Business
India Hopeful Of Concluding Trade Pact With US By November: Piyush Goyal
NEW DELHI: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday expressed hope that India will conclude the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US by the fall or November this year. He said that “a little bit” of geopolitical issues overtook the trade matters in the negotiations for...
SBI Raises $500 Million In Five-Year Dollar Debt Sale At 4.5% Coupon Rate
MUMBAI: The nation’s largest lender State Bank of India has said it has closed its foreign debt issue raising $500 million from international debt investors through unsecured fixed rate notes, offering 4.5% to investors in annual reruns. The issue of unsecured fixed rate notes comes after the nation’s sovereign...
Govt Spending And Exports Likely To Begin Unwinding In Q2, Says BMI
NEW DELHI: After a better-than-expected 7.8 per cent growth in the first quarter of financial year 2026 (Q1FY26), the front‐loaded government spending and exports are likely to begin to unwind significantly in the second quarter, BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, said in its India Outlook report published Monday. “Government...
Centre Proposes GST Cut On Personal Care, Food Items In Consumption Boost
NEW DELHI: The Union government is learnt to have proposed slashing the GST rate on personal care items to 5% from 18% earlier in new details emerging just ahead of the crucial GST Council Meeting on Wednesday. This along with a proposed cut in food and beverage items to...
India’s Manufacturing Sector Activity Hits New High In August
NEW DELHI: Indian manufacturing sector witnessed the fastest improvement in operating conditions in over 17 years in August, driven by an increased production efficiency and healthy demand conditions, a monthly report said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose from 59.1 in July...
SCO Can Become A Guide To Inclusive World Order: PM Narendra Modi
NEW DELHI: The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) agreed to a Chinese proposal to set up a new development bank, and in their joint declaration, issued after the summit concluded on Monday, opposed unilateral coercive measures and vowed to facilitate trade within the group. In his...
India’s Current Account Deficit Narrowed To 0.2% Of GDP In Q1 FY26
MUMBAI: India’s current account balance slipped into a deficit of $2.4 billion, or 0.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), in the April–June quarter (Q1) of 2025–26 (FY26). In contrast, it had posted a surplus of $13.5 billion (1.3 per cent of GDP) in the January–March quarter (Q4)...
Exports To Marginally Grow In FY26 Despite Trump Tariffs: Analysts
NEW DELHI: While the US tariffs may shave off as much as $37 billion from merchandise exports, India’s overall shipments – goods and services combined– might still marginally exceed last year’s level in 2025-26, analysts reckon. However, the pace of growth will likely slow. “Combining goods and services, total...
FPIs Sell-Off Likely To Remain Bearish In The Near-Term
MUMBAI: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continue to be bearish on Indian markets due to various factors. The recent acceleration in sales of ₹37,823 crore in August, marks the third biggest monthly outflow this year, after January and February outflows of Rs 72,677 crore Rs 46,599 crore, respectively. Overall, in...
Economy Spurts 7.8% In Q1 FY26 As Manufacturing, Agri, Services Shine
NEW DELHI: Beating forecasts, India’s economic growth accelerated to a five-quarter high of 7.8 per cent in the April-June 2025 period, driven by a sharp rise in manufacturing and services, defying expectations of a sequential slowdown indicated by high-frequency data. Most economists, however, believe the punitive 50 per cent...
$67 Billion In 10 Years: Japan Pledges Long-Term Investment Push In India
NEW DELHI: Japan on Friday set a target of 10 trillion yen ($67 billion) in private-sector investments in India over the next decade, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to Japanese firms to “make in India, make for the world”. At the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit in Tokyo, Modi...
Net FDI Falls 21.1% To $4.91 Billion In Q1 FY26 On Higher Outward Flows
MUMBAI: The net foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, the difference between gross inflows and outflows, declined 21.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to $4.91 billion in April-June 2025 period (Q1FY26) from $6.22 billion in April-June 2024, on higher outward investments from the country and repatriation/divestment, the Reserve Bank of...
Consumption Demand Becomes Broadbased; Government Capex Boosts Investment
NEW DELHI: In what could be a sign of recovery in consumption demand, growth in private final consumption expenditure (PFCE), which represents the economy’s consumption potential, improved to 7 per cent during April-June (Q1FY26) from a five-quarter low of 6 per cent in Q4FY25. Economists reckon this recovery could...
Investment Outlook Remains Cautiously Optimistic Going Ahead: RBI Study
MUMBAI: Lower investment announcements amid uncertain demand conditions, along with higher cash buffer, points to a cautiously optimistic outlook for private investment activity in the country, a study authored by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) staff in the August bulletin of the central bank said. “Looking ahead, the investment...
US Tariffs Pose Downside Risk To Aggregate Demand, Says RBI Report
MUMBAI: India–US trade policies pose a downside risk to aggregate demand, which is currently holding up due to benign financial conditions, the ongoing transmission of rate cuts, supportive fiscal measures and rising household optimism, the Reserve Bank of India’s monthly State of the Economy report said. The report noted...
Reversal Of Extra Tariff To Aid Revival Of BTA Talks With US: Official
NEW DELHI: The additional reciprocal tariff by the US on Indian exports need to be addressed for the resumption of negotiations on the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations, though both sides remain in touch, a senior official said Thursday. “We are hopeful of getting back on the table soon…...
Manufacturing Pushes Industrial Output Growth To Four-Month High Of 3.5% In July
NEW DELHI: India’s industrial production growth accelerated to a 4-month high of 3.5 per cent in July this year due to good performance of manufacturing sector, according to official data released on Thursday. The country’s industrial output earlier recorded this level of growth at 3.9 per cent in March...
Top Four Life Insurance Companies Covered 14 Million Fewer Lives In FY25
MUMBAI: Some of the leading life insurance companies have reported a sharp decline in the number of lives covered in FY25, largely due to a slowdown in credit-linked life insurance policies. Stress in the microfinance segment has reduced loan disbursements and, in turn, the flow of new customers to...
