'Raising the retrenchment, layoff and closure threshold to 300 workers for prior government permission enables hire-and-fire in more than 90 per cent of the Indian workplaces. More than 12,00,000 disputes are now pending for adjudication with an average disposal period ranging from 3 to five years for more than 75 per cent of the disputes.'
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is looking into complaints of additional charges being levied by ecommerce platforms when customers choose cash-on-delivery (COD) option instead of paying while ordering items. "The Department of Consumer Affairs has received complaints against ecommerce platforms charging extra for cash-on-delivery, a practice classified as a dark pattern that misleads and exploits consumers," Pralhad Joshi, Union minister of consumer affairs, wrote on X on Friday afternoon.
'When you finally hold that red bag with your personalised Onitsukas inside, it feels like ticking off a very satisfying item on your travel checklist,' discovers Mayur Sanap after visiting Onitsuka Tiger's famous Red Concept store in Tokyo.
They accounted for 39.1 per cent of the premium paid to trade equity options in September 2025.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarifies President Trump's stance on H-1B visas, emphasizing his priority for American workers while acknowledging the need for skilled foreign workers to train them in specialized industries.
When emotionally immature people feel cornered, usually you will find them blaming the other person for what goes wrong, says rediffGURU Anu Krishna.
Once the OS layer is opened to the State, it doesn't close, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
A US bankruptcy court has reversed a $1 billion damages ruling against Byju Raveendran, according to a statement from the founders of Think and Learn Pvt Ltd - the parent firm of ed-tech platform Byju's.
Domestic PMI data, US Federal Reserve meeting minutes and the progress on India-US trade deal negotiations are likely to influence movement in the equity market in the week ahead, according to analysts. Moreover, the trading activity of foreign investors would also influence the equity market trends.
The US has replaced random H-1B selection with a wage-weighted lottery and a new $100,000 fee for applications, raising uncertainty for students and junior hires.
Both the life and non-life insurance segment posted over 20 per cent premium growth in November for the first time in this financial year (FY26), supported by the reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on premiums from 18 per cent to zero and a favourable base effect.
Just over a year ago, India was investors' top pick among EMs. Its slide down the rankings follows $30 billion (over 2.5 trillion) of foreign selling over the past 12-13 months.
'For the initial decade, I consistently advise young professionals to prioritise career development and income growth rather than market analysis.'
Ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy review in the first week of December, major public sector non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) - the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), Power Finance Corporation (PFC), and Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) - plan to raise up to Rs 24,000 crore together through bond issuancesk.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that raising the FDI limit to 100 per cent in the insurance sector will help attract more capital, improve competition and increase insurance penetration by making policies more affordable.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
Affordable homes, priced under Rs 40 lakh per unit, may not be attractive anymore, not just for developers but also for investors, with the segment seeing a 26 per cent price rise over three years since 2022 versus 40 per cent returns from luxury homes priced Rs 1.5 crore and above.
India's $280-billion IT industry heads into 2026, balancing visa-related headwinds and global trade uncertainty against its biggest-ever push into artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of global capability centres (GCCs). Heightened scrutiny of the US H-1B visa programme - including a proposed $100,000 fee for new visas and concerns over a potential 25 per cent outsourcing tax - has complicated cross-border delivery for Indian firms, even as companies accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on onsite staffing.
'10 million Indians are currently living with dementia, and the number is expected to double by 2036.'
As many as 26 top e-commerce companies, including Zepto, BigBasket and Zomato, have given an undertaking that their platforms are free from misleading claims and unfair trade practices which constitute 'dark patterns', the government said on Thursday.
A 12-year-old Dalit boy in Shimla district allegedly died by suicide after being harassed by upper caste women for entering their house. The incident has sparked outrage and calls for justice.
Even as non-life insurers reported muted premium growth in October, standalone health insurers saw a robust 38 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) surge. This growth was driven by pent-up demand in the retail health insurance segment.
A dramatic rescue by SDRF of a man stranded in the Tawi river.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The Supreme Court of India has expressed concern over the increasing tendency to label failed relationships as rape, emphasizing the need to distinguish between genuine sexual violence and consensual acts within a relationship.
According to police, the girls -- aged 13 and 14 years -- had come to stay with Chaudhary's elder brother at a village in Kosikalan area during Diwali, in a bid to escape the abuse and torture. Their brother was already staying with the uncle to pursue his studies.
A court in Kochi sentenced six individuals to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with the 2017 actress assault case. The convicted were found guilty of gang rape and other offenses, while actor Dileep was acquitted.
The 40 per cent trans-shipment tariff by the US will create major compliance issues for companies in India and the ASEAN region, with high risks for sectors like machinery, electrical equipment and semiconductors, Moody's Ratings said on Tuesday. In July 31, US President Donald Trump announced a 40 per cent tariff on goods deemed to have been transshipped, beyond the broader country-level tariffs.
The reduction in the number of loan accounts and the outstanding amount during the last financial year is a cause of concern and stress for microfinance institutions (MFI), Secretary, Department of Financial Services, M Nagaraju said on Thursday, highlighting "inefficiency" in MFIs that leads to higher rates of interest.
Online brokerage Zerodha faced a brief technical glitch on Wednesday morning that disrupted price updates for some users on its Kite trading app.
A man was murdered allegedly by his wife's paramour and two relatives who buried the body beneath the kitchen floor of his house in Ahmedabad city, police said on Wednesday, a chilling crime reminiscent of a scene from Hindi movie Drishyam.
It is important to stand up for your partner if you think they are being unfair to her, says rediffGURU Ravi Mittal, CEO of Quack Quack, an online dating Website.
Booth-level officers in Kerala boycotted work following the suicide of a colleague allegedly due to work strain related to the Special Intensive Revision exercise. Trade unions and political leaders are demanding investigations and changes to the process.
rediffGURU Shalini Singh, founder of andwemet, emphasises how to prioritise self healing and build your confidence and come out stronger.
Retirement fund body EPFO has extended the deadline for filing EPF return or ECR (electronic challan-cum-return) by one week for the wage month of September till October 22, 2025. The employers are mandated to file the ECR by the 15th of every month.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday introduced the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which aims to provide tax exemptions to subscribers of the Unified Pension Scheme.
Top real estate developers reported healthy presales growth in the second quarter of FY26, aided by a steady pipeline of new project launches. While overall housing momentum across major Indian cities moderated during the quarter, listed players remained relatively insulated.
A pregnant woman was allegedly stabbed to death by her former live-in partner in Delhi's Nabi Karim area before her husband overpowered and killed the attacker, police said on Sunday.
As a marriage ages, boredom creeps in and feelings move to the back burner, giving way to monotonous interactions, says rediffGURU Anu Krishna.
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