Digant Sharma Joins Global Leaders at Europe-Asia Economic Summit in Davos
New Delhi [India], May 31: Prominent Indian industrialist and global CSR leader Mr. Digant Sharma joined an elite gathering of world leaders, policymakers, and innovators at the first edition of the Europe-Asia Economic Summit (EAES), held at the Davos Congress Centre from May 27–28, 2025. The global summit brought together more than 100 participants from … Continue reading "Digant Sharma Joins Global Leaders at Europe-Asia Economic Summit in Davos"
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Economic Times
32 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Banks park big money with 'rival' mutual funds
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Much of the debate in the banking industry in 2024 revolved around why the deposits growth was extremely muted in relation to the growth in credit. Some blamed it on mutual funds, some on gold and others on derivatives trading by individuals. But the truth was a lot more 2025, Indian financial markets are seeing something that they don't see often. Banks, which, forever, used to seek deposits or borrow from the market to lend are doing something strange: they are pouring funds into mutual funds which, partly, compete with them for a share of the investor's mutual fund investments jumped 91% on year to ₹1.19 lakh crore as on March 21, 2025, from ₹62,499 crore a year earlier, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin showed. Banks' MF investments had grown 28% in the previous fundamental business of banks is to lend to individuals who are keen to buy homes and cars, or to those entrepreneurs and companies which are looking to put up plants or set up services business. But they seem to be keen on giving funds to MFs instead of directly lending to borrowers. Why is it?There may be two reasons for that-one, that there is not much demand for loans from banks, and second, that they are suddenly finding themselves with surplus funds because of what the monetary authorities are doing."Besides suboptimal credit growth, bank investments in mutual funds schemes have gone up due to surplus liquidity conditions, favourable market conditions and relatively faster execution," said Vinod AN, general manager and treasury head at South Indian Bank Banks loans grew 12.1% in FY25, down from 16.3% a year earlier. This is probably due to slowing income growth and uncertainties on the jobs front for many. This situation is the opposite of what was the situation in the year before when loans grew 16.3%, and deposits were at 12.9% growth. This led to a lot of debate about whether there is a behavioural shift in savers."Households and consumers who traditionally leaned on banks for parking or investing their savings are increasingly turning to capital markets and other financial intermediaries," said former RBI governor Shaktikanta Das. "While bank deposits continue to remain dominant as a percentage of financial assets owned by households, their share has been declining. Households are turning to other avenues for deploying their savings instead of banks." While individual behaviour was part of the problem, there was also a monetary phenomenon at work. The RBI, which wanted to tame inflation kept the monetary conditions tight, forcing banks to borrow from it or the market. But that has since changed to accommodative from banking system is in surplus at ₹1.5 lakh crore. Banks probably have more than what they need to meet the loans are parking excess funds with MFs. Are they buying shares? Or, are they doing SIPs? Neither. They know that this is a short-term issue. They are also doing something to earn higher short-term returns. "Most investments are in liquid and money market schemes, which is also reflected in the MF investment numbers where investments are in zero risk short-term debt instruments such as T-bills where returns are higher," said Venkat N Chalasani, CEO, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Sitaare Zameen Par' makers shares his opinion on marching of tech in cinema
Director R.S. Prasanna, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming film 'Sitaare Zameen Par', feels that human beings will soon catch up with the technological changes in filmmaking. The filmmaker spoke with IANS in the run-up to the release of his film, which features Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and Genelia Deshmukh. He recollected how he saw Indian cinema legend Kamal Haasan experimenting with a digital camera, Red Dragon. Speaking with IANS, Prasanna said, "I think the industry is pretty fast in adapting, like I remember when 35mm film was there and I was in film school and Kamal Haasan sir was testing the Red camera in our L.V. Prasad Film Institute, Chennai where I studied. He was doing a test shoot. I remember all the people around saying, 'it's just a fad and it'll not happen, it's not gonna happen', and it did". Aamir Khan's altered AI video hits cyberspace; 'Mr Perfectionist' issues clarification on 'endorsing' a particular political party The director said that one cannot stop the march of technology and one has to adapt. The audience will demand a change, the filmmakers will rise, the technological change will happen as it should, and experiments will keep happening, some will click, some will not. He further mentioned, "But I think one thing which will never change is the way our hearts beat, so as long as the heart is there in everything, the visual is only pixels, the sound is only decibels, but that feeling, that soul, that is, as long as we have a heart, stories told by humans will always be relevant". He then cited the example of romance as to how the shape or form of romance in cinematic storytelling has changed but the soul is the same. He shared, "If you see around yourself, romance has been there from early manage, they may say romance has changed, no romance has not changed, the medium has changed, today you call it situationship or anything else but, still the heart pains if you don't get to be with the person of your choice". "I feel unless genetically our heart changes or our mind changes, I think storytelling and emotions will be the same, the form will keep changing and we have to be on the awareness of that as a director, but I think for me as a filmmaker, I'm only looking for the soul, which I think soul is very old, so it won't change that fast", he added. Produced by Aamir Khan under his banner, Aamir Khan Productions, 'Sitaare Zameen Par' is set to release in cinemas on June 20, 2025. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
Ravi Shankar Prasad-led delegation concludes Europe visit, rallies support against Pak's cross-border terrorism
London [UK], June 3 (ANI): The all-party delegation, led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, departed from London to India on Tuesday after concluding their five-country visit in Europe and the European Union to garner widespread support for India's fight against terrorism and exposed Pakistan's role in fostering terrorism. Prior to their departure, the BJP MP-led delegation, which includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress MPs Ghulam Ali Khatana and Amar Singh, former Union Minister MJ Akbar, and former Ambassador Pankaj Saran, met with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)-India and interacted with the media there, during which the delegation delivered a strong message on the global threat of terrorism, highlighting Pakistan's misuse of international funds to support terrorism and arms proliferation. The delegation also received widespread support from British parliamentarians, think tanks, and the Indian diaspora for India's democratic unity and firm stance against terrorism. Delegation leader Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that during their time in the UK, the delegation met with key UK figures, including the Speaker of the House of Commons and Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel, emphasising the need for international accountability on terrorism financing amidst appreciation for India's democratic approach. Following the interaction with the media, Prasad highlighted the global concern over terrorism as a 'cancer' and called for scrutiny of Pakistan's use of international funds, noting the novelty of the all-party delegation initiative. 'This has been really good. Our visit to England concludes today. We held a press conference at the India House here; we met the Speaker of the House of Commons this morning. We met the Chairman of the Conservative Party yesterday; we also met Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel. We also met Indian Friends in the Labour Party... We also interacted with Think Tanks. All of them are concerned that terrorism is a cancer... We also said that they (Pakistan) get loans from the IMF and World Bank and they get other funding too. So, is the funding being used for terrorism and weapon purchases or for the poor? This should be asked of them... Everyone said one more thing: that the all-party Parliamentary delegation visit is a new initiative,' Prasad said. Congress MP Amar Singh emphasised the delegation's efforts to explain India's terrorism challenges and urged Pakistan's government to clarify its stance. 'We met several people here. We met the Speaker, Ministers, a few State Ministers, Labour MPs, and Conservative MPs. We have tried to explain how India is being affected by terrorism... We have also said how our neighbouring country troubles us again and again. Now, their Government has to decide what stand they take. But we have said everything we had to,' Singh stated. Meanwhile, AIADMK MP M Thambidurai noted the UK's support for India's anti-terrorism actions, its appreciation of India's democratic unity, and its criticism of Pakistan's military rule and misuse of funds for terrorism. 'We met all the elected people of the House of Commons and Senators also... They are all positive... The Indian delegation is much more successful, seeing the reaction of all sections of people in Britain. They are for India; they are against terrorism... They are very unhappy with Pakistan... Instead of developing the country, there is no democracy there. There is a military rule there... They are misusing the money they are getting and using it for terrorism... The UK is one of the countries that have suffered. So, the UK also felt that terrorist camps in Pakistan are a dangerous thing... So, whatever action that has been taken by India to tackle terrorism is being appreciated by them,' the AIADMK leader noted. UK MPs, following the meeting with the delegation from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)-India, questioned Pakistan's aid misuse as well as backed India's anti-terror stand. UK MP Bob Blackman raised critical concerns over Pakistan's use of international aid money during the meeting with the all-party delegation, questioning whether funds meant for the country's development were being diverted to purchase Chinese weapons for terrorism against India. Key figures like House of Lords MP Lord Karan Bilimoria and former member of the UK Parliament Shailesh Vara also expressed unanimous cross-party support in the UK for India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, alongside discussions on deepening India-UK ties in trade, security, and education, despite last-minute camera restrictions leading to phone recordings. Blackman expressed the UK's condolences and support for India's anti-terrorism actions, emphasising India's desire for peace and questioning Pakistan's misuse of aid for military purposes, advocating for its use in health initiatives like polio eradication. 'We had a meeting and it's great to see the delegation from all parts of India... Everyone from the United Kingdom expresses their condolences and support for the people of India who've suffered this terrorist outrage... India wants peace and tranquillity between the two,' Blackman stated. 'The money that's sent to Pakistan, what is it used for? What it shouldn't be used for is buying Chinese weapons that would then enable terrorists to attack India, and I take a very strong view that our international aid money that should go to Pakistan should be going for the eradication of polio and other infectious diseases that benefit the people of Pakistan rather than it being used illicitly for military purposes,' he added. Lord Karan Bilimoria, who chaired the APPG-India meeting, highlighted the unified cross-party support in both nations against terrorism, reflecting a positive meeting outcome and emphasised the potential for deeper India-UK collaboration in security, education, and the recently agreed FTA, strengthening bilateral ties. Former UK MP Shailesh Vara appreciated the delegation's in-person visit for providing a clear explanation of the Pahalgam attack and enhancing bilateral understanding and underscored the solid India-UK relationship. The all-party delegation was welcomed by APPG India President Sandy Verma, and the meeting was co-chaired by UK MPs Lord Karan Bilimoria and Jeevun Sandher. Many current and former MPs, including Lord Ed Vaizey, Bob Blackman, Barry Gardiner, Gurinder Singh Josan, Gagan Mohindra, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Kanishka Narayan, Shailesh Vara, Baggy Shanker, Mark Pritchard and others also joined the discussion. Earlier today, the delegation met UK Minister for Citizenship and Migration and Minister for Equalities Seema Malhotra at the UK Parliament. Meanwhile, on Monday, the Conservative Party's Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel expressed her pleasure after meeting with an all-party Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Prasad, and stated that 'significant areas of discussion were covered.' During their diplomatic outreach, the delegation visited the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Denmark. (ANI)
