India Financial News

Do you believe the market has borrowed returns from the near future or is there enough left on the table? Markets always tend to price themselves based on the expectations of future growth. When we evaluate the current valuations through the lens of anticipated economic growth, small- and mid-cap stocks appear to be trading at stretched levels compared to their historical averages. On the brighter side, large-cap stocks seem more resilient, backed by stronger growth metrics and better return on equity.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Top billionaire investor and D-Mart promoter Radhakishan Damani opposed the candidate for chairmanship proposed by British American Tobacco (BAT for its Indian unit VST Industries Ltd, leading to his rejection at a shareholder vote, according to voting disclosures and an executive privy to the development. Opposition from Damani, who owns nearly a third of India's third largest cigarette maker, marks a rare episode of opposition from the investor who holds more than 1% shares in 11 publicly listed companies.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Deep Tech encompasses groundbreaking ideas rooted in science and engineering, tackling major global challenges. These innovations stem from fundamental research with specific commercial applications.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Companies lending against gold are auctioning the collateral in higher quantities to recover stressed loans, at a time of rising regulatory scrutiny over the sector. Gold auctions that rose sequentially in the second quarter are expected to rise further in the ongoing December quarter, experts said, since directions from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) pertaining to gold loans came only at the end of the second quarter.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As the date for Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2025 nears, Kinsey Fabrizio’s excitement is understandable. She is the president of the US-based Consumer Trade Association (CTA) that runs the world's largest tech trade show in Las Vegas.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A dozen companies including state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) and the Indian entity of Korean automaker Kia Motors will be excluded from the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for automobiles and auto components, two people aware of the matter said, since these companies have made no investments under the scheme since it was launched in 2021. Some of these companies including Kia India Pvt.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Government capex would align with nominal GDP growth in times to come while private capex is expected to gather pace over the next three to five years, driven by higher capacity utilisation and an uptick in investments in emerging sectors such as renewables and electric vehicles, according to Hari Shyamsunder of Franklin Templeton. Shyamsunder, vice president & senior institutional portfolio manager—emerging markets equity—India at the company, said the slowdown in corporate earnings in the second quarter ended September was temporary.

The Bible doesn’t mention animals at the birth in Bethlehem. A text called the Gospel of Pseudo Matthew, now not considered Biblical, mentions an ox and an ass. St Francis invoked this in the Italian village of Greccio in 1223, creating the first Nativity tableau of Christ’s birth. He wished to emphasise Christ’s humble origins and importance for all the world, not just humans. “Laudato sie, mi Signore, cum tucte le Tue creature,” he wrote in his Canticle of the Sun: “Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures.” In time, Nativity scenes included other animals, like the sheep of the shepherds and the camels of the Magi. In other parts of the world, local animals also feature, like elephants in India, llamas in Peru and kangaroos in Australia. Oddly, pigs rarely appear in Nativity scenes. An important reason for Christianity’s success was discarding food-related taboos, like the one on pork enforced in Christ’s own Jewish community. Yet, pigs seem out of place. Does an animal raised only to be killed feel inappropriate in a scene devoted to new life?

Aakash Chaudhry, one of India's most successful education entrepreneurs, has secured backing from two of the country's most prominent consumer tech billionaires-Zomato's Deepinder Goyal and Zerodha's Nithin Kamath-for his new venture, Sparkl Edventure, said people in the know. Kamath's Rainmatter, a fintech and sustainability-focused fund, along with Goyal, is participating in a $4 million seed round. The round is expected to attract a few more marquee investors. In October, Chaudhry joined forces with Pavan Chauhan and Ritesh Hemrajani, founders of Meritnation.com, an edtech company acquired by his family business Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) in 2020, to launch Sparkl. This comes three years after the $950 million cash-and-stock sale of AESL to Byju's in one of India's largest edtech deals till date. Despite the sale, Chaudhry retains an 11% stake in AESL. Sparkl aims to provide bespoke one-on-one online tutoring for students in grades 6 to 12, specializing in International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge curricula. The platform offers personalised classes across subjects such as mathematics, science, languages, business studies etc. With teachers already on board, Sparkl has begun enrolling students from major Indian cities such as Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, as well as Singapore and plans to grow the platform leveraging its tech interventions.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) imposed another set of financial penalties on telcos last week for their failure to curb spam, officials aware of the details told ET. «The penalties have been imposed on all the four major mobile operators-Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (Vi) and BSNL-as well as some smaller firms, as part of the TCCCPR rules,» an official said on condition of anonymity. The regulator had earlier imposed penalties on telcos too, but it had not realised any sum as operators contend they should not be held accountable for something which they don't control or perpetuate.

5G phones, triggered by the likely availability of more aggressively priced devices in the sub-₹10,000 range. Top handset brands seeking to clear this year's inventory of base 5G devices at discounts exceeding a sixth of the sticker prices should push volumes further, handset industry trackers said. Market researcher Counterpoint Research estimates pan-India penetration of base 5G smartphones will jump to 43% by end-2025 from an estimated 3% in year 2024, amid falling device prices, rising adoption of the next-gen wireless broadband service and a likely pick-up in upgrades to 5G devices at the entry-level. «The recent launch of sub-₹10,000 5G phones by the likes of Poco (C75) and Xiaomi (A4 5G) is set to intensify competition and potentially drive rival handset brands to also cut pricing of base 5G smartphone models down to similar levels. This is expected to sharply increase the pan-India penetration of entry-level 5G phones in 2025,» Counterpoint's research director Tarun Pathak told ET.

Data centre capacity addition in the colocation space is expected to reach approximately 230 MW (IT load) by the end of 2024, with a similar or higher capacity addition anticipated in 2025, according to Cushman & Wakefield data. In 2025, while the majority of capacity creation will occur in Mumbai, other cities such as Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, and Chennai are also expected to see significant growth. India has the potential to become a global data centre hub due to its low construction, land and power costs compared to other countries, coupled with a well-established IT and digitally enabled services ecosystem. According to Cushman & Wakefield, the median cost of constructing a data centre in India is estimated at $6.8 million per MW of capacity, significantly lower than most APAC nations-Australia is at $9.17 million, Japan is at $12 million.

differential pricing quietly infiltrates the digital economy. The image going viral on social media-showcasing a prominent ride hailing service's fare disparity based on device type-is a stark reminder that the smartphone you use has become an indicator of how much you are charged. This practice, not limited to ride-hailing apps, extends to q-comm platforms, where the cost of groceries or delivery services can subtly shift based on perceived consumer affluence. It's an opaque-and arguably discriminatory-trend that demands scrutiny. At the heart of this issue is algorithmic pricing, a powerful tool in the arsenal of tech firms. These analyse consumer data-from purchasing history and location to device type and spending patterns. Ostensibly, the goal is to optimise pricing to maximise profits. But the process often veers into discriminatory territory. An iPhone signals a consumer's purchasing power, leading the algorithm to nudge prices higher under the assumption that such users are willing to pay more.

Jitendra Singh will inaugurate the National Workshop on 'Good Governance' practices tomorrow in New Delhi. The workshop will take place at Bhim Auditorium, Ambedkar International Centre. According to a statement from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, the minister will also inaugurate an exhibition showcasing the best practices of the Swachhata Campaign 4.0, curated by various ministries, and release the assessment report.

Central banks play a central role in monetary policymaking and a key operational role in current account management. In countries like India, with capital controls and a structural current account deficit (CAD), these roles elide. The task involves careful policy calibration and skilful deployment of a wide set of tools available for current account management, importantly exchange rate management, but also credit, trade and investment policy. This, therefore, requires a 'whole-of-government' strategy with clearly defined macroeconomic objectives. Much commentary on exchange rate policy is simplistic and polarised. At one extreme, we have those who believe in a 'strong' exchange rate, as evidence of a nation's economic testosterone. While this view is normally weird enough to be dismissed as absurd, it gains credibility because the view from the other extreme-the 'mainstream' of the economics profession-is equally doctrinaire and simplistic.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday hit out at the Congress, saying their «leadership is frustrated as they have been rejected by the people again and again.» Responding to Mallikarjun Kharge's statement after the Centre amended the rule to restrict access to certain poll documents, the Union Minister for Education told ANI, «The condition of the Congress is very bad. They are going through a phase of disappointment. Their leadership is frustrated because they have been rejected by the people again and again. »They round up any work of a constitutional body with their allegations," he added. «They win the elections and see EVMs alright. They lose the polls and raise questions about the EVMs».

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Two leading proxy advisory firms have recommended Religare Enterprises investors Ltd (REL) to vote against giving a fresh five-year term on the company's board to chairperson Rashmi Saluja, further turning the odds against her re-appointment that was already hanging in the balance amidst her ongoing feud with the company's largest shareholders, the Burman family.

India and Kuwait signed four Memorandum of Understandings in the areas of defence, sports and cultural cooperation during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gulf nation, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday. MEA Secretary CPV and OIA, Arun Kumar Chatterjee during a special briefing today, said the MoUs are expected to deepen the multifaceted bilateral relationship as well as open avenues for newer areas of cooperation. «Following the delegation level talks today, four bilateral documents were signed during the visit. The first one is a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation, the second one is a Cultural Exchange program for the years 2025-2029, the third is an executive program on cooperation in the field of sports for the period 2025- 2028. We also had Kuwait joining as a member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA),» he said.

I2U2 Group, a groundbreaking quadrilateral partnership between India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. The event, titled «I2U2: Towards a Transformative Quadrilateral Partnership», brought together distinguished experts who explored the partnership's role in reshaping international cooperation and economic integration. The event held virtually was organised by the CUTS International, a leading public policy body of India. In his opening remarks, Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General of CUTS International, emphasised the partnership's innovative approach, noting that «I2U2 deliberately sidesteps traditional conflict narratives. Instead of focusing on historical tensions or regional disputes, the I2U2 partnership prioritises pragmatic economic cooperation and technological innovation.»

Over the years, the untimely deaths of several prominent Indian entrepreneurs and company founders in their 40s and 50s have underscored the dangers of stress, the pressures of leadership, and the physical toll that intense work can take on the human body. While these individuals were often seen as the driving forces behind their businesses, their sudden departures have raised concerns about the importance of mental and physical health in today’s fast-paced corporate world. Here, we take a look at some of the Indian business leaders who passed away prematurely due to cardiac arrest, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire despite their untimely departures.

The victims were Chandram Yegapagol, 48, the MD and CEO of IAST Software Solutions Private Limited, his wife Gaurabai, 42, their 16-year-old son Gyan, daughter Deeksha, 12, Yegapagol's sister-in-law Vijayalakshmi, 36, and her six-year-old daughter Arya, according to ToI. Yegapagol and the others were heading to their hometown Sangli in Maharashtra in their new Volvo XC90 SUV, when the horrific accident happened around 11 am near Tippagondanahalli on the B'luru-Tumakuru stretch of the highway. «Chandram was driving responsibly and was not at fault,» police told ToI.