After a subdued first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26), banks are now betting big on the festive season, rolling out attractive loan offers to boost credit growth in the second half of the current financial year (H2FY26) - a trend likely to be further accentuated by the second-order effects of the good services tax (GST) cuts.
Market watchers link the pullback to underwhelming listing-day performance and the lack of big-name IPOs.
Ask rediffGURU and PF, MF and insurance expert Purshotam Lal your mutual fund, insurance and personal finance-related questions.
Dubai is positioning itself as a springboard for Indian companies looking to tap into fast-growing emerging markets, including Africa, banking on low tariffs, long-standing trade relations, and a shared vision for regional economic growth, said Mohammad Ali Rashid Lootah, president and chief executive officer, Dubai Chambers, at the Dubai-India Business Forum in Mumbai.
'The government is putting insurance in the same category as food, which is essential for life.' 'Now this is an opportunity for the sector to focus on the consumer.'
The mutual fund (MF) industry had an action-packed 2023 as it tackled the scrapping of tax benefits for debt fund investors and surging flows into equity funds.
Public-sector lenders Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and Uco Bank are likely to raise funds through qualified institutional placement (QIP) next month. Punjab & Sind Bank is likely to follow suit later this financial year to meet the public shareholding norm of 25 per cent. When a public-sector unit raises funds through QIP, the money goes to the company because it involves issuing new shares whereas in the case of offer for sale (OFS), the money raised goes to the government because its shares are sold.
Fitch Ratings on Wednesday raised India's GDP growth forecast to 6.9 per cent for current fiscal year, from 6.5 per cent earlier, citing strong June quarter growth and domestic consumption-led demand.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Monday held a performance review meeting with heads of public sector banks and asked them to make concerted efforts to garner deposits. Deposits have been growing 300-400 basis points lower than the credit growth in the last few months, creating an asset-liability mismatch for banks. During deliberations on the deposit mobilisation, she said that while the credit growth has picked up, mobilisation of deposits could further be improved to fund the credit growth sustainably, and asked banks to make concerted efforts to garner deposits by conducting special drives.
Paytm will focus on its core business of payments and cross-selling financial services as it works to achieve "profitability soon", said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chief executive officer of the fintech, on Thursday. "The past six months have taught us many lessons, giving us the opportunity to thoroughly examine our business processes, compliance, and the way we operate from the inside out.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha dismissed two government employees, both teachers, for their alleged links with terrorists. The action is part of Sinha's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and a broader crackdown on the terror ecosystem within Jammu and Kashmir.
'An asset must generate income. Equities yield dividends, bonds pay coupons, deposits give interest, and real estate earns rent.' 'Gold, silver, and even Bitcoin produce no income, they merely store value. So, they should not be compared to productive assets.'
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.
From the Sensex pack, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, ITC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the biggest laggards. NTPC, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.
'The outlook for the next Samvat is more constructive, as many of the earlier drags are gradually becoming supports.'
Several executives argue that UPI has the potential to grow tenfold, but warn that the absence of a monetisation model risks stagnating the real-time payments system, which has been recording all-time-high transaction volumes every year.
'We don't make films for profit and that's exactly why profit follows.'
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) brass, including its Governor Sanjay Malhotra, on Tuesday told a Parliamentary panel that it was "optimistic" about the impact of the US tariffs on the Indian economy and, in long-run, it could benefit the country due to dipping trade relations between the US and China.
'Returning Indians can leverage their international skills and the strong funding environment for start-ups here.'
The Congress party in India has accused the government of "impropriety" in the sudden termination of KV Subramanian's position as India's executive director at the IMF, alleging it was linked to the Union Bank of India's purchase of two lakh copies of his book. The party also questioned the government's stance on Pakistan's request for a loan from the IMF.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
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.
Among Sensex scrips, Bharti Airtel, Titan, NTPC, State Bank of India, ITC, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors were the major laggards. Adani Ports, Infosys, Axis Bank, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.
Mutual funds' average cash holdings in equity schemes topped 6 per cent in February as fund managers went slow on deployment of new inflows on expectations of better buying opportunities amid uncertainties in the market.
Wondering if mutual fund investments can earn you enough money for your retirement and child's marriage? Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
The Indian economy could remain less affected by global trade wars than other countries because the two engines of domestic growth - consumption and investment - are likely to face a limited impact from such headwinds, according to an article on the 'State of the Economy' in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) bulletin, released on Tuesday.
The first tranche was raised a few weeks ago and the company was looking to raise more if needed.
The Indian government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to ban online games played with money, aiming to curb addiction, money laundering, and financial fraud. The bill also targets advertisements and financial transactions related to such games.
'Listing of scaled Indian subsidiaries of multinational corporations as well as of Indian conglomerates continues to remain a key theme for IPOs in India.'
From the Sensex pack, Nestle India, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Infosys, Asian Paints, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv and Sun Pharmaceuticals were among the laggards. State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, Zomato, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and Adani Ports were the gainers.
In a double-dose bid to boost growth and employment prospects, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Rs 2.07 trillion outlay for a research development and innovation (RDI) Scheme to fund private sector innovations, and an employment-linked incentive (ELI) to create over 35 million new jobs over the next two years.
Errors in filing income-tax returns frequently lead to scrutiny notices, additional liabilities, or delayed refunds.
From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Nestle, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors were the biggest gainers. However, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and UltraTech Cement were the laggards.
The changes will take effect on March 28, with portfolio adjustments expected before the market closes on March 27.
The ongoing downturn has forced firms to cut back on advertising expenses. The banking, financial services and insurance segment (BFSI) has cut advertising budgets by nearly 40 per cent.
A day after his appointment as the 26th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), outgoing Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on Tuesday said one must understand the economic landscape and do what was best for the economy. "Let me first go, join, understand the turf ... Here it is a different role," Malhotra said, speaking to reporters in front of North Block.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
NSE Indices on Wednesday changed the methodology for handling schemes of demerger involving index constituents. The index provider said a company undergoing demerger would now be retained in its indices. The move comes ahead of the proposed demerger of Reliance Industries' (RIL's) financial services arm. Under the rules prevailing thus far, RIL -- which has the highest weighting among the 50 Nifty components -- would have been required to be removed from the index, resulting in a churn by funds tracking the Nifty index.
India witnessed a record-breaking surge in deal activity in February, with 226 M&A and private equity deals totaling $7.2 billion -- the highest monthly deal volume in the last three years, according to the Dealtracker report of Grant Thornton Bharat. "This represents a 67 per cent increase in volumes and a 5.4-fold increase in values compared to February 2024, while a 14 per cent increase over the previous month," it said.
Titan Company, Axis Bank, NTPC, Tata Motors, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance were the other laggards. Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Infosys and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers.
