The Indian IT services sector is staring at a second consecutive year of muted revenue growth due to modest increase in tech spends in Europe and the US, a domestic rating agency said on Wednesday. Crisil Ratings said it expects the sector to grow at 5-7 per cent in FY25, after a growth of 6 per cent estimated to have been achieved in FY24. The overall industry size is pegged at $250 billion and it creates over 50 lakh direct jobs.
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.
While the capital spending is being maintained at 3.1 per cent of the GDP, a little more would have boosted economic growth even further, suggests Rajiv Memani.
Growth in corporate profits needs to be commensurate with wages to boost the economy, Economic Survey 2024-25 said, noting that sharp disparities between the two pose risk to the economy by curbing demand. The document tabled in Parliament on Friday noted that while the labour share of GVA (gross value added) shows a slight uptick, the disproportionate rise in corporate profitsredominantly among large firmsaises concerns about income inequality.
'The Budget must be pro-growth, focusing on infrastructure creation while also managing the fiscal deficit.'
'He has been one of the clearest thinkers in the history of business.'
Most analysts have downgraded the stock of SBI Cards and Payments (SBI Card) as the credit card issuer posted weak results during the December quarter (Q3) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The sub-par show, analysts said, was for the eighth straight quarter. With this, they have slashed their earnings estimates by as much as 20 per cent over FY24-26 amid near-term pressure points in the company's growth outlook.
'Make-in-India played a key role in India's effective action against terrorism during Operation Sindoor.'
The Reserve Bank on Monday said asset quality of banks improved further and their gross non-performing assets (GNPA) or bad loans ratio declined to a 12-year low of 2.6 per cent in September 2024 on the back of falling slippages and steady credit demand. The RBI also flagged concern over a sharp rise in write-offs, especially among private sector banks (PVBs), which could be partly masking worsening asset quality in unsecured lending segment and dilution in underwriting standards.
India's real estate market is poised for growth across categories - residential, commercial, and rental. Currently valued at Rs 24 trillion, or about $300 billion, it is projected to surge to $1.3 trillion by 2034, and then grow further to $5.17 trillion by 2047, indicates a report by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai).
Towards the end of February, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restored the risk weighting on banks loans to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs; including to microfinance institutions, or MFIs) to 100 - back to its November 2023 position - from 125. It is only a partial relief though. "Higher risk weighting on unsecured lending continues to be in place while the same on bank funding to NBFCs has been done away with. "This is a positive step by RBI," says Rajiv Sabharwal, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Tata Capital.
With the RBI infusing Rs 7.5 lakh crore in liquidity -- and possibly more in the future -- the short- to medium-term corporate bond market is expected to benefit.
Moody's Investor Service on Tuesday said banks' exposures to Adani are not large enough to affect their credit quality materially. "While we estimate that the exposures are larger for public sector banks than for private sector banks, they are smaller than 1 per cent of total loans for most banks," it said. "Risks for banks can increase if Adani becomes more reliant on bank loans."
While MBBS continues to be the most sought-after stream for medical aspirants, post pandemic, the demand for skilled nurses and physiotherapists are on the rise, notes Nayagam PP, career counsellor and founder of EduJob360.
'Entering India is exciting, but it's also challenging. You have to be prepared for long-term investment.'
German carmaker Volkswagen will be driving in its two globally acclaimed performance models Golf GTI and Tiguan R-line in India as part of its steps to enhance brand positioning in the country, a senior company official said on Monday.
Despite the dominance of AI, creativity and innovation are the most in-demand skills, reveal LinkedIn's Skills On The Rise 2025 report.
Retail investors have been the hardest hit in the recent market downturn, with stocks where they hold over 20% falling 45% from their 52-week highs.
Defying the bearish sentiment in the markets on Monday, ICICI Bank's share price rose by 2 per cent, reaching an intraday high of Rs 1,234.4 per share on the BSE. With a 1.5 per cent gain at the close, the stock emerged as the top performer on both the BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 indices.
'Cancer incidence is projected to increase by 12.8 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020, necessitating more dedicated cancer treatment centres and specialised beds.'
Dr Sneha Tirpude, pulmonologist at Pune's Ruby Hall Clinic, suggests simple measures to protect your lungs when the air quality is poor.
'The way the bank is doing in the past 4-5 quarters, no reason to see why we will not be able to achieve that.'
In the hottest sector of AI, where most global VC funding is going currently, the country's record has not been anything to write home about.
South Indian filmmakers have kept their focus on the single-screen cinemagoer. They have kept their finger on the pulse of the single-screen cinema fan, who goes to movies once a month or more, to forget his weekly chores, explains Ambi Parameswaran.
Leading passenger vehicle maker Maruti Suzuki on Saturday reported marginal growth while Hyundai and Tata Motors posted a decline in their sales in February as a slowdown in the market continued with demand remaining muted. On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra and Toyota Kirloskar Motor posted double-digit growth riding on their SUV and MPV models.
618 companies were part of the billion dollar club when the markets reached all-time highs on September 26, 2024. That number has fallen to 500 following a $1 trillion wipeout in India's market capitalisation amid relentless selling by FPIs.
A lower risk appetite among investors has driven gold, traditionally a safe-haven asset, to record highs so far this year. Fuelled by geopolitical tensions in West Asia, robust demand from central banks - particularly in Asia - and US President Donald Trump's tariff volleys, spot gold touched an all-time high of $2,956 per ounce on February 24 in the international markets.
The time is ideal for a 'Dream Budget' akin to the 1991 reforms that sparked high growth and unlocked significant gains in productivity, points out Rajeswari Sengupta.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
The Uttar Pradesh government, citing a scientist, has asserted that Ganga water at the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj is as pure as "alkaline water", debunking concerns raised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) about water quality. The government claims that a scientist found no bacterial growth or decline in the water's pH level, despite millions of devotees bathing in the river. However, experts caution that the quality of the Ganga water is not static and can vary greatly depending on various factors.
The FMCG industry hopes for a revival in consumption growth in 2025 with some 'green shoots' already visible, after having a challenging year amid escalating input costs and a double-digit rise in food inflation, which ultimately slowed down the pace of the urban market growth in the second half of 2024. Soaring prices of commodities such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa and wheat forced FMCG players to go for a hike of 3 to 5 per cent or resort to shrinkflation by reducing pack sizes and grammage to retain attractive price points, fearing a volume loss.
Food budgets in urban areas spent less on protein as compared to beverages and processed foods, reveals the Household Consumption Expenditure survey data for 2023-24.
Tata group retail firm Trent Ltd reported a 34 percent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 496.54 crore in the December quarter, helped by the expansion of the store network and increase in attractive value propositions. The company's consolidated revenue from operations grew 34.32 per cent to Rs 4,656.56 crore during the quarter under review. Trent is also pursuing store portfolio optimization, which involves upgrading or consolidating smaller footprint stores with newer stores in more attractive micro markets.
'By March-end, we should have closure of the PNC portfolio. After completion of PNC acquisition.'
'You must be good at using AI as a tool of learning but do not give up your own critical thinking.'
Kotak Mahindra Bank's net interest margin is likely to swell after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted its restrictions on the private lender that barred it from issuing fresh credit cards and onboarding new customers through digital mode, brokerages said on Thursday. The bank's net interest margin (NIM) has seen a decline of over 35 basis points (bps) since the restrictions were imposed by the regulator in April 2024.
Amidst growing panic over Trump's ban on Harvard's international student enrolment, overseas education consultants have this advice for Indian students.
K L Rahul has turned the wheels in a manner only a batter blessed with skill-set as his can.
'We saw 581 chocolate orders per minute and 324 rose orders per minute.'
The stocks are largely from sectors such as chemicals, finance and cement, which struggled earlier but the worse seems to be behind them.