India business news

NEW DELHI: India Inc's foreign borrowings grew over two-fold to $3.41 billion in October over the corresponding month a year ago, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India. Indian companies had raised $1.41 billion in borrowings from overseas markets in October 2018. Of the total money borrowed by the domestic companies, $2.87 billion was through the automatic route of external commercial borrowing (ECB), $538 million came in through the approval route of ECB, showed the data. In the ECB category, the major borrowers tapping the automatic route included Muthoot Finance ( $400 million), HPCL-Mittal Energy ( $300 million), Wardha Solar (Maharashtra) ($ 251 million), Larsen and Toubro ($200 million), Deccan Fine Chemicals ( $140 million) and Aditya Birla Finance ( $75 million). Two companies tapped the approval route with JSW Steel raising $400 million, while Shriram Transport Finance borrowed $138 million in October this year. No money was raised through the … [Read more...] about India Inc foreign borrowings jump over two-fold to $3.41 billlion in October

New Delhi, Dec 8 () Following are the top business stories to be released on Sunday: BIZ-GDP GROWTH-IHS MARKIT India's real GDP growth in FY20 to come below 5 pc: IHS Markit New Delhi: India's real GDP growth in 2019-20 fiscal is expected to be slightly below 5 per cent as the impact of stimulus measures will take time to filter through to the economy, IHS Markit has said. BIZ-PROJECTS-COST OVERRUN 373 infra projects show cost overruns of Rs 3.89 lakh cr New Delhi: As many as 373 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, are hit by cost overruns of more than Rs 3.89 lakh crore owing to delays and other reasons, according to a report. BIZ-INSOLVENCY-SAHOO IBBI will ensure regulations are 'grounded on realities', says Sahoo New Delhi: Emphasising that the insolvency law provides a new lifeline to save a company from premature closure, IBBI Chairperson M S Sahoo has said the board will continue with efforts to develop best practices and ensure that regulations are … [Read more...] about Business advisory

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan said India is in the midst of a “growth recession” with signs of deep malaise in the Indian economy that is being run through extreme centralisation of power in Prime Minister’s Office and powerless ministers. Penning down his recommendations to help the ailing Indian economy out of the ongoing slowdown in the India Today magazine, he called for reforms to liberalise capital, land and labour markets, and spur investment as well as growth.He also urged India to join free trade agreements judiciously in order to boost competition and improve domestic efficiency.“To understand what has gone wrong, we need to start first with the centralised nature of the current government. Not just decision-making but also ideas and plans emanate from a small set of personalities around the Prime Minister and in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).“That works well for the party’s political and social … [Read more...] about India in growth recession; extreme centralisation of power in PMO not good: Rajan

'The best way to make an impact in this market is by focusing on three things: Unmet customer need, unarticulated customer need, and emerging customer need,' Metro's Arvind Mediratta tells Sangeeta Tanwar and Alokananda Chakraborty.Rediff.com When we go back and listen to the recording of our conversation with Arvind Mediratta, we can hear ourselves launching into loud guffaws every now and then; quite often we are trying to stop the laugh short because we are not sure if an episode he has just narrated is entirely true or if he is just pulling a fast one. Take his response to this question about whether he believes an average Indian can intellectually corner the American or the European in a flash. He says when he landed up in the US during an earlier assignment -- and that would be barely five years ago -- one of the questions he was often asked by colleagues was how many elephants do Indians keep in their homes. We laugh and then stop and wonder if he is really serious. The MD & … [Read more...] about Metro Man wants to change how we shop

Big retailers are openly talking of plans to harness the power of big data, even reporting those in annual reports as part of a long-term strategy. As data becomes increasingly important for enterprises to personalise their products and services for end-consumers, retailers have woken to the immense potential of engaging with kirana (neighbourhood) stores. Data analytics is moving out of marketing profiles into senior management discussion. Big retailers are openly talking of plans to harness the power of big data, even reporting those in annual reports as part of a long-term strategy. Earlier this week, consumer goods giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) announced a plan to reach 600,000 villages through 10 million stores, ambitiously titled Project Maxima. Each store will target up to a 100-metre radius with exclusive marketing offers, based on local needs – these would be predicted by use of Artificial Intelligence and a whole range of behavioural data from the retailers. “HUL … [Read more...] about Kirana stores and the power of big data