Hyderabad is rapidly emerging as a strategic hub for multinational companies (MNCs) deepening their focus on artificial intelligence (AI), life sciences, and global capability centres (GCCs), supported by the city's strong pharmaceutical (pharma) base, deeptech talent pool, and a policy environment that encourages high-value investment.
'Given that the population is almost evenly split, the Indian economy cannot grow without women participating in the workforce.' 'While women's participation has increased, it is still well below 40 per cent,' says Kartik Narayan, CEO of the professional networking and jobs platform, Apna.
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.
This Budget positions India's taxation ideology as not merely a revenue source but as a strategic catalyst for growth, inclusion and long-term confidence.
The idea of back-loading the target of fiscal consolidation is perhaps guided by the government's desire to be prepared for any adverse developments in the coming year, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The move is aimed at making settlement of claims or return of articles from a locker smooth for relatives after the death of a customer.
India's electric two-wheeler (e2W) manufacturers have urged the government to extend subsidies under the PM E-Drive (Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme beyond March 2026, cautioning that a withdrawal could slow near-term demand even as confidence in long-term electric mobility adoption remains intact.
In 2025-26, the government allocated Rs 6,81,210 crore for defence budget.
'It's harder to attract women initially, but once they come in, retention is significantly higher.'
Here are the key numbers to watch out for in the Union Budget for 2025-26:
Banks cannot treat compliance as a quarter-end activity, and must have stronger operational discipline and data governance throughout the year, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J said in a speech at the Third Annual Global Conference of the College of Supervisors.
Moving beyond digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the operator of Unified Payments Interface, is planning to add more muscle to the country's digital infrastructure by setting up a fourth subsidiary, NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd (NTSL).
'The real risk is not that AI will fail to transform India's economy.'
'The risk is that it already is -- while our measurement systems continue to look the other way,' observes Nishant Sahdev, a theoretical physicist at the University of North Carolina.
A 500 per cent tariff would effectively shut out India's goods and services exports to the US.
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.
India has been on an FTA-signing spree of late. Since 2021, it has signed eight trade agreements, three of which -- with the UK, Oman and New Zealand -- were finalised in 2025 alone.
The share of first-time luxury customers in BMW's portfolio has risen sharply -- from around 43 per cent in 2024 to nearly 49 per cent in 2025. In some models, the figure is even higher.
'Headcount expansion is more likely in revenue-linked and product-critical teams than in broad based hiring.'
In order to optimise branch efficiency, public sector banks (PSBs) are reworking their strategies to streamline operations and reduce cost amid changing customer behaviour. The strategies include closing or merging low traffic branches and reducing their size in smaller centres.
The US Department of State highlighted a mission-defining challenge during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit in November amid the US government shutdown, detailing the security measures taken to ensure his protection.
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).
The future belongs to those who move fast, use AI deeply and focus relentlessly on customer impact.
Usually, in the western view, corporate success is attributed to efficiency, organisational structure, and scale. R Gopalakrishnan and Harish Bhat argue that philosophy, culture, and the transmission of values are more important for sustaining growth and profitability of an enterprise over a period of time.
India's leading real estate developers are accelerating their push into plotted development, a segment once dominated by unorganised players but now reshaped by branded offerings, faster cash flows and evolving buyer preferences. This strategic shift is visible across markets such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Gurugram, peripheries of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and even Tier-II cities.
Microsoft Corp has restored all services -- including email access -- to Russian oil giant Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy, just before a scheduled hearing in the Delhi high court over the service suspension.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Shares of gold finance companies Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance hit their respective all-time highs, gaining on the BSE during Wednesday on expectation of healthy earnings. In comparison, the benchmark BSE Sensex was down 0.14 per cent, closing at 85,408.
'The impact will be minimal and it will only increase compliance cost on consent, data flows, localisation timelines, internal audits, data mapping, and new tooling.'
'The Indian consumer is moving so quickly and they have so many options.'
'A poor candidate was given a chance so that the concerns of ordinary, needy citizens could be represented.'
Tata Motors' commercial vehicle (CV) business debuted on the BSE on Wednesday, completing the automaker's long-planned demerger into separate listed entities for its passenger and CV operations.
Highlighting India as the company's most important growth market, Fabricio Bloisi, group chief executive officer (CEO) of the Dutch technology investor Prosus signaled a sharp acceleration in artificial-intelligence investments across its portfolio in the country.
People connect with people. No matter how small your brand is, when you share your journey or the why behind your business, you automatically humanise your brand and make it unique as compared to faceless competitors, says Vinayak Burman.
Prosus, the Amsterdam-based technology investor with net assets valued at over $200 billion spanning payments to e-commerce, has identified India as one of its most critical growth markets, and is increasing its strategic investments here.
Bharti Airtel on Monday reported over twofold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 8,651 crore for September quarter FY26, mainly on account of growth in high-paying smartphone customers and post-paid connections.
'Reinvention is not a hugely difficult task. With technology as available today, you can reinvent yourself pretty quickly.'
'We currently have new proposals worth Rs 1.48 trillion in the pipeline.'
DGCA provided temporary relief to IndiGo, which is partially owned by Rahul Bhatia, by rolling back the night duty definition to 12 am-5 am from 12 am-6 am earlier, and allowing its pilots to do six night-landings from two earlier, besides other relaxations.
Swiggy on Friday said its 10-minute food delivery service 'Bolt', which was launched in October last year, is now operational in more than 500 cities across the country.
'We sent just 500 people from India to the US on H-1B visas. There is no dependence on H-1B visas.'
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