'The focus needs to shift towards the ability to collect payments, particularly in tier-3 to tier-4 areas where acceptance is still lacking.'
US-based retail giant Walmart will connect one lakh more MSMEs in the next three years to its supplier development programme in India, a company official said here on Thursday. The programme, Walmart Vriddhi, has partnered with Ideas to Impact Foundation (i2i), which will enable more MSMEs to expand their access to both national and international markets, helped by the combined strengths of Walmart's global supply chain and Flipkart's e-commerce capabilities.
Nitin Gadkari said AI will be used to detect landslides, waterlogging and accident-prone spots on highways, while highlighting logistics cost cuts and road safety initiatives
With digital adoption fast gaining currency, India is likely to see retail digital payments double to $7 trillion by 2030 from current levels, a study by Kearney and Amazon Pay said. In the report 'How Urban India Pays', Kearney-Amazon Pay said strong adoption of digital payments in online purchases has potentially led to a permanent shift in consumer behaviours, fuelling offline adoption as well.
The information technology (IT) services industry may be headed for another year of sluggish growth. Based on the results of the top five IT services companies for the first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26), analysts say the possibility of hitting high single-digit revenue growth in FY26 looks unlikely.
'Techies who did a master's there and moved to US companies look down on Indian companies who they consider as just doing body shopping.'
'It was like rigorously preparing for a solid, good exam...' 'I don't know what marks I will get, but I felt the rigorous preparation of an exam.' 'You may sweat, but I feel rejuvenated.'
With demand for information-technology (IT) services in North America still sluggish, Europe has become a source of optimism for Indian companies because it is delivering steady gains over the past two years and continuing to outperform in the latest quarter. Yet analysts caution a full-scale revival will require a rebound in the United States (US), particularly in manufacturing, retail, and BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance), because Europe contributes only about a third of the revenues.
Singapore's state investor Temasek Holdings, which recently picked up 10 per cent stake in Haldiram, has been consistently expanding its footprint in India while slowly withdrawing from China over the last three years amid growing geopolitical risks and economic headwinds. India has become Temasek's third-largest market, after Singapore (27 per cent) and China (18 per cent), with its exposure to the country higher than the rest of Asia Pacific excluding the three (11 per cent), according to Temasek's annual review.
Jio BlackRock Asset Management Pvt Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) and US-based BlackRock, has received regulatory approval from the capital market regulator Sebi to commence operations as an investment manager for its mutual fund business. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), vide letter dated May 26, 2025, has granted the certificate of registration to 'Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund' and approval to Jio BlackRock Asset Management Private Limited to act as the Asset Management Company for Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund, JFSL said in a regulatory filing.
Valuations at current levels have historically corresponded single-digit returns.
'In the luxury car segment, the adoption of EVs is almost double compared to the mass market.'
Raising toast to 25 successful years, India's largest wine maker Sula Vineyard is eyeing a sustained double-digit growth in revenue over the next five years, buoyed by growth in the premium and elite categories and expansion of its new ranges. It was during Covid that the vineyards shifted focus to its own brands and pivoted towards growing the premium and elite segment of the market.
The textile and apparel sector is India's second-largest employment provider, after agriculture, and it is now caught in a wave of uncertainty following the Donald Trump administration's tariff policy.
Small and midcaps are leading the charge in the latest market rebound. Since November 21, when the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty hit their recent lows and slipped into correction territory, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index has risen by 8 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 has gained 5.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 index has risen by 4.7 per cent during this period.
rediffGURU Nayagam PP, career counsellor and the founder of EduJob360, counsels students and aspiring professionals about how they can make the right career decision.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that his "vocal for local" campaign is bearing fruit as Indian products are going global and making their presence felt across the world. He said that India was becoming the land of infinite innovations, finding affordable solutions and offering them to the world. The prime minister also highlighted the country's rising defense products, electronics, automobile sector, and the success of superfoods, Ayush products, and yoga. He said India should be presented to the world as it is, without any bias. Modi said that the country was now emerging as a manufacturing hub and a "factory of the world." He added that India was creating solutions that were affordable, accessible, and adaptable, and offering them to the world without gatekeeping.
Amazon's latest Prime Day sale event broke records with over 18,000 orders per minute - a 50 per cent jump from 2024. Nearly 70 per cent of new memberships came from Tier-III cities.
IPOs have been the flavour of the season for some time. But the coming together of three mega IPOs, from diverse businesses and historic relevance, could tell a story that's still in the making, points out Nivedita Mookerji.
At 8,700 screens, India, the world's largest film producing country, has just six screens for every million of its people, compared to 125 in the US and 30 in China. With Sitaare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan hopes to expand the market for Indian cinema.
The era where nations thrived through rigid alignments is giving way to an age where the connective State defines power. For India, that era has arrived, points out Dr Nishakant Ojha.
Showcasing India as an attractive investment destination, Modi said the country has political and economic stability as well as transparency and predictability in policy decisions.
'There are still plenty of jobs out there -- but not enough people with the right skills to fill them.'
India's e-commerce market alone is projected to reach $200 billion by 2026, making it a prime industry for ambitious entrepreneurs, explains rediffGURU Harsh Bharwani.
While a giant, it's a nimble-footed one, and is growing at a speed that even some of its private sector peers find enviable.
Between FY18 and FY24, it doubled its balance sheet. Despite being a late entrant in some segments, it has been able to grab market share, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
In a major initiative, Pakistan has announced the establishment of its first government-backed Strategic Bitcoin reserve as it invited investment in the country's crypto markets.
Office space owners are looking at good times ahead as rentals are expected to rise due to demand for Grade A office spaces outpacing supply that has been sluggish due to construction delays, long gestation periods and developers' interests shifting to residential.
Those looking to reskill or upskill are signing up for courses covering the fundamentals of AI and machine learning, design basics, GenAI use cases for software development, and coding in various languages.
India and the UK on Thursday inked a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) that will cut tariffs on British whisky, cars and an array of items, besides boosting bilateral trade by around $34 billion annually.
'While investors need to be prepared for making some losses, they should not lose big money chasing euphoria amid fear of missing out.'
Trumponomics, poor growth, and high valuation certainly don't make a bullish recipe for Indian markets, warns Debashis Basu.
'Investors who remain calm, consistent, and disciplined through short-term volatility are usually the ones who benefit most in the long run.'
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.
News broadcaster NDTV Ltd on Friday reported a 59 per cent jump in March quarter revenue as it expanded digital footprint, gaining a 39 per cent rise in traffic. Consolidated net loss of Rs 8.74 crore in January-March compared with loss of Rs 1.35 crore profit in the same period a year back, according to a stock exchange filing by the company. Loss, however, narrowed from Rs 10.13 crore in the December quarter as its digital footprint expanded and gained traction.
Amazon will invest more than Rs 2,000 crore (about $233 million) in India in 2025 as it strengthens its logistics and safety standards, said the ecommerce company on Thursday.
Hiring activity has gained momentum in anticipation of upcoming festivals like Raksha Bandhan, Dussehra, Diwali, seasonal sales and the wedding season.
The rapid rise of quick commerce is anticipated to create a substantial increase in the need for blue-collar workers, with India projected to require 2.4 million jobs by 2027, according to job matching and hiring platform Indeed. Quick commerce companies hired over 40,000 employees in the last quarter to handle increased festive shopping and e-commerce demand, Indeed India Sales Head Sashi Kumar said.
From event planning to digital arts, career coach Nayagam PP offers a list of exciting courses you can pursue after Class 12.
'We continue to view India as a standout within EM.'
The proposed reforms in goods and services tax (GST) announced by the government last week, coupled with the eighth pay commission dole-out, is likely to push consumption-driven stocks - such as air conditioners (ACs), select automobiles, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and counters of quick-service restaurants (QSRs) - into higher orbit over the next few months, believe analysts.
