Business
India Slashes Income Taxes And Rates, But Modi Govt Has To Convince Investors
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is counting on a two-pronged stimulus of tax and interest rate cuts to turn around India’s slowing economy, but investors may need more convincing that the measures will be enough. The decision by India’s central bank on Friday to reduce its key rate...
Households Expect Inflation To Moderate; Consumer Confidence Dips
MUMBAI: Indian households expect moderation in inflation for the near term while consumer confidence declined marginally due to somewhat tempered sentiments, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) forward-looking surveys in January 2025. Inflation expectations showed an upward trajectory for three months and one-year ahead period. Reflecting confidence...
Union Cabinet Approves Rs 8,800 Crore To Boost Skill India Programme
NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Friday approved continuation and restructuring of the ‘Skill India Programme (SIP)’ till 2026 with an outlay of Rs 8,800 crore from the period of 2022-23 to 2025-26. Three components — Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 (PMKVY 4.0), Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion...
Indian Oil Refiners Knock On Doors Of Middle East Suppliers
NEW DELHI: Indian refiners are caught between dwindling discounted Russian supplies and higher Saudi oil prices, which would push up their crude cost and weigh on margins. To replace Russian barrels that are hard to come by after last month’s US sanctions on two Russian oil producers and about...
Israel’s Minister Of Economy And Industry To Lead Largest Multi-Sectoral Business Delegation To India Next Week
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat, will be leading the largest business delegation from the country to India next week to boost bilateral trade in what would be his third official visit to New Delhi. The two-day visit starts next week on Monday. Barkat will also...
8.59 Crore Hospital Admissions Worth Rs 1.19 Lakh Crore Authorised Under Ayushman Bharat Scheme
NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday informed the Lok Sabha that a total of 8.59 crore hospital admissions worth Rs 1.19 Lakh Crore have been authorised under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) as on January 1, Union Health Minister J P Nadda...
Exchange Rate Policy Consistent, No Target On Rupee Level: RBI Governor
MUMBAI: Reserve Bank Governor (RBI) Sanjay Malhotra on Friday said the exchange rate policy has remained consistent over the years and the central bank does not target any ‘specific level or band’ of the Rupee, which slipped to an all-time low of 87.59 to a US dollar. On Thursday,...
Banks To Have ‘Bank.In’ Internet Domain Name: RBI
MUMBAI: In order to check cyber security threats, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday decided that Indian banks will have exclusive internet domain name ‘bank.In’ and non-bank financial entities ‘fin.In’. Unveiling the last bi-monthly monetary policy of this fiscal year, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said registrations for...
PhonePe Exits Account Aggregation Business
NEW DELHI: Country’s largest fintech firm PhonePe on Friday said it has exited from account aggregation business as it could not add enough partners to provide services as per its expectation. The company said that it has decided to surrender NBFC-AA licence to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),...
Government Weighing “Full Impact” Of US Tariffs On China
NEW DELHI: The government will assess any positive or negative implications for India from the tariffs that have been imposed by the US on China, a senior official said on Thursday. Though the duties on China are prima facie expected to boost exports from India to the US due...
Cabinet Nod To ITI Upgrade Scheme Likely In FY25
NEW DELHI: The ITI (industrial training institute) upgradation scheme introduced in the budget 2024-25 is expected to be approved by the Cabinet in the current fiscal year itself, an official in the skills development ministry told FE. “The ministry has prepared the proposal for the scheme, and it will...
Japan Finds New Bright Spots For Investment In India
NEW DELHI: Japanese investments in India are moving beyond the well-established patterns and are now exploring new avenues in financial services, electronics and telecommunications. According to Seiji Ota, partner at Deloitte India, Japanese investment patterns in India have evolved significantly over time. “While the automotive and diversified industrial sectors...
Centre Rethinks On GST Waiver For Insurance
NEW DELHI: The Centre may push back against a proposal to give goods and services tax (GST) exemption for certain insurance policies, as it reckons that this would raise the cost of insurers, leading a firming up of premium amounts. However, it will strongly pitch for a major reduction...
Labour Ministry Plans EPFO Pension Scheme For Platform-Based Gig Workers
NEW DELHI: The government is likely to soon introduce a scheme to provide pensions to platform workers, along with bringing them under social security net, according to a senior official. The scheme, which will be administered by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), is likely to provide pensions to...
India Has Received USD 1.16 Billion In Climate Finance So Far: Government
NEW DELHI: India has so far received $ 1.16 Billion for climate projects through the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the government informed Parliament on Thursday. This amount includes $ 803.9 Million from the Green Climate Fund, $ 346.52 Million from the Global...
Mobile Phone Tariff Declined 94 Per Cent Since 2014: Scindia
NEW DELHI: Union Communication and Information Technology Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said that mobile phone tariff has come down by 94 per cent since 2014. Replying to a supplementary on an oral question, Scindia said, “There are 90 Crore mobile phone subscribers. Today there are 116 Crore mobile...
EPFO Settles Five Crore Claims Worth Over Rs 2 Lakh Crore in FY25
NEW DELHI: Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said retirement fund body EPFO has achieved a historic milestone by crossing the 5-Crore claims settlement mark in a fiscal in 2024-25. In the ongoing FY25, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has processed over 5.08 crore claims amounting to `2,05,932.49...
SEBI Slaps Rs 34 Crore Fine On Brightcom Group
NEW DELHI: Markets regulator SEBI on Thursday slapped penalties totalling `34 Crore on Brightcom Group Ltd, its promoters, and others, for misrepresenting the financial statements of the company. The regulator imposed a fine of `15 Crore each on M Suresh Kumar Reddy and Vijay Kancharla – promoters of Brightcom...
