Govt announces slew of schemes for rural India
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
Amazon India is repositioning itself as a comprehensive business partner rather than just an e-commerce platform, slashing seller fees and introducing artificial intelligence-powered tools ahead of the country's crucial festive shopping season that could determine the year's retail performance.
The demand for passenger vehicles (PVs) is expected to sustain even beyond the ongoing festival season as a new set of customers, those who gained confidence to buy cars following the recent GST rate cuts, will begin to visit dealerships now, said Shailesh Chandra, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), on Wednesday.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has approached the Supreme Court, contesting the legality of the Election Commission's order for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, alleging it is arbitrary and unconstitutional.
'I realised why the farmers and the rural folks are going for Trump. They are so insecure and vulnerable that anybody who is throwing a line of hope to them, they seize it.'
Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler maker, has seen a decline in its market share in rural areas since 2018, losing ground to major competitors such as TVS Motor Company, Bajaj Auto, and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), according to data from JATO Dynamics reviewed by Business Standard. Hero's share of rural two-wheeler sales in India has dropped from 40.4 per cent in 2018 to 33.3 per cent in 2023. In contrast, Bajaj's share increased from 12.7 per cent in 2018 to 13.9 per cent, HMSI's from 21.8 per cent to 22.2 per cent, and TVS' from 15.5 per cent to 17.8 per cent. Suzuki Motorcycle India has also seen its share rise from 1.7 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
Even after 50 years, Sholay remains a lasting reminder of unity, shared memories and the joy of cinema, notes Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
Industry leaders urge India to pursue diplomatic talks with the US, strengthen manufacturing, and consider China ties to gain leverage against tariff pressures.
Overall, volume growth is likely to be in the range of 3-8 per cent for two-wheelers and 5-7 per cent for passenger vehicles owing to healthy demand from urban and rural areas and pending order books.
BPOs can transform the face of rural India if they can retain even a small proportion of educated youth in villages.
Top Indian cement firms are expected to report a strong earnings growth for the second quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (Q2FY26) on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, amid improved realisations, prices, and steady volume growth, but on a low base.
Canadian firm Manulife and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), an Indian automaker with interests in financial services, have signed an agreement to form a 50:50 life insurance joint venture (JV) with a total capital commitment of up to Rs 3,600 crore each totalling Rs 7,200 crore.
The average Indian worker must labour for an extraordinary 160 full working days to afford Apple's latest iPhone 17 Pro.
Festive sales are expected to surge 27 per cent to cross Rs 120,000 crore in 2025, driving Amazon and Flipkart to expand warehousing capacity by millions of cubic feet and extend delivery networks to thousands of new pin codes -- an infrastructure buildout that could reshape India's retail landscape for years.
'Women weavers are hardworking, open to learning, resilient.' 'They finish their cooking, housework, puja, then they come to weave.' 'They care about design. They care about beauty.'
Adani Group said on Friday it will invest around Rs 1 trillion in various sectors of Andhra Pradesh over the next ten years, deepening its commitment in the state where it will partner with Google for an artificial intelligence (AI) hub in Visakhapatnam.
Even the most backward sections of rural societies are seeking information.
A researcher from Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University found that the main income of Irula tribe of southeast India comes from catching rats.
Shuvajit was confident of making a huge difference in the lives of people in rural India.
Labour markets showed positive momentum in August as the unemployment rate fell for the second consecutive month to a four-month low of 5.1 per cent from 5.2 per cent in July. It was on account of the start of the sowing season.
High-street rentals continue to outpace those of malls, as retailers focus on prime locations and are willing to pay a premium for visibility. Between 2021 and 2025, rental values on prime high street have grown 7-15 per cent annually, driven by strong consumption density and limited new supply, even outpacing grade A malls, which grew by 5-8 per cent, according to Anarock.
Dabur India has been the worst performer in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space this year (CY23), posting a 1 per cent decline even as its peer index, the Nifty FMCG, has delivered returns of over 29 per cent in this period.
The return on investment (RoI) from technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) will take time to materialise, and the immediate priority should be to increase spending on building governance frameworks around AI, top bank executives said.
"I didn't even know there was an Indian women's cricket team," said pacer Kranti Goud as she reminisced her journey from Madhya Pradesh's obscure Ghuwara village to the very top of the sport she picked up by chance.
Not only FMCG companies but even banks, auto, telecom and retail companies are finding it difficult to keep themselves away from the lure.
At Head Held High, trainees begin with the basics -- the English alphabet.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are expected to report mid-single-digit revenue growth in the July-September 2025-26 quarter, according to their quarterly updates. Most companies also noted that supply chains were focused on liquidating existing stock ahead of the implementation of new goods and services tax (GST) rates in categories where the tax was lowered.
'The informal sector can grow at a 100 per cent rate -- we have to plan big.'
World's largest chip maker Intel on Wednesday launched a personal computer platform that was conceived and largely designed in India to suit the rural environment.
However, with competition catching up, is the new Venue up to the challenge of fending off its rivals?
'His willingness to take the initiative to fight for truth and justice and his willingness to cross swords with anyone for a just cause.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress party for allegedly neglecting the tribal community's contributions to India's freedom struggle during its 60-year rule. He spoke at an event marking Janjatiya Gaurav Divas and inaugurated development projects for tribal communities.
Private sector banks slipped in market capitalisation (mcap) during the July-September quarter, underperforming their government-owned peers as trade uncertainties dragged market sentiment, said S&P Global Market Intelligence. According to its analysis, HDFC Bank shed 4.8 per cent in mcap during the third quarter, while ICICI Bank's dropped 6.7 per cent.
The newer ones have not met the stipulation of opening 25 per cent of branches in rural and semi-urban areas, a parliamentary committee report has observed.
Auto majors report positive sales figs for November.
Enterprising women business correspondents, known as BC Sakhis, have facilitated transactions worth Rs 27,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh, earning Rs 75 crore in commission over the past four and a half years. BC Sakhis, appointed under the nationwide women empowerment programme, are members of self-help groups (SHGs) who are trained and certified to provide banking and financial services in rural areas.
'By quick, fast, and just awards, the insurance ombudsman can bring the trust of the policyholders in the insurance system and insurance as a product and create a positive impact on the entire industry.'
In 2019, out of the 1,440 minutes in a day, Indian youth spent 148 minutes on employment-related activities, which increased to 158 minutes in 2024.
