If you have seen Zwigato, Param Kumar's story will sound familiar. Laid off from his job as a repairman at a Gurugram-based water purifier provider, he now delivers groceries and food for a mobile-based delivery app, in Delhi. Kumar, who started making deliveries last August, told Business Standard that he is working longer hours than his older salaried job as an RO repairman, and has no paid leaves or health insurance. Kumar is part of India's estimated 7.7 million-strong force of gig workers.
All six members of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy committee (MPC) expressed caution over food inflation during the December review, while two external members warned about high real interest rates as headline inflation approaches its target of 4 per cent. The central bank continued to maintain the status quo on both the repo rate and the stance in the December monetary policy. India's retail inflation in November rose to 5.5 per cent - its fastest pace in three months - due to higher food prices.
The purple carpet was rolled out for the OTTplay Awards 2023.
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, by a 3:2 majority, on Tuesday upheld one of the adoption regulations prohibiting unmarried and queer couples from adopting children.
Shares of HDFC Bank will witness massive inflows totalling $600 million from passive trackers this week, predict analysts. This influx is attributed to the rebalancing activities in the S&B BSE Sensex and the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) indices. The Sensex is set for its quarterly rebalancing act on September 15 (date of adjustment), resulting in inflows of $102 million (approximately Rs 850 crore).
Sharif, the three-time former premier, said that there is a need for all the political parties to sit together and form a government to pull Pakistan out of its difficulties.
Kharge said the leaders of INDIA parties have come together as democracy is under threat under the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
Housing sales rose 36 per cent year-on-year to a record 120,280 units across seven major cities during the July-September period on robust demand amid stable mortgage rate, according to Anarock. Housing sales stood at 88,230 units in the year-ago period across the seven major cities. Releasing the data, real estate consultant Anarock said average housing prices across the seven cities grew 11 per cent annually in the July-September period this year.
From the Sensex pack, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, Nestle, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and ITC were the major laggards. Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Titan and ICICI Bank were among the major gainers.
India's industrial production growth rose to a five-month high of 5.7 per cent in July, mainly due to good showing by the manufacturing, mining and power sectors, according to the official data released on Tuesday. The factory output growth measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) stood at 2.2 per cent in July 2022. The previous high was recorded at six per cent growth in February 2023. Thereafter, the growth rate declined to 1.9 per cent in March 2023 before rising to 4.6 per cent in April and further to 5.3 per cent in May.
Leading stock exchange BSE on Tuesday postponed the removal of Jio Financial Services Ltd, the demerged non-banking financial services unit of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group, from all the S&P BSE Indices to August 29. Earlier, the stock was scheduled to be removed from the indices on August 24. Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) got listed on the bourses on Monday and hit the lower circuit for the second day in a row on Tuesday.
With tailwinds of strong operational performance and favourable market conditions, InterGlobe Aviation on Wednesday reported a record profit after tax of Rs 3,090.6 crore in the three months ended June. The parent of the country's largest airline also reported its highest-ever quarterly total income of Rs 17,160.9 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal, according to a release. The carrier, which had 316 planes in its fleet at the end of June 2023, had registered a loss of Rs 1,064.3 crore in the 2022 June quarter.
Vedanta Resources (VRL), the diversified mining company headquartered in London, is giving final touches to a plan to raise up to $2.5 billion (about Rs 20,800 crore) as debt repayment deadlines near. The company owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal plans to do this by a combination of instruments, including issuing preference shares in the holding company to a slew of offshore investors from West Asia, and taking on another loan to refinance older debt at a higher interest rate. VRL, which is the group's holding company, is also looking to sell part of its 63.71 per cent stake in the Indian listed subsidiary Vedanta Ltd to meet funding requirements, said a banker close to the development.
A strong performance in the July-September quarter of 2023-24 (Q2FY24), an upward revision in the margin guidance and sustained momentum in US sales has helped the stock of pharmaceutical major Cipla gain about 2 per cent over the last two trading sessions. The brokerages have upgraded the earnings estimates for this financial year (FY24) by 6-9 per cent to factor in the improved margin guidance and sales in the US market. Led by the US market, which rose by 31 per cent, the company posted a 16 per cent growth in revenues.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had on May 11 reserved its verdict on the pleas after a marathon hearing of 10 days.
Deepa Gahlot picks 10 Web series that was worth the viewer's while.
Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of former premier Nawaz Sharif, is expected to become Pakistan's new prime minister as the coalition of leading political parties led by them is set to comfortably cross the simple majority mark to form the next government after elections produced a split mandate.
Shares of real estate firms have been outperforming over the past year. The rally, analysts say, may hit roadblocks in the near term amid stretched valuations, even as the long-term prospects for the sector remain ebullient. "Most of the positive news flow is already in the price. Hence, investors sitting on hefty profits may partially cash out at current levels," suggests V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
As the market buzzes with news of Cipla promoters exiting the business through a stake sale and Ahmedabad-based Mehta family-led Torrent Pharmaceuticals racing to acquire its rival, Cipla, an analysis reveals that if the deal were to go through, both companies might need to divest as many as 15 brands to comply with Competition Commission of India (CCI) norms. A recent analysis by Bernstein shows that Cipla and Torrent share a presence in 332 products (based on product and molecule data from market research firm IQVIA). Bernstein analysts Nithya Balasubramanian and Parth Shah noted that, while this may appear as a high number, a significant portion of these products lack significance.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, Nestle, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys were among the major gainers. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India were the major laggards.
Rescue officials confirmed casualties in the incident, claiming to have already recovered 5 bodies from the heap of debris where the cracker manufacturing unit once stood.
PHF sacks entire coaching staff of Pakistan men's team ahead of Asian Games
Back in the Press Briefing room on being commended for her questions to President Biden and the Indian prime minister, The Wall Street Journal's Sabrina Siddiqui responded, "You gotta do it."
Drug major Cipla on Tuesday said it has launched drone-powered deliveries of critical medicines - cardiac, respiratory and other essential chronic therapies - to hospitals and pharmacies across Himachal Pradesh in partnership with Skype Air Mobility, a Gurugram-based drone delivery company. Cipla is the first among large Indian pharmaceutical companies to adopt drone-based deliveries to facilitate expedited supply to stockists in remote areas, it claimed. The Mumbai-based firm said the use of drones will support the on-time delivery of its medicines to chemists and clinics in remote areas, and minimise risks of affecting cold chain products due to temperature excursions.
In the statement issued on Thursday, the commission said the violation of any order or directive of the commission is a punishable offence under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
All the global transitions are working in India's favour, giving it the potential to become a force in today's uncertain world, but one of the country's biggest challenges is inclusive growth, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Monday. In his address at the JRD Tata Oration, the head of the Tata group also asserted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay and it will be beneficial if India prepares for it. Post the cold war era of relative stability and prosperity, the world appears to have given way to unpredictable conflicts and economic uncertainty, he said, adding that the pandemic resulted in supply chain shocks of gigantic proportion.
The wholesale price-based inflation declined to 4.95 per cent in December 2022, mainly due to fall in prices of food articles and crude petroleum. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation was 5.85 per cent in November 2022 and 14.27 per cent in December 2021. Inflation in food articles was (-)1.25 per cent, while in fuel and power it was 18.09 per cent during December 2022.
The country's real GDP growth in the first quarter will be better than the Reserve Bank's estimate of 8 per cent, economists said on Tuesday. Economists at the country's largest lender SBI pegged the growth at 8.3 per cent while domestic rating agency Icra estimated it to come even higher at 8.5 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which expects the GDP to grow at 6.5 per cent in FY24, has estimated a growth of 8 per cent in the April-June period.
The company -- the first major IT services firms to announce such a move -- has asked its workforce to return to offices because of the need to deepen the value systems and a belief in productivity gains coming from co-working, TCS chief human resources officer Milind Lakkad told reporters.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India is going to indefinitely defer the internal deadline set for extending trading hours, according to sources in the know. The exchange aimed to introduce a three-hour evening session exclusively for index derivatives by March 2024, contingent upon regulatory clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Sources indicate that the market regulator has not provided a favourable indication, dimming optimism surrounding the proposal.
Ahead of the blockbuster India vs Pakistan clash, former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri backed the Indian team to emerge victorious over their arch-rivals.
England Test skipper Ben Stokes on Wednesday came out of ODI retirement to be included in the provisional squad for the 50-over World Cup
Check out the entertainment coming up on OTT in September.
India's industrial production rose to 5.2 per cent in May from 4.5 per cent in April 2023, mainly due to good performance by the manufacturing and mining sectors, according to the official data released on Wednesday. The factory output growth measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) stood at 19.7 per cent in May 2022, mainly due to a lower base effect. "The growth rates over corresponding period of previous year are to be interpreted, considering the unusual circumstances on account of COVID 19 pandemic since March 2020," an official statement explained.
Deepa Gahlot lists Hindi biopics about Indian political leaders: Some worked, some did not, but they managed to avoid controversy.
Upset about being snubbed by INDIA, Nitish Kumar is weighing his political options. BJP would like him back knowing that it would jolt the Opposition alliance, perhaps irreversibly.
Wipro was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, slipping nearly 2 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC and Bajaj Finserv. On the other hand, Nestle, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints and Maruti were among the gainers.
Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants (PwC India) has resigned as the auditor of Paytm Payments Services, the fintech major said in a regulatory filing on Monday. "...we wish to inform you that M/s. Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP ... statutory auditors of material subsidiary i.e. Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL) have resigned with effect from August 7, 2023," the company added. Paytm said that the statutory auditors had not raised any concerns or issues and that the company had noted PwC's resignation.
The board of HDFC Bank has approved the appointment of Keki Mistry and Renu Karnad as the additional non-executive directors of the bank, and V Srinivasa Ranjan as its executive director. Mistry was the chief executive officer and vice chairman of HDFC, which merged with the bank today (1 July 2023). Karnad has been the managing director of HDFC since 2010. Ranjan was the executive director and chief financial officer of HDFC.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday cautioned investors against some fraudsters running illegal dabba trading with guaranteed returns to investors. Dabba trading is an illegal form of trading in shares, where operators of such trading rings allow people to trade in equities outside the stock exchange platform. The cautionary statements came after NSE found that the entities -- Shri Parasnath Commodity Private Limited, Shri Parasnath Bullion Private Limited, Faary Tale Trading Private Limited and Bharat Kumar (associated with Trade with Trust) --were providing dabba or illegal trading platform with assured returns.
