Thanks to a close one's illness, I have seen quite a few hospital rooms in the past half a year or so. They have revived my respect for life reinterpreted via its essentials, notes Shyam G Menon.
Prof Anantha Chandrakasan has been named Massachusetts Institute of Technology's new provost, the first Indian-American to serve in this leadership role.
Vijay is counting on what was once proclaimed as his last filmi outing, Jana Nayagan, or 'People's Hero', to do the trick for him, when it releases on January 9, 2026, only months before the assembly poll, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will take a final call on whether to break the tradition of presenting a separate Rail Budget, by merging it with the General Budget.
'And this will persist given the two-and-a-half-front threat we face.'
The revised salaries of MPs are significantly lower than the salaries drawn by top bureaucrats in the country.
'Still, people are asking why we have not gone for a full-out war. As a military man, if ordered, I will go to war, but that will not be my first choice'
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties, led by the Congress, staged a walkout from both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, in protest against all states except two being 'ignored' in the budget, an allegation termed 'outrageous' by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanm, who said all the states never found a mention in any of the previous budgets, including those presented by the Congress.
'We've moved from thousands killed yearly in Jammu and Kashmir to 127 last year.' 'Cross-border terrorism in Kashmir is being solved. We are winning it.'
The controversy followed after another Madhya Pradesh minister, Vijay Shah, came under fire for remarks about Col Sofiya Qureshi who conducted media briefings on Operation Sindoor along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
'The Budget needs to focus more on social welfare schemes.'
Justice Yashwant Varma, embroiled in the cash discovery row following a fire at his residence, has been excluded from all administrative committees of the Delhi High Court. The committees were recently reconstituted, with all other judges, including the Chief Justice, included. Justice Varma was previously a member of several committees. His work was withdrawn following a directive from the Chief Justice of India, who has also ordered an in-house inquiry into the allegations.
Using the debt-to-GDP ratio as a fiscal anchor aligns with efforts to promote fiscal transparency through proper disclosure of off-budget borrowings.
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday questioned Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the Union Budget and claimed that the plates of all states except Bihar and Andhra Pradesh were empty in the budget allocation.
The finance minister's assertion that industry should not expect any spectacular announcements in the 2024 interim Budget suggest that the electoral imperatives of more tax concessions or higher expenditure on welfarist programmes could be far less pronounced than they were before the 2019 interim Budget, expects A K Bhattacharya.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
Lok Sabha could function for only 45 hours this Budget Session against its scheduled 133.6 hours because of daily disruptions and frequent adjournments, a think tank data has shown.
Fitch Ratings on Monday said India's pace of debt reduction is gradual, leaving room for a downside risk to sovereign rating in the eventuality of a significant economic shock. However, the rating agency expressed confidence in India's ability to stick to its medium-term fiscal framework, which aims to reduce debt and bring it on a downward trajectory over time.
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
'Currently, it takes between two and three years to formulate the request for proposal for procuring specific military equipment for the armed forces. It should not be this way.'
Pre-Budget excercise next month should scrupulously avoid adventurism of all types and refrain from making excessively ambitious projections on revenue and expenditure numbers for 2023-24, suggests A K Bhattacharya.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has asked at least 10 general and life insurance companies to submit a detailed road map for their listing strategies by the end of this month, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter. "The regulator met four life and six general insurers last month and asked them to provide their listing strategies by the end of February," said one of the sources.
Hero MotoCorp is expecting its electric vehicle (EV) business to break even once it reaches monthly sales volumes of 25,000 to 30,000 units, which is a couple of years away, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Vivek Anand said on Tuesday. "This year, in 2024-25 (FY25), if I really look at my EV performance, our volumes have grown by 200 per cent," Anand told analysts during the company's post-results conference call.
Do you have financial planning or income tax queries? Ask rediffGURU Anil Rego.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asserted that the third battle of Panipat, fought in 1761, was a symbol of the bravery of Marathas and not their defeat. He said the state government is building a memorial to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Agra and acquiring land for another memorial in Panipat, where the battle was fought between Marathas and Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali.
NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule has criticized the Maharashtra government's decision to make Hindi a mandatory third language in schools, stating that it will not tolerate any undermining of the Marathi language. Sule also criticized the state's implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, expressing concerns about its potential impact on students and teachers. She also questioned the appointment of a retired bureaucrat as the chief economic advisor to the chief minister and criticized the state's performance in areas like fiscal deficit management and the Jal Jeevan Mission.
'Stay disciplined, and remain invested.' 'Volatile times are the best to invest in structural opportunities at the right price.'
rediffGURU Samkit Maniar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24.
Only experienced investors with a high risk appetite, a grasp of market cycles, and comfort with volatility and timing risk should invest.
'The government has to explain (to the army, air force and navy chiefs) whether they want a punitive strike, a deep punitive strike, or whether they want limited war or an all-out war, will it be a circumscribed war or will it be a shallow attack along the border.'
The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is likely to report muted results in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 (Q4FY25) due to weakness in urban consumption. The weakness may persist through the first half of 2025-26 (H1FY26).
In Debasish Panda's last board meeting as chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), the regulator approved the "R2" licence for Kamlesh Goyal and Prem Watsa-backed Value Attics Reinsurance, making it the first private-sector Indian reinsurer after GIC Re, the public-sector reinsurer. "The authority reviewed and approved the R2 application of Value Attics Reinsurance, making it the first private-sector reinsurer after GIC Re, the public-sector reinsurer.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday hailed the Union Budget as an "all-inclusive" document while the Opposition dismissed it as "anti-people" and mere rhetoric lacking the vision for creating jobs and taming inflation.
BCCI's healthy bank balance got healthier this year with an approximate increase of Rs 4200 crore, taking the overall earnings to a whopping Rs 20,686 crore.
'It's clear that fans are eager to be part of the live stadium experience, reflecting a growing trend of travel driven by marquee sporting events.'
If there is a misleading news, it will be clarified in real-time. If there is a negative news, clarification will be given expeditiously, it said.
While this will incur a revenue loss amounting to 0.2 per cent of GDP, it will provide a strong boost to consumer sentiment and spending, points out Rajani Sinha.
Manipur MP A Bimol Akoijam has alleged that his questions about agreements the government has signed with insurgent groups in the northeastern states were removed from the list of starred questions scheduled for March 11, 2025. Akoijam, a Congress leader, claims this is a "serious infringement" on his rights as an elected Member of Parliament and undermines his legislative oversight function. He says he has met with the Speaker and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs to raise the issue.
