The rupee recovered 55 paise from its all-time low level to close at 90.38 against the US dollar after a volatile trade on Wednesday, amid suspected aggressive central bank intervention.
Foreign investors fled Indian equities in 2025 at a scale never seen before, pulling out a record Rs 1.6 lakh crore (USD 18 billion) as volatile currency movements, global trade tensions, especially potential US tariffs, and stretched valuations eroded risk appetite, though flows are expected to turn sustainably positive in 2026.
Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) such as Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Muthoot Finance, and IIFL Finance have regained their growth momentum after losing market share to banks in the post-Covid period. The growth surge is being led by diversified lenders and gold-loan companies while development-finance institutions such as Power Finance Corporation (PFC), REC, and Housing & Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) continue to grow at a slower pace.
The reduction in the number of loan accounts and the outstanding amount during the last financial year is a cause of concern and stress for microfinance institutions (MFI), Secretary, Department of Financial Services, M Nagaraju said on Thursday, highlighting "inefficiency" in MFIs that leads to higher rates of interest.
rediffGURU Patrick Dsouza, founder of Patrick100 counsels students, and aspiring professionals about the scope of an MBA degree.
Activity in the corporate bond market is set to gain momentum following a 25-bp policy repo rate cut by the rate-setting panel of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). State-owned public cebPower Finance Corporation (PFC) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) are planning to raise up to Rs 11,500 crore through bonds on Tuesday as issuers expect borrowing costs to ease.
The Union Cabinet's decision to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 100 per cent is unlikely to significantly boost foreign investment as distribution remains a critical factor, requiring overseas players to partner with Indian businesses, experts said.
For every 100 rupees, households invested Rs 45.2 in mutual funds and equities in 2024-2025.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked fintech firms to focus on risk management at a time when criminals are using AI to mimic voices, clone identities and create lifelike videos to manipulate people.
It will enable real-time intel sharing among banks and other financial sector participants to strengthen customer protection against digital fraud.
In Part 2 of a weekly MBA-preparation series, CAT expert Aashish Sood explains what is the difference between CAT, NMAT, XAT, and SNAP.
India's equity markets may have expanded rapidly, but initial public offerings (IPOs) are increasingly becoming exit vehicles for early investors rather than as engines for raising long-term capital, a shift that undermines the spirit of public markets, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran warned on Monday at a CII event.
'For the initial decade, I consistently advise young professionals to prioritise career development and income growth rather than market analysis.'
The domestic initial public offering (IPO) market is experiencing a significant surge, fuelled by the financialisation of savings, digital ease of investing, and expanding participation from both retail and institutional investors, investment bankers said on Wednesday.
With several $500 million-plus deals in the pipeline -- including ICICI Prudential AMC, Lenskart, PhonePe, Groww, PhysicsWallah, Meesho, Pine Labs, and Zepto -- investment bankers look poised for another year of hefty bonuses in 2025.
India's market regulator is moving ahead to include real estate investment trusts (Reits) in benchmark indices in a phased manner, Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, while asserting that the regulator was working to strengthen the link between infrastructure building and the markets.
'10 million Indians are currently living with dementia, and the number is expected to double by 2036.'
India's private-sector banks are likely to lose market share for a second consecutive year in 2025-26, as their loan books continue to expand much slower than overall bank credit.
'...then preparing oneself for the long haul is also essential.' 'Identifying and holding onto values gives you strength to withstand the difficulties enroute.' 'Taking care of your physical, mental, and intellectual well-being gives you the strength to stay the path.'
The initial public offer of app-based beauty and home services platform Urban Company Ltd received overwhelming investor participation, with the issue getting a huge 103.63 times subscription on the last day of bidding on Friday. The Rs 1,900-crore IPO received bids for 11,06,46,08,960 shares against 10,67,73,244 shares on offer, according to NSE data.
What is currently perceived as a massive, low-tech liability could become a high-value, export-oriented economic engine, points out Ajit Balakrishnan.
Currently, India has five publicly listed Reits: Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, Embassy Office Parks Reit, Mindspace Business Parks Reit Nexus Select Trust, and Knowledge Realty Trust.
Across all sectors, the future of work depends on adaptability.
India's housing finance sector is riding a wave of post-pandemic revival, driven by policy support, digital innovation, and growing demand from younger homebuyers in emerging cities.
The best way for India to prepare is by preserving and strengthening the RBI's hard-won credibility, point out Rajeswari Sengupta and Vaishali Garga.
After several muted quarters, India's IT sector hiring stabilised in the first half of FY 2025-26 as hiring patterns improved, following a reasonable rise in the recruitment of freshers and mid-senior level professionals, HR solutions provider Adecco India said on Tuesday.
'...aggressive pricing amid volatility, but these are exceptions.'
Yes, the entry of private bankers, particularly with global experience will add value to PSBs, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Issuers have allotted nearly four times as much to mutual funds (MFs) as they have to insurance companies in recent quarters. MFs invested Rs 21,976 crore as anchor investors in initial public offerings (IPOs) on a trailing four-quarter basis, according to data from Prime Database.
Have income tax-related questions? Ask rediffGURUS Mihir Tanna, Vipul Bhavsar, T S Khurana, Vivek Lala and Anil Rego.
Opening up the corner office is fine, but will the government be able to attract talent without giving a market-rate salary?, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
India's corporate bond market, driven by public sector undertaking (PSU) banks and financial institutions last year, is losing momentum since the second quarter of FY26.
'Tax cases are technical in nature... Many high courts do not have a tax bench, which also contributes to the delay.'
The growth was primarily driven by domestic investments, which accounted for 60 per cent of the total inflows during the first quarter of the financial year.
Multi-asset allocation funds (MAAFs) have emerged as strong performers among mutual funds (MFs), rivalling medium-term returns from traditional equity categories while maintaining a lower risk profile. Over the past three years, average returns for this segment have surpassed those of flexicap and largecap funds, for both lump sum and systematic investment plan (SIP) investments.
More than a third of 83 mainboard IPOs this year ended their debut sessions in the red, with losses of up to 35 per cent.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) poured in Rs 94,829 crore of fresh money into Indian equities in August, the second-highest monthly inflow after record Rs 1.07 trillion influx in October 2024.
'They are positioned as defensive products and can potentially give marginally higher returns than liquid funds.'
The sector's IPO pipeline is led by Tata Capital's Rs 17,000 crore issue, followed by ICICI Prudential Asset Management at Rs 10,200 crore and Billionbrains Garage Ventures at Rs 6,000 crore.
Recent developments - proposed changes to the goods and services tax (GST) rates and S&P Global Ratings' upgrade of India's long-term sovereign credit rating to BBB, with a stable outlook, - may not be enough to bring foreign investors back to Indian markets in a rush, feel analysts.
