The Reserve Bank of India on Friday retained its projection for retail inflation at 4.5 per cent for the current fiscal assuming a normal monsoon, while emphasising that uncertainties related to food price outlook warrant a close monitoring. Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation has been projected at 4.5 per cent with quarter-wise projections at 4.9 per cent in Q1 (April-June), 3.8 per cent in Q2, 4.6 per cent in Q3, and 4.5 per cent in Q4.
A strong influx of 11 equity new fund offers (NFOs) in June, particularly within the thematic space, helped mutual funds collect Rs 14,370 crore - the highest ever via such introductory offers. This surpassed the previous high recorded in July 2021, where four NFOs accumulated Rs 13,709 crore, with ICICI Prudential MF's flexicap NFO alone mobilising Rs 9,808 crore.
'Silence is the convention. Silence is appreciated. Silence is practical and silence is rewarded.' 'This is how sexual harassment in showbiz is normalised.'
Unprecedented bribery charges, farewells, separation, failed union, monumental mergers and record-breaking IPOs, along with a healthy dose of online happenings in the form of spat and lessons in customer care, corporate India saw it all in 2024.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has permitted 100 per cent contribution from non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas citizens of India (OCIs) in the corpus of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) based out of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), the country's international financial services centre (IFSC). However, the Indian diaspora is yet to fully embrace this new route. The regulator allowed this route to enhance the fund ecosystem at GIFT City and attract genuine investments from overseas Indians.
The spring/summer end-of-season sales have been advanced by a week with brands having high inventories due to weak demand in May because consumers avoided shopping in the hot month.
'The committee has been constituted. Different government departments and FSDC members are part of it.'
A reading of the reports suggests that there is no standard practice for reporting political contributions and it is left to the company's discretion to report them as they find fit.
Largecap, flexicap, and balanced advantage funds together recorded a net inflow of Rs 9,363 crore in August, representing a 70% increase from the previous month's total.
The Unified Pension System (UPS), approved by the Union Cabinet on Saturday, is "fiscally prudent" as it will be funded within the Centre's fiscal projections, according to T V Somanathan, the Cabinet Secretary-designate. Speaking to Business Standard immediately after the Cabinet nod, former finance secretary Somanathan, who headed the committee set up in March 2023 to review the National Pension System (NPS), said the UPS will not postpone pension expenditure as it will be contributory and financed each year.
While other backward classes had a share of 9 per cent, there were no scheduled tribe billionaires.
Stock markets would take cues from the upcoming macroeconomic data announcements and global trends besides keeping a watch on the trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. The last batch of the ongoing earnings calendar would trigger stock-specific action, traders said. "This week, we have to deal with macroeconomic data on both the domestic and global front.
'The youth is stressed and students are depressed.'
'Credit card debt comes with high interest cost and stringent penalties.' 'If you do not repay on time, the costs balloon.'
The upper market capitalisation (mcap) threshold for midcap and smallcap stocks in the mutual fund (MF) industry's revised list of stocks, to be announced this month, is set to see the second-highest yearly rise in the past five years. The list was first announced in 2018, and it has been revised every six months since then. According to estimates released by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research, the upper threshold for the midcap and smallcap universes could come in at Rs 66,700 crore and Rs 21,900 crore in the next list.
Indian food services sector is expected to grow at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 8.1 per cent between 2024 and 2028 on the back of rapid urbanisation, robust GDP growth, a rising younger population, and greater exposure among consumers, said a new report. The India Food Services Report-2024, brought out by the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), states that the sector contributes 1.9 per cent to India's GDP and is projected to grow to Rs 7.76 trillion by 2028 from Rs 5.69 trillion currently.
India's unemployment rate is at a record low and the country's labour market is undergoing a structural transformation, a report said on Tuesday. In the new report, the economists at the country's largest lender SBI also pitched for a "reinterpretation of old fashioned rhetoric" while looking at a subject like employment. "India's unemployment rate is at a record low, India's labour market is undergoing a deep structural transformation with self-entrepreneurship across all echelons and higher educational attainment emerging as key enablers," the report said.
Automobile, apparel and electronics are among sectors that see a sales boost during the festival season, a time when investors expect gains in related stocks. This year could be different: Analysts have factored in all positives and do not expect such stocks to deliver lucrative returns. "Indian households spend across sectors like automobiles, consumer durables, and consumer staples during the festival season.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
A teacher of a private coaching institute in Madhya Pradesh's Indore was stripped and beaten up on Wednesday by a group of people, who later took him to a police station for allegedly indulging in obscene acts with a 17-year-old girl preparing for NEET exam, an official said.
Seven journalists were incarcerated in India in 2021 and 2022, the highest in three decades.
'Choose an equity allocation that will allow you to remain invested even if the market falls by 50 to 60 per cent.'
SBI Life Insurance reported a weak performance in Q2FY25. The annual premium equivalent or APE grew 3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 5,390 crore. For the first half of financial year 2025 (H1FY25), it grew 9 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 9,030 crore.
'It's advisable not to go overboard on a banking sector fund or any other sector fund.'
Uttam Ghosh on how rail passengers will benefit from the Railway Budget.
The combined market valuation of all listed companies on the leading stock exchange BSE reached the $4-trillion milestone for the first time ever on Wednesday. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 305.44 points to 66,479.64 in early trade after beginning the day on a positive note. Thanks to the optimism in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies reached Rs 3,33,26,881.49 crore in morning trade, translating into $4 trillion at the exchange rate of 83.31.
'With tuition fees for international students rising, education loans have become critical for bridging the gap between savings, scholarship, and full cost.'
State Bank of India on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties.
When we saw her on the runway with Aditya Roy Kapoor for Tom Tailor, we couldn't stop ourselves from wolf-whistling!
You can explore the option of talking directly to the manager, suggests rediffGURU Archana Deshpande.
A group comprising top tech startups and unicorns has raised several "serious concerns" over a platform-based gig workers Bill proposed by the Karnataka government, saying it would hurt the ease of doing business. They told the state government the Bill in its current form would hamper operations and increase regulatory and compliance burden on the nascent gig and startup economy, according to sources.
With India's inclusion in global bond indices starting next financial year, the central government believes there will be greater scope for shifting to borrowings via long-term government securities (G-sec) from short-term instruments. This change may be factored into the FY25 interim Budget. "While this has been our focus, the inclusion of India in global bond indices gives us the opportunity to accelerate the shift towards longer tenure G-secs," an official said, requesting anonymity.
'Younger employees, who tend to have a higher risk appetite, will find NPS advantageous due to the potential gains from equity markets over time.'
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, inflows minus outflows, declined sharply in April-August this year to $2.99 billion from $18.03 billion in the same period last year on moderation in global activities and a rise in repatriation. The Reserve Bank of India's data (October 2023 bulletin) said FDI in India was $7.28 billion and FDI by India, that is money invested abroad from the country, was $4.28 billion in April-August 2023. As for 2022, FDI in India was $22.79 billion and FDI by India was $4.76 billion in April-August.
Despite steady loan growth, the banking sector is expected to report subdued margins in the quarter ending June 2024 (Q1FY25), driven by high demand for deposits amidst tight liquidity conditions. However, according to Bloomberg analysts, listed banks are forecasted to see a 14.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in net profit. Estimates showed that banks' net interest income (NII), and revenues from interest minus interest expenses might grow 11.9 per cent Y-o-Y.
As order books gain from India's increased capital outlay, some large capital goods and engineering companies are together spending over Rs 11,500 crore in creating new facilities, data shows. Nine engineering and capital goods companies, where data was available, including Siemens, Larsen & Tourbo (L&T) and KEC International, have a combined capital expenditure (capex) of about Rs 11,500 crore or more. Others such as ABB India and Thermax Global are also adding capacities.
Commercial banks have turned cautious in lending to smaller microfinance institutions (MFIs), which has compelled the latter to borrow from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) at much higher rates. Recently Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao slammed micro lenders for increasing their margins "disproportionately" and said these lenders were quick to pass on the increased cost to the borrowers but reluctant to pass on the benefits under the new regime, where margins are not capped.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the Election Commission's controversial role this election.
GST collection in May rose 12 per cent to Rs 1.57 lakh crore, the finance ministry said on Thursday. The gross Good & Services Tax (GST) revenue collected in the month of May, 2023 is Rs 1,57,090 crore of which Central GST is Rs 28,411 crore, State GST is Rs 35,828 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 81,363 crore (including Rs 41,772 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 11,489 crore (including Rs 1,057 crore collected on import of goods).
Analysts are expecting pharmaceutical companies to post sales growth of 10-11 per cent in the second quarter this financial year while the Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) margins are anticipated to improve by about 110 basis points. Ebitda improvement will be led by lower input costs because prices of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are 5-15 per cent lower year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Axis Capital said sales growth would be around 10 per cent, of which growth in the India market would be 11 per cent or so.