Wholesale price inflation eased to 2.05 per cent in March, as against 2.38 per cent in February, government data showed on Tuesday. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation, however, rose year-on-year.
The proposed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to be issued by the Reserve Bank will play a critical role in improving the speed of transactions and reducing the cost of cash, a Deloitte report said on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India is planning to come out with a central bank-backed digital currency, using blockchain technology in 2022-23. As a financial services innovation, CBDCs are likely to play a pivotal role in shaping the 'future of value transfer', the report said, adding that most central banks worldwide are now in various stages of their evaluation of launching their national digital currencies.
While India has become the largest data generating nation, and hosts more than 152 data centres, it is fed by only 18 undersea cables.
Non-banking entities such as fintech firms will have to tap into use cases beyond peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions to scale up the presence of the retail version of the central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is also known as the e, said industry players. These use cases will enable programmable transactions across domains, including the government's direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes, with subsidies restricted to specific purposes such as food coupons, hospital bills, fertilisers, pesticides, and cross-border remittances.
'Binary fission will happen -- startups will lead to more startups.'
The Reliance Industries' digital services company Jio Platforms Limited has signed an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink's broadband internet services to its customers in India, the company said on Wednesday. The agreement is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisation to sell Starlink in India. The development came a day after Jio's rival Bharti Airtel signed a similar pact with SpaceX.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday identified agriculture, education and health as three sectors where he believes technology can play a big role, and highlighted efforts of his government.
'In this age of competition, we will not survive long if we do not provide quality service to our consumers'
The hoarding of cash accentuated from the very start of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic started taking hold the world over, and fear of the pandemic prodded people to remain liquid for emergency use.
'The rise in SIP contributions has created a pool of long-term MF assets that can be pledged for loans.'
BMW Group India is unfazed by the prospect of Tesla entering the electric vehicle market here and feels it will help grow the segment, according to its Managing Director and CEO Vikram Pawah. The group, which sold a total of 1,249 units of electric cars in India across two brands -- BMW and MINI -- has already sold 646 units in the first quarter of 2025 and is keeping its forecast of 15 per cent of its total sales in India coming from EVs, Pawah told PTI in an interview.
India's Venture Capital (VC) ecosystem exhibited robust growth in 2024, with funding surging 43 per cent year-on-year to $13.7 billion, according to a report. This recovery was fuelled by a 45 per cent rise in deal activity, with 1,270 transactions recorded, reinforcing India's position as the second largest market for venture capital and growth funding in the Asia-Pacific region, the report by Bain & Company and IVCA said.
The only silver lining in March's performance -- which otherwise dragged down the financial year's momentum -- was a 6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth compared to March of the previous year. This is largely due to incentives, festival-driven gains, and new launches.
'There's no transparency in work (of the Wakf Board), in property transactions (of the Waqf).'
After cement, billionaire Gautam Adani's group and Kumar Mangalam Birla's Aditya Birla Group are set for a face-off in the wires and cable business with both conglomerates announcing forays into the high double-digit growth sector.
India's largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services on Thursday reported a 1.68 per cent dip in its consolidated net profit to Rs 12,224 crore for the March 2025 quarter. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - whose earnings marked the official start of IT results season - reported a total revenue of Rs 64,479 crore in Q4 FY25, up 5.3 per cent over the year-ago period.
The government on Tuesday notified the Rs 22,919 crore scheme to promote domestic manufacturing of electronics components, display and camera modules, non-surface mount devices, multi-layer printed circuit boards and lithium-ion cells for digital applications, among others. The scheme is likely to be operationalised in the next 2-3 weeks.
'What is working is quality management, great teams, engineers, platforms, and highly differentiated services.'
India's second-largest IT company Infosys on Thursday reported an 11.7 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 7,033 crore for the March quarter. It had posted a profit (attributable to owners of the company) of Rs 7,969 crore in the year-ago period.
It has been a slow year for the Indian media and entertainment (M&E) business. After two years of double-digit growth, it grew at just about 8 per cent in 2023 over 2022. It now stands at Rs 2.33 trillion in advertising and pay revenues.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday permitted banks to increase charges on ATM cash withdrawals beyond the mandatory free monthly usage by Rs 2 to Rs 23 per transaction from May 1.
Apple grew at a strong double-digit rate in India, hitting a new March quarter revenue record in an "incredibly exciting market", even though the tech titan's overall quarterly revenue declined 4 per cent. Apple's India showing earned praises from CEO Tim Cook who described the market here as a "major focus" and said Apple is working on the entire ecosystem from developer to the market to operations. The top honcho said he is "very pleased" with the growth numbers.
Intuitively solving a problem like multiplying 43 by 11, they might first multiply 43 by 10, and then add 43, reaching the final answer of 473.
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Finance Bill 2025, along with 35 government amendments, including one that abolishes a 6 per cent digital tax on online advertisements.
The Karnataka government is planning to levy a fee of 1-2 per cent on aggregator platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Flipkart, Amazon, Uber, etc., a government source said on Friday, adding that an announcement in this regard could come following a sub-committee meeting next week. "There is a sub-committee meeting scheduled in the coming week.
From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Zomato, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Titan were the biggest gainers. Tata Motors tanked over 5.5 per cent after US President Donald Trump announced he would impose 25 per cent tariffs on imported cars. Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the laggards.
Some major contracts coming up for renewal include TCS' deals with Star Alliance, a consortium of airlines based in Germany, and Nielsen; Infosys' deals with GE Appliances and Daimler; HCLTech's with UK-based life insurer Chesnara; Wipro's with German electric utility company E.ON and Petrobras of Brazil; and Tech Mahindra's with Circle Health.
More than 30 technology startups, collectively valued at $100 billion, are poised to go public by 2027, signalling a potential rebound in India's stock market activity, according to a report by investment bank The Rainmaker Group. Walmart-owned Flipkart, financial technology (fintech) leader PhonePe, SoftBank-backed Lenskart, Razorpay, Zetwerk, and Meesho are among the top companies preparing to go public in India.
'The TMC can't go on forever taking advantage of the people's fright of the BJP.'
New India Assurance and Niva Bupa have invested in the Bima Sugam India Federation.
With the rapid evolution of channels like quick-commerce and the emergence of ONDC, the Indian retail industry is 'cautiously optimistic' for 2025, in which new-age technologies such as AI and automation will play a crucial role, driving efficiency and personalisation.
By democratising access to finance, empowering women and marginalised groups, and adapting to India's diverse regional landscapes, PMMY has helped fortify the country's grassroots growth engines, says Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, V Anantha Nageswaran.
Retail inflation dipped marginally to a nearly six-year low of 3.34 per cent in March due to a decline in prices of vegetables and protein-rich items. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 3.61 per cent in February and 4.85 per cent in March last year.
French auto major Renault on Monday said it will buy out its Japanese partner Nissan's stake in their Indian joint venture -- Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd. Renault Group would own 100 per cent of Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd (RNAIPL), by acquiring the 51 per cent shareholding currently held by Nissan, the company said in a statement.
IT services firm Wipro's revenue is likely to increase by about 4.5 per cent in FY26, mainly driven by favourable sectoral trends and recovery in discretionary customer spending, according to global rating agency Fitch.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Thursday said India will need at least 20,000 pilots in the coming years to meet the rising air-travel demand in the country -- one of the world's fastest growing aviation market. Addressing a gathering at the UDAAN Bhawan here following the launch of Electronic Personnel License (EPL) for pilots, the Minister said aviation has always been the backbone of connectivity, economic growth, and technological advancements.
'With a very stable technology with limited functionalities, a large network has spanned out.'
Despite the demonetisation of 2016 and the rise in digital transactions that followed, the economy's dependence on cash has remained as high as ever. So when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced a pilot project of its version of digital cash - called the central bank digital currency (CBDC) - on December 1, many questions were asked. Can the CBDC replace physical cash, even partially? Can it match cash in terms of convenience? Are CBDC transactions truly anonymous?
After several years of consolidation and price weakness, the cement industry may be moving towards a more stable phase. Pan-Indian, average cement prices have risen through the past three months consecutively.
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