The heightened global uncertainty due to the US "reciprocal tariffs" on India may cause near-term corrections and market turbulence, but the long-term outlook remains constructive, market experts said on Thursday. The US has announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India, citing high import duties imposed by New Delhi on American goods.
Call centres, once the engine room of India's BPO exports, are evolving too. Depending on the complexity, 30 to 50 per cent of voice and chat volumes are now handled by conversational AI.
'This helps the consumers secure more favourable terms from CIs.'
Indian pharmaceutical companies may have units abroad as part of "distributed manufacturing" across various locations, according to industry veterans. This may come about over the next five to 10 years.
Competition from Nepalese teas -- which has duty free access to the Indian market -- has emerged as a lower-cost alternative to Darjeeling tea, challenging its viability.
Dr Nandita Palshetkar, IVF expert and medical director, Bloom IVF, explains how certain behaviour can lead to poor quality of sperm.
Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported a 25 per cent rise in net profit attributable to the owners of the company for the January-March quarter of 2024-25, owing to higher revenues and an exceptional gain. For the quarter under review, L&T posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,497.3 crore, while revenue rose 10.9 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 74,392.28 crore.
Alongside the power plant, Chief Minister Banerjee also laid the foundation stone for JSW Industrial Park, which will be spread over 2,000 acres with plug-and-play infrastructure.
Towards the end of February, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restored the risk weighting on banks loans to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs; including to microfinance institutions, or MFIs) to 100 - back to its November 2023 position - from 125. It is only a partial relief though. "Higher risk weighting on unsecured lending continues to be in place while the same on bank funding to NBFCs has been done away with. "This is a positive step by RBI," says Rajiv Sabharwal, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Tata Capital.
Start your journey to financial freedom today. Ask your questions and let our experts show you the way to a secure and prosperous future.
After Chennai, it is Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tiruchirappalli, that are emerging as manufacturing hubs. Coimbatore is India's top Tier-II city in terms of the number of GCCs, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.
From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
'In the past six months, capital markets have seen a dip, and realty is struggling. The stock-market investor will be cautious of putting that investment in real estate when there may be a slowdown coming.'
As temperatures shoot up this month signalling an early onset of summer, sales of air conditioners (AC) are set to increase, with companies expected to hike the prices of ACs by 4-5 per cent due to component shortages. Leading players like Haier and Bluestar and suppliers like EPack Durables have raised their production capacities to meet the 25-30 per cent rise in demand expected in the coming months.
'In this age of competition, we will not survive long if we do not provide quality service to our consumers'
Air quality index (AQI) soared past 350 level in parts of Delhi on Thursday and experts cautioned that as weather turns colder it may breach the 400-mark ceiling and enter the 'severe' zone soon, notwithstanding the incidents of stubble burnings which have nosedived from 17,529 in 2020 to 4,262 this year.
Global brokerage CLSA has lowered its target price for IndusInd Bank from Rs 1,200 to Rs 900 while maintaining an outperform rating on the stock after the private lender disclosed a net worth hit of Rs 1,500 crore due to an accounting gap. The revised price target still implies an upside of 34 per cent from current levels.
Why try to time the market when time in the market works better? History shows that patient investors who stay the course often walk away with the real rewards, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Retail investors have been the hardest hit in the recent market downturn, with stocks where they hold over 20% falling 45% from their 52-week highs.
After heightened activity in 2024, there has been a slowdown in new listings, with no main-bourse IPOs hitting the market in the past three weeks due to a correction in the secondary market. This slowdown in IPO activity is reflected in the numbers, as only five companies went public in January and four in February, compared to 16 listings in December 2024.
'Even in PlayStation games, he was keen to win.'
After Bangladesh, Sri Lanka were forced to cancel their opening training session in the national capital on Saturday due to "severe" air pollution.
Car restoration service provider Super Car Club Garage (SCCG), backed by Raymond chairman and managing director Gautam Singhania, has sought the Centre's green light for a licence to import foreign vehicles for restoration and subsequent re-export.
'Cancer incidence is projected to increase by 12.8 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020, necessitating more dedicated cancer treatment centres and specialised beds.'
The froth in the small and midcap (SMID) space is limited to a few pockets, but regulatory scrutiny could lead to sustained volatility, observe India's top-drawer wealth managers. They add that they have been advising clients to reduce their exposure to smallcaps. Anand Rathi Wealth, which manages investor wealth through mutual funds (MFs), reports that its exposure to smallcap stocks, both through MFs and directly, has decreased by nearly 7 percentage points in the past few months, now standing at 23 per cent.
India's flexible (flex) office segment, having breached pre-pandemic levels, is thriving as corporates, startups, multinational corporations, and global capability centres (GCCs) expand in India, seeking low-capital yet Grade A plug-and-play facilities. In the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, the flex office segment continued to grow, with flex space leasing rising by 22 per cent to 2.2 million square feet (msf), according to Colliers.
An out of sorts Rohit Sharma will strive to keep himself relevant going forward in the Indian Premier League when he is challenged by Delhi Capitals' effective troika of spinners in Mumbai Indians' next match in Delhi on Sunday.
The ideal time to invest in sector funds, is during a downturn so that investors can capitalise on a turnaround in 1.5 to 2 years.
'We don't have to compete with Maharashtra or Gujarat. We have to now start thinking about how we compete with the United States or China.'
'My advice: Don't mark your portfolio to market every day. Focus on survival.'
According to the Department of Pharmaceuticals' annual report for 2024-25, India imported medical devices worth $8.1 billion, while exports stood at $3.7 billion in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24)
'The way the bank is doing in the past 4-5 quarters, no reason to see why we will not be able to achieve that.'
'Along with Blackstone, we would be keen to look at opportunities in the North.'
Younger investors with long investment horizons may continue their SIPs.
Cricket lovers across the globe flooded social media to celebrate the Indian cricket team and congratulate the Rohit Sharma-led squad on winning the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday, March 9.
SBI Mutual Fund recently launched the SBI Quant Fund. Its new fund offer (NFO) opened on December 4, 2024, and will close on December 18, 2024. Currently, 11 fund houses manage quant funds with assets worth Rs 9,013.6 crore.
Leading passenger vehicle maker Maruti Suzuki on Saturday reported marginal growth while Hyundai and Tata Motors posted a decline in their sales in February as a slowdown in the market continued with demand remaining muted. On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra and Toyota Kirloskar Motor posted double-digit growth riding on their SUV and MPV models.
'I now see rates rising again, particularly after recent losses - especially the January wildfires in Los Angeles.'
Leaders who built and manage these incredible global companies cannot be tyrants, slave-drivers, or idiots. Essentially what they are saying falls under the definition of rallying the troops, inspirational talk, like the usual coach-speak with the team before a match, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The average Indian works 46.7 hours per week, surpassing even China's 46.1 hours. In some sectors, the numbers are even more staggering.