Business
India-Pakistan Tensions Rock Hospitality Business
MUMBAI: The hospitality sector has become one of the biggest casualties of conflicts between India and Pakistan. Hotel chains are grappling with business slowdown, with more than 50% of bookings getting cancelled over the past week across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai, as companies have issued travel advisories, sources...
India Offers Steep Tariff Cuts To Speed Up Trade Pact Talks With Trump
NEW DELHI: India has offered to slash its tariff gap with the US to less than 4 per cent from nearly 13 per cent now, in exchange for an exemption from President Donald Trump’s “current and potential” tariff hikes, two sources said, as both nations move fast to clinch...
TRAI Recommends Spectrum Fee For Satcom Operators
NEW DELHI: Telecom regulator TRAI on Friday released its recommendations on pricing of spectrum to be given for satellite-based internet services, suggesting a levy of 4 per cent of annual revenues as fee on operators like Elon Musk’s Starlink. Operators offering services in urban areas would have to shell...
SBI, Private Banks Sell 20% Yes Bank Stake To SMBC For Rs 13,482 Crore
MUMBAI: State Bank of India (SBI) and seven private sector lenders that had invested in Yes Bank during its reconstruction in 2020, will together sell 20 per cent stake in the bank to Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) for ₹13,482 crore, in the largest cross-border deal in the...
SEBI Proposes New Disclosure Norms For Governance By High Value Debt Listed Entities In India
NEW DELHI: Markets regulator Sebi on Friday proposed tweaking its format for disclosure of corporate governance framework by High Value Debt Listed Entities (HVDLE). An entity having outstanding value of listed non-convertible debt securities of Rs 1,000 crore are referred to as ‘High Value Debt Listed Entities’. Under the...
India, New Zealand Wrap Up First Round Of FTA Talks
NEW DELHI: Working against a tight deadline, India and New Zealand on Friday wrapped up the first round of negotiations on a bilataral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The round that started on May 5 discussed the broad contours of the agreement. The two countries decided in March to re-launch...
Government Targets Fresh Record For Grains Output In 2025-26
NEW DELHI: Given the forecast of ‘above normal’ monsoon rainfall, the government has set a record target of 354.64 million tonne (MT) for food grains production in the 2025-26 crop year (July-June). This is an increase of 4% from the target for the current (2024-25) crop year, which itself...
Indo-Pak Hostilities Heighten Credit Risks For Both Nations: S&P
MUMBAI: International rating agency S&P Global has the rising hostilities between New Delhi and Islamabad heighten the credit metrics risk of both countries, and any escalation in clashes will put downward pressure on their sovereign credit support. S&P rates India at BBB- with a positive outlook and for Pakistan ...
FTA With UK Has Enough Safeguards, Says Govt
NEW DELHI: India’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the UK has sufficient safeguards for sensitive sectors, a senior official said Thursday. Even in the case of automobiles, the tariff cuts will be spread over a period of 10-15 years and subject to quotas like an annual 22,000 for electric...
New Rules Make It Tougher For E-Tailers To Resort To Predatory Pricing
NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has come out with “stringent” rules to determine the production costs, helping it tackle unfair pricing and deep discounts, especially in e-commerce and quick commerce markets. The new rules, which have replaced the Cost Regulations 2009, have been introduced to keep...
Merger State-Run General Insurers Back On The Table
NEW DELHI: The government is likely to revisit a plan to merge the four state-run general insurance companies to create a a behemoth that can compete with the Indian private-sector firms as well as foreign insurers. The move may coincide with or closely follow the proposed hike in foreign...
India’s Climate Finance Needs Pegged At $2.5-Trillion By 2030
NEW DELHI: India may require financing to the tune of $2.5 trillion by 2030 for climate transition, given its pledge to achieve net-zero emission by 2070, the government said on Wednesday. “India’s climate finance taxonomy will facilitate greater resource flow to climate-friendly technologies and activities, enabling India to achieve...
Cabinet Approves Rs 60,000 Crore ITI Upgradation Scheme
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday approved National Scheme for Industrial Training Institute Upgradation and setting up of five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling with a total outlay of Rs 60,000 crore, in a major step towards transforming India’s vocational education. The decision was taken at a meeting...
India PE-VC Market Rebounds In 2024 By 9% To $43 Billion, Says Report
NEW DELHI: After two years of shrinking, India’s private equity and venture capital (PE-VC) investments sprung back in 2024, growing about 9 per cent to reach $43 billion across nearly 1,600 deals, and outlook for 2025 remains cautiously optimistic, a latest report said on Wednesday. The 2024 rebound, primarily...
India Inc Does Risk Assessment, Extends Full Support To Armed Forces
MUMBAI: India’s top corporate leaders scrambled to assess operational risks and business continuity after the Indian armed forces launched strikes on terror camps across the border in Pakistan, fuelling fears of further escalation. Senior executives at several top companies convened emergency meetings to evaluate exposure and prepare for possible...
Bank Spread Narrows To 10-Year Low Of 2.71% In March: CareEdge
NEW DELHI: The spread between the outstanding weighted average lending rate and the weighted average domestic term deposit rate for banks continued to tighten, narrowing by 5 basis points (bps) month-on-month (M-o-M) in March to a 10-year low of 2.71 per cent, CareEdge Ratings said in its research report....
Services Sector Growth Improves In April, Helped By New Orders: PMI
NEW DELHI: India’s services sector “regained momentum” in April after slowing down in March as demand expanded and companies reported a faster expansion in employment, said a private survey on Tuesday. The HSBC India services purchasing managers’ index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, rose to 58.7 in April from...
India, UK Seal Free Trade Deal; Pm Modi Calls It ‘Historic Milestone’
NEW DELHI: After nearly three and a half years of intense negotiations, India and the United Kingdom (UK) on Tuesday announced the conclusion of talks for a free trade agreement (FTA) that will boost strategic and economic ties between the fifth- and sixth-largest economies in an era of geopolitical...
