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fintech companies are seeking tax support from the government for last-mile agents and business correspondents, popularly known as ‘bank mitras’. In a letter sent to the finance ministry, the industry body Business Correspondents Resource Council (BCRC) has sought a uniform goods and services tax rate of 5% for BC transactions. Currently the government levies no tax on accounts in rural branches and Jan Dhan accounts, but transactions through other accounts are charged at 18%.

At least three Indian companies plan to raise more than $1 billion combined by selling dollar bonds to international investors this week, people aware of the details said.

decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as thermal power, iron and steel, and cement plants, people familiar with the matter told ET. The contours of the mission are being firmed up and an announcement could be made in the February budget, they said. This mission will be in line with India's goals to halve carbon emissions by 2050 and attain netzero emissions by 2070. «Discussions are on, on the contours of the mission… details are being worked out,» a senior government official said. A committee under the chairmanship of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is in place for defining the requirement and timeline of this mission and scheme needed to implement the goals, the person said.Asecond official said two meetings of this committee have already taken place.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ‘It’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.’ That may have been Sir Winston Churchill's oblique description of Stalin's Russia, but he may well have been referring to modern India. Closer home, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen's view is equally relevant: ‘Whatever you can say about India, the opposite is also true.’ The fact is, India has never been easy to read.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Global investors are increasingly prioritizing assets with a strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) footprint, driving up their value and putting ESG at the forefront of deal-making strategies in India, according to a top executive of global transaction advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. 1. Tata Consultancy Services: Buy at ₹4,265; Target: ₹4,350-4,370; Stop loss: 4,202.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India may record a fiscal deficit for FY25 at 4.7-4.8% of GDP, below the budgeted estimate of 4.9%, marking yet another step towards fiscal consolidation. The revision is expected to be primarily driven by lower expenditure, notably on planned capital investments, along with higher-than-anticipated dividends from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), two people aware of the matter said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Maha Kumbh 2025 is more than just a spiritual gathering; it’s shaping up to be a mega stage where tradition meets trade, where faith drives footfalls, and where brands have a rare chance to leave a lasting imprint on millions. With a turnout of 400-450 million devotees expected, this isn’t just an event—it’s a marketer’s dream playground.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The PM internship scheme, which is currently in pilot stage, is likely to see a host of changes before it is officially launched. The scheme, which was announced in the previous budget, will see changes based on inputs from the pilot and from industry, according to three persons informed about discussions in the government.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (Ireda) stock fell by almost 7% after it announced the December quarter (Q3FY25) results. Though the net profit grew by 27% year-on-year to ₹425 crore, the drop in provision coverage ratio, both sequential and year-on-year, spooked investors.

Constitution, the central government has chosen Mahakumbh in Prayagraj to take the celebration to millions of visitors over one and a half month, starting from Monday. The Union social justice ministry has termed the Mahakumbh as a grand confluence of equality, empowerment and justice. The ministry has set up a pavilion with a «grand, divine, and digital» theme, highlighting the Indian Constitution. As the debate continues over the Constitution from the Parliament to the common masses, the ministry is using this opportunity to educate people on the Indian Constitution and the leaders who were involved in Constitution making. An e-copy of the Indian Constitution will also be kept at the pavilion. There will also be a digital flip book which the visitors to the pavilion can flip through to know about the important sections, amendments and leaders.

Steel Authority of India and John Cockerill India will jointly invest around ₹6,000 crore on setting up a downstream plant for steel, which will be used for the production of cold-rolled grain-oriented and cold-rolled non-oriented types of electrical steel, sources aware of the development said. The hot-rolled coils (HRCs), a form of finished steel to be used as raw material for this plant, will be supplied from SAIL, while the downstream unit itself is likely to be set up at one of SAIL's existing plants, they said. While a final call on where the plant will be set up is yet to be made, the project is expected to come on-board between 2027 and 2029, they said. In November last year, SAIL had signed a memorandum of understanding with John Cockerill India for green steel technologies and innovation, with a focus on carbon steel, green steel and silicon steel.

Jio Star is aiming to generate ad revenue of up to ₹6,000 crore from both TV and digital platforms during the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy and Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, according to sources familiar with the matter. The broadcaster expects to secure ad revenue of up to ₹1,500 crore from the Champions Trophy and up to ₹4,500 crore from the IPL, the sources added. Rate cards for the ICC Champions Trophy have already been released, with a detailed ad rate card for IPL expected to follow shortly. Jio Star's ad sales team is actively negotiating with advertisers for both events, prioritising the sale of Champions Trophy inventory first. The tournament is set to run from February 19 to March 9. IPL 2025 will be played from March 23 to May 25. For the Champions Trophy on Star Sports, the broadcaster is seeking ₹55 crore for co-presenting sponsorship, ₹44 crore for associate sponsorship and ₹28 crore from partner sponsors. The TV spot rate for India matches is ₹28 lakh per 10-second spot. On digital platforms, Jio Star is seeking ₹55 crore from co-presenting sponsors, ₹45 crore from powered-by sponsors and ₹25 crore from associate sponsors. CPM rates for the full tournament are ₹250 per 10-second spot and ₹500 for India matches. For Connected TV (CTV), the spot rate is ₹7 lakh for the entire tournament and ₹15 lakh for India and play-off matches.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union foreign policy chief, said the foreign ministers would convene in Brussels on January 27 in an effort to decide how the 27-nation bloc would relax sanctions on Syria. After 13 years of civil war, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a lightning offensive by insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham a month ago. The group has since set up a caretaker government in Damascus. Any European decision to ease sanctions would be conditional on the new Syrian administration's approach to governing, which must include «different groups» and women and «no radicalisation», Kallas said, without elaborating. «If we see the developments going to the right direction, we are ready to do the next steps...If we see that it's not going to the right direction, then we can also move back on this.»

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s increasingly bold threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty suggest “there’s something dangerous brewing” and a serious response is needed, a U.S. analyst says.

Prayagraj, where the 45-day Maha Kumbh will commence Monday on the auspicious occasion of 'Paush Purnima' in the Sangam area, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mystical Saraswati rivers. A day before the first major bathing ritual or 'Shahi Snan', PTI on Sunday took stock of the preparations made for the devotees at the Sangam and other ghats. Apart from the Sangam banks, many changing rooms have been built along the rivers where the boatmen have been given life jackets for the devotees. A board fixing the rates for boat rides has also been put up for the convenience of the devotees. Vishnu Nishad, a local boatman, sounded excited about the large number of devotees expected to come here for 'Shahi Snan' over the next one-and-a-half months.

Manoj Kumar Singh has said that 35 crore pilgrims are expected to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela taking place in the vicinity of Sangam — the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. He also said that during the period of Mauni Amavasya, an estimated four-five crore devotees are expected to reach the holy city and participate in the festivities. Singh said that the state budget for the 45-day-long mega event is around Rs 7,000 crore, and added that «the last Kumbh was known for sanitation. This time it is sanitation, security and digital Kumbh. »2019 was Kumbh. This is Maha Kumbh, and in the last Kumbh, we received 24 crore pilgrims, and this time we are expecting more than 35 crore pilgrims. Arrangements are also being made like that.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: In 2016, Amitabh K., a senior marketing executive working at a multinational technology company in Mumbai, raised what he thought was a pertinent question: “Where are the non-whites in the senior management team?" He brought up the issue with the company’s human resources (HR) department while discussing the possibility of a promotion. He noticed that while a substantial chunk of the company’s employees were from across the globe, there was little diversity at the top.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The government is working on revamping the framework for revival and rehabilitation (FRR) of debt-ridden micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in order to make it easier for small businesses to restructure the loans they have taken out, said two people in the know of the development. The framework would be known as FRR 2.0.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The NBA’s 2023 most valuable player and last season’s top European goal scorer aren’t Nike or Adidas athletes. When playing, they wear what Martha Stewart wears: Skechers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. We hope our kids will come to us when they are feeling anxious or depressed. What if they turn to a chatbot instead? Taylee Johnson, a 14-year-old near Nashville, Tenn., recently began talking to Troodi.