In addition to interest rates, review the fine print for penalties and repayment terms, and select a reputable lender to avoid harsh recovery practices.
A Mumbai man managed to reach Guwahati on time for his wedding on Sunday, thanks to the help of Indian Railways. The groom and his relatives were travelling on the Gitanjali Express from Mumbai, which was delayed. They were worried about missing the Saraighat Express to Guwahati. A member of the wedding party posted a message on X, requesting help. The Howrah Divisional Railway Manager, acting on instructions from higher authorities, detained the Saraighat Express and ensured the swift arrival of the Gitanjali Express. The groom and his relatives were then quickly transported to the Saraighat Express by battery-operated vehicles. The wedding took place without further complications. The family expressed their gratitude to the Indian Railways for their assistance.
Air India will be commencing its scheduled operations -- two daily flights from the national capital -- to Dhaka on Wednesday.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) plans to open new Arena Satellite showrooms as the country's largest carmaker aims to tap small towns and new markets, said a senior company executive, amid signs of recovery in rural demand and an approaching festival season. Senior executive officer for marketing and sales MSIL, Partho Banerjee, told Business Standard the company was aiming to penetrate deeper into markets and reach closer to its customers. "We have already had a concept of mobile showrooms in the Arena channel.
The Reserve Bank of India has on Wednesday lifted the ban on new customer acquisition by American Express which was imposed with effect from May 2021 due to non-compliance with local data storage norms. "In view of the satisfactory compliance demonstrated by American Express Banking Corp. with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular dated April 6, 2018, on Storage of Payment System Data, the restrictions imposed, vide order dated April 23, 2021, on onboarding of new domestic customers have been lifted with immediate effect," RBI said. Similar bans were imposed on Diners Club International and Mastercard previously.
Mortgage finance remains a structural growth opportunity in India with a policy focus on affordable housing, housing shortages, low mortgage penetration, and rising incomes as drivers. Affordable Housing Finance Companies (AHFCs) serve the mass market, low-income segments, which is the least-serviced category, and to operate in this segment, the mortgage provider needs good assessment skills. AHFCs and HFCs have also been increasing exposure in other mortgage segments (loan against property, developer loans among others).
Competition in the fast-growing quick commerce sector is heating up as Swiggy Instamart faces a tough challenge in narrowing the gap with Blinkit, which currently dominates the market. In the second quarter (Q2) of 2024-25 (FY25), Instamart's gross order value (GOV) rose by 42.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) and 75.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), reaching Rs 3,382 crore.
A Singapore court on Thursday granted a four-month moratorium to Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, a period which the embattled firm will use to restructure its business without worrying about legal proceedings. A moratorium offers applicant temporary relief from legal proceedings. WazirX, India's biggest crypto exchange, suffered a major hacking attack in July this year losing close to $230 million.
Global engineering and product development digital services firm Tata Technologies on Monday said it has been selected by European aerospace major Airbus as a strategic supplier. The company will become an engineering, manufacturing engineering and services strategic supplier (EMES3), Tata Technologies said in a statement. "This is an outcome of an extensive seven month long multi-phased procurement assessment process that covered all Airbus divisions, subsidiaries, and affiliates across engineering, manufacturing engineering, and customer services engineering functions," it added.
Shares of brokerages and market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) witnessed heavy selling pressure following the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) pivot to a uniform fee structure, which analysts fear could dent revenues. Discount brokerages, which currently benefit from a spread between client charges and exchange fees, are expected to be most affected. Shares of Angel One, the third-largest brokerage by active clients, fell 8.7 per cent. Groww and Zerodha, the largest brokerages, are not publicly listed.
Tucked away at a lane in Arehalli Guddadahalli, a small village in Bengaluru Rural district is a nondescript factory of LaundryMate, one of India's first organised technology-led online laundry services firms. The company has built the country's largest laundry facility, which is spread across 53,000 square feet - the size of a football field. Inside the hangar-like building, one can hear the whooshing and humming sound of big hi-tech washing machines being operated by the newly-recruited staff of LaundryMate.
Get a new QR code from an alternative provider. PhonePe, Google Pay, Pine Labs, etc are some of the other service providers.
India's financial sector is dominated by large government-owned and private-sector banks.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday stayed the recent guidelines prohibiting hotels and restaurants from levying service charge automatically on food bills. Justice Yashwant Varma, while dealing with petitions by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Associations of India challenging the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)'s July 4 guidelines, said the issue requires consideration and directed the authorities to file their reply. "The matter requires consideration. Consequently, until the next date of listing the directions as contained in para 7 of the impugned guideline of July 4, 2022 shall remain stayed," the court ordered.
The Customs clearance required for moving equipment like laptops, desktops, etc out of SEZ units was delaying things as the clearance had to be taken in person after a first level of approval online.
'So, we would work with our members to ensure that we as an SRO create some sort of due diligence for fintechs.'
India's internet economy is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2030, primarily due to e-commerce, which is expected to be worth $325 billion and rank third globally, according to industry experts. Last year marked a crucial turning point for India's e-commerce sector, with notable changes in consumer trends, technology, and regulations. InGovern Research Services, a leading corporate governance advisory firm, hosted a virtual roundtable to deliberate on the notable developments in India's e-commerce sector in 2023, with a particular focus on the essential role of customer trust in fueling its ongoing expansion.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai's) latest push to review its existing spam regulations and expand the definition of "commercial communications" is driven by an urgent need to tighten controls on autodialers or robocallers, and bulk messaging, according to official sources. This move, they said, comes in response to a surge in complaints against unregistered telemarketers (UTMs), which soared to 750,000 in just the first half of 2024, underscoring the necessity for a comprehensive overhaul of the government's anti-spam measures. Last week, Trai released a consultation paper aimed at revisiting the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018), the government's legal framework against spam.
With Donald Trump all set to become US president, Indian exporters may face high customs duties for goods like automobiles, textiles and pharmaceuticals if the new US administration decides to pursue the 'America First' agenda, opined trade experts. Experts also said that Trump could also tighten H-1B visa rules, impacting costs and growth for Indian IT firms. Over 80 per cent of India's IT export earnings come from the US, making it vulnerable to changes in visa policies.
India's services sector output growth touched a three-month high in November as business inflows rose markedly amid accommodative demand conditions, a monthly survey said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from 55.1 in October to 56.4 in November, indicating a sharp increase in output that was the quickest in three months even amid higher operating expenses. Survey participants linked the latest expansion to demand strength, successful marketing and a sustained upturn in sales.
'Domestic investors are opening up to the idea of high-growth Internet companies as a pool of value creation.' 'They like the execution that they see with Zepto, and for us, that is the most important factor.'
The Reserve Bank on Thursday asked card companies not to issue unsolicited credit cards or upgrade an existing card without the explicit consent of the customer, failing which they will have to pay double the billed amount as penalty. It also asked card issuers and third-party agents not to resort to intimidation or harassment during recovery of dues from customers. In its master directions on credit card and debit card issuance, the RBI said "the issue of unsolicited cards/upgradation is strictly prohibited".
India's services sector activity witnessed a sharp upturn in August on the back of stronger gains in new business, ongoing improvements in demand conditions and job creation, a monthly survey said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from July's four-month low of 55.5 to 57.2 in August, amid a quicker upturn in business activity and the sharpest rise in employment for over 14 years. For the thirteenth straight month, the services sector witnessed an expansion in output.
Conducted by research firm IDC, the study titled 'Understanding the Indian Retail Banking Customer' says push marketing is fast becoming obsolete and the thrust should be on creating brand advocates.
The share of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in monthly new business premium (NBP) in the life insurance sector declined to 58.50 per cent in September 2023 from 68.25 per cent in September 2022 -- a drop of 975 basis points -- owing to shortcomings in the product and distribution side of business. However, the market share saw a marginal uptick from the 57.37 per cent recorded in August this year. According to the monthly business data released for September 2023 by the Life Insurance Council, the NBP of LIC up to September 2023 stood at Rs 92,462.62 crore as compared to about Rs 1.25 trillion in the same period a year ago.
In a relief for foreign firms giving loans to Indian subsidiaries, tax authorities have said goods and services tax (GST) will not be imposed on them, subject to some caveats. Additional fees, commissions, or related payments - over and above the amount charged as interest - on these loans will attract GST at 18 per cent, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has said.
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, is under formal investigation related to illicit activities on the messaging app.
Gold imports more than doubled in August to a record high of $10.06 billion, mainly on account of a drastic cut in customs duty and ongoing festive demand, according to the Commerce Ministry data. Gold imports stood at $4.93 billion in August 2023. On record high imports, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the tariff rates on gold have been reduced drastically so that smuggling and other activities can come down.
Launched in March, it triggers re-verification of suspected fraudulent numbers. Failing re-verification, the number will be disconnected.
'A credit line on UPI is going to make banks think about credit fundamentally as they digitise the credit process entirely.'
'Developers are into profit-making. And there's not too much money in the affordable segment.' 'So, they don't do affordable housing.'
Violators will have to pay a Rs 2,000 fine for the first offence and Rs 5,000 if they defy this order for the second time, Ujjain Mayor Mukesh Tatwal said on Saturday.
A single application and a plethora of services for passenger cars - that is what myTVS, a brand that operates under Ki Mobility Solutions and is part of the TVS family, is set to bring to customers, in a bid to disrupt the concept of "super apps" in India. Starting July 15, myTVS will launch its connected car platform or super app called myTVS Life360 for aftermarket passenger cars. Through it, customers will be able to avail themselves of a range of services like maintenance, diagnostics, roadside assistance, accessories, payments, insurance, and so on.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said banks need to focus more on being customer-friendly so that the process of availing credit becomes more hassle-free for borrowers. However, the minister made it clear that banks do not have to be lenient on credit underwriting standards by taking any adverse risks on a proposal. At a meeting between industry representatives and the finance minister, a startup founder in the baking business suggested for credit to be available hassle-free, to which largest lender SBI's chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said a startup's worries are more on the equity side and assured full support in lending if sufficient equity is on the table.
Loan rates will change at the next reset, while deposit rates will continue till maturity.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday released draft guidelines for streamlining the onboarding and monitoring of Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) operators to counter frauds perpetuated through the ecosystem. Banks and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) are required to comply with these directions within three months from the date of issue of the guidelines.
'You will see him frequently asking customers -- especially retail -- about service experience, pain points, areas of improvement and suggestions.'
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked life insurance companies not to advertise unit-linked plans as investment products in a recent circular.
Gold, a safe-haven bet, is likely to continue its record-smashing journey in the New Year, rising to Rs 85,000 per 10 grams and even Rs 90,000 level in domestic markets if geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainties continue.
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