Author: NNI Editor

Even as the Economic Survey 2024-25 called out corporate India for wage growth flagging while profits soared in recent years, the head of India’s apex industry chamber has noted that businesses are regularly hiking salaries but recent wage trends may not be strictly comparable with the past due to an increasing ‘Servicification’ of manufacturing.“Wage revisions have been happening regularly based on relevant industry surveys and inflation data, and it is also imperative that these revisions happen, because otherwise industry will not be able to retain talent,” Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Sanjiv Puri told The Hindu. On the concerns about wage…

Industry body Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has launched three initiatives — SIP for smaller investments, Tarun Yojana to encourage young investors and MITRA to help track and recover forgotten investments. These initiatives align with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and AMFI’s ongoing efforts to democratise mutual fund investments, ensuring wider participation across diverse segments of society. A ₹250 systematic investment plan (SIP) is a sachetisation of mutual fund (MF) designed to make MF investing more accessible, especially for first-time investors and those from underserved segments. The Tarun Yojana seeks to integrate financial literacy…

Abhinandhan Lodha and Abhishek Lodha.  | Photo Credit: The Hindu The ongoing legal spat between the Lodha brothers over using “Lodha” brand has once again brought the question to the limelight — can a family surname be monopolised as a trademark and if so, who has the rightful claim? The Lodha vs. Lodha Intellectual Property Right (IPR) dispute case has been referred to a court-appointed mediation process. The warring brothers may not budge easily given that owning a brand name can mean owning the market itself.While this may seem like a classic family dispute, Indian courts have ruled on similar…

Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) has announced to set up a Polylactic Acid (PLA) biopolymer manufacturing unit at Kumbhi, Uttar Pradesh with an investment of ₹2,850 crore. It will be funded through 40% equity and 60% debt. The company said it would be India’s first such integrated biopolymer plant that will help in replacing single use plastic. The ground breaking ceremony was conducted by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. To come up adjacent to the company’s existing sugar factory in Kumbhi, Uttar Pradesh the unit will be operational in October 2026 and will source its raw material from the sugar mill. “It is expected…

Artson Engineering Limited signed an Expression of Interest with the Kerala Government on February 22, 2025, the second day of the Kerala Global Investment Summit. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Artson Engineering Limited, under the Tata Projects Limited, will invest ₹500 over the coming years in a Joint Venture (JV) with Malabar Cements to establish a facility for building boats with capacity of less than 100 tonnes.The boat-building facility is expected to come up on a plot leased by the Malabar Cements for clinker imports on Kochi Port Authority land on Willingdon Island.The engineering company signed an Expression of Interest with the Kerala…

Sharaf group has been involved with India over the last more than 20 years in logistics, shipping and railways. | Photo Credit: sharafgroup.com The UAE-based Sharaf Group announced here on Saturday (February 22, 2025) that the shipping and logistics giant will invest ₹5,000 crore in Kerala. Sarafudin Sharaf, Vice-Chairman of the group, expressed optimism that the fresh investments will help energise the sector. The UAE group is expected to invest in two locations in Kerala in logistics and shipping. However, the locations of the investments were not divulged.He praised the Kerala government for the efficient way in which the Invest Kerala Global Summit…

Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty virtually inaugurating the new branches in Telangana on Friday, February 21, 2025. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty on Friday inaugurated 10 new branches in Telangana, taking the branch network of the country’s largest lender to 1,206 across the State. Five of the branches are in rural centres and the rest in urban centres. The new branches are Alampur x road; Chinnambavi; Raghavendra colony (Kondapur); Neopolis; Kistareddypet (Patancheru); Khajaguda; Osman Nagar; Kangti (Narayankhed); Suchitra Circle (Quthbullapur); and Nandipet. It is a strategic expansion and aimed at enhancing SBI’s presence…

A model of a Water Metro ferry on show at the exhibition held as part of the Invest Kerala Global Summit in Kochi on Friday. | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT An exhibition at the Invest Kerala Global Summit (IKGS 2025) was opened on Friday (February 21), showcasing the State’s industrial growth, opportunities, and investment potential. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who opened the expo, was accompanied on his visit to the pavilions by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and other State ministers.Industrial sectors ranging from traditional industries to start-ups focused on future technologies are part of the show. The…

State-owned Bank of India (BOI) on Friday reported a fraud of ₹226.84 crore by Odisha-based Gupta Power Infrastructure Ltd to the Reserve Bank. The bank has informed that Non Performing Asset (NPA) of Gupta Power Infrastructure Ltd has been declared as fraud, BoI said in a regulatory filing. Against the outstanding amount of ₹226.84 crore, the bank has made provisions of ₹212.62 crore in case of Gupta Power Infrastructure Ltd, it said. For the third quarter ended December 2024, BoI posted a 35 per cent jump in net profit to ₹2,517 crore against ₹1,870 crore in the year-ago period. The…

CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT), a property trust that has interests in commercial real estate space, will invest ₹1,000 crore in a 1.13 million sq.ft office project at Nagawara, Outer Ring Road, in the city.CLINT has entered into a forward purchase agreement with Maia Estates Offices, an affiliate of Bengaluru-based luxury residential developer Maia Group (Maia), to acquire an office project at Nagawara, said the company.As part of the forward purchase arrangement, CLINT will fully fund the development of the office project and receive interest on the funding at a rate which is higher than its borrowing cost. Upon completion of the development and stabilisation, CLINT is…