The government should refrain from raising income tax surcharge on the super-rich and reintroducing wealth tax in the upcoming 2026-27 Budget, as the move could prompt persons in high-income brackets to leave the country for low-tax jurisdictions, according to tax experts.
Maruti Suzuki sold more cars than ever before, earned more money, and saw many first-time buyers choosing small cars again.
In absolute terms, both types of cars must cut emissions by about 28-29 g/km. But in percentage terms, the lighter 900-kg car must reduce emissions by 27 per cent, while the 1,500-kg car needs a 22 per cent cut. And the target becomes progressively stringent for both -- but, once again, the tightening is sharper for the 900-kg car than for the 1500-kg car.
Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai Motor India posted higher sales in January riding on the growth momentum ushered in by the GST reforms in the festive period last year.
The 31st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, held in December 2018, deferred a decision to reduce the GST rate for cement from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. This was despite recognising that cement - along with automobile parts - remained among the few mass-consumption items still taxed at the highest slab, which was originally meant for luxury and sin goods.
Fitch Ratings on Thursday raised India's GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.4 per cent, from 6.9 per cent, on increased consumer spending and improved sentiment boosted by GST reforms.
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.
'The bigger unknown remains global geopolitics, which is inherently unpredictable, including developments in our neighbourhood.' 'Another concern is the increasing tilt of government finances towards welfare subsidies, especially at the state level.' 'This could constrain capital expenditure, which is critical for long-term growth.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the GST rates will come down further and the work on rationalising tax rates and slabs has "almost reached a finale". She said that the revenue neutral rate (RNR) has come down from 15.8 per cent at the time of the launch of GST on July 1, 2017, to 11.4 per cent in 2023.
Is the parabolic rise in silver running out of steam or just getting started? Ramalingam Kalirajan offers his take on if you should invest in silver now?
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.
'In the last one year, we have added more than Rs 1.7 trillion, and we are on track.'
The country's primary capital markets delivered a robust performance in FY26, emerging as a global leader in initial public offerings (IPOs) despite an uncertain environment, the Economic Survey said on Thursday.
For MSMEs the transition could mean higher wage bills and tougher compliance -- unless strong handholding follows reports Auhona Mukherjee.
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.
As of now, no firm has launched a flex-fuel vehicle in India, as these models are more expensive than comparable petrol-run vehicles.
Homegrown FMCG player Emami Ltd on Monday reported a 29.7 per cent decline in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 148.35 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2025, impacted by temporary trade disruption in expectation of GST rate cut and excessive rains affecting certain product categories.
India's electric two-wheeler (e2W) manufacturers have urged the government to extend subsidies under the PM E-Drive (Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme beyond March 2026, cautioning that a withdrawal could slow near-term demand even as confidence in long-term electric mobility adoption remains intact.
The revised guidelines are aimed at curbing discretionary practices by field officers, especially the tendency to seek documents not mandated under the law.
Trading pattern in the stock market this week will largely depend on the ongoing Q3 earnings announcement from corporates, global trends, and foreign fund movement, analysts said. Moreover, geopolitical developments and any update on trade negotiations would also be keenly tracked by investors, experts noted.
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.
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.
Retail inflation slipped to a multi-year low of 0.25 per cent in October, driven by the impact of the GST rate cut and subdued prices of vegetables and fruits, government data showed on Wednesday.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
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.
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.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
The automobile and auto-ancillary sector is expected to show strong Q3FY26 results, aided by festival-led demand, rationalisation in goods and services tax (GST) rates for select categories of vehicles, easing interest rates, and improving rural sentiment.
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.
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.
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.
Sustaining 8 per cent-plus growth rates is necessary if we are to reach high-income status by 2047, points out Amitabh Kant.
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.
'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.'
'The DNA of Tata Consumer Products is all food and beverage.'
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.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd expects contribution of SUVs to its overall sales to go beyond 70 per cent with it making foray into the fast growing mid-sized segment with a premium positioning of its Sierra model, according to its Managing Director & CEO, Shailesh Chandra.
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.
'Rates go up, revenues go up, and the need for compensation diminishes.'
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.
