Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on Futures and Options trade with a view to discouraging small investors from speculative trading in derivatives, which led to a sharp decline in the stock market.
The rupee slumped 5 per cent in 2025 as persistent capital outflows from foreign investors, alongside heightened dollar demand from importers, making it one of the worst-performing Asian currencies.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its Financial Stability Report (FSR), cautioned that stress tests indicate two scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) may have to dip into their capital conservation buffers (CCBs), unless stakeholders infuse capital, under a scenario involving a gradual slowdown in domestic GDP growth and a moderate rise in inflation, with limited policy easing space available to the central bank.
Rimi Sen: 'Even today, Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan rule Bollywood but the heroines who started with them are now doing supporting roles, playing sisters or even mothers. A woman's lifespan in the film industry is very short.'
The fact that a major studio put out a silent film starring some of the biggest names in the industry in these concerning times for the film business is the one big takeaway from Gandhi Talks, notes Arjun Menon.
The quarterly manufacturing index by the industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) rose to an all-time high in the third quarter of financial year 2025-26 (Q3FY26), with 91 per cent of respondents reporting either higher or same production levels, against 87 per cent in the previous quarter.
Indians across the country welcomed the New Year 2026 with celebrations, religious observances, and gatherings at tourist spots. The President, Vice President, and Prime Minister extended greetings for peace and prosperity.
'It takes time and the experience of a few market cycles to develop awareness about one's true risk appetite.'
Shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories jumped 5.3 per cent on Thursday to Rs 1,217 apiece, making it the top gainer in the Nifty 50 and the BSE 100 indices. By comparison, the Nifty 50 was up 0.53 per cent at 25,289.
India has managed high government debt-to-GDP, a slowing domestic revenue engine, lower household savings and a more hostile geopolitical environment separately in the past. But together, they threaten to undo the growth narrative on which today's optimism rests, warns Debashis Basu.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
The key question is how much of the latest growth record represents recovery from the 2020-2021 downturn, and what is the sustainable growth rate now, asks T N Ninan.
'The first time India has seen two consecutive blockbuster IPO years.'
'When markets go into a budget with excessive optimism, the risk of disappointment is higher.'
India's household debt climbed to 41.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of March 2025, marking a sustained rise from its five-year average of 38.3 per cent, with consumption-related loans accounting for bulk of the borrowings, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its Financial Stability Report.
Enforcement agencies have highlighted risks related to money laundering and terror financing, prompting closer scrutiny of crypto platforms operating in India.
'Stay invested but progressively reduce risk. Beyond a point, the objective should shift from maximising returns to avoiding unpleasant surprises.'
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has cleared a series of regulatory relaxations to ease operations for fund managers in GIFT City, along with a revamped framework for global in-house centres (GICs) and capital market intermediaries.
India's first maritime lender, state-owned Sagarmala Finance Corporation Ltd (SMFCL) hit the ground running with a Rs 4,300 crore disbursement announcement last Tuesday, within months of being registered as a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in June 2025.
To prevent India Open-like mess, Sports Ministry asks SAI to draw up SOP
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
Eighteen new-age technology firms went public during the year, a near triple increase from the five firms that debuted in 2023 and 38 per cent more than 2024's tally of 13.
'For those in for the long haul, this is a God-given opportunity.' 'Your market is falling despite strong fundamentals, and such a clear roadmap has been announced.'
After the last Budget's announcement of a major tax relief for those earning an annual salary of less than Rs 12 lakh, there is not much that individuals can look forward to in the forthcoming Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Analysts have sharply reduced cigarette maker ITC's earning estimates for the next two years, fearing a significant dent in the company's profitability and margins. This is owing to a steep hike in excise duty on tobacco by the government.
During the financial year 2025-2026, the defence ministry has signed a total of 182,492 crore capital acquisition contracts, highlighting the government's push to modernise the armed forces and promote indigenous defence production.
Tata Capital is set to launch India's largest ever initial public offering (IPO) by a non-banking financial company (NBFC), valuing the Tata group firm at Rs 1.38 trillion. This will make the company India's fifth-most-valued NBFC after Bajaj Finance (Rs 6.12 trillion), Bajaj Finserv (Rs 3.2 trillion), Jio Financial Services (Rs 1.87 trillion), and IRFC (Rs 1.59 trillion).
The primary market is set for a busy week as two major companies, Tata Capital Ltd and LG Electronics India Ltd, gear up to launch their initial public offerings (IPOs), collectively worth more than Rs 27,000 crore.
Supported by strong buoyancy in public sector capital expenditure (capex), growth in infrastructure investment is expected to accelerate in 2025-26 (FY26) compared to 2024-25 (FY25), according to the First Advance Estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for FY26 released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Wednesday.
Strong domestic growth will continue to draw foreign investment into the Indian economy, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Tuesday. He said this was reflected in recent free trade agreements and investment commitments by large technology companies.
The rupee witnessed its worst single-day decline in around two months since November 21, 2025, due to demand for dollars among importers, said dealers. The maturing short positions in the non-deliverable forwards market further weighed on the local currency.
Worries about global politics and trade are pulling the Nifty 50 down. Experts say the market could drop further low.
India's third-largest telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) has secured a 10-year breather on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) payments from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). This is expected to ease pressure on its balance sheet and enable the company to raise bank debt for capital expenditure.
IPL Auction 2026 was not just about money; it was a celebration of ambition, opportunity, and the unrelenting belief that the next big star could come from anywhere.
'The tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading.'
With discretionary spending still under pressure, the information technology (IT) services industry continued to face an uncertain demand environment in the third quarter of 2025-26 (Q3FY26).
With medical inflation hovering at around 13-14 per cent annually, policyholders must reassess their sum insured once every two years.
Maharashtra has pipped Tamil Nadu in NITI Aayog's latest Export Preparedness Index (EPI) for 2024. While Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh gained ground, Karnataka and Haryana slipped out of the top five, the central government think tank said in its report released on Wednesday.
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