India's economic growth is likely to reach pre-COVID-19 levels by the end of the 2021-22 fiscal as the GDP contraction in this financial year is expected to be less than 8 per cent, Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Sunday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also revised its forecast of economic growth for the current fiscal year (2020-21) to (-)7.5 per cent as against its earlier forecast of (-)9.5 per cent.
If a product claims to be 'Made with Natural Ingredients', this may mean that one ingredient is natural. However it does not mean the product is 100% natural, cautions Pavitra K, lead, new product development, True Elements.
Jewellers across the country will go on a 'token strike' on August 23 against the "arbitrary implementation" of mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery, All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) said on Friday. The strike will be supported by 350 associations and federations from all four zones of the entire gems and jewellery industry, the GJC claimed. Mandatory gold hallmarking has come into force from June 16 in a phased manner. The government has identified 256 districts from 28 states and union territories for the phase-1 implementation.
The good times are back, in a measured way, in fun spots across the globe.
We had asked you, our dear readers, to tell us what it is really like for a south Indian to marry a north Indian. Geetika Choudhary shares her story!
Given the expectations of growth in the packaged foods segment, the company seeks to become a Rs 1-trillion FMCG business by FY30.
Industrial production contracted by 1.9 per cent in November, entering the negative territory after a two-month gap, mainly due to poor showing by manufacturing and mining sectors, official data showed on Tuesday. The manufacturing sector -- which constitutes 77.63 per cent of the index of industrial production (IIP) -- recorded a contraction of 1.7 per cent in November 2020, as per data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). Mining sector output too witnessed a decline, shrinking 7.3 per cent.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) said on Tuesday that as many as 78,569 employees have opted for VRS, and added that it expects to save Rs 1,300 crore in wage bills this fiscal after the scheme becomes effective in January.
'Technology is streamliming the entire process of aid distribution and making it transparent and digital.'
Towering effigies of 10-headed demon king Ravana, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhakaran crackled in fiery splendour marking the triumph of good over evil as gusto and fervour marked Dussehra festivities across the country. Crowds burst into cheers as the stuffed effigies, dotting grounds and open spaces, went up in flames at sundown.
Marriott International is looking to make deeper inroads into leisure destinations as it seeks to make the most of domestic travellers' pent-up demand, said the company's top official. The world's largest hotel operator will add seven new properties in India in 2021, five of which will be in leisure locations - two in Goa, and one each in Mahabaleshwar, Thiruvananthapuram, and Dehradun.
Diesel rates had gone up by Rs 12.55 a litre between June 7, when oil firms resumed revising prices in line with cost, and July 25.
Flush with liquidity, banks are eager to lend. And, therein lies the problem, warns Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The sixth International Yoga Day is being observed across the world. "Yoga unites, spreads brotherhood," Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who played an instrumental role in popularising yoga in the world after coming to power in 2014, said in his message on Sunday. Since 2015, International Yoga Day, is a United Nations designated day. Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family, is the focus this year as experts advised people to stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government will seek Parliament's approval for Rs 37,000-crore additional spending on infrastructure development in the second batch of supplementary demands for grant. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced additional budget of Rs 25,000 crore as capital expenditure (capex) on roads, defence, water supply, urban development and domestically produced capital equipment. Besides, the central government approved issuance of a special interest-free 50-year loan to states of Rs 12,000 crore for infrastructure development.
Here's a recap of moments captured in India in the last week.
The severity of the second wave of COVID-19 infections in India poses a key challenge for the FMCG industry and the spread of the virus to rural areas on a relatively higher scale as compared to the first wave is also expected to weigh on industry growth outlook, according to ITC Ltd. There is heightened uncertainty around the timing and shape of the recovery trajectory of overall economic growth in India due to the virus, the company said in its Annual Report for 2020-21. In terms of consumption, urban-led recovery may be relatively muted compared to the first wave as consumers switch to precautionary savings mode and rising healthcare costs eat into household spending, while rural demand may also be blunted by the large-scale spread of the virus to the hinterland in the second wave.
For the first time, the bank is recruiting the CFO from outside its experienced talent pool of top management.
Petrol price in the national capital neared the Rs 85 a litre mark while diesel rates in Mumbai were close to Rs 82 as fuel prices were raised by 25 paise per litre each on Monday. Petrol now costs a lifetime high of Rs 84.95 per litre in Delhi while diesel comes for Rs 75.13, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies. The price hike on Monday came after three days of unchanged rates. Prices were last hiked by 50 paise a litre in two instalments on January 13 and 14.
S&P Global Ratings on Monday retained its forecast of 9 per cent contraction in the Indian economy for the current fiscal, saying even though there are now upside risks to growth but it will wait for more signs that COVID infections have stabilised or fallen. S&P, in its report on Asia Pacific, projected the Indian economy to grow at 10 per cent in the next fiscal.
Housing sales across seven major cities in the country fell 35 per cent year-on-year to 50,983 units during the July-September period even as the demand recovered post lockdown, according to data analytics firm PropEquity. Sales stood at 78,472 units in the year-ago period in seven cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.
One of the the biggest tax reforms since Independence, GST will create a national market for goods and services
Paytm's Rs 18,300 crore IPO was oversubscribed 1.89 times on the last day of India's biggest share sale on Wednesday, making it one of the country's most valued companies. The initial public offering of Paytm's parent company One97 Communications Ltd received bids for 9.14 crore equity shares against the offer size of 4.83 crore shares, according to information available from stock exchanges. While the portion set aside for retail investors was oversubscribed early, institutional buyers including FIIs flooded the share sale with offers on Wednesday, seeking 2.79 times the number of shares reserved for them.
Many weekly indicators turn positive as economy prepares for Unlock 3.0.
The move is significant since it signals the growing importance of foods in Marico's overall strategy. It also comes six months after Marico stepped into honey, a Rs 1,500-crore category dominated by players such as Dabur.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cut fuel subsidies while slapping additional fuel taxes on unblended transport fuels in the latest Union Budget. The former will hit the rural poor, households that secured a subsidised LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a programme that was partly instrumental in helping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win the 2019 general elections. The latter will pretty much hurt the entire population after it kicks in from October. That's what it looks like. Or, perhaps, it's not as it appears to be, at least on the subsidy front.
BSNL will start providing telecom services, both wireless and fixed line, in Mumbai and Delhi on behalf of MTNL from January 1 on a pilot basis for five to six months.
As many as 403 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of over Rs 4.05 lakh crore owing to delays and other reasons, according to a report.
Bajaj Auto has amended its dividend distribution policy as it seeks to reward its shareholders and boost return ratios. The amended policy will also consider the surplus the company has when calculating the dividend payout as a percentage of profits after tax, the Pune-based firm said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday reported a 55 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,245.88 crore for the second quarter ended September 30 on account of decline in bad loans. The bank's net profit stood at Rs 3,375.40 crore in July-September quarter of the previous fiscal, SBI said in a regulatory filing.
The COVID-19 active caseload remained below two lakh for the 14th consecutive day.
'The fiscal pressure will be there, but the intent of the government behind this move is to spur demand and growth.'
The action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers, RBI said.
Gross enrolments of new subscribers with ESIC were 1.49 crore during the entire financial year 2018-19, the National Statistical Office (NSO) said in a report.
People across the world, especially in India, started posting photos of the solar eclipse on social media this morning once the planetary event became visible from their cities.
India's services sector activity expanded at a slower pace in December as rates of growth in sales eased to a three-month low and staff hiring came to a halt amid weak business optimism, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell from 53.7 in November to 52.3 in December. The index was above the critical 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for the third month in a row during December, but pointed to the slowest pace of expansion in the three-month sequence.
Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal on Thursday warned about a rise in cyber frauds amid a massive surge in online transactions during the second wave of the pandemic, and asserted the company is working "relentlessly" and coming out with safety features to ensure customers are not vulnerable to fraudsters. In an e-mail outreach to customers, Vittal highlighted the modus operandi being adopted by fraudsters and also drew attention to cyber frauds related to digital payments. "With the growing second wave of the pandemic and lockdowns in various parts of the country, there has been a massive increase in online transactions. "Unfortunately, there has also been a corresponding increase in cyber fraud," Vittal said.
Regaining the lost sheen, sales of gold jewellery and coins are set to touch pre-COVID levels in volume terms on the auspicious Dhanteras as easing pandemic concerns and pent up demand saw consumers flocking to stores to buy the precious metal. Increased footfall at stores and brisk sales online as well as relatively softer gold prices compared to record Rs 57,000 per 10 grams level in August spurred increased buying, especially light weight offerings, on Tuesday. Dhanteras is considered to be auspicious for buying precious metals and other valuable items.
SBI to introduce OTP-based ATM transactions and the new feature will not require any major change in the present process to withdraw cash.
This was because of the closure of retail shops and factories after the nationwide lockdown was imposed to prevent spread of Covid-19, and a sharp increase in the metal's price.
