The size of the Indian financial services market could touch around $340 billion in the next few years.
India has the lowest labour force participation rate in South Asia and one of the lowest in the world, points out Aakar Patel.
Despite the current bout of volatility, debt-oriented hybrid funds remain well suited for risk-averse investors.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday pitched for using the USO Fund to subsidise smartphones for select groups to help penetrate the digital revolution and said India should make the rollout of 5G or the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks a national priority. As much as 5 per cent of the licence fee paid by telecom operators goes to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund, which was set up in April 2002 for achieving universal service objectives by providing access to telephone services in rural and remote areas and creation of infrastructure for mobile services and broadband in these areas. However, according to the CAG, less than half of the funds so collected are transferred for the said purpose.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Monday pressed for bridging the digital divide "both among nations and within nations", saying connectivity and communications have become the fundamental rights of every person. Also, there is a need to bring back the economies around the globe. Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, he said it is difficult to imagine what India would have been without the 4G telecom network during the pandemic. "The digital divide must be bridged, both among nations and within nations.
Domestic pharma major Panacea Biotec in collaboration with Russian sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has begun the production of 'Sputnik V' COVID-19 vaccine in India, according to a joint statement issued.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com After a brief respite at the year's start, FPIs have dumped shares worth more than $5.7 billion (Rs 42,596 crore), taking the cumulative net outflows since October to $10.5 billion (Rs 78,466 crore), and adding to the volatility on the bourses. The figure would have been a lot worse had it not been for net purchases to the tune of $5.7 billion in the primary market from October to date.
According to a report by New World Wealth, the bulk of London's second home buyers come from the rest of the UK and Europe and a substantial number also came from China, India, Russia and West Asia.
Other countries need not be worried by Trump putting America first, says B S Raghavan. 'That is what the imperative duty is of everyone heading his country's government: To put his own country first, and make it great.' 'That is what Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Theresa May, Angela Merkel, Shinzo Abe and all the democratically elected heads of governments, with the interest of their people at heart, are doing.'
European soccer's governing body UEFA on Monday said clubs and players joining the proposed breakaway Super League could be banned from all of its competitions and the World Cup as it condemned a "disgraceful and self-serving proposal".
World record-holder Rebecca Adlington credited pasta and pizza for her return to form with a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games women's 800 metres freestyle on Thursday.
World No 1 Nicol Ann David says she's well-prepared for the Commonwealth Games.
Support from the committee gives Xi an indefinite extension on the reins of power, which will surely result in hawkish and insular policies. It does not bode well for relations with the USA, or with anyone else who does not bow the knee to Beijing, for that matter.
Indians continued their strong show at the fifth Commonwealth Youth Games, winning five medals, including two gold, on the second day of competition in Apia, Samoa, on Tuesday. Weightlifter Deepak Lather (boys' 62kg category) and javelin thrower Mohd Hadish won a gold each in their respective events, while Jisna Mathew won a silver in the girls' 400 metres.
Understanding how money works is the first step toward making your money work for you, says Harshad Chetanwala, co-founder MyWealthGrowth.
'If you sit collar turned up and tell yourself, you are great, you will never evolve as an actor.'
Images from the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match played between Switzerland and Sweden in St Petersburg on Tuesday
India's widening current account deficit (CAD), driven by the massive spike in commodity prices led by crude oil, is set to put pressure on the fragile recovery, warns a brokerage report that has revised upwards its CAD forecast to $45 billion or 1.4 per cent of GDP by March. According to a report by British brokerage Barclays, the worries arise from the fact that the trade deficit has been jumping continuously since July. From an average monthly trade deficit of $12 billion till June, it has jumped to $16.8 billion in July-October, with September showing the highest-ever trade deficit on record at $22.6 billion, the report said.
'There is a vision in the Budget, and the vision is to take India from a largely agrarian, rural economy into a fast-track digitalised economy.'
Ola founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Bhavish Aggarwal will step back from day-to-day operations to focus more on engineering functions, team building, and products, apart from focusing on long-term strategic projects, such as two-wheelers, cars, and innovations in quick commerce and international expansion. "I'll be spending more time with all engineering functions, team building, and on products," said Aggarwal in an internal note, adding, "I'll also be increasing my focus on our longer-term strategic projects, including new two-wheeler products, our car project, innovations in quick commerce, electrifying ride-hailing, our cell research and development (R&D), international expansion, building our Pune technology (tech) centre, and Futurefoundry UK." To drive scale, speed, and quality, Aggarwal said he is expanding Ola Group's chief financial officer (CFO) G R Arun Kumar's role to help him steer 'day-to-day operations' across the group.
India were assured of a medal without even landing a punch as Paramjeet Samota got a bye into the super heavyweight (+91kg) category, while Jai Bhagwan didn't have to slog too hard either before advancing to the lightweight (60kg) quarter-finals on the opening day of the fifth Commonwealth Boxing Championships in Delhi on Friday.
Taking lessons from that, I would think seamless digital payments is something you have to clearly have a roadmap for, the FM said.
'The big power struggle in faraway Europe erupted at a most critical juncture when India has been increasingly sceptical about American policies and statesmanship,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Tech Mahindra was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3 per cent, followed by NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and Reliance Industries. NSE Nifty fell 185.60 points to 17,671.65.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Friday backed the proposed data privacy and cryptocurrency bills, saying India is putting in place the most forward-looking policies and regulations. Ambani, who has been a votary of Indians owning and controlling their own data and the nation drafting strict rules around how digital information is stored and shared, said nations have the right to build and protect strategic digital infrastructure. Stating that data is the 'new oil', he said every citizen's right to privacy has to be safeguarded. "India is putting in place the most forward-looking policies and regulations," he said at the Infinity Forum, hosted by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
India and New Zealand will lock horns for the inaugural WTC title from June 18-22, four days after the Test series against England
Blockchain's promise: Dramatically speeding up transactions, explains Ajit Balakrishnan.
What is your USP?
Why should your customers come to only you and nobody else? What particular problem are you solving? Solve these puzzles before launching a stat up suggests Rajiv Talreja.
Lewis Hamilton saw his net worth rise by 37 million pounds over the last year.
Whether one likes it or not, services constitute the value-addition sector that the country has to build on, using its comparative advantage in infotech and related skills, suggests T N Ninan.
The US remains the country with the largest number of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) households.
These funds have lowered the entry barrier for investors who can now invest with just Rs 5,000, points out Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Ben Stokes' aggressive batting has an intimidating effect on the bowlers and England's stand-in captain Jos Buttler wants the premier all-rounder to carry this rampaging form for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming Indian Premier League, starting next month.
'Do some profit booking and bring your equity allocation back to its original level.'
'If we go in the same direction as them, we cannot expect a different result from them.' 'Our fall is going to be very swift.' 'Within a decade, we can expect the situation to change for the worse.'
'May it be the guardian which calls for breaking down narrow walls of the mind.' 'May it continue to invite everyone to celebrate the possibilities of humanity's one-ness.' Claude Arpi salutes 50 years of Auroville, a Grand Experiment in Living.
In the documentary The World Before Her, a young girl has to submit to the will of her father for a most gut-wrenching reason: 'He let me live... I am a girl... but he let me live.' Is that reason enough, asks Suparn Verma.
Mukesh Ambani is stringing in new partnerships within the Reliance ecosystem with the best in global business -- from Facebook, Google and Microsoft to umpteen sovereign wealth funds and a soon-to-be-declared strategic partner in a big global retailer, notes Shailesh Dobhal.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday pitched for formulating a policy for using the Reserve Bank of India's rising foreign exchange reserves for funding road projects, saying the country needs low cost finance for such infrastructure projects. Addressing a virtual event organised by industry body CII, Gadkari further said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should also have a financial arm like the power ministry's Power Finance Corporation (PFC). "We have a surplus of dollar reserves in the country. I have decided to talk with the RBI Governor, about how we can formulate a policy by which we can use this foreign exchange reserves for development of infrastructure in the country," he said.
The government will investigate every Indian name appearing in an unprecedented leak of financial records, known as the 'Pandora Papers', which alleged that many world leaders have secret offshore stores of wealth.