Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
The India vs Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup will go ahead as scheduled after Pakistan's government on Monday decided to withdraw its boycott call.
The government on Sunday gave a strong push to upgradation and expansion of healthcare infrastructure, medical education and pharma sector with the Union Budget 2026-27 announcing a slew of steps, including those aimed at making India a global hub for allied healthcare professionals and biopharma manufacturing.
Companies would have to recognise the increase in gratuity liability arising from new labour codes in their interim financial statements and results for the period ending December 31, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has said in its FAQs on the new labour codes.
The convergence of artificial intelligence, evolving labour regulations and rising employee expectations will redefine how organisations manage pay, people and performance in the coming year, a report says.
With the rise in elderly population and increasing interest around the segment by developers, the senior living industry is poised to reach a market size of $8 billion by 2030 from the current $1.8 to $2 billion, according to a report by Association of Senior Living in India (ASLI) and JLL.
The International Cricket Council on Monday said it would not be imposing any penalty on the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for refusing to play its T20 World Cup matches in India.
'LIC's investment decisions are taken independently, following strict due diligence, risk assessment and fiduciary compliance.'
The country's banking system, while remaining "resilient" with bad loans at over a decade low and strong capital buffers, will continue to face intense competition from non-bank sources for resource mobilisation, said the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2024-25 report.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday announced a slew of measures to ease the compliance burden in the stock markets ecosystem, encourage more companies to list on the bourses after reverse flipping to India, and facilitate greater foreign fund flows into government bonds.
While gold continues to provide safety after its strong 2025 rally, well-chosen real estate investments held with a long-term view remain attractive.
The proposals outlined in Budget 2026-27 represent a carefully crafted, multi-year strategy designed to strengthen India's big bets on the path to Viksit Bharat 2047, says Sameer Gupta.
Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the government has initiated an inquiry into Indigo's mass flight cancellations and will take strict action against the operator to set an example for other airlines.
'This Budget has a one-year agenda, which you can call the sprint, and the marathon is towards Viksit Bharat.'
India's market regulator is moving ahead to include real estate investment trusts (Reits) in benchmark indices in a phased manner, Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, while asserting that the regulator was working to strengthen the link between infrastructure building and the markets.
India's largest airline IndiGo on Thursday reported a 78 per cent decline in December quarter net profit at Rs 549.1 crore as flight disruptions and implementation of the new labour code took a toll on its earnings. The airline reported a net profit of Rs 549.1 crore in the October-December quarter, compared with Rs 2,448.8 crore earnings in the year-ago period, according to a company statement.
India's leading conglomerates are stepping up investments in real estate, recasting what was once a peripheral activity into a core growth driver. Supported by strong balance sheets, established brands and access to long-term capital, major business houses including Aditya Birla, Tata, Godrej, L&T, Raymond, Wadia, Shapoorji Pallonji, Mahindra and Adani are positioning realty as a strategic pillar within their diversified portfolios.
A national rollout will take place after the pilot test in which SBI, PNB, Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank are participating.
The RBI has flagged concerns over rising volatility in gold prices and advised lenders to exercise caution in the gold loan segment.
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.
The Bill is likely to pave the way for amending two existing legislations -- the Atomic Energy Act 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010.
Three laws passed in Parliament could boost central revenues, reshape GST cess flows, shift MGNREGA costs to states and create new budget headroom ahead of the 2026-2027 Union Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, a move that was welcomed by industry as it would help attract more capital and global expertise, while boosting insurance coverage in the country. A bill to amend the insurance law is likely to be tabled on Monday in Parliament, whose winter session is slated to conclude on December 19.
Under the new rules, users must take a "live selfie" using software that verifies their presence, typically through eye-blinking or head movement. The measure helps prevent the use of static photos or deepfakes.
'The government is putting insurance in the same category as food, which is essential for life.' 'Now this is an opportunity for the sector to focus on the consumer.'
Tata Sons, now debt-free, has asked the RBI to drop its 'upper-layer NBFC' tag and allow it to stay private.
Widespread use of crypto assets, including stablecoins, can have a negative impact on the macroeconomic and financial stability of a country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday. In its Financial Stability Report (FSR), the banking regulator highlighted that excessive use of crypto assets can reduce effectiveness of monetary policy, worsen fiscal risks, circumvent capital flow management measures, divert resources available for financing the real economy and threaten global financial stability.
Banks will be able to give loans to Indian companies for acquiring the entire equity stake or a controlling part of it in domestic or foreign firms as strategic investment that creates long-term value rather than for short-term financial restructuring if the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) draft circular, issued on Friday, comes to fruition.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was on Monday awarded to Ben S Bernanke, Douglas W Diamond, and Philip H Dybvig for their research work on bank regulation and how financial crises should be managed.
Manchester City were referred to an independent commission over the alleged breaches of financial regulations, which go back to the 2009-10 campaign.
State Bank of India has embarked on a drive to cut the Know Your Customer (KYC) process to a single one across its branches, a top official said on Tuesday.
With deposit growth remaining sluggish and the credit - deposit ratio of commercial banks crossing 80 per cent, banks have ramped up their borrowing in the certificate of deposit (CD) market. In the fortnight ended November 14, CD issuances climbed to nearly Rs 55,000 crore - double the borrowings of the preceding two fortnights and the highest since the September 19 fortnight.
'It allows everybody to participate and controls all assets.' 'We want to have something that allows everyone to participate and control all kinds of assets.'
The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday gave its approval to Vedanta Limited's demerger proposal, clearing the way for the group to reorganise its operations into five distinct, sector-specific entities.
The idea is to establish a robust and forward-looking legal framework that addresses the financial stress of power distribution companies, which are facing losses of over 6.9 trillion, while curbing high industrial tariffs that, according to the government, have affected competitiveness, constrained economic growth, and slowed the transition to clean energy.
HDFC Bank has been barred from onboarding new customers at its Dubai International Financial Centre branch by the local regulator. HDFC Bank, India's largest private sector lender, said it has initiated the necessary steps to comply with the notice of the Dubai Financial Services Authority and added that it does not see any material impact from it.
Markets regulator Sebi is actively working with the Ministry of Finance and other financial regulators on setting up a centralised KYC (Know Your Customer) system, chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has said. The Central KYC is an online database that maintains KYC records of customers in a centralised manner, aiming to streamline compliance across financial institutions.
The exemption of individual life and health insurance premiums from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) enables the insurance industry to make products affordable and attractive, said Ajay Seth, chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025.
Officials said the government is keen to conform to the convention of the Union Budget for 2026-2027 being presented on February 1 despite it falling on a Sunday in 2026.
'Only four or five original companies remain; the rest have been replaced every decade as sectors evolve or leadership shifts.' 'Companies that fail to adapt -- like many textile mills from the 1970s and shipping firms from the 1980s -- disappear.' 'Benchmark indices reward those who reinvent themselves in line with economic demands.'
