A significant majority (57%) of India's investment advisors are concentrated in just five metro cities, leading to concerns about financial inclusion and the spread of financial market products beyond urban centres, according to a Business Standard analysis of Sebi data.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
Indian hotel companies are experiencing a sharp correction in share prices due to the Iran war and broader geopolitical tensions, leading analysts to cut operating profit expectations and valuations, despite structurally positive medium-term prospects.
Ravi Kaushik has sold 70,000 units of air filters through his start-up Airth and aims to sell 10 lakh units in the next five years.
With average returns of 18 per cent over the past year, listed real estate investment trusts (Reits) have clearly outperformed both the Nifty Realty index and the Sensex. Over the same period, Nifty Realty fell 15.5 per cent, while the benchmark index was largely unchanged. Steady office leasing, the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) decision to reclassify Reits as equity instruments, and ongoing portfolio expansion have strengthened the sector's appeal.
Lining up its 2030 strategy, Hyundai said it was targeting up to 30 per cent export contribution and over 1.5-fold rise in revenue, to cross the 1 trillion milestone in five years.
'Only four or five original companies remain; the rest have been replaced every decade as sectors evolve or leadership shifts.' 'Companies that fail to adapt -- like many textile mills from the 1970s and shipping firms from the 1980s -- disappear.' 'Benchmark indices reward those who reinvent themselves in line with economic demands.'
'This is an area where good lending can happen, and that is one of the priorities for the next quarter.'
Overall hiring volumes grew by 17 per cent year-on-year across key consumption-linked sectors during the August-October period, driven by heightened consumer sentiment, attractive festive promotions, and wider geographic penetration, according to a report.
Bengaluru is at a critical juncture, where its economic model, reliant on attracting and retaining skilled professionals, is directly threatened by a measurable decline in urban quality of life, point out Shishir Gupta and Rishita Sachdeva.
State governments have requested the Centre for export incentives, lifting of import duty in the case of cotton for the textile sector and GST exemptions.
Fuelled by the global capability centre (GCC) boom, gross leasing of office space across top eight cities soared 5 per cent to touch 21.4 million square feet (msf) in the second quarter of calendar year 2025, according to Cushman & Wakefield's Q2 India Office Market report.
'Selling could further intensify and take the index towards 22,800-22,750 in the near-term.'
Hiring activity has gained momentum in anticipation of upcoming festivals like Raksha Bandhan, Dussehra, Diwali, seasonal sales and the wedding season.
Three major cities in south India -- Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai -- dominate India's office market with the contribution of 66 per cent of the total demand for office space during the last financial year 2020-21, according to Anarock report. The consultant noted that the main southern office market has overtaken other regions in terms of new supply, net absorption, and even rental growth. Among the top-seven cities, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai saw their share of total office leasing increase to 66 per cent in the 2020-21 fiscal year as against 47 per cent in FY18.
The growth was primarily driven by domestic investments, which accounted for 60 per cent of the total inflows during the first quarter of the financial year.
The dealers operating in the space have jumped nearly three times over the past two years.
rediffGURU Yogendra Arora answers readers' personal income tax queries.
In 2024 alone, South India saw the highest rise in sales in the luxury segment, with Tamil Nadu reportedly registering a 19.3 per cent increase in premium car registrations from 2022-23
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise is set to expand presence in metro cities during FY26 with the addition of five hospitals that would add over 1,400 beds.
The sharp pullback in mid and smallcap stocks signals a cooling-off period in segments that previously attracted considerable investor interest.
After a strong show during the September quarter (Q2FY25) and favourable demand conditions, going ahead, the country's largest player in the room air conditioner segment, Voltas is well placed to improve its market share. Expectations of record volumes in FY25 for the sector and the company's strategy of prioritising market share over margins could help the leader expand share in the room AC segment.
'Retail investors, who had not seen such a massive correction in the SMID universe since COVID-19, are witnessing something like this for the first time. Panic profit booking may continue.'
The national real estate market presents an intriguing picture. Lower volumes and flat pricing serve as dampeners. Sales bookings across the top ten markets have seen 6 per cent growth year-on-year (Y-o-Y) between April and August 2024, but sales volume is down 8 per cent Y-o-Y. Unsold inventory is up.
'With an achievement like this, Gukesh could even be endorsing global brands.'
The gap in demand for electric vehicles between large and mid-sized cities in the country is shrinking and the Tier-II 2 cities are likely to emerge as the next big demand centre for EVs, a report said on Tuesday. An analysis of the electric two-wheeler and car sales by strategic research provider BloombergNEF (BNEF) from 207 cities across 10 states also suggests that the electric two-wheeler sales in some tier 2 markets have surpassed metropolitans while within tier 2 cities, state capitals generally leading the growth in electric car sales.
The fund house had offered two options to affected investors -- either monetisation of assets by trustees or hiring a third party to conduct the process.
Rediff.com spoke to registered investment advisors to figure out how best the extra Rs 17,500 saved ever year can be invested to create a decent corpus in the years ahead. This is what they said.
Stories are legion about the Karatmeter's use at that time. Hundreds of people standing in queue for testing, customers breaking down after discovering the actual purity of their jewellery and then becoming irate about the jeweller who had gypped them, the local jewellery industry leaning heavily on the Tanishq franchisees to desist from using it, some jewellers even threatening violent action.
Concerned over the fallout of the Red Sea crisis and severe shortage of containers against the backdrop of a steep decline in merchandise exports in August, the Union government is pulling out all the stops to find a solution. To begin with, the government has devised a strategy aimed at boosting container supply and supporting exporters.
Municipal corporations penalise late property tax payments. 'Penalties can include attachment of properties, bank accounts, rent and other movable assets," says Anand Moorthy, co-founder, Square Yards.
More and more women are making their presence felt in jobs related to sciences, technology, and engineering across organisations.
'Some buyers believe prices may correct in the future.' 'This is unlikely. Many developers are increasing prices amid strong sales and inflationary trends.'
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.
Petrol and diesel prices were cut by Rs 2 per litre each as state-owned oil companies ended a nearly two-year-long hiatus in rate revision, just hours before the general election schedule was announced.
After a spike in crude oil and gas prices in October following the Hamas terror attack, prices eased down 9 per cent month-on-month in November. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Opec+ agreed to a further voluntary production cut in January-March 2024 to try and support global crude prices. The best guess here is that crude prices (currently at $75/barrel, or bbl) will not likely cross significantly above $80, and gas prices are also likely to remain subdued unless there's a further escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
rediffGURU Chandu Nair advises entrepreneurs and enterprises about how to create and build their business.
A young couple sharing a laugh - in the living room over a Polish joke book, on the beach, in the rain - with the tagline, "Made for each other", hung from billboards at prominent street corners from the 1960s to the 1990s. It was a campaign for one of the largest selling cigarette brands in India, Wills (Navy Cut) from the ITC stable, that resonated with a generation of smokers and non-smokers alike till the curtains came down on tobacco advertising in 2004. As we prepare to welcome 2024, ITC has metamorphosed from a tobacco giant into a conglomerate straddling multiple large-sized businesses. In the mind space of Gen Z or millennials, the company represents a gamut of branded products - from frozen food (ITC Master Chef), noodles (YiPPee!), and cookies (Sunfeast) to snacks (Bingo!) and notebooks (Classmate), and so on and so forth.
Wrapped in blue and orange wax paper, it's a familiar sight on the shelves of kirana stores across the country. Given how well travelled and mobile it is - starting its journey in Chennai, then turning to Singapore and now landing in Mexico - you could say it lives up to its name: Modern. Modern Food Enterprises, the company that manufactures and sells the bread in question as well as other bakery products under the "Modern" brand name, has recently been sold to the world's largest baking company, Grupo Bimbo, for an undisclosed amount. This latest transaction is the second change of guard at Modern within five years and third since the government divested the company at the turn of the century. At a time, when the National Democratic Alliance government has decided to privatise, or shut down, public sector enterprises except for those deemed strategic, Modern makes for a promising case study of how divestment led to the brand's growth, both in revenue and reach.
Prices in Bengaluru, the National Capital Region, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, however, witnessed an uptick during the period.
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