The Supreme Court has strongly criticised the Centre and pharmaceutical manufacturers over the significant disparity between the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of medicines and their price to retailers, questioning the justification for such high margins and the perceived ineffectiveness of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). The court reserved its verdict on petitions seeking strict price control and prevention of unethical overpricing of essential medicines.
Growth in India's currency in circulation (CiC) has reached a five-year high, primarily due to deposits under the Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank), or FCNR(B), scheme, leading to a robust increase in reserve money, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 'State of the Economy' report.
A shocking incident of alleged caste discrimination has emerged from Tamil Nadu's Erode district, where two Dalit men were reportedly forced to prostrate before dominant caste members.
Nandan Nilekani, head of the task force on exam reforms, stated on Tuesday that technology and a systematic approach can solve the issue of question paper leaks. He suggested generating exam papers from a large question bank at the last minute to remove economic incentives for leaks and also proposed moving towards computer-based testing.
The subtext here is that nobody else really matters to America today; only China, because nobody else can truly hurt them, points out Mihir S Sharma.
India's largest private-sector lender, HDFC Bank, is undergoing a significant leadership transition with several long-serving executives, including Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha and outgoing MD & CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, set to depart, leaving incoming MD & CEO Anup Bagchi to oversee a major overhaul.
Gadi Eisenkot, a career soldier and leader of the centrist Yashar party, has emerged as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's principal challenger in the upcoming Israeli general election. His campaign is testing whether a leader from Israel's historically marginalised Mizrahi community can reshape the country's political establishment, which has been dominated by Ashkenazi Jews.
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has strongly criticised Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's decision to skip the BRICS summit in India, calling it "immature" and detrimental to Bangladesh's national interest. She argued that the absence lost opportunities for economic development and that foreign policy should not be driven by personal considerations. Hasina also highlighted the current "grave national crisis" in Bangladesh and her intention to return to restore democracy.
The US announced a 60-day pause on sanctions against Russia and tariffs on other countries, including India, to analyse the global economic impact. This decision, made via an executive order by Trump, has drawn significant criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, who had previously passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. US officials stated the waiver allows for assessment of global energy pressures and European allies' refusal to impose secondary sanctions on Russian oil buyers.
The main culprit behind this cost escalation are rising prices of sugar and milk that go into making the sweets.
A report by IIT Bombay suggests that the proposed Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions needs rationalisation before implementation to safeguard public trust in the digital payments system, highlighting that UPI's long-term economic benefits outweigh potential incremental income from merchant fees.
A Delhi court has upheld cheating and criminal conspiracy proceedings against M3M India Pvt Ltd and its promoters in an alleged Rs 450-crore land fraud case. The case involves allegations by MGF Developments Ltd regarding a land exchange deal where M3M allegedly failed to pay the full consideration. While criminal breach of trust charges were set aside, the court directed the trial court to proceed expeditiously on cheating and conspiracy charges.
Marco Rubio will visit Mumbai and Jamnagar to discuss energy cooperation as S Jaishankar says India-US trade talks are nearing a landing point, with a few issues unresolved.
Telangana IT Minister D Sridhar Babu stated that Gen Z will be the driving force behind the next wave of AI and green innovation. He urged young innovators to use their skills to solve real-world challenges, particularly in sustainability. The launch of the Green Skills and Applied AI Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad, a partnership between Telangana's IT Ministry, Microsoft, 1M1B, and MeitY Startup Hub, aims to equip graduates with industry-relevant skills in AI, green pharma, solar energy, EVs, and wind energy, with 100 job offers already announced.
Indigenous communities fear that a large reservoir could submerge ancestral land and settlements, disrupt traditional livelihoods and damage forests, wildlife habitats and river ecosystems in a seismically active Himalayan region.
Amitabh Kant, former NITI Aayog CEO, and PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl express strong confidence in India's potential to become a global golf powerhouse within the next decade. Kant specifically predicts a woman golfer will achieve a breakthrough moment for the country. They highlight India's demographic advantage, rising youth participation, and the need for university-level talent development and private investment in infrastructure to achieve this goal.
'There should have been more transparency in the process which even today we don't know.'
The Indian Cabinet has approved Fairfax Financial Holdings' Rs 52,878 crore bid to acquire a 60.72 per cent stake in IDBI Bank, marking the country's largest foreign direct investment in the financial sector.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has announced that Input Tax Credit (ITC) will now be available on health and life insurance policies provided by employers to their employees, a move expected to significantly reduce costs for businesses, especially MSMEs.
Tilak Varma starred with a match-winning fifty to power India to a thrilling victory in the second T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday.
Domestic passenger vehicle dispatches in India increased by 21.8 per cent year-on-year to 4,54,574 units in September, while two-wheeler sales rose 13.5 per cent to 24.63 lakh units, according to SIAM data.
Wadhwani AI is working on a 'vulnerability mapping' project which determines the probability of a disease breaking out in a particular area during a particular season or time.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw warned of increased global turbulence from tech disruptions, AI, and financial risks in the coming years. He stated that India is strengthening its economic and technological resilience to protect its growth from external shocks. India is focusing on domestic manufacturing and design in critical tech areas while maintaining global integration, with trust becoming as crucial as cost in supply chains.
A Delhi court has rescinded a Look-Out Circular (LOC) against Akash Gupta, an accused in a Rs 247-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, stating that the seriousness of an allegation cannot be the sole reason for its continued operation. The court noted Gupta's cooperation and previous adherence to travel conditions.
India has secured a spot among the top 10 leading emerging-market performers in artificial intelligence (AI) readiness, with private investment in AI more than tripling to USD 4.1 billion in 2025, according to a new World Bank report.
If the new MDR regime is rolled out from the middle of this month, as scheduled, it should count as one of the boldest political actions by the Modi government on an economic-policy issue, and a signal that it is less worried about erosion of political capital it draws from one of its key constituencies, notes A K Bhattacharya.
India is developing a 'Gross Domestic Knowledge Product' (GDKP) to identify and define its knowledge assets, a move aimed at safeguarding them amidst global efforts to monetise and 'weaponise' knowledge, according to NITI Aayog member R Balasubramaniam.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will persist in its efforts to prevent excessive volatility in the rupee, which has significantly depreciated against the US dollar due to global uncertainties, despite India's strong macro-economic fundamentals.
J&K Bank MD and CEO Amitava Chatterjee defended the surcharge on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, stating it is necessary for the system's long-term sustainability. He also discussed the shift of household savings to mutual funds, the bank's profit growth, and India's consumption-based economy.
India's net direct tax collection witnessed a robust 13.21 per cent increase, reaching approximately Rs 13.38 lakh crore between April 1 and October 14, primarily fuelled by a strong performance in corporate tax mop-up.
AI-managed services firm RapidCanvas, with a significant employee base in India, announced on Friday that it has raised USD 29 million (approximately Rs 275 crore) in Series B funding. The round was led by Vertex Ventures SEA and India, with participation from Hitachi Ventures and existing investors. The company plans to use the funds to expand its go-to-market teams, partner network, and grow its employee base and engineering teams in India, the US, and Brazil, while also investing in product development.
French Prime Minister Sbastien Lecornu said police arrested 1,200 protesters on Saturday, and 150 personnel were injured as demonstrations across the country over the rising cost of living turned violent.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to India this week underscores the complex dynamics of global energy policy, as Washington re-evaluates sanctions on Russian oil buyers amidst India's continued reliance on Russian crude.
A CII white paper released Thursday outlines a strategy for India's media and entertainment sector to achieve a USD 100 billion valuation by the early 2030s, requiring an annual growth rate of 15 per cent and significant policy reforms. The paper identifies key areas for growth, including broadcasting reform, anti-piracy measures, and investment in regional markets.
Bangladesh's Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed will skip the first-ever BIMSTEC home ministers' meeting in New Delhi, with a senior bureaucrat leading the delegation. This absence underscores strained India-Bangladesh ties, particularly following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024 and Dhaka's request for her extradition from India.
Union Minister Rajnath Singh has accused the Congress and its allies of attempting to instigate a 'Bangladesh-like regime change' in India, leveraging youth energy for political confrontation and anarchy, rather than constructive nation-building.
African digital financial services platform, Airtel Money, has successfully debuted on the London Stock Exchange, marking the exchange's largest initial public offering (IPO) in several years with an implied market capitalisation of about USD 7 billion.
NITI Aayog has recommended treating data centres as strategic infrastructure rather than mere investment projects, releasing a report titled 'Data Centre Evaluation Framework to Help States Plan for Sustainable Growth'. The report advocates for common standards, central government guidance, and a structured approach for states to manage data centre growth, considering resource requirements and economic benefits.
India is deeply concerned by the growing consolidation of Pakistan-backed jihadi and radical Islamist groups in Bangladesh, particularly in the strategically vital Chittagong Hill Tracts, which experts warn is transforming the country into a new safe haven for these networks and posing a direct threat to India's security.
Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran stated that the second half of the current fiscal year (FY27) is expected to be challenging due to increased downside risks to global growth and rising interest rates worldwide.
