HMSI has increased the monthly salary of its permanent workers by Rs 14,770 a month.
More than 25 crore workers engaged in sectors ranging from banking, insurance, postal to coal mining, highway and construction are expected to go on a nationwide general strike on Wednesday, potentially disrupting services across the country. A forum of 10 central trade unions and their associates has called for a general strike or 'Bharat Bandh' to "oppose the anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the government".
Hyundai Motor India on Thursday said it had concluded a three-year wage agreement with its workforce, paving way for an increase in their salaries.
The information technology (IT) services industry may be headed for another year of sluggish growth. Based on the results of the top five IT services companies for the first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26), analysts say the possibility of hitting high single-digit revenue growth in FY26 looks unlikely.
A recent World Bank report placing India among the most equal countries globally may present a limited view of inequality, with economists suggesting that broader data sets could tell a different story. According to the report, India's Gini index (or coefficient/ratio), a key measure of inequality, stood at 25.5 in 2022-23, placing the country fourth globally in terms of equality, behind only the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Belarus.
India's unemployment rate fell to a six-year low of 3.2 per cent in the July-June 2022-23 period, down from 4.1 per cent in the same period the previous year, according to the latest annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report. The report, released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday, showed a decline in unemployment rates in both rural and urban areas during the 2022-23 period to 2.4 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively, from 3.2 per cent and 6.3 per cent in the 2021-22 period. The unemployment rate for rural women (1.8 per cent) was lower than that for rural men (2.7 per cent) in 2022-23; in urban areas, the rate was higher for females (7.5 per cent) compared to males (4.7 per cent).
Employees were told to return to work from Monday onwards for a fresh start for improved production.
In the past 10 years, over 500 PSB officers have died by suicide. When targets are overwhelming, senior management and customers are both impatient, and there is constant fear, not every banker has the resilience to survive and thrive, warns Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
On its 177th anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra explores the history and relevance of The Communist Manifesto.
'All governments are scared of a negative image.' 'Somehow, this government has a tendency to create a narrative that things are improving.' 'When the real data gives a different picture, they are upset.'
As many as 76 per cent of respondents said they will be willing to sacrifice existing benefits for better ones.
The stock of India's largest listed pure-play retail company, Avenue Supermarts (DMart), has slipped over 10 per cent from its monthly highs. A weak operational performance in the fourth quarter (January-March) of financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25) and muted near-term outlook due to intense competitive pressures and higher costs could lead to downward momentum on the stock. While the stock dipped by 3.44 per cent in early trade on Monday, it recovered a bit to close 1.07 per cent lower at 4,017.
The country's largest lender SBI on Saturday reported a 9.13 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 16,099.58 crore for the September quarter, weighed down by money it had to set aside for employees' impending wage and pension revisions. On a standalone basis, the State Bank of India (SBI) had a 8.03 per cent increase in the profit after tax for the reporting quarter at Rs 14,330 crore. However, the same was down 15.13 per cent compared to Rs 16,884 crore in the June quarter.
A nationwide strike called by trade unions to protest against the central government's labor policies had a mixed impact across India. While normal life remained largely unaffected in most parts of the country, some sectors like banking, transport, and insurance experienced disruptions. Sporadic incidents of violence were reported in West Bengal.
'April 9 announcement of slapping a 125% tariff on Chinese goods has brought the focus back to China, making this new phase feel like a repeat of the original conflict.'
IT services major HCL Technologies (HCLTech) on Monday reported a 10.51 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,235 crore in July-September quarter of FY25, as the company raised the lower band of its growth guidance on the back of better-than-expected performance. The Noida-headquartered firm had posted a net profit of Rs 3,832 crore in the year-ago period. HCLTech increased the lower band of its revenue growth guidance to 3.5-5 per cent year-on-year in constant currency, against a guidance of 3-5 per cent in the first quarter.
Wipro on Wednesday reported a 25.9 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 3,569.6 crore, but warned of a weak quarter ahead with up to 3.5 per cent expected drop in IT services revenue for Q1FY26, amid global uncertainties. CEO and Managing Director Srini Pallia said clients remain cautious in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty.
IT services firm Wipro's revenue is likely to increase by about 4.5 per cent in FY26, mainly driven by favourable sectoral trends and recovery in discretionary customer spending, according to global rating agency Fitch.
Notably Trump had withdrawn from the Paris Agreement immediately after his first inauguration in January 2017. Joe Biden reversed that decision later.
Unemployment rate in urban areas during the third quarter (October-December) of FY25 remained unchanged at 6.4 per cent compared to the preceding quarter, according to the latest quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Tuesday. While the unemployment rate for men worsened marginally to 5.8 per cent in Q3 from 5.7 per cent in Q2, for women, it improved to 8.1 per cent from 8.4 per cent.
Auto parts exports from India may see a slight slowdown as US President Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariff could increase car prices for buyers by 8-25 per cent, thereby affecting demand, experts believe.
'Brazil, China, Colombia and India each had more than 2,000 of their citizens overstaying student/exchange visas, with India having the highest number (7,000).'
Recent documents by NITI Aayog and periodic labour force surveys on employment show that the importance of agriculture is rising in the Indian economy.
'Spending by the middle class is limited with a focus on savings. However, there is buoyancy at the top-end.'
President Trump with his MAWA has unwittingly provided us this opportunity. Will PM Modi grasp this and leave a legacy of an ushered in scientific and technological revolution in India, asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The high point of the 19 Shastri months was the 22-day war that he fought against great odds and won in principle, even if military historians often call it a stalemate. Pakistan saw a great opportunity to conquer Kashmir and lost. It was the last time they had the relative strength militarily and diplomatically to take Kashmir. Shastri's resolve buried that dream forever, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The average salary hike of top-paid chief executive officers (CEOs) in four countries, India, the USA, the UK and South Africa, was 9 per cent, but the workers in these countries saw their salary dip by 3.19 per cent, an analysis by Oxfam on International Workers' Day on May 1 showed. Based on data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and government agencies, the analysis also showed that workers in these countries worked "for free" for six days last year because their wages lagged behind inflation. One billion workers in 50 countries took an average pay cut of $685 in 2022, a collective loss of $746 billion in real wages, compared to if wages had kept up with inflation, it said.
China supplied more than $20 billion worth of arms to Pakistan. These include 20 J-10CE and JF-17 Block III fighter aircraft, Wing Loong drones, frigates, submarines, Hongqi HQ-9P surface-to-air missiles, 240 PL-15E air-to-air missiles, LY-80 air defence systems, ZDK early warning aircraft and other weapons.
The cut in wages by companies whose operations were not shut by the lockdown was more likely opportunistic than out of business compulsions to survive the lockdown. If this is true, then it is worth wondering what kind of opportunism was this? Was it to make a quick buck or was it to use a crisis to engineer a structural change that was necessary, asks Mahesh Vyas.
Bank employees body AIBEA, which is a major constituent of the United Forum of Bank Employees' Association that has called a nationwide strike, on Tuesday said Finance Minister P Chidambaram rejecting wage demands of bank employees is "unfortunate" and the strike was forced on them.
'Inflation is not good for industry. Nor for the economy as a whole.'
It was a protest which held a mirror to the government of a state taking pride in its commitment to democracy, gender equality and social indices.One person, who in his employed days had known governments and political parties at close quarters, told me that public perception of how the Kerala government handled the ASHA workers' strike had been terrible, reports Shyam G Menon.
'No military offensive by Pakistan will end the insurgency in Balochistan without simultaneous, concerted efforts toward political dialogue to de-escalate tensions.'
'If you compare the data from 2017 and 2023 of the US imports from the world and China, you will see that the US was a complete loser in the trade war, and China was a complete gainer.'
Corporate India's struggle with subdued revenue and earnings growth persisted in the October-December quarter of 2024-25 (Q3FY25). The combined net sales (gross interest earnings for lenders) of listed companies grew in single digits for the seventh consecutive quarter, while their combined net profit rose by a single digit for the third straight quarter.
'Probably revised guidelines will come, and then the real picture will emerge.'
The growth is particularly remarkable because it comes at levels higher than during the pre-Covid times, notes Mahesh Vyas.
These companies provide better quality jobs and so it is particularly reassuring to see these jobs grow faster than the overall growth of jobs in India, says Mahesh Vyas.
