India's GDP may turn positive at 1.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2020-21, having witnessed contraction in the previous two quarters due to the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of cases is falling and public spending has started rising, according to a report. The government will release the GDP numbers for the October-December quarter of the current fiscal on Friday. Projecting that the gross domestic product (GDP) may have returned to the black in the last quarter of the calendar year 2020, DBS Bank in the report said the full-year growth in real terms may be at a negative 6.8 per cent.
Gold loan is currently the fastest-growing loan category (among the various types disbursed to individuals). On February 26, 2021, the outstanding loan against gold jewellery stood at Rs 56,596 crore. By February 25, 2022, it had risen to Rs 71,408 crore, a year-on-year growth of 26.2 per cent, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) data. Several factors are driving the demand for gold loans.
There are several welcome standalone reforms, but these do not add up to a coherent strategy to achieve a $5 trillion economy or secure Aatmanirbharta, observes Rathin Roy.
'They (the ransomware attackers) are not after any VVIP data.' 'Had that been the case, they would have quietly installed a different malware.'
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 10 international films that mattered to him, stories that he connected with and characters that gave him a better understanding of the human condition.
The Americans have expended a lot of diplomatic energy to coax India into toeing their line but India has refused to buckle under pressure. As Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, India has not taken anyone's side but its own side, points out Virendra Kapoor.
Only vaccinations can eliminate the threat of new waves, help raise sentiments and allow sellers and buyers to participate aggressively in the much awaited economic recovery, observes Mahesh Vyas.
'Our hero is strong and you must have seen the mother, she is stronger.' 'And Mike Tyson is the strongest!'
'While we conversed in Marathi, she would always make it a point to ask me in English, "Are you okay? Have you eaten?"' 'I sorely miss that care and concern.'
Terming the 23.9 per cent fall in economic growth in the June quarter alarming, former Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan has said bureaucracy should come out of complacency and take meaningful action. The current crisis requires a more thoughtful and active government, he said, adding, "Unfortunately, after an initial burst of activity, it seems to have retreated into a shell."
Punjab Kings' batsmen came up with a shocking performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad on Monday as they suffered a five-wicket thrashing with 3.2 overs to spare, in Ahmedabad, on Monday.
'Hope they don't tinker around with capital gains tax in any way.'
'India's output contraction in the previous year was among the worst in the world!'
After the government sought Parliament's nod for a second batch of supplementary demand for grants that will cause a hit of Rs 2.99 trillion to the exchequer, doubts suddenly arose about the government's ability to meet the Budget projections of reining in its fiscal deficit at 6.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), or Rs 15.06 trillion, for the current financial year. Till now, many were of the opinion that the government would succeed in checking the deficit at a much lower figure than what was given in the Budget Estimates (BE). The government had sought Parliament's approval to spend Rs 3.74 trillion extra, but Rs 74,517.01 crore will be matched by equal savings on other heads.
With temperatures reaching almost 38 degrees on court, Murray, a twice Wimbledon champion, was beaten 7-6(4), 6-2 by Australian world number 90 Jordan Thompson.
Today beef, tomorrow namaz, the third day Sunday mass the fourth day hijab, the fifth day halal, the sixth day love jihad will always be the issues on hand, asserts Aakar Patel.
Bollywood stars have been posting lovely pictures on Instagram.
What happens if China depreciates its currency. In that case, Chinese products will be cheaper and people will continue to buy their products: Abhijit Banerjee.
'He is the man,' US President Barack Obama had said at a G-20 gathering, enhancing Lula's stature. Six years later, has Brazil's impressive economic growth turned to sand? Will a President, who enjoyed an 80 per cent approval rate in his country, be arrested? Ambassador B S Prakash, India's former envoy to Brazil, explains what has gone wrong in one of India's BRICS partner nations.
Runway 34 is a clumsy cocktail of Hollywood movies spiked with the Bollywood brand of God complex, sighs Sukanya Verma.
At 12 months, Kashe -- the youngest member of Mensa International - was identifying alphabets, even if she could not say them. By 18 months, she was identifying shapes, colors, all the fifty states of America and naming planets by memory. The 2 year old can also, hold your breath, identify the periodic table.
Though a weak dollar will lend some support to revenues and margins in FY21, the demand environment will outweigh any gain.
Technology start-ups that got listed in the last few quarters reported a hit to their December-quarter (Q3FY22) profitability due to higher marketing and employee costs. While fintech firms Paytm and PB Fintech saw their losses widen by 45 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 778 crore and 55 per cent to Rs 295 crore, respectively, food delivery company Zomato remained in the red despite narrowing its net loss by 81 per cent to Rs 66 crore. Meanwhile, online fashion and beauty products seller Nykaa saw its net profit drop 59 per cent to Rs 28 crore in Q3FY22.
With nearly 100 countries closing national borders during the past month, the movement of people and tourism flows have come to a screeching halt. The contraction could be even higher if governments fail to provide income support and help boost consumer spending.
You'll be surprised, but India is one of them!
Rediff readers tell us how they are keeping the kids busy in the lockdown.
With its new line-up, the firm has managed to touch the right chords, but to regain market share from the established players, Micromax will have to fight a protracted battle.
Rajesh Karkera journeys through verdant countryside to the little-explored pristine Lonar lake in eastern Maharashtra.
'I will try and make my panchayat a model one in Bihar.'
'They can shift to dynamic asset allocation funds to automatically rebalance their equity exposure.'
Severed heads and creepy reptiles were the highlight of this show.
'I would always put the money I saved into equity mutual funds -- mainly through the SIP route. 'This helped in swelling my savings over a period of time,' says Avik Chowdhury.
KL Rahul and Co would like forget the unsavoury incident and focus on the task ahead.
At 70 minutes long, London Confidential is a crisp watch, notes Joginder Tuteja.
'When you need to revive the economy, when you need to revive aggregate demand, you cut taxes.' 'But what's this government doing?' 'It's increasing taxes for the middle class and the vast majority of the poor on fuel, which has a ratchet effect on most other products.'
To give an impetus to 'Digital India', Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in 2015 announced the smart city mission. The primary objective of the government was to develop 100 smart cities within five years. While the first crop of smart cities was to have been ready by later this year, others were to be developed by 2022-23. But India seems to be falling behind on the timeline.
MG Parameswaran is concerned if we have over-reacted to the issue.
With Canada, Australia extending restrictions, admission seekers are deferring their studies or looking elsewhere.
As gold prices turn prohibitive, traders fear a drop of as much as 50% in sales over the previous season.
