Accenture's Q1 FY22 results have sent a wave of cheer among analysts, as the company raised its revenue guidance and said it expects double-digit growth in outsourcing, up from single digit to low double-digit growth expected earlier. Accenture's financial year ends on August 31. The company raised its revenue outlook for FY22 to 19-22 per cent in local currency, up from 12-15 per cent earlier.
Do we have enough trained oncologists and medical professionals in India to man these over 4,500 beds in the public sector?
At a time when the role of corporate boards is once again under the scanner, independent directors on the Paytm Payments Bank board have indicated that red flags were raised over regulatory issues but they may have been late in doing so. "As independent directors, we asked questions and monitored responses to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Many changes were made on compliances. "Obviously, in retrospect, it was not found to be enough," said one of the independent directors on the condition of anonymity.
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.
The stock of online classified major Info Edge (India) was up over 6 per cent on Friday on expectations of demand improvement for Indian IT companies. Strong revenue growth prospects for each of its online verticals - including recruitment, matrimony, real estate, education, and upside from its holdings in companies such as Zomato - had prompted Goldman Sachs to upgrade the stock. Info Edge's standalone revenue grew 10.6 per cent year on year (Y-o-Y) in Q2FY25, beating consensus. 99acres (+16.9 per cent Y-o-Y) and Jeevansathi (+33 per cent Y-o-Y) were drivers of growth while recruitment grew 8.5 per cent Y-o-Y.
Even as banks and finance companies are reporting record-high earnings, their weighting in the benchmark National Stock Exchange Nifty50 Index has seen a downward trajectory. Investors expect a stronger performance from other sectors in the new year. Currently, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies collectively hold a weighting of 34.5 per cent, down from 36.7 per cent at the end of December 2022 and a record high of 40.6 per cent at the end of December 2019. This represents the sector's lowest weighting in the index since December 2021 when it stood at 33.7 per cent.
The IPO filing-to-approval lapsing ratio this year is the best in three years, underscoring the improvement in the IPO market's buoyancy.
'Compare the new slabs with the previous years to understand if your tax liability will increase or decrease after the Budget.'
Rationalisation of income tax slabs, infrastructure status for digital services and incentives to hydrogen storage as well as fuel cell development were some of the suggestions made by various stakeholders at the pre-Budget consultation meeting convened by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The customary pre-Budget consultation meetings were held with the finance minister virtually between December 15 and December 22, as per the finance ministry statement. More than 120 invitees representing seven stakeholder groups participated in eight meetings, scheduled during this period, it said.
'The dakiyas will be our partners, receiving credit proposals from micro-enterprises at the grassroots level.'
Infosys on Thursday posted a 7.8 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 6,128 crore in March quarter of FY23, and gave 4-7 per cent revenue growth forecast for FY24 amid macro economic uncertainities. The net profit (after minority interest) stood at Rs 5,686 crore in the fourth quarter of FY22. Seen sequentially, the net profit for Q4 came in 7 per cent lower.
Investors shunned shares of Bajaj Finance on Friday, a day after the non-banking financial company (NBFC) reported a sharp contraction in its net interest margin (NIM) for the March quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (Q4FY24). The losses accounted for a fifth of the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex's 609-point loss. Most brokerages have tamed their earnings expectations for the next couple of quarters, after the management said it expected the pressure on NIMs to continue in the near term.
After Yes Bank was placed under moratorium, digital payments were impacted as PhonePe, which depends on the cash-strapped lender for its transactions, could not operate. Even the bank's own net banking facilities have not been operational since last evening. Other fintech operators who rely on Yes Bank to settle their transactions are also down.
The top four Indian IT firms have cash reserves of nearly $15 billion with TCS alone holding $5.9 billion in reserves, followed by Infosys with $3.6 billion, and Wipro with $3.4 billion. HCL Technologies has cash reserves of $1.75 billion.
'The reason is that you may not enter the branch but you want to see it near you as it establishes trust.'
Branch additions for most major banks in the current financial year do not correspond to the number of the past two years.
Competition Commission of India on Wednesday said it has approved the merger of the media assets of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney Co to create the country's largest media empire. The deal, announced six months ago, has been cleared by the CCI with certain modifications proposed by the two parties.
Indian engineering research and development (ER&D) players, such as Tata Technologies, Tata Elxsi, and Cyient, among others, had a subdued January-March quarter of 2023-24. The outlook for 2024-25 (FY25) also remains unexciting amid weak discretionary spending, prompting analysts to revise their growth expectations for the ongoing financial year (FY25).
Experts are of the opinion that though digital services hold the future, the companies are likely to take a hit during the transition period.
JSW Steel (3.37 per cent), Tata Steel (3.33 per cent), Maruti (3.24 per cent), Power Grid (3.07 per cent), IndusInd Bank (2.95 per cent), Bajaj Finance (2.12 per cent) and Tech Mahindra (2.22 per cent) were among major gainers. On the other hand, Ultratech Cement, Sun Pharma, Nestle and L&T were the losers.
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.
Here are the key highlights of the BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' for the 2024 parliamentary polls.
Redress for a victim is not easy. It is not really painful to file a cyber-crime complaint.
But someone who is technically unsophisticated enough to fall for a scam will find it hard to navigate the processes, points out Devangshu Datta.
IT major TCS said 2014-15 will be better than the ongoing fiscal on account of uptick in client spending in the US and Europe and growth in demand for technologies like cloud, mobility and Big Data.
India's third largest IT company HCL Technologies on Friday reported a flat year-on-year growth in net profit in the March quarter at Rs 3,986 crore. However, the company posted an 8.4 per cent decline in net profit on a sequential basis, amid rising employee cost and tightening IT spends around the world. The company described the performance as "decent" in view of the global macroeconomic conditions.
It's mid-morning and the two-kilometre stretch from Rashbehari Avenue to Gariahat Market is bustling with activity. Dotted with saree shops and hawker stalls that sell everything, from hairpins, hangers and towels to hosiery, mobile phone covers and kurtas, this is one of South Kolkata's busiest shopping areas. And it is beginning to wake up to the Paytm crisis.
More people using the internet for financial and e-commerce transactions has led to job creation in a niche segment. Specialists who can help deal with rising technology (tech) frauds are in high demand amid the surge in electronic transactions during the pandemic. Demand for tech fraud experts has risen upwards of 35 per cent, reveals employment and human resource services company TeamLease Services.
Nineteen per cent of global fund managers remain bullish on India, suggests the latest BofA Asia Fund Manager Survey (FMS). A total of 249 panelists with $656 billion worth of assets under management (AUM) participated in the survey between February 2 and 8, BofA said. Two hundred and nine participants with $568 billion AUM responded to the global FMS questions, while 145 participants with $331 billion in AUM responded to the regional fund manager survey (FMS) questions, BofA said.
The mutual fund (MF) industry has seen a fair number of new entrants in the last 10 years but none of them have proved to be much of a challenge for the larger players. The list of top 20 fund houses, which manage over 90 per cent of the industry's total assets, continues to be dominated by players who have been in the business for more than a decade. Bajaj Finserv MF may change that, say experts.
Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, has decided to buy 24.5 per cent equity in BT Group - a move that will make the Indian conglomerate the biggest shareholder in the UK's second-largest telecom company both in terms of market value and subscriber count. The shares are being purchased from billionaire Patrick Drahi's Altice UK through a combination of cash and debt .
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (APH) delivered an in-line performance for the April-June quarter of the financial year 2024-2025 (Q1FY25)with growth in the number of patients. AHLL (Apollo Health & Lifestyle), a subsidiary, posted sales growth and profitability. APH also reduced operational costs at Healthco.
Bajaj Finance's quarterly business update, coupled with around 24 per cent fall over the past six months, has turned risk-reward favourable for investors, observe analysts. They see up to 39 per cent upside in the stock, from a one-year perspective. Global brokerage CLSA, for instance, has upgraded the stock from 'underperform' to 'outperform' with an increased one-year target price of Rs 6,600 (vs Rs 6,000 earlier) as it believes the risk-reward has turned favourable for the counter, and there is scope for expansion if growth remains robust.
Amid an existential crisis confronting the company, Vodafone Idea CEO Ravinder Takkar has reached out to consumers reaffirming the telco's commitment to continue providing "superior services and best-in-class propositions". Thanking users for their continued support as the company approaches first anniversary of 'Vi' branding, Takkar noted that Vi came with a promise of a better tomorrow, bringing the best in technology, services and solutions for the Digital India and Digital Bharat. The company will continue to deliver on this promise to keep users ahead, Takkar said in the mailer to consumers.
Paytm's pre-IPO investors, which include likes of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathway, SoftBank and Alibaba, do not seem to be in a hurry to exit India's leading digital payments brand as they continue to believe in its long-term prospect, analysts said. On Tuesday, 86 per cent of Paytm's shares became free to trade after the end of the lock-in period, allowing investors to sell shares that haven't yet been allowed onto the market. Market participants have been speculating on Paytm, post-expiry of lock-in for pre-IPO investors.
It's time the government accepts that Digital India is too distant.
HDFC Bank on Thursday said network outages that led to a regulatory ban on new credit card sales were not due to transaction volumes, and affirmed that it continues to stay in touch with the RBI for restarting the services but giving a timeline for it will be difficult. The bank said it is on its way to creating a new technology architecture for the future as part of the "digital factory" and "enterprise factory" initiative. But, it conceded that outages will continue under the older system though it will be working to minimise the time taken to bring the service back. In December 2020, the RBI took the unprecedented step of stopping the largest private sector lender from selling any new credit cards and also launching new digital services, because of a series of network outages.
Shareholders have given approval to the appointment of Ambani scions Akash, Isha and Anant on board of Reliance Industries, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
Describing the DAD as the "guardian of defence finance", he emphasised the need to bolster the internal vigilance mechanism so that any suspicious activity can be detected and reviewed immediately.
Do not, however, enter expecting quick returns.
While digitisation and automation have made internal processes more efficient, front-end products are being enhanced digitally through robotics, artificial intelligence and botchats.
