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India’s unemployment index in 2017 will witness a marginal increase in 2017 according to a United Nations labour report. The report noted that workers in Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have more than a 70 per cent chance of falling into vulnerable employment. Vulnerable unemployment is the sort of employment that doesn’t grant workers any social security scheme (which is a common feature when it comes to wage and salaried workers), the report titled “2017 World Employment and Social Outlook” noted. Conducted by UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO), the report found that economic Growth trends are lagging in a race against employment needs in 2017. With the Global GDP hitting a six-year low, at 3.1 per cent, in 2016, the global economic growth is expected to pick up in 2017. However, over the past few years forecasts of growth have been revised continuously for 2017 due to uncertainty, leaving behind questions of its ability to generate employment, especially for those new

Small-time private sector lender DCB Bank on Friday reported a 25 per cent surge in December quarter net at Rs 51 crore, driven primarily by a surge in the core interest income. The city-based lender had reported a post tax profit of Rs 41 crore in the year-ago period. Its net interest income rose 31 per cent to Rs 209 crore, while the non-interest income was up 36 crore to Rs 64 crore during the reporting quarter. The share of low-cost current and savings account balances increased to 25.85 per cent as on December 31, from the 21.91 per cent three months ago, on the back of a surge in deposits following the move to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes by the Central government. The surge in deposits, coupled with a massive slowdown in advances (which grew only two per cent sequentially) led to a drop in the credit-deposit ratio to 77.41 per cent from 83.33 per cent in the year-ago period. The bank's net interest margin was down 3.95 per cent as against 3.96 per cent in the year-ago per

MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Saturday tightened merger and acquisitions norms , lowered fees for brokers, allowed mutual funds to invest in real estate and infrastructure investment trusts and permitted celebrity endorsements of mutual funds At its board meeting in Jaipur, the regulator decided that in case of merger of an unlisted company with a listed entity, it would have to meet the minimum public shareholding requirement of 25% . “The holding of pre-scheme public shareholders of the listed entity and the qualified institutional buyers of the unlisted company, in the post scheme shareholding pattern of the “merged” company shall not be less than 25%. The objective is to have wider public shareholding and to prevent very large unlisted company to get listed by merging with a very small company,” Sebi said in a press statement posted on its website. The regulator said unlisted company would be allowed to be merged with a listed company if it is listed

Investors will be keenly watching the IT stocks performance as its performance will determine whether Sensex and NIFTY can deliver a double digit return in 2017 or not. The top three key highlights from the Q3 earnings for Infosys were: - Guidance slightly down along with the attrition rate: - Vishal Sikka revised the revenue guidance from 8-9% to 8.4-8.8% in constant terms for the financial year which translates into a revenue guidance of 7.2-7.6% in dollar terms. The attrition rates for Infosys declined to 14.9% on a standalone basis and to 18.4% levels on consolidated basis in the October-December quarter. The attrition figures are lower when compared to the quarter ended September 30,2016. Revenues decline & Net profit jumps: The net profit improved for the quarter even as the revenues dipped. The bottom line jumped 2.83% QoQ basis to Rs 3,708 cr from Rs 3,606 cr. Operating profit grows: One of the most important figures in the result announcement, the operating profits rose to

Of late, particularly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to demonetise Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes on 8 November midnight, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has become an object of ridicule and has come under sharp criticism for giving up its autonomy. The institution, which is otherwise regarded as among the few in the country that can claim the highest standards of professionalism and institutional integrity, is now facing flak for giving away its independence in functions and operating as just another department of the finance ministry. Not just by social media enthusiasts, but former RBI governors and deputy governors, economists and now, even RBI staff unions, have lamented central bank’s current plight. A letter written by various employee unions under the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees, to governor Urjit Patel ( Firstpost has reviewed the letter), has raised the issue of Modi-government "impinging on RBI autonomy" and has asked Patel to act ag

What is your view on elevation of N Chandrasekaran as the chairman of Tata Sons? Chandra is a perfect choice. He is a true professional. He is a Tata lifer and he is very bright. He is honest to the core. Integrity has been unquestionable. He is a leader. He had led TCS very successfully all these years and in TCS he has exposure to multinational companies, the fortune 500 companies across the globe. He has had experience with getting businesses from foreign companies and he is the ideal choice. I congratulate the selection committee for appointing an insider and a young person. He is still 53, he has many years to go and he will enhance the name of the Tata empire. You mentioned the word insider and that is something which is very relevant in the current scheme of affairs because the Tata Group would have wanted a sense of continuity. Chandra has been working in Tata empire for more than 30 years and recently also joined the board of Tata Sons. What do you have to say about the fact

Washington: The Senate Intelligence Committee announced a bipartisan investigation into Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 elections, including any links with associates of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. “As part of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s oversight responsibilities we believe that it is critical to have a full understanding of the scope of Russian intelligence activities impacting the United States,” said chairman Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, and Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, in a joint statement late Friday. The committee’s investigation comes a day after the Senate received a closed-door briefing from top intelligence officials on allegations of hacking and other activities by Russian intelligence. It has the backing of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “This issue impacts the foundations of our democratic system, it’s that important,” Warner said. “This requires a