Questions will be raised over why those changes take place and whether non-economic factors are at play, says A K Bhattacharya.
India fully utilised its military modernisation budget in 2024-2025 -- the first time in five years -- and signed a record Rs 2 trillion defence contracts.
India will not provide any duty concessions on British wines and is offering only limited import duty benefits on UK beer under the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, announced on May 6, according to an official. The other sensitive agri products where India will not offer any reduction in the import duty include dairy products, apples, cheese, oats, animals and vegetable oils under the agreement with the United Kingdom.
The Indian economy is projected to grow at 6.2 per cent in 2025-26, slower than earlier estimated rate of 6.5 per cent, due to escalated trade tensions and global uncertainty, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday. "For India, the growth outlook is relatively more stable at 6.2 per cent in 2025, supported by private consumption, particularly in rural areas," IMF said in its World Economic Outlook (WEO).
India's onion production is expected to rise by 19 per cent to 288.77 lakh tonne in the ongoing crop year ending June 2025, according to the agriculture ministry's latest estimate.
Overall profitability in the agriculture sector is expected to be marginally higher at the pan-India level in the 2024-25 kharif season, driven largely by higher production and low input cost, but offset by the declining price of some produce, according to a report released by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd on Wednesday. The report said that region-wise farm profitability in the northern belt was expected to be relatively better than in the southern belt, while the eastern and western belts presented a mixed bag.
Retail inflation dipped marginally to a nearly six-year low of 3.34 per cent in March due to a decline in prices of vegetables and protein-rich items. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 3.61 per cent in February and 4.85 per cent in March last year.
Discrepancies in computation of advance estimates of the country's Gross Domestic Product for 2023-24 stood at Rs 2.59 lakh crore as against (-) Rs 3.80 lakh crore in 2022-23 and (-) Rs 4.47 lakh crore in 2021-22, according to National Statistical Office (NSO). On Friday, the NSO released its first advance estimates of national accounts which showed that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Indian economy will grow at 7.3 per cent in 2023-24, slightly higher than 7.2 per cent in 2022-23.
'The larger and more opaque this shadow economy becomes, especially online, the greater the risk to India's national security.'
India's hospitality sector is rolling out the red carpet for investors. A flurry of upcoming IPOs, or initial public offerings, the entry of new players, and ambitious expansion plans by Indian and global hotel brands are ushering in what could be the industry's most formalised era yet. Leading the charge are real estate titans, who are turning their hotel arms into global hospitality chains.
Indian refiners are likely to import 2-2.2 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil in June - the highest in the last two years and more than the total volumes bought from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, preliminary data by global trade analytics firm Kpler showed.
Chhaava has entered the Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) club in just three days.
Amid low growth elsewhere, gross value added (GVA) growth in agriculture and allied activities recovered during the second quarter of the current financial year (Q2FY25) to 3.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) due to strong monsoon. Experts feel that the rains have laid the foundation of an even better GVA performance in subsequent quarters. GVA growth in the first quarter of FY25 was 2.0 per cent.
All eyes are now on how the film grows on Monday, as that would be crucial for the overall run of this big budget entertainer on which the industry has been pining hopes.
India's bid to host the 2036 Olympics is not merely an attempt to make a statement internationally but also a well thought out plan to create world-class infrastructure, said Minister of State for Sports Raksha Khadse.
India's purchase of US crude oil has picked up in 2025 and could easily double their previous levels, government officials said on Wednesday. The surge comes in the wake of the then-incoming Donald Trump administration's announcement that it would consider hiking tariffs on a reciprocal basis, and pushed some countries, especially those with large trade surpluses with the US, to buy more of its energy.
An inconclusive end to this war will pose high risk for Netanyahu of a cascading demand for a regime change in Israel, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Make-in-India played a key role in India's effective action against terrorism during Operation Sindoor.'
Leading chains plan Rs 40K crore infra revival to close capacity gap over next 3-5 years
Your ultimate guide to helicopter rides in India this Valentine's Day
Will Russia's entry deter Trump on his warpath?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Salaried persons whose liability is fully deducted as tax deducted at source by their employer need not worry about advance tax payments, unless they have other sources of taxable income.
India's industrial production growth remains almost flat at 3 per cent in March sequentially, though, on a year-on-year basis, it slipped from 5.5 per cent, mainly due to poor performance of the manufacturing, mining and power sectors.
On the back of robust tax collection, the ratio of direct taxes to gross domestic product (GDP) this financial year is likely to be the highest in this century so far. This, along with strong goods and services tax (GST) collection, may drive up receipts from central taxes as a proportion of GDP to the highest level or close to the highest since 2008-09 despite subdued excise and customs duty receipts. This will be due also to lower nominal GDP projected in the first advance estimates for 2023-24.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Friday said it has advanced the release of macroeconomic data Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates by about 90 mins to 4 pm. As per the current practice, the press releases of GDP are scheduled at 5.30 pm on the specified release dates, a MoSPI statement said.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
For the first time, the Data Security Council of India assembled a joint task force to source threat intelligence at the origin and ensure coordinated action across the cybersecurity spectrum.
Under capital expenditure, Rs 48,614 crore has been set aside for aircraft and aero engines while Rs 24,390 crore has been allocated for the naval fleet.
India's flexible (flex) office segment, having breached pre-pandemic levels, is thriving as corporates, startups, multinational corporations, and global capability centres (GCCs) expand in India, seeking low-capital yet Grade A plug-and-play facilities. In the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, the flex office segment continued to grow, with flex space leasing rising by 22 per cent to 2.2 million square feet (msf), according to Colliers.
The Budget 2025-26 meets the expectations of fiscal consolidation, maintaining capital expenditure, and boosting consumption through tax cuts.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to cut interest rates for the first time in nearly five years in Governor Sanjay Malhotra's first monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on Wednesday. The meeting of the six-member MPC, which will culminate on Friday, aims to boost sluggish economic growth, which is seen falling to a four-year low. Malhotra took charge as the 26th RBI governor in December last year.
'Amaravati will be a game changer for Andhra Pradesh.'
The government may save over Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion) on capital and revenue expenditure allocated towards new schemes in the FY25 Budget that are yet to be implemented.
The size of Budget 2024-25 has increased 6.1 per cent to Rs 47.66 lakh crore because of the rise in expenditure and higher allocation for capital expenditure and social sector schemes.
'Militarily, it risks escalating tensions with Pakistan, potentially triggering conflict due to Pakistan's heavy reliance on the Indus.'
If Beijing succeeds in this multipronged effort to challenge the current dominant power, it will have not just economic but political and security consequences. There is no let-up in the South China Sea nor any de-escalation moves on the India-China border. This portends to ominous signalling from Beijing, observes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
Children below the age of 15 years account for about 10 to 12 per cent of India's overall TB burden.
Many unauthorised migrants originate from Punjab and Gujarat, states known for high migration aspirations rather than political instability.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
September 15 is the deadline for paying the second instalment of advance tax. This is income-tax (I-T) taxpayers need to pay every quarter, instead of a lump sum at the end of the year. Ashutosh K Srivastava, senior associate, SKV Law Offices, says, "The tax has to be usually paid when income is earned. "Nonetheless, according to the I-T Act, the taxpayer has to estimate his income for the entire financial year. Based on that, he/she pays tax at specific intervals."
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