Business
Government To Channel CSS Funds Via RBI From November
NEW DELHI: The Centre will route the funds for all centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), with an aggregated annual budget outlay of Rs 5 lakh crore, through the Reserve Bank of India platform from November instead of state treasuries, to curb the floating of funds and rein in borrowings. At...
Government Open To Talks On AGR Relief For Vodafone Idea
MUMBAI: Some relief on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) front looked possible for Vodafone Idea on Friday, with the Supreme Court agreeing to hear its plea against a fresh demand of Rs 9,450 crore from the department of telecommunications (DoT) on September 26, and the government not opposing the...
R&I Japan Upgrades India’s Credit Rating To BBB+ With Stable Outlook
NEW DELHI: The Japanese credit rating agency, Rating and Investment Information (R&I), on Friday upgraded India’s sovereign credit rating by a notch to BBB+ from ‘BBB’ with a stable outlook backed by the country’s demographic dividend, robust domestic demand, and sound government policies. “Despite the uncertainties surrounding the global...
GST Rate Cuts To Benefit Key Consumer Items, But Impact Depends On Pass-Through: Crisil
MUMBAI: While the revised GST tax rates will benefit 11 of the top 30 consumption items—covering about a third of an average consumer’s monthly expenditure—the actual impact of these lower tax rates will depend on how much of the benefit is passed on to consumers, and whether this move...
Office Space Leased By Global Capability Centres Set To Grow 15-20% In Next Two Years: Report
MUMBAI: Global capability centres (GCCs) have leased around 100 million sqft of office space across the top seven cities since 2021, driving record-breaking transactions across these cities. As much as 36% of the overall office demand in 2025 so far has been from GCCs, who have leased out 28...
Banks, NBFCs Unveil Offers As Festival, GST 2.0 Approaches
MUMBAI: With the Goods and Services Tax (GST) 2.0 set to be rolled out from Monday amid the festival season, financial institutions are also beginning to roll out offers to drive consumption. For example, Kotak Mahindra Bank, L&T Finance and IDFC FIRST Bank have each unveiled campaigns spanning lifestyle,...
EU Launches New Strategic Agenda To Deepen Defence, Trade Ties With India
NEW DELHI: The European Union (EU) on Wednesday unveiled a new strategic agenda to significantly ramp up its engagement with India in a range of key areas such as defence, trade and energy, and to jointly tackle major global challenges. The EU said its closer partnership with India is...
Private Capex Revival In India Expected Only Next Year: S&P Global
MUMBAI: Owing to the current uncertain business climate due to tariffs, the revival in private capital expenditure (capex) in India is expected only in the next financial year, according to S&P Global Ratings. “We are projecting $800-850 billion of private capex in the next five years, but I do...
AI To Boost Trade By Nearly 40% By 2040 If Gaps Are Bridged: WTO Report
NEW DELHI: Artificial intelligence (AI) could boost the value of cross-border trade by nearly 40 per cent by 2040 on the back of productivity gains and lower trade costs, said the 2025 edition of the World Trade Report released by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday. However, for...
Global Tie-Ups Soon To Push Geo-Thermal Energy: Govt
NEW DELHI: The government is exploring international technology collaborations for the development of geothermal energy projects in the country with several foreign players — including those from the US, Norway, and Iceland — already initiating pilot studies, according to Santosh Sarangi, secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy. The...
India, US Step On The Gas To Seal Trade Deal After 7-Hour ‘Positive’ Meet
NEW DELHI: India and the United States on Tuesday agreed to intensify efforts to reach an early conclusion of a “mutually beneficial” trade deal, setting aside recent strains in their bilateral relationship. The announcement from the Indian side followed a seven-hour meeting between the chief negotiators from both countries,...
Govt Projects A Modest 2.4% Growth In Foodgrains Production In 2025-26
NEW DELHI: Taking into consideration the impact of flood and excessive rainfall across regions on kharif crop, the government on Tuesday projected a modest growth of 2.4% in foodgrain production to 362.5 million tonne (MT) for the 2025-26 crop year (July -June) compared to 353 MT of production in...
Regulator Moots Major Leeway For Fund Managers Under Private-Sector NPS
NEW DELHI: In a move aimed at popularising the National Pension System among the employees in the non-government sector, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on Tuesday permitted fund managers to customise and offer multiple schemes with equity exposure up to 100% to private-sector subscribers. The fund...
India Inc Turned To Non-Bank Routes For Nearly Half Of Fy25 Funding
MUMBAI: Corporate India is increasingly tapping non-banking channels to meet its funding requirements, with nearly half of the total resources raised in FY25 coming from equity markets, bonds, and loans from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed. The total flow of financial resources to...
Wait For WiFi 6 Gets Longer Over Spectrum Licensing Issues
NEW DELHI: The wait for faster WiFi speeds in India is set to get longer, with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) delaying the notification of rules on delicensing the lower portion of the 6 GHz spectrum band. Allotting this spectrum would allow for the deployment of technologies such as...
Retail Inflation Rises To 2.07% In August As Decline In Food Prices Slows
NEW DELHI: India’s retail-inflation rate, based on the consumer price index (CPI), recorded a slight uptick in August to 2.07 per cent from an eight-year low of 1.61 per cent in July owing to a low base effect and reduced deflation in food prices. The inflation data, released by...
India, EU Maximising Efforts To Finalise FTA Talks By Year End
NEW DELHI: India and the EU are now maximising their efforts to finalise negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement by the end of this year, with both sides stressing their commitment to a comprehensive and balanced pact to benefit businesses and consumers. The official team of India and...
Government Aims To Push 2 PSBs Among Top 20 Global Banks
NEW DELHI: In sync with the target of getting the ‘Developed Nation’ status by 2047, the government aims to ensure that at least two public sector banks figure in the list of World’s top 20 banks. As on date, State Bank of India is the only Indian bank in...
