Festive sales are expected to surge 27 per cent to cross Rs 120,000 crore in 2025, driving Amazon and Flipkart to expand warehousing capacity by millions of cubic feet and extend delivery networks to thousands of new pin codes -- an infrastructure buildout that could reshape India's retail landscape for years.
According to the 66th round of National Sample Survey carried out between July 2009 and June 2010, all India average monthly per capita consumer expenditure in rural areas was Rs 1,054 and urban areas Rs 1,984.
The projections in the cement industry are mixed. Prices and demand remained muted in the third quarter (October & November) and short term uptick doesn't seem likely. However, the second quarter of the financial year 2026 (Q2FY26) was good year-on-year (Y-o-Y) for many cement majors aided by base effect, and some analysts expect acceleration in earnings and volume in the next financial year, again aided by base effect.
Trai has ordered BFSI firms to move service and transaction calls to the 1600 series from 2026 to reduce spam, financial fraud, and rising digital arrest scams.
The average Indian worker must labour for an extraordinary 160 full working days to afford Apple's latest iPhone 17 Pro.
The demand for passenger vehicles (PVs) is expected to sustain even beyond the ongoing festival season as a new set of customers, those who gained confidence to buy cars following the recent GST rate cuts, will begin to visit dealerships now, said Shailesh Chandra, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), on Wednesday.
The Indian insurance industry is set to focus on customer-centric technological adoption and expansion into rural areas to drive growth in 2025.
While GST on ICE vehicles was brought down significantly, for electric cars it remained at 5 per cent.
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
The Voter Adhikar Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav before the Bihar Assembly polls, failed to deliver electoral gains for the Mahagathbandhan, with the NDA winning across its route.
RBI to issue discussion paper on new licence conditions this week.
'I realised why the farmers and the rural folks are going for Trump. They are so insecure and vulnerable that anybody who is throwing a line of hope to them, they seize it.'
India's extreme poverty rate declined sharply to 5.3 per cent over a decade from 27.1 per cent in 2011-12 even as the World Bank revised upwards its threshold poverty line to $3 per day.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
'His willingness to take the initiative to fight for truth and justice and his willingness to cross swords with anyone for a just cause.'
Labour markets showed positive momentum in August as the unemployment rate fell for the second consecutive month to a four-month low of 5.1 per cent from 5.2 per cent in July. It was on account of the start of the sowing season.
The Congress-led UDF secured a decisive victory in Kerala's local body elections, dealing a blow to the LDF, while the BJP gained significant ground, including winning control of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
Consumer goods firms and auto companies are witnessing an upturn in rural demand, which had been lagging for most of FY24. Expectations of a bumper rabi crop harvest have helped turn the tide. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged last week, noting that as rural demand catches up, consumption is expected to support economic growth in 2024-25.
'4 lakh to 5 lakh people graduating in computer science getting jobs in software companies will not happen.'
According to the TeamLease Services April-September FY'14 Employment Outlook Report, there is a 4 per cent rise in the employment outlook index to 79 when compared to the previous half year (October 2012 to March 2013), when it stood at 75.
After four failed reform drives, a new plan aims to rescue India's debt-laden power discoms through privatisation, accountability and long-term financial fixes.
A new report highlights the financial dependence, health challenges, and social isolation faced by India's elderly population, calling for greater support and inclusion.
Top Indian cement firms are expected to report a strong earnings growth for the second quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (Q2FY26) on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, amid improved realisations, prices, and steady volume growth, but on a low base.
The police first information report (FIR) against suspended Congress MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil alleged that he raped the complainant multiple times even when she was pregnant.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has approached the Supreme Court, contesting the legality of the Election Commission's order for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, alleging it is arbitrary and unconstitutional.
The share of life insurance policies sold by top private insurers in the rural areas declined in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) compared to previous year. SBI Life, HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance -- the top three players from the private sector-- have seen the share of insurance policies sold in rural areas drop in FY24 as compared to the previous financial year. Max Life Insurance's share of rural policies recorded an increase in FY24.
'A majority of filmmakers cannot truly understand the city because they don't live here,' says Anusha Rizvi, Director, The Great Shamsuddin Family.
'China reduced its exports of urea to India gradually.' 'In 2020-2021 we imported 28 lakh tonnes of urea which reduced to 16 lakh tonnes in 2022-2023 and that has now reduced to 1 lakh tonnes in 2024-2025.'
The rate of unemployment in the country declined to 5.2 per cent in July from 5.6 per cent in June, a government survey said on Monday. The unemployment rate (UR) in May was also 5.6 per cent, said the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
In spite of Budget's rural focus, the government has consistently stumbled in agriculture, says Shreekant Sambrani.
Canadian firm Manulife and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), an Indian automaker with interests in financial services, have signed an agreement to form a 50:50 life insurance joint venture (JV) with a total capital commitment of up to Rs 3,600 crore each totalling Rs 7,200 crore.
In the June 16 advisory, the US urged its citizens to exercise "increased caution" due to crime and rape, and advised them not to travel to certain parts of central and eastern parts of the country due to terrorism.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are expected to report mid-single-digit revenue growth in the July-September 2025-26 quarter, according to their quarterly updates. Most companies also noted that supply chains were focused on liquidating existing stock ahead of the implementation of new goods and services tax (GST) rates in categories where the tax was lowered.
'We are seeing signs of improvement in rural overall in terms of demand, but I would still keep my fingers crossed.'
'The informal sector can grow at a 100 per cent rate -- we have to plan big.'
More than 25 crore workers engaged in sectors ranging from banking, insurance, postal to coal mining, highway and construction are expected to go on a nationwide general strike on Wednesday, potentially disrupting services across the country. A forum of 10 central trade unions and their associates has called for a general strike or 'Bharat Bandh' to "oppose the anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the government".
Adani Group said on Friday it will invest around Rs 1 trillion in various sectors of Andhra Pradesh over the next ten years, deepening its commitment in the state where it will partner with Google for an artificial intelligence (AI) hub in Visakhapatnam.
The return on investment (RoI) from technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) will take time to materialise, and the immediate priority should be to increase spending on building governance frameworks around AI, top bank executives said.
Private sector banks slipped in market capitalisation (mcap) during the July-September quarter, underperforming their government-owned peers as trade uncertainties dragged market sentiment, said S&P Global Market Intelligence. According to its analysis, HDFC Bank shed 4.8 per cent in mcap during the third quarter, while ICICI Bank's dropped 6.7 per cent.
While companies have not launched too many products in rural areas of late, easy financing has helped push up demand.
