CATEGORIES

9-10% Hikes May Not Help Beat Inflation

At a time of rising costs, will a 9-10% salary hike help much? Perhaps not, cautioned consultants working on compensation across sectors. However, companies are striving to offer tax-saving benefits and reimbursements to help increase cash-in-hand for employees and help them make the best of increased salary packages.

Why a sense of humour is good for any company

In this excerpt from his new book Adman Madman’, Prahlad Kakar proves that too rigorous an approach sometimes leads to a brand's decline

Can AI help employees strike a better work-life balance?

While some firms are concerned about using Al with lack of regulation, studies show it saves workers a lot of time

A ritualistic risk dance begins as the political stakes start to rise

RBIs belated tightening of personal-loan rules suggests that regulatory checks remain tied to the Indian electoral calendar

How hapless investors made investment safer

Regulatory reforms in favour of investor safety were spurred by the plight of retail investors left in the lurch by Ponzi-like schemes run by Sahara Group under Subrata Roy 1948-2023)

SORRY, DATA ISN'T REALLY THE NEW OIL

The ability to derive significant monetizable insights by crunching big data is questionable

All-out efforts still on to rescue workers from collapsed tunnel

ONGC, SJVNL, RVNL along with Army and BRO in action to try different options

Dr Reddy's capex likely at ₹700 cr in H2: CMD Prasad

Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd (DRL), will invest ab out ₹700 crore for capacity expansion during the second half of the fiscal, G. V. Prasad, co-chairman and managing director of DRL told Mint.

Subscriptions take off for audio streaming platforms

It may take a while for profitability to catch up, as more streaming platforms chase paid users

'Shell Mobility will focus on both legacy auto fuels, EVs'

The company plans to unveil a more efficient diesel option by the end of this fiscal year

Tata Group scouts for land to set up chip assembly unit

Tata Group is looking for land to set up a semiconductor chip assembly, testing, monitoring and packing (ATMP) unit as part of its initial efforts to develop a local manufacturing ecosystem, according to three people aware of the group’s plans.

Offline beats online retail in consumer electronics sales

Brick and mortar retailers, who run multi-brand, multi-category consumer electronics stores across the country, are set to outperform online sellers this year—even as overall consumer demand remains low. For smartphones, industry estimates peg sales from physical retailers to grow in low- to mid-single digit year-on-year (y-o-y), while online sales are seen either flat or showing a single-digit fall for 2023.

RBI joins central bank gold rush, buys 9 tonnes in Jul-Sep

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) purchased nine tonnes of gold in the September quarter, contributing to the 337 tonnes purchased by global central banks, and underscoring the importance of gold as a diversifier of its total reserves.

IT cos pray for succour in H2

Information technology (IT) stocks seem to be garnering renewed interest with the Nifty IT index rising 6% so far in November. The better-than-expected October US CPI inflation data has raised hopes that the US Federal Reserve’s rate hiking cycle is nearing its end. If this hope materialises then it should come as a boost especially to the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector—a key revenue generator for Indian IT companies.

'Govts should access the best tech, not reinvent the wheel'

Countries aspiring to build large language models from scratch may risk falling behind: Nadella

WORLD CUP: INDIA'S TALISMAN AGAINST NEGATIVITY, HATE

The bursting of firecrackers till late on Diwali night in the national capital—a Supreme Court-imposed ban notwithstanding—continued to distress environmentally conscious individuals this year, too. According to some pollution measuring agencies, the air quality index of Delhi and National Capital Region had peaked at 999, even as official figures were indicating something else.

Germany's KfW Bank plans to finance India's marquee 10K EV bus plans

Germany’s state-owned development bank KfW is in discussions with New Delhi to finance India’s ambitious electric mobility scheme. In August, the Union cabinet approved a ₹57,613-crore scheme to introduce 10,000 electric buses in 169 cities.

Research in rare earths mining to get grants

The government will offer grants of ₹5 crore to startups and ₹10 crore to incubators in order to facilitate research and development in the mining of critical and rare earth minerals.

Govt weighs relaxations for underground coal miners

Centre is considering measures like 50% exemption in revenue sharing with states

Rising fares clip revenge travel wings

The days of revenge travel and pent-up demand driving air traffic in India seem to be over. Data from Indian civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suggests that the festive months are seeing a slowdown in air travel growth, which experts attribute primarily to higher fares. Data from travel portals suggests that airfares are up by 30-40% from the levels in December 2022.

Investors try to get Altman back

OpenAI's investors are making efforts to bring back Sam Altman, the chief executive officer who was ousted Friday, the latest development in a fastmoving chain of events at the artificial-intelligence company behind ChatGPT.

City gas regulator plans to open sector for competition

Consumers may soon have the power to choose between multiple operators of piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling stations in different markets, where single operators have been operating so far without competition.

Flood of tech IPOs to hit Street after elections

Investors are keenly awaiting five initial public offerings (IPOs) this week, including the much anticipated one of Tata Technologies Ltd. That, and those of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Fedbank Financial Services (Fedfina), Flair Writing Industries and Gandhar Oil Refinery are expected to raise over ₹7,300 crore collectively.

Direct foreign IPOs to have no-go areas

Caution in line with govt's previous move on angel tax relief

Restaurants, bars pad up for World Cup this Sunday

Spirits are soaring in the restaurant industry as India takes on Australia in the highly anticipated cricket World Cup final at Ahmedabad on Sunday. Bars and breweries are particularly excited, with some of them expecting sales to be double that of regular Sundays.

Xi's warm words jar with reality for foreign firms in China

Xi Jinping's message that China wants to roll out the red carpet for foreign businesses stands in stark contrast to the increasing difficulties many companies experience on the ground.

Modi condemns death of civilians in West Asia war

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday made plain his views on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, stating India strongly condemns civilian deaths arising from the devastating war. Speaking at the second edition of the Voice of Global South Summit in New Delhi, which saw leaders of Mauritius, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Kyrgyzstan, among others, in attendance, Modi said:

Bills for GST appellate tribunals, spending likely in winter session

The government proposes to introduce two key bills in the upcoming winter session to pave the way for goods and services tax (GST) appeals tribunals and to seek permission for changes in its spending plans, two people aware of the plans said.

Radiance mandates Rothschild to sell platform

Eversource Capital-backed Radiance Renewables Pvt. Ltd has mandated Rothschild & Co. for the sale of the platform that serves commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in a deal having a potential equity value of about $150 million, two people aware of the development said. Radiance currently has an operational portfolio of 500 megawatts (MW), and plans to build capacity to 2 gigawatts (GW) over three years.

Centre nudges 112 top firms to sign up for 'right to repair'

The government has asked 112 companies across electronics, farm equipment, automobiles, and white goods sectors to ensure that consumers enjoy the right to repair their products, a top official said. The move aims to tackle the corporate malpractice of making products artificially obsolete.