Business
Foreign Banks’ Credit Card Base Shrinks As Local Rivals Step Up
MUMBAI: Foreign banks, once dominant players in India’s credit card market, have been losing ground as domestic lenders expand aggressively in the segment. In 2025, foreign banks recorded around 6% year-on-year contraction in active credit cards, alongside a decline of over 63 basis points in their share of total...
Exports Across Sectors May Take A Hit: Report
NEW DELHI: Rising geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could affect several sectors of the Indian economy, including basmati rice, fertilisers, airlines and energy-linked industries, according to a report by Crisil Ratings. “If the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle...
SBI Strongest Indian Bank; HDFC Bank Leads In Brand Value: Brand Finance
MUMBAI: State Bank of India (SBI) has been ranked the 16th strongest bank globally and the only Indian name with AAA+ rating, the highest accolade for brand strength, according to the 2026 Banking 500 journal released by brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance on Thursday. The report also names HDFC...
India-Finland Sign MoU On Mobility Aim To Double Trade By 2030
NEW DELHI: India and Finland on Thursday agreed to double the bilateral trade to $ 2.6 billion in the next five years, on the back of opportunities offered by the Free Trade Agreement (FTA between India and the European Union. During the state visit of president of Finland Alexander...
Maharashtra Remains India’s Largest Economy But Posts Slowest Growth Among Top Four States
MUMBAI: Maharashtra continues to remain India’s largest state economy in absolute terms, but its economic growth has been the slowest among the country’s four biggest state economies over the past four years, according to official data. The state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is projected at Rs 42,67,771 crore...
Centre May Extend Sector & Sponsored Schemes Beyond April 1 Amid Ongoing Review
NEW DELHI: Several government schemes might continue in their present form beyond April 1. Ministries are still reviewing and rationalising these programs. The government is considering giving them more time to finalize redesigns. This delay is due to ongoing evaluation of third-party reports. Existing schemes could continue temporarily until...
Qatar Shuts LNG Output; Supplies To India Hit, City Gas Sector Flags Crisis
NEW DELHI: New Delhi: Qatar has halted liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after its facilities came under attack amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, disrupting supplies to India and squeezing feedstock availability for key domestic sectors. India, which depends on long-term LNG contracts with Qatar for a significant share...
Services Sector Growth Moderates In February, But International Sales Expand
MUMBAI: Services sector growth saw a slight moderation in February with the monthly sectoral PMI easing to 58.1 amid slower new order growth which hit a 13-month low and rising inflation for inputs that rose to a two-and-a-half-year high. According to the HSBC India services PMI, growth moderated to...
Centre Okays Rs 84,000-Crore In Boost To Post-Harvest Assets
NEW DELHI: To boost post-harvest facilities like farm gate storage and logistics infrastructure, the Centre has approved proposals worth over Rs 83,528 crore under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) for over 1.65 lakh projects since its launch in 2020. Sources told FE that these sanctioned projects have mobilised investment...
SEBI Sets Rules For Custodians Offering Services Outside Its Oversight
MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday issued a framework allowing custodians — except those backed by banks — to undertake financial services that fall outside the market regulator’s purview. Under the new norms, such activities must be carried out through a separate strategic business...
PMS Industry Seeks Lower Compliance Burden
MUMBAI: The portfolio management services (PMS) industry is keeping its fingers crossed as the Securities and Exchange of India (Sebi) looks to overhaul PMS Regulations, 2020. Given the changes that are taking place in the market, experts believe that lower compliance burden would be one of the important moves...
India, Canada Seal $2.6 Billion Uranium Deal, Aim To Finalise Trade Pact In 2026
NEW DELHI: Amid escalating volatility in the global energy sector driven by geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and shifting energy demands, India and Canada took a significant step on Monday by signing a long-term Uranium supply agreement valued at $1.9 billion between Cameco Corporation and the Department of Atomic...
Current Account Deficit Widens To $13.2 Billion In Q3 As Trade Deficit Expands
MUMBAI: The current account deficit (CAD), which is the difference between forex earned from exports and forex spent on imports, widened to $13.2 billion or 1.3% of GDP in the quarter to December as the trade gap expanded, though higher services receipts, lower investment outflows and stronger remittances provided...
Marquee PSUs Slipping On Corporate Governance Standards, Says Survey
NEW DELHI: A large number of public-sector companies —Maharatna and Navratna — are coming up short on several parameters of corporate governance, including having a minimum number of independent directors and appointing women directors, apart from doing succession planning and a shareholder-satisfaction survey. The fifth “Annual Corporate Governance Survey”,...
Manufacturing PMI Climbs To Four-Month High In February, Rises To 56.9
NEW DELHI: India’s private sector manufacturing activity growth surged to a four-month high in February even as exports plummeted, according to data compiled by S&P Global on Monday. HSBC’s India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, which measures monthly change in manufacturing output, rose to 56.9...
IIP Growth Eases To A Three-Month Low Of 4.8 Per Cent In January
NEW DELHI: India’s industrial production growth slowed to a three-month low of 4.8 per cent in January, down from an upwardly revised 26-month high of 8 per cent in December, driven by a broad-based slowdown across mining, manufacturing, and electricity, along with some base effects, according to data released...
India’s FY26 Growth Outlook Raised To 7.6 Per Cent After GDP Series Reset
NEW DELHI: India’s new national accounts series, rebased to 2022-23, has lifted the economy’s estimated real growth for FY26 to at least a three-year high of 7.6 per cent, even as it unexpectedly lowered the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) base that underpins the Union Budget. The second advance...
PM Modi Moots ‘Reform Partnership Charter’ With Industry, Lenders
NEW DELHI: With the government ramping up capital spending and fostering a conducive policy environment in successive Budgets, it is now time for the private sector to invest, innovate and drive the next phase of globally competitive growth for India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Friday, mooting a...
