Provident Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the infrastructure fund manager that BlackRock Inc. acquired for $12.5 billion two years ago, is exploring initial public offerings (IPOs) for two of the companies in its Indian portfolio, logistics operator Pristine Logistics & Infraprojects Ltd and tower company Ascend Telecom Infrastructure Pvt.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The Centre's reliance on small savings to finance its budget deficit increased in the previous financial year, with collections under the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) rising to ₹2.19 trillion in the 11 months to February 2026, said two government officials aware of the matter.The overall mobilization from these long-term, lock-in-based savings schemes such as Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana helped reduce pressure on market borrowing, even though monthly inflows remained uneven, the officials cited earlier said on the condition of anonymity.According to department of expenditure data reviewed by Mint, NSSF collections during the first 11 months of FY26 were nearly ₹30,000 crore higher than ₹1.89 trillion recorded in the same period of FY25.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With the government planning to roll out E-PRAAPTI, an Aadhaar-linked portal by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), subscribers will soon be able to trace and access dormant or unclaimed provident fund accounts with minimal effort. The platform is designed to let users identify legacy accounts, link them to their Universal Account Number (UAN), update KYC details and reactivate balances through a fully digital process.The shift marks a move from an employer-dependent system to a member-led model, where individuals can manage PF accounts directly using digital authentication.Mint explores how the portal could help unlock dormant provident fund accounts and what the shift to a member-led system means for subscribers.India has a large number of inactive provident fund (PF) accounts, largely due to job changes, incomplete KYC, or accounts created before UAN became universal.Over time, EPFO has acknowledged that a significant portion of its total accounts are inactive or inoperative—many of them small-value balances that workers have lost track of.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Private equity firm Recognize, which closed its second fund at $1.7 billion in June 2025, is scouting for bets in India that are niche-specific service providers for large-scale enterprises in the US, according to a top executive.“We're not only looking for these niche companies and seeking to scale them,” said Muthu Kumaran, partner and head of India operations at Recognize. “These companies can have a seat at the table with Fortune 500 companies because in cases, they have specialized offerings that are deeper than what traditional IT services providers would do.”The New York-based firm was founded by former Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp chief executive officer Francisco D'Souza alongside David Wesserman and Charles Philips.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd’s (BHEL) shares have gained about 8% in the past two trading sessions, and also hit an all-time high of ₹399 apiece on Monday, surpassing the previous all-time high of ₹390 seen on 7 November 2007. Not without reason.The state-owned equipment manufacturer’s consolidated Ebitda jumped 111% year-on-year to ₹1,753 crore for the March quarter (Q4FY26).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd, the top power transmission utility, sits at the heart of India’s electricity network, moving bulk power across states and linking generation with distribution.Its business runs on long-term, 35-year transmission contracts under a regulated tariff framework set by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.SpiceJet Ltd’s operational fleet has shrunk from 33 aircraft at the end of December to about 21 in early May, bringing the airline close to the minimum threshold required to operate international flights under Indian aviation rules. Fleet count fell due to returns to lessors and grounding for maintenance.The slide in SpiceJet's fleet comes as the airline has also lost ground in the domestic market, slipping to fourth place with a 3.9% share in March.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With critical triggers like state election results and Q4 earnings converging, investors are navigating a landscape defined by high uncertainty. Strategic clarity remains elusive, making it difficult for traders to act decisively.Buy above ₹415, stop ₹395, target ₹460 (multiday)Buy above ₹930, stop ₹890, target ₹1025 (multiday)Buy above ₹1025, stop ₹960, target ₹1125 (multiday)Indian equity markets staged a strong rebound on 4 May, with both benchmark indices closing higher after Thursday’s sharp sell-off.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The shrill emergency alerts that lit up millions of phones across India on Saturday brings the spotlight on an ongoing legal battle on the award of this critical public safety network project.Germany-headquartered Utimaco Technologies has alleged irregularities in government’s selection of the implementation agency for the cell broadcast system to roll out a nationwide disaster alert mechanism, according to people in the know and a copy of the company's petition seen by Mint.A case on the matter has been pending before the Delhi high court since 2024, with the next hearing slated for 11 May 2026.Utimaco, which owns Israel-based emergency alert solution provider Celltick, said India's decision to assign the project to the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) lacked fairness and transparency. Citing the absence of an open tender, the petition said the move violated the principle of natural justice and fair competition.C-DOT is a research and development wing of the department of telecommunications (DoT).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India is set to implement a new framework for fire and life safety across all healthcare facilities, moving beyond general building codes to address the specific vulnerabilities of patients and critical care units.The ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) has released a comprehensive manual titled “National Guidelines on Fire and Life Safety in Healthcare Facilities (2026)” in the backdrop of recurring tragedies that highlight systemic safety failures in Indian healthcare.The manual provides a technical and operational roadmap to identify high-risk zones such as ICUs, operation theatres, and oxygen storage areas for targeted interventions. Under these guidelines, all major structural elements in new hospitals must be non-combustible, and existing buildings must maintain compartmentation to limit the spread of fire and smoke.The updated framework responds to a history of tragic incidents where electrical faults—specifically short circuits and malfunctioning equipment—were identified as the primary cause of hospital fires, exacerbated by high oxygen concentrations and limited patient mobility.In 2021, an oxygen leak at Dr.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.AMERICA’S TOP artificial-intelligence labs have accused their Chinese rivals of being ruthless copycats. This month Anthropic and OpenAI each disclosed evidence that leading Chinese AI labs have illicitly used American models to train their own. The firms accuse Chinese researchers of aggressively “distilling” American chatbots—feeding them prompts in order to learn from and mimic their responses.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Infosys Ltd is accelerating its push into global capability centres (GCCs), leaning into a structural shift that otherwise threatens its core outsourcing business and that of the broader IT industry.The Bengaluru-based IT major has mandated dedicated GCC offerings with embedded AI capabilities across its delivery centres, while also setting aside capacity within its campuses to incubate client-owned tech hubs.The push comes as multinational companies increasingly set up their own capability centres to directly leverage India’s skilled talent and low costs, insourcing work that would have otherwise gone to IT services firms like Infosys, and potentially crimping their revenues.India currently has about 1,760 GCCs. Nasscom estimates India to have 2,200 GCCs by March 2030, with the sector reaching $105 billion by March 2030.To be sure, Infosys is not alone in trying to build a business from a trend that also poses a threat.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Once seen as competition to mutual funds, portfolio management services (PMS) providers are increasingly using them as building blocks. They are offering curated mutual fund (MF) portfolios to high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) who want the simplicity of MFs combined with professional, end-to-end portfolio management and execution.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Vedanta Ltd is set to overhaul its dividend policy, moving away from a structure that guarantees a fixed minimum payout to a more flexible, board-driven approach, which may impact the sentiments of investors who have long relied on the company’s predictable returns.Earlier, the mining giant was committed to paying at least 30% of profits as dividends, and now the board will have the flexibility to pay 30% or the amount they deem fit, chief financial officer Ajay Goel disclosed the move during a post-earnings call with analysts last week.Speaking on the change, Goel said the company’s dividend framework will transition from a “prescriptive” model to a more “principle-based” one. Vedanta's FY26 dividend payout was the lowest level since FY21.The timing is significant as Vedanta is in the midst of splitting into five separately listed entities, and the demerged entities will have a similar but separate dividend policy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The India Meteorological Department's (IMD) seasonal outlook for summer 2026 warns of above-normal heatwave days, with rising nighttime temperatures compounding daytime heat stress across east, central, northwest India, and the southeast peninsula.Latest data showed that 19 of the world's 20 hottest cities were located in India.With multiple cities across Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Maharashtra logging temperatures around 44°C, well above seasonal norms, large parts of India are in the grip of an intense and widespread heatwave.Crucially, rising nighttime temperatures are a growing concern. Warmer nights reduce recovery from heat stress, driving up energy demand significantly.As summers grow longer and hotter, the demand for cooling is no longer seasonal.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For years, the only way to get workstation-class performance in a portable form factor was to buy a gaming laptop. You put up with the aggressive "gamer" aesthetics—the neon RGB lighting and the bulky, tank-like chassis—because that was the only way to get the necessary horsepower.Today, that category is being quietly rewritten as hardware makers recognise that a growing share of their most demanding users aren’t gamers at all—they’re creators.And this isn’t just a marketing pivot.During a recent conversation with Paramjeet Singh Mehta, Product and Marketing Head for Consumer PC & Gaming at ASUS India, the scale of this transition became clear.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Centre plans to mandate that doctors and specialists display their consultation fees in English and regional languages, along with their qualifications and registration numbers, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.The plan also involves mandating a minimum consultation room size of 70 square feet and requiring clinics to stock emergency drugs, including aspirin, adrenaline injections, isosorbide dinitrate for angina (chest pain), diazepam for anxiety and seizures, dexamethasone for inflammatory conditions and severe allergies, and atropine for slow heart rate, among others, through amendments to the Clinical Establishments Rules.The plan covers a broad range of facilities, outlining minimum standards for consultation clinics, clinics with dispensaries, establishments with diagnostic support services, and those offering observation or short-stay care, as well as collection centres and mortuaries.To be sure, there are approximately 43,486 private healthcare facilities and 1,386,136 doctors in India, according to the National Medical Commission (NMC).Every clinic and polyclinic must display a prominent signboard at its entrance, showing operating hours and a clear list of services offered, according to the draft Clinical Establishments Amendment Rules, 2026, reviewed by Mint.The draft calls for strict spatial requirements to ensure patient safety and comfort. For a standard consultation clinic, the government has proposed a minimum carpet area of 35 square feet for the reception and waiting area.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Americans are increasingly turning to TikTok Shop to buy shampoo, jewelry and apparel. Retailers have noticed, pushing onto the platform with their own virtual stores.Ralph Lauren and Olaplex Holdings moved onto the platform late last year, while Ulta Beauty launched its store in March.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Smartphone care and warranty provider Servify is looking to close a string of acquisitions to expand its service categories before it files papers for a public listing.Like several initial public offering (IPO)-bound companies, Servify has taken a step back to wait for markets to stabilise amid the ongoing war in West Asia before filing its draft papers. It joins the list of companies such as PhonePe, Curefoods, and Turtlemint that have put their public market plans on hold.“We're in the middle of some initiatives which will likely help us become a larger entity than we are currently,” company founder and chief executive Sreevathsa Prabhakar told Mint.The Mumbai-based company is pursuing acquisitions across its core smartphone care business and a luxury goods vertical launched at the end of FY25.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With global energy dependency rapidly shifting from conventional sources to nuclear power, it is natural to fear a Chernobyl or Fukushima-like incident anywhere in the world today. Human exposure to nuclear risks is also rising through genetic research in agriculture, radiation use in healthcare, and the increasing possibility of nuclear conflict.In such circumstances, a natural question arises: do our everyday insurance policies cover nuclear risks?As on date, none of the insurers in India provide coverage for nuclear exposure or related nuclear incidents.Whether personal, institutional, or commercial, almost all insurance policies exclude coverage for risks arising out of nuclear exposure or similar events.Apart from underwriting challenges due to lack of data, the core reason is structural: nuclear exposure is rarely individualistic.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A new craze has taken hold of Silicon Valley in recent months. Techies looking to prove they are among the vanguard of artificial-intelligence adoption have taken to “tokenmaxxing”, competing against one another to burn through the most tokens (as the chunks of text processed by AI models are known). Between January and March, the weekly tokens processed by OpenRouter, a marketplace for accessing models, quadrupled.As demand for AI soars, the industry behind it is struggling to keep up.