Latest news with #LiveMint
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Farming has regained policy attention
Next Story Mint Editorial Board India's government has a new scheme to help farms in areas where farming lags. It's a statist approach, but market oriented proposals have made little headway with farmers—and there's no doubt they need help. With the US looking for access to India's market for agricultural produce, farming can't afford prolonged neglect. Gift this article India's cabinet on Wednesday approved the launch of the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana to boost farming. The six-year scheme starting from 2025-26 will focus on 100 districts selected from across the country where agricultural productivity, cropping and credit disbursement have been found lagging. India's cabinet on Wednesday approved the launch of the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana to boost farming. The six-year scheme starting from 2025-26 will focus on 100 districts selected from across the country where agricultural productivity, cropping and credit disbursement have been found lagging. The scheme aims to boost yields through better inputs, diversify crops in favour of higher-value harvests, improve irrigation as well as post-harvest logistics and expand access to credit. This will be done by merging 36 central schemes and enlisting state-level support. It's a good sign that the farm sector has the Centre's policy attention again. After the government's trio of farm bills was withdrawn some years ago in the face of farmer resistance, it was unclear how it planned to solve the sector's problems. With the US looking for access to India's market for agricultural produce, farming can't afford prolonged neglect. The new scheme is statist, as all schemes for this sector are, but a low appetite among farmers for market orientation seems to hold back bolder reform efforts. Regardless, one way or another, farming needs to be revitalized. The sector needs help. Topics You May Be Interested In Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
NDTV
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Metro In Dino Box Office Collection Day 8: Anurag Basu's Film Inches Closer To Rs 30 Crore Mark
Filmmaker Anurag Basu's Metro In Dino premiered on the big screens on July 4. The film, which is the spiritual sequel to the 2007 beloved romantic drama Life In A… Metro, has been maintaining a good run at the box office. After crossing Rs 25 crore in its first week, the movie is now eyeing to enter the Rs 30 crore club. On Day 8 (July 11). Metro In Dino earned Rs 2.25 crore at the ticket window, as per a report by industry tracker Sacnilk. With this, the movie's total box office collection now stands at Rs 29.10 crore. Metro In Dino witnessed a Hindi occupancy rate of 21.02 percent on its second Friday. To break it all down in detail, Metro In Dino recorded 9.37 percent occupancy in the morning shows, followed by 18.14 percent in the afternoon shows. The evening stood at 20.32 percent occupancy, while the night screenings registered the highest footfall at 36.23 percent. The film boasts an ensemble cast of Sara Ali Khan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Neena Gupta, Anupam Kher, Konkona Sen Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi, and Ali Fazal. Pritam has crooned the music for Metro In Dino. Previously, Ali Fazal shared the reason why he agreed to be a part of Metro In Dino. The actor, in a conversation with LiveMint, revealed, 'I think we're all drawn to stories that push us out of our comfort zones. But with this one, it was an easy yes – it's Basu Da! I had shamelessly texted him long ago, which I rarely do, but his musicality in storytelling has always stayed with me.' Ali Fazal added, 'Basu Da's technical mastery and his Spartan-like team make shooting feel like just one small part of a bigger masterpiece, leaving us actors in awe, like a box of chocolates where you never know what you'll get.' Metro In Dino, produced by T-Series and Anurag Basu Films, delves into a series of heartfelt love stories of couples navigating the urban concept of love, loss and heartbreak in different metro cities - Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, and Bengaluru.
Mint
10-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Is China's deflation signalling stagnation?
Next Story Mint Editorial Board Producer prices dropped sharply in June; China could slip back into deflation at the retail level too. Amid trade turmoil, its economy faces a rough ride. Let's keep watch and look for opportunities. Beijing has used state money to support demand, but prices dropping beyond real estate, where a bubble popped some years ago, suggest slumps across sectors. Gift this article As countries turn inward, the damage that trade reversals can do to economies may have begun to show in China. Its data shows it has replaced exports to the US with shipments elsewhere to quite an extent lately, but its demand weakness within seems to be getting worse. As countries turn inward, the damage that trade reversals can do to economies may have begun to show in China. Its data shows it has replaced exports to the US with shipments elsewhere to quite an extent lately, but its demand weakness within seems to be getting worse. Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | Deflation is bad news for China's economy On Wednesday, the country reported a 3.6% drop in producer prices this June, marking the biggest fall in about two years. Consumer prices edged 0.1% higher last month, but it also meant China was a whisker away from slipping back into deflation at the retail level. Beijing has used state money to support demand, but prices dropping beyond real estate, where a bubble popped some years ago, suggest slumps across sectors. China is vulnerable to weak import demand globally and may find it hard to avert a slowdown as shipments lose pace amid tariff turbulence. Also Read: Stay vigilant: China's economic woes could spill over Some China-watchers see it headed the way of Japan, where deflation heralded stagnation in the 1990s. But the economic lessons of that era have been learnt and Beijing has greater strategic autonomy than Tokyo did. As China's rival, India must watch Beijing's moves even as it explores new opportunities for cooperative rivalry with it. Topics You May Be Interested In Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
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Business Standard
08-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Steel ministry defers quality rules on imports amid importer concerns
Steel ministry defers quality rules on imports amid importer concerns The Union Ministry of Steel has postponed the enforcement of its June 13 Quality Control Order (QCO) on finished steel imports by four months, according to a report by LiveMint. The decision comes after small importers expressed concerns about steel shipments that are already on their way to India. According to a letter reviewed by LiveMint, the ministry held discussions with industry stakeholders on July 7 and decided to ease the upcoming rules. It will temporarily allow steel imports without the required Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS-) certification. As per the 13 June notification, importers would have been required to get BIS certification for all incoming finished steel products. The move was part of the government's effort to tighten quality checks on steel imports.
Mint
07-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Payments Bank bridging the financial gap in Indian
India is emerging as a global leader in digital transactions, and the transformation story is only going to expand further from here. In a country as expansive and varied as India, banking's core principle is access, extending far beyond the traditional confines of physical branches. The country's digital transactions are projected to triple by FY2029, underscoring this shift towards widespread financial inclusion. A key participant in this change is Airtel Payments Bank, which is democratising access to banking with an extensive network of over 5,00,000 banking points, business correspondent networks, and doorstep banking services, particularly in rural India. In an interview with LiveMint, Ganesh Ananthanarayanan, COO of Airtel Payments Bank spoke about the approaches driving this change and shared stories from the ground elucidating the empowering role of digital finance for women. He also offered perspectives on the future of inclusive banking in the country. Banking in India is undergoing a fundamental shift – it is moving beyond traditional branch-based services towards broader availability. 'Close to 480 billion digital transactions are likely to happen in the next two to three years in India. In India, in a year, about half a billion Indians are doing digital transactions on a regular basis. That's a size and scale which has changed over several years, of course, post-COVID, some of these metrics have increased,' he said. This shift indicates a growing national acceptance of digital financial interactions. However, India's digital journey has a unique characteristic. It involves an integration of physical and digital elements. 'India is unique in wanting a physical-digital sort of structure, which means you also want your friendly neighbourhood kirana, with whom you'd want to have a conversation and talk about multiple things, including the weather and politics, and also do your financial transactions,' Ananthanarayanan explained. This 'phygital' approach, combining digital convenience with human interaction, holds a lot of importance, especially in Tier 4, 5, and 6 regions with lower data penetration. The need for a phygital model gets underlined when examining rural financial infrastructure. 'There are 635,000 villages in the country. There are only 55,000 ATMs in rural, which means you've got one ATM for maybe eight to nine villages. The problem in rural India is that consumers have to actually travel 10 to 12 kilometres to go to an ATM and withdraw cash. Now this is where the need for a physical branch kind of a concept,' Ananthanarayanan said. This is where the concept of the Business Correspondent (BC) agent, often a local kirana store owner, comes into play. Converting these trusted local figures into BC agents, enabled for financial transactions like cash withdrawal, deposit, and money transfer, has been a significant development. 'We have got close to five lakh BC agents in the country on the ground. Almost 70 per cent of them are in Tier 4, 5, and 6, which are villages with less than 5000 population, and I think that's a place where financial inclusion is happening at a notable scale,' he added. One of the persistent challenges in expanding financial inclusion, particularly in rural areas, has been addressing initial reservations about formal banking. 'A number of consumers, especially women in rural areas, typically save 300, 400, 500 rupees every month. They get money from their spouses or from their relatives or from their earnings, and typically they keep it as cash in Gulag or under their bed or under their mattress,' Ananthanarayanan said, highlighting that this practice carries risks of theft. Airtel Payments Bank addresses this by offering a secure and accessible alternative – women are opening bank accounts with the nearby kirana outlet, who doubles up as a BC agent for Airtel Payments Bank. 'They take this 100 rupees every week and deposit money into that bank account because they know it is going to be safe. Over a period of time, they accumulate some amount of money which they use for their daughter's education or marriage or any other event,' he said. This shift in behaviour indicates growing trust in digital savings, particularly among women. Technology forms a core part of their operations. 'We are a digital bank and use technology and AI extensively to get stuff going,' he added. The role of digital finance in empowering women merits attention. Of Airtel Payments Bank's 5,00,000 BC agents, over 1,00,000 are women. 'They are run by women who are effectively entrepreneurs, whose full-time job is actually to run that BC agent, where they open bank accounts for everyone, do financial transactions and earn their livelihood out of that,' he said. These women entrepreneurs not only support their households but also serve as advocates for financial literacy within their communities. The impact extends to women as account holders as well. 'We've seen that shift notably, where, as I mentioned, they open a bank account with us, and what they do is to make sure that they deposit 100, 250 rupees every week into that bank account and use that as a savings account. Close to a third of our consumers whom we onboard every month are women, and in states like Maharashtra and Orissa, approximately half the accounts whom we open every month are accounts opened by women,' said Ananthanarayanan. For many – especially those in rural India, the concept of a 'payments bank' can be unfamiliar. He outlined it with three key tenets – access, trust, and security. 'For low-income consumers, I think the first and important thing is access, where you can open a bank account with us at a kirana outlet, who is likely your friend, who is possibly a few minutes away from where you stay, who is possibly staying in the same village as you are,' he said. The second factor is trust. 'We come from the same brand as Airtel, which is among the more trusted brands in the country. And hence, there is trust which consumers have when they have a relationship with Airtel Payments Bank,' he further added. Another key aspect is security. 'You can do all your financial transactions with a biometric, where you don't need to remember an MP or an OTP, you give your biometric, you withdraw cash, you give a biometric, and you can transfer funds,' Ananthanarayanan further said. This biometric authentication can simplify the process and enhance security, especially for those less familiar with digital passwords or OTPs. Cybersecurity remains a concern, especially with the increase in digital transactions. Airtel Payments Bank addresses this with a multi-layered security framework that includes a third-factor authentication. 'A financial transaction will go through only if we are sure that your phone, your SIM has initiated it. Even if you have, by mistake, shared your OTP, which ideally you shouldn't, but even if you did, the third factor of authentication helps ensure that the transaction gets declined,' he explained Airtel Payments Bank has also introduced a panic button feature. 'On our phone banking section, there is a button called a panic alarm, where the moment you click on that, the account is frozen, all transactions come to a halt, so that there is no further loss which has happened,' Ganesh said. This immediate action can help prevent further financial loss and alerts the bank to a potential fraud, allowing them to intervene. Airtel Payments Bank is guided by a dual philosophy of opportunity and responsibility with a core purpose to drive digital and financial inclusion. The responsibility extends to safeguarding customer funds and data. 'We want to make sure that we do it in a manner in which customers' monies are protected, because ultimately, we are helping transfer money from one party to another, and hence people's monies are involved here,' he further said. Data privacy is also given paramount importance and data is primarily used for transaction monitoring, identifying unusual patterns to help protect customers, not for unsolicited marketing or sharing. 'To me, being responsible and having responsible growth, I think, is an important aspect, and that's how we balance this,' Ananthanarayanan concluded.
