According to the latest report by Internet and Mobile Association of India, the number of people from rural regions accessing internet rose 73 per cent in the last two years.
India's extreme poverty rate declined sharply to 5.3 per cent over a decade from 27.1 per cent in 2011-12 even as the World Bank revised upwards its threshold poverty line to $3 per day.
Public sector banks (PSBs) have seen a sharp drop in household deposits from 70.6 per cent to 63 per cent in contrast with private banks, which witnessed a surge from 27.1 per cent to 34.1 per cent.
... with a maximum speed of 200 megabits per second (mbps) across the country for Rs 3,000 per month.
'While we expand into other areas, banca remains our primary channel, and we continue to be a banca-led organisation.'
Respect for India is increasing all over. One can experience the change, Modi said.
Praising Mohan Bhagwat for his intellectual depth and empathetic leadership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his tenure as the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since 2009 will be considered the most transformative period in its 100-year journey.
'That a song can carry the weight of a people's dreams and move hearts across the world.' On Bhupen Hazarika's 99th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays rich tribute to the legendary singer and composer.
The data profiles the country's rural households.
The Indian Post Payments Bank will be a boon to Indians who live in rural areas. India has 154,000 post offices, of which 139,000 are rural.
Singapore's state investor Temasek Holdings, which recently picked up 10 per cent stake in Haldiram, has been consistently expanding its footprint in India while slowly withdrawing from China over the last three years amid growing geopolitical risks and economic headwinds. India has become Temasek's third-largest market, after Singapore (27 per cent) and China (18 per cent), with its exposure to the country higher than the rest of Asia Pacific excluding the three (11 per cent), according to Temasek's annual review.
The two-wheeler segment has shown signs of recovery in the first half (H1) of calendar year (CY) 2024, largely driven by improving performance in rural areas. According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations, rural contribution to two-wheeler sales surged by 57-60 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2024-25, indicating a rising demand in these regions. Experts believe that this trend will continue, supported by a favourable monsoon season and government initiatives aimed at rural development.
'Mohanji is a living example of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, showing that when we rise above boundaries and consider everyone as our own, it strengthens trust, brotherhood and equality in society.'
The rationalisation of goods and services tax (GST), announced on Wednesday, directly lowers the cost of everyday medical consumables, and also high-end therapies in oncology and rare diseases, helping reduce out-of-pocket patient expenditure and better adherence to medication.
'The E20 usage accrues the huge benefit to the nation, to the society, to the farmer, to the environment, to the exchequer and all of us'
'I can sanction projects worth Rs 20 trillion annually as of today.' 'But my system is only capable of executing projects worth Rs 3 trillion to Rs 4 trillion.'
The festival's People's Choice Award, voted by the audience, is a strong indication of films that can eventually be nominated and even win Oscars. Twelve of the last 15 People's Choice winners have received Best Picture Oscar nominations.
While a giant, it's a nimble-footed one, and is growing at a speed that even some of its private sector peers find enviable.
Between FY18 and FY24, it doubled its balance sheet. Despite being a late entrant in some segments, it has been able to grab market share, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Inaugurating the Grameen Bharat Mahotsav, the Prime Minister exuded confidence that villages will play a key role in pushing forward the dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
The 2023-2024 figures showed that the size of the industry, excluding those having an annual turnover of Rs 20 crore, could be Rs 30,652 crore, assuming no tax evasion.
At Vikram Phadnis' show for the Swades Foundation, practically half of Bollywood showed up.
Any industrial policy is only as good as how it is applied and the other reforms that support it. This was as true 40 years ago as it is now, points out Debashis Basu.
Bad loans in the agriculture sector remain elevated, with several public-sector banks (PSBs) reporting higher slippages in the April-June quarter of FY26. For many banks, non-performing assets (NPAs) in farm lending were 5 per cent or more, with some nearing double digits.'
Given the stronger rural activity, and potential goods and services tax (GST) impact, investors are bullish on the two-wheeler (2W) segment. In August, dealers in the domestic market picked up 11 per cent more 2Ws year-on-year (Y-o-Y), despite only 2 per cent growth in retail registrations. This indicates inventory stocking ahead of the festival season. Export trends were good. TVS Motor and Royal Enfield may have gained domestic market share.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will never compromise the interests of its farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers, asserting that he would be ready to pay any price.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 1,600-crore assistance package for flood-hit Punjab after reviewing the damage. He also announced ex gratia for the deceased and injured. The state is battling its worst deluge since 1988.
For nearly two decades, Nitish Kumar has cultivated women as a distinct constituency. 'To create a broader vote base, he thought it would be better to bring women to electoral politics.'
Overall, volume growth is likely to be in the range of 3-8 per cent for two-wheelers and 5-7 per cent for passenger vehicles owing to healthy demand from urban and rural areas and pending order books.
As an initial step, Internet.org and Unilever will carry out a comprehensive study to examine the opportunities to increase internet adoption in rural communities.
'These Marathas are farmers and they only do farming. They have no other business other than farming. Now, they want reservations because farming is no longer a profitable business.'In this interview, veteran farmers' rights advocate and founding member of the Shetkari Sanghatna, Vijay Jawandhia, with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff unpacks the historical and structural roots of the agitation.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of 'linguistic terror' and plotting to delete Bengali voters from electoral rolls, vowing to protect voting rights.
Ishwak Singh's earnestness and the rustic energy of his mates keeps Mitti engaging, even when it starts to get preachy, observes Deepa Gahlot.
"The company plans to come up with internet-based services for the rural market soon," Nokia Corporation President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told reporters in New Delhi. The company would also introduce these services in its mid-level mobile devices as well. The Finland-based company is looking at micro finance as a major initiative to increase mobile penetration in India from the current 26 per cent.
Vortex Engineering has launched one of India's greatest initiatives to extend banking services to several parts of rural India.
'It is for the first time in Independent India that collection of information on caste is being done.'
Ace designer Vikram Phadnis ended Day Four at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013 with a superb collection, a celebrity line up of stars, celebs and personalities from Raigad that told the glorious story of India's great craftsmen and traditions.
A cycle that runs on water and land, a scooter powered-flour mill, solar mosquito killer, a cycle powered washing machine - these are a few of the over one lakh outstanding innovations that have come from school dropouts and poor people who belong to rural India.
'The law under the guise of security represents a grave and unnecessary expansion of State power at the cost of fundamental rights,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Google says its AI models are being used across sectors in India, from improving maternal health programmes and streamlining patient-care to supporting agri-tech solutions and advancing the country's sovereign AI efforts.
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