Economic Times A parliamentary panel has asked the government to increase financial assistance provided under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) to help beneficiaries in completion of houses and improve monitoring of houses being constructed under the flagship scheme. The 30-member committee on estimates, headed by BJP MP Girish Bhalchandra Bapat, asked the ministry of rural development to revise the financial assistance provided to help beneficiaries in timely completion of houses sanctioned. The...

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...

Economic Times Unilever global chief executive Alan Jope said high inflation impacted demand from low income consumers in Indian villages even as growth remains stronger in cities. "The market growth in India remains stronger in urban areas than in rural areas and that reflects the high impact of high food inflation on low income consumers. We are seeing rural markets broadly flat in value terms with lower volumes," Jope said during its...

Reuters Indian household's inflation expectations for the current period moderated by 20 basis points to 9.6%, while consumer confidence improved further, the results of the Reserve Bank of India's latest round of internal surveys conducted in January showed. As per the survey, respondents expect higher price pressures for household durables and cost of housing over the next three months as compared to the previous survey round, the release showed. Among consumption categories,...

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...