Public sector banks' (PSBs') employee count grew for the first time in five years while private sector banks' staff strength saw a decline in 2024-25 (FY25), according to latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The employee count of state-owned lenders rose 0.22 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 757,641 at the end of March 31, 2025 from 756,015 in FY24.
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.
Following the notification allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, the Finance Ministry has revised norms to remove the requirement that a majority of directors and key management personnel in an insurance company with foreign investment be Indian residents.
Asia takes the lead, boasting four Indian cities on the list, according to the 2024 Savills Growth Hubs Index.
Cigarette-to-soap conglomerate ITC on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit (attributable to owners) of Rs 4,931.19 crore for the third quarter (October-December/Q3) of 2025-26 (FY26), affected by a one-time provision related to the new labour codes and a base effect from an exceptional item in Q3 of 2024-25. In the year-ago period, net profit had stood at Rs 4,934.8 crore.
Open offers this calendar year, following attempts at acquisition and takeover, came in at more than two a week. There were 121 such open offers to acquire additional shares following a substantial acquisition or change of control, shows the data compiled by primedatabase.com.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday said the negotiations for a free trade agreement with India have been concluded.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (I-T) Department are likely to join the Assam Police in investigating alleged organised financial crimes and acquisition of benami properties by event manager Shyamkanu Mahanta, an accused in the death of Assam's cultural icon Zubeen Garg.
'The trade deficit in some sectors is huge and that is an area of opportunity to localise.'
'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 Nifty 50 index could rise around 24 per cent from current levels to 32,032 by December 2026 in a bull-case scenario, Kotak Securities said in a recent note. "We value Nifty at a 10 per cent premium (at 22x) to the 10-year average price-to-earnings of 20x on 2027-28 estimated (E) earnings per share (EPS) of Rs 1,456, and arrive at a December 2026 Nifty target of 32,032," the analysts wrote.
IT services major Infosys on Wednesday reported a 2.2 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,654 crore in the October-December quarter of FY26. The Bengaluru-headquartered firm had registered a net profit (attributable to owners of the company) of Rs 6,806 crore in the year-ago period.
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.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty dived sharply by nearly 2 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives. Reversing the early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged sharply by 2,370.36 points or 2.88 per cent to slide below the 80,000-mark at 79,899.42 in afternoon trade as the finance minister announced a hike in STT on futures contracts to 0.05 per cent from the current 0.02 per cent.
'LIC's investment decisions are taken independently, following strict due diligence, risk assessment and fiduciary compliance.'
Here are the key numbers to watch out for in the Union Budget for 2025-26:
As he is laid to rest, Indian cricket bids farewell to one of its greatest administrators -- a visionary who understood that breaking monopolies and building stadiums were about the same thing: Giving millions of cricket-loving Indians the infrastructure worthy of their passion.
The domestic cigarette industry is expected to see a 6-8 per cent volume contraction next fiscal following the imposition of additional excise duties and increase in goods and services tax (GST) rates from February 1, Crisil Ratings said on Wednesday.
For MSMEs the transition could mean higher wage bills and tougher compliance -- unless strong handholding follows reports Auhona Mukherjee.
WPI inflation data, trading activity of foreign investors and global cues would dictate trends in the stock market this week, analysts said.
With the music industry pushing for growth in the paid subscription segment, Universal Music India anticipates that the Indian market will mature, potentially becoming a highly impactful paid market for music over the next five years.
Banks are depending more heavily on the market for certificates of deposit (CDs), whose worth climbed to a record Rs 5.75 trillion in the fortnight to January 15, owing to deposit tightness in the system.
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.
IT services firm HCLTech on Monday reported a 11.2 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,076 crore in the October-December quarter of FY26.
HCLTech reported flat net income of Rs 4,235 crore in the second quarter of 2025-26 (Q2FY26) compared to last year, even as its revenue was up 10.7 per cent to Rs 31,492 crore helped by financial services and technology business verticals.
AB Volvo, the Swedish truck and bus major, is planning to launch its financial services subsidiary in India. The new subsidiary is expected to start operations in the next six months, according to Volvo India Managing Director Eric Leblanc.
'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.'
A penalty of Rs 91 lakh has been imposed on HDFC Bank for violating certain provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. The penalty has been imposed on the private sector lender for deficiencies in statutory and regulatory compliance, including those related to Know Your Customer (KYC).
The Indian financial services space seems to be in a sweet spot as foreign investors have made a net investment of Rs 14,205 crore ($2.1 billion) in the sector in November amid strong credit growth and manageable non-performing loan portfolio. The investment comes following a net withdrawal of Rs 4,686 crore from financial services stocks in October on account of profit booking. Overall, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have made a net investment of Rs 36,238 crore in the country's equity markets in November.
Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) such as Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Muthoot Finance, and IIFL Finance have regained their growth momentum after losing market share to banks in the post-Covid period. The growth surge is being led by diversified lenders and gold-loan companies while development-finance institutions such as Power Finance Corporation (PFC), REC, and Housing & Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) continue to grow at a slower pace.
Digital healthcare platform Practo is targeting annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) of $1 billion by June 2026, with its expanding US operations expected to contribute between $250 million and $300 million, according to people familiar with the company's plans.
The worldwide grant programme is inviting applications from young people aged between 12 and 19 globally who are driven by purpose and a desire to make a difference.
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.
In a world fractured by uncertainty, India stands out for its policy consistency, paired with sustained ambition, points out Pritam Banerjee.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
India is growing fast, but to keep growing strong, the government must make more things at home, create jobs, and spend money wisely, suggests Rajiv Memani, regional managing partner, Africa-India Region, EY.
A shift appears underway in India's tax landscape. States with relatively smaller tax collections like Odisha and Telangana are emerging as the fastest-growing contributors to indirect and direct tax collections, respectively.
The Supreme Court on Friday issued fresh notices to Anil Ambani and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) on a PIL seeking a court-monitored probe into alleged massive banking and corporate fraud involving the firm and its group companies.
The SC has gone a step further to state that even if one were to not apply the codified GAAR provisions, the judicial GAAR would continue to apply, point out Pranav Sayta and Bhargav Selarka.
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