The number of Indian obese adults increased from 5.76 million in 1991 to 46.78 million in 2021; it is poised to reach 173.73 million by 2050.
Consumer goods firms and auto companies are witnessing an upturn in rural demand, which had been lagging for most of FY24. Expectations of a bumper rabi crop harvest have helped turn the tide. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged last week, noting that as rural demand catches up, consumption is expected to support economic growth in 2024-25.
As a percentage contributor to nominal GDP, PFCE's share was 60.1 per cent in FY23, compared with 59.6 per cent and 60.8 per cent in the two preceding fiscal years. "Although PFCE is expected to grow 7.7 per cent in FY23, we believe it is still short of a broad-based recovery. "The current consumption demand is highly skewed in favour of goods and services consumed largely by the households falling in the upper income bracket. "A broad-based consumption recovery, therefore, is still some distance away," said Sunil Kumar Sinha, principal economist with India Ratings.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision to cut the repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 5.5% was contrary to the expectations of many economists. Firstly, most of the economists expected the MPC to cut the repo rate by 25 bps citing the weakening of inflation, prospects of economic growth, geopolitical uncertainty and comfortable system liquidity.
'Afterwards, some improvement is expected.'
The Indian economy is likely to post better than anticipated growth in the second quarter (July-September) owing to robust urban consumption and expansion in services, a Business Standard analysis of high-frequency indicators showed. While gross domestic product growth in the September quarter is expected to come below the 7.8 per cent print in the June quarter due to a favourable base fading, analysts say the print will be much closer to 7 per cent than the 6.5 per cent anticipated earlier. While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had estimated 6.5 per cent growth for July-September, last month Governor Shaktikanta Das said the growth figure would surprise on the upside.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Razvi Bareilvi criticised Vijay for allegedly portraying Muslims negatively in his movies and for inviting individuals involved in gambling and liquor consumption to his iftar party.
Indian airlines are likely to face additional weekly expenses of Rs 77 crore for international flights operated from north Indian cities as the airspace curbs result in increased fuel consumption and longer flight duration. An analysis of the number of overseas flights and back-of-the-envelope calculations based on increased flight time as well as approximate expenses by PTI showed that the additional monthly operational costs could be over Rs 306 crore.
NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani on Monday said India is set to become the fourth largest economy in the world by the end of 2025, an assertion which came days after NITI CEO BVR Subrahmanyam claimed India has already overtaken Japan to reach that spot. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released in April had said that India is expected to be the fourth largest economy in the world with a GDP of $4.19 trillion in 2025, ahead of Japan.
The World Bank on Wednesday lowered India's growth forecast for the current fiscal by 4 percentage points to 6.3 per cent amid global economic weakness and policy uncertainty. In its previous estimate, the World Bank had projected India's growth at 6.7 per cent for the fiscal year 2025-26.
The 31st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, held in December 2018, deferred a decision to reduce the GST rate for cement from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. This was despite recognising that cement - along with automobile parts - remained among the few mass-consumption items still taxed at the highest slab, which was originally meant for luxury and sin goods.
Yoghurt, whose consumption is going steadily up around the world, has always been an essential part of India's diet. Make sure it remains so -- it's a sterling probiotic, packed with minerals and vitamins. Try to make your own yoghurt at home -- it's easy. Read the labels carefully when purchasing dahi. Read on to learn about the valuable benefits of yoghurt...
Factors that cause severe distress include early smartphone usage, consumption of ultra-processed foods, exposure to environmental toxins, and a growing sense of loneliness.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday came out with comprehensive draft guidelines to harmonise and regulate gold loans across all financial entities, including putting a cap of 75 per cent on loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. The draft guidelines also aim to address concerns related to certain lending practices, provide clarity on specific aspects, and strengthen the conduct-related standards in the sector.
The country's Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry witnessed a consumption slowdown in the December quarter, with an overall "negative" volume growth, as consumers continue to reel under inflationary pressure, says a report. According to the report released by data analytics firm NielsenIQ on Thursday, in October-December, the FMCG industry grew 7.6 per cent in terms of value but its volume growth was (-) 0.3 per cent. "... Overall FMCG volume growth is negative, the absolute values, as well as volumes, continue to be above pre-Covid levels across markets," it said.
Israel's aerial assault on Iran is widely viewed as an act of naked aggression with no basis in international law, carried out unilaterally despite US opposition and aimed at derailing ongoing US-Iran nuclear negotiations, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Nayagam PP, a certified career counsellor and the founder of EduJob360, lists the top and emerging career streams in engineering.
'When you have the best market at your doorstep, international diversification is a distraction.'
Geopolitical tensions, trade policy uncertainties, volatility in international commodity prices and financial market uncertainties pose considerable risks to India's economic growth in the coming year, the finance ministry cautioned on Wednesday. "Global trade continues to be affected by uncertainty in the policy environment... tariff-related developments in multiple countries have heightened trade-related risks, affecting investment and trade flows globally.
The stock of mall developer and commercial real estate major, The Phoenix Mills (Phoenix), is up 26 per cent since its business update in the third week of January. The gains came on strong December quarter performance and the consumption boost in the Budget which is expected to help the company sustain its growth trends.
The restaurant chains are riding the Hallyu wave -- a phenomenon about the growing global prominence of South Korean pop culture.
Food budgets in urban areas spent less on protein as compared to beverages and processed foods, reveals the Household Consumption Expenditure survey data for 2023-24.
Currently, the NAPCC has eight active missions across sectors like water, energy, and agriculture, aimed at addressing climate change.
The FMCG industry in India achieved a 10.6% growth in value terms in the December quarter of 2024, driven largely by rural markets, which have surpassed the large urban markets in growth for the fourth consecutive quarter. Festive demand and consumption-driven growth played a key role, with overall volume up 7.1% despite inflationary pressures. However, the industry also saw a "preference shift of consumers towards smaller packs" due to high food inflation. Local manufacturers continue to outperform larger FMCG companies, fueled by consistent volume growth.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel posted about a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11,022 crore in the March 2025 quarter, mainly due to the tariff hike impact and one-time gain on tax benefits. Bharti Airtel had posted net profit (attributable to owners of the parent company) of Rs 2,071.6 crore a year ago.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) draft guidelines on gold loans, if implemented in their current form, are expected to impact non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and mid-tier banks in the near term, more significantly than larger banks, according to analysts.
Global Rating agency Moody's on Wednesday said it was reviewing IndusInd Bank's risk management capabilities, and its leadership transition, with the private sector lender grappling with accounting lapses pertaining to its derivatives transactions. "The financial impact of the derivatives losses is quite manageable considering IndusInd Bank's strong capital.
Besides, the carrier is having a technical stop in Kolkata for some of the North America flights from Delhi, they added.
It's important to pack an interesting but nutritionally wholesome lunchbox for office or for your kids to take to school/college. It prevents between-meal snacking and consumption of junk food/a less-ideal outside meal.
Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finance were also among the laggards.
'Rainfall does not appear to have a statistically significant impact on foodgrain production since the last few years, which contrasts with the traditional view of India's heavy reliance on monsoon rains for agriculture.'
The share of rent in consumption expenditure has risen to 6.58%, according to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-2024. This is the highest it has been in surveys going back to the turn of the millennium.
Dr Rituja Ugalmugle, internal medicine specialist, Wockhardt Hospitals, lists the remedies to prevent and fight summer related ailments.
In a significant change to regulations, oil and gas regulator PNGRB has proposed a new policy of how tariffs for pipelines carrying gas to users will be determined, and proposed charging city gas entities selling CNG and piped cooking gas to households at the lowest rates.
Foreign investors have infused nearly Rs 8,500 crore in the country's equity markets last week, after a phase of heavy outflows earlier in the month, supported by renewed investor confidence, resilient domestic economy and relative insulation from global trade disruptions. During the holiday-truncated week ended April 18, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) made a net investment of Rs 8,472 crore in equities.
The prospect of protracted uncertainties in the global economic landscape not only pose a risk for India's growth outlook in 2025-26, but are also likely to dent the private sector's capital raising and investment plans, the finance ministry averred on Tuesday, cautioning the country's corporates that the era of 'easy pickings' was over.
Moody's Ratings on Wednesday said India's economic growth will exceed 6.5 per cent in the next fiscal, up from 6.3 per cent this year, on higher government capex and consumption boost from tax cuts and interest rate reduction. Projecting a stable outlook for the banking sector, Moody's said although the operating environment of Indian banks will remain favourable in the next fiscal, their asset quality will deteriorate moderately after substantial improvements in recent years, with some stress in unsecured retail loans, microfinance loans and small business loans.
Chris Eubank Jr was taken to hospital for precautionary checks after beating fellow Briton Conor Benn on a unanimous points decision in their thrilling middleweight grudge match on Saturday.
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