The new business premium (NBP) of life insurance companies dropped 21.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 30,218.71 crore in December 2024 on the back of a steep fall in business. According to data published by the Life Insurance Council, LIC's premium dropped 41.15 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 13,523.87 crore while private insurers reported 7 per cent growth in NBP to Rs 16,694.85 crore as the industry absorbs the impact of the revised surrender value norms.
rediffGURU Yogendra Arora answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Indian-origin tech companies cornered a fifth of all H-1B visas issued by the US with Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services leading the pack, an analysis of data from the US immigration department showed. According to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, in April-September 2024 period, out of the total 1.3 lakh H-1B visas issued to different employers, about 24,766 visas were issued to Indian-origin companies.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on a strange regurgitation of history.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has entered into a partnership with the Startup Policy Forum (SPF), a premier industry organisation representing India's leading new-age companies.
President Droupadi Murmu has approved gallantry awards to 93 armed forces personnel, including two Kirti Chakras and 14 Shaurya Chakras, on the eve of Republic Day. The Kirti Chakras, India's second-highest peacetime gallantry award, have been awarded to Major Manjit from 22 Rashtriya Rifles and posthumously to Naik Dilwar Khan, 28 Rashtriya Rifles. The president also approved 305 defense decorations to Armed Forces and other personnel.
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.
'We were asked to add a dialogue where the politician says she admires Mrs Gandhi.'
The Indian economy is expected to be "a little weaker" in 2025 despite steady global growth, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has said. Georgieva also said she expects quite a lot of uncertainty in the world this year mainly around the trade policy of the US. In her annual media roundtable with a group of reporters on Friday, she said global growth is expected to be steady in 2025, but with regional divergence.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Adani Ports jumped over 5 per cent. NTPC, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Zomato, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank and Maruti were among the other big gainers. From the 30-share pack, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and UltraTech Cement were the other laggards.
In today's rapidly evolving digital payment landscape, security concerns remain a top priority for stakeholders across sectors.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on why writer Aakar Patel -- who is also chairman of the Amnesty International India board -- is being prevented from traveling abroad.
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.
The weaker rupee will push the country's import bill due to higher payments for crude oil, coal, vegetable oil, gold, diamonds, electronics, machinery, plastics, and chemicals, economic think tank GTRI said on Friday. Citing an example, it said the depreciating domestic currency will increase India's gold import bill, especially as global gold prices have jumped 31.25 per cent, rising from $65,877 per kg in January 2024 to $86,464 per kg in January 2025.
The last time these two indexes recorded a negative performance on a calendar year basis was in CY19.
DIIs owned equities worth Rs 73.5 trillion, just 1.9 per cent less than FPIs. This marks a significant change from a decade ago.
The number of digital financial frauds rose more than four times in FY24 year-on-year to comprise 80 per cent of all financial frauds.
Budget 2025 lays down a transformational roadmap for India's digital and economic future, focusing on AI-driven enterprise modernisation, workforce skilling, and sustainable innovation. With bold investments in AI, digital infrastructure, and ease of doing business, the government has set the stage for businesses to scale, innovate and compete on a global level.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the current state of Indian democracy.
Purchase health insurance early while you are disease-free. 'It might become very difficult to get a comprehensive health cover for someone who has already had cancer.'
Inflows into mutual funds' equity schemes increased by over 14 per cent on-month to Rs 41,156 crore in December, even as market volatilities continued. The small and midcap schemes of mutual funds continued to attract investor interest with inflows touching record highs during the month, despite the concerns being expressed about the two segments for the risk they portend, industry body Amfi said.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's sudden decision to repeal the three farm laws.
The Union Budget 2025-26, while promising a new framework for smoother mergers and acquisitions (M&As), has plugged a major loophole on carry-forward losses for a total of eight assessment years between amalgamating company and amalgamated company from the date of loss instead of date of the merger. For all mergers effected on or after April 1, 2025, the losses can be carried forward only for the residuary period (counting from the date of loss).
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.
offers his take on the constantly zooming fuel prices in the country.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have invested Rs 25,300 crore through the anchor book for IPOs in 2024, surpassing the Rs 20,351 crore invested by domestic mutual funds (MFs). FPIs accounted for 46.6 per cent of shares sold in the anchor category, the highest share since 2021, according to PRIME Database.
Private sector banks that announced their earnings for the October-December quarter (Q3) of 2024-25 (FY25) reported a rise in credit costs due to higher provisions, mainly for unsecured retail loans.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
The Indian insurance industry is set to focus on customer-centric technological adoption and expansion into rural areas to drive growth in 2025.
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.
Soon after Gandhi's press conference, the Election Commission said it will respond with full facts in writing.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the plight of the protesting farmers and the government's priorities.
Uttam Ghosh wonders if the farmers's concerns will be addressed now that the BJP has embarked on Mission Bengal.
Sonam Uttam Maskar clinched the silver medal in the Women's 10m Air Rifle event at the ISSF World Cup Final 2024 in Delhi on Tuesday.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the US poll presidential election.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on democracy in the Modi era and the prime minister's Rs 200 billion dream.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the Trinamool Congress vanquishing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bengal.
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.
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