Business

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Bank branches in metropolitan areas have seen their share in overall credit decline to 58.7 per cent as of March 2025, down from 63.5 per cent five years ago, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest report.The central bank attributed this shift to faster credit growth in non-metro regions. “With higher credit growth in rural, semi-urban and urban areas compared to metropolitan area, the share of metropolitan branches in total credit declined to 58.7 per cent in March 2025 from 63.5 per cent five years ago,” the report stated.Despite the drop in credit share, metropolitan branches continued to lead in deposit mobilisation, registering an annual growth of 11.7 per cent in March 2025. In comparison, rural, semi-urban, and urban centres posted growth rates of 10.1 per cent, 8.9 per cent, and 9.3 per cent, respectively.Overall, […]

[ad_1] US President Donald Trump has put forward the possibility of resuming large-scale trade with Russia once the war in Ukraine ends, but experts say major obstacles stand in the way of such a move anytime soon."Russia wants to do large-scale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic bloodbath is over, and I agree," Trump said in a statement following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED," he added.But the ground reality paints a grim picture for the US–Russia business revival. Reasons behind:Russian State Media Claims Israel Ready To Hit Iran Nuclear Sites Amid Nuclear Talks With U.S.US firms remain waryAccording to the Associated Press, since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of foreign companies, including major US brands […]

[ad_1] New Delhi: Banks across India will stay open on Saturday, May 31, as it is the fifth Saturday of the month.According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, banks are closed on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, in addition to all Sundays. However, on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays, banks operate as usual. Since May 31 falls on the fifth Saturday, all banks will function normally.Many customers are often unsure about the status of banks on a fifth Saturday, as it doesn’t occur every month, leading to confusion about whether it is a working day or a holiday. Today, you can visit your bank branch as usual for transactions.Meanwhile, digital banking services such as mobile banking, net banking, ATMs, UPI, NEFT, RTGS, and IMPS will remain fully operational, even if a particular branch is […]

[ad_1] Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said government has no plans to provide any relief on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) front to telecom companies after the Supreme Court struck down their plea for a waiver of interest and penalty. In an interview with TOI, the minister also made it clear that beleaguered Vodafone Idea will not receive any further equity conversion from government beyond the current 49%, and it's now the company's responsibility to take care of profit and loss and the balance sheet. Excerpts:Struggling Vodafone Idea has come to govt time and again for support. How long can you give this long rope to the company? Every company has to chart its own path. Profit and loss and the balance sheet are the responsibility of the management of each company - be it BSNL, Vodafone Idea, Jio, or Airtel. […]

[ad_1] President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) claimed that the United States is "very close to making a deal with India," adding that a representative from Pakistan is expected to visit Washington for talks next week."Pakistan representatives are coming in next week. We're very close to making a deal with India," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.However, he made it clear that any ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan could derail such agreements. "And I wouldn't have any interest in making a deal with either if they were going to be at war with each other," he further warned.His remarks come amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following India’s May 10 'Operation Sindoor', a counterstrike in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.The United States has announced worldwide tariffs, potentially subjecting […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: EaseMyTrip reported strong growth in the fourth quarter of FY25, with Gross Booking Revenue at Rs 2,192.7 crore and operational revenue at Rs 139.5 crore, according to its financial report.For the full year ending March 31, 2025, EaseMyTrip achieved a total Gross Booking Revenue of Rs 8,691.6 crore, whilst operational revenue reached Rs 587.3 crore. The result was mainly driven by solid performance across key business areas and entry into new markets.Q4 results showed an EBITDA of Rs 17.3 crore with a 12.1 per cent margin, whilst Total Comprehensive Income reached Rs 18.5 crore. Annual EBITDA stood at Rs 161.2 crore with a 26.7 per cent margin, accompanied by a Total Comprehensive Income of Rs 117.1 crore.The organisation's enhanced focus on non-air segments contributed significantly to these results, showing notable year-on-year improvements.The Hotels and Holidays division experienced […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: India is broadening its efforts to develop AI foundation models. After Sarvam AI, the government on Friday selected three more teams - Soket AI, Gan AI, and Gnani AI - for building indigenous AI models. IT and electronics minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the country has 367 data sets loaded on AI Kosh. "So the app ecosystem is also now developing. In a sense, the entire ecosystem is now getting built." Govt has also announced the availability of 16,000 more GPUs, which would take the compute facility available to startups and researchers to 34,000.Vaishnaw said significant progress was made on the India AI Mission, with a focus on the "democratisation of technology". The compute facility, supercharged with 34,000 GPUs, will enable India to develop the AI ecosystem in a big way."I would like to make some mention about […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Vodafone Idea on Friday reported a loss of Rs 7,166 crore for the fourth quarter of the last fiscal, against Rs 7,675 crore in the same period of 2023-24. The company's board also approved raising of Rs 20,000 crore to fund expansion.The company, reeling under a debt pile of over Rs 2 lakh crore, reported a revenue of Rs 11,014 crore in Q4 FY25 against Rs 10,609 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal. "Subject to the approval of shareholders' and / or other requisite regulatory, raising of funds in one or more tranches, either by way of FPO or private placement or through any other mode..., which may or may not be listed up to amount of Rs 20,000 crore," it said. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] MUMBAI: Sebi on Friday banned 59 entities, including actor Arshad Warsi, his wife Maria Goretti, from the market for up to 5 years. The move is related to misleading videos on YouTube channels - like Moneywise, The Advisor and Profit Yatra - luring investors to buy TV channel Sadhna Broadcast's shares. The markets regulator fined the couple Rs 10 lakh, and they will have to disgorge illegal gains worth Rs 92 lakh from the stock price manipulation.Warsi and his wife Goretti played a role in promoting the stock of Sadhna (now Crystal Business System) through videos on YouTube, which were uploaded by one of the masterminds of the scheme.In its 109-page order, Sebi whole-time member Ashwani Bhatia stated that the way the whole incident played out painted "a disturbing picture regarding the increasing use of social media platforms, which […]

[ad_1] Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said India is sustaining its GDP growth momentum as the fastest-growing economy for the fourth year in a row, aided by manufacturing, services, and farm sectors."India is sustaining growth and it is the fastest-growing economy now for the fourth year continuously, thanks to the work of small, medium, and large industries; industries which are coming in and making sure our manufacturing capacity, our service capacity are all intact. Agriculture has also sustained us even during Covid and subsequently," Sitharaman said at the Lakshmipat Singhania-IIM Lucknow National Leadership Award.She drew comfort from the industrial growth numbers, pointing out that there were fears that inadequate investment in capacity addition would impact the economy. "I'm glad, India's industry and the manufacturing activity have all been good during the fourth quarter," […]