'It flows through families, caste groups, and local WhatsApp communities where trust is personal.' 'Children are taught to defer to elders, so if a parent or uncle forwards something, you don't question it.'
Indian information technology (IT) service providers are expected to deliver low single-digit sequential growth in the first quarter (April-June) of 2025-26 (FY26), even as macroeconomic uncertainties continue to persist due to the volatile geopolitical environment.
Uttam Ghosh compares the two events -- the labour ministry's ignorance and a young intellectual's incarceration -- and is mystified as many Indians are by what occurred.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply on Monday after five days of steep decline amid value buying at lower levels and a rally in global markets. Besides, hectic buying in blue-chip stocks ITC, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries also helped in market recovery.
With the interest rate cut cycle nearing its end, several debt fund managers are shifting their focus towards interest income rather than betting on duration in anticipation of capital gains.
The domestic stock market this week would monitor the geopolitical developments after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop military actions, analysts said. Moreover, macroeconomic data announcements, Q4 earnings, trading activity of foreign investors and global market trends are also likely to influence sentiments, traders said.
The government on Tuesday announced a new centrally-sponsored scheme for skilling 20 lakh youth over the next five years. The announcement was made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2024-25. The minister said that model skilling loan scheme will be revised to facilitate loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday lowered the inflation projection for the current fiscal to 4 per cent from 4.2 per cent earlier, taking into account good agricultural output and falling crude prices.
Chinese manufacturing prowess and its dominance in the strategic sector will have a bearing on India's growth projection in the medium term and its march to become a developed nation by 2047, the Economic Survey said on Friday. The Survey has said India needs to grow at 8 per cent for about two decades to become a developed nation by 2047, but it will have to face challenges from global developments and reliance on Chinese imports.
The US Fed interest rate decision, global trends, tariff-related developments and trading activity of foreign investors will drive the equity market movement this week, analysts said. Among macroeconomic data announcement, WPI inflation for February is scheduled to be announced on Monday.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry is likely to benefit from a major wave of patent expiries in the US, as small-molecule drugs worth $63.7 billion are expected to go off-patent between 2025-29, a 65 per cent rise over the previous five years, according to a report by Antique stock broking limited.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday permitted banks to increase charges on ATM cash withdrawals beyond the mandatory free monthly usage by Rs 2 to Rs 23 per transaction from May 1.
'It must become faceless, just as the entire direct tax assessment system has already become fully online, without any human intervention in the normal course,' recommends A K Bhattacharya.
From the Sensex pack, Zomato, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Titan, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra and ITC were among the gainers. On the other hand, Reliance Industries, Nestle India, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the laggards.
Uttam Ghosh joins the vociferous debate on the Indian Citizen's Right to Privacy with his unique perspective on the issue.
The liquidity deficit in the banking system crossed Rs 2 trillion again on Monday, despite the second instalment of cash reserve ratio (CRR) reduction coming into effect from December 28.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the decisions of airlines banning stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for his alleged heckling television journalist Arnab Goswami aboard a flight on Tuesday.
Algorithmic management (AM) in India has led to a decline in job quality, with "clear" evidence of increased monitoring, surveillance and work intensity, noted International Labour Organisation (ILO) in its latest report.
'We may see this momentum going into 2025 and may keep up with the demand, given the strong pipeline.'
Payments banks have urged the Union finance ministry to increase their deposit limit for each account to Rs 5 lakh, according to a source who participated in a meeting, chaired by the Department of Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju, in New Delhi. At present, they can accept deposits of up to Rs 2 lakh.
'The kind of reach it has with so many bank branches even in the remotest part of the country, it is one channel which will play a very important role in vision of insurance for all.'
Given that a sizeable part of this money is part of the coveted current accounts and savings accounts, it is surprising that banks are not in a hurry to revive these accounts, notes Tamal Bandyopdhyay.
Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds had, in 2024, taken bets on traditional businesses rather than tech-first domains like consumer tech, software as a service (SaaS) and software. According to data from Bain & Co, Pitchbook, Venture Intelligence, VCC Edge and AVCJ, prominent VC funds like PeakXV saw their share in this traditional space go up sharply from 14 per cent in 2023 to 23 per cent in 2024.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Adani Ports surged 6 per cent. NTPC, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and Axis Bank were among the other gainers. In contrast, Titan, State Bank of India, Asian Paints, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J criticised some non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) for lax loan appraisal practices and charging excessive interest rates, even as he acknowledged the sector's rapid expansion over the past decade, especially in recent years. "Unfortunately, some NBFCs seem to believe they can operate with weak underwriting in the pursuit of fast growth while levying excessive and unsustainable interest rates - sometimes disguised as upfront or processing fees - followed by aggressive recovery methods in case of default," Swaminathan said at the conference of NBFCs in Chennai last month.
A home insurance policy covers damage from earthquakes, fires, explosions, floods, landslides, cyclones, storms, aircraft damage, and acts of terrorism.
The global PC landscape is poised for a seismic shift as artificial intelligence (AI) PCs are projected to dominate the market, with 98 per cent of all PCs expected to feature AI capabilities by 2028, according to a senior Dell executive. Talking to PTI, senior director and general manager of Client Solutions Group at Dell Technologies India, Indrajit Belgundi said AI PC adoption is significantly growing across all age groups, industries, and categories.
With more than 1.2 million Indians stuck in green card backlogs, investor-driven EB-5 programme sees rising interest as a secure route for migration to the US.
'The kids are already used to this place. We go back and that's a different environment.' 'So, mentally, emotionally we are stressed.'
Reserve Bank on Friday decided to cut Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by a huge 1 per cent, which will unlock Rs 2.5 lakh crore liquidity to the banking system for lending to productive sectors of the economy. With the reduction in four equal tranches ending November 29, 2025, the CRR would come down to 3 per cent.
Rediff.com's Uttam Ghosh offers his quirky take on the face-off between the AAP and the BJP.
Stock market participants would track global trends and foreign investors' trading activity in a holiday-shortened week ahead, amid lack of any major domestic trigger in sight, analysts said. Equity markets will remain closed on Wednesday for Christmas.
Amid liquidity tightness in the banking system, certificate of deposit (CD) rates topped 8 per cent for some smaller banks, with rates remaining on the higher side for derivatives loss-hit IndusInd Bank. On Thursday, CSB Bank raised Rs 100 crore via one-year CDs at 8.5 per cent, while Utkarsh Small Finance Bank issued three-month CDs at 8.05 per cent to raise Rs 50 crore.
According to Tirupati district superintendent of police L Subbarayudu, Nagaraju (24), who is the victim's maternal uncle, lured the girl to a secluded place in AM Puram village by offering her snacks on Friday evening and committed the crime.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has said one should expect a trade deal between India and the US in the "not-too-distant future" as the two countries have found a place that works for them. "So the idea is when they put the right person and India put the right person on the other side of the table, and we've managed, I think, to be in a very, very good place," Lutnick said in his keynote address at the eighth edition of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Leadership Summit in Washington on Monday.
Narendra Modi, in his first interview of this election season to a television channel, denied that he was a control freak or authoritarian and called himself a team player who likes to build consensus and then use his authority to implement decisions. Rediff.com's Uttam Ghosh offers his perspective of Modi's self-assessment.
'New announcements are made every day which brings tremendous amount of instability and uncertainty.' 'Relying on America has become a big problem.'
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the arrests and Professor Guha's assertion of what the greatest Indian of our times would unquestionably have done had he been alive.
