Business
Centre Plans To Increase Financing For Renewable Energy Projects
NEW DELHI: Renewable energy minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday said he will hold a meeting with banks and the industry leaders in January to discuss increasing financing for renewable energy projects. “In coming days, I think somewhere in the month of January, I would meet the chairmen and MDs...
Slowdown In Q2 Is A ‘Temporary Blip’, Growth To Pick Up: FM
NEW DELHI: The slowdown in the second quarter economic growth was a “temporary blip” and the economy will witness healthy growth in the quarters ahead, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday and also highlighted govt’s inflation management. “Quarter 2 of this financial year has been a challenging quarter...
Indian Firms Turn To Euro, Yen Swaps To Trim Borrowing Cost
MUMBAI: Indian firms are opting for cross-currency swaps to convert part of their debt into the euro or Japanese yen in order to trim borrowing costs, said bankers. They anticipate a sharper fall in interest rates of these two currencies instead of the dollar. While some are converting their...
Indian Equities Tumble, Rupee Hits Record Low As FPIs Turn Risk-Averse
MUMBAI: Indian equity benchmarks declined sharply on Tuesday as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision. The heavy selloff impacted the currency market, too, pushing the rupee to a fresh intraday low of 84.93 against the dollar before the Reserve Bank of...
EPFO Weighs Higher Equity Investments
NEW DELHI: Encouraged by the relatively high returns for Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from equity investments since 2015, the government is looking to hike the retirement fund body’s exposure to the segment significantly. The higher equity exposure – roughly 9.5% of the EPF investible surplus is currently invested...
In A First, Indian Services Exports To Outstrip Goods
NEW DELHI: Marking a major shift in India’s trade, services exports are projected to overtake goods shipments in Nov, latest figures shared by the commerce department on Monday showed. After months of sustained increase, last month’s services exports have been provisionally estimated at $35.7 billion, compared with $32.1 billion...
Merchandise Trade Deficit Widens To A Record $37.8 Billion In November
NEW DELHI: India’s trade deficit reached a record high of $37.8 billion in November, amid a surge in merchandise imports, mainly driven by a 4.3-time jump in inbound shipments of gold, data released by the commerce department showed. Imports increased by 27 per cent to a record of almost...
High Interest Rates, Fiscal Consolidation Slowing GDP Growth: Crisil
MUMBAI: High interest rates and fiscal consolidation have contributed to slower economic growth for India in the current financial year (FY25) so far. India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to move closer to trend growth of 6.5-7 per cent this year, CRISIL said in its insight report...
December Flash PMI At 4-Month High, Reflects Strong Domestic Demand
NEW DELHI: Economic activity expanded at a robust pace in December, mainly due to an uptick in domestic demand conditions. The HSBC Flash India PMI rose to 60.7–the highest print in four months–in December from 58.6 in November, a release by S&P Global said on Monday. The acceleration was...
Government To Allow Self-Approval For PF Withdrawals From Next Fiscal
NEW DELHI: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) may introduce a “self-approval” mechanism for subscribers to withdraw provident fund (PF) monies from their accumulated corpus under an automated process by early next fiscal year, according to official sources. If this results in any liquidity crunch for the EPFO, it...
WPI Inflation Declines To 3-Month Low Of 1.89 Per Cent On Cheaper Food, RBI May Cut Rate In February
NEW DELHI: Wholesale price based inflation declined to a 3-month low of 1.89 per cent in November on cheaper food items, and experts predicted a 0.25 per cent interest rate cut by the RBI in the policy review in February. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation was 2.36...
Indian IT Services Hiring To Remain Low Till Growth Momentum Picks Up By H2 FY26: ICRA
NEW DELHI: Hiring in the Indian IT services industry is expected to remain low-key in the near term until the growth momentum picks up by H2 FY2026, according to ICRA. The formation of the new government in the US may create some policy uncertainty in the immediate term and...
Historic Milestone: Delhi Airport First In India To Connect 150 Destinations
NEW DELHI: Delhi Airport has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first airport in India to connect 150 destinations and a preferred gateway for passengers. Thai AirAsia X has launched direct flights between Delhi and Bangkok-Don Mueang (DMK), marking the 150th destination connected to Delhi Airport. The route...
Concord Enviro Systems’ IPO To Open On December 19; Fixes Price Band Of Rs 665-701/Share
NEW DELHI: Concord Enviro Systems, an environmental engineering solutions firm, on Monday said it has set a price range of Rs 665-701 per share for its initial share-sale, which will open for public subscription on December 19. The initial share-sale is scheduled to close on December 23 and the...
JNPA, DGS Ink Pact For Skill Training In Vadhvan Region
MUMBAI: Leading container port JNPA on Monday said it has signed an initial pact with the shipping regulator DGS for providing skill development training to locals and project-affected people in the Vadhvan region, where a new greenfield port is coming up through selected Maritime Training Institutes (MTIs). The facility,...
Credit Costs For Banks, NBFCs, MFIs Expected To Significantly Rise
MUMBAI: Credit costs for banks have largely bottomed out and are likely to rise significantly, impacting banking profitability, ratings agency CareEdge said. It expects bank credit costs to rise from an all time low of 0.50% of banks’ loan book in the current fiscal. Senior director Sanjay Agarwal did...
Switzerland Withdraws MFN Status In Tax Treaty From India
NEW DELHI: Switzerland has decided to withdraw the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to India, a move that will have significant tax implications for Indian companies operating in the European nation. This decision comes after an adverse ruling from the Indian Supreme Court regarding a tax dispute involving...
Care Ratings Pares Down India’s FY25 GDP Growth Forecast To 6.5%
NEW DELHI: On the back of a contraction in corporate profitability, public capital expenditure, and sluggish urban consumption, CARE Ratings on Friday revised downwards its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for FY25 to 6.5 per cent from 6.8 per cent estimated earlier. “This downward adjustment reflects slower GDP...
