Corporate India, which has grown globally in stature, is still a far cry from the professional management as family-owned monoliths in the country still prefer insiders and relatives over better qualified outsiders and squabble unproductively, says US magazine Newsweek.
Speaking at an Assocham event, Modi said the recent cut in corporate tax has brought rates to all-time low for businesses, adding that labour force should also be taken care of.
Some large companies said the measure would broaden and deepen the equity cult in the country, but feel that a blanket 25 per cent minimum public shareholding norm should not be applied indiscriminately to all companies. The ministry had floated the paper on February 1 and asked for public comments by the month-end. The minimum public shareholding limit now is 10 per cent.
With auditing under the scanner and two of the Big Four firms stopping non-audit services for audit clients, auditors will now be subjected to a more stringent standard of reporting.
'While investors believe in India's long-term growth story and resilience amid global uncertainty, they see near-term risks around the direction of a global trade war.'
In terms of the number of deals, there has been a decline of 13 per cent
'Inflation is not good for industry. Nor for the economy as a whole.'
Indian companies are gearing up to Valentine's Day with offers and gifts for the customers.
41 listed firms made 73 donations to gaushalas (cow shelters) and other cow-related charities over the last four years. The donations range from a few thousand rupees to a million.
The Reserve Bank on Friday accepted most of the recommendations of its working group on corporate ownership of private sector banks, by allowing unrestrained promoter shareholding in the first five years of operations and hiking the same to 26 per cent after 15 years from the extant 15 per cent and also the new capital requirements. The move will benefit leading banks like Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank, among others, which have been seeking more time from the regulator to divest their stakes for many years now. Accepting 21 of the 33 recommendations of the internal working group, the central bank said the remaining suggestions are under its consideration.
Congress legislators continued their sit-in protest inside the assembly while the party held protests at all district headquarters on Saturday against the suspension of six party MLAs.
'Not paying workers enough will end up being self-destructive or harmful for the corporate sector itself.'
Technology giant Apple Inc has pushed the pedal on exporting iPhones from India by racking up exports valued at over $2 billion in the first two months of the current financial year (FY25), according to the data provided by vendors to the government. This accounts for 81 per cent of the country's total production of iPhones worth $2.6 billion. In May, Apple repeated its performance of April and once again crossed $1 billion of iPhone exports.
Top leaders of the two parties are campaigning in Jharkhand and Maharashtra for the ongoing assembly polls in the two states.
Many corporations extended benefits to same-sex couples well before the law was overturned.
The minister said the government is willing to hear from the industry.
Despite the robust growth in this country, Apple's India share in its overall global sales remained modest -- constituting 1.5 per cent of its overall turnover of $389 billion in FY23.
Severe skilled, unskilled shortage threatens to pull emergency brakes on India's industrial engine.
"I'm amazed channels are bothering with exit polls especially after the fiasco of the recent general elections. I'm ignoring all the noise on channels, social media, WhatsApp etc. because the only numbers that matter will be revealed on the 8th of Oct. The rest is just time pass," Abdullah, a former chief minister, wrote on X.
Aiyar, who has stoked controversies in the past with his comments, made the remarks at the launch of the book Nehru's First Recruits.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
Micron Technology, a global leader in memory and storage, is considering supplying Made-in-India chips from its Gujarat plant to one of its key global clients, Apple, whose vendors assemble iPhones in the country. Micron is setting up an assembly test marking and packaging (ATMP) plant in Sanand, Gujarat. Currently, Apple vendors import chips for manufacturing iPhones. Sources in the know say the aim is to use part of the production to supply to Micron's clients in India directly.
'A close relationship between India Inc and the government cannot help the BJP win elections.' 'While Opposition parties may feel good about Mr Bajaj criticising the Modi regime, the BJP should be seeing the indictment as a political boon,' says A K Bhattacharya.
Research and development (R&D) spending by BSE 100 companies has grown steadily, rising from 0.89 per cent of revenue in FY20 to 1.32 per cent in FY24, averaging around 1 per cent over the period in-between, according to data compiled from Bloomberg and company annual reports. Also, these companies more than doubled their R&D spending in absolute terms over these five years: From Rs 25,041 crore to Rs 63,072 crore. While this reflects a prioritisation of innovation, corporate R&D investment remains relatively conservative.
The Indian National Congress, India's oldest political party, is moving from its longtime headquarters at 24 Akbar Road to a new building called Indira Gandhi Bhawan. The move marks the end of an era for the Congress, which has been headquartered at 24 Akbar Road for nearly 50 years.
Trump's sweeping tariffs and penalties on China-built ships have turned global shipping into the front line of economic war, observes Shyam G Menon.
Apple Inc has requested the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) to give it 18 to 24 months' exemption to comply with the European Union (EU) regulation of putting an USB charging port in all its older smartphones, mainly iPhone 13 and iPhone 14, which are assembled, exported and also sold in the domestic market. Apple's stance is different from that of Samsung, which has been pushing for an immediate implementation of the EU regulation. All smartphones by the South Korean giant already comply with the EU rules.
All these male politicians are unlikely to risk their sinecures to speak up in support of a bunch of women wrestlers who have chosen to challenge a politician who appears to have the ruling regime in a stranglehold, points out Kanika Datta.
Urging India Inc to participate in the growth story, Sitharaman said they should participate in the divestment programme by becoming the first bidders.
Tesla Inc, the world's largest electric car producer, is looking to make a significant investment in India, said its chief Elon Musk, who saw India as holding more promise than any other large country around the globe. Musk, after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he plans to visit India in 2024. "I am confident that Tesla will be in India and we will do so as soon as humanly possible," Musk told reporters after the meeting.
In a recent awards event, industrialist Rahul Bajaj said that India Inc was afraid of criticising the Narendra Modi government, The comment drew flak from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam who said spreading one's own impression "can hurt national interest".
'Being financially independent is crucial.' 'This spares women a lot of grief if the marriage, especially in large business families, breaks down.'
With the third and final round of layoffs implemented by Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms, Inc. in process globally, India, too, has seen its impact, with some senior executives being asked to leave. Some of the executives to have been impacted are Avinash Pant, India's director of marketing; Saket Jha Sourabh, director and head of media partnerships; and Amrita Mukherjee, one of the directors on the legal team. An email sent to the company did not elicit any comment on the development until the time of going to press.
'Elsewhere in the world, you do not get a second chance to be launched. I think he (Gandhi) has now been launched 19 times'
It's seen as a signal that he wants to engage with India Inc at a time when the economy has started looking up.
Under attack from the India Inc for his controversial comments in the wake of the killing of a CEO in Noida, Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes on Wednesday expressed his apologies. He had termed the incident a 'warning' to managements not to 'push' the employees 'so hard'.
'We will see a lot of investments from the private sector.' 'As long as we are not impacted by some global events, I think we will be in a strong place.'
Competition watchdog CCI may take only 30 days to clear high-voltage corporate mergers and acquisitions, a move that will address one of India Inc's major contentions.
It also issued notice to chairman of Sudarshan News, Suresh Chavhanke, Odisha Television Limited, Pittie Media LLP, Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited which is the owner of The Organiser, Voice of the Nation'.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said the government would introduce the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill that will simplify direct tax laws, in the monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 26.
