Grasim Q4 profit up 28% at Rs 3,802cr

NEW DELHI: Grasim Industries reported a nearly 28% increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 3,802 crore for Q4FY26 driven by its building materials, financial services and cellulosic fibres businesses on Wednesday. It posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,973 crore for the Jan-March quarter a year ago. On a standalone basis, Grasim…

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‘India needs AI to fight AI as cyber threats grow

NEW DELHI: India’s digital transformation has pushed the country into a new era of cybersecurity risk, where traditional, manual defences may no longer be enough to counter increasingly sophisticated and automated cyberattacks, National Cyber Security Coordinator Navin Kumar Singh said on Tuesday. He stressed the need for artificial intelligence-powered security systems to protect critical infrastructure…

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Core sector expands 1.7%, but 5 industries contract

NEW DELHI: Amid the conflict in West Asia, output in India’s eight core infrastructure industries inched up to 1.7% in April from the upwardly revised 1.2% in March, latest official data released Wednesday showed. Notably, as many as four industries linked to energy sector and the fertiliser industry registered a decline in output during the…

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Diplomacy to Q-comm: Melody’s demand spikes

BENGALURU/DELHI/MUMBAI: The shelves began emptying even before Parle Products could quite understand what was happening. By Wednesday evening, searches on Melody, the caramel toffee by the Mumbai-based manufacturer of biscuits and confectionery, had jumped over 190 times on Google, while search strings like ‘Melody Modi’, ‘Meloni Melody’ all had ‘breakout’ tags on the search platform….

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Retail credit cools in Q4 after festive rush, gold loans lead

MUMBAI: Even as gold loans grew 50.4% in FY26 to emerge as the primary driver of retail credit, the home loan portfolio expanded only 9.4%, with growth largely led by higher ticket sizes, while credit card outstandings remained the slowest segment with flat year-on-year growth. According to a latest report by CRIF India, the March…

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Financiers can’t block borrower phones, online shaming barred

MUMBAI: Mobile phone financiers will face restrictions on “mobile lock” practices under RBI’s amended rules for loan recovery. Under the reworked draft regulation, lenders can restrict financed devices only under explicit contractual consent and after a 90-day default cycle with a staged 60-day and 7-day notice regime, while mandating that core functions such as incoming…

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Bajaj General Insurance rolls out riders to lock premiums, expand health cover scope

Mumbai: Bajaj General Insurance has launched health insurance riders that enable buyers to widen the scope of their basic health plan. The `Age shield’ rider enables buyers of health insurance to ensure that the premium escalation with age will not happen unless there is a claim. The policy is aimed at addressing the complaint of…

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EPFO UPI withdrawal explained: How members can transfer PF directly to bank accounts, top points to know

Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers will soon be able to withdraw provident fund money directly through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), with testing of the facility already completed, Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday. The move is part of a broader push by EPFO to improve service delivery and simplify access for over…

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Core sector growth rises to two-month high of 1.7% in April; steel, cement and power drive expansion

India’s eight core infrastructure sectors recorded a two-month high growth of 1.7 per cent in April, supported by higher output in steel, cement and electricity, according to government data released on Wednesday, PTI reported.The core sector had expanded by 1 per cent in April last year, while growth stood at 1.2 per cent in March…

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Rupee hits new record low near 97 against dollar, oil prices and bond yields keep pressure on currency

The rupee fell to a fresh record low on Wednesday as elevated oil prices and rising US Treasury yields weighed on investor sentiment, while concerns over prolonged geopolitical tensions and potential global rate hikes continued to pressure emerging market currencies, Reuters reported.The domestic currency touched an all-time low of 96.96 against the US dollar during…

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