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).
A diarrhoea outbreak in Indore, India, has resulted in multiple deaths, with contaminated water suspected as the cause. Authorities are investigating and providing assistance to affected families.
Notwithstanding global headwinds, the Indian economy saw further momentum in October on the back of goods and services tax (GST) rate rationalisation and festival spending, as indicated by high-frequency indicators, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monthly State of the Economy report said.
The Delhi High Court has directed the GST Council to consider lowering or abolishing the goods and services tax on air purifiers, citing worsening air quality in the national capital. The court has asked the council to meet at the earliest, even via video conference if necessary, to address the issue.
Following Axis Max Life Insurance's second-quarter results for 2025-26, Sumit Madan, managing director and chief executive officer of the company, speaks to Aathira Varier and Subrata Panda/Business Standard about growth aspirations, strategies to offset the impact of the input tax credit (ITC) withdrawal, reverse merger plans, and more.
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
The Uttar Pradesh excise department arrested climate activist Harjeet Singh for allegedly possessing excess liquor after the ED searched his premises in connection with a foreign exchange violation case. The ED is investigating the misuse of funds received from abroad and Singh's visits to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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.
As the government moves to revamp India's securities legislation, unifying three different laws into the Securities Markets Code (SMC), regulatory experts and market insiders have raised concerns on potential funding challenges for the stock market regulator.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked fintech firms to focus on risk management at a time when criminals are using AI to mimic voices, clone identities and create lifelike videos to manipulate people.
Authorities in Kashmir have initiated a profiling process of mosques, madrassas, and individuals associated with their management following the exposure of a 'white collar' terror module. The enumeration drive focuses on the finances of these institutions and the backgrounds of their personnel.
CPGRAMS -- an online platform available to citizens 24x7 to lodge their grievances to public authorities on service delivery -- has existed for close to two decades. But it has never been this active, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Former IPS officer Amar Singh Chahal allegedly shot himself after claiming he was duped of Rs 8.10 crore by cyber thugs. He was one of the accused in the 2015 police firing cases related to anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot.
But selectively, with regulatory scrutiny and special approval, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Here's what Indian investors diversifying into equities, ETFs, and real estate abroad to manage risk, returns, and currency exposure must watch out for.
'We serve more than 1.2 billion trips annually and have over 1.5 million active earners each month using the platform.'
Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS release a joint manifesto for Mumbai civic polls, promising free power, allowances for domestic helps, and property tax waivers.
The Indian government has expressed its disagreement with the IMF staff's 'baseline' assumption that the 50 per cent US tariffs on its goods exports 'would remain in place indefinitely', based on which the staff pegged the country's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent this year, and pared its 2026-27 projection by 20 basis points to 6.2 per cent.
Nineteen United States states have sued the Trump administration over its 'unlawful' decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, warning that the move will worsen labour shortages in key sectors such as health care, education and technology.
A national rollout will take place after the pilot test in which SBI, PNB, Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank are participating.
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.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that raising the FDI limit to 100 per cent in the insurance sector will help attract more capital, improve competition and increase insurance penetration by making policies more affordable.
'When an establishment operates despite demolition or closure orders, without proper fire exits, evacuation plans or safety audits, and yet is allowed to host large crowds, the state cannot hide behind the language of accident.' 'The authorities were aware of the risks and of the violations, but chose not to act decisively because doing so would have inconvenienced those with influence and financial stakes.' 'In such a scenario, the moral and legal responsibility for the resulting deaths moves from negligence towards culpability; calling it 'murder' is a way of underlining that these lives were sacrificed at the altar of greed and complicity, not fate.'
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".
Canadian firm Manulife and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), an Indian automaker with interests in financial services, have signed an agreement to form a 50:50 life insurance joint venture (JV) with a total capital commitment of up to Rs 3,600 crore each totalling Rs 7,200 crore.
In 2023-2024, 95 scheduled commercial banks received over 10 million complaints from their customers. The process of KYC at many banks has become 'HYC' -- harass your customer, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Students at Tezpur University in Assam have shut down the institution, protesting against Vice Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh over allegations of corruption and financial irregularities. The shutdown has led to the cancellation of end-term examinations and has garnered support from teachers and non-teaching staff.
The reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rates has increased the momentum in India's economic activity both on the supply and demand sides, while robust agricultural activity - reflected in the strong onset of rabi sowing and adequate reservoir levels - has reinforced the outlook for food supply and rural incomes, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
Private-sector lender Federal Bank on Friday announced that New York-based Blackstone will invest Rs 6,196.51 crore in the bank through its affiliate Asia II Topco XIII Pte Ltd via a preferential issue on a private placement basis.
The exemption of individual life and health insurance premiums from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) enables the insurance industry to make products affordable and attractive, said Ajay Seth, chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025.
For homebuyers, the OC is not just an administrative formality but the very basis of lawful possession. Without it, the property is deemed unauthorised, exposing buyers to risks such as eviction, denial of utilities, or even demolition.
The United States authorities have arrested an Indian-American government employee on charges of 'grand larceny' for allegedly working a 'second, full-time job' during the hours he was being paid to perform his official duties as a state employee.
Given that a sizeable part of this money is part of the coveted current accounts and savings accounts, it is surprising that banks are not in a hurry to revive these accounts, notes Tamal Bandyopdhyay.
'Don't look at Russia only as a place to earn quickly and then leave.' 'Try to build experience in serious companies, skills and certifications that will serve you anywhere in the world.'
The idea is to establish a robust and forward-looking legal framework that addresses the financial stress of power distribution companies, which are facing losses of over 6.9 trillion, while curbing high industrial tariffs that, according to the government, have affected competitiveness, constrained economic growth, and slowed the transition to clean energy.
The US Department of the Treasury on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to pressure the Kremlin to end its war in Ukraine.
Lower rates effectively increase disposable income, strengthen purchasing capacity, and support broader consumption growth.
Defence Procurement Manual 2025 lays down the guiding principles for revenue procurements in the defence ministry worth around 1 trillion in a financial year.
Cyclone Ditwah exits Sri Lanka after causing widespread destruction and over 120 deaths, heading towards the Indian coast. Heavy rains and high winds are expected to continue.
'This is not a case of tax evasion but the result of long-standing ambiguities in GST rules and unawareness.'
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