Rediff HomeBUSINESS

Business Headlines

Trump's Tariffs: India Should Be Worried
Trump's Tariffs: India Should Be Worried

While growth in India is largely domestic and hence the overall GDP effect may not be...

Banks Struggle to Regain Deposits
Banks Struggle to Regain Deposits

Privately, many bankers admit their immediate goal is not growth but slowing the...

Trump Tariffs: How Must India Respond?
Trump Tariffs: How Must India Respond?

India should convert the Trump threat to an India opportunity, re-embracing a more...

Tough Time Ahead for Banking Sector?
Tough Time Ahead for Banking Sector?

Net NPAs increased to Rs 36,260 crore in the December quarter from Rs 34,843 crore in...

Avoid Mini Trade Deal With US
Avoid Mini Trade Deal With US

The Budget has given signals that India is sensitive to the US needs and willing to...

2025: World Facing Tech Risks
2025: World Facing Tech Risks

While advancements in biotechnology hold immense promise for health and innovation,...

For a slightly higher government capex outlay
For a slightly higher government capex outlay

While the capital spending is being maintained at 3.1 per cent of the GDP, a little...

Slowdown Is Neither Surprising Nor Inexplicable
Slowdown Is Neither Surprising Nor Inexplicable

'If tax-and-spend was expected to trickle down, it has failed; India's rural wages are...

Ahead of Modi-Trump meet, India revamps tariff structure

Anticipating US action on tariffs, India seems to have made the first move by revamping...

Budget 2025: Grassroot Level Implementation Must

Simplifying investment policies at the micro level and introducing a time-bound...

Budget: More Jobs Via Thriving Farms and MSME Growth

The most striking features of this Budget was its focus on simplification and improving...

Why Must We Have 7 I-T Categories?

'The finance minister missed yet another opportunity to simplify the income tax...

50:50 Chance Of An RBI Rate Cut

'If it doesn't, it will continue with measures to infuse liquidity, signalling a new...

The Regret About This Budget Is...

'... that it once again shies away from renewing its commitment to strategic...

5% Reduction in Tax Can Stimulate...

While this will incur a revenue loss amounting to 0.2 per cent of GDP, it will provide...

What Will FM's Budget Speech Focus On?

The finance minister, in her Budget speech, should focus more on what she is directly...

Cyberfraud Thrives On Fear!

The number of cyberfraud cases has skyrocketed from 2,677 in 1999-2000 to 29,082 in...

Can Nirmalaji End The Economic Slowdown?

The time is ideal for a 'Dream Budget' akin to the 1991 reforms that sparked high...

Will Nirmalaji Target Fiscal Deficit?

The Budget should undertake further reductions in import tariffs and seriously consider...

What Direction Will The Budget Take?

The finance minister could improve the quality of public spending, which could mean...

New asset class is a win-win for investors, issuers

Credit-focused SIFs with lower minimum investment thresholds can provide a more...

Budget 2025: What Nirmalaji Needs To Fix

If the fiscal deficit target of 4.9% of GDP has to be met for 2024-2025, which the...

Why Is India Not In The Innovation Race?

India has its share of both large tech companies and large national laboratories, but...

GDP Growth Disappoints: Is There Hope?

Headline growth was quite weak heading into the Covid period but averaged 6.4 per cent...

Why CEOs, Bankers Want To Be Like Bumrah

From CEOs to RBI governors, cricket's rich imagery and strategy resonate deeply with...

Can Modiji Fix The Economy's Problems?

'If weak indicators persist, there is a risk that India could slip into a prolonged...

RBI, Always Watchful, Always Vigilant

The RBI has changed the way it approached supervision in the past. Having seen a couple...

RBI Governor Is A Trapeze Artist

Shaktikanta Das is a master of the finest balancing act who listens to all but takes...

Benefits of Working in a Big Enterprises

Average wages paid by listed companies is more than twice the salaries paid by other...

FTX Failure: Lessons To Be Learnt

Damage from new shenanigans can be contained if regulators move quickly when something...

What Will Nirmalaji Do About Income Tax?

Instead of conceding the demand for a cut in personal income-tax rates, Finance...

12 PSBs Post Profit Of Rs 256.85 Billion

Collectively, the pack of 12 has posted a 50 per cent rise in profits -- Rs 25,685...

Are We Witnessing A Silent Bull Market?

The most important positive of India's stealth bull market is earnings growth across...

e-Rupee: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

The RBI refuses to classify a cryptocurrency as an asset since it doesn't have future...

Is India's Government Too Bloated?

Perhaps the finance ministry or NITI Aayog could take a detailed look at what...

Don't Make It A Pre-Election Budget, Nirmalaji

The need of the hour for the government would be to tighten its fiscal belt, recommends...

Term Deposits: Banks Must Offer Higher Rates

That's the only way to convince those who have money to return to the bank fold,...

Why Bank HRs Are Under Pressure Suddenly

Employees across segments, including those involved in specialised jobs such as...

How Will Economy Perform In Samvat 2079?

The likelihood is that India will maintain a moderately upbeat economic tempo -- well...

MFs Are Putting Investors' Money At Risk

Mutual funds, as experts and custodians of another set of retail investors' savings,...

Don't Miss Signs Of Economic Slowdown!

Don't be surprised if growth in the second half of the financial year drops below 4%,...

How Long Will GST Growth Continue?

It is now becoming increasingly clear that rising imports have played a significant...

Ban Loss-Making Companies' IPOs!

The most important step is delivering what is needed -- a fairer IPO pricing, notes...

Has Modi Done A Good Job On Exports?

Seven years after Modi took office, merchandise exports were lower in 2020-2021 than...

Reimagining Venture Capital

Ajit Balakrishnan on keeping an eye on democratising finance in India.

India Needs To Shift To Modern Economics

Old ideas contained in the heads of old economists still dominate.That's not good,...

Are Indian Markets Decoupled From Developed Markets?

Just because India has outperformed the US markets in a short recent period, it does...

Expect Another Rate Hike In December

Probably 35 bps.There could be even an encore in February 2023 to take the policy rate...

RBI Norms Don't Tackle Illegal Apps Menace

Of the 2,562 customer complaints received between January 2020 and March 2021, a...

India 2022: Huge Economic Challenges

Every patriot should learn from our history and recognise that celebrating size will...

Bad loan recovery process can get worse

Since the bankcuptcy law came into effect from December 2016, with every quarter, the...

Why is Sebi hesitant to ban retail algos?

Because they have become too big and pervasive and the time to regulate is long gone,...

What Was The Secret Of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's Success?

His advice was to always start with small positions because we are bound to make...

Banks Made Profits of Rs 1.57 Trillion!

If the banks throw caution to the winds for building loan books, the hydra-headed bad...

Chips: Can India Be A World Leader?

Is self-reliance the right approach in a mega-buck game, or better to be part of a...

When Will Banks End Customer Harassment?

The branch managers have come out of their glass cabins and the sellers' market has...

The Rakesh Jhunjhunwala I Knew

A family man, a confident investor, someone who was sure two decades ago that India and...

How Social Media Turned Porn Upside Down

Social media allowed them to connect even more directly with potential clients, and...

Clearly, RBI is not worried about growth

This is why it can fight out inflation, chin up, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.

Over To Rain Gods To Lift Consumer Mood

The 6.7% growth in Index of Consumer Sentiments in July 2022 is the highest since...

Can India Overtake Turkiye, China?

India's growth in the last three financial years has averaged just 1.9%.It is natural...

DON'T WORRY About The Rupee!

The currency market won't care for our moans, groans, cries and sighs.The rupee will...

Will Govt Cut PSBs Loose?

Merely bringing down the government stake below 51% may not find any taker for the...

Will RBI Rescue Banks Again?

Many banks' profits will take a hit and a few of them could even end up being in the...

What Zomato, Ola, Paytm Need To Learn

Start-ups don't care that mad-money funding comes to a hard stop after an IPO, observes...

Want Stronger Rupee? Manage The Economy

India's politicians need to do a better job of managing the economy: Inflation control,...

RBL Bank: Strange Corner Office Changes

One thing is for sure: It smacks of the regulator's lack of confidence in the bank's...

Both Customers And Banks To Feel Pain

Shifting to floating rate deposits can work as an anaesthetic gel for some customers,...

Capex Has Taken New Turn Under FM

The dividends for the economy from such a rapid rise in capital expenditure would be...

As US Fed Sneezes, Will India Catch A Cold?

If the central banks act harshly now, the markets will crash and then rally.If they are...

Challenges before NITI Aayog's Suman Bery

The most immediate challenge for growth is the disruption of the global economy brought...

Significant Increase In Industrial Jobs

The growth is particularly remarkable because it comes at levels higher than during the...

What Rise In Interest Rates Means For Banks

With the rise in interest rates, bond yields have been on the rise; this will dent...

Inflation: Was RBI Caught Napping?

The RBI's mistake may have been in interpreting its mandate to maintain retail...

Sebi And Phenomenon of Confusing Rules

Since 2016, Sebi has made many rules to prevent unauthorised trading by...

HDFC-HDFC Bank: Great Marriage, But...

But there are challenges, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.

Labour Force INCREASED By 8.8 Million In April

This is one of the largest monthly increases in the labour force, observes Mahesh Vyas.

Banks' NPAs never went away, they were only hidden

Indeed, there were frauds, and the politician-banker-industrialist nexus played a role...

What Went Wrong at Axis Mutual Fund

Following the money and freezing anything unaccounted is the only way to set an example...

The T-Shirt Wars

Ajit Balakrishnan on the evolution of a cultural symbol.

Revealed: Our Banks' Financial Health

We'll need to wait a couple of years to see how many restructured loans turn bad and...

At 38.2 mn, unemployed would be largest in any year

It would be larger than even in the pandemic year of 2020-2021, notes Mahesh Vyas.

NSE's Colo Case: Will CBI Do What Sebi Didn't?

It is the biggest issue we have ever faced in the securities market, where a sensitive...

Jugaad An Insult To Indian Innovation?

'When resources are few; when frugality demands repairing a broken thing rather than...

Why RBI Announced Rate Hike In May

In its scheme of things, tackling inflation now comes ahead of ensuring growth in the...

Too Early To Cheer Up On Economy

So, while it is great that India's numbers look relatively good, don't raise a cheer...

Global Economic Crisis:What India Can Do

The employment situation remains dire.Whatever can be done to promote greater low-skill...

Workforce Shrank By 3.8 Million In March

What the labour market statistics of March 2022 show is India's biggest sign of...

India MUST Create Programming Languages!

Why hasn't India produced a single earth-shaking idea like Python or the World Wide...

Are Banks In Good Shape?

Flush with liquidity, banks are eager to lend. And, therein lies the problem, warns...

The Pension Challenge Confronting India

When we look at the pension expenditure of the states, so far, there has been no gain...

Rahul Bajaj, World's Favourite Indian

'Rahul inspired Indian industry with an ethos, an ethos of being more confident, more...

Middle Income Groups See An Uptrend In Income

This is reflected in an improvement in their sentiments as well, explains Mahesh Vyas.

Playing Moneyball With The IPL?

'Did the Moneyball philosophy get redefined in the domain of the cash-rich IPL, which...

How India Can SHOCK-PROOF Economy

Since jobs will remain scarce for the foreseeable future, an unemployment allowance...

Stock Markets Unconcerned About Inflation

We have not suffered such huge price shocks across so many basic commodities, at the...

Why Are FPIs Bailing Out From India?

Since October, FPIs have sold over $26 billion worth of stocks, which is the largest...

Post-Ukraine, Nirmalaji Must Revisit Budget

Budget has already bombed at the box office and passing it without a revisit will be a...

As office reopen for business, REITs may be a draw

Distribution yields could rise, but risk of Covid, higher interest rates remain.

'Auto is an extremely attractive bet'

'Valuations are very attractive, and most companies are cash-rich with strong dividend...

India Wants To BUY At Last!

A change in the desire to buy consumer durables is perhaps the most important indicator...

Who Are India's 'Unemployed'?

An overwhelming proportion of the unemployed declare their nature of occupation as...

How Regulators Can Stop Being Puppets

'All regulatory agencies must be made Constitutional bodies like the Election...

Start-ups, IPL & the Veblen Effect

India added three unicorns per month in 2021 to nearly double the overall number to...

NSE Rot Goes Deeper

The rot is is not limited to Chitra Ramkrishna and the yogi, observed Debashis Basu.

Why Has RBI Scrapped Polymer Currency Notes Idea?

The RBI has shelved its plan for polymer notes more than a decade after it invited...

Nirav Modi has been dethroned!

If there were an Olympics for bank frauds in India, Rishi Agarwal, founder and former...

Suez, de-globalization, and a Semiconductor Fab

'If the almost literally heart-stopping Suez block has any positive outcome, it is to...

Managing Internet tech change wisely

Ajit Balakrishnan on learning from past technology revolutions.

NSE Outage: Interoperability won't work

While most brokers have upgraded their backend systems to trade, their front-end...

Why are More Women Jobless?

Indian women have education, inspiration and perspiration -- but not enough employment,...

Covid will have long-term effect on economy

'The finance ministry's decision to accept the deficit target of 4.5 per cent in...

Diesel at 100!!!

'The question often being asked is whether the demand for petrol and diesel is price...

When will EC ban loan waiver poll promises?

Every political party loves to use the bait of loan waiver to woo the electorate. If...

Economy is recovering, not Employment

The return of the unemployment rate to pre-lockdown times is not worth celebrating...

India's BIG BREAKOUT Moment

After years of disappointing growth, the economy and the markets are poised for a...

What is the RBI governor up to?

What is killing the risk appetite of the bond buyers is the inconsistency in the...

The MYSTERY over NSE's Feb 24 'tech glitch'

It is mystifying how the NSE, a near-monopoly, gets protection, as the February 24...

4 ways Nirmalaji's Budget is different

But it is disappointing to note that Sitharaman's third Union Budget continues to...

Will PMC Bank find salvation?

Mired in corruption, politics and with a history of suicides by its hapless depositors,...

The Budget: A Reality Check

Do the actual numbers bear out the claims made by the government or do they suggest...

Nirmalaji, what about growth beyond FY22?

We will find it difficult to exceed an average of 5 per cent growth in the medium term,...

Beware Zohnerism!

Zohnerism drives our daily consumption of news and shaping our understanding of most...

Visionary Budget or worse than Pranab's?

The sad truth is that the debt-to-GDP ratio will shoot up close to 90 per cent in the...

Questions to ask about the Bad Bank

Why do we need a bad bank, owned by the banks themselves when there are at least 28...

Employment: Glad tidings from January

January 2021 more than recovered the loss of employment of the past three months, notes...

Why's Modi going against his natural instinct?

The promise of a less suspicious government is surprising.What about the disconnect...

Will the real Mr Modi please stand up?

Human memory about policy issues is short.That alone can explain why many are...

Is Modi stepping onto a minefield?

A faltering economy may have led to a re-think on economic strategy. And Mr Modi might...

Netflix-ication of print media in India?

Monetising online readership, a deeper focus on content and getting revenue from the...

When will Modi cut high taxes on fuels?

The logic of deregulation was that the consumer was protected no matter what the price...

Why households are unhappy with the Budget

The finance minister did very well for equity market investors but not so with...

Services will steer India's future economy

Whether one likes it or not, services constitute the value-addition sector that the...

All hail Modi's 1st BJP Budget

The Modi government is notoriously honest about one fact: It does not listen to...

Mr Modi, time to pay back middle class on fuel prices

It is time he stood up and assured the middle class that they can count on him as one...

Nirmalaji must wield the whip. Often

'Let us hope that this Budget delivers.''It needs 10 per cent plus real GDP growth in...

Budget has a vaccine for banking's virus

Of the three major Budget announcements related to the banking sector, privatisation of...

For banks, the option is to go digital or die

Bankers need to take a call on whether they will allow technology firms to run banks or...

Budget 2021: No evidence of an economic strategy

There are several welcome standalone reforms, but these do not add up to a coherent...

Not a Budget for Employment

It is important to increase employment in general.It is even better to increase good...

Another storm brewing on Wall Street?

Given the dimensions, it is bound to have at least ripple effects across markets. Could...

Gold monetisation scheme: What you must know

Banks and friendly neighbourhood jewellers can serve as good channels to provide...

Two cheers for the Budget!

While a DFI will help banks derisk their loan portfolios, creation of a bad bank will...

India Inc has no RISK APPETITE for UNICORNS

That's because India does not have a serious venture capital industry with an appetite...

Why does the FM ignore JOBS issue?

The Economic Survey will remain a documentation of the government's resolve to not...

India's growth story is over

You can make all the speeches you want, you cannot argue against 39 straight months of...

Budget: Nothing but Housekeeping

The Budget would have been the perfect vehicle to introduce some bold initiatives. That...

Will this Budget be a 'Game Changer'?

That is what you will hear again after Nirmala Sitharaman presents a speech that will...

20-somethings account for 80% job losses

Those who lost jobs in December were women, graduates, post graduates, salaried...

Will the Bull keep running?

Markets are assuming that by the second half of 2021, the world will be approaching...

What will Nirmalaji do on February 1?

If Nirmala Sitharaman does indeed present a 'never-before' like Budget on February 1,...

K V Kamath: What will drive India's growth in 2021?

If we work together with dedication, concentration and effort, we should be able to...

Time to privatise government owned banks

The only feasible way to have a healthy banking sector could be making it mostly...

Economy requires a BATTLE PLAN!

'In India's case, using wrong information, and recourse to off-budget borrowing, masked...

SCARY! Huge increase in unemployment

The count of the unemployed mounted to 38.7 million in December 2020 compared to 27.4...

Why Xi Jinping 'fixed' Jack Ma

Alibaba's pervasive economic and social influence in China is seen as a threat to the...

Economy to bounce back next year!

The economy has shown sharp resilience in the past and has also bounced back in good...

Let ex-servicemen partner farmers in agri cooperatives

The government should set up agricultural co-operatives in every cluster of villages...

Budget must provide a realistic road map

'But can it afford to present a scenario within the existing legal framework of fiscal...

Complacent banks will turn dinosaurs

In the new decade, the scene will change because the banks till recently had been...

What to make of this bull market?

It is impossible for anyone to explain how markets are hitting record highs during an...

2021 will be under 2020's shadow

'In the real economy, the scars of the pandemic will continue to define 2021.''It is...

How economies changed in 10 years

Even as both India and the world struggle to re-build after COVID-19, they face...

Rana Kapoor: Banker gone Rogue

'The book captures Rana Kapoor's hunger for real estate leading to bungalows in Delhi,...

Why are govts out to de-fang FAANG?

So far, there seems to be limited debate about their activities in India, where...

Corporate India cut wages amid soaring profits

The cut in wages by companies whose operations were not shut by the lockdown was more...

How we can avert 2021's Climate Crisis

'To keep the next catastrophe at bay, a carbon free economy will be an imperative.'Our...

No Country for Young Working Women

'By November 2020, men recovered most of their lost jobs, but women were less...

Modi needs to listen to our economists

We have a government with an extremely weak economic team advising a PM who hardly pays...

Is Yes Bank out of the woods?

'Infusion of fresh capital, handsome growth in deposits and focus on recovery should...

Markets are sending clear message

The broadening of the market rally sends the signal that growth will be broad-based,...

Govt response to the pandemic was right

The government kept its nerve in the face of a massive shock. It chose not to resort to...

Will this Budget lower income tax?

The budget-making exercise offers golden opportunities despite challenges, observes...

Does Modi want small companies to fail?

India has too many small companies and this is inefficient.It should instead have only...

Why Wistron vandalism is bad for India

'The workers's dance of wilful destruction has the potential to kill all investments...

COVID fallout: Markets crowded, but malls empty

What can malls do to entice customers? Brand coach Ambi Parameswaran has a few...

Why be afraid of businessmen owning banks?

Bad loans of PSBs are at Rs 20 trillion.Most of it is, I sense, due to corruption and...

What will Nirmalaji's Budget give us?

Can the finance minister manage our expectations, asks A K Bhattacharya.

What I got when I flew Air India for Rs 169,613

Even a rump Air India could not hope to get away with the shoddy service and scrappy...

How not to be a shoddy manufacturing nation

If India wants to become a globally competitive manufacturing hub, it will have to...

Should we be afraid of corporates entering banking?

If indeed the gate opens for big industrial houses, the RBI needs to be smarter than...

No escape for Modi Sarkar from extra borrowing

Clearly, the extra borrowing of Rs 4.2 trillion the government has planned so far will...

Why it is hard to call a bubble in tech stocks

It is not clear as to whether we are in a bubble in technology stocks. What is clear,...

Economic recovery is not complete

The recovery seen in the increased economic activity till September or October is...

Lakshmi Vilas Bank had dug its own grave

Its obsession for growth, chasing corporate clients and giving up its original mandate...

We must have just 2 rates of income tax

10 per cent for those who earn up to Rs 30 lakh a year and 25 per cent for those who...

Corporate-run banks: Will depositors benefit?

The most common complaint of financial consumers is cumbersome processes, complicated...

As India Inc's profits soar, wage bill falls

The lockdown has taught companies a lesson or two on running business with fewer human...

How long will savings, profits, stocks remain high?

How long will the RBI allow the government to borrow cheaply?A change in policy...

Covid is driving demand for gold loans from banks

For the first time, consumers, including those at the so-called bottom of the pyramid,...

What kind of economic recovery will we have?

The only path to recovery of the economy lies in profit growth that triggers off...

Listed cos increased headcount in a bleak year

These companies provide better quality jobs and so it is particularly reassuring to see...

43,000 cr! That's how much banks fleeced borrowers of

The RBI, which has no interest or mechanism to get feedback from bank customers, is...

Two routes to atmanirbharta

Both India and China talk now of self-reliance when their external trade, in relation...

Reimagining Industrial Era GDP measures

...and getting GDP to measure India's data economy, recommends Ajit Balakrishnan.

How to get banks to restart lending to corporates

Let all the stakeholders, especially the government, remember that if the Make in India...

A case for raising defence FDI to 100%

Access to India's defence market must be made conditional -- available only to those...

Paying farmers for not burning stubble is wrong

To justify that farmers must burn if they are not paid cash incentive is doing...

How can Nirmalaji raise more revenue?

Every option before the finance minister comes with a price tag, observes T N Ninan.

Will there be less account engineering?

IThe fiscal deficit target for 2020-2021 was originally set at 3.5 per cent of GDP.But...

Jobs: October has some bad news

Keeping the employment rate from slipping is challenging.To merely keep the employment...

Do SBI Cards' bad loans have a deeper meaning?

If credit card delinquency spells trouble, there may be questions with regard to the...

How RBI can prevent frauds

Historically, the RBI has tried to keep the crooks at bay by issuing a circular a day....

Bangladesh may overtake India this year

Bangladesh might overtake India this year by per capita income in nominal dollars, but...

Digital currency: China leads. India must catch up

India should not be left behind. It should join the seven central banks which are...

Is this tech bubble like the one in March 2000?

Are we seeing a replay of March 2000? What are the similarities and differences and how...

India needs to create 8 mn jobs every year!

Nothing in India's recent history suggests that India can provide 8-9 million jobs a...

How about a Hammurabi Code for financial offences?

Scams happen with high regularity because the price of getting caught is...

India's electronics manufacturing dream

...but are we chasing yesterday's dreams, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.

Oil levies cushion revenue shock for Modi

The oil sector has been quite lucky for the Modi government.It has often provided an...

Virus has done for Modi what IMF did for Rao

That's why he is now finally focusing on the two things that alone can help: Fiscal...

The good and bad news on jobs

The labour participation rate tells us how many of the working age population are...

Will Modi's second push on economy succeed?

There will be uncertainty about outcomes,but one must hope for the best, observes T N...

Does Modi want to FIX the Economy?

The problem is major, and the problem affects hundreds of millions of people.Ignoring...

Good to see Bikhchandani, Banga on the rich list

'To all the MBAs that burn the candle at both ends, travel half-a-million miles every...

Meet SBI's new boss

DDinesh Kumar Khara is someone who cares for others's ideas and suggestions. If he...

Control Covid for economy to recover!

Unless we control the coronavirus, we are going to struggle to get our economy and...

Why is RBI copying US Fed?

'India is not so distant from years of high and entrenched inflationary expectations...

Reforms are about implementation, not announcements

'The promises of netas and babus and new laws, however well-meaning, mean little.''What...

India's tax regime and the Vodafone problem

The manner in which India has allowed the rule of law to be subverted for over eight...

Why Modi chooses protectionism over pragmatism

'There can be no dispute over the adverse impact such a policy will surely have on...

Auto industry must do well for economy to do well

'Given all the linkages, the monthly registration data for new vehicles, may well be...

Why is RBI allergic to 55-year-old bankers?

Is the RBI unable to accept with grace that beyond 55, one can have the ability to head...

Lockdown wipes out job gains since 2016

The biggest loss of jobs among salaried employees was of 'white-collar professional...

What Modi must do to boost growth

'The answer for a quicker boost to growth is simple -- run a much larger deficit, use...

How to solve financial sector's $75 bn problem

'The solution is to enable a graceful transfer of the deposit and funding 'franchise'...

Why is Vistara making such huge losses?

Market estimates suggest the airline has already totted up Rs 1,800 crore of losses in...

Where will multi-cap funds find small-caps to invest?

And if there are so many opportunities, why haven't they invested in them, asks...

Loan moratorium: Who will pay interest?

If banks cannot charge interest from borrowers during the moratorium, who will bear...

PM Modi, you have time on your side

The last three prime ministers who served full terms started out in their early 70s. Mr...

Why ED is the best bet for the Kochars

The agency's poor track record in convictions is the only light at the end of a rather...

GST payout: Why Centre is avoiding a vote

The question on who should borrow from the market and whether the borrowing will be...

Indians' love for things foreign

...Is this a virus more dangerous than Covid-19, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.

What economic crisis will do to India

'This encourages escapism through the politics and economics of nationalism, made worse...

5 reasons why economic recovery will be slow

Risk aversion is currently a dominant depressant to economic recovery, points out...

Rs 8 trillion of banks loans will be restructured!

What will be its impact on the banks's balance sheets? Since banks need to provide for...

India lost 21 million jobs in the Covid lockdown

There were 86 million salaried jobs in India during 2019-2020. In August 2020, their...

The truth about India's ease of doing business claim

'The recalculated ranking showed India should have had a higher ranking earlier (113 in...

Has economy de-linked from coronavirus?

'With the June quarter GDP shrinking by nearly a quarter, there is an even greater...

GST needs a political fix, not a legal one

This is a moment when the leaders at the Centre and states must show true leadership...

Why Tata's buyout of Air India makes sense

The industry is hoping the Tatas deepen their dive and offer two stable airlines -- a...

What's better about new taxpayer's charter

Apart from its enforceability through courts due to it being part of the I-T Act, two...

When Pranab clashed with Manmohan, twice

Pranab Mukherjee's stewardship of the economy will stand out as much for the manner in...

Jobs for youngsters dwindle in slowing economy

'The 20 to 24 age group accounted for 35% of job losses till July.''The 25 to 29 age...

Faceless assessment and the problem of tax arrears

'It may be prudent not to plunge into a new online tax appeals system in one go, which...

My Business: Gone with the Covid

'Covid or no Covid, I knew I had made the right decision (calls from my bank to extend...

The Rise and Rise of the Attention Economy

'The attention economy is making it economically valuable for us to spread our...

Loss of Salaried Jobs in Lockdown: 17 million

'Loss of these urban salaried jobs is, therefore, likely to have a particularly...

GDP crisis: Is there a way out of the gloom and doom?

'The government has said it has kept its powder dry to fight the true battle against...

Brand Dhoni in 2025: Boom or bust?

Will retirement bedim the sparkle of Captain Cool, asks ad guru Sandeep Goyal?

The 5 wise men who will decide corporate loan recast

Under the watchful eyes of five wise men, who know the industry well, banks will not...

Portnoy's complaint about Warren Buffett

When it comes to Mr Portnoy, it is hard to claim that his trading patterns are any more...

Time for Modi to use India's market size as a weapon

Opening up India's market to neighbouring countries can be as strategic as access...

Will Sterlite verdict put investors off Tamil Nadu?

What will the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government do to answer the queries and fears...

The curious case of the SBI chairman

What makes the SBI case even more curious is that the government didn't insist on a...

Why Modi's tax charter reads like a cruel joke

'Under this government, tax laws have become more draconian, and the government itself...

Corporatising OFBs: An idea whose time has come

'The much-awaited decision could be a welcome change at a time when the Indian armed...

The Work From Home Revolution

Will it trigger a social and management revolution as well, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.

The looming banking crisis no one's talking about

The financial sector has been deeply troubled since 2013. It is now in a full-blown...

How can Modi rescue the economy?

The government may have to resort, eventually and however unwillingly, to printing...

Should market experts be part of RBI's MPC?

'Three external members of the first MPC are respected researchers with excellent...

18.9 million salaried employees lost jobs in lockdown

While salaried jobs are not lost easily, once lost they are also far more difficult to...

India is in a financial mess

'In a serious fiscal situation like this, an ostrich-like focus on annual budgeting,...

An economic recovery is underway, but...

The recovery momentum could be petering out well before the recovery is complete, notes...

How to protect investors from stockbrokers

The problem is with the broking model and what brokers are allowed to do, notes...

Connect the dots: Reliance, ITC, SoftBank

Mukesh Ambani is stringing in new partnerships within the Reliance ecosystem with the...

When an American professor worked at the RBI...

'We get to know secrets such as some of India's top-rated firms do not always make...

Happy and happening: Seenagers rock!

They have everything they wanted as a teenager - only they seem to have got it all 50...

Airtel's Sunil Mittal: 25 years of mobiles in India!

India is today the second-largest telecom market in the world with over a billion...

Jobs: Lockdown hit young, women most

While the lockdown hit employment in all age groups, it hit the employment of...

Jobs return to urban India at last

The employment that is returning is mostly essential services required by Indian...

Why reduce bank CEO to a titular head!

'The CEO will neither be able to guide the senior team in operational matters nor...

How did the Twitter hack happen?

The hack may have been done by a rogue Twitter employee, or it may have been a smart...

Modiji, this is your last chance

'The most important thing to do is to stop taxing citizens so brutally,' recommends T C...

Why are our banks so secretive?

'The finance ministry and public sector banks have tried to keep the names of wilful...

Let's prepare for coming economic war with China

India has no option but to shut China out, notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

Is the worst over for the Indian IT sector?

The IT industry advisories show that they think they've weathered the worst, observes...

The Mystery of Rising FDI as GDP Slumps

'An explanation perhaps lies in the culture of revisions that has grown deep roots in...

Hinduja squabble: Lessons for business khandaans

'India is home to the third-largest number of family-owned businesses in the world.'...

Modi and the problem of 2 minute presentations

'It won't be easy to undo the damage that has been done to the economy by the lockdown...

$30 bn Sale & Leaseback of India's Internet Economy

India's Internet economy has two choices: An immediate $30 billion Sale-and-Leaseback...

Securing the Future of India's Internet Economy

'Google and Facebook need to be tamed, their garb of 'Investing in India's future' need...

Economy will determine Modi's political future

'Mr Modi has a huge opportunity before him.''Whether he grabs it the way Mrs Gandhi did...

Why we import what we do from China

We import from China not because we love China, but because they sell us these things...

7 out of 12 PSBs made losses in first quarter

'The PSBs ended up recording Rs 7,709 crore losses in the March quarter compared to the...

Modi needs to listen to good advice

Listening -- really listening -- to advisers in the government and outside would...

How India can be truly Atma Nirbhar

'India's future: To manufacture so efficiently that we do not need protection,' says...

COVID-19 vaccine: The Need for Caution

History shows us that even effective vaccines could have unknown side effects that...

Economy: Why Modi must be on guard

'The road ahead for the government's fiscal management will be full of many new...

Want to buy a house? Now is the time!

'This is for the first time home loan rates have dropped below 7 per cent,' notes Tamal...

What every investor must know about the bull run

'When fund managers talk of being bullish for the long term, they assume strong...

Work has begun in urban India, but, differently

'Usually, urban wage rates are 50 per cent higher than rural wage rates. But, this...

Do you use Fintechs? Read this please!

Fintechs need to behave with responsibility and transparency. A lot of mis-selling has...

Why advertisers are boycotting Facebook

'This is the first time there has been an attempt to use market forces to counter...

Is Modi afraid of expert advice?

It is time the government cast its net wide for seeking expert advice on managing the...

India should hike defence spending to 4% of GDP

'As for tricky relations with China, India needs less of summitry type event management...

How the RBI's new home finance rules affect you

'Real estate loans are given in the garb of retail loans, sourcing money cheap from the...

Can Indians live without Chinese imports?

'India imports 70 per cent of its bulk drugs from China. Are we going to live without...

Want to know what India's top bankers are up to?

The bosses of SBI, Union Bank and Central Bank have been driving down to their offices...

Sell household gold, revive the economy

'There is a misconception that gold is a dead asset in India.''Around 30 per cent of...

Modi, mines, viprit buddhi

Yes, India needs desperate measures to kick-start growth. But selling off its lungs to...

How oil holds the key to India's economic health

Every time the Indian economy has faced headwinds due to international developments,...

India's road map for a $5 trn self-reliant economy

'The first year of the Modi government's second term has laid the roadmap for the...

Does Modi Mean Business?

'Anyone can string together a few alliterative words, but are they a substitute for...

Hurrah! Unemployment rate falls as India unlocks

'People are getting back to work.''The worst seems to be over.''It is very likely that...

Are we over-celebrating 'work from home'?

Microsoft top boss Satya Nadella feels the increase in productivity has come at the...

India's 1st smart city is set to take off in a big way

'Initially, Gift City was just another real estate project, but all that changed with...

Covid-19 is an opportunity for real estate sector

The timing is ripe for the creation of multiple special situations realty focused...

Is anyone using the loan moratorium?

'Banks have to be braver, willing to take more risks and give confidence to the...

2 out of every Rs 5 the govt spends is borrowed money

When emerging from this crisis, the govt must consider a fresh approach to reviving...

How reliable is India's GDP figure?

'Given that the economy is going through a slowdown, further downward revisions of the...

EXPLAINED: What is Fiscal Deficit?

Do the words 'fiscal deficit', whenever they come up for discussion anywhere - be it...

Why Modi flunks the economic reforms test

There is a pattern to the Modi government's economic decisions.The follow-up, the...

Death knell for printed books, newspapers?

Or a brief stop on the way to better times, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.

Bankers are COVID Warriors too!

'Like doctors, health workers, police, bankers are also COVID warriors,' notes Tamal...

Andaman & Nicobar can attract Hong Kong investments

'Leaders of the Indian community in Hong Kong had broached the idea of developing the...

Nirmalaji, junk rating agencies, save the economy

'It may sound like sacrilege, but does it really matter if the global raters downgrade...

We need more Rajiv Bajajs in our boardrooms

'Businessmen like Rajiv render public service when they speak truth to power,' observes...

The Marie Antoinette of Indian politics

'Everybody knows that any solution would upstage and expose official bungling.''That is...

India Inc, stop whining!

'Instead of wailing about the absence of tax benefits, the private sector should press...

Work from home forever

'Employees may well be expected to be on call at almost all times -- much like the...

Explained: How P2P lending can help us

'As banks grapple with risk aversion and savers see an erosion in the value of money,...

Unlock 1: 3 challenges facing India

'When the lockdown grounded a billion people, nothing had been planned well: Testing,...

How Mukesh Ambani re-invented Reliance again

Dhirubhai may or may not have owned the government; it would seem his son wants to own...

EPS woos investments, but is the environment friendly?

In the midst of huge job losses as a fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Tamil Nadu...

How the military can get a bang for every buck

The best available recourse to keep the defence sector healthy, is to source most of...

Renovate a house in flames without dousing the fire!

'The stimulus message was tagged on to what was meant to be an exhortation to...

Explained: What the RBI is telling banks

'Credit expansion is probably the quickest way to get the economy going again.''Easy...

What the future holds for the economy

Will people buy as many cars as before if more office-goers are working from home? How...

FDI shifting from China to India? It's a bad joke!

'The belief that FDI will shift from China appears to be a strategy of politicians to...

122 million jobs have been lost in the lockdown

'Over 27 million youngsters in their 20s lost their jobs in April.''33 million men and...

Why it makes sense for banks to lend to MSMEs

'In times of recovery, we may see a rural-urban divide with the urban pockets affected...

Modi has become a great reformer

Whether it took the corona crisis to bring about the transformation, or otherwise, the...

Modiji, 7 ideas for a new India

'Now is the time for India to course correct and for the government also to course...

A better world after Covid?

It is time to shrug off the ideological shackles about the way we work, play and live,...

Does Modi lack courage about the economy?

'Modi has not lacked courage in the political sphere. It is time he showed it in the...

Can Modi dig India out of the COVID hole?

'A balanced head plus heart approach would be a full opening up of the economy...

Be warned! Dark economic times ahead!

'Two consecutive quarters of negative growth are the technical definition of an...

Petrol, diesel prices depend on govt, not crude rate!

'I have no problems with the finance ministry or with state governments treating petrol...

New FDI policy may hurt India's start-up dream

'As much as $4 billion in India's start-up companies has come from Chinese...

12 suggestions to solve India's COVID-19 economic woes

'A total overall of the existing way of working by abolishing taxes and allowing...

RBI wants to end lazy banking

'Banks are being encouraged to lend instead of parking their resources with the RBI and...

Why Franklin-type fiascos will keep happening

'MFs acted as reckless lenders and not as prudent investors.''Clearly, how debt funds...

Unlocking the lockdown will be even tougher

'How do we ensure that the unlocking, which is desperately needed for earning income...

How COVID-19 spoilt India's oil bonanza

'The impact of COVID-19 on the economy has been so overwhelming that even a significant...

There is simply no escape from printing money

'This is not without risk because extraordinary steps taken in exceptional times have...

India's tweaking of FDI norms aimed at only China

'India-China economic ties are likely to take a hit in the wake of the new situation,...

Post lockdown, Modi must be bold to revive economy

'Once the lockdown is lifted, we will need the mother of all fiscal and monetary policy...

Will RBI's rate cut force banks to lend?

'One way of doing this could be offering credit guarantee to the banks, say 10 per...

COVID-19 crisis: How small businesses will survive

'Their dharma propels them to pay their workers; otherwise, they know the boys would...

The challenge of the lockdown

'How the lockdown is phased out or lifted will tell us if the government has succeeded...

For many, this is not a lockdown, but a knockout

'The economic impact of this lockdown is evidently huge.''Its impact on the livelihood...

BIG headache awaits banks this September

'We do not know when we will get to the business-as-usual mode.''Many borrowers may not...

What should the RBI do next, Mr Das?

'No one cares about fiscal deficit now. Or for that matter, inflation.''The focus is on...

The economy is in crisis

'We may have moved back three decades on the fiscal situation,' notes T N Ninan.

Hail the power of networks!

Not just in the fight against COVID-19, but also in politics, economics and society,...

How India Inc is making the most of PM-CARES

'If the government was serious about co-opting the corporate sector meaningfully in the...

Explained: The 3-month loan moratorium

'Common sense says if one can afford, servicing the loans during this period is a...

The Economy: What Modi must do after the lockdown

'The telecom companies are our lifeline now, despite having nearly collapsed under debt...

COVID-19: Job loss, salary cuts are BIGGEST worries

'A large number of people are suddenly waking up to the fear of losing jobs,' says...

Can economy recover after COVID-19, lockdown?

'It is hard to imagine a sector which will not be violently affected by the health...

Revisit the reforms process from a new perspective

Now that the coronavirus induced economic mess has provided the occasion, opportunity...

5 MUST-DO actions for the Modi government

The government has an opportunity right now to save Indians from deep recession, and in...

Should govt declare a financial emergency?

'So far, no government has imposed a financial emergency in the country,' notes A K...

Budget, the other casualty of COVID-19

'Even before the outbreak of the flu, it had become clear that the tax revenue numbers...

The financial world is a dangerous place

Banks can collapse, markets can be rigged, investment instruments can become worthless...

Why private healthcare is important to fight COVID-19

'Most of the testing capacity in India is in the private sector.''Whether it is the...

Fiscal stimulus is not the need of the hour

What might be useful is targeted assistance to those sectors and individuals that are...

In India, jobs the biggest casualty of coronavirus

'The impact of economic sho�cks on the labour markets is usually on the young who delay...

Why is the stockmarket reacting like this?

'If the epidemic is sharply contained in a month or two, we have a huge buying...

How the world will change after coronavirus

'Tens of millions will be working from home for months at a time, which means the...

When will Modi privatise railways?

'The new trains should be fast, but the roll-out of the privatisation plan should be...

Why did RBI take this route to save Yes Bank?

'The RBI has not allowed any commercial bank to fail in the past three decades.''It has...

Economy: Are shoots of recovery visible?

'While growth will bounce back from the current sub-5 per cent, it will stay lower than...

6 important economic lessons of coronavirus

'The coronavirus epidemic highlights the need to start thinking more actively about...

Doctors, lawyers and academics on strike

Ajit Balakrishnan offers a thinking man's guide to the angst of the professions.

What Modi needs to know about economic problems

'As the 1991 experience showed, the solution to a large trade deficit may be to open up...

The Saffronisation of Corporate India

'All these incidents go to show that the day of the anodyne, apolitical corporation is...

Has Modi given up on the economy?

'The government has given up its focus on economic growth because it it not something...

Public sector banks are not out of the woods yet

'The snakes and ladders game will continue till the consolidation process is complete...

Magic pill to revive growth

How do we get back to higher trend growth?The heart of the problem lies in private...

Why do economists like Raghuram Rajan leave India?

The ones who came more recently were clutching the green cards that gave them an escape...

Let India's telecom sector bloom

'All the three stakeholders will have to sacrifice their current position and find an...

Will this RBI plan boost growth? Or dent it?

'The assumed linear correlation between forced lower yields, higher bank borrowing from...

Make in India is not a strategy, it is a logo

'Modi's strategy to redesign India's economy was Make in India, but that has flopped,'...

Why will anyone opt for tax amnesty scheme?

'Appellants may not lap up the scheme because, first, to do so would amount to...

I just called to say I love you

Has the advent of technology made it easier, or more difficult, for brands to...

Should India allow foreign money to finance deficit?

'If such inflows materialise, what will be the effect on the rupee's value -- and...

Budget: Government must explain the numbers

'Nirmalaji's Budget announcements have long-term implications and are not backed by...

Why only 15 million Indians pay tax

Mr Modi should be conscious that it was his choice to slash the number of tax-payers...

Why did FM deviate from fiscal deficit target?

The government should have mentioned clearly the specific structural reforms that were...

Are the markets forecasting an economic recovery?

'For those looking at forward-looking signals for the economy from the stock markets,...

Who is Prasanta Pattanaik, Padma Shri?

Had he not been a student, admirer and follower of Amartya Sen, T C A...

Why the current slowdown is more serious

'What is unusual about the current period of slow growth is that it has come without an...

India has 76 million entrepreneurs!

'Wage earners are shrinking. In both, the organised and unorganised sectors. And,...

Has Nirmalaji's tax plan made India CAs mukt?

If the finance minister's tax proposals have stimulated demand at all, it's for CAs,...

If your bank goes bust, how much money will you get?

'The new ceiling will cover around 93 per cent of all deposit accounts, up from 90 per...

Slowdown: Is there an end in sight?

The Economic Survey seems convinced that 2019-2020 saw the bottom of the economic...

It does not look like a 'do or die' Budget

'More a show that you are doing something in the Budget even if that something never...

Does Modi dislike Budgets?

'The Modi doctrine of national Budget is clear now.''If six of these in a row did not...

E-commerce in India: To be or not to be

Ajit Balakrishnan offers a thinking man's guide to e-commerce controversies.

Redefined in Budget 2020: Who's an Indian resident

No attention to detail seems to have been paid while introducing such a major provision...

Should India hike duty free allowance?

Samridhi Bhardwaj analyses the dynamics of duty-free liquor allowance in India.

How to judge Nirmalaji's second Budget

'The next general election is four years away. That's enough time to recover --...

When will Modi's priorities shift to the economy?

'It is almost certainly wrong in assuming that the Modi government will use its strong...

Will Modi take swadeshi route to privatise Air India?

'Air India's privatisation is acceptable as long as its control does not pass on to a...

When, o, when will PM shift from ideology to economy?

'India is growing at the lowest rate in the last decade.' 'If it continues in that path...

Being evil pays. Does it pay enough?

Construction companies will make money building detention centres. Information...

Watch out for Michael Patra at RBI!

'I am sure Dr Patra will get the fullest cooperation from the finance minister who...

Budget 2020 has failed to live up to expectation

The immediate need is to put more money in the hands of agriculture-based and rural...

India, you have a problem

'The global corporates are concerned: You used to have policy predictability, now it's...

The Problem With Budgets...

'There is a time for lowering one's expectations of the economy -- and therefore not...

Do Modi's ministers understand business?

Piyush Goyal's comments about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's investment in India reveals...

Return of the Bharatiya 'Baniya' Party

'The BJP has shown signs lately of returning to its trader mindset.''Several strong...

The mistakes companies make...

How Bajaj, Colgate, Raymonds, Zee lost out..Strategic errors have hurt many companies,...

How India can return to higher growth rate

'The slide in growth has arisen primarily because we have an NBFC crisis on top of a...

A fragile economy can't afford social strife

Neither the CAA nor the proposed NRC are important enough to stake the well-being of so...

2020: Equities will remain in favour

Amid slowing growth and low interest rates, investors will need to focus on...

Coming soon! The end of public sector banks

'We may bite the bullet and draw up plans for privatisation.''If that is done now, the...

Budget 2020: What Nirmalaji must focus on

'The economy has to become the government's No. 1 priority, which it is not at the...

How India can improve quality of data collection

As a well-wisher of the Indian Statistical System and part of the system for more than...

How to Fight Slowdown: Demand Revival Is Key

'The current crisis is one of incomes, driven by poor job growth, agrarian distress and...

Let's pray we see closure of bad loans

'When bankers are hounded by investigative agencies for credit decisions going wrong...

How will India's telcos survive?

'While consumers have benefited tremendously from rock-bottom telecom tariffs, the...

Air India's prospects of finding a buyer look bleak

'With a less than comely bride and no dowry to speak of, the prospects of landing a...

IBC: A game changer

'By not only decriminalising routine business failures, but by ensuring that...

Let's stop making cash the villain

Ajit Balakrishnan offers a New Year resolution for our policy-makers.

Coming soon! AI in Indian courts

'It is feared that AI can predict the outcome of a case once it is launched.''It knows...

Will Modi find a buyer for Air India?

'Industry observers are certain the next attempt will succeed even if they have to...

2020 is a critical year for the Indian economy

'If India can only grow at 5%, why bother spending time on the country?' asks Akash...

Will India Inc separate chairman and CEO roles?

If India Inc sincerely feels the separation of posts is not a good governance measure,...

Modi may shut Air India by June

'The Modi government is trying hard to see if it could be sold to a private...

In advertising, to err is human

'The advertising business, methinks, needs to tone down a bit. Take control of itself,...

Do you know what Modi's AMs are, and what they do?

'The AMs are a different beast and reflect the political play within the...

Nirmalaji, time has come to modernise Budgeting

'The finance minister in her Budget speech should spell out how exactly she intends to...

Job losses are inevitable in IT

'The focus for IT companies will shift from adding scale to building a smaller, more...

Where have all the women bankers gone?

Women dominate Indian banks's clerical and officer rolls, but few make it to the...

Modiji, enough of politics, focus on economy now!

'With the big political job done, the time has come to pay attention to the economy,...

Industry-Mody govt: A new phase?

'What stood out at these meetings between industry representatives and government...

Catching criminals via FASTag? Why ever not!

In a country where crimes are rampant, including financial crimes with ATMs sometimes...

4 mistakes Modi made with GST

'Perhaps GST was too complex a system for the Indian economy at its present stage of...

Is India's economy crashing?

'Defence funding is channelled to State-owned research organisations where scientists...

2020 will see fresh challenges for banking

'Given the emerging trends, it may be time for India to embrace digital banking,' notes...

Arvind Subramanian: How India can address Slowdown

'The current budgetary practice of shifting expenditures off-balance sheet in order to...

Why are banks afraid of trade unions?

Individual banks should break away from the industry pact and have their own...

How voice & video will dominate in 2020

'What amazes me the most is that today users communicate with voice-activated speakers...

Why Budget 2020 will be different

In fact, no other recent Union Budget has held so much significance for the Indian...