The World Bank has approved loans totalling $1.75 billion (about Rs 13,834.54 crore) to fund India's PM Ayushman Bharat scheme and private investment to boost the economic growth. Of the total loan, $1 billion will go towards the health sector, while the rest $750 million will be in the form of development policy loan (DPL) to fill the financing gaps through private sector investment in the economy. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved two complementary loans of $500 million each to support and enhance India's health sector.
In the June quarter of FY24, 51 per cent of consumers who took small-ticket personal loans already had more than four credit products at the time of accessing yet another new loan, compared with just 17 per cent in the June quarter of FY20, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Ajay Banga will be a 'transformative leader', who will bring expertise, experience, and innovation to the position of World Bank President, United States President Joe Biden has said after the top Indian-American business executive was confirmed as the new head of the international lender.
Coming Wednesday, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman will present the 2023 Union Budget - the last full Budget ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. While India exited 2022 as a relatively bright spot in the global economy, the FM will endeavour to present a Budget that insulates India's economy against global headwinds and recession in advanced economies, while sticking to the path of fiscal consolidation. In this, she is being helped by her core team of trusted advisors.
Benchmark indices fell sharply on Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty tumbling nearly 2 per cent each amid weak global market trends and foreign fund outflows. Falling for the fourth straight day, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 953.70 points or 1.64 per cent to settle at 57,145.22. During the day, it plummeted 1,060.68 points or 1.82 per cent to 57,038.24.
Equity indices fell sharply by nearly 2 per cent each, extending their decline for the third day running on Friday, amid an overall bearish trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,020.80 points or 1.73 per cent to settle at 58,098.92. During the day, it tumbled 1,137.77 points or 1.92 per cent to 57,981.95.
Equity benchmark Sensex declined over 410 points to close below the 61,000-mark on Thursday, tracking weakness in M&M, Bajaj Finserv and Reliance Industries amid widespread selling pressure in global markets. A depreciating rupee also put pressure on domestic equities, traders said. In a subdued session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 419.85 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 60,613.70.
The Centre on Monday defended in the Supreme Court the third extension of service granted to Enforcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra, asserting it was due to a peer review being conducted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) this year and said he will retire this November.
Reliance ADAG, Tech Mahindra among top recruiters at IIM-A
Indian society may be more advanced than we think it is, notes Ajit Balakrishnan.
Banks do extensive investigation before declaring an account fraud; they owe it to us as they deal with our money. Why would they try to fix an innocent borrower? asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Benchmark indices ended on a firm note on Friday, extending their previous day's gain, amid continuous foreign fund inflows and a positive trend in the global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 104.92 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 59,793.14. During the day, it jumped 431.58 points or 0.72 per cent to 60,119.80.
The next annual budget of India will have to be very carefully structured to sustain the country's growth momentum, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, noting that it will also address inflation concerns. Visiting Washington DC to attend the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the finance minister was responding to a question on the next year's Budget at a fire-side chat with eminent economist Eshwar Prasad at the prestigious Brookings Institute. "Specifics (of the next Budget) may be difficult at this stage because it's a bit too early. "But broadly, the growth priorities will be kept absolutely on the top. "Even as I speak about the concerns that inflation brings before me. So, inflation concerns will have to be addressed. "But then how would you manage growth would be the natural question," Sitharaman said.
Benchmark Sensex dropped 334 points on Monday due to intense selling pressure in metal and power stocks as FII outflows dampened investor sentiment. Besides, a sharp decline in the rupee against the US dollar also put pressure on domestic equities, traders said. After losing nearly 500 points, the 30-share BSE index recovered some lost ground to settle at 334.98 points or 0.55 per cent lower at 60,506.90. During the session, the index touched its intra-day low of 60,345.61.
At a meeting of the Institute of International Finance, a global association of financial institutions, Standard Chartered Bank Chief Economist, Gerard Lyons, raised doubts over the Centre's projections of reducing fiscal deficit from 2010-11's estimate of 5.1 per cent. "I am skeptical whether fiscal deficit can be reduced as planned," he said.
Equity indices ended lower on Wednesday amid mixed global market trends ahead of the keenly awaited US Fed interest rate decision. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 262.96 points or 0.44 per cent to settle at 59,456.78. During the day, it tanked 444.34 points or 0.74 per cent to 59,275.40. The NSE Nifty went lower by 97.90 points or 0.55 per cent to end at 17,718.35.
Equity benchmarks ended lower on Thursday as a fag-end sell-off wiped out early gains, with IT and bank stocks playing spoilsport amid monthly derivatives expiry. After remaining in the positive territory for most part of the trade, the BSE Sensex suddenly came under selling pressure during the last half-hour of the session, declining 310.71 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 58,774.72. During the day, it hit a high of 59,484.35 and a low of 58,666.41.
From the Sensex pack, ITC jumped 4.74 per cent. The other major gainers were IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and ICICI Bank. HDFC, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Power Grid and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.
Any additional effort to assuage the growing worldwide hunger for infrastructure funding is more than welcome, says Barun Roy.
From the Sensex pack, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC, ITC, Nestle, Larsen & Toubro, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid and IndusInd Bank were the major laggards on Friday. In contrast, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Wipro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries and State Bank of India were the major winners.
From the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, State Bank of India, ITC, Titan, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank were among the major winners. Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints and HDFC were among the major laggards.
Benchmark indices declined for the third day running on Tuesday, with the Sensex tumbling 567.98 points amid weak global markets and continuous foreign funds outflow. Investors were risk averse ahead of the RBI's policy decision on Wednesday, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 567.98 points or 1.02 per cent to settle at 55,107.34.
Benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Wednesday, dragged down by losses in banking stocks amid weak global market trends. The 30-share Sensex declined by 168.08 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 59,028.91. During the day, it fell 474.1 points or 0.80 per cent to 58,722.89. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 31.20 points or 0.18 per cent to 17,624.40.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday highlighted "significant reforms" undertaken by the government including National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) and National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) as she met institutional investors in Boston. Sitharaman arrived in the US on Monday for a week-long trip to attend the annual meet of the World Bank and IMF in Washingon as well as G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting. During the official visit to the US, Sitharaman is expected to meet US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to join the grouping.
The World Bank has appointed Indermit Gill, an Indian national, chief economist and senior vice-president for development economics at the multilateral development bank. "Indermit Gill brings to this role a combination of leadership, invaluable expertise and practical experience working with country governments on macroeconomic imbalances, growth, poverty, institutions, conflict, and climate change," World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement. His appointment will be effective September 1, 2022.
Indian cities need $840 bn investment over 15 yrs, says World Bank report.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty took a beating on Thursday and dropped over 1 per cent each, weighed by selling in index major Reliance Industries, IT and banking stocks amid weak global trends. The BSE Sensex fell 770.48 points or 1.29 per cent to settle at 58,766.59. During the day, it tanked 1,014.5 points or 1.70 per cent to 58,522.57. Similarly, the NSE Nifty declined 216.50 points or 1.22 per cent to close at 17,542.80.
'If you look at the order books of capital equipment companies or money deployed on the ground, there is forward movement in terms of actual investment by the private sector.'
India's dream to be in the forefront of international politics has come true. India has placed itself firmly as a major player in the shaping of a new world order, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended over 1 per cent higher on Friday, helped by heavy buying in Infosys and banking stocks amid a rally in global stock markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 684.64 points or 1.20 per cent to settle at 57,919.97. During the day, it rallied 1,199.79 points or 2.09 per cent to 58,435.12.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed marginally down in a volatile trade on Friday following profit booking in financials and IT shares amid a weak trend in global equity markets. Snapping its two-day gaining streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 30.81 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 58,191.29. During the day, it fell 370.95 points or 0.63 per cent to 57,851.15.
Brand India's societal divisions and distortions have remained as much relevant in 'liberal' America and Europe as it still is in the structurally stratified Indian society of the 21st century, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty bounced back on Tuesday to close over 2 per cent higher amid positive trends in global equity markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex spurted 1,276.66 points or 2.25 per cent to settle at 58,065.47. During the day, it zoomed 1,311.13 points or 2.30 per cent to 58,099.94. The broader NSE Nifty rallied 386.95 points or 2.29 per cent to end at 17,274.30.
Equity benchmark indices ended lower on Friday, halting their eight-day rally, amid a weak trend in global markets and emergence of profit-taking. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 415.69 points or 0.66 per cent to settle at 62,868.50. During the day, it tanked 604.56 points or 0.95 per cent to 62,679.63.
Benchmark indices continued their downtrend for the fifth session on the trot on Thursday, with the Sensex tumbling nearly 817 points in early trade, tracking weak global trends and selling in index majors Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. Unabated selling by foreign institutional investors also weighed on the sentiment. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 816.78 points lower at 53,271.61. The NSE Nifty declined 234.05 points to 15,933.05.
'Rahul inspired Indian industry with an ethos, an ethos of being more confident, more independent, more thorough, more competitive, more generous, more public-spirited, and more national and more international all at once,' remembers Naushad Forbes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stressed the need to make India's banks and currency an important part of the international trade and supply chain. The prime minister also exhorted financial institutions to continuously encourage good financial and corporate governance practices. Inaugurating the iconic week celebrations by the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Modi said India has developed various financial inclusion platforms and there is a need to create awareness about them for their optimum utilisation.
In his opening remarks at the virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Modi also said that some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policy and the grouping must not hesitate to criticise them.
Equity benchmarks staged a comeback during the fag-end of trade on Wednesday, with the Sensex climbing over 214 points amid continuous foreign fund inflows and a largely positive trend in global markets. Buying in IT counters and Reliance Industries added to the momentum. In a volatile session, the 30-share BSE benchmark ended 214.17 points or 0.37 per cent higher at 58,350.53.
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