The interplay between domestic and foreign capital will shape India's equity markets.
Brokerages expect a further slowdown in Indian firms' revenue and earnings growth in Q4FY25, following low single-digit growth in the preceding three quarters, as factors like weak consumer demand and credit growth linger on.
India has a huge untapped population which doesn't have facilities for financial aid and insurance, and it is perhaps plausible to look at the option of having niche players catering to smaller sectors akin to non-banks and microfinance institutions in lending, said Rakesh Joshi, member (Finance & Investment), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai). Speaking at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit, Joshi said, "Today, most of our insurance companies operate at a national level. There is arguably a case for having differentiated operations, which cater to niche sectors the same way we have non-banking financial companies (NBFC) and microfinance institutions in lending." "The capital requirement for niche players may not be as large as those having national ambitions. "Enabling these niche players, which require lower capital, will enhance the penetration in areas which hitherto had not seen traction from large players," he said.
'With a very stable technology with limited functionalities, a large network has spanned out.'
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
Investors will take cues from the December quarter corporate earnings, with blue-chips like Infosys, Reliance Industries scheduled to report their results this week, in addition, inflation data and trading activity of foreign investors will also be crucial in dictating market trends, analysts said.
Mint Road, on December 21, 2023, flagged the role of self-regulatory organisations (SROs) in strengthening the compliance culture in regulated entities (REs) and providing a consultative platform for policymaking. It also decided to issue an omnibus framework for SROs.
DIIs owned equities worth Rs 73.5 trillion, just 1.9 per cent less than FPIs. This marks a significant change from a decade ago.
Will allowing business correspondents to hawk insurance products help in reviving 5-lakh strong field agents as a viable channel?
rediffGURU Rohit Gupta, co-founder and COO of College Vidya, provides a list of competitive exams that can help you land a job in the public sector.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
Five state-run general insurance companies have a total exposure of Rs 347.64 crore, or 0.14 per cent of their total assets under management (AUM), in Adani group of companies, the finance ministry said on Monday. In a written reply to a question by Congress' Manish Tewari, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said Life Insurance Corp (LIC) held Rs 35,917.31 crore in debt and equity of Adani group of companies as on December 31, 2022. This is 0.97 per cent of its total assets under management (AUM) of Rs 41.66 trillion.
The BJP may win more seats in the February 5 assembly election, but not enough to trump AAP, notes Ramesh Menon.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Insurance behemoth LIC on Tuesday said it has garnered a little over Rs 5,627 crore from anchor investors led primarily by domestic institutions ahead of its mega initial public offering (IPO). Anchor Investors' (AIs) portion (5,92,96,853 equity shares) was subscribed at Rs 949 per equity share, the insurer said in an early morning filing to exchanges. Out of the allocation of about 5.9 crore shares to AIs, 4.2 crore shares (71.12 per cent) were allocated to 15 domestic mutual funds through 99 schemes, the filing said.
"The new structure will substantially reduce taxes on the middle class and leave more money in their hands, boosting household consumption, savings and investment," Sitharaman said presenting what was dubbed as 'reformist' budget for the next fiscal in Lok Sabha.
rediffGURU Samkit Maniar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
The Rs 6,145-crore initial public offer of electric two-wheeler company Ola Electric Mobility got fully subscribed on the second day of bidding on Monday, driven by demand from retail investors and non-institutional investors. The initial share sale received bids for 49,43,63,610 shares against 46,51,59,451 shares on offer, translating into 1.06 times subscription, according to the NSE data.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
India's financial sector is dominated by large government-owned and private-sector banks.
There was no smooth surge in middle class prosperity for foreign businesses to tap into because of the Indian economy was mismanaged, argues Debashis Basu.
Market reaction to the Union Budget was overall neutral. The income tax "gift" wasn't enough to move the needle. There was some apparent rationalisation of Customs duty structure as well as cuts on import duties of some key components for the telecom and IT industry and duty cuts on vehicle imports. Other proposals related to development of agriculture and rural economy and renewables seem to be generally positive.
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.
Younger people, who usually have a longer investment horizon which allows them to handle the interim volatility, may go for them.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have infused a record Rs 4.6 trillion into Indian equities over the course of Samvat 2080, marking the highest net annual investment in any Samvat to date. This robust domestic inflow has effectively counterbalanced the comparatively subdued investments from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), who contributed a net Rs 90,956 crore within the same timeframe. Against this backdrop, the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex indices are on track to achieve their best performance in three Samvat years, despite recent market corrections.
The last four years, the best for corporate profits in a long time, have not been as impressive for corporate capital expenditure. The combined net profits of India's top listed companies excluding banks, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.4 per cent since FY20, a sharp jump from the 7.4 per cent in corporate earnings between FY14 and FY19.
There is discrimination against women in insurance cover. As a flood of insurance companies tap the capital markets with public issues, there is however, hardly any reference to this asymmetry. Subhomoy Bhattacharjee reports
Allocation to bank deposits -- fixed deposits, savings account deposits, and current account deposits -- came down.
In two years, the start-up Overqualified Housewives has helped over 6,000 women across India find flexible-job roles across India from salaries ranging between Rs 8,000 to Rs 80,000, making them financially independent.
Only investors with knowledge of cryptocurrencies, long-term conviction, and a long horizon should invest in this asset class.
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
Insurance companies are seeking a separate deduction limit of Rs 1 lakh for insurance premium payment under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act in the upcoming Union Budget to bring in more people under the ambit of insurance. The insurers also want reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rate of 18 per cent currently applied on health insurance products to 5 per cent to make such products more affordable to common people. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for 2022-23 on February 1.
RBI interest rate decision, macroeconomic data and global trends would guide markets' movement this week, analysts said. Besides, trading activity of foreign investors and the last batch of Q1 earnings announcements would also guide trends in equities. HSBC PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) for the services sector is scheduled to be announced on Monday.
'Healthcare is not an industry.' 'The government is only encouraging insurance as they are not able to provide healthcare to people.' 'Opening new medical colleges is not what is needed.' 'You have to invest in public sector hospitals.' 'You cannot hand over healthcare to the private industry.'
Rediff.com, one of India's pioneering internet companies, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mr Vishal Mehta as its new Chairman and Managing Director. This key leadership change follows Infibeam Avenues Ltd's acquisition of a majority stake in Rediff.com.
Cases of front-running mostly happen when large asset managers and intermediaries are involved in bulk trades as their transaction size is generally big enough to impact the stock price.
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