Author: Abizar Attari
News Editor

A visit to the doctor sets one back by Rs.200 for a small town/village or Rs.500 or more for a Tier I city on average. This may not include medicines, which could set you back by another Rs.500 or so, depending on the ailment and the medication the doctor suggested. Sometimes, the medicines are given by the compounder and the final cost is added, or the doctor will suggest buying an ointment or medication from a nearby pharmacy. Overall, most primary care diagnoses cost up to Rs.2000 per visit, assuming the ailment may be easily curable. Even with high levels…

Dogecoin, created as a humorous take on the initial Bitcoin craze, has emerged as a serious investment vehicle, amassing a market capitalisation of almost $39.48 billion over the years. In trading sessions last week, Dogecoin rose nearly 20%, adding more than $6 billion in market value for investors looking for a cheaper alternative to Bitcoin and Ethereum. Dogecoin mostly stayed off the radar until November 2021, when its price spiked from almost nothing to reach $0.2612 as of today. The prices have risen on the back of reports of the altcoin’s first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), following the US Securities…

Mumbai: Almost a year after the Tata Group’s patriarch Ratan Tata’s demise, the Tata Trusts is now facing an internal power struggle, resulting in the trust’s vice chairman Vijay Singh’s unexpected resignation. Following Ratan Tata’s demise, the Tata Trust trustees passed a resolution requiring the yearly reappointment of the Trust’s nominated directors to the Tata Son’s board. According to the resolution, the directors who have crossed 75 years will have to apply for reappointment every year.  Vijay Singh, 77, was due to be reappointed to the Tata Sons board, but four trustees- Pramit Jhaveri, Darius Khambata, Mehli Mistry and Jehangir…

New Delhi: After reducing India’s exports to a trickle thanks to its 50% tariffs, the Trump administration has caught India’s celebrated IT/outsourcing industry unawares with a proposed bill aimed at levying a 25% tax on outsourcing workers abroad. The  “Halting International Relocation of Employment Act” (HIRE Act), proposed by Republican Senator Bernie Moreno in the US Senate last week, aims to discourage companies from outsourcing jobs to cheaper locations in India and other developing countries.  In a post on X, Senator Bernie accused corporates and politicians of shipping jobs overseas while local college grads struggled to make a living. “Their…

It’s always nice to get an unexpected credit of money to your account, besides your monthly paycheck. Investing in stocks can help you do that, through dividends distributed from the company’s profits. Though not all companies pay dividends (some never do), there are a few companies that pay dividends regularly, attracting long-time investors who look forward to that. Usually, some large-cap companies regularly pay dividends (sometimes multiple times a year), most of them don’t need to reinvest their profits into R&D or business expansion. A company’s dividend-paying ability is judged through its dividend yield, which is the annual dividend per…

Mumbai: Japanese investment major Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has offloaded its remaining 1.65% stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank on Wednesday, September 10, after nearly 2.86 crores of the lender changed hands in a block deal before the opening session. The shares were sold at an average price of Rs.1,941 per share, valuing the deal at Rs. 5,559 crore. Following the news, shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1%. As India’s fourth-largest private sector lender, Kotak Mahindra Bank has been one of the stock markets star performers, giving investors about 2000% returns on their investments made before 2005. SMBC first…

New Delhi: Prior to the Urban Company IPO opening today, the company’s Grey Market Premium (GMP), the informal share prices before the IPO opens today, is upwards of 33%, indicating strong investor interest and a potential listing price of  Rs.130-135, according to market sources. The Rs.1,900 crore IPO comes at a time when the equity markets are seeing a deluge of IPOs, with investor interests at an all-time high. Early investors in the tech-enabled home services platform are looking to cash in on this with more than 15x returns, through the Offer For Sale (OFS) component, which is almost 75%…

Mumbai: Engineering major Bharat Forge’s step-down subsidiary Agneyastra Energetics has signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd for purchasing nearly 950 acres of land in Madakasira, Anantapur district to set up an end-to-end defence manufacturing facility, according to a release submitted to the bourses. This would include a gun propellant facility, a high explosives manufacturing plant and an ammunition filling plant. There are also plans to set up energetics facilities for rockets, missile systems and space launch vehicles as well. This acquisition is a strategic step by the company to expand into India’s growing defence manufacturing…

New Delhi: India remains one of the largest growing markets for digital ads, just behind China and Japan, based on the ad-to-GDP ratio, as per a report by global consultancy firm Bain and Co. The report said the global advertising market is worth almost $1 trillion globally, with India’s total advertising economy standing at around $16-18 billion in 2024.  From traditional to unconventional digital ads Moving away from the traditional ads run on Meta and Google, advertisers are increasingly reallocating their budgets towards other platforms like news apps, OTT platforms, quick commerce platforms and gaming apps, as per changing customer…

‘Jay sir ke bina training mein mazaa nahi aaya’ A sales intern remarked on a sales training workshop feedback form. ‘College jaisa boring lecture tha’ he added. The new trainer sent could not connect with the sales team as well as he should. Eventually, the HR was forced to bring back the old trainer, who won much praise for his efforts to connect and relate with the audience.   ‘Jay sir’ as he’s fondly known, hasn’t been the boring teacher everyone hates to listen. He is anything but that.  No one would miss his lectures- he is known to burn the…