'Right now, silver -- and especially platinum -- are very cheap compared to gold. If I were buying today, I would choose platinum.'
Notably, the case was registered 19 days after the Madhya Pradesh high court ordered the police to dispose of the woman's complaint within 90 days after she alleged inaction by the police.
Net profit of 19 listed banks is likely to decline by 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) for the quarter ended March (Q4FY25) mainly due to pressure on net interest margins (NIM) as a result of rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to analysts' estimates. Additionally, loan growth is expected to further slowdown amid low demand in certain secured products, stress in the unsecured segment, and a high cost to deposit (CD) ratio across the system.
The rate of unemployment in the country, measured in monthly term, rose to 5.6 per cent in May from 5.1 per cent in April this year mainly due to seasonal variation, showed the government data released on Monday.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the violence which has hit Delhi since Monday colliding with two day visit of United States President Donald Trump to India.
The short-term inflation outlook for India is benign, and the expectation of a normal monsoon and moderating global prices of key imported items give credence to the projections made by the RBI and IMF, the Economic Survey said on Monday. However, to ensure long-term policy stability, the Survey 2023-24 suggested making focused efforts to increase the production of major oilseeds, expanding the area under pulses, and assess the progress in developing modern storage facilities for specific crops.
Neo banks, along with mid-sized banks, are establishing global capability centres (GCCs) in India, mirroring the expansion strategies of larger global counterparts. This trend is being seen as the next major wave in the country's banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector.
In a double-dose bid to boost growth and employment prospects, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Rs 2.07 trillion outlay for a research development and innovation (RDI) Scheme to fund private sector innovations, and an employment-linked incentive (ELI) to create over 35 million new jobs over the next two years.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government will arrange identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal to assist 1 crore gig workers. Presenting the Union Budget 2025-26, the finance minister also said a scheme for the socio-economic upliftment of urban workers will be implemented.
Among Sensex shares, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, ITC and Asian Paints were the biggest winners. On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, NTPC, UltraTech Cement and Power Grid were among the laggards.
The Bollywood star took to the runway for Lakme's 'Makeup Show'.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The recent selloff in the Indian equity market has been far more painful for mid and smallcap stocks compared to largecap stocks. The benchmark BSE Sensex is now down 9.5 per cent from its record monthly closing of 84,300 at the end of September last year. In the same period, the BSE MidCap has lost 17 per cent of its value, while the BSE SmallCap has corrected by 17.1 per cent.
The merger and acquisition (M&As) transactions have picked up pace in the March quarter of 2024 with 455 deals amounting to $25.6 billion deal value announced. This is a 24 per cent rise in deal volume as compared to Q4CY23, according to PwC India report. This signals a shift from the declining trend observed in 2023, as per PwC India's report Deals at a glance.
UPI-related frauds have accounted for a cumulative loss of Rs 2,145 crore across 2.7 million reported incidents.
A trends study conducted by India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has expressed suspicion that cryptocurrency is being used across the country in serious criminal acts like terrorist financing, fuelling secessionist activities, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, illegal betting and gambling. The report, which was based on suspicious transaction reports and operational analysis, shared these trends and credible intelligence with law enforcement agencies.
The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rose in December at 0.73 per cent mainly due to a sharp rise in food prices. The WPI inflation was in the negative zone from April to October and had turned positive in November at 0.26 per cent.
With rising disposable incomes in cities beyond metros, the penetration of credit cards - and consequently, credit card spending - is growing at a much faster pace than in traditional metro cities, primarily driven by e-commerce spending.
Stock markets snapped their five-day losing run on Friday with the benchmark BSE Sensex closing higher by 75 points on value-buying in banking and oil shares after recent losses. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 75.71 points or 0.10 per cent to settle at 73,961.31. During the session, it hit a high of 74,478.89 points and a low of 73,765.15 points.
Equity trading volumes, both in the cash and derivatives segments, dropped in March amid wild swings in stock prices. The average daily trading volume for the cash segment (National Stock Exchange, or NSE, and BSE combined) fell by 16.3 per cent to Rs 1.07 trillion - the lowest since November 2023. Market players said the drop could have been sharper if not for the large block deals in companies such as ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, and IndiGo seen during the month.
The Indian insurance industry is set to focus on customer-centric technological adoption and expansion into rural areas to drive growth in 2025.
With the absence of any major immediate domestic trigger in sight, investors would focus on global trends and trading activity of foreign investors for further cues in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Movement of global oil benchmark Brent crude and rupee-dollar trend would also guide the market. "This week is a truncated one with no major triggers expected. However, we anticipate sector-specific movements amid budget-related buzz.
The rapid rise of quick commerce is anticipated to create a substantial increase in the need for blue-collar workers, with India projected to require 2.4 million jobs by 2027, according to job matching and hiring platform Indeed. Quick commerce companies hired over 40,000 employees in the last quarter to handle increased festive shopping and e-commerce demand, Indeed India Sales Head Sashi Kumar said.
According to IRDAI, Marsh India had held the premium received from the clients in an Insurance Bank Account for more than 15 days and did not remit the premium to the insurer/reinsurer within the time limit of 15 days.
Bank of Baroda, a state-owned bank, in its quarterly update on Friday said its domestic deposits grew 9.23 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in October-December (Q3FY25) at Rs 11.65 trillion, while advances increased 11.76 per cent Y-o-Y at Rs 9.63 trillion, outpacing deposit growth during the period. Domestic retail advances grew at a robust 19.5 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 2.43 trillion.
India's venture capital (VC) landscape saw a strategic shift during the first half (H1) of the calendar year (CY) 2024, with a notable increase in larger-sized investments. This was evident from a 45.3 per cent rise in disclosed funding value year-on-year, despite a 2.1 per cent drop in deal volume, according to GlobalData, a data analytics and consulting company.
Around Rs 1 trillion, or a fifth of the investments made by alternative investment funds (AIFs) are questionable in terms of the intent behind the investments and are under the scanner for circumvention of regulations, said Ananth Narayan, whole-time member of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). AIFs are pooled investment vehicles that invest in a variety of assets including real estate, startups, unlisted companies, and derivative strategies in the listed space.
The last time this happened was in 1996.
Overseas Indians deposited around $4 billion in non-resident Indian (NRI) deposit schemes in April - June FY25, up 79 per cent over the amount deposited in these schemes in the same period last year, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday showed. In April - June FY25, inflows into the NRI schemes stood at $3.95 billion, compared to $2.21 billion during the same period a year ago. With this, the total outstanding NRI deposits as of June stood at $155.71 billion.
As Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra travels across Maharashtra, Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com captures scenes from the walkathon to spread kindness and harmony from Nanded.
Value mutual funds have witnessed robust investor interest, garnering Rs 22,757 crore in inflows in 2024, nearly double the amount seen in 2023, fueled by impressive returns generated by the segment. This surge reflects a shift in investor focus towards fundamentally strong yet undervalued stocks.
Infrastructure bond issuances by commercial banks in the current financial year (FY25) are likely to surpass Rs 1 trillion, almost double that of FY24, market participants said. So far this financial year, banks have raised Rs 74,256 crore via infra bonds. In FY24, the total issuances stood at around Rs 51,081 crore.
The Indian market remains an attractive place to do business for the nation's entrepreneurs, with 75 per cent of them operating domestically.
It is not just the secondary market that is witnessing a revival in fortunes. Even the initial public offering (IPO) market have roared back to life, with investors submitting bids worth over Rs 2.2 trillion on the three IPOs that wrapped up on Friday. Fashion retailer Vishal Mega Mart (VMM)'s IPO (fifth largest of the year) garnered 27.3x subscription, with bids exceeding Rs 1.6 trillion.
The last time these two indexes recorded a negative performance on a calendar year basis was in CY19.
Global factors and FII activity will dictate trends in domestic equity markets this week while assembly poll results of Maharashtra and Jharkhand may impact stocks on Monday, say analysts. Stock markets witnessed a spirited recovery on Friday with benchmark Sensex and Nifty notching the best single-day gains in more than five months and offering relief after weeks of correction.
Information technology (IT) stocks ended at their lowest in nearly nine months after a fresh bout of selling, triggered by concerns over a recession in the US, the key market for domestic software exporters. A report by Morgan Stanley citing risks to growth also weighed on sentiment.
The government may relax the requirement of making payments to MSMEs within 45 days of buying goods and services to check large corporate from looking at other sourcing avenues, sources said. The announcement to this effect could be made in the Budget likely to be presented on July 23. The government is considering suggestions regarding changes to Section 43B(h) of the Income Tax Act made by MSMEs during pre-Budget consultations, sources said.
The income tax department on Tuesday asked taxpayers to link PAN with Aadhaar by May 31 to avoid tax deduction at a higher rate. As per income tax rules, if a Permanent Account Number (PAN) is not linked with biometric Aadhaar, TDS is required to be deducted at double the applicable rate. Last month, the income tax department issued a circular stating that no action will be taken for short deduction of TDS in case the assessee links his/her PAN with Aadhaar by May 31.
Uttam Ghosh on how rail passengers will benefit from the Railway Budget.
