion, according to the data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which was lower than the Rs 2.2 trillion seen in the September quarter. It is, however, higher than Rs 1.5 trillion recorded for the quarter ended December 2020, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. This data ties in with the November data for core sector growth, an index of eight core industries, which grew at its slowest pace since early 2021.

Will Indians have to work 12 hours a day?

Will Indians have to work 12 hours a day?

Rediff.com   31 Dec 2021

India's time use survey for January-December 2019 had found that an average person in urban areas spends 485 (eight hours and five minutes) minutes on employment and related activities.

Booster shots will cost Rs 100 billion

Booster shots will cost Rs 100 billion

Rediff.com   24 Dec 2021

If booster shots are given on priority, the pace of vaccination may slow further. In the worst case scenario, the country will take till mid-March to vaccinate its entire adult population partially.

A third of women married were 18-20 years old

A third of women married were 18-20 years old

Rediff.com   24 Dec 2021

West Bengal, Rajasthan and Bihar were worst in terms of women marrying at an early age.

States' spending on police increased 66.2%

States' spending on police increased 66.2%

Rediff.com   23 Dec 2021

States' spending doesn't improve the public image of the police, so where is the money going?

Banks want time for card tokenisation

Banks want time for card tokenisation

Rediff.com   20 Dec 2021

Tokenisation is the process of replacing debit and credit card numbers with a set of characters or tokens.

Rise and rise of the Rs 10,000 shares

Rise and rise of the Rs 10,000 shares

Rediff.com   15 Dec 2021

There are more of them now and the total value of such companies--out of reach for small retail players--may surprise you. Shares topping the five-figure price mark were rare ten years ago. A look at March-end figures across the listed universe in 2011 shows only one such share. There were two by 2013.

Health expenditure's share in GDP down

Health expenditure's share in GDP down

Rediff.com   7 Dec 2021

The share of total health expenditure as part of the gross domestic product (GDP) went down to 3.3 per cent in 2017-18 from 3.8 per cent in the previous two years, according to the national health account data released on Monday by the health ministry. The share of government expenditure as part of total expenditure as well as GDP has gone up from from 3.78 per cent to 5.12 per cent between 2013-14 and 2017-18, which could also explain a decline seen in out of pocket expenditure in 2017-18. Health ministry also emphasised the increase in the government health expenditure as part of the total GDP from 1.15 per cent in 2013-14 to 1.35 per cent in 2017-18.

Wilful defaults are Rs 62,000 crore higher than pre-Covid levels

Wilful defaults are Rs 62,000 crore higher than pre-Covid levels

Rediff.com   2 Dec 2021

The Indian banking system's latest record on wilful defaulters shows Rs 62,970 crore, or around 10 per cent increase, in the additional amount outstanding since the pandemic began. The total outstanding amount increased to Rs 6.85 trillion in June from Rs 6.22 trillion in December 2019, shows a Business Standard analysis of numbers from the TransUnion CIBIL database. India recorded its first case of Covid-19 in January 2020.The amount outstanding to wilful defaulters had touched a post-pandemic peak of Rs.7.6 trillion in December 2020 (or Rs 1.4 trillion more than pre-pandemic levels).

Eight states see decline in govt school enrolments

Eight states see decline in govt school enrolments

Rediff.com   1 Dec 2021

North-eastern states have led the charge in recording a decline.

LIC's stake in listed companies at 10-year low

LIC's stake in listed companies at 10-year low

Rediff.com   8 Nov 2021

LIC owns 3.69 per cent of the total listed universe based on available disclosures, the lowest since at least June 2009.

CAs scramble to fathom new whistleblowing law

CAs scramble to fathom new whistleblowing law

Rediff.com   2 Nov 2021

Chartered accountants are readying themselves for a higher onus on individuals to report violations that they come across as part of their work. There has been a scramble to understand the implications as the non-compliance with laws and regulations (NOCLAR) comes into effect in less than six months. It is applicable from April 1, 2022 after being deferred earlier because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Focus on second dose as India inches closer to 1 billion jabs

Focus on second dose as India inches closer to 1 billion jabs

Rediff.com   18 Oct 2021

Experts, however, feel that given the intensity of the second wave and the high single dose coverage, India is in a good position to avoid any drastic wave in the near future.

India may fully vaccinate all adults by April next year

India may fully vaccinate all adults by April next year

Rediff.com   30 Sep 2021

With the maximum dose gap of four months for Covishield, a large part of the population would not even be eligible for the second dose by the end of this year, report Ruchika Chitravanshi and Ishaan Gera.

It's boom time for research analysts amid market rally

It's boom time for research analysts amid market rally

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2021

The rally in the broader markets, a spate of new listings, and the influx of retail investors have resulted in a boom for research and this has spurred a surge in the number of entities providing such services. From 467 entities that provided research services as of March 2018, the number jumped 57 per cent to 733 as of March 2021. And, another 46 entities have been added to the list in the six months since, to take the total number of registered research analysts to 779 as on September 13. However, the total number of analysts could be a multiple of this number.

Why India's asset monetisation dream may be hard to achieve

Why India's asset monetisation dream may be hard to achieve

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2021

India was among the top-five economies with the largest general government capital stock level, said, in 2015, an International Monetary Fund report called "Making Public Investment More Efficient". The report fuelled a debate on countries sitting on piles of cash that could be used better. India was believed to have public assets worth $4.5 trillion. The report urged countries to start asset recycling. Six years after the report, Australia's success in asset recycling has turned India into a believer; despite doing averagely in its previous efforts on roads, railways or meeting its divestment targets.

Vaccination in rural areas gains speed as hinterland lags behind

Vaccination in rural areas gains speed as hinterland lags behind

Rediff.com   16 Sep 2021

As the rural areas account for more than 40% of the country's population, they need to receive at least 41.7 per cent of the doses to make vaccine administration more equitable, reports Ishaan Gera.

Why Railways' financial health is off track

Why Railways' financial health is off track

Rediff.com   11 Sep 2021

In 2019-20, the capital expenditure of Indian Railways (IR) increased 60 per cent over 2016-17. The draft National Railways plan envisages a further increase in IR's capital expenditure, but an analysis by Business Standard shows that IR has come to depend more on borrowings and budgetary support. In 2016-17, while 11 per cent of its capital expenditure (capex) was funded by internal sources, in 2019-20 the ratio dropped to less than 1 per cent. A 2015 Committee on Restructuring Railways had flagged that over-reliance on borrowings could exacerbate the financial situation of Railways.

Covid confounds: High vaccination districts also show high positivity rate

Covid confounds: High vaccination districts also show high positivity rate

Rediff.com   8 Sep 2021

The reason for vaccination not doing enough to stave off infection is partly that the rates of the fully vaccinated population are still below 20 per cent in most districts.

It's boom time for tech fraud fighters

It's boom time for tech fraud fighters

Rediff.com   2 Sep 2021

More people using the internet for financial and e-commerce transactions has led to job creation in a niche segment. Specialists who can help deal with rising technology (tech) frauds are in high demand amid the surge in electronic transactions during the pandemic. Demand for tech fraud experts has risen upwards of 35 per cent, reveals employment and human resource services company TeamLease Services.