'When a technology is this fundamental, a country should have its own version of it, rather than relying on whether someone else chooses to build it for you.'
India's economy experienced a growth of 7.8 per cent during the October-December quarter of 2025-26, according to the new series of national accounts with 2022-23 as the base year.
Participatory notes are instruments through which foreign investors trade in the country's equity and debt markets.
'That journey across India has changed me forever.'
In 2025-26, the government allocated Rs 6,81,210 crore for defence budget.
The government on Friday received financial bids for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) said in an official statement on X.
It is difficult to make conveyor belt and baggage-scanning scenes thrilling -- which is how most people trying to sneak out through the Green Channel are caught -- but Neeraj Pandey and co-director Raghav M Jairath and co-writer Vipul K Rawal make sure there is enough going on to make the series watchable, raves Deepa Gahlot.
A UN Security Council report indicates that Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was reportedly linked to a terror attack on the Red Fort in New Delhi. The report also highlights JeM's activities, including the establishment of a women-only wing and its presence in the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Israel for two days to discuss bilateral and regional issues, marking his second visit to the Jewish state and highlighting the growing strategic partnership between India and Israel.
For the first time, the government is likely to dip into the Oil Industry Development Fund (OIDF) to finance part of its fertiliser subsidy programme for 2025-26, according to official sources. The finance ministry has accounted for Rs 23,000 crore in the FY26 Budget as net additional resources to be drawn from dedicated reserve funds, including the OIDF, the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Fund, and the Universal Service Obligation Fund.
In a region increasingly shaped by competition and coercion, such collaboration strengthens security without confrontation, builds capacity without dependency and promotes order without domination, points out Dr Kumar.
The first leg of the Budget session concluded with debates over the India-US trade deal and a former army chief's memoir, and will reassemble on March 9.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has launched an integrated audit across 32 states and Union Territories to assess the ease of doing business for the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Thursday called for sharper disclosures in IPO (initial public offering) offer documents, particularly around risk factors, valuation rationale, objects of the issue, and utilisation of proceeds.
The International Monetary Fund chief economist-designate Raghuram Rajan feels big deficits -- whether India's fiscal deficit or the United States' current account deficit -- are not sustainable in the long term.
'The preparedness of our defence forces and positioning of intelligence assets were very different in 2008, so we had to rebuild our assets and preparedness.'
Ajit Pawar, who was the finance and planning minister, would have tabled his budget for 2026-27 next month when the state legislature's budget session begins in Mumbai on February 23.
The government on Wednesday approved two schemes worth Rs 45,000 crore to help exporters tide over the impact of high tariffs imposed by the US on Indian shipments.
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
It is learnt that India was mulling various options relating to the project after Trump administration threatened a 25 per cent additional tariff on countries doing business with Tehran.
The finance ministry will have to rely on the weapons in its arsenal, since monetary policy is not providing the support.
The total expenditure on the MGNREGA programme, as per the revised estimates from 2025-26, was Rs 88,000 crore, while initially, a sum of Rs 86,000 crore was allocated.
CAG warns most states of fiscal imprudence as March spending overshoots limits, with key departments exhausting large portions of budgets in the last month of FY24.
The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24.
'LIC's investment decisions are taken independently, following strict due diligence, risk assessment and fiduciary compliance.'
Total pending Customs arrears, including amounts under litigation, court stays and cases where the appeal period has not expired, stood at about Rs 1.36 trillion at the end of December 2024.
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 Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has sought urgent steps to clear the huge backlog of income-tax appeals, simplify tax deducted at source (TDS) compliance, and ensure tax neutrality for fast-track demergers, during its consultation with Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27.
To enable Indian banks and financial institutions to develop an aircraft-leasing ecosystem at GIFT City, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has sought support from the Ministry of Finance. It has also raised concern over slow progress in developing aircraft leasing in India.
A 500 per cent tariff would effectively shut out India's goods and services exports to the US.
CPGRAMS -- an online platform available to citizens 24x7 to lodge their grievances to public authorities on service delivery -- has existed for close to two decades. But it has never been this active, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
While 28,141 applicants accepted internship in round one, in the second phase this was down to 24,638.
The change in the government's engagement with the economy's need for reforms is more nuanced than how analysts have so far perceived it, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The revised ceiling will be within the Rs 10 lakh mark.
The government is likely to give a subsidy of Rs 30,000-35,000 crore to state-run oil companies - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) - to compensate for losses incurred from selling LPG at below cost over the past 15 months, according to a senior official.
'Grassroots-level corruption, which disrupts the last-mile work, cannot be ignored in your enthusiasm and drive to get going to complete the project.' 'Like it was in MGNREGA, in some states, it is the case with the Jal Jeevan mission.' 'The last minute levels of corruption can ruin the intent of the project itself.' 'When you see that people can game a particular well-intended and well-crafted project, you need to correct that.'
A Delhi Police SWAT commando died after allegedly being brutally assaulted by her husband, who reportedly announced the killing during a phone call with the victim's brother. The family alleges prolonged torture and dowry harassment.
'Suddenly we had a new comprehension of affairs, which reminded that the luxury of politics floated atop a foundation by economics.' 'Along with this, finance ministers became crucial in molding the perception and reputation of Union Cabinets.' 'Governments couldn't afford a wrong person in that portfolio,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
Given that a sizeable part of this money is part of the coveted current accounts and savings accounts, it is surprising that banks are not in a hurry to revive these accounts, notes Tamal Bandyopdhyay.
