Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra stated that preventing second-round effects of supply shocks, where inflation expectations rise due to prolonged disruptions, is the primary role of monetary policy. He also defended the RBI's foreign exchange market interventions, asserting it did not commit to an 'indefensible peg'.
With a confident new generation of innovators, India now has the scale and self-belief to shape its own digital destiny marked by creation, observes Ajay Kumar chairman, UPSC.
Let's work flat out and create a policy framework that fosters the growth of Indian non-family business VC and private equity firms. This will allow our Indian startups' dreams to flourish, explains Ajit Balakrishnan.
Its entry will increase competition especially when WhatsApp too has received approvals to launch payment service.
This is the second instance of mainstream banks blocking services to new-age digital payments companies.
A day after getting permission to raise its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) user base to 100 million, WhatsApp on Thursday said it has plans to make significant investments in 'payments on WhatsApp' across India, including India-first features and driving adoption. The company, however, did not share details of its plans. The Meta-owned messaging app got its first greenlight for its payments service from the National Payments Council of India (NPCI) in November 2020 with a cap of 20 million users. A year later, in November 2021, the limit was raised to 40 million users.
The Centre is unlikely to announce an agreement over payment mechanism with Russia until a ceasefire is declared in the Ukraine war, said people in the know. An inter-ministerial group headed by the finance ministry has been meeting regularly for over a month to analyse and discuss payment mechanisms that can work under the current circumstances and ensure the trade between India and Russia is not disrupted. The US had recently said that there would be consequences for countries actively attempting to "circumvent or backfill" American sanctions against Russia.
Nandan Nilekani talks about moving towards a cashless economy and freedom of Internet, among others
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) recent decision to allow credit cards for payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is likely to attract a merchant discount rate (MDR), said a top payment industry source. For smaller merchants, a subsidy for MDR could be provided. "With credit card-UPI linkage, UPI will not only be a payment instrument but also a lending platform. "How can banks lend without a commercial model? Also, the government has said MDR will be zero for payment products but not for lending products," the source said, indicating the MDR regime for credit card-linked UPI payments.
While the tax treatment does legitimise past crypto transactions, there is a possibility that any, or all, private cryptocurrencies will be banned in future.
Of the 11 licence holders, only eight remain in the fray as concerns about profitability and rising competition are making them think twice before jumping in.
Uber Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dara Khosrowshahi sees India as one of the toughest markets and a standard to succeed in any other part of the world. One of the biggest challenges for the ride-hailing firm, according to Khosrowshahi, is the expectation of Indian consumers for more services at lower spending. "India is one of the toughest markets out there.
As a volunteer you'll need to meet people and educate them about the benefits of going cashless by going digital.
Addressing the 76th United Nations General Assembly session here, Prime Minister Modi said that today, every sixth person in the world is an Indian.
The temptation to get into businesses that are hot is perhaps too great for any politician, no matter what his public slogans are. Nehru plunged into hot sectors of his time -- engineering and iron and steel. Modi has plunged into digital payments -- the hot sector of his time, notes Debashis Basu.
Thanks to Rajan we are an inflation-targeting country now
Fifty-six months on, the government's record in implementing these schemes and projects has been mixed, report Arup Roychoudhury and Indivjal Dhasmana.
'Just the amount of work which is there just to become more and more successful in banking. For this to happen you need to have leaders who understand technology.'
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
'Demand is wonderful. We have crossed 10 million on many days.' 'The Swedish trade commissioner recently said, "You guys are vaccinating the entire Sweden in one day".'
It is a classic case of extremes: The worst contraction in GDP along with the highest-ever levels of cash in the economy; and a severe dent in consumption together with strong growth in bank deposits and digital payments.
"I am an academic and I have always made it clear that my ultimate home is in the realm of ideas," Rajan said in a letter to staff.
Modi said there was a need to make transactions 'transparent' in India.
Manish Sabharwal tackles 5 criticisms of demonetisation.
'The effect of demonetisation has been largely to drive black money above ground. But there are several interesting side-effects. One is the uncomfortable realisation that this can happen again, which is a deterrent to future sinners,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Rajan tells RBI colleagues he will be returning to academics
Companies are looking for an engaging hook, and sound is universally seen as a big emotional connector, finds Nikhat Hetavkar.
Mastercard is keen on being known not as a payments player but a technology company.
Raghuram Rajan, who has been pilloried by his critics for keeping interest rates high and has also been accused of stifling growth.
'In the next 14 years, 100% of US energy will be clean and solar.'
'India missed the software products revolution (and now is in danger of missing the platform revolution), complacent that we are the software experts of the world based on IT services prowess,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
'If the RBI blesses us with a banking licence, we would like to launch a successful bank.'
In the start-up world, hitting the $1-billion mark, which accords the "Unicorn" tag, is a milestone. Enterprises typically reach the milestone only by series C or series D, or three to four funding rounds later. Zeta achieved it at the first one. On May 25, the six-year-old banking tech firm raised $250 million from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, at a post-money valuation of $1.45 billion. "This is the first time we have raised institutional money," Zeta co-founder Bhavin Turakhia beamed on the conference call. This trajectory is uncommon in start-ups.
Seeking to rope in youngsters to promote cashless transactions, Modi said for every person you introduce to the BHIM app, you will get a cash back of Rs 10.
He said the Fourth Industrial Revolution will have more importance than the capital.
India is on its way to become a mobile app-first market and e-tailers and start-ups have begun their race to capture the next set of users in India - those who access vernacular content.
'Now, we have a minimum pension of Rs 1,000 annually.'
New age technology will reshape India's future.