Business
Sensex, Nifty Extend Gains For Third Day On Strong Global Cues
MUMBAI: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for the third session on the trot on Thursday, helped by a rally in global markets after lower-than-expected consumer inflation in the US ignited hopes of more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Intense buying in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and...
Trade Deficit Eases To $21.94 Billion In December As Gold Imports Fall
NEW DELHI: India’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $21.94 billion in December, down from a record $31.86 billion in November, as gold imports halved to $4.7 billion, according to commerce department data released on Wednesday. The data showed merchandise exports contracted by 1 per cent year-on-year to $38.01 billion...
Fiscal Conditions To Constrain Credit Growth In 2025, Says Moody’s
MUMBAI: India’s fiscal conditions will continue to constrain its credit strength in 2025 but it may benefit from a shift in trade and investment flows from China, Moody’s Ratings said on Wednesday in its Asia-Pacific 2025 outlook. “We expect only gradual fiscal consolidation, and debt to remain significantly higher...
Liquidity On Tap Via Daily Variable Reverse Repo Auctions
MUMBAI: In a significant reset to its liquidity management framework, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct variable reverse repo (VRR) auctions on all working days until further notice amid tight liquidity. Liquidity in the banking system stood at a deficit of Rs 2.09 trillion lakh crore as...
India Outpaces Global AI Adoption: BCG Survey
HYDERABAD: India has emerged as a global leader in terms of the adoption of AI as a core strategic focus, with 80 per cent of firms prioritising AI as a core strategic focus, outpacing the global average of 75 per cent in this space, according to a new Boston...
Household Savings To Recover In H1 FY25 As Debt Load Eases
MUMBAI: Net household financial savings, which improved to 5.3% of GDP in FY24 from a 47-year low of 5% in FY23, are likely to have rebounded sharply in the first half of FY25, early indicators showed. An improvement in net household financial savings is positive for the economy as...
Government Should Target Rs 11 Lakh Crore In FY26, Give Relief To Taxpayers In Lower Bracket In Budget: ICRA
NEW DELHI: The government should target a capital spending of Rs 11 lakh crore in the Budget for the next fiscal while giving inflation-adjusted relief on personal income tax to boost consumer spending, rating agency ICRA said on Wednesday. ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said last year’s record budgeted...
ITA Submits White Paper On Darjeeling Tea Industry To West Bengal Government
KOLKATA: Leading producers body Indian Tea Association (ITA) on Tuesday said it has submitted a white paper on the Darjeeling tea industry to the West Bengal government highlighting the challenges and opportunities. A team of ITA officials met Labour Minister Moloy Ghatak on Tuesday evening and submitted the white...
India To Achieve 20 Per Cent Ethanol Blending Target In Two Months, Says Nitin Gadkari
NEW DELHI: India will achieve its target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in the next two months, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. The practice of blending ethanol with petrol began in 2001 as a pilot project. “We will achieve this target of 20 per cent ethanol...
Vedanta Resources Raises USD 1.1 Billion Through Dual Tranche Bond Issuance
NEW DELHI: Mining mogul Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources has raised USD 1.1 billion through a new bond offering to prepay existing liabilities, the company said in a Singapore exchange filing. Vedanta Resources Finance II plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, raised USD 1.1 billion through a new...
Markets Log Gain For Second Day, Sensex Climbs Over 200 Points
MUMBAI: Benchmark indices Sensex and ticked higher for the second straight session on Wednesday, buoyed by buying in bellwether stock Reliance Industries, Zomato and Kotak Bank amid a largely firm trend in global markets. However, elevated crude oil prices in the international markets and buying by foreign investors weighed...
Regulatory Norms Under Review To Ease Compliance
NEW DELHI: The finance ministry is assessing all financial regulators in the country and their respective regulatory frameworks to evaluate whether over-regulation is stifling economic activity. According to official sources, the ministry is preparing a draft paper, which will highlight the regulatory provisions that should be relaxed in order...
WPI Inflation Rises To 2.37% In December On Higher Food Prices
NEW DELHI: India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation went up to 2.37 per cent in December from 1.89 per cent in November 2024, primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, manufacture of textiles and non-food articles, etc, data released by the...
Larger Credit Cover For MSMEs Likely Under New Scheme
NEW DELHI: The credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs, announced in July, will take form in the upcoming Budget, with a focus on facilitating capital investments by the manufacturing sector units. The scheme will be largely modelled on the successful Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for small businesses that...
India To Top G20 With 7.3% Insurance Premium Growth Over 2025-29: Report
NEW DELHI: India’s insurance market is projected to be the G20’s fastest-growing economy over the next five years, with total premium volumes — life and non-life — up 7.3 per cent in real terms on average each year aided by macroeconomic stability and the conducive regulatory environment, a report...
PMO Tells DoT To Double Down On Mobile Fraud
KOLKATA: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to strictly enforce mandatory biometric Aadhaar verification before sale of mobile connections across India as part of the government’s efforts to combat cybercrime and digital fraud, and rein in abuse of national telecom resources. As per...
India’s Retail Inflation Eases To 4-Month Low Of 5.2% In December
NEW DELHI: Retail inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), fell slightly to a four-month low of 5.22 per cent in December from 5.48 per cent in November, driven by easing food inflation. However, experts say with the sharp depreciation of rupee and retail inflation remaining above 5...
India Inc’s Leverage To Improve In FY26-27 Despite High Capex: Fitch
MUMBAI: Benefitting from improving earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda), Indian-rated corporates are likely to see their net leverage ratio decline to 2.7x in the next financial year 2025-26 (FY26) from 3.1x in the year ending March 2025 (FY25). The net leverage may fall further below 2.5x...
