'Raising the retrenchment, layoff and closure threshold to 300 workers for prior government permission enables hire-and-fire in more than 90 per cent of the Indian workplaces. More than 12,00,000 disputes are now pending for adjudication with an average disposal period ranging from 3 to five years for more than 75 per cent of the disputes.'
The India-US trade deal has offered a much-needed breather for the Indian information technology (IT) industry, which has been grappling with global macroeconomic uncertainty and subdued client spending over the past few years.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
'Trump says India will buy over $500 billion of US goods.' 'At present, India's annual imports of goods and energy from the US are under $50 billion.' 'Reaching $500 billion would likely require more than 20 years, suggesting the figure refers to a long-term aspiration rather than a near-term commitment.'
The European Union's (EU's) offer to slash tariffs on 97.5 per cent of Indian chemical exports to zero is set to give India's pharmaceutical and medical device firms preferential access to the European markets.
A joint forum of central trade unions has given a call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29, to protest against government policies affecting workers, farmers, and people. The Joint Platform of central trade unions held a meeting in Delhi on March 22, 2022, to take stock of the preparations in various states and sectors for the proposed two-day all India strike on 28-29 March 2022 against "the anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies" of the central government, a statement said. The statement said that roadways, transport workers and electricity workers have decided to join the strike in spite of the impending threat of ESMA (Haryana and Chandigarh, respectively). Financial sectors, including banking and insurance, are joining the strike, it stated.
BMS allies with breakaway faction of Congress-affiliated INTUC. This marks a new chapter in India's trade union movement
Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh boycotted the convention, reason for which was not known immediately.
The red brigade's call for forming trade unions for BPO employees was cold-shouldered by the $5.2 billion outsourcing industry, even as a research firm welcomed it.
The views of the trade unions who met the finance minister on Wednesday, run contrary to the demands of India Inc, which called for disinvestment of public sector enterprises to fund the widening fiscal deficit. They also suggested increasing corporate tax rate so that more money can be transferred from the rich to the poor.
The rash of strikes and the killing of the HR head of Pricol exactly a year after Graziono Transmissioni's CEO was killed by sacked employees indicate a tough year ahead.
Ten central trade unions on Tuesday said they are going ahead with their planned nationwide general strike on November 26 and also announced their support to a two-day farmers' agitation next week. The meeting of the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and Sectoral Independent Federations and Associations was held virtually on November 16, 2020. Unions expressed satisfaction over the tremendous response being received from workers and the people at large throughout the country to the ongoing campaign for the countrywide general strike on November 26, 2020, a joint forum statement said.
The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre to explore video conferencing options for an Indian citizen detained in the UAE, to facilitate legal assistance. The court is hearing a petition filed by the detainee's sister, actress Celina Jaitly, seeking legal representation for her brother.
Gaps in labour legislation and India's reluctance to ratify two ILO conventions are stoking disputes over trade union recognition between managements and workers.
Rahul Gandhi claims the Indo-US trade deal will compromise the data security of 1.5 billion Indians, alleging Prime Minister Modi is surrendering India's data resources to the US. He warns of potential job losses in the IT sector due to AI and the importance of controlling India's data pool.
Modi, who arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday on a two-day visit, referred to the trade deals India agreed with various countries and said India is seen as a "trusted partner for growth".
The Bharatiya Antariksh Station represents the next phase of India's human spaceflight ambitions, enabling long-duration presence in space, advanced microgravity research and technology development, and supporting future human exploration missions.
This year's Economic Survey and the Union Budget were more closely followed for more reasons than one.
The government on Wednesday launched Rs 4,531 crore market access support (MAS) intervention scheme for a six-year period (FY26-31) to improve global reach, visibility and competitiveness of Indian exporters through 'structured and outcome-oriented' interventions.
In their talks, Modi and Merz are likely to deliberate on trade and investment ties as New Delhi is looking at deepening economic engagement with Europe against the backdrop of Washington's 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, people familiar with the matter said.
'India is often skipping legacy cycles and moving directly to advanced AI-driven operations.'
The Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) will be able to reapply for recognition by the European Union's (EU) financial markets regulator following a pact signed on Tuesday between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma).
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
Putin's State visit will centre on fixing the huge India-Russia trade imbalance, with both sides pushing to lower duties, ease non-tariff barriers, and seal a landmark mobility pact to send more Indian workers to Russia.
Guterres emphasised that global structures and institutions must reflect the complexity and the opportunity of the "new times and realities"
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says India and the EU are close to a 'historic trade agreement' that could create a market of two billion people and account for almost a quarter of the global GDP.
India is a global leader in software development services, IT enabled services, knowledge process outsourcing services and contract R&D services relating to software development, Sitharaman said noting these business segments are quite inter-connected with each other.
Trade unions on Tuesday went one step ahead of Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on the issue of CEOs' salaries suggesting their remuneration must be regulated by law as 'self-regulation is no remedy'.
Bharat Electronics, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, InterGlobe Aviation, ICICI Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the other major gainers. Axis Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Trent and Titan were the laggards.
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
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.
The two-day nationwide strike called by central trade unions to protest the Centre's alleged anti-worker policies evoked mixed response all over country on Tuesday.
The ten trade unions are National Trades Union Congress, All India Trade Union Congress, Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, All India United Trade Union Centre, Trade Union Coordination Centre, Self Employed Women's Association, All India Central Council of Trade Unions, Labour Progressive Federation and United Trade Union Congress.
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Reiterating Sitharaman's statement that this is a youth power budget, Modi emphasised that the provisions made in the budget will prepare leaders, innovators and creators across different sectors.
On August 5, 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a strange note to the foreign secretary. It is worth mentioning because it was symptomatic of the lack of knowledge about Western Tibet in India and in South Block in particular, notes Claude Arpi.
While both sides have announced the decision to restart talks for a trade deal, government officials said discussions are continuing virtually.
Says govt offer a positive move and Wednesday's one-day stir should be deferred; others not impressed enough, especially Left
India has gained the least since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and was penalised the most, while the US, China and the European Union emerged as the biggest beneficiaries from the war.
I am inclined to believe that the Venezuela adventure is not an indication of American strength, alas, but rather of American weakness, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
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