The mutual fund industry in the country saw assets under management (AUM) surging to Rs 66.7 lakh crore in 2024 and is set to cross the 50-million unique investor base this year.

The stupendous growth is expected due to sustained buoyancy in the equity market and a surge in new fund offerings (NFOs).

According to industry experts, the investor count may reach 100 million by 2030, with Rs 100 trillion in total AUM. This surge will be fuelled by the market's resilience, strong retail participation, favourable market conditions, and diverse investment strategies.

The net AUM of the Indian mutual fund industry surged to cross Rs 65 lakh crore mark for the first time in August. Equity funds saw Rs 38,239 crore inflows in August, a 3.03 per cent growth from Rs 37,113 crore witnessed in July.

The systematic investment plans (SIPs) reached fresh highs as monthly contributions via SIPs hit Rs 23,547 crore in August, against Rs 23,332 crore in the previous month.

India’s tech startup ecosystem secured $7.6 billion funding in the nine months this year, along with witnessing six new unicorns, a massive 500 per cent increase compared to just one unicorn in 2023, a report showed on Tuesday.

The initial public offering (IPO) numbers have surged, with 29 tech companies going public in 2024 (year to date), compared to 15 during the same period in 2023, according to the report by Tracxn, a SaaS-based market intelligence platform.

According to the report, India's economy has shown resilience in 2024, achieving an 8.2 per cent GDP growth rate for FY24, surpassing earlier estimates and the 7 per cent growth of the previous fiscal year.

“Despite the broader economic challenges, India’s tech ecosystem continues to demonstrate resilience,” said Neha Singh, Co-founder Tracxn.

At least 500 million smartphone users globally will regularly make verifiable claims using a digital identity wallet (DIW) by 2026, a report said on Tuesday.

Identity verification establishes confidence in the identity of a person during a digital interaction when curated credentials do not exist, are not available or do not provide sufficient assurance.

However, due to challenges with the traditional IDV model, solutions based on portable digital identity (PDI) have emerged, according to a Gartner report.

“The market is entering a transition period as PDI solutions are starting to mature, which in the next five years, will reduce the demand for standalone IDV,” said Akif Khan, VP Analyst at Gartner.

There is a persistent skill gap among gig economy workers and they must develop industry-specific knowledge to remain competitive, a report said on Tuesday.

The report by TeamLease Edtech showed that 42.86 per cent of gig workers lack industry knowledge as the primary skill deficit. While gig workers are often technically adept, the absence of domain expertise can hinder their efficiency and effectiveness.

In addition to this, 28.57 per cent of employers cited soft skills, including communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, as another critical gap. These skills are essential for gig workers, who frequently manage multiple clients and projects simultaneously.

The organised retail apparel sector in India is projected to see 8-10 per cent revenue growth this fiscal, riding on higher demand stemming from a normal monsoon, easing inflation, festive and wedding season and increasing preference for fast fashion, a report showed on Tuesday.

Retailers in the country are adjusting business strategies, enhancing supply chain efficiency and focusing on new trends – particularly in fast fashion – to meet the evolving consumer behaviour.

According to the Crisil Ratings report, retailers will focus on enhancing efficiencies at existing stores, controlling costs and limiting reliance on external debt, which will help maintain their operating margin at 7.2-7.4 per cent despite continued high marketing expenses, thereby ensuring stable credit profiles.

The US Department of Commerce has proposed a rule to prohibit the import or sale of connected vehicles integrating certain software and hardware with a "nexus" to China or Russia, citing national security concerns.

The department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice of the proposed rule amid concerns that those cars with cameras, sensors, software and other components -- manufactured in China -- could be used to glean sensitive data about drivers and passengers, as well as U.S. infrastructure.

The rule is expected to lead South Korean automakers to readjust their supply chains if they have used prohibited software and components from China. But the measure would make it difficult for their potential Chinese competitors to enter the U.S. market, observers said, reports news agency.

Scientists at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have obtained a suitable optical response in an atomic medium that can be used to store light for a significant amount of time.

This can help facilitate designing applications for several quantum protocols for high-precision quantum sensors, they said in a paper published in the journal Physica Scripta.

The team in collaboration with scientists from the TIFR Hyderabad used thermal Potassium and subjected the atoms to two laser lights to create quantum interferences in the atomic medium.

The quantum coherence inside this atomic medium was created using the control light, which is also a laser. These probe and control lights were derived from extremely stabilised laser sources to perform the experiments using Potassium atoms.

Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola Electric shares nosedived further on Monday, as market analysts warned retail investors not to go bullish on the stock yet, owing to its speculative valuation amid rising competition.

The electric vehicle (EV) company’s stock closed at 108.15 apiece, a drop of 2.56 per cent from its last trading session. The share is down more than 31 per cent from its recent all-time high of 157.40.

The stock market is bullish on the EV theme with Ola leading in the two-wheeler segment, although its market share has been decreasing amid tough competition from rivals like TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto.

As global capability centres (GCCs) continue to expand in India, their revenue growth is estimated to be 1-2 per cent higher than that of IT service providers (ISPs) in the next two-three years, compared to 3 per cent higher in the past few years, a report showed on Monday.

New GCCs are opening at a fast pace and, more importantly, existing GCCs continue to expand, as per HSBC Global Research.

“It's tough to generalise but based on our sample set of over 30 GCCs we met this year, GCC-to-outsourcing ratio may stabilise at 70:30 eventually (especially for banks) and we are currently at c65:35,” the report mentioned.

Improving value proposition in terms of cost and services have driven GCC growth in recent years.

For asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), the cumulative recovery rate for stressed operational thermal power plants (TPPs) is set to improve 700-900 basis points (bps) on-year to 83-85 per cent next fiscal due to robust growth in power consumption, a report said on Monday.

"Increase in the recovery will be driven by higher power demand on the back of adequate coal availability, timely payment by distribution companies (discoms) and expected healthy merchant power prices," CRISIL Ratings said in a report.

These industry tailwinds are not only supporting faster resolutions but may also aid the resolution of about 5 GW of stressed TPPs over the next 2 fiscals, it said.

Power consumption is expected to rise 6-7 per cent in FY 2024-25, driven by strong demand from the commercial and industrial (C&I) segments, and growing urbanisation.