Prudential plc has announced its acquisition of a 75 per cent stake in Bharti Life Insurance for approximately 3,500 crore, a strategic move to secure majority ownership in the Indian life insurance market. This acquisition necessitates Prudential reducing its holding in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to below 10 per cent.
HDFC Bank's share in active mutual fund schemes has fallen to multi-year lows, despite overall MF ownership in the bank rising, as the stock faces weak performance, soft margins, and governance concerns.
'Since the category has a limited track record, assess the fund manager's experience across equity and debt market cycles rather than relying only on past returns.'
'Every period of excessive optimism eventually gives way to a correction, while periods of extreme pessimism often create the best investment opportunities.'
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated that banks must dispose of immovable assets acquired against bad loans within seven years through public auction, effective October 1, 2026, and has also barred their sale back to the original borrower or related parties.
Celebrations marking India's 80th Independence Day in the New York tri-state area culminated in a world record, with more than 1,300 US flags surrounded by Indian tricolours arranged to form the number "250", in a tribute to America's semiquincentennial anniversary.
Premature surrender and withdrawal of life insurance policies in India have surpassed maturity payouts over the past five years, indicating a growing trend of policyholders exiting long-term policies before their full tenure, according to data presented in the Lok Sabha.
HDFC Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance have reported double-digit growth in profitability for the first quarter of FY27, buoyed by healthy premium collections and increased investment income, with HDFC Life's net profit rising 11.9% and ICICI Pru's by 27.8%.
The RBI once again said the Tata group holding company's application for deregistration as an NBFC remains under examination.
In essence, Tata Sons will continue to be a CIC, whether registered or unregistered. It will have to follow the 90:60 principle.
If it qualifies as belonging to the upper layer, public listing will be one of the regulatory requirements. However, if it qualifies as 'unregistered CIC', it will escape from prudential regulation, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
SBI Funds Management, India's largest asset management company, has set its IPO price band between 545 and Rs 574 per share, valuing the company at 1.2 trillion. The management explained the 'moderate' valuation aims to instil investor confidence amidst market uncertainty, while also highlighting plans for AI integration, expansion into GIFT City, and new alternative investment funds.
The initial public offer (IPO) of SBI Funds Management Ltd was fully subscribed on the second day of bidding, receiving bids for 1.17 times the shares on offer, with strong interest from non-institutional investors and anchor investors.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries
The SIF vertical, which allows MFs to offer complex products to relatively sophisticated investors, has managed to garner scale in just seven months of the launch of the first products.
Investors now have 27 passive smallcap funds to choose from 17 index funds and 10 ETFs.
Major life insurers in India reported close to double-digit growth in the value of new business (VNB) last financial year, primarily driven by increased sales of high-margin protection and non-participating (non-par) products.
The Reserve Bank of India's proposal to allow non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) access to the term money market is projected to significantly increase market volumes by 40-60 per cent in the first year, potentially doubling turnover within two to three years, according to treasury executives.
The Reserve Bank of India's Financial Stability Report indicates that the interim peace deal between the US and Iran has favourably shifted the balance of risks, reducing headwinds from the West Asia conflict. However, it cautions that exchange rate volatility could increase if crude oil prices spike due to delayed normalisation of supply chain disruptions.
Listed capital market companies in India delivered strong fourth-quarter earnings growth, with a universe of 12 firms posting 30 per cent year-on-year revenue growth and 19 per cent earnings growth in Q4FY26, despite mark-to-market (MTM) losses impacting headline profitability for some.
Life cycle funds may suit people who are starting their investing journey. They may suit those who do not want to monitor their investments frequently. Busy professionals, beginners and delegators, who lack the time, information or interest to manage asset allocation actively, may find these funds useful.
Former wicketkeeper-batter Syed Kirmani revealed that he was in contention for India captaincy along with Dilip Vengsarkar ahead of the 1983 World Cup before the selection panel zeroed in on legendary Kapil Dev.
Rapid growth in personal gold loans has raised concerns over borrower leverage, large-ticket exposure and volatility in gold prices, points out Swaminathan J, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
Analysts are increasingly optimistic about India's capital markets, with HDFC AMC, CAMS, and KFin Technologies identified as top investment picks. This optimism stems from a structural shift in household savings towards financial instruments and an expected multi-year earnings expansion for market infrastructure providers and asset management companies.
Shares of Indian life insurance companies, particularly SBI Life Insurance and Canara HSBC Life Insurance, saw significant declines after the Department of Financial Services (DFS) secretary, M Nagaraju, stated that banks are being asked to avoid exclusive tie-ups with their own insurance subsidiaries and instead remain neutral.
Indian insurance companies are bracing for reduced profitability in Q4FY26, primarily due to the rationalisation of GST on retail life and health policies, leading to a loss of input tax credit, coupled with volatility in equity markets impacting investment income.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday proposed to allow banks to lend to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with certain prudential safeguards to deepen the financing pool for the real estate sector.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company has set a price band of Rs 2,061- Rs 2,165 per share for its Rs 10,600-crore initial public offering (IPO) that will open on Friday. At the upper end of the band, the country's largest asset manager will command a valuation of Rs 1.07 trillion.
With domestic markets turning choppy, investors are increasingly scouting for opportunities overseas to diversify portfolios and hedge against a weakening rupee.
Stock markets closed higher on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as expected and proposed allowing banks to lend to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with certain prudential safeguards to deepen the financing pool for the real estate sector.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Their assets under management (AUM) rose from Rs 1.04 trillion (January 31, 2025) to Rs 1.75 trillion (January 31, 2026), an increase of 68.3 per cent.
The loss of input tax credit (ITC) following the rationalisation of the goods and services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance from 18 per cent to nil is may weigh on the profits of life insurers in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025-26 (FY26).
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday came out with a draft framework on declaration of dividend by banks, as it proposed capping dividend payout to shareholders at 75 per cent of their net profit-- also called profit after tax (PAT).
The new labour Codes, notified by the central government in November 2025, have pushed up employee costs for private-sector banks and insurance companies, with these firms reporting higher operating expenses in the October-December quarter (Q3FY26) due to the statutory impact of the new labour Codes.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
The life insurance industry recorded nearly 40 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in new business premiums (NBP), aided by the rationalisation of goods and services tax (GST) on individual life insurance premiums, which has made policies more affordable for consumers.
The insurance industry is trying to get to grips with provisions in the proposed Insurance Amendment Bill, which gives additional powers to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), while there is ambiguity in the very definition of the insurance business, according to industry experts.
Banks cannot treat compliance as a quarter-end activity, and must have stronger operational discipline and data governance throughout the year, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J said in a speech at the Third Annual Global Conference of the College of Supervisors.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
