The draft bill allows insurance companies the freedom to sell different financial products Mint The Government is likely to introduce the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022 in the monsoon session of Parliament to bring deep reforms in the insurance sector, including a provision for composite insurance licence and flexibility in entry barriers, two people aware of the development said. According to them, stakeholder consultation on the draft bill is expected to be...

Rajya Sabha 10,655 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) closed in 2022-23. That is a 6,088% increase over the number in 2021-22, with 175 closures. The data was revealed by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India as part of the response to a Parliamentary Question asked in the Rajya Sabha. The data was compiled from the Udyam registration portal, the Ministry's online portal for registrations and...

Mint India’s rural borrowers and small businesses owners may have easier access to credit with public sector banks (PSBs) planning to increase financing to these segments, after the Union finance ministry urged lenders to improve their credit-deposit ratio. The C-D ration indicates how much of a banks' deposit base is being utilized for extending loans. The development may help expedite the revival of the rural economy, which is struggling to reach pre-covid...

A coalition of civil society activits has criticized the Union Budget 2023-24 for reducing Government spending on the social sector by a massive amount. The economic crisis induced by the Covid-19 pandemic was borne disproportionately by those at the bottom of the pyramid and in this context spending on social protection schemes such as the Public Distribution System, anganwadis, pensions and MGNREGA is especially important. But the Government of India has...

Reuters India's wheat plantings remained steady despite a rally in price of the staple to a record as farmers in a key producing central state shifted to rapeseed (mustard) to take advantage of even higher prices for the oilseed, farm ministry data showed on Monday. A lower-than-expected planting area in the world's second biggest wheat producer may cap an expected rise in production, after output fell last year because of a heatwave...