(HT) Punjab National Bank (PNB), India’s second-largest state-run lender by assets, aims to recover more soured loans this year, leading to a record-low gross bad loan ratio, a key asset quality metric, CEO Ashok Chandra said on Thursday. The New Delhi-based lender is targeting bad loan recoveries worth ₹16,000 crore ($1.89 billion) this financial year, an eleven-fold increase over the ₹1,436 crore recovered in 2024-25, Chandra told Reuters in an interview. About ₹6,000 crore of that is expected to come from loan accounts which were previously written off, he said. That would help lower its gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio to under…
Author: Aruna Sharma
(HT) Indian consumer inflation likely eased to a near six-year low in April after a further moderation of food price rises, keeping it below the Reserve Bank of India’s 4% medium-term target for a third straight month, a Reuters poll of economists found. Intense heatwaves this summer did little to affect a robust harvest, offering much-needed relief to many Indian households which allocate a significant portion of their budgets to food. Food prices account for nearly half of the consumer price basket. The May 5-8 Reuters poll of 43 economists suggested inflation as measured by the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI)…
(HT) The volume growth of India’s FMCG industry has slowed down in the March quarter to 5.1%, driven by increased consumer purchases of small-value packs, according to the latest report from data analytics firm NielsenIQ. Volume growth is slowing across categories, and non-food segments are still outpacing food in the FMCG sector. The industry reported a volume growth of 6.1% in the March quarter of 2024. Moreover, continuing the trends from the last five consecutive quarters, the rural market, which is mainly a small economy pack units market, continued to grow faster than the urban market. However, its growth has…
(HT) Homegrown FMCG major Dabur India will exit categories such as tea, adult and baby diapers, and sanitising products as part of rationalisation of its underperforming products, said CEO Mohit Malhotra. The company, aiming “to achieve sustainable double-digit CAGR by FY28 in both topline and bottomline” has renewed its strategy focus, building on its core strengths, he added. Dabur is going for “rationalisation of underperforming products and SKUS in order to release capital for bigger bets. A few examples of these are Vedic tea, adult & baby diapers and Dabur Vita,” said Malhotra during the investors’ call. These segments contribute…
(HT) Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Union minister of forest, environment and climate change Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi on Thursday and urged for approval of the desired environmental clearance and transfer of forest land for the Tyuni-Plasu Hydroelectric Project on Tons river as well as the Rupsiabagar Hydroelectric Project on Gauriganga river. “Construction of new environment-friendly hydroelectric projects is necessary for proper arrangement of power supply and to meet the increasing needs of the state. This will provide employment opportunities to the local people and will greatly help in the socio-economic development of the region and the problem…
(HT) Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told an all-party meeting that at least 100 terrorists were killed when India struck terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under the still ongoing Operation Sindoor, sources said. The defence minister also informed the leaders, who fully endorsed the government’s military action and complimented the armed forces, that India will hit back if Pakistan attacks, they said. Political leaders from parties, including the Congress, AIMIM, Trinamool Congress and the DMK, extended full cooperation to the government on the issue of national security. “In the moment of crisis, we are with the government,”…
(HT) The Bihar government has cancelled leaves of all police personnel and Civilians amidst rising border tensions between India and Pakistan following ‘Operation Sindoor’. “Leaves of all police personnel/civilians stand cancelled. They should ensure their mandatory presence at their working places. Range IGs/DIGs and and Secretaries should maintain close coordination with district officials and oversee the strict implementation of these directives,” said a government official. “All government employees including police personnel leave not accept and instructed them to available at their working places. Leave will be sanctioned only in emergency situation,” said additional chief secretary of general administration department B…
(HT) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday instructed all ministries to ensure seamless coordination to uphold “operational continuity and institutional resilience” and ensure fool-proof functioning of essential systems, with special focus on readiness, people aware of the matter said. The comments at a meeting of secretaries to assess the preparedness, emergency response, and internal communication protocols came against the backdrop of heightened tensions following air strikes under Operation Sindoor on targets in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistani Punjab province on Wednesday. On Thursday, defence ministry said the armed forces targeted air defence radars and systems in Pakistan, even as Pakistani…
(Hindu) Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty began the day on an optimistic note on Thursday (May 8, 2025) but later turned volatile, a day after India launched missile strikes on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. Investors stayed on the sidelines amid rising geopolitical tensions. In a strong retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre, India’s armed forces early on Wednesday (May 7, 2025) destroyed nine terror sites, including that of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) using deep strike missiles in a 25-minute-long “measured and non-escalatory” mission. The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark gauge climbed 181.21 points to 80,927.99 in early…
(PIB) The Prime Minister today chaired a high-level meeting with Secretaries of various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India to review national preparedness and inter-ministerial coordination in light of recent developments concerning national security. PM Modi stressed the need for seamless coordination among ministries and agencies to uphold operational continuity and institutional resilience. PM reviewed the planning and preparation by ministries to deal with the current situation. Secretaries have been directed to undertake a comprehensive review of their respective ministry’s operations and to ensure fool-proof functioning of essential systems, with special focus on readiness, emergency response, and internal…