Through policy interventions, Indian cities need to be reimagined as a network of inter-connected assets and services which serve to strengthen the social contract between citizens and their cities by improving their quality of life, the Economic Survey has flagged.
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.
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.
In a world fractured by uncertainty, India stands out for its policy consistency, paired with sustained ambition, points out Pritam Banerjee.
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
Sustaining 8 per cent-plus growth rates is necessary if we are to reach high-income status by 2047, points out Amitabh Kant.
India's manufacturing sector activity witnessed the weakest improvement in the sector in two years in December on account of softer expansions in new orders, prompting firms to limit input purchases and job creation, a monthly survey said on Friday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) -- an indicator of sector performance -- fell from 56.6 in November to 55 in December.
Investors and startup executives are calling for extending the period for an entity to be recognised as a startup from 10 to 15 years for deep-tech companies.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday announced a fresh round of liquidity measures through open-market operations (OMOs) and a foreign exchange buy-sell swap, under which it will inject close to Rs 3 trillion into the banking system. The central bank said it would purchase Government of India securities worth Rs 2 trillion through OMOs, spread across four tranches of Rs 50,000 crore each to be conducted on December 29, January 5, January 12 and January 22.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
The Budget should undertake further reductions in import tariffs and seriously consider an announcement of India's intention to join one or both of the two Asian mega-regional free trade agreements, suggests Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
India's manufacturing sector activity strengthened in October, buoyed by Goods and Services Tax relief, productivity gains and tech investment, even as international sales rose at a weaker pace, a monthly survey said on Monday.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant and eight other major corporations have been questioned by US Senators for filing thousands of H-1B skilled labour visa petitions after conducting "mass layoffs" of American employees.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and insisted on demands pertaining to the state, including on Fair Recovery Price of sugarcane, All India Institute of Medical Sciences for Raichur, the release of flood relief among others.
State-owned insurer LIC on Thursday reported a 32 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 10,053 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, aided by a lower commission outgo. The country's biggest insurer had reported a net profit of Rs 7,621 crore in the year-ago period.
On July 2, the US Embassy shared data that "it said covered USAID funding in India from 2014 to 2024", including details of implementing partners, objectives, and key accomplishments of each activity undertaken, he said.
Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission's plan to implement the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state.
Pakistan's reported threat to pull out from the ongoing Asia Cup after demanding ICC match referee Andy Pycroft's removal won't be particularly easy
The central government's fiscal deficit during 2023-24 at 5.6 per cent of the GDP was better than previous estimates of 5.8 per cent on account of higher revenue realisation and lower expenditure, according to official data released on Friday. In actual terms, the fiscal deficit -- or gap between expenditure and revenue -- was Rs 16.53 lakh crore, or 5.63 per cent of the GDP, which grew 8.2 per cent in 2023-24.
Experts say the state's economy is grappling with hidden debt, rising welfare costs, and lack of transparency.
Continuing on the fiscally prudent path, the Modi government in the interim Budget refrained from announcing populist measures, which will help it trim the fiscal deficit to 5.1 per cent of the GDP next fiscal and 4.5 per cent in FY26.
In a surprising disclosure, eyewear giant Lenskart Solutions has revealed that Sumeet Kapahi, one of its co-founders and promoters, has been unable to locate copies of his Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree and marksheets from the University of Delhi. The revelation was made in the company's draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with markets regulator Sebi as part of its proposed initial public offering (IPO).
India's manufacturing sector activity eased in September, as new orders, output and input buying rose at the slowest rates in four months, while job creation retreated to one-year low, a monthly survey said on Wednesday.
India's economic growth is expected to be lower at 6.3 per cent this fiscal compared to the RBI's projection of 6.5 per cent, a SBI Research Report said on Thursday. The report pegged the first quarter GDP estimate at around 6.8-7 per cent, mainly due to muted private capex.
Online gaming firm Gameskraft on Thursday said it is laying off 120 employees as it navigates new regulatory landscape post the passage of the Online Gaming Bill, 2025.
India's economy is likely to grow by 6.5 per cent in the current and the next financial year, an EY report said, attributing lower than anticipated expansion in the September quarter to fall in private consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation. Real GDP growth eased to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 per cent in July-September -- the second quarter of the current 2024-25 fiscal year.
US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation restricting entry of certain non-immigrant workers and imposing a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas, citing abuse of the program and national security concerns.
Zubeen Garg's cousin and Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg was apprehended on Wednesday in connection with the singer's death in Singapore last month, taking the total number of arrests in the case to five, a senior officer said.
The government in FY26 Budget should announce an "effective" personal income tax cut to support consumption and demand, Barclays said on Thursday. In its FY25-26 Union Budget preview, Barclays said the key ask from the Budget, to be presented on February 1, is to support growth while adhering to fiscal consolidation path.
Pakistan has announced the creation of a new Army Rocket Force equipped with advanced technology to strengthen its combat capabilities. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who also commented on the recent military confrontation with India and expressed gratitude to various countries for their support.
Public sector banks (PSBs) have written off bad loans of about Rs 5.82 lakh crore in the last five financial years, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. During 2024-25, the loan write-off of PSBs was at Rs 91,260 crore, compared to Rs 1.15 lakh crore in the previous fiscal, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Nasscom on Monday said the US clarification that the H-1B visa fee hike will not affect current visa holders and will apply as a one-time fee only to fresh petitions has helped address the immediate ambiguity surrounding eligibility and timelines.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday said the fiscal-monetary coordination was at its best during the last six years even as he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving the opportunity to head the monetary authority of the country. Das, in a series of posts on X, on his last day of his six-year term as RBI Governor, also thanked the Finance Minister, various stakeholders and his colleagues at the central bank.
India's manufacturing sector growth strengthened in July to a 16-month high of 59.1, supported by faster increases in new orders and output amid favourable demand conditions, a monthly survey said on Friday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose from 58.4 in June to 59.1 in July, signalling the strongest improvement in the health of the sector since March 2024.
According to the DRDO chairman, the BrahMos missile, primarily launched from Sukhoi Mk 1, was used during the offensive phase.
'The fiscal situation is extremely vulnerable. It has never been so bad in Kerala's history.'
K Krithivasan, the chief executive and managing director of India's largest IT services company TCS, took home a remuneration of Rs 26.52 crore in FY25.
India's annual oil import bill could rise by $9-11 billion if the country is compelled to move away from Russian crude in response to US threats of additional tariffs or penalties on Indian exports, analysts said. India, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer, has reaped significant benefits by swiftly substituting market-priced oil with discounted Russian crude following Western sanctions on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
'The US reciprocal tariff has added another element of uncertainty and the central bank may prefer to wait and get further clarity.'
To those who ask, "Is all this really worth it? Why can't domestic demand fill the gap?", it is important to remind them that only 13 economies since the Second World War have grown at 7 per cent or more for 25 years -- like India needs to. They all had one thing in common: Strong export growth underpinned by strong global engagement, explains Sajjid Z Chinoy.
