IIM Calcutta, Emeritus, launch AI-based strategic marketing course for professionals
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
20 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Focused efforts being made to mitigate adverse impact of US tariff: Government to Parliament panel
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The government on Monday asserted that certain red lines cannot be crossed in the trade negotiations with the US and that it is making "focused efforts" as part of an export diversification strategy to mitigate the adverse impact of the high tariff imposed by the US, sources a briefing to the Parliament's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri suggested that India will take up with the US the use of its soil by Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for making nuclear threat to New Delhi, the sources and Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal briefed the members of the panel headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on the "US India trade negotiations and tariffs" amid uncertainty prevailing over the next round of negotiations scheduled in India from August the briefing, a source said the trade ties between the two countries were considered to be passing through a "difficult phase" and the government was taking measures to deal with the told reporters that a question was asked about Munir's "nuclear sabre-rattling", and Misri said India will not tolerate such nuclear blackmail. "It was not good that Munir used the soil of a friendly country to make such a statement, and this message will be conveyed," he said the US has so far not conveyed anything on a change of schedule for the next round of talks or calling it President Donald Trump has said that there will be no trade talks with India till the tariff issue is resolved.A few industries like auto, textile, leather, and gems and jewellery are likely to be particularly hit by the high US tariff, the sources said, citing the briefing by top government sources said the reference to "red lines" by the top government functionary was related to India's uncompromising stand against the US demand that India open its agri and dairy sectors for its government was, however, also of the view that the India-US relations should not be seen entirely through the ongoing trade turbulence, exacerbated by Trump singling out India for a sweeping 25 per cent tariff on its goods barring a few sectors like electronics, semiconductors and energy products from August slapped an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as a penalty for New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil, which will come into effect from August that the two countries are "natural partners" bound by shared democratic values and open societies, the government projected the ties as "enduring, bipartisan and strategic".Amid the trade uncertainties, the US had designated The Resistance Front, a LeT proxy which claimed the Pahalgam terror strike, as a terrorist organisation, and extradited Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Mumbai blasts accused, officials told the committee members raised questions on the recent plunge in the India-US ties, the US hosting Munir and Trump targeting the Indian opposition MP asked if it was triggered by the Indian stand on Trump's claim of mediating a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan, a source functionaries told the members that many countries, including traditional US allies, were hit hard by tariffs imposed by Trump but they later managed to negotiate them down by making a few part of "mitigation measures being taken", the government is focusing on "export diversification strategy", making concerted efforts to tap the potential of India's existing trade agreements with partners such as the UAE, Australia, ASEAN, Japan, Korea, and Mauritius, officials are on to leverage opportunities under new free trade agreement partners such as EFTA (European Free Trade Association) and the UK as soon as the agreements enter into force, they are on to speedily conclude ongoing negotiations, such as with the EU, on the basis of mutually beneficial and balanced trade, they officials underlined that the government attaches utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of farmers, entrepreneurs, exporters and MSMEs and will take all necessary steps to secure and advance the national interest.
Time of India
23 minutes ago
- Time of India
Flipkart Minutes adds gourmet range to attract buyers seeking premium products
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Walmart-backed ecommerce platform Flipkart 's quick commerce arm, Minutes, has expanded its offerings to include gourmet products in its product selection.'With the launch of gourmet, we are not just expanding our assortment but also redefining what convenience means for India's growing modern consumers,' said Kabeer Biswas, vice president at Flipkart Minutes . 'Whether it's crafting an authentic Asian meal, baking at home, or simply discovering new tastes, our curated selection ensures they get quality products from their favourite brands, delivered in minutes at their doorstep.'Under the gourmet section, Flipkart Minutes has 650 products from 130 brands—international brands including Samyang, Nongshim, Barilla, and Abbie's, as well as Indian brands such as Habanero and Flipkart Minutes' gourmet offerings are live in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, with plans to expand to more cities. Interestingly, consumers in tier-2 markets are also showing a liking for these gourmet products.'Tier 2 audiences are getting more conscious about trying global ingredients and new flavours, and are being open to non-traditional palettes. Quick commerce is leading at the moment,' said Griffith David, founder of development also comes at a time when the quick commerce segment is seeing increasing competition—making it more important than ever for platforms to differentiate from ecommerce giant, Amazon, has also joined the race of quick commerce through Now. After launching its service in Bangalore in June, Amazon expanded its quick commerce service to a few localities in Delhi in July Besides, new players are also entering the online grocery delivery business by offering more premium and quality products. One such example is FirstClub. It is a new quick commerce platform that focuses on delivering a select range of premium products within 20-30 minutes. In September 2024, ET reported that Ayyappan R, former chief executive of Flipkart-owned Cleartrip , was set to launch FirstClub and was in talks with venture capital firms Accel and RTP Global for significant seed Mumbai-based LoveLocal is a hyperlocal delivery app for groceries, fresh vegetables, fruits, and other essentials. It connects users to their local kirana store or small supermarket to place their orders. Instead of speed, LoveLocal focuses on providing good quality and fresh products to its users.
The Hindu
23 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Affordable housing lenders stare at defaults as MSME workers set to take the biggest hit of Trump's tariffs
Housing finance companies (HFCs) lending for affordable homes are expected to see headwinds and defaults as a large segment of borrowers working in SMEs and MSMEs, as a collateral damage, are likely to take the sharpest blow from the tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on India's imports. According to Central Government estimates MSMEs alone contribute nearly 30% to the country's GDP and over 45% of exports. Over 260 million people formally and informally employed in labour-intensive textiles, engineering, auto components, gems and jewellery, food processing industries which will take the biggest hit from the trade war, feel analysts. 'India's affordable housing segment is mainly driven by demand coming from the country's MSMEs and SMEs which, despite their relatively modest scale, are deeply integrated into India's export ecosystem. Their workforces are the primary clientele for affordable housing,' said Prashant Thakur, Executive Director - Research & Advisory, Anarock Group. 'Housing finance institutions that cater to this segment's home loans will look at a growing risk – of defaults at worst, and dampened disbursements on account of lower demand at best,' he said. He said post-pandemic, the demand for affordable homes, which cater to about 17.76% of India's population, declined, clearly reflecting in a drop in supply of affordable housing. Its share of the total launches plummeted from 40% in 2019 to just 12% in H1 2025, he said. Now, with affordable housing sales in crosshairs, the HFCs catering to this buyer segment may see more loan defaults, he added. 'This category of homes priced Rs 45 lakh or less was already gravely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and is still struggling to find any semblance of firm ground. Trump's mercenary tariffs will snuff out even the dimmest ray of hope for this segment,' Dr. Thakur cautioned. According to Anarock data, as of H1 2025, the sales share of affordable housing has dropped to a mere 18%, or about 34,565 units of a total of 1.90 lakh units sold in the top 7 key cities. 'The fact that affordable housing had an overall sales share of more than 38% in 2019 shows how badly its momentum has faltered,' he said. He said when the SME/MSME workers would find the going tough and will be in not position to contribute to the growth of affordable housing, this segment may collapse. 'So far, the global economy presented a major opportunity to Indian MSMEs to seize new export markets, build global supply chains, and diversify revenue streams. The new tariff imposition, if it takes hold, puts a roadblock on what should be a no-limits speedway – and a chakka jam on the affordable housing vehicle that drives the homeownership dreams of the largest lower quadrant of the Indian population,' Dr. Thakur said. 'Because of the disruption in this large workforce's future income thanks to the tariffs, affordable housing demand may very possibly derail and further impact sales in this highly income-sensitive segment,' he cautioned. 'Concurrently, such a drop in demand will curtail launches by developers, who will have to contend with tighter working capital due to lower sales. As it is, they have been grappling with serious input cost inflation since the pandemic,' he added. In short, the fate of India's affordable housing segment hangs in the balance. How the government addresses the issue through coordinated policy, fiscal safeguards, and buyer-focused support measures would be pivotal, Dr. Thakur concluded.
