'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
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.
India's Diwali sales touched a record Rs 6.05 lakh crore -- comprising Rs 5.40 lakh crore in goods and Rs 65,000 crore in services -- buoyed by the recent GST reform and strong consumer sentiment, traders' lobby CAIT said on Tuesday. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) based its findings on a nation-wide survey across 60 major distribution centres including state capitals and Tier 2 & 3 cities conducted by its research wing.
Recent developments - proposed changes to the goods and services tax (GST) rates and S&P Global Ratings' upgrade of India's long-term sovereign credit rating to BBB, with a stable outlook, - may not be enough to bring foreign investors back to Indian markets in a rush, feel analysts.
Gross GST collections remained above the Rs 2 trillion mark for the second month in a row, rising 16.4 per cent in May to over Rs 2.01 lakh crore. Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection had touched a record high of Rs 2.37 lakh crore in April. In May, 2024, the mop up was Rs 1,72,739 crore.
India's brittle energy security is inextricably linked to two opposing paradigms - fossil fuels, and the transition to green energy. The first powers the present; the second paves the way for Viksit Bharat in 2047.
India, the world's fourth largest economy, is set to maintain the 'goldilocks' phase with tailwinds of good growth, low inflation and robust banking performance as well as reform initiatives poised to sustain the economic pace witnessed during 2025.
InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of IndiGo, has approached the Delhi high court seeking a refund of over Rs 900 crore it claims to have paid as Customs duty on aircraft engines and parts re-imported into India after overseas repairs. The petition came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Shail Jain.
Both the life and non-life insurance segment posted over 20 per cent premium growth in November for the first time in this financial year (FY26), supported by the reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on premiums from 18 per cent to zero and a favourable base effect.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has refused to address the joint sitting of the state legislature, prompting government intervention. The reasons are unclear, but follow similar incidents in other states.
The core dilemma remains: Why provide further stimulus to an economy that is already booming at an 8 per cent growth rate? asks Rajeswari Sengupta.
The Director General of GST Intelligence has closed pre-show cause notice proceedings against Infosys for financial years 2018-19 to 2021-22, involving a GST amount of Rs 32,403 crore, the company said in a statutory filing.
Private sector lender IDFC First Bank has lowered its savings account rates and introduced new slabs for small and medium balance categories, effective January 9, 2025, as per its website. The interest slabs and rates for higher balance accounts remain unchanged. Despite the revision, the bank continues to offer one of the highest savings account interest rates in the industry among mid-sized banks.
Maruti Suzuki India plans to localise battery production and other critical components over the next few years as part of strengthening the overall EV ecosystem in the country. The company, which plans to launch its first electric vehicle - e VITARA in the domestic market next year, is looking to instill confidence in the buyers as it looks to strengthen the overall EV ecosystem.
Starting January, the market is expected to welcome models like the Tata Punch 2025 which is expected to be around 6 lakh, Mahindra BE 07 EV around 29 lakh, Maruti WagonR Electric around 8.5 lakh, Toyota 3-Row SUV around 14 lakh, and Volkswagen Tera to be around 8 lakh.
After two years of strong gains, smallcap stocks fell sharply in 2025, but the correction may be setting up opportunities for long-term investors.
A host of macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would dictate investors' sentiment in the stock market this week, analysts said. Besides, auto sales data will be closely tracked, experts noted.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Czech carmaker Skoda plans to bring more of its global nameplates into the Indian market as it looks to cater to a diverse set of customers, according to a senior company executive. The company, which now sells products in India ranging from over Rs 7 lakh to upwards of Rs 40 lakh, however, has no immediate plans to introduce electric cars in the country.
'Retail portfolios were going nowhere even as headline indices moved higher, prompting investors to sell holdings and shift money to IPOs, attracted by listing-day gains.'
Automotive (auto) stocks have been among the best performers in the BSE 200 index in recent months. More than half of the top 15 gainers over the past one, two, and three months have come from the sector.
Recent years have been turbulent for the insurance industry due to direct and indirect tax reforms, regulatory overhaul and other external pressures. The events cumulatively slowed growth rate to single digits from the high teens seen earlier.
Even as non-life insurers reported muted premium growth in October, standalone health insurers saw a robust 38 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) surge. This growth was driven by pent-up demand in the retail health insurance segment.
Prices of televisions are expected to rise by 3-4 per cent from January next year on account of the rising cost of memory chips and depreciation of the rupee, which recently crossed the 90-to-a-dollar mark for the first time.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the country needs big and world-class banks, and discussions are on with the Reserve Bank and lenders in this regard.
Dabur's business update for Q3FY26 indicated mid-single digit consolidated revenue growth. The guidance is that growth in operating and net profits will beat revenue growth. In the domestic business, home and personal care (HPC) revenue grew in double digits, while healthcare is likely to post a sequential growth in low-single digits.
Packaged food major Nestle India posted better than expected September quarter results led by strong volume growth across its key segments. While there were margin pressures due to elevated raw material costs, there could be some relief with easing prices in the near term.
Automobile retail sales across the domestic market witnessed a 21 per cent year-on-year increase in the 42-day festive season led by record registrations of passenger vehicles and two-wheelers aided by GST rejig enabled drop in prices across segments, dealer' body FADA said on Friday.
In an event-heavy week ahead, stock markets' movement would highly depend on macroeconomic data announcements, global trends, RBI's interest rate decision and trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. India's industrial production data for October 2025 will be released on December 1, an official statement said on Friday.
Real GDP growth surprised on the upside in 2025, but weaker nominal growth, trade uncertainty, and soft demand signal a bumpier road ahead.
Retail inflation inched up to 0.71 per cent in November on rising prices of vegetables, protein-rich items, and fuel, government data showed on Friday. The consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation had fallen to a record low of 0.25 per cent in October, mainly due to lower prices helped by GST rate cuts and a favourable base.
'The DNA of Tata Consumer Products is all food and beverage.'
Moody's Ratings on Tuesday said tax cuts in the current fiscal has dented India's revenue growth, leaving less scope for fiscal policy support for the economy.
'Rate cut looks unlikely and there is reason to believe that the cycle is over.'
In October, small car wholesales of the auto industry -- excluding Tata Motors -- went up by 8.4 per cent Y-o-Y to 116,601 units, the data showed. However, the utility vehicle (UV) segment which includes sports utility vehicles (SUVs) as well as multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), saw a bigger growth in October.
From the Sensex firms, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Eternal, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the biggest gainers. However, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Titan and Tech Mahindra were the laggards.
Mutual fund industry extended its bull run in 2025, adding a staggering Rs 14 lakh crore to its asset base and pushing total AUM to a record Rs 81 lakh crore by November, powered by surge in retail participation and record SIP inflows. Venkat Chalasani, chief executive officer of AMFI, told PTI that the industry's outlook remains positive, with steady SIP inflows continuing to offset foreign portfolio investor outflows and strengthening market resilience.
Passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers increased 19 per cent year-on-year in November as demand remained robust post festive period, industry body SIAM said on Friday.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are expected to report mid-single-digit revenue growth in the July-September 2025-26 quarter, according to their quarterly updates. Most companies also noted that supply chains were focused on liquidating existing stock ahead of the implementation of new goods and services tax (GST) rates in categories where the tax was lowered.
BCCI's vice-president Rajiv Shukla said the Indian cricket team's new jersey sponsor will be finalised in the next two to three weeks.
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