'It has always been viewed as a hedge against inflation.'
Coming Wednesday, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman will present the 2023 Union Budget - the last full Budget ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. While India exited 2022 as a relatively bright spot in the global economy, the FM will endeavour to present a Budget that insulates India's economy against global headwinds and recession in advanced economies, while sticking to the path of fiscal consolidation. In this, she is being helped by her core team of trusted advisors.
In response to rising crime, including the recent murder of a retired brigadier, Uttarakhand has launched 'Operation Prahar' to enhance police presence, accountability, and curb illegal activities in Dehradun.
Movie stars arrived at the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal to seek blessings, partake in the bhog and serve it.
The committee formed under the Life Insurance Council to review the commission structure in the life insurance sector has recommended capping distributor commissions or deferring them to ease acquisition costs. The recommendations will be sent to the insurance regulator -- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).
'By quick, fast, and just awards, the insurance ombudsman can bring the trust of the policyholders in the insurance system and insurance as a product and create a positive impact on the entire industry.'
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.
Recent years have been turbulent for the insurance industry due to direct and indirect tax reforms, regulatory overhaul and other external pressures. The events cumulatively slowed growth rate to single digits from the high teens seen earlier.
How Bollywood's power couples brought in the New Year.
'If in our cities, all urban bus transport services are free, then the taxpayers are paying for it, or if electricity were to be made free, that's a huge cost to the rest of the people'
India needs to limit its reliance on multinational corporations (MNCs) for strategic audits and consulting in order to strengthen its economic sovereignty and achieve the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) said in an office memorandum released on Wednesday.
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
'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.'
The co-operative banking sector is well regulated, and a few cases of restrictions being imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should not paint a negative picture of the entire sector, said Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) secretary Ajay Seth on Monday. "Co-operative banks in the country are generally quite robust, and the RBI takes regulatory action whenever issues arise.
The impact of the US Federal Reserve's move to cut the benchmark interest rate will be muted for India as it was mostly priced in, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Thursday. He said that the Indian stock market is already attracting investor interest and overall the rate cut is positive for emerging markets.
'The kind of reach it has with so many bank branches even in the remotest part of the country, it is one channel which will play a very important role in vision of insurance for all.'
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
'Tax rate and stock markets are entirely two different things.'
The US Fed rate cut of 50 basis points is unlikely to have any significant impact on foreign inflows into India, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said on Thursday. He said the US Federal Reserve has done what it assesses is good for the largest economy in the world, but the RBI will take a decision on interest rate cut keeping the Indian economy in mind. "It is a positive for the global economy, including the Indian economy. "It is a 50 basis points cut from a high level.
It was a proud evening for Shah Rukh Khan, as elder son Aryan Khan shone under the spotlight for his first ever premiere.
The government on Tuesday appointed three external members -- Ram Singh, Saugata Bhattacharya and Nagesh Kumar -- to the RBI's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee for four years. The central government has reconstituted the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of RBI, the finance ministry said in a statement. Ram Singh is the director of the Delhi School of Economics, Saugata Bhattacharya is an economist, and Nagesh Kumar is the director and Chief Executive, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi.
Sickness on screen is a sure shot way of seeking audience sympathy and turning on the waterworks.
'Nearly 10 million people will benefit from the increase in the rebate limit for those earning up to Rs 12 lakh.' 'We expect all that money will come back into the economy in either savings, consumption, or investments.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday participated in a traditional 'halwa' ceremony, marking the final stage for the preparation of Union Budget 2025-26 to be unveiled on February 1 in the Lok Sabha. The ceremony is a customary ritual in which traditional dessert 'halwa' is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in the preparation of the Budget.
The finance minister continues to be backed by the same policy team in charting out the broad strategy as in the few earlier Budgets.
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
Film folk stepped out to watch debutants Rasha Thadani and Aaman Devgn's new film, Azaad, which releases on January 17.
Using the debt-to-GDP ratio as a fiscal anchor aligns with efforts to promote fiscal transparency through proper disclosure of off-budget borrowings.
Kriti Sanon invited film folk over to watch her debut production, Do Patti, where she has a double role.
Ishita will be seen in Firangee, opposite Kapil Sharma, which releases this Friday.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday participated in a traditional 'halwa' ceremony, marking the final stage for preparation of Union Budget 2024-25 to be unveiled on July 23 in Lok Sabha. The ceremony is a ritual in which traditional dessert 'halwa' is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in the preparation of the Budget.
The government is confident of meeting the fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and the nominal GDP target of 10.5 per cent despite pressure in the initial months of FY24, Economic Affairs secretary Ajay Seth told Business Standard. Normally the initial months of any financial year see proportionally a higher fiscal deficit because the expenditure is evenly paced while revenue picks up in the later months, he said. "This year the proportional fiscal deficit so far is much closer to the target than in most other years.
It will be the second Budget of the Modi 3.0 government and eighth straight Budget for Nirmala Sitharaman, rare in Indian polity.
Many more friends and colleagues visited the Devgans to condole with them.
The company will stop offers once the sales pickup.
Maidaan's special screening was quite a star-studded affair, as film folk arrived to watch Ajay Devgn's new sports biopic.
'The revenue projection arises out of all sectors doing well and the formalisation of the economy helps in making sure the tax domain gets widened.'
Senior bureaucrat Tarun Bajaj was appointed revenue secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle by the Centre on Tuesday.
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