Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
The remarkable rise of smallcaps reflects the emergence of a broad set of specialised businesses operating in industries where the sectoral tailwinds remain considerably stronger than macroeconomic headwinds, points out Debashis Basu.
Akshay Kumar runs away with Welcome To The Jungle, but a few unexpected scene-stealers ensure he isn't having all the fun.
'When markets go into a budget with excessive optimism, the risk of disappointment is higher.'
Various reforms, including GST, labour codes, and quality control order, have been rolled out since August 15.
'We won not (only) because we were able to carry out long-range precision strikes.' 'That is, of course, one of the reasons but we had better situational awareness about what's happening than Pakistan.'
'Producers were ready to pay me obscene amounts of money because after Rangeela, they thought if they took A R Rahman and Ahmed Khan, the film would be a hit.' 'There were no imported cars then, no mobile phones or online shopping, no house to run or any big kharcha. I was rocking!'
Despite zero publicity, mythological film Krishnavataram has shown a surprising fight at the box office, while family drama Daadi Ki Shaadi struggled to find an audience.
The Indian central government has reduced its total expenditure by approximately 60,000 crore in FY26, below its revised estimate, to successfully achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the latest data from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
Sitharaman took charge of the Finance Ministry on May 31, 2019, and has steered the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil, making India the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
The best course for the government at this time would be to tighten the seat belt a little more, without compromising on its investments in creating better infrastructure and giving a push to privatisation, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Odisha Gymnastics Association is under investigation for allegedly using the name of its deceased president to secure funds from the state government. A complaint questions the association's governance and financial practices, including the sanctioning of funds from multiple agencies for the same event.
'There's been a sense of FOMO, fear mongering and that has led to token consumption without linkages to ROI and without linkages to outcomes.'
The Union Budget for 2026-27 is expected to sketch out a road map for trebling the cooperative sector's contribution to the Indian economy over the next decade, with the aim of bringing 500 million people within its ambit, in line with the objectives of the National Cooperative Policy, 2025.
A parliamentary committee has voiced concerns over ongoing examination irregularities despite government measures, recommending the Ministry of Education publish a time-bound roadmap for reforms. The panel also urged a nationwide blacklist of firms involved in exam processes and suggested utilising the National Testing Agency's financial surplus to enhance its capabilities.
Heer Sara needed a lot more fizz, humour, and maybe even some stranger danger, suggests Deepa Gahlot.
Moody's Ratings has highlighted that Indian banks are among the most exposed in the Asia-Pacific region to the West Asia crisis, primarily due to India's high dependence on energy imports, which could lead to increased inflation, higher interest rates, and strained borrower cash flows.
'The trade deficit in some sectors is huge and that is an area of opportunity to localise.'
A report indicates that mid-tier banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) entities in India are highly exposed to cyberattacks due to aggressive digitisation coupled with insufficient cybersecurity investments.
Eighteen of India's 28 states exceeded the fiscal deficit ceiling of 3 per cent of GSDP in FY25, a deterioration comparable to the Covid year of 2020-21, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The report also noted a decline in states reporting a revenue surplus, with Bihar, Mizoram, and Telangana moving into deficit.
Indian states significantly increased their reliance on market borrowings to finance gross fiscal deficits in 2025-26, with the share of market borrowings rising to 76.3 per cent, even as the weighted average cut-off yield on State Government Securities (SGS) and spreads over central government securities also increased.
'Without sugar coating things, I could tell Akshay (Kumar) and Rajpal (Yadav) aisa mat kar (don't do that), remind Anna (Suniel Shetty) that it was a just a 'back' shot and point out to Paresh (Rawal) bhai that since he was not in focus, so he didn't have to give too many expressions.'
Siddaramaiah met Rahul Gandhi to discuss his future role within the Congress party after resigning as Chief Minister of Karnataka. The meeting addressed his potential future roles and the formation of the new Karnataka government.
The Centre is considering amendments to the Recovery of Debt and Bankruptcy Act in the Budget to allow some Debt Recovery Tribunals to focus only on high-value cases.
Indian IT stocks have seen a significant decline of up to 33 per cent year-to-date in 2026, largely due to artificial intelligence (AI) disrupting traditional outsourcing models, leading analysts to predict a challenging FY27 for the sector despite some cushion from rupee depreciation.
The NDA government has gradually nuanced its position on the issue of demographic challenge.
The Union Budget 2025-26 had allocated Rs 2,33,210.68 crore (BE) to the ministry helmed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
India's net direct tax collections increased by 5.12 per cent to over Rs 23.40 lakh crore in the 2025-26 fiscal year, but this figure still fell short of the revised budget target of Rs 24.21 lakh crore, primarily due to income tax cuts implemented earlier in the year.
The government's flagship Khelo India programme received an allocation of Rs 924.35 crore.
India is a global leader in software development services, IT enabled services, knowledge process outsourcing services and contract R&D services relating to software development, Sitharaman said noting these business segments are quite inter-connected with each other.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has mandated a uniform policy for all sports grounds in the state, focusing on modern sanitation, separate changing rooms, and CCTV surveillance to ensure the safety and enhance the performance of women athletes. This directive aims to strengthen the sports ecosystem and encourage greater participation from women.
Bank of Baroda economists project India's GDP to grow 6.5-6.8 per cent in FY27 but warn that the fiscal deficit could overshoot the budgeted 4.3 per cent target, potentially reaching 4.7-4.8 per cent of GDP due to subsidy overruns, excise duty cuts, and oil marketing company losses.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that the state government will introduce a new recruitment policy in the next Budget session to address irregularities and scams that occurred during the previous Trinamool Congress government.
Dinesh Trivedi's experience as a businessperson and his fluency in Bengali are expected to be crucial in strengthening India-Bangladesh relations, particularly in attracting Indian investments to Dhaka.
With features usually seen in more expensive cars and segment-first paddle shifters, the Tiago offers excellent value for money, says Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a record surplus transfer of Rs 2.87 trillion to the central government for FY26, driven by increased income and an expanded balance sheet, despite a reduction in the contingent risk buffer (CRB) to 6.5 per cent.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies eroded by Rs 9,40,581.75 crore to Rs 4,50,61,658.60 crore (USD 4.90 trillion) in a single day.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said there are some parties that have expressed their inability to attend this particular meeting for their own reasons.
An Indore court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Congress councilor Fauzia Sheikh Alim, who is accused of refusing to sing 'Vande Mataram' during a municipal corporation meeting, citing a prima facie case under BNS section 196(1).
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is anticipated to make its highest-ever dividend payment to the government this year, providing a significant fiscal boost to address challenges, including those stemming from the ongoing Middle East crisis.
