Life insurers reported 48 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in new business premium (NBP) in February on the back of the strong increase shown by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), coupled with robust performance by private insurers.

According to the data released by Life Insurance Council, the NBP of life insurance companies came in at Rs 33,913.18 crore, 48.43 per cent higher than the Rs 22,847.65 crore in the year-ago period.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation of projects worth around Rs 18,000 crore during his two-day tour of Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday.

Addressing a press meet here, Sarma said that Modi will, for the first time, visit UNESCO heritage site Kaziranga National Park and undertake a safari.

Indian telecom giants Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) are strategically encouraging customers to switch to tier-based post-paid tariff plans. This move aims to increase average revenue per user (ARPU) by catering to mobile users with higher data usage, according to a report by the Economic Times (ET).

Recognising the potential for revenue growth in the absence of headline tariff hikes, all three companies are reportedly leveraging post-paid family plans.

Shares of IIFL Finance rose 10 per cent on BSE to Rs 421 in Thursday’s intra-day trade, recovering from a 36 per cent slump seen in past two days. The gains came a day after Fairfax India Holdings Corp (Fairfax India) committed to give up to $200 million liquidity support to the NBFC.

Fairfax India is a Canada-based investment holding company, which holds 15.12 per cent stake in IIFL Finance through its Mauritius-based wholly owned subsidiary, FIH Mauritius Investments (FIH Mauritius).

India’s automobile retail sales jumped 13 per cent in February to 2.03 million units, compared to 1.79 million units in February 2023, on the back of enhanced vehicle availability, improved demand due to economic conditions, and the impact of marriage season, according to Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) data. However, the sector expects the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to play spoilsport in terms of sales due to potential deferred purchases across segments.

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) slipped 4 per cent to Rs 1,884.3 on the NSE in Thursday’s intra-day trade after over 10 million equity shares changed hands on the counter via bulk deals.

Till 09:25 am; around 12.9 million equity shares, representing 1.06 per cent of total equity of M&M, changed hands on the NSE, exchange data showed.

Investors on Wednesday dumped stocks of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and moved their money to bank shares amid fear of a broader crackdown on the sector by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The concern was stoked by the central bank’s action against IIFL Finance, JM Financial, and Paytm Payments Bank, citing lapses in their operations.

Accenture has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI)-native learning platform to provide clients with comprehensive technology learning and training services that will help them reskill and upskill employees in technology, data and AI.

Accenture will invest $1 billion in LearnVantage over three years and will acquire edtech company Udacity to build on Accenture’s existing experience in learning and training to meet the rising demand for technology skills, including generative AI.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday asked banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to give customers the option to choose from multiple networks when they issue credit cards.

The regulator’s directive will be effective from September 6, six months later. Existing cardholders may be given the option at the time of their next renewal, the RBI said in a communication to banks, NBFCs, and payment system providers.

Shares of Mid and Smallcap companies were under sharp selling pressure on Wednesday with the BSE Smallcap and Midcap indices sinking up to 2 per cent intra-day.

In comparison, there was a 0.11 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. With today's decline, the BSE Smallcap index has slipped 5 per cent from its record high level touched on February 7.

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