The Reserve Bank on Tuesday proposed greater flexibility to authorised persons to undertake foreign exchange transactions for hedging their exposures, balance sheet management and market-making, as well as to ease reporting obligations, after a review of the current regulations.
The Union health ministry has issued draft rules to mandate a blue vertical strip on all antimicrobial drug labels, aiming to rein in over-the-counter misuse and tackle India's growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problem.
Following the death of 22 children due to consumption of contaminated cough syrups in Madhya Pradesh three months ago, the Union health ministry has proposed amendments in the country's drug rules to ensure a tougher criterion for their over-the-counter (OTC) sales in India.
Former IPS officer Amar Singh Chahal allegedly shot himself after claiming he was duped of Rs 8.10 crore by cyber thugs. He was one of the accused in the 2015 police firing cases related to anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot.
Amid controversy over USPresident Donald Trump's comments linking the use of Tylenol and other related paracetamol products by pregnant women to autism in children, experts and industry executives say that since India's export of the drug to the US is less, it will hardly affect the country's pharma exports to America.
A timeline of key events that shaped the RSS' journey, including the various highs and lows, as the organization approaches its 100th anniversary.
The proposed reforms in goods and services tax (GST) announced by the government last week, coupled with the eighth pay commission dole-out, is likely to push consumption-driven stocks - such as air conditioners (ACs), select automobiles, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and counters of quick-service restaurants (QSRs) - into higher orbit over the next few months, believe analysts.
This translates into an annual return of 40 per cent, suggests a recent note by the World Gold Council.
Gold prices could hit the $3500 an ounce (oz) mark in the next 18 months - up around 13 per cent from the current levels - given the global uncertainties and aided by investment demand, said analysts at BofA Securities in a recent note. Uncertainty around Trump Administration trade policies, BofA said, could continue to push the US dollar (USD) lower, further supporting gold prices near-term.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's (Irdai's) decision to allow insurers to hedge risks through equity derivatives will help them manage market volatility and protect policyholder returns. However, this move is unlikely to alter their investment strategies.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Tuesday said it has acquired the approved generic versions of certain over-the-counter drugs from Wockhardt Ltd in the US. The acquisition by the company's fully-owned subsidiary Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc, USA includes the approved abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) for famotidine tablets, 10 mg and 20 mg used to treat and prevent ulcers in the stomach and intestine, the company said in a statement. The company, however, did not disclose the financial details.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) is set to acquire Haleon's global portfolio of consumer healthcare brands in the nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) category outside of the US. DRL will pay a total consideration of 500 million, including an upfront cash consideration of 458 million and contingent cash payments up to 42 million based on performances in CY25 and CY26. DRL will acquire the portfolio through the purchase of shares of Northstar Switzerland SARL, a Haleon group firm.
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.
'Younger people are taking steps to prevent lifestyle diseases.'
'It is fascinating to partner with consumers on the journey of self-discovery and to help shape people's preferences -- that is what I find most exciting,' Nandini Piramal tells Abhineet Kumar and Aneesh Phadnis.
'Mankind's experience, sharpness, and execution will make it happen. We are not going for short-term gains.'
Given how Participatory Notes are essentially an OTC market for Indian equity derivatives, moving them onshore should be an important objective.
British consumer goods major Reckitt Benckiser, which bought over local start-up Paras Pharmaceuticals for a staggering Rs 3,260 crore (Rs 32.6 billion) last year, is converting its acquired Baddi plant in Himachal Pradesh into a global hub for manufacturing over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceutical products.
'Higher interest rates make gold less attractive as it doesn't generate yield.' 'However, with rates set to fall, the tables are turning for gold.'
Exchange-traded currency derivatives volumes are likely to drop in view of new Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules, casting a cloud over further participation of retail investors and proprietary traders. There are concerns that existing positions without any underlying exposure will need to be liquidated. Also, weighed down by dollar demand from local oil companies and weakness in its Asian peers, the rupee on Wednesday (April 3) ended at a new closing low of 83.44 versus the US currency.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed that at least 10 per cent of corporate bond market trades by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) should be done on the request for quote (RFQ) platform. At present, most trades in the corporate bond market are over-the-counter (OTC), creating a lot of opacity. The markets regulator has been nudging debt market participants such as mutual funds (MFs), alternative investment funds (AIFs) and brokers to use the RFQ platform to boost secondary market liquidity and transparency.
Reliance Industries' (RIL's) consumer business is expected to lead earnings growth in the Q3FY24 performance, according to analysts. While the energy business is expected to show sequential weakness, the consumer business, especially retail, is estimated to show strong growth. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate will announce its Q3FY24 financial results on Friday.
Pharmaceuticals major Mankind Pharma reported a 21 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in net profit, with revenue rising by 12 per cent Y-o-Y in the second quarter of the financial year 2024 (Q2FY24) in a regulatory filing lrecently.
A personal tragedy for Jeevan Zutshi, founder of the Indo-American Community Federation, turned into a talking point for the Unity Dinner '08 held at the Newark Fremont Hilton in California.
Chawanprash, known for its medicinal quality and immunity enhancing capabilities, is the highest selling ayurvedic medicinal over-the-counter product in the country, according to a study.
'Digesting protein is hard work for the metabolic system. The more natural the protein is, the easier it is to digest,' explains Dr Karthiyayani Mahadevan.
Bulk of the medicine sales in the $22-24 billion domestic pharma market happens through offline retail chemists. With the entry of online pharmacies, this space has started to witness a shake-up. Sample this: Dawaa Dost, a Rajasthan based digital health start-up, generates medicine orders from 'kirana' stores and women self-help groups (SHGs) that operate in villages, and then service these orders through its affiliated network of pharmacies. Biddano, another health-tech start-up, has a platform that acts as an aggregator for neighbourhood chemist shops.
During a sale, many store windows invite the shopper with impossible-to-miss visuals announcing '50% Discount'. Only upon entering does the shopper realises that the one rack which fulfils this promise sells items she'd never purchase.
The centre is expected to enhance our existing in-house research and development resources.
Retail investment demand for gold bars and coins as well as central bank purchases pushed the global gold demand by 28 per cent to 1,181.5 tonnes in the September quarter, according to the World Gold Council report. The total global demand stood at 921.9 tonnes during the July-September quarter of 2021, the World Gold Council's 'Gold Demand Trends Q3 2022' showed on Tuesday. Investment was down 47 per cent year-on-year as gold backed Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) investors responded to a challenging combination of higher interest rates and a strong US dollar with significant outflows of 227 tonnes.
Pharma companies' hope to have several of their house hold remedy brands like Crocin made available through grocery shops across the country may not materialise.
Investing in unlisted shares is not difficult. At any given point, many investors and employees are willing to sell their holdings because they need money. Buyers can negotiate a price with them, suggests Sarbajeet K Sen.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) hiked prices across its portfolio of products by 3-13 per cent in multiple tranches in February, with the sharpest increase of 13 per cent seen in the 100 gm Lux soap pack, the price of which increased to Rs 35 from Rs 31 earlier. The price of the 125 gms soap pack of Lifebuoy was hiked from Rs 31 to Rs 33, a rise of 6.5 per cent. In January, the company had hiked the price of the same stock-keeping unit from Rs 29 to Rs 31.
This ruling means that we will continue to invest in the brand and we will also look at launching line extensions over the next calendar year, said Nandini Piramal.
Cipla is among the three Indian companies that signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with US-based Gilead Sciences to make and distribute the latter's repurposed Ebola drug Remdesivir in 127 countries including India.
The government on Tuesday said it will allow setting up of world-class foreign universities in Gandhinagar's GIFT City, free from domestic regulations, to facilitate availability of skilled manpower in the financial services space. In addition, an international arbitration centre will be set up in the GIFT City for timely settlement of disputes under international jurisprudence, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget for 2022-23. The centre could be on the lines of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, or the London Commercial Arbitration Centre.
About to touch Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion), India ranks among the eight most important countries in Reckitt Benckiser's global operations with sales in excess of 7 billion pounds (over Rs 55,000 crore). In an interaction with Pradipta Mukherjee, Reckitt Benckiser's India chairman and managing director Chander M Seithi reveals that plans are afoot to introduce most of its global brands in personal-care, home-care and over-the-counter drugs in India.
Retinoids can cure skin issues, but they can harm too, says Dr Syed Nazim Hussain.
Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd has acquired a majority equity stake in digital pharma market place Netmeds for a cash consideration of around Rs 620 crore, Reliance Industries said in a late night statement on Tuesday.