Business
Higher FCNR Rates Fail To Bring In The Moolah
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) move to draw capital flows by allowing banks to offer higher interest rates for foreign currency deposits for a specific period appears to have had few takers in the three weeks since the plan’s announcement. Bankers said the rupee’s recent sharp fall...
Indian Pharma Improves Compliance With USFDA; Fewer OAI Cases In 2024
MUMBAI: Indian pharmaceutical companies have made major strides in adhering to stringent US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) norms in 2024, with data suggesting a decline in the number of adverse classification outcomes of inspections across biologics, drugs, and devices. In 2023, the USFDA conducted 225 inspections, which led...
Rural, Urban Food Spending Rises Amid Inflation Pressure
NEW DELHI: The share of monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) on food items edged up slightly in both rural and urban areas during the August 2023–July 2024 (2023-24) period compared to the previous year, according to the latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES). However, experts note that the...
Trump Tariffs To Define Global Trade In 2025, India Has Fingers Crossed
NEW DELHI: The liberal use of threats of tariffs by US President elect Donald Trump before his inauguration in January puts all forecasts of how world trade would shape up in the coming year difficult but Indian exporters are mostly positive about the prospects and their biggest worry stems...
Q2 FY25: Current Account Deficit At 1.2% Of GDP; BoP Surplus At $18.6 Billion
NEW DELHI: India’s current account deficit (CAD) marginally narrowed to $11.2 billion or 1.2 per cent of GDP during the July-September quarter of financial year 2025 (Q2FY25) from $11.3 billion or 1.3 per cent of GDP a year ago, amid a rise in service exports. Sequentially, the CAD widened...
Another Stellar Year Likely For Initial Public Offerings
MUMBAI: After a record Rs 1.6 lakh crore raised through initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2024, more companies are expected to tap the primary market in the coming year, despite the not-so-rosy outlook for equities next year. Experts anticipate companies to mop-up around Rs 2 lakh crore with the...
FMCG Companies Bet On Premium Trend Amid Demand Slump
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The FMCG industry does not see a full revival in urban demand to set in until at least mid-next year. This is even when companies are betting on premiumisation to derive growth from the bigger cities, where consumers are seeking high-quality products and convenience to partly make...
India Eyes $25 Billion Export Opportunity In US Amid China Tariff Dispute
MUMBAI: Ahead of the Union Budget 2025-26, exporters urged the finance ministry to approve a US-focused marketing scheme worth Rs 750 crore to generate an additional $25 billion in exports to the US over the next three years. According to the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the US’...
NBFCs Need To Further Diversify Funding Sources To Mitigate Risk: RBI
MUMBAI: Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) need to further diversify their sources of funding as a risk mitigation strategy, as their dependence on banks remains high despite some moderation in recent times, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said in a report. Apart from direct lending to NBFCs, banks...
Monetary Policy, Structural Reasons Too Behind Slowdown: FinMin
NEW DELHI: The finance ministry on Wednesday said the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy stance and macro-prudential measures may have contributed to the demand slowdown in the economy. However, the possibility that structural factors may also have contributed to the slowdown in H1 should not be ruled out,...
India’s Oil Demand Growth Surpasses China’s, Crude Diversification Efforts May Gather Steam: S&P
NEW DELHI: India, which is the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil, is expected to end 2024 with an oil demand growth rate surpassing that of China — a trend that is expected to continue in the coming year as well — making the South Asian country one of...
CSR Spending By CPSEs Surge 19% To Rs 4,911 Crore, Reaches 4-Year High In FY24
NEW DELHI: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending by central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) surged by 19 per cent to Rs 4,911 crore in 2023-24 (FY24), marking a four-year high after a dip in 2022-23 (FY23), according to the latest edition of the Public Enterprises Survey released by the Ministry...
Lohia Global Launches EV ‘Youdha’ TO HONOR INDIA’S REAL WARRIORS
NEW DELHI: Lohia Global has unveiled its new electric vehicle brand, Youdha, at the EV Expo, New Delhi, marking a significant milestone in India’s electric mobility journey. Derived from the word “warrior,” Youdha celebrates the unsung heroes driving progress through hard work and determination. Youdha’s initial lineup includes the...
RBI Sets Up Eight-Member Panel On Ethical Use Of AI
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank on Thursday announced the setting up of an eight-member committee to develop a framework for responsible and ethical enablement of artificial intelligence (FREE-AI) in the financial sector. Headed by IIT Bombay professor Pushpak Bhattacharyya (Department of Computer Science and Engineering), the panel will assess the...
Rupee Plunges 12 Paise To Close At 85.27 Against US Dollar
MUMBAI: The rupee stayed weak for the third straight session and fell 12 paise to settle at a fresh all-time low of 85.27 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, amid a strong greenback and rising crude oil prices. Forex traders said, increased month-end as well as year-end dollar...
New Manufacturing Golden Age For India Beckons: Tata Sons Chief To Staff
NEW DELHI: With global supply chains continuing to shift in India’s favour as the world’s largest businesses strike a new balance between resilience and efficiency, manufacturing has the potential to transform the country’s economy, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Thursday. In his New Year message to employees...
AI, Machine Learning To Help Indian Pharma Industry To Pivot On Innovation
NEW DELHI: As technological advancements like AI, machine learning and precision medicine revolutionise drug discovery, manufacturing and patient care, Indian pharmaceutical industry is set for a ‘profound transformation’ in 2025 with innovation, wider global access and improvement in quality becoming key themes for the future. The industry, which is...
Experts Want PDS Out Of New Inflation Series
NEW DELHI: The ministry of statistics & programme implementation (MoSPI) has floated a discussion paper to seek views on the treatment of “free public distribution system (PDS) items in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) compilation”, as it feels the current mechanism doesn’t properly capture the impact of free food...
