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India's social spending is seeing steady growth, primarily driven by the public sector, the latest India Philanthropy Report 2025 by Bain & Company in collaboration with Dasra noted.

However, despite being the fifth-largest economy globally, India is facing a significant funding deficit in the social sector, which is anticipated to increase over the next five years.

According to the latest India Philanthropy Report 2025, the top four business families in India — Tatas, Ambanis, Adanis, and the Birlas — were responsible for 20% of the total corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions made by family-owned or family-run companies in the fiscal year 2023-24. On average, the top four families contributed between Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,000 crore per family group, ranging from Rs 200 crore to Rs 1,500 crore.

In January, major Indian banks aggressively expanded their credit card portfolios, accounting for nearly 90% of all new cards issued, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). HDFC Bank, SBI Cards, and ICICI Bank were the top issuers contributing to a year-on-year growth of 9.5% in the total number of credit cards in India, now standing at 10.89 crore, The Economic Times reported.

The industry added 8.2 lakh new credit cards in January, led by HDFC Bank with 3 lakh cards, followed by SBI Cards (2.4 lakh) and ICICI Bank (1.8 lakh).

Despite the surge in card issuance by major banks, smaller institutions remained cautious, issuing only 1 lakh new credit cards. This caution is attributed to rising delinquencies and the RBI's stringent risk-weight regulations.

UltraTech Cement, India’s largest cement manufacturer, announced its foray into the wires and cables business with an initial capital expenditure of Rs 1,800 crore over two years.

The company aims to commence operations in this segment by December 2026, with a production facility set to be established in Bharuch, Gujarat.

The move is positioned as an extension of UltraTech’s presence in the construction value chain. Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, stated, “We intend to expand our presence in the construction value chain through our foray in the cables and wires segment, which aligns with our vision of providing comprehensive solutions to our end customers in the construction sector.” UltraTech’s board has approved the plan under its building products division, reinforcing the company’s strategy to position itself as a complete building solutions provider. The company plans to leverage its extensive manufacturing expertise and strong customer connections to deliver high-quality wires and cables.

The Tata and Bharti groups are reportedly nearing the finalisation of a merger between their direct-to-home (DTH) businesses, Tata Play and Airtel Digital TV. This merger comes as audiences are gradually moving away from DTH to digital platforms.

According to a report in The Economic Times, the merger will take place through a share swap, which will increase Airtel’s non-mobile revenues.

As per the report, Airtel will hold more than 50 per cent in the combined entity. Airtel is expected to hold 52-55 per cent of the combined entity, while Tata Play shareholders, including Walt Disney will hold 45-48 per cent. Airtel’s senior management is expected to run the entity, while Tata is expected to keep two seats on the board, the report added. Both sides are expected to announce the terms of agreement soon. The due diligence will commence after that. Both the operations are reportedly being valued at around Rs 6,000-7,000 crore. The two entities had a total 35 million paid subscribers as of September 2024, and the FY24 revenues exceeded Rs 7,000 crore.

With the deal, Airtel will get access to Tata Play’s 19 million homes. The deal would be the second major transaction in the DTH sector in about a decade, following the Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger in 2016.

The government is finalising the contours of a social security scheme for gig workers, which is likely to be taken to the Union Cabinet for approval soon. The move, if it goes through, would provide a safety net to India’s rising gig workforce, many of whom have taken up such jobs due to lack of employment opportunities

According to sources, the labour ministry has been holding discussions with gig workers’ associations, online aggregators and state governments and is finalising the contours of the scheme, which would be based on a 1% to 2% contribution based on the gig worker’s daily earning from each platform that he or she is working with.

As announced in the Union Budget, each gig worker will be registered on the labour ministry’s e-Shram portal and be assigned a 12 digit universal account number (UAN).  Based on this, the gig worker would be identified and the contribution would be deducted from each platform that they work on. Under the scheme, the worker would receive provident fund and pension benefits.

The quantum of contribution is yet to be finalised but it could be in the range of 1% to 2%.

In case the worker decides to move to a regular job, the social security account under the scheme would be merged with his account under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation.

The NITI Aayog had estimated that India has about 7.7 million gig workers in 2020-21 but their numbers are seen to have increased to over 10 million by now.  The scheme is expected to help gig workers who have to rely on their daily earnings with no safety net. While several aggregators provide accidental insurance to workers, they do not have a social security scheme.

The Union Budget has also announced the inclusion of gig workers under the government’s ambitious health insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

The Code on Social Security, 2020, which is yet to be implemented, provides for framing of suitable social security measures for gig workers and platform workers for life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits as well as old age protection. It also provides for setting up a Social Security Fund to finance the welfare scheme. Sources indicated that the proposed benefits would be formulated in line with the Code and no separate legislation will be needed.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), announced that the conglomerate will double its investments in West Bengal by the end of the decade. Ambani was speaking at the West Bengal Investment Summit, in the presence of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. 

“Reliance's commitment to Bengal's all-around development remains unwavering. In 2016, when I first attended this summit, Reliance’s investments were below Rs 2,000 crore. Today, in less than a decade, our investments in Bengal have increased 20 times, and we have invested over Rs 50,000 crore. We shall double this investment by the end of this decade,” he said. 

Ambani further added, “More importantly, our investments have created over 1 lakh direct jobs and spurred significant economic growth in West Bengal.” 

He said that the investments would be made across multiple sectors including digital services, green energy, and retail. Ambani also highlighted Reliance’s role in transforming Bengal’s business landscape. 

The Reliance Chairman said that this was the best time to invest in Bengal. 

Bengal is witnessing a Renaissance in economy and business, he said. Ambani added that today Bengal means soaring vision, mighty ambition, and efficient implementation.

Ambani congratulates Mamata Banerjee for the summit. He said Bengal under CM Mamata Banerjee means business.

Nestle is reportedly planning, in a partnership with Starbucks, to bring the global coffee chain’s products to the retail market outside cafes. Nestle has a global coffee partnership with Starbucks that allows both the companies to bring out a wide range of products.

According to a report in The Economic Times, head of Nestle’s coffee strategic business unit, Axel Touzet, the company is planning to expand their coffee portfolio in India to target different coffee consumption moments.

Nestle and Starbucks had signed a global deal in 2018 that gave Nestle rights to market Starbucks’ packaged coffee and food service products outside of its coffee shops. The report added that this does not impact Starbucks’ joint venture with Tata Consumer Products that operates the coffee chain in the country. 

The two companies said that they are extending their partnership to launch ready-to-drink coffee beverages in markets across Southeast Asia, Oceania and Latin America, under which they would roll out products like Frappuccinos and Doubleshots. 

Touzet said that Nestle has the right to distribute Starbucks ready-to-drink coffees as FMCG products, and they are keen on exploring India as it is one of the fastest markets for Nescafe. Even though India is a tea-drinking market, there is tremendous potential for coffee, he said. 

They are jointly developing a range of products including wholebean, roast, ground and premium instant Starbucks coffees, capsules, Nespresso pods and creamers. 

Starbucks had entered India in October 2012 through a 50:50 joint venture with Tata Consumer Products. The joint venture operates more than 470 stores. The arrangement with Nestle is exclusive of Starbucks’s joint venture with Tata Consumer Products, the report added.

Shares of Tata Consumer Products were trading higher in pre-opening trade today. The stock has climbed around 13 per cent in 2025 so far

Ride-hailing firm Ola Consumer on Friday it does not adjust pricing based on the operating system of a user's mobile device. Its global rival Uber had denied similar allegations of differential pricing for Android and Apple phones on Thursday.

Ola Consumer's statement was issued in response to a consumer's claim that booking identical rides on Android and iOS devices resulted in different fares.

The clarification aims to address concerns regarding pricing transparency, especially after reports of perceived discrepancies in ride fares between Android and iOS users. Dynamic pricing, a key feature of ride-hailing services, adapts fares in real time based on factors like peak hours, route conditions, and vehicle availability.

On January 23, notices were sent by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to ride-hailing services Ola and Uber due to allegations of differential pricing based on the type of mobile phone used to book rides. This action was prompted by complaints from consumers who reported seeing varying prices for the same rides depending on whether they booked using an iPhone or an Android device. 

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi announced on X, via social media, that inquiries have been initiated to address concerns of possible differential pricing practices by these major cab aggregators.

The CCPA notices were issued after Minister Joshi issued a warning to companies last month regarding the ministry's zero tolerance policy towards practices that exploit consumers.

The minister expressed concern about potential unfair trade practices, specifically mentioning cab-aggregators using differential pricing based on various factors. Such practices, if confirmed, would be a violation of consumers' rights to transparency and fair pricing, as stated in a post on X.

"This, prima facie, looks like unfair trade practice where the cab-aggregators are alleged to be using differential pricing based on the factors mentioned in the article below. If so, this is blatant disregard for consumers' rights to know," he said in a post on X.

In response to a social media post, Uber explained that differences in pick-up points, estimated time of arrival, and drop-off locations can lead to variations in prices for rides. The company assured that trip pricing is not personalized based on a rider's cell phone manufacturer.

Bharti Airtel, one of India’s largest telecom services providers and Bajaj Finance, the country’s largest private-sector Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), on January 20 announced a strategic partnership to create one of India’s largest digital platforms for financial services and transform last mile delivery. 

The one-of-a-kind partnership brings together Airtel’s highly engaged customer base of 370 million, 12 lakh+ strong distribution network, and Bajaj Finance’s diversified suite of 27 product lines, and distribution heft of 5,000+ branches and 70,000 field agents.

Airtel will initially offer Bajaj Finance’s retail financial products on its Airtel Thanks App for seamless and secure customer experience, and later through its nation-wide network of stores. 

The combined strength of the companies’ digital assets will enable Airtel and Bajaj Finance to significantly deepen penetration of financial products and services. 

Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman and MD, Bharti Airtel, said, “Airtel and Bajaj Finance, two trusted names in this country, have the shared vision of empowering millions of Indians with a diverse portfolio of financial needs. The combined reach, scale and distribution strength of the two companies will serve as the cornerstone of this partnership and help us succeed in the marketplace. We are building Airtel Finance as a strategic asset for the group and will continue to invest in and grow the business. Today, we are trusted by over 1 million customers and our vision is to make Airtel Finance a one-stop shop for all the financial needs of our customers.”

So far, two products of Bajaj Finance have been piloted on the Airtel Thanks App. By March, four products of Bajaj Finance will be available to customers on the Airtel Thanks App. These include Gold Loan, Business Loan, a co-branded Insta EMI Card and Personal Loan. Airtel will progressively offer close to 10 financial products of Bajaj Finance within this calendar year. 

Rajeev Jain, MD of Bajaj Finance, said, “India’s digital ecosystem has been at the heart of data-driven credit underwriting and financial inclusion. Our partnership with Airtel not only leverages India’s digital infrastructure for inclusive growth but also brings together the expertise and reach of two of India’s leading and most-trusted brands. Together with Airtel, we seek to be the financier of choice to India and enable millions to access financial services, even in remote areas. We are excited to join hands with Airtel at a time when Bajaj Finance is harnessing the power of AI to enhance efficiencies and elevate customer experiences.”  

Airtel customers have the opportunity to apply for the Airtel-Bajaj Finserv Insta EMI card via the Airtel Thanks App and later through its nation-wide network of stores. Airtel-Bajaj Finserv EMI card provides access to a range of offers available to Bajaj Finance customers. Users will benefit from flexible EMI options and payment plans for purchasing various goods, including electronics, furniture and groceries at over 1.5 lakh partner stores across more than 4,000 cities. Additionally, the co-branded card is applicable for e-commerce transactions on multiple platforms. 

The Airtel Thanks App now also enables customers to secure a gold loan, empowering new-tocredit customers to access finance and integrate with the formal financial system. 

As part of the partnership, both companies are committed to strong regulatory compliance, data privacy and security, and seamless customer service.

The Union Cabinet on January 17 approved a Rs 11,440 crore revival plan for the debt-laden Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) to reverse its fortunes. 

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the revival plan for RINL for Rs 11,440 crore, an official statement release said. 

The infusion includes Rs 10,300 crore as equity capital into RINL and conversion of Rs 1,140 crore working capital loan as 7 percent non-cumulative preference share capital redeemable after 10 years to keep RINL as a going concern. 

The equity infusion of Rs 10,300 crore into RINL will help it overcome the operational problems related to raising working capital and start blast furnace operations in the most productive way, the statement said. The financial condition of RINL is critical, it added. 

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that with this revival package many of the legacy problems that RINL used to face will be resolved.  

The revival package would allow the company to gradually reach its full production capacity, which is critical and to have stability in the Indian steel market by augmenting steel production, and also save the livelihoods of employees (regular and contractual). 

The revival plan envisages that RINL will start full production with two blast furnaces in January 2025 and with three blast furnaces by August 2025. 

Under the Ministry of Steel, RINL operates the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), the only offshore steel plant in Andhra Pradesh. It has an installed capacity of 7.3 Mtpa of liquid steel. 

RINL has exhausted the sanctioned borrowing limits from banks for working capital and was not in a position to get further loans from banks. RINL also defaulted on the capex loan repayments and interest payments in June 2024.