Rights Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s social capital deficit registers as a factor in its current account deficit through the demand for gold. Our appetite for gold is not an irrational cultural quirk. It is, in part, a revealed preference and a tangible symptom of our collective distrust in one another, society and civic institutions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put out a draft amendment to its earlier directions on prudential norms for the capital adequacy of commercial banks. It deals with Pillar 3 (disclosure requirements) of the Basel III framework, adopted by RBI in 2013.The rationale, according to the central bank, is to ensure greater consistency with that framework, as prescribed by the Bank for International Settlements, the global collective of central banks.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The domestic precious metals market is adjusting to a major policy reset. The government has raised import duty on gold and silver by about 9%, including cess.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.You are blessed with a baby girl and want to begin investing in her name. For many parents, the first option that comes to mind is the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY).Backed by the government and offering fixed returns with tax benefits, the scheme has become one of the most popular long-term investment options for daughters.However, while the returns may look attractive, there are important restrictions around lock-in and liquidity that parents often overlook before investing.The current interest rate on SSY is 8.2%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: Actors long associated with iconic film roles are increasingly acquiring rights to older hits, betting that nostalgia-driven intellectual property can generate fresh value through remakes, sequels, streaming, licensing and franchise extensions in an overcrowded content market.Recently, actor Sanjay Dutt acquired the rights to his 1993 hit cthat he plans to reimagine along with Jio Studios and Aksha Kamboj’s Aspect Entertainment. In the past, stars like Shah Rukh Khan too have bought rights to older hits from original producers, reflecting a broader shift in how value is captured in the content economy.Khan has bought rights to older hits such as Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and One 2 Ka 4 from original producers.For producers, selling rights can provide immediate liquidity, reduce risk and monetize legacy content that may otherwise remain underexploited.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Real estate developer Sattva Group plans to expand its hospitality business amid rising travel demand and higher consumer spending on premium experiences.The Bengaluru-based company, which has co-developed JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata and Novotel Kolkata Hotel and Residences, is building a wider hospitality pipeline spanning Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Darjeeling.“We will invest 10-20% of our turnover into the hotel business going forward," Adrija Agarwal, president of Sattva Group told Mint. “We see hospitality as a serious asset class for us now.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In the history of literature, several outstanding novels have captured the personal and societal challenges associated with upward mobility. Once a man could make his fortune through intrepid adventure (R.L.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Daniel Rice is a personal trainer in Los Angeles, a job that gives him a front-row seat to the physique coveted by today’s American man. Rice recalls the washboard abs of the ’90s; the athletic build of the early 2000s; the quest, in the 2010s, for tiny waists and huge biceps.Now “the guys all want thick thighs and a bigger butt,” he says.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.As boos rang out among the audience of University of Central Florida (UCF) graduates, commencement speaker Gloria Caulfield turned to the faculty staff behind her to ask what had happened. Then it dawned on her: She had mentioned artificial intelligence (AI).The real estate executive pressed on. “Only a few years ago,” she said, “AI was not a factor in our lives.” When that statement was greeted with loud cheers, Caulfield said: “We’ve got a bipolar topic here, I see.”For any commencement speaker in 2026, no conversation about the future could be credible without mentioning AI.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bengaluru: India is emerging as one of the most sought-after growth markets for global quick-service restaurant chains, prompting several international brands, which once struggled in the country, to attempt a comeback with revamped playbooks.The latest entrant is Panda Express, the US-based Asian fast-casual chain, which plans to enter India in 2027 through a partnership with Trimex Foods. It is targeting growing demand for international dining brands and widening popularity of Chinese cuisine among Indian consumers, even as global chains remain cautious about the country’s highly competitive and value-conscious market“India has become very aspirational with spending power growing up.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Buying a home is the largest financial commitment most Indians will make. Choosing the right lender matters as much as choosing the right property. Today, that choice sits between banks and housing finance companies (HFCs), a specialised category of NBFC, and each serves a genuine purpose for different kinds of borrowers.As of May 2026, banks offer floating-rate home loans starting from 7% for eligible borrowers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: The ministry of railways is planning to dilute 5-10% stakes in six listed railway public sector undertakings and another 2-3% in another listed company through offer-for-sale transactions inFY27, as part of a broader push to meet a ₹2.62 trillion monetization target under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP 2.0), two people aware of the matter said.The seven listed railway PSUs are Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. (IRCTC), Indian Railway Finance Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.An ex-convict who is missing part of his right arm and has two titanium plates in his head, Vyacheslav Kudryashev might not seem like the best soldier to put in the vanguard of a military offensive.But for four days last year, he was at the tip of Russia’s spear, trying to pierce Ukraine’s defenses in the kind of infantry assault that is yielding meager gains and heavy losses for Russian troops.After more than four years of war, Russian President Vladimir Putin is far from achieving his goal of dominating Ukraine and facing mounting criticism at home. Russian forces are struggling to advance on the battlefield despite some 25,000 wounded and dead a month, say Western officials and military analysts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: The few seconds of music you hear while waiting for someone to answer a phone call is copyrighted intellectual property, and telecom operators offering caller tunes may now need separate licences and royalty payments to lyricists and composers after a recent Calcutta High Court ruling.On 8 May, the Calcutta High Court ruled against Vodafone Idea in its long-running dispute with the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS), holding that telecom operators cannot offer caller tunes and ringtones solely on the basis of licences obtained from music labels.Mint explains the ruling and what it could mean for telecom operators and digital platforms.The dispute centres on whether telecom operators offering caller tunes and ringtones require separate licences from lyricists and composers, apart from licences obtained from music labels such as Saregama.Telecom companies treat caller tunes as a value-added service, a paid add-on beyond regular calling and SMS facilities that generates additional revenue and improves user engagement.Vodafone Idea signed agreements with Saregama in 2014 to use songs for caller tune services. However, IPRS argued that while music labels may own sound recordings, lyricists and composers retain separate rights over the underlying literary and musical works under the Copyright Act, particularly after the 2012 amendments that strengthened creators’ royalty rights.In 2018, Vodafone Idea approached the Calcutta High Court challenging IPRS’s claim that telecom operators required separate licences and royalty payments for using songs as caller tunes and ringtones.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Earlier in May, the Lakshmi Mittal family and vaccine-maker Adar Poonawalla successfully bid for Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals at a valuation of $1.65 billion, or over ₹15,600 crore. In March, the Birla family, along with Blackstone PE, Bolt Ventures and The Times of India Group, acquired rival IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a $1.78 billion valuation, or more than ₹16,000 crore.At these valuations, cricket teams are selling for 30x their last reported annual revenue from operations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Apart from some currency depreciation, the Indian economy has held up reasonably well, and growth numbers remain stable, said Sailesh Raj Bhan, president and chief investment officer (CIO) - Equity Investments, Nippon India Mutual Fund.“India today is also far less fragile than before,” he added.The broader belief is that elevated crude prices are not a permanent situation, as they would hurt the global economy as well. Once conditions normalize, flows are likely to return to India, said Bhan.Among the sectors, he likes all private-sector banks, consumer plays, and general insurance plays.Edited excerpts:Things will improve in India as investors begin to see opportunities emerge.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: The Centre is set to adopt a more modest highway construction target for fiscal 2027 (FY27) as it focuses on clearing delayed projects while attempting to revive private investment through the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.The government is likely to target construction of 10,000 km in FY27, unchanged from the previous fiscal year, when actual construction fell short at about 9,400 km. The target marks a step-down from the record 13,814 km set for FY24 and about 12,500 km for FY25.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The quest for the perfect watch never ends. You may be rolling your eyes when you read that line.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: Next week, the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will start hearing arguments for and against India’s first-ever data privacy law. After five separate public interest litigation petitions filed in February challenged the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, these hearings starting 13 May could determine the future of what companies and government bodies can do with the personal data of 1.4 billion people.Both the Centre and the litigators have deployed batteries of top lawyers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s merchandise trade deficit was about $333 billion in 2025-26, 17.5% wider than the previous year’s. Reducing import dependence is critical and gold stands out as a major item in this context. As the world’s second-largest gold consumer, the country imported nearly 803 tonnes in 2024-25 but produced just 1.6 tonnes (0.2% of demand); last year’s figures would be comparable.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.One of the more surprising stock stories of 2026 has to be Coca-Cola’s year-to-date outpacing of the S&P 500 index and its ancient foe, PepsiCo—with the latter point being as significant as the former to well-versed investors.Of course, this is the shortest of short time periods, the very opposite of what Coke’s biggest champion, Warren Buffett, the recently retired CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, would consider prudent. In fact, over the past nine years—basically the tenure of Coke’s former CEO James Quincey, who stepped down on March 31—Coke’s stock performance has been decidedly meh versus the market, though again, superior to Pepsi’s, for those keeping score at home.Why, then, does Berkshire continue to hold 400 million shares of Coke, a stake that Buffett built in the late 1980s and now worth some $31 billion, accounting for 9.3% of that company and 9.6% of Berkshire’s investment portfolio? (Note that new Berkshire CEO Greg Abel has called Coke one of Berkshire’s “core four” investments, along with Apple, Moody’s, and American Express.)A look at the current state of Coke—“by America’s side for 140 years of its 250 years”—provides some compelling clues.First, let’s acknowledge the brisk headwinds Coke faces.