BENGALURU/HUDERABAD: Even as the US govt suspended processing under the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme for some Indian IT firms, potentially jeopardising eligible employees’ pathways to permanent residency, the sector’s stocks rallied on Friday, suggesting limited market concern amid declining dependence on H-1B visas.However, the suspension could create talent retention and hiring challenges. H-1B employees…

MUMBAI: Banks concluded the first half of FY27 with an acceleration in balance-sheet expansion, as year-on-year credit growth climbed to 19.4% and aggregate deposit growth reached 17.8%, leaving the credit-to-deposit ratio at 81%.Total bank credit stood at over Rs 229.9 lakh crore as of Sept 30, while aggregate deposits reached about Rs 284 lakh crore….

Inflation has stayed above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) target of 4% for the past three months (Photo: Reuters). MUMBAI: RBI has tightened daily cash reserve requirements for banks, impounding an additional Rs 1 lakh crore, and has announced a Rs 25,000 crore bond sale, moves that will drain liquidity from the banking system…

NEW DELHI: From listening to bhajans and reading the Bible to finding the direction of Mecca or discovering what the stars have in store, Indians are increasingly turning to smartphones for matters of faith and fortune. Religious, spiritual and astrology apps recorded nearly 30 crore downloads in the first nine months of 2026, emerging as…

MUMBAI: India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $13 billion to $734.6 billion in the week ended Oct 2, driven by a sharp decline in foreign currency assets and gold reserves. Foreign currency assets, the largest component of the reserves, dropped by $10.7 billion to $604.7 billion.Gold reserves declined by $2.3 billion to $106.4 billion. The…