Subrata Panda, Abhishek Kumar

Stories by Subrata Panda, Abhishek Kumar

'Emirates NBD Is In RBL For 15-20 Years'

'Emirates NBD Is In RBL For 15-20 Years'

Rediff.com   29 Oct 2025

'It is not looking at valuation, but investment, growth and ultimately better profit for stakeholders.'

Blackstone to invest Rs 6,200 crore for 9.99% stake in Federal Bank

Blackstone to invest Rs 6,200 crore for 9.99% stake in Federal Bank

Rediff.com   25 Oct 2025

Private-sector lender Federal Bank on Friday announced that New York-based Blackstone will invest Rs 6,196.51 crore in the bank through its affiliate Asia II Topco XIII Pte Ltd via a preferential issue on a private placement basis.

RBI proposes to allow banks to fund acquisitions

RBI proposes to allow banks to fund acquisitions

Rediff.com   25 Oct 2025

Banks will be able to give loans to Indian companies for acquiring the entire equity stake or a controlling part of it in domestic or foreign firms as strategic investment that creates long-term value rather than for short-term financial restructuring if the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) draft circular, issued on Friday, comes to fruition.

Recent RBI policies to help banks stay at equilibrium: Kamath

Recent RBI policies to help banks stay at equilibrium: Kamath

Rediff.com   17 Oct 2025

The recent policies that have been announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will allow banks to fully use its capital, funding profile to keep business at an equilibrium level, which otherwise was getting skewed towards retail, said K V Kamath, chairman, Jio Financial Services.

Mutual funds' cash holding fell in Sep amid decline in inflows

Mutual funds' cash holding fell in Sep amid decline in inflows

Rediff.com   17 Oct 2025

Cash holdings of equity mutual fund (MF) schemes moderated in September amid a slowdown in fresh inflows. Equity MF schemes held cash worth Rs 1.76 trillion at the end of September 2025 - about Rs 400 crore lower than the previous month, according to a report by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research.

India Inc hits bond mkt to raise over Rs 17,500 cr

India Inc hits bond mkt to raise over Rs 17,500 cr

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2025

Indian corporates collectively raised over Rs 17,500 crore from the domestic debt capital market through bond issuances on Tuesday. The issuances were led by Bharti Telecom's Rs 10,500 crore fundraise in two tranches, the largest by an Indian company in the domestic market so far in FY26.

Equity MF inflows fell 9% in Sep; gold, silver ETFs dazzled

Equity MF inflows fell 9% in Sep; gold, silver ETFs dazzled

Rediff.com   11 Oct 2025

Net inflows into equity mutual funds (MFs) moderated for the second straight month in September, declining 9 per cent during the month to Rs 30,422 crore. The slowdown came as redemptions from active equity schemes rose 30 per cent month-on-month (M-o-M) to a one-year high of around Rs 36,000 crore.

Multi-asset allocation funds outshine equity schemes over 3-year period

Multi-asset allocation funds outshine equity schemes over 3-year period

Rediff.com   10 Oct 2025

Multi-asset allocation funds (MAAFs) have emerged as strong performers among mutual funds (MFs), rivalling medium-term returns from traditional equity categories while maintaining a lower risk profile. Over the past three years, average returns for this segment have surpassed those of flexicap and largecap funds, for both lump sum and systematic investment plan (SIP) investments.

Bullion boom aids ETF assets cross Rs 1 trn

Bullion boom aids ETF assets cross Rs 1 trn

Rediff.com   9 Oct 2025

The gold and silver holdings of domestic mutual funds (MFs) crossed the Rs 1 trillion mark for the first time in September, powered by a blistering commodity rally that lifted precious metal prices and drew fresh inflows into dedicated MF schemes.

RBI in no hurry to launch digital currency nationwide

RBI in no hurry to launch digital currency nationwide

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2025

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in no rush to launch the central bank digital currency (CBDC) nationwide, as its most promising use case - cross-border payments - depends on other countries rolling out their own CBDCs simultaneously for the system to work effectively. That said, the CBDC pilot is progressing well, with the user base in India expanding to about seven million, said RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar.

MFs ease exit load to attract investors

MFs ease exit load to attract investors

Rediff.com   3 Oct 2025

The competitive intensity in the mutual fund (MF) industry is moving beyond scheme performance, cost structures, and distribution. In recent months, several fund houses have rationalised exit loads applicable on redemptions.

Banks can now fund India Inc's M&A drive

Banks can now fund India Inc's M&A drive

Rediff.com   2 Oct 2025

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday met the long-standing demand of banks by allowing them to finance acquisitions by Indian companies, a move that also expands banks' capital market lending in the country.

Tata Capital eyes Rs 1.38 trn mcap in largest NBFC IPO

Tata Capital eyes Rs 1.38 trn mcap in largest NBFC IPO

Rediff.com   30 Sep 2025

Tata Capital is set to launch India's largest ever initial public offering (IPO) by a non-banking financial company (NBFC), valuing the Tata group firm at Rs 1.38 trillion. This will make the company India's fifth-most-valued NBFC after Bajaj Finance (Rs 6.12 trillion), Bajaj Finserv (Rs 3.2 trillion), Jio Financial Services (Rs 1.87 trillion), and IRFC (Rs 1.59 trillion).

Smallcap Schemes Stage Comeback

Smallcap Schemes Stage Comeback

Rediff.com   26 Sep 2025

This marks a rebound after more than two years of underperformance during a strong rally in smallcap stocks.

UPI Boom Drives Down Cash Demand

UPI Boom Drives Down Cash Demand

Rediff.com   25 Sep 2025

UPI crossed 20 billion monthly transactions for the first time in August 2025, with a transaction value of Rs 24.85 trillion.

Balanced advantage funds tilt towards equities, again

Balanced advantage funds tilt towards equities, again

Rediff.com   23 Sep 2025

Balanced advantage funds (BAFs), which adjust between stocks and bonds depending on market conditions, have increased their equity holdings over the past year, with most schemes now predominantly invested in equities.

'No Indian insurer can ignore bancassurance'

'No Indian insurer can ignore bancassurance'

Rediff.com   8 Sep 2025

'While we expand into other areas, banca remains our primary channel, and we continue to be a banca-led organisation.'

Tax cut may bolster credit growth in H2

Tax cut may bolster credit growth in H2

Rediff.com   5 Sep 2025

After a subdued first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26), banks are now betting big on the festive season, rolling out attractive loan offers to boost credit growth in the second half of the current financial year (H2FY26) - a trend likely to be further accentuated by the second-order effects of the good services tax (GST) cuts.

India Inc lukewarm to bank loans

India Inc lukewarm to bank loans

Rediff.com   4 Sep 2025

Despite corporate bond yields hardening by 20-25 basis points, Indian corporates are not warming up to bank funding for their capital expenditure needs as bank lending rates remain elevated due to the higher cost of liabilities, compared to current rates in the debt capital market.

Can UPI Stay Free Forever?

Can UPI Stay Free Forever?

Rediff.com   2 Sep 2025

Several executives argue that UPI has the potential to grow tenfold, but warn that the absence of a monetisation model risks stagnating the real-time payments system, which has been recording all-time-high transaction volumes every year.