Business
VCs Betting On NBFCs For Stable Investments
BENGALURU: Venture capital (VC) investments in the non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) surged in 2024, marking a notable pivot towards safer, proven business models with clear exit opportunities. Amid a tepid growth in the overall VC funding, NBFCs raised approximately $1.2 billion across 50 equity rounds, a jump of 70%...
Budget 2025: Plan Afoot To Decarbonise Power, Steel
NEW DELHI: India is working on a national carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) mission to support decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as thermal power, iron and steel, and cement plants, people familiar with the matter told ET. The contours of the mission are being firmed up and an announcement...
Government Partially Restores Gas Supply To IGL, Adani-Total
NEW DELHI: The government has increased cheaper gas supply to city gas retailers IGL, Adani-Total, and Mahanagar Gas, restoring a major part of the allocation that was cut in 2024, according to regulatory filings by the companies. The government, in October and November last year, had cut supplies of...
FinMin To Meet Heads Of Banks To Review Financial Inclusion Schemes
NEW DELHI: Finance Ministry has called a meeting of heads of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) on Wednesday to review progress of various financial inclusion schemes, including Jan Suraksha and Mudra Yojana. The meeting, which would see participation from representatives of private sector banks, is scheduled to be chaired by...
CII Suggests 10-Point Agenda On Ease Of Biz Reforms Ahead Of Budget
NEW DELHI: Ahead of the upcoming Budget, industry body CII on Sunday suggested a 10-point agenda to drive ease of doing business reforms, aimed at reducing compliance burden, simplifying regulatory frameworks, and improving transparency. Among the “urgent policy interventions”, the industry body has recommended that all regulatory approvals —...
India’s Coal Import Rises Two Per Cent To 182 MT In April-November Period
NEW DELHI: India’s coal import rose by two per cent to 182.02 million tonnes (MT) in the April-November period of the current fiscal year. The country’s coal import was at 178.17 MT in the year-ago period, according to data compiled by business-to-business e-commerce company mjunction services ltd. However, the...
Amnesty Scheme For Customs May Be Announced In Budget 2025-26 To Reduce Litigation: Experts
NEW DELHI: In a bid to reduce litigation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the upcoming Budget may announce an Amnesty Scheme for customs to foster ease of doing business. “The main asks of the industry would certainly be aligned with the objectives of the government and one objective of...
US To Impose Sanctions On Russian Oil, Indian Supplies May Be Hit
NEW DELHI: Indian firms see a major disruption of Russian oil supplies as Washington imposes new sanctions to curb Moscow’s revenues, pushing refiners to scout for crude from the Middle East and the US, three Indian refining sources said on Friday. The sources said they understand that the new...
India’s Journey Toward Green Steel Production With Green Hydrogen
The Indian steel industry is gearing up to shift toward carbon neutrality with significant opportunities and challenges driven by global climate imperatives and domestic sustainability goals. The dynamics of the sector globally are evolving at a fast paceand as international regulations, such as the European Commission’s Carbon Border Adjustment...
Growth Trajectory Set To Return For Reliance Retail In December Quarter
The country’s largest organised retailer, Reliance Retail, may be back on the growth path in the third quarter of the current financial year backed by festive demand, sector analysts said. Parent Reliance Industries (RIL) is set to declare its financial results on January 16. In the result preview ahead...
IGX Expects To Receive Govt Nod To Launch Long-Duration Contracts Soon
NEW DELHI: The Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) is planning to launch long-duration contracts of 3-6 months on its platform and is expecting the petroleum ministry’s nod soon, its managing director and chief executive officer Rajesh Mediratta said on Friday. “We are awaiting clearance from PNGRB (Petroleum and Natural Gas...
Budget 2025 To Lay Road Map For Climate-Resilient Farming
NEW DELHI: The coming Budget is likely to announce several incentives aimed at boosting availability of climate-resilient seed varieties especially in cereals, pulses and oilseeds, besides aiming to promote agricultural practices like natural farming for reduction of chemical fertiliser usage, official sources said. They added that the Budget 2025-26...
IIP Growth Hits A Six-Month High Of 5.2 Per Cent In November On Low Base
NEW DELHI: Growth in India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) surged to a six-month high of 5.2 per cent in November 2024 from 3.7 per cent in the previous month, aided by a low base, data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Friday showed. In November 2023,...
M&As, IPOs To Continue Momentum In 2025
MUMBAI: Mergers and acquisitions in India saw a 38 per cent increase in 2024 at $109 billion, with large conglomerates accounting for a significant chunk of the transactions, according to Kotak Investment Banking. Deals by domestic corporates doubled last year to $48 billion, the data showed. The M&A activity...
Experts Pick Holes In Govt Claim Of Sharper Employment Growth
NEW DELHI: Amid an acute jobs crisis evident from anecdotal accounts, stagnant corporate headcount, low wage growth and data from independent agencies like the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) , the government has recently sought to paint a rosy picture. On January 2, the Union labour ministry issued...
Low Data Rates: India’s New Ringtone To Attract Foreign Companies
KOLKATA: India is looking to promote its low data tariffs to attract investments from foreign companies that rely on affordable fast broadband connectivity for delivering essential services, said senior government officials. The Centre’s aim is to leverage the country’s much lower data rates compared with markets such as China,...
Large Capex Loans To States Seen In FY26 Too, With A Hike
NEW DELHI: The Centre will continue to turbocharge public capital expenditure by extending liberal capex loans to state governments for the sixth year in a row in FY26. It may either keep the outlay for the 50-year interest-free loans for the next fiscal at Rs 1.5 lakh crore, the...
Defence Ministry To Reform Procurement Policy In 6-12 Months
NEW DELHI: India’s defence procurement policy, criticised for delays and inefficiencies, will be reformed within six months to a year, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Tuesday. His remarks follow the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) decision to observe 2025 as the “Year of Reforms” and its December announcement...
