Economy

novels and more recently through modern Turkey’s hugely successful TV soap operas They are among Istanbul’s most iconic sights — magnificent waterside mansions strung out along the Bosphorus as the waters of the strait dividing Europe and Asia lap almost at their front doors. Once the preserve of the Ottoman …

The Centre has notified a higher interest rate of 8% for the non-government provident, superannuation, and gratuity funds, effective from October 1. The interest rate on these funds has been raised from 7.6%. The move comes on the back of a hike in small savings rates — by up to …

India is projected to grow at 7.3% in 2018 and 7.4% next year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday, predicting that the country will regain the tag of the world’s fastest growing major economy this year, surpassing China with more than 0.7 percentage points. In 2017, India had …

Weakens for sixth straight session The rupee weakened against the dollar for the sixth straight session, as the currency hit a fresh low amid strengthening of the greenback. The rupee declined 33 paise against the dollar to end the day at 74.39, which is a record low. The rupee opened …

JSW Energy is planning to revive its 240 megawatt (MW) hydro power project in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh at a cost of Rs.2,500crore. The plant, conceived in2007, was put on hold as the company could not have a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the buyers. Government tender “The …

State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to triple the target for loans it purchases from non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). The move is expected to provide much-needed liquidity to these entities. SBI had earlier planned to buy Rs. 15,000 crore worth of portfolio from NBFCs. It has now decided to …

Payment service, in pilot mode, to expand countrywide Ahead of the October 15 deadline to comply with RBI’s data localisation norms, Facebook-owned Whatsapp said it had built a system in India to store payments related data locally. “In response to India’s payments data circular, we’ve built a system that stores …

Suppliers keen on assurance from clients on payment obligations The payment default by some Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) group entities and the resultant debt overhang has, in its wake, reportedly created a panic reaction in the diamond market as members of the diamond trade are known to be …

Pedestrians and cyclists suffered the biggest spike in fatalities in road accidents across the country in 2017, even as overall fatalities in road accidents and the total count of such incidents declined marginally. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ annual report on road accidents, the total number …

Takes Rs. 100 crore hit; disallows fresh investment in the scheme till October 31 In what could perhaps be the first such instance of a mutual fund writing off its entire exposure towards troubled IL&FS, BOI AXA Mutual Fund has decided to take a hit of a little more than …

To tap into the festive season sales The battle between retail giant Amazon and homegrown e-commerce firm Flipkart is getting intense to tap the upcoming festive season. Walmart-backed Flipkart said it had added 30,000 direct jobs in its supply chain and logistics arm. The company is expecting its seller partners …

Currency weakens for the fifth straight session; crude prices soften The rupee continued to weaken for the fifth straight session as it hit a fresh closing low on Monday amid strengthening of the dollar and in the absence of aggressive intervention by the Reserve Bank of India. The rupee opened …

Petitioners said loan rates were not being reduced in tandem The Supreme Court on Monday directed the RBI to come up with a decision on a representation that banks are delaying passing on the benefit of lower interest rates to those who have taken loans at floating interest rates. A …

The companies go ahead despite U.S. call for sanctions Seemingly in defiance of the U.S. call for sanctions on Iran, two Indian state-run oil companies have placed orders for Iranian oil to be delivered in November, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday. U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s crude oil exports …

Applicable even if STT not paid earlier Initial public offerings, bonus, rights issues and ESoPs will be eligible for concessional rate of 10% long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax even if the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) has not been paid earlier. In the recent Budget, the government had, after a gap …

A kg of Gloriosa superba costs Rs. 3,420 For farmers frustrated by the vagaries of monsoon, Tamil Nadu’s State flower, Gloriosa superba is a gold mine waiting to be exploited. The plant, which contains 24 types of alkaloids (nitrogenous organic compounds) and 10 non-alkaloidal medicinal compounds, is widely used in …

At State’s business summit, Ambani commits to improving healthcare delivery Having invested over Rs. 4,000 crore in Uttarakhand, Mukesh Ambani on Sunday said his telecom venture Reliance Jio will in the next two years connect most of the 2,385-plus government schools and colleges with high-speed Internet to make the State …

E-commerce major to offer solutions for mobile protection Walmart-backed online retailer Flipkart said on Sunday that it is foraying into insurance after securing a corporate agent licence. To start with, the company said it would offer customised insurance solutions to power its ‘complete mobile protection program.’ It will do this …

Centre will earn Rs. 1.81 lakh crore from the 50 blocks auctioned since 2015 Having secured Rs. 1.81 lakh crore in its kitty from e-auction of 50 mineral blocks, the government is looking to put on block another 100 mines in the next six months, according to the Ministry of …

High CAD, rising oil prices and depreciating rupee need a strong response from policymakers The government is currently in an unenviable position. Whereas there are demands for taking strong steps to tackle the problems facing the economy, the Centre is seen handling the situation with kid gloves. Most of the …