IPA Staff
16581 stories by IPA Staff
India-Oman To Review Progress Of Free Trade Agreement Talks
NEW DELHI: India and Oman will review the progress of talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries during the visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to Muscat this week, an official statement said on Sunday. Though the negotiations for the proposed agreement...
Govt Plans Customised Social Security Policy For Gig Workers From FY26
NEW DELHI: The government could soon unveil a social security benefit plan for gig and platform workers, officials said. Transaction-based contribution by aggregators, or a common rate of contribution aimed at creating a sustainable and meaningful finance pool for the scheme, could be recommended by a panel in its...
Foreign Controlled Companies In India Can Use Stocks To Buy Stakes In Local Companies
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has paved the way for foreign owned or controlled companies (FOCCs) in India to buy into local companies by issuing shares and swapping stocks. In absence of policy clarity, till now such deals were cut either with specific regulatory clearance or through...
Equity Mutual Funds Inflows Soar To Near Rs 4 Lakh Crore In 2024
NEW DELHI: Equity mutual funds witnessed a remarkable surge in inflows to nearly Rs 4 lakh crore in 2024, more than double the amount recorded in the preceding year, reflecting strong investor confidence and a continued shift towards long-term investing, particularly through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs). Despite the strong...
IT Industry Bats For Deeptech Fund To Bolster Startup Ecosystem
NEW DELHI: India’s apex IT industry body Nasscom has batted for tweaks in safe harbour rules and widening the scope for utilisation of SEZ reinvestment reserves in its Budget wishlist, while advocating for creation of a central deeptech fund to bolster startup ecosystem in India. Creation of a grant...
West Europe Gets Panicky After Donald Trump’s Policy Announcements At Davos
By Nitya Chakraborty Just six days have passed since the inauguration of Donald Trump as the second term President of the United States of America and his policy announcements on the first day in office. The impact varies from country to country but nowhere it is more panicky than...
US Move For Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Signifies Seismic Shift In Global Finance
By K Raveendran The Trump administration’s exploration of creating a national Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) may usher in a new era of global financial strategy, one defined by digital assets rather than traditional monetary instruments. This concept marks a potential seismic shift in how nations perceive and secure wealth,...
The Falling Value Of Indian Rupee Can Be Converted Into An Opportunity For Growth
By Dr. Nilanjan Banik On January 13, 2025, the rupee recorded its sharpest single-day decline in nearly two years, finishing the session 58 paise lower at a historic low of Rs 86.62 against the US dollar. Numerous commentaries are now emerging in popular media, expressing concern that a weakened...
Trump’s Decision On Ending Birthright Citizenship Affects Indians To A Great Extent
By Arun Srivastava US District Judge John C Coughenour has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status. The case was moved before the court by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argued that...
Decent Job Creation Continues To Be Indecent Shows EPFO Data
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Decent job creation in India continues to be indecent, if the latest Employment Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) provisional data released on January 20, 2025 is of any indication. The trend of increase in new EPF subscribers remains at very low. A total of 874420 new...
Centre Still Refusing To Grant Scheduled Tribe Status To Left-Out Gorkha Tribes
By Rabindra Nath Sinha KOLKATA: Grant of scheduled tribe status for left-out Gorkha tribes by the Union government remains a far cry and what is worse is that despite unanimity among political outfits in the Darjeeling hills on the ST tag demand, the Union government agencies responsible for a...
Mexico Knows How To Fight U.S. President Donald Trump’s Expansionist Policies
By Satyaki Chakraborty Ever since the inauguration on January 20 of Donald Trump as the U.S. President for the second term, the series of announcements made by the far right American President targeted its neighbouring countries Mexico and Canada as a part Trump’s expansionist agenda, Trump renamed the Gulf...
Food Inflation May Drop To 6% In Near-Term, But Risks Remain: Analysts
NEW DELHI: An improvement in rabi sowing, favourable weather conditions, and above normal monsoon rains are expected to soften food inflation sharply from the current levels in the next three-to-four months, say analysts. But cereals and edible oils’ prices still remain a concern, and pose an upside risk to...
Liquidity Deficit Breaches Rs 3 Lakh-Crore Mark
MUMBAI: The liquidity shortage in the banking system has shot up to over Rs 3 lakh crore, levels that experts say are the highest in many years. The total amount of liquidity injected by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stood at Rs 3.15 lakh crore on January 23,...
Private Sector Activity Slows To 14-Month Low Of 57.9 In January: PMI Data
NEW DELHI: India’s private sector output grew at its slowest since November 2023 as the pace of new business intake softened in the services sector, which in turn offset the robust growth seen in the manufacturing sector during the month, according to the HSBC flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)...
India Must Step Up Trade Play With Fast-Growing Asia, Says Chairman, McKinsey Asia
DAVOS: India has a significant opportunity to deepen its engagement within Asia as the region is set to see an uptick in trade activities, Gautam Kumra, chairman, McKinsey Asia on Thursday while highlighting that 18 of the fastest-growing corridors and 13 of the largest trade corridors connect with Asia....
Reforms And Investments Will Put Nation On Fast Track To Viksit Goal
DAVOS: India is set for exponential growth in various sectors, but regulatory reforms and significant investments are essential to sustain this momentum and meet future needs, said industry leaders during a discussion on Viksit Bharat: The Road to 2047 at the World Economic Forum on Friday. Rajiv Memani, chairperson...
Government approves Rs 500 Crore capital infusion in IFCI
NEW DELHI: Domestic financial institution IFCI on Friday said the government has approved Rs 500 crore capital infusion in the company through the preferential issue of shares. The Department of Financial Services has conveyed sanction of the President of India to release funds of Rs 500 crore to IFCI...
