Provident Financial News

As of 11:10 am, the retail investors had subscribed to the issue by 31.7 times, which was followed by subscriptions from the non-institutional investors (NIIs), who subscribed to the issue by 27 times.

“Earnings growth, margins for a wide variety of businesses and the most crucial – the margin of safety of investors new investments that are put into various assets incrementally in 2025 and beyond,” says Sahil Kapoor, Head of Products and Market Strategist, DSP Mutual Fund. In an interview with ETMarkets, Kapoor said: “Private banks, selects PSU banks, Healthcare providers, select Auto OEMs and some insurance companies appears to have a good mix of valuations, steady earnings and probability of decent growth outcomes are key themes for 2025,” Edited excerpts:

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans to increase the number of fresher hirings from engineering campuses in 2025-26 from the current fiscal’s commitment of 40,000 amid higher growth prospects, its chief human resources officer Milind Lakkad told ET. India’s largest IT services giant is on track to onboard its committed 40,000 freshers from colleges along with training across multiple technologies including the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI or GenAI tools in FY25 ending March 2025, said Lakkad who is also an executive vice president at TCS. “I expect that number to go up a bit more (in FY26),” Lakkad told ET in an interview. He said the firm’s planning cycle for FY26 starts now.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Fino Payments Bank plans to use its network of merchants as the first set of customers to lend to, while also using them as loan collection points, if the regulator approves its proposal to convert into a small finance bank. It applied for a small finance bank licence in December 2023 and has about 1.8 million merchants who provide financial services as agents of the bank.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Accenture Plc, the world’s largest software services company, secured $1.2 billion in generative AI (Gen AI) bookings in the quarter-ended November 2024, bringing its total orders in the segment to $4.2 billion since September 2023. This is its highest Gen AI bookings in any quarter, signalling that clients are increasing spending on the new technology.

OpenAI is rapidly developing into an AI shark, doing their best to cut away competition as much as possible, and bringing in a different kind of revolution in the technology industry. However, their approach is not being liked by the leaders at Silicon Valley, with Elon Musk even accusing the company of breaking away from industry norms, and paying way over industry standards in order to cut out other competitors in the same avenue.

Dozens of massive data centers are consuming more electricity than all of the urban homes in Ireland and starting to wear out the warm welcome that brought them here

The U.S. Commerce Department’s efforts to curb China’s and Russia’s access to American-made advanced computer chips have been “inadequate” and will need more funding to stymie their ability to manufacture advanced weapons

Faced with the rapid proliferation of digital technologies and an ever-increasing millennial/Gen Z customer base, major banks across the US and Europe reduced their physical branch network over the last decade. While the underlying thought process did influence strategic thinking globally, Indian banks bucked the trend. Instead, they focused on branch expansion, resulting in one of the best growth periods for the Indian banking industry as a whole. 

Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director at ManpowerGroup (India & Middle East) shares, «In today’s hybrid and digitally transformed workplace, leadership must adopt an outcome-based approach to performance management. By designing metrics focused on measurable deliverables and prioritizing output over input, organizations can shape employee behaviour to achieve desired outcomes.” He adds that a clear alignment between goals and rewards fosters accountability within teams and creates a clear pathway for success.

Besides a so-called «step change» in tackling illegal working with new technology for frontline border officers, the Home Office will also introduce an Immigration White Paper next year to set out further details of its plan to reduce legal migration. ALSO READ: Indians have highest concentration of professionals in UK: Report

Conduct market research for each target region A successful export business starts with in-depth market research. Each country’s consumer behaviour, regulatory framework, and competition landscape are unique. Conducting thorough surveys provides actionable insights into local demand, price preferences, and competition. This understanding helps businesses tailor their products and align them with regional requirements. When we were expanding to Bangladesh, overcoming high duties involved detailed buyer-competitor analysis.

SanchiConnect, a deeptech accelerator, in partnership with YourNest Venture Capital, on Thursday, announced an investment of Rs 48 crore for its DeepTech accelerator programme- Velocity Accelerator Program. The seven-month-long program has received 1,280 applications from 23 states and six Union Territories. Out of these, eight startups were selected for their disruptive potential across various sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, healthcare, enterprise solutions, and artificial intelligence. The eight selected startups include Induz- which leverages AI tools to automate and unify large-scale enterprise data; LeanWorx which offers cloud-based productivity monitoring systems for the manufacturing sector; Think Metal has developed a compact, cost-effective 3D metal printer that delivers 10x faster production at half the cost; Presage Insights uses advanced AI for predictive analytics to improve decision-making across industries; Superfone is an app-based business phone number platform for SMBs, integrating telephony with business software; and CargoFL which employs AI-powered logistics solutions to optimise supply chains and improve operational efficiency.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. On 18 December, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approved several key amendments to improve business operations, investor protection, and the efficiency of market participants.

Management consultant, educator, and author Peter Drucker famously said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it." 

A report by CNN's Clarissa Ward about a freed Syrian prisoner provided some dramatic scenes, but the network has since found that it apparently wasn't all that it appeared

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed a state budget plan on Wednesday that would permanently give tax relief on tips and cars, measures that his Republican administration has said would give money back to middle- and lower-income workers

Billionaire author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott acknowledged $2 billion in 2024 donations in a blog post on Wednesday, bringing the total she’s given away since 2019 to $19.2 billion

MacKenzie Scott continues to make medical debt relief a priority in her mysterious giving

revealed he was practicing under a name he adopted following his conviction for helping Iran evade sanctions.Dr. Aurash Cohen is no longer entitled to practice in the province, according to the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, which said it cancelled his certification on Nov.

Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out.Trump’s sudden entrance into the debate and new demands sent Congress spiraling as lawmakers are trying to wrap up work and head home for the holidays. It leaves Johnson scrambling to engineer a new plan before Friday’s deadline to keep government open.“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH,” Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance said in a statement.The president-elect made an almost unrealistic proposal that combined the same continuation of government funds along with a much more controversial provision to raise the nation’s debt limit — something his own party routinely rejects.