Sachin P Mampatta And Viveat Susan Pinto

Stories by Sachin P Mampatta And Viveat Susan Pinto

LIC's Total Wealth Erosion: Over Rs 2 Trillion

LIC's Total Wealth Erosion: Over Rs 2 Trillion

Rediff.com   29 May 2023

The decline in LIC's share price makes it the biggest wealth destroyer among IPOs which hit the market after COVID-19 took hold globally in 2020.

GST and states, a reality check of how indirect tax system is working

GST and states, a reality check of how indirect tax system is working

Rediff.com   15 May 2023

Taiwan in 1951 came up with an ingenious plan to improve tax compliance: citizens taking receipts for purchases could use them as lottery tickets. Customers were incentivized, and businesses found it hard to evade taxes. The plan's success prompted other countries, Slovakia and Greece among them, to launch similar initiatives. India doesn't seem to find the need yet for such schemes amid surging goods and services tax (GST) collections.

India's Rigid Food Inflation Bites Harder

India's Rigid Food Inflation Bites Harder

Rediff.com   18 Apr 2023

Nearly a third of an average Indian citizen's consumption budget is spent on food.

Share of NRIs, overseas investors in mutual fund assets declining

Share of NRIs, overseas investors in mutual fund assets declining

Rediff.com   13 Apr 2023

The share of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas investors in Indian mutual funds has been declining over time, despite adding half-a-trillion rupees to holdings over the last five years. Mutual fund holdings for the segment went up from Rs 0.95 trillion as of December 2018 to Rs 1.54 trillion as of December 2022, shows Business Standard analysis of data from the industry body Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). Their share in overall mutual fund assets has fallen from 4.2 per cent to 3.9 per cent during the same period.

Covid Lockdown: How India Fared

Covid Lockdown: How India Fared

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2023

The March 2020 lockdown did not stop the spread of infection (as it triggered a huge reverse migration from cities), but it did help to flatten the curve and gave time to scale up health infrastructure.

Covid: Employment Shows Lingering Effects

Covid: Employment Shows Lingering Effects

Rediff.com   13 Mar 2023

The unemployment rate is higher among urban women as was the case before the pandemic.

Never-Before-Seen IPL Broadcast Battle

Never-Before-Seen IPL Broadcast Battle

Rediff.com   8 Mar 2023

Disney-Star is positioning IPL as a "big-screen experience" where families and friends can come together over a game of cricket, much the way football is consumed in Europe and other parts of the world.

As challenges ease, cement firms remain bullish

As challenges ease, cement firms remain bullish

Rediff.com   6 Mar 2023

The March quarter (Q4) of the ongoing financial year (FY23) may see cement companies report better financial numbers as input costs ease, pricing action resumes, and cement demand remains firm. While companies have been cautiously optimistic about their outlook, analysts and sector experts remain bullish. In its latest report on the cement sector, brokerage IDBI Capital said that it expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) per tonne for cement companies to improve by Rs 200-300 sequentially in Q4.

Metal firms see China re-opening as boost to commodities

Metal firms see China re-opening as boost to commodities

Rediff.com   2 Mar 2023

The re-opening of the Chinese economy, as it moves away from its zero-Covid policy, could help stabilise commodity prices, according to some of the country's top metal companies. They view this as a positive for demand, at a time when markets such as the US and Europe have been largely weighed down by slowdown concern now. "Most of us in the metals business are hoping the Chinese economy picks up because half of any metal demand, including demand for aluminium, comes from China.

Why Are Indians Obsessed With Overworking?

Why Are Indians Obsessed With Overworking?

Rediff.com   1 Mar 2023

Never mind work-life balance: this generation spends more time on the job than ever before.

Indian investments in foreign stocks, property at record high in Dec

Indian investments in foreign stocks, property at record high in Dec

Rediff.com   1 Mar 2023

The amount of money Indians invested in foreign securities, property, and deposits in 2022 was likely the highest on record. At $2.1 billion, it was the largest spend for any 12-month period according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) data going back over a decade. The amount spent for each individual segment was also the highest.

More than two dozen companies do the vanishing act

More than two dozen companies do the vanishing act

Rediff.com   2 Feb 2023

The companies on the list are from sectors including trading, finance, packaging, textile, realty, and others. Trading and finance companies account for half-a-dozen companies each.

Will Foreign Universities Set Up Campuses In India?

Will Foreign Universities Set Up Campuses In India?

Rediff.com   30 Jan 2023

The 38.5 million enrolled for higher education in 2019-2020 outnumbered Canada's entire population of 38.2 million.

As wealth inequality grows, is it time for an Indian inheritance tax?

As wealth inequality grows, is it time for an Indian inheritance tax?

Rediff.com   27 Jan 2023

Billionaire Bill Gates, in a 2019 interview, supported bringing back a regulation in the US to require the super-rich to pay a 55 per cent tax when they inherit their family fortune. Proponents of an inheritance or estate tax say it reduces inequality and creates a meritocratic society by chipping away at the enormous advantages the children of the wealthiest families enjoy by an accident of birth. Many large economies levy such a tax on their richest citizens; India does not.

How Much Assets Companies Added Since Pandemic

How Much Assets Companies Added Since Pandemic

Rediff.com   24 Jan 2023

The Adani Group led in adding net fixed assets, which are up more than 90 per cent since September 2019 or before COVID-19.

Advertising slowdown likely to weigh on IPL this year

Advertising slowdown likely to weigh on IPL this year

Rediff.com   23 Jan 2023

The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will see Disney-Star and Viacom18 competing to sell their ad space with an eye on the estimated Rs 4,000-crore advertising money.

Q3 results preview: Cement sector profits seen weak despite strong sales

Q3 results preview: Cement sector profits seen weak despite strong sales

Rediff.com   20 Jan 2023

Acceleration in demand, together with marginal price hikes of about 2-3 per cent by cement companies in the October-December quarter (third quarter, or Q3) of 2022-23, may not be enough to cushion the impact of high input costs on the bottom line, reveal Bloomberg consensus estimates for the quarter. Year-on-year (YoY) net sales growth in Q3 will come in at nearly 7 per cent, shows Bloomberg data, while bottom-line growth will show a sharp decline of 25 per cent from a year ago. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) will likely decline by nearly 5 per cent versus a year ago, shows data.

'PVR-INOX Merger In Final Stages'

'PVR-INOX Merger In Final Stages'

Rediff.com   14 Jan 2023

'We would love to have more players entering the market because that is how the business will grow.'

Debt as investment avenue is more appealing for the wealthy

Debt as investment avenue is more appealing for the wealthy

Rediff.com   12 Jan 2023

Debt as an investment avenue for the wealthy has been attracting more assets than equity. The portfolio management service (PMS) industry, whose services require a minimum investment of Rs 50 lakh, has seen a 4.4 per cent decline in equity assets since March 2022.

Capex Crosses Rs 6 Trillion In December

Capex Crosses Rs 6 Trillion In December

Rediff.com   10 Jan 2023

'If private capex has to kick in, there should at least be 2-3 years of visibility.'