Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will migrate to a new information technology (IT) system within the next three months, Union labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday. In July last year, a clutch of officers at the retirement fund body had written a letter to the Central government complaining about archaic and "collapsing" software systems. Subscribers too were facing problems due to it.
In 2024, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) implemented significant reforms, focusing on cooling down the derivatives segment, enhancing transparency and accountability in small and midsised enterprise (SME) listings, and deepening the fund management ecosystem.
Dismissing the petitions, a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said Google Pay is "mere third-party app provider" which requires no authorisation from RBI under the Payments and Settlement Systems Act.
'Indian players in the digital market should not be dominated by global players, and they should not dominate the smaller players -- these discussions are on.'
Non-banking entities such as fintech firms will have to tap into use cases beyond peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions to scale up the presence of the retail version of the central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is also known as the e, said industry players. These use cases will enable programmable transactions across domains, including the government's direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes, with subsidies restricted to specific purposes such as food coupons, hospital bills, fertilisers, pesticides, and cross-border remittances.
Sir Osborne Smith was the first governor of the Reserve Bank, serving from April 1, 1935, to June 30, 1937.
Will work full day on other Saturdays; bank branches to be shut on 2nd, 4th Saturday from next month
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite hunger strike in support of various demands, has broken his fast after the Punjab government intervened and dispersed protesting farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu borders. The Supreme Court lauded Dallewal's efforts and acknowledged the government's action, while also asking for a status report on the situation. Contempt proceedings against the Punjab chief secretary and Director General of Police for not complying with the court's order of providing medical aid to Dallewal were dropped.
China on Tuesday retaliated US President Donald Trump's imposition of 2nd round of ten per cent tariffs on its export by slapping an additional 15 per cent tariffs on American goods and initiated legal action against Washington in WTO while leaving the door open for talks to address each other's concerns.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States recognises -- as have Israeli courts -- the legal conclusions relating to individual settlements must depend on an assessment of specific facts and circumstances on the ground.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday allowed payment system providers, prepaid card issuers, card networks and white label ATM operators access to its Centralised Payment Systems (CPS), such as real time gross settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) systems in the first phase of its plan bring non-banks in the same platform. "Direct access for non-banks to CPS lowers the overall risk in the payments ecosystem.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will travel to Beijing for a two-day trip beginning Sunday, marking the second high-profile visit from India to China in less than one-and-a-half months. The visit comes amidst ongoing border tensions and follows a recent disengagement pact between the two countries in eastern Ladakh. The Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism meeting will focus on the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains. The decision to revive this bilateral mechanism was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan in October.
'The true measure of Project Tiger's success is not just rising tiger numbers, but our ability to ensure harmonious human-wildlife coexistence'
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is working on a new payment system for the secondary market, which could prevent brokers from accessing their client funds. It will be on the lines of the Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) process used for subscribing to initial public offerings (IPOs), where funds move out of an investor's bank account only after the trade is confirmed. Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Wednesday said that despite the challenges, the new system would be ready in a few months.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday claimed that the state has achieved its 'Zero Casualty Mission' as there has been no report regarding any loss of human life or injury in the severe cyclonic storm Dana which made landfall in the coast on Thursday night.
A first information report (FIR) has been filed against four people in connection with the suicide of a 34-year-old deputy general manager of a private firm, Atul Subhash, who died by suicide, accusing his wife, her family members, and a judge of harassment, extortion, and corruption.
'The impact of CBDC on deposits and deposit insurance is largely unknown.'
By June 2025, financial freedom will be just an ATM away. Pleasantly surprised? But there's more, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (SAD), which led protests against Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has launched itself as a political party called the National Citizen Party (NCP). The new party, which aims to 'dismantle constitutional autocracy' and establish a 'second republic,' has pledged to create a 'solely Bangladesh-oriented' political system, with no room for 'pro-India and pro-Pakistan politics.' The NCP's inaugural rally was attended by representatives of various political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and envoys from the Vatican and Pakistan.
'A credit line on UPI is going to make banks think about credit fundamentally as they digitise the credit process entirely.'
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Whitefield, Shivakumar on Tuesday confirmed that Bengaluru-based techie Atul Subhash died by suicide in the early hours of December 9 following harassment from his wife and her family.
'What attitude has spawned such gruesomeness in the state of Saint Tukaram, Saint Dnyaneshwar, and great leaders like Chhatrapati Shivaji, Chhatrapati Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar?'
India has reduced the time period for foreign investors to seek international arbitration from five years to three years as part of the recently signed investment pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a departure from its model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Under the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, if the Indian judicial system is unable to resolve a dispute within this shortened period, investors can resort to international arbitration. The investment pact, signed on February 13 in Abu Dhabi, came into force on August 31, replacing the previous pact.
In Kerala's society, known for its high material standard of living, plunging into a state of having nothing overnight can be terrible for one's social standing and sense of self-esteem. Rehabilitation entails piecing a community back together after a disturbance and while its aim is noble, the act of reassembling will bring alive disparities and inequalities, explains Shyam G Menon.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that multiple rocket launches have been identified from Lebanon since the Yom Kippur fast started. Two UAVs were identified crossing from Lebanon into central Israel, according to IDF. A hit on a civilian building was identified and one UAV was intercepted.
Earlier this month, RBI told the Delhi high court that Google Pay is a third party app provider and does not operate any payment systems. Therefore, its operations are not in violation of the Payment and Settlement System Act of 2007.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to bring global payment systems such as MasterCard International and Visa International under its regulatory framework.
'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
Consensus remained elusive on a common BRICS currency as business leaders from the five-bloc nations debated the pivotal issue at a business forum on the periphery of a summit of the five-member bloc being hosted here by South Africa. In their two addresses at the Summit so far, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have made no or scant references to the issue either. "The BRICS Business Forum discussed the international payments system in detail. "Participants also debated the question of whether a BRICS currency is possible or desirable, with strong views expressed both for and against and little consensus reached," Sim Tshabalala, chief executive of Standard Bank Group, told several hundred captains of industry from the partner countries and over 40 other nations across the globe at the Summit.
Those who consider the rupee as a proxy for virility have started thumping their chests and dreaming of dethroning the dollar from its coveted position, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Over 100 writers, translators, and publishers have signed an open letter accusing the "JCB Prize for Literature" of hypocrisy, highlighting the British bulldozer manufacturer's role in demolitions across India and Palestine. They argue that the JCB's involvement in these projects contradicts its purported support for marginalized and diverse writers. The letter was released ahead of the announcement of the JCB Prize for Literature winners on November 23.
The Reserve Bank has restricted American Express Banking Corp and Diners Club International Ltd from on-boarding new domestic customers onto their card networks from May 1 for violating data storage norms. The order will not impact the existing customers of these two entities, the central bank said in a statement on Friday.
'If the BJP detoxifies the nuclear liability law, it will bring economic, environmental and, most of all, strategic benefits.' 'Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this Budget promise is met soon -- ideally, before Mr Modi heads to his first meeting with Trump 2.0,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
In a business friendly move, the Reserve Bank of India on Friday said that Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS), used for large value transactions, will be made available round-the-clock from December. In December 2019, the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system was made available on a 24x7x365 basis. Currently, RTGS is available for customers from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm on all working days of a week, except second and fourth Saturdays of every month.
Modi was honoured with the 'Order of Zayed', the UAE's highest civilian award, in 2019 as a mark of appreciation for his efforts to boost bilateral ties between the two nations.
'We may see even more restrictive policies during 2.0.'
The statement by IRGC which was televised on the country's state media, came, three days after Haniyeh was killed at his accommodation in northern Tehran following his attendance at the inaugural ceremony of Iran's new president Masoud Pezeshkian.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has granted approval to Paytm to onboard new UPI users, subject to the adherence to all procedural guidelines and circulars, according to the company. The move is expected to come as a relief to Paytm, which had suffered a blow following the Reserve Bank of India's restrictions earlier this year on associate company Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) in onboarding new UPI users on the Paytm app. In March, the NPCI gave approval to Paytm to participate in UPI as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP).
State-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has committed Rs 600 crore for its digital transformation journey, Sunder Krishnan, chief risk officer said on Wednesday. The insurance giant is also aiming to become completely "paperless" in two years. "We have hired a large system integrator for more than Rs 400 crore, a consultant for digital transformation for Rs 100 crore, and Rs 100 crore for agency transformation.