Economy Updates

The kit is validated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and much more advanced than other RT PCR tests, the drug firm said Drug major Cipla on Tuesday said it has launched a COVID-19 RT PCR testing kit in the country in partnership with diagnostics firm Genes2Me. With the launch of the "RT-Direct multiplex COVID-19 RT PCR" test kit, the Mumbai-based drug firm is expanding its diagnostics offerings, it said in a regulatory filing. Cipla will be responsible for the distribution of RT Direct kits in India and has commenced supply of the same, it added. The kit is validated by the Indian Council of Medical... read more

Deposits of Rs 2 crore or above for 5-10-year tenor and 3-5 year tenor will fetch an interest rate of 4.50 % as against 3.60 per cent earlier, a hike of 90 bps, according to SBI's website. The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has raised the interest rate on its bulk term deposits (Rs 2 crore and above) by 40 – 90 basis, effective May 10. Consequently, deposits of Rs 2 crore or above for 5–10-year tenor and 3-5-year tenor will fetch an interest rate of 4.50 per cent as against 3.60 per cent earlier, a hike of 90 bps, according to SBI’s website. Bulk deposits for 2-3-year tenor will now fetch an interest rate of 4.25 per cent versus 3.60 per cent earlier, and deposits in the 1 – 2-year bucket will have an interest rate of 4 per cent as... read more

The new start ups are seeking to reassure investors they are doing all they can to protect their clients Start-up firms selling corporate bonds to retail investors are booming in India. At least 10 new financial technology platforms have sprung up during the pandemic with the aim of grabbing a share of the $1.9 trillion market for bank time deposits. They promise much higher interest rates through putting money into company bonds, which are generally seen as riskier higher-yielding debt. The firms are riding on efforts by the Reserve Bank of India to encourage retail investment in sovereign debt as... read more

  A set of changes related to income tax are coming into effect from the first day of the new financial year. One of the highlights is the 30% tax on cryptocurrency gains. What are the other changes? As the new financial year brings new tax rules, taxpayers should bear in mind that the deadline for filing late income tax returns for Assessment Year 2021-22 was March 31. If an assessee missed this deadline, he or she will have to pay a penalty and interest, and may even face imprisonment for violation. Further, not linking PAN with Aadhaar from today will carry a penalty... read more

The OMCs, on their part, according to earlier reports, said that there is no preference in awarding contracts for supply of ethanol The sugar industry has once again alleged that Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are hesitating in entering into long-term ethanol purchase contracts with established sugar firms and those who do not become part of the concessional loan scheme of the Central government. The millers, in a letter written few days back to the Union food and petroleum secretaries said that unless OMCs alter their purchase plans, the significant investments put in by sugar companies in... read more

PM Modi on Thursday hailed the govt procurement portal GeM achieving an order value of Rs 1 trillion in a single yr and said the platform is especially empowering the MSMEs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed the government procurement portal Government e-Marketplace achieving an order value of Rs 1 lakh crore in a single year and said the platform is especially empowering the MSMEs. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal was launched in August 2016 for online purchases of goods and services by all... read more

Paytm has clarified stating the RBI ban does not impact on the services provided in partnership with other financial institutions. Shares of One97 Communications, the parent company of digital payments major Paytm, tanked nearly 14 per cent to hit a new low of Rs 672 on the BSE in Monday’s intra-day trade after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) from onboarding new customers with immediate effect because of certain supervisory concerns. The stock feel below its previous low of Rs 728.50 touched on March 8, 2022. The stock has now declined 69 per cent when compared with its issue price of Rs 2,150. The company made its market debut on... read more

The Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) has crossed 157 million tonne (MT) in coal production in the financial year of 2021-22, to become the leading coal producing company in the country The Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), a unit of the CIL, has crossed 157 million tonne (MT) in coal production in the financial year of 2021-22, to become the leading coal producing company in the country, a release said. On March 12, 2022, the company produced 7.62 lakh tonne of dry fuel which is the highest in a day during the current financial year reaching 157.7 MT with a growth of around 16 per cent over the last financial year, the company release... read more

  A country in which less than half of the working-age population is even looking for a job is not one that will be able to escape poverty. By the middle of this century, India will have 1.6 billion people. That’s when the country’s population will finally start to decline, ending up at perhaps a billion by 2100. While that is still around 250 million more people than China will have then, every time India’s population is projected, its peak seems to come earlier and crest lower. While India will be a young country for decades yet, it is aging faster than expected. The latest round of India’s massive National Family Health Survey underscores the point. The average Indian woman is now likely to have only two children. That’s below the “replacement rate” of 2.1, at which the population would exactly replace itself over generations. A few decades ago, this would have been considered miraculous in a country dismissed as a Malthusian nightmare. As modern health care bec...