Indian Corporates

MCA offers e-adjudication, e-consultation to boost stakeholder confidence

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has introduced e-adjudication and e-consultation platforms to streamline legal proceedings and foster a more business-friendly regulatory environment, a senior official said on Wednesday. Addressing the ASSOCHAM-ACCA Global Summit on Responsible Corporate Governance and Sustainability Reporting, Anita Shah Akella, CEO of the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) and Joint Secretary at MCA, highlighted the government's commitment to balancing corporate integrity with economic dynamism. The introduction of e-adjudication and e-consultation platforms aims to simplify legal procedures, improve stakeholders' experience, and bolster India's ranking in the ease of doing business. "We are moving more towards an ease of doing business era, and an ease of exit of business doing era," she said. The corporate affairs ministry has decriminalised various offences under the Companies Act, 2013, marking a significant shift towards a ...

Corporate India note strongest hiring outlook globally for Jan-Mar: Survey

Employers in India reported the strongest employment outlook for the January-March period next year, with 40 per cent corporates aiming to increase their staffing levels over the next three months, the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey said on Tuesday. The survey, which gathered data from more than 3,000 employers across various regions of India, revealed that 53 per cent of employers plan to hire, while 13 per cent anticipate a decrease in their staffing levels in the the first quarter of the 2025 calendar year and 31 per cent do not expect any change. The net employment outlook (NEO) -- calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers who anticipate reductions in staffing levels from those who plan to hire -- after seasonal adjustment stood at 40 per cent, strengthened 3 percentage points from both last quarter and year-on-year. "India remains one of the world's fastest-growing large economies, with its position as the global leader in employment outlook for Q1 .

Urban demand situation may affect firms' capex plans: Icra MD & Group CEO

The volatility in inflation still remains substantial and interest rates are not expected to come down, weighing on private capex

Govt extends ITR filing deadline for corporates by 15 days till November 15

The income tax department on Saturday extended the deadline for filing income tax returns by corporates by 15 days till November 15 for assessment year 2024-25. In a circular, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the deadline will be extended from the earlier target date of October 31. The new deadline for Assessment Year 2024-25 (for furnishing tax returns for fiscal 2023-24) is November 15. Nangia Andersen LLP Tax Partner Sandeep Jhunjhunwala said this extension would not apply to the Tax Audit Report, transfer pricing certification in Form 3CEB and other income tax forms like Form 10DA, for which the deadline would remain October 31, 2024. AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said the CBDT's decision to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns for AY 2024-25, though not accompanied by an official explanation, seems aligned with the upcoming festive season. "By extending the deadline to November 15, 2024, taxpayers and professionals alike can prioritise

World's most influential industrialist Ratan Tata passes away at 86

He was one of the world's most influential industrialists yet he never appeared on any list of billionaires. He controlled over 30 companies that operated in over 100 countries across six continents yet lived an unpretentious life. Ratan Naval Tata, who died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday night at the age of 86 years, enjoyed a perhaps unique status -- a corporate titan who was considered a 'secular living saint' with a reputation for decency and integrity. Tata joined the family firm after acquiring a B.S. in architecture from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, in 1962. He initially worked on the shop floor, gaining experience in a number of Tata Group businesses before being named director in charge of one of them, the National Radio and Electronics Co in 1971. He became chairman of Tata Industries a decade later and in 1991, took over as the chairman of the Tata Group from his uncle, JRD, who had been in charge for more than half a century. This was the year when India ope

How Grubox is Shaping the Future of Corporate Dining Through Innovation and Sustainability

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'Will never happen again': EY India Chairman on missing CA's funeral

'Completely alien to our culture', says Rajiv Memani after letter written by grieving mother of deceased employee creates controversy

CCI's M&A overhaul: Stricter scrutiny, faster approvals under new rules

Revised framework introduces deal value thresholds, streamlined timelines, and wider definition of control for enhanced regulatory oversight, writes Dhanendra Kumar

Hiring of entry-level graduates falls in FY24 as companies scale back

Internships, lateral hires, and recruitment for CAs and CFAs grew, but MBA and diploma holder hiring saw the least growth in FY24 compared to FY23

Adani Group plans Rs 40K cr fundraise from retail, HNI investors via NCDs

Adani group's recent corporate filings show that as of March 31, 2024, domestic lenders had an exposure of Rs 88,100 crore to various Adani Group entities through long-term and working capital loans

Centre sets up team to implement internship scheme announced in Budget

The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs is holding discussions with corporate HR leaders in Delhi and Mumbai to finalise the contours of the scheme

Capital requirements will remain high for Indian companies: Moody's

Moody's Ratings on Thursday said capital requirements will remain high for Indian corporates as they go in for capacity expansion and inorganic growth spending. Moody's estimates that 16 of the 23 rated companies will require USD 70-100 billion of funding annually in the next two years for growth spending, refinancing requirements and shareholder payments. While improving domestic liquidity and companies' internal cash flows can cover a large portion of their capital needs, offshore funding will remain an important funding channel, it said. "Capacity expansion, inorganic growth spending, refinancing and working capital needs, along with shareholder payments, will keep capital requirements high for nonfinancial corporates in India," Moody's Ratings said in a statement. It said capital spending by non-financial corporates will remain high as they expand their capacities to cater to the strong consumption growth expected in the country, at a time when their capacity utilization is ...

Significant percentage of Indian firms hit by ransomware in 2023: Report

Nearly 64 per cent of Indian organisations surveyed were hit by ransomware attacks in 2023, a latest report by Sophos said on Tuesday, noting that while the attack rates fell year-on-year, the impact on victims actually intensified. The average ransom demand was USD 4.8 million, with 62 per cent of demands exceeding USD 1 million. The median ransom paid was USD 2 million, the report by the global cybersecurity solutions provider said. Put simply, ransomware refers to malicious software or malware that seizes files on a computer, network share, backups, and server, and encrypts them, following which the attacker exhorts the user to cough up money to unlock the files. Typically, ransomware attacks come with a timeline, threatening users that if ransomware demands are not fulfilled, the users will lose files. According to the 'State of Ransomware in India 2024' report by Sophos, there has been a decrease in the rate of ransomware attacks against Indian organisations from the 73 per c

Colonial legacy: Corporate control is a 200-year-old problem in India

Many of today's Indian conglomerates also began life this way. In 1958, more than a decade after the departure of British rulers, the Tata Group had nine agencies managing 60 companies

Ficci, corporates hail Budget, say its continuum towards 'Viksit Bharat'

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Dr Anish Shah has termed the Intermin Budget 2024-25 as a clear and outcome-based continuum towards Viksit Bharat."The Interim Budget is a clear and outcome-based continuum towards Viksit Bharat. It brings together growth, climate, and social empowerment while maintaining a careful balance between current investment rate and fiscal discipline," said Anish Shah."Enabling States to adopt reforms for Viksit Bharat will seize the momentum created from the Centre towards Amrit Kaal. Focus on Blue Economy, expanding and strengthening the EV ecosystem, domestic tourism, and multi-modal logistics will propel India towards the vision of a developed nation by 2047," he said."The Interim Budget recognizes innovation as a key driver for growth through the introduction of a significant corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore for offering a fifty-year interest-free loan to scale up R & D in sunrise domains. The fiscal performance bodes .

Office demand jumps 92% in Oct-Dec in top 6 cities in 2023: Colliers

Office space demand surged 92 per cent during October-December period across six major cities on better demand of workspace from corporates and coworking operators, according to Colliers India. Real estate consultant Colliers India report shows that gross leasing of office space stood at 20.2 million square feet in the fourth quarter of this calendar year from 10.5 million square feet in the year-ago period. Helped by strong demand during the December quarter, the total leasing of office space rose 16 per cent to 58.2 million square feet during the 2023 calendar year from 50.3 million square feet last year. Colliers tracks office demand and supply of 6 cities -- Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune. Gross leasing or absorption does not include lease renewals, pre-commitments and deals where only a letter of intent has been signed. According to the data, the office space leasing in Bengaluru rose 58 per cent to 5.5 million square feet during October-December .

India's economic growth to boost demand of corporates: Fitch Ratings

Leading credit rating firm Fitch Ratings expects that India's resilient economic growth will boost demand of the corporates. In its latest research report on 'India Corporates: Sector Trends 2024', Fitch said that this is a sequel to the robust performance of the corporates in 2023 and will offset weakness from slowing growth in the key overseas markets. Rising demand and easing input cost pressure should boost margins of the corporates in the next financial year, Fitch said. Fitch said that with strong domestic demand growth, it is expected that India will be among the world's fastest-growing countries, with resilient GDP growth of 6.5 per cent during the fiscal 2024-25. This is despite a challenging global backdrop and the cumulative impact of the recent monetary tightening, it said. Sectors like cement, electricity and petroleum products are expected to witness a strong demand with high-frequency data in 2023 sustained well above pre-COVID pandemic levels. Fitch said that Indi

Net leasing of office space seen flat this year across top 7 cities: Report

Net office space leasing across seven major cities is likely to remain stable at 37-39 million sq ft during this calendar year, despite global economic concerns and is expected to rise 20 per cent next year, according to JLL. Net absorption, or leasing of office space, stood at 37.99 million sq ft during the 2022 calendar year in seven major cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune. The office space demand hit a record at 47.92 million sq ft in 2019, but declined sharply to 25.38 million sq ft in 2020 and 26.03 million sq ft in 2021, according to real estate consultant JLL India data. The consultant said the office sector has seen sustained growth in demand this year despite global sluggishness, and is poised to achieve the next level of growth in 2024. "Net absorption from January-September 2023 was 26 million sq ft, which is 68 per cent of the 2022 full-year number. In 2023, net absorption in the office market is expected to be at par with 202

Corporate bond market set to double by FY2030 at Rs 100 trn: Report

Market expected to finance one-sixth of envisaged capex in infrastructure, corporate sectors

Corporates to utilise more flexible office spaces in next 3-4 years: Report

The share of flexible office spaces in the total premium office supply across six major cities has risen to 6-7 per cent and is set to reach double-digit in the next 34 years amid a rise in demand for flex workspaces from large corporates, according to Colliers. Real estate consultant Colliers India on Friday released a report 'Shared Office Spaces in India Flexing Ahead' at industry body FICCI's conference in Bengaluru. "The flex penetration in the Indian office market is set to cross double digits in the next 34 years, up from 6-7 per cent currently," Colliers India CEO Badal Yagnik said in the report. Flexible space operators have 43.5 million square feet under their operations across six major cities -- Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune. The total seats are estimated at 6,24,000. Bengaluru has 14.7 million square feet of office space under this flexible space model. "With the growing adoption of flex spaces within mainstream commercial office real esta