Business
Govt Recommends 12% Provisional Safeguard Duty On Select Steel Items
NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has recommended a 12 per cent safeguard duty on certain steel products for 200 days to protect the domestic industry from what it describes as “serious injury” caused by a recent surge in...
India For Staggered Free Trade Pacts For Faster Outcomes
NEW DELHI: India has suggested that talks for free trade agreements (FTAs) should initially focus on core trade issues and that the comprehensive agreements can be concluded in phases, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Wednesday. This will deliver results faster, he said at the 10th CII India-Latin America...
Cabinet Okays 1,500 Crore Incentives To Boost UPI Payments
MUMBAI: The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved an incentive scheme to promote low-value BHIM-UPI transactions, focusing on payments made to merchants. The Rs 1,500 crore initiative, running from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, aims to boost digital adoption among small businesses. Under the scheme, person-to-merchant (M) transactions...
Let Us Secure Farmers’ Future Through Reform And Unity
It’s time to end the agitation. Let’s Focus on Real Solutions for Indian Farmers.Indian agriculture stands at a defining moment. The image of a farmer sowing seeds in the fertile fields of Punjab or harvesting crops in the sun-drenched plains of Maharashtra reflects the soul of the nation. Over...
India Focuses On Core Trade Issues For Faster FTA Outcomes
NEW DELHI: India is focusing on core trade issues such as import duty and non-tariff barriers in the proposed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) for faster outcomes from these negotiations, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Wednesday. He said this approach is important as sometimes it takes “so much time”...
Telangana Presents Rs 3.05 Lakh Crore Budget For 2025-26
HYDERABAD: The Congress government in Telangana on Wednesday presented a budget of nearly Rs 3.05 Lakh Crore for 2025-26, with over Rs 56,000 Crore for the implementation of the party’s ‘six poll guarantees’, while expecting to raise Rs 64,000 Crore through open market loans. The budget estimates revenue expenditure...
Vodafone Idea Shares Jump Over 5 Per Cent As Company Rolls Out 5G Services
NEW DELHI: Shares of Vodafone Idea on Wednesday jumped over 5 per cent after the firm launched its 5G services in India, starting from Mumbai with five more cities up next. The stock climbed 5 per cent to Rs 7.46 on the BSE. At the NSE, it rallied 5.21...
Sun-days Co Launches First Eyewear Store In Capital
NEW DELHI: Luxury eyewear brand Sun-days Co has officially opened its doors at Omaxe Chowk, Chandni Chowk, offering a premium shopping experience for fashion-forward consumers. The new store features a curated collection of over 60 globally renowned brands, including Ray-Ban, Prada, Gucci, Kuboraum, and Philipp Plein, catering to both...
WPI Inflation May Shoot Up In March On Higher Metal Prices, Fed And Tariff Concerns
NEW DELHI: India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rose marginally to 2.38 per cent in February on higher global commodity prices and is expected to increase further in March on higher metal prices, stated a report by Barclays. “While inflation in manufactured products rose and deflation in fuel &...
India, New Zealand Set Tight Deadline For Free Trade Agreement
NEW DELHI: India and New Zealand have set a deadline of 60 days to wrap up discussions on their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and a goal to grow bilateral trade 10-fold in the next 10 years. “I look forward to, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, signing that agreement...
Domestic Steel Prices Rise But Looming Global Trade War Sparks Concerns
KOLKATA: Domestic steel prices have seen an increase over the past couple of months in anticipation of a safeguard duty, but a looming global trade war is likely to weigh as threat of import rises and prospect of export flounders. Data from BigMint showed that in March 2025, hot...
India’s Coddled Billionaires Feel The Pain Of US Tariffs
There’s still two weeks to go before US President Donald Trump’s April 2 deadline for imposing reciprocal taxes on imports. But New Delhi already seems to have gone into damage-control mode, anticipating the worst. Over 24 hours last week, two of India’s largest wireless carriers, whose billionaire owners were...
Bank Lending To Large Companies Rose 6.4 Per Cent In January
MUMBAI: Bank lending to large companies is climbing finally after a protracted post-Covid slump, although the majority of the funds so garnered are being used as working capital – not for private-sector capital-asset financing. Lending to large corporations climbed 6.4% in January this year, compared with 5.7% in the...
India, New Zealand Explore Digital Payments, Trade, And Investment Ties
NEW DELHI: India and New Zealand have agreed for talks to boost cooperation in digital payments and greater two-way trade and investment during the ongoing visit of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. A day after both nations revived talks on a proposed free-trade agreement (FTA) after a hiatus...
Exports Shrink 10.9% In February, The Worst Show In 20 Months
NEW DELHI: India’s merchandise trade deficit plummeted to a three-and-a-half-year low of $14.05 billion in February, as exports and imports saw a sharp contraction due to softening global petroleum prices and rising economic uncertainty amid restrictive trade practices by the United States. The trade deficit — the gap between...
Wholesale Inflation Increases Slightly To 2.38% In February
NEW DELHI: India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rose slightly to 2.38 per cent in February from 2.31 per cent in January. This came as prices of manufactured products saw an increase and the deflation in fuel prices narrowed during the month. Meanwhile, food prices cooled further, government data...
Contours Of Trade Pact With US To Be Finalised In 2-3 Weeks
NEW DELHI: India has not brought up the issue of reciprocal tariffs in its discussions with the US, and talks are concentrating on the scope of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and the ways to increase the bilateral trade to $ 500 billion by 2030. “It is not known...
Public Sector Banks Must Focus On Capital Strength, Cost Efficiency: Govt
NEW DELHI: Public sector banks must plan for appropriate and timely capital raising and strive to reduce intermediation costs to make banking products and services, particularly credit-related, affordable to the public, said M Nagaraju, secretary of the department of financial services on Monday. He was addressing bankers at the...
