NITI Aayog Member Rajiv Gauba has detailed an extensive deregulation agenda, moving India towards a 'permitted unless prohibited' principle to dismantle new forms of the Licence Raj and clear 'regulatory cholesterol' for businesses.
Andhra Pradesh is spearheading an ambitious initiative to establish a fully integrated beach sand minerals, rare earth, and titanium ecosystem, aiming to attract over 50,000 crore in investments over the next decade. This move is part of India's broader strategy to reduce its reliance on China for strategic minerals and permanent magnets, with the state preparing a comprehensive rare earth policy and planning specialised industrial clusters.
The Vanniyar vote can tip the balance in 70 to 75 assembly constituencies of the 234 in the state, mainly in the Ranipet, Vellore, Thiruppathur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Arani, Villupuram and Kallakurichi districts.
The Indian government has issued an updated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for processing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) applications, aiming to clear all proposals within 12 weeks, a two-week extension from the previous 10-week target, to ensure a fully paperless and transparent process.
The government is closely watching the fast-paced developments at the salt-to-semiconductor conglomerate.
The finance minister said that consolidation of state-owned banks could proceed at any time without waiting for the recommendations of the proposed high-level committee on banking.
'Uncertainty level A in the morning, uncertainty level B in the afternoon. If I answer about tariff rates now, I'll be outdated by the evening.'
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.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
The debate over working hours flared up after Infosys Co-founder N R Narayana Murthy called for 14-hour workdays.
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.
'I will not be surprised if there is a 7 per cent handle in front of the decimal place for the full financial year.'
'...as then it brings them closer to the complaints and grievances that the public faces.'
'The government, if it deems fit, will incorporate the changes in the Bill, take approval from the Cabinet before moving the bill for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha.'
The Supreme Court judges' filings revealed a generally conservative financial ethos, emphasising stability and long-term savings.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
For nearly two decades, Nitish Kumar has cultivated women as a distinct constituency. 'To create a broader vote base, he thought it would be better to bring women to electoral politics.'
The deal fell through over unresolved disagreements over contentious issues, mainly on agriculture and automotive sector tariffs.
'There is no retrospective changing of the law, only its simplification.'
The revised ceiling will be within the Rs 10 lakh mark.
In a double-dose bid to boost growth and employment prospects, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Rs 2.07 trillion outlay for a research development and innovation (RDI) Scheme to fund private sector innovations, and an employment-linked incentive (ELI) to create over 35 million new jobs over the next two years.
Simplifying GST rates, removing exemptions, easing disputes, and speeding up refunds can boost investment in India and offer the best reply to Trump's tariffs, observes V S Krishnan, former member, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
According to a parliamentary response by the Union health ministry in 2023, around 654,000 families in Delhi are eligible to enrol under the scheme.
With a major network rollout on the cards, the government is not keen to change the pattern of tower monetisation for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), officials at the state-owned telecom-service provider said. The monetisation target in the telecom sector had to be revised owing to a change in BSNL's approach to mobile-phone tower monetisation, which had shifted from a sale-based model to a lease-based one.
'The critical event signalling a new era for India was Dr Singh's 1991 Budget in which he quoted Victor Hugo to say that no power on earth could stop an idea whose time has come,' recalls T N Ninan.
The ATAGS has a range of 35-45 kilometres, depending on the ammunition used, and achieved a 47-km firing range during trials.
'Additionally, the significant employment multiplier will boost direct and indirect jobs of up to 1.1 million.'
The government is planning to tweak its procurement policy to give a fillip to domestic manufacturing. The industry department has floated a proposal to raise the minimum local content requirement for public procurement for Class-I and -II suppliers from 50 per cent currently to 70 per cent, and 20 per cent as of now to 50 per cent, respectively.
The Unified Pension System (UPS), approved by the Union Cabinet on Saturday, is "fiscally prudent" as it will be funded within the Centre's fiscal projections, according to T V Somanathan, the Cabinet Secretary-designate. Speaking to Business Standard immediately after the Cabinet nod, former finance secretary Somanathan, who headed the committee set up in March 2023 to review the National Pension System (NPS), said the UPS will not postpone pension expenditure as it will be contributory and financed each year.
The Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, paving the way for privatisation of government-owned insurers. The amendments, approved by Cabinet, will remove the clause for the Centre to hold at least 51 per cent in public sector insurance companies at any given time. It will also have an enabling provision for the transfer of management control from the government to the potential buyer of the public sector insurance company. The finance ministry will move amendments to the insurance Act in the ongoing Parliament session.
For Yogi Adityanath the successful management of the fair is a crucial part of building 'Brand UP' and making the state a $1 trillion economy.
'Our attempt to honour the taxpayer has been since 2014 and more actively since 2019-2020 onwards.'
Besides the not-so-hidden unease between Modi and Adityanath, Modi chose to address the Lok Sabha to ensure that he could personally claim all the kudos, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The revamped Special Economic Zone (SEZ) law is unlikely to see the light of the day before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, two people aware of the matter said. The commerce department had sought the Union Cabinet's nod to bring amendments to the existing SEZ Act, 2005 late last year. The plan, thereafter, was to introduce the Bill in the winter session of Parliament. Cabinet's approval remains pending.
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
By picking Rubio and Waltz as his top diplomat and NSA guarantees a continuation of bi-partisan support and further strengthening of India-US relationship under the second Trump administration.
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