- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Here are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Thursday, September 16, 2022:
India’s country’s largest lender State Bank of India is aiming for double-digit growth in deposits as loan demand gathers steam and utilisation of existing credit lines improves, a top executive said on Friday. “We believe 9% to 10% (deposit growth) is definitely possible for us, it is a sustainable growth rate, though we have an internal target of 11% to 12%,” Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, managing director at SBI, told Reuters. Alongside stepping up efforts to garner more domestic deposits, banks are also seeking foreign deposits more aggressively. Setty said foreign currency deposits of non-resident Indians in domestic banks “still needs improvement” even after banks have increased interest rates. “I think we have to still witness more momentum in these FCNR flows,” he said.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) inked a memorandum of understanding earlier this month to work together on strengthening the safe migration of Indian citizens, ANN/PNN reported. The signing of the MOU was represented by IOM’s head of office, Sanjay Awasthi and CII’s executive director, Sougata Roy Choudhary. The main objective of this partnership is to create an opportunity for these two internationally reputed entities to collaborate on a range of initiatives related to the safe, orderly, and regular migration of Indian skilled professionals and youth internationally. Speaking on the joint endeavor, Awasthi said, “Our focus has been to ensure that the dynamism of India’s new migrant workforce can meet the demands of the changing labor markets.”
The number of passengers carried by domestic airlines surged to 770.70 lakh (77.07 million) in January-August 2022 period as against 460.45 lakh (46.045 million) recorded during the corresponding period of the last year, registering a year-on-year growth of 67.38 per cent, as per the official data released on Friday, ANI reported. According to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the number of passengers carried by domestic airlines rose to 101.16 lakh (10.116 million) in August 2022 as compared to 67.01 lakh (6.7 million) in August 2021. On a month-on-month basis, domestic air traffic increased by three per cent in August 2022. Domestic air traffic in July 2022 stood at 97 lakh (9.7 million). It increased to over one crore (10 million) in August 2022.
Capri Loans, a diversified Non-Banking Financial Company in India, is spreading its wings and opening a new technology centre in Gurugram, ANI/NewsVoir reported. The new 11000 square-feet. space will house more than 100 brilliant minds. The company plans to hire talent across different tech functions over the next 12 months. The technology centre will focus on developing innovative products and solutions to support the transformation of the company from a NBFC to a leading-edge fintech firm. Other than undertaking digital transformation efforts, it will also focus on creating proprietary solutions for loan management, customer service and data analytics using cutting-edge technologies. It will operate under the leadership of Rahul Agarwal, Group chief technology officer, Capri Global Capital.
Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday urged banks to think of strategies and fufil the economy’s credit requirements to meet the nation’s growth aspirations for the next 25 years, Moneycontrol reported. “We have so much and more to do, banking industry needs to serve the Amrit Kaal, we have to see how best we can lift ourselves to meet aspirations of a growing India,” Sitharaman said addressing the annual general meeting of the Indian Banks’ Association in Mumbai. She was referring to the next 25 years when India will celebrate 100 years of independence in 2047. According to the government, this period is for India to realise its potential and to take the lead in all spheres.
Indian consumer group Patanjali, co-founded by a well-known yoga guru, said on Friday it plans to list four group companies and increase group turnover to $12.5 billion (£10.9 billion) in the next five to seven years, Reuters reported. The producer of affordable, domestic-made goods is taking on bigger rivals such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble with plans to list its main consumer goods company, and medicine, wellness and lifestyle units. Set up in 2006, the firm’s brand ambassador is Baba Ramdev, a household name whose television shows on yoga are watched by millions, with his bearded face smiling down from billboards and hoardings ubiquitous in India’s villages.
The industry needs to have more women on boards and in leadership roles and also broaden the pool for such candidates, Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a Women Directors Conclave at BSE in Mumbai on Friday, Moneycontrol reported. “There is just no excuse (not to have more women on top corporate posts),” she said, adding, “We cannot be ignored any longer.” The average number of women on Indian boards was 1.03. While 58 per cent of those were independent directors, 42 percent were non-independent, Sitharaman said. She also cited data saying that companies with women on their boards turned more profit. “We are not asking for inclusivity; we are not asking for gender parity. You want more profit, get me in,” Sitharaman said.
