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...

Economic Times With investors tightening their purse strings because of the volatility in the global economy, many unicorns and startups such as Byju’s, Swiggy and Ola have slowed down hiring or even resorted to firing employees. Startups in India fired about 6,000 employees in October-December 2022 and another 4,000 or so in January 2023, the Economic Times reported, citing a report by CIEL Human Resources services.  Many unicorns and startups like Byju's, Swiggy...

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...

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...