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.
'Tax cases are technical in nature... Many high courts do not have a tax bench, which also contributes to the delay.'
Long queues, passengers in tears, and repeated flight cancellations created a morning of severe disruption at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Saturday, as IndiGo continued to face nationwide operational delays.
Cuttack remains tense following violence during a Durga idol immersion procession. Internet services are suspended, and political leaders appeal for communal harmony.
Dr Sarthak Patnaik, the founder of Sports Science India, explained that Shreyas Iyer's left rib cage came in direct contact with the ground, resulting in the injury.
Odisha's and Telangana's principal opposition parties, the Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi, on Monday announced that their MPs will abstain from voting in the vice presidential elections.
The Supreme Court has said that selling land or property is not a service under the Finance Act, 1994, so such sales cannot be charged with service tax.
'The possibility of Nitish Babu continuing at least for some time is very much there, but don't rule out the artistic possibility of a leadership change executed very elegantly.'
"It is high time India traded dynasty for meritocracy. This would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated term limits to requiring meaningful internal party elections, together with a concerted effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit," Tharoor said.
What may work for the BJP is the growing resentment against V K Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician who Jay Panda alleges has hijacked the Odisha government.
Pandian said his only intention to join politics was to assist Patnaik and that is why he did not contest the elections.
The All India Insurance Employees' Association has opposed the government directive seeking to open up top posts in the state-owned insurers to the private sector, saying this would lead to greater private influence and "eventual privatisation".
The 78-year-old Naveen is on the cusp of creating history. He must win the forthcoming Assembly polls to become India's longest-serving chief minister, a record held by Sikkim's Pawan Kumar Chamling.
Out of the 20 candidates announced by the BJD for the 21 Lok Sabha seats, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's party has nominated at least seven leaders who came from either the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Congress.
The present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. The NDA has 425 MPs, while the opposition camp has the backing of 324.
One of the most exploited provisions is Section 10(13A), which permits exemption on HRA.
Akash Deep and Ishan Kishan will miss the Duleep Trophy quarter-final match against North Zone as both the players are recovering from their respective injuries.
A group of retired judges has criticized Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks about opposition vice-presidential candidate B Sudershan Reddy and the Salwa Judum judgement, calling them 'unfortunate'.
A 15-year-old girl in Odisha, India, has died after allegedly being set on fire by unidentified assailants. The incident has sparked outrage and prompted investigations by local authorities.
While BJD leaders held a marathon meeting at Naveen Niwas, the residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, the BJP leaders had a similar meeting in the national capital, discussing election matters, including a potential alliance.
In 2021, the Centre renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. But many wonder, why despite the public sentiment the country's highest civilian honour continues to elude the man who put Indian hockey on the world map.
The 2000-batch IAS officer, who sparked several controversies and was accused of violating the service rule, had taken voluntary retirement from government service on October 23 this year.
Glimpses from around the world that will make you smile and cry.
The fringe and aspiring bunch will look to own the elevated Duleep Trophy stage as the red-ball competition returns to its traditional zonal format and marks the start of India's domestic cricket season.
Ruling Biju Janata Dal vice-president Soumya Ranjan Patnaik was removed from his post on Tuesday, months before the simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Odisha for allegedly writing critical editorials in his Odia daily.
A major controversy has erupted in Odisha after Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress was found selling doormats featuring the image of Lord Jagannath, sparking outrage and prompting police complaints and demands for an apology.
Odisha Police detained several Congress workers ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state on Friday.
Amid a row over change in stand over voting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday asserted it is a secular regional outfit and maintains equal distance from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance bloc led by the Congress.
The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain said.
Naveen Patnaik is known as an "absentee landlord" who needs bureaucrats like Pandian to run his government.
Senior leaders of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in India are calling for action against Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sasmit Patra for allegedly creating confusion among lawmakers regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The controversy arose after Patra, despite the party's announced opposition to the Bill, revealed he had voted in favor of it and stated that MPs could vote according to their conscience. The situation has led to accusations of a possible "deal" between the BJD and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
A 15-year-old girl, severely burned in an attack in Odisha, has been airlifted to AIIMS Delhi for specialized treatment. The incident is under police investigation.
An eminent author, documentary filmmaker, and journalist, Gita Mehta was the elder sister of Naveen Patnaik and businessman Prem Patnaik.
Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), which sells dairy products, has launched Amul Milk in Spain.
Rajkumar Gupta's hammy treatment and bombastic score strips the realism to turn Raid 2 into another hail the hero exercise, observes Sukanya Verma.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's private secretary V K Pandian played audio of the CM at a public meeting in Barpali in which Patnaik can be heard telling the people that he has sent the IAS officer so that they can tell their grievances to him.
After remaining vacant for nearly 25 years, the official residence of Odisha chief minister in the state capital welcomed a new occupant as Mohan Charan Majhi formally moved in on Thursday.
Leader of Opposition in Odisha assembly and BJP leader Jaynarayan Mishra on Tuesday claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had warned that President's rule will be imposed in the state if the assembly is dissolved early.
Das, a law graduate, was in politics from his college days and was elected as the Students' Union president at Gangadhar Meher College at Sambalpur, one of the oldest colleges in western Odisha.
The incident happened on Sunday night when the woman, an undergraduate student at a private college, went to the beach along with her boyfriend, who is a classmate, on the occasion of the Raja festival, they said.
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