India's outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) nosedived to $11.12 billion in January-June (H1 2023) from $23.57 billion in the same period last year, indicative of the slowdown in the global economy, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. The outward FDI expressed as the total financial commitment, has three components, namely equity, loan and guarantees. The sharp contraction in the commitments (outward FDI) was prominent in the April-June 2023 period.
A Reserve Bank panel has suggested a benchmark floating interest rate, especially or home loans, to bring greater transparency in the pricing of credit.
While Bihar and J&K have the least proportion of bank account holders using debit cards at PoS machines, Telangana's record is the highest.
Government announcements for the building of new roads, railways, and other capital expenditure (capex) projects may have hit an all-time low, according to numbers for the December quarter.
Banks might hold on to lending rates for the time being.
With the demand for lower costs in process driven activities and a move away from the high rate, billable hours of legal services, AI platforms are being used internationally in many legal tasks.
The pilot project for central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the retail segment went live on Thursday with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing Rs 1.71 crore to four participating banks based on their indents. The central bank has identified four banks for the first phase of the pilot - State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank - in four cities, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar. The highest indent was received from one private sector bank.
From March 3, investors in India will be able to trade in select US stocks through the NSE International Exchange (NSE IFSC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Investors can invest in NSE IFSC receipts on US stocks, which will be in the form of unsponsored depository receipts (DRs). For a start, this will include DRs of 50 US stocks such as Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Nike, P&G, Coca-Cola, and Exxon Mobil. Indian retail investors will be able to transact on the NSE IFSC platform under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) limits prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which currently stand at $250,000 per year.
RBI might further cut rates by 50-75 basis points later.
Consumer goods firms and auto companies are witnessing an upturn in rural demand, which had been lagging for most of FY24. Expectations of a bumper rabi crop harvest have helped turn the tide. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged last week, noting that as rural demand catches up, consumption is expected to support economic growth in 2024-25.
'...Rs 137 lakh crores of people's money?' 'It is not the government's money, it is people's money.'
Mutual funds (MFs) are seeing higher growth in new systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts in rural areas (beyond 30 or B30 centres) compared to the top 30 (T30) cities. However, the average inflows from these areas remain significantly lower than those from the larger centres. Data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India reveals that investors from B30 contributed Rs 1,725 on average to MFs through SIPs, which is 70 per cent lower than the average ticket size of T30 investors at Rs 2,940.
The suspected security breach happened through a malware in the systems of Hitachi Payments Services, which serves ATM network of Yes Bank
If the account in a foreign bank has income undisclosed to income tax authorities, or has funds from illegal sources, the account can be declared illegal, under the Fema.
Bankers seem to be pleased with the government for keeping its promise of not interfering in operational matters, but are apprehensive about the intense scrutiny of their functioning.
Sitharaman also directed public sector bank heads to clear long pending vigilance cases against their officials for alleged malpractices.
Why are investors gung-ho about State Bank? asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
RBI's oversight cadre move creates HR trouble, officers threaten agitation.
Soma Ravi, an Indian caregiver in Ramat Gan, recounts the last 4 days in Israel and says the Indian embassy has been in constant touch.
MCA blamed its financial troubles on non-receipt of payments from the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the last 10 months.
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani has said the Ram Janmbhoomi movement, whose primary objective was construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, also became a symbol of 'reclaiming the true meaning of secularism from the onslaught of pseudo-secularism'.
Indian lenders are unlikely to clear the vertical split of BSE-listed Vedanta Ltd in a hurry, considering that the demerger would reduce the fungibility of cash flows across businesses and increase their volatility, according to analysts. The demerger plan, which would result in six separate listed entities, would require approval from shareholders, lenders and other statutory bodies. "We believe that a separate listing of different businesses would reduce the fungibility of cash flows across businesses and increase the volatility of cash flows.
The petition was filed in 2003 by NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation.
Risks are increasing with 55 times increase in such transactions over the past three years, says a Assocham-PwC report
Banking services across the country were hit on Wednesday by the day-long strike by 10 central trade unions and 14 bank unions, but workers of largest lender SBI and a few other banks stayed off the agitation.
74 of these fatalities were reported by 8 companies: Coal India (21), L&T (14), Vedanta (13, of which Hindustan Zinc reported 7), Tata Steel (7), Power Grid Corporation of India (7), JSW Steel (6), and ONGC (6).
Bank employees body AIBEA, which is a major constituent of the United Forum of Bank Employees' Association that has called a nationwide strike, on Tuesday said Finance Minister P Chidambaram rejecting wage demands of bank employees is "unfortunate" and the strike was forced on them.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on February 17 a fresh plea of a Congress leader seeking investigation under the supervision of a sitting apex court judge against the Adani group of companies in light of the allegations made by the US-based Hindenburg Research.
When contacted whether Letters Rogatory have been sent, CBI sources said "it is in the process".
26 chartered accountants associated with such shell companies have also been identified
Balakrishnan, a full professor in the economics department who joined the private university in 2015, on Saturday wrote to Ashoka University Chancellor Rudrangshu Mukherjee and board of trustees chairperson Pramath Raj Sinha explaining his reasons for his resignation.
'Every time a new tech comes in, there are a set of people who will predict that this will be the end of Indian IT and every time the Indian IT industry and overall technology providers have proven to be resilient.'
Assuming the private bank issues 20 billion shares at Rs 10 apiece (with face value of Rs 2 each), the total capital raise will be Rs 20,000 crore. And for the 49 per cent stake, SBI will need to put in about Rs 10,000 crore.
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on Thursday trained its guns on the Adani Group, alleging hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in publicly traded group stocks through Mauritius-based 'opaque' investment funds managed by partners of promoter family, charges the conglomerate denied vehemently.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net buyers to the tune of Rs 12,266 crore in the Indian market in the first five trading sessions of February, as positive sentiment post-Union Budget 2021 sparked a rally in investment.
NavIC consists of a constellation of seven satellites and a network of ground stations and is touted to be more accurate than GPS.
'Isn't it obvious? Do you have a doubt? There is so much data that shows that there is quid pro quo.' 'There are many instances of donations being given after the raids, donations being given before the award of a contract and many other permutations and combinations.'
Tension between the government, specially the finance ministry, and RBI is as old as the central bank itself.
A bunch of CEOs in their mid-30s and early 40s are trying to rectify the scenario where shady lending applications trap hapless borrowers with astronomically high interest rates and even bodily harm if the money was repaid. Anup Roy reports.
At a time when banks are engaged in a fierce battle to gain market share in the credit card segment, Citibank India has been losing its share, both in terms of outstanding cards and spends in the last few years. Still, average spends on Citi cards are higher than any other Indian bank. Last year, the global banking behemoth announced exit from its consumer banking franchises in 13 markets across Europe, Middle East and Asia, including India, citing lack of scale.