The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
In an event-heavy week, stock investors will track ongoing quarterly earnings, the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, and macroeconomic data for market direction, analysts said. Moreover, progress in India-US trade negotiations will remain a key focus for investors, an expert said.
From January to June 2025, Kaspersky enterprise solutions blocked more than 200,000 spyware attacks on Indian organisations.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower in a highly volatile trade on Thursday amid relentless foreign fund outflows and selling in blue-chip ICICI Bank. Falling for the second day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 148.14 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 83,311.01.
'Rate cut looks unlikely and there is reason to believe that the cycle is over.'
How the UN's flagship climate summit lost its direction and what's at stake.
UBS has turned bullish on emerging markets (EM), including India, as it finds benign macro trends, positive momentum in earnings revisions, and resilient EM currencies helping these economies sustain higher valuations and attracting flows. Among regions, it has upgraded Mainland China to 'attractive' and China Tech to 'most attractive', while downgrading Philippines to 'neutral'.
Vi partners SpaceX-rival AST SpaceMobile for satcom service on smartphones
The government on Wednesday approved two schemes worth Rs 45,000 crore to help exporters tide over the impact of high tariffs imposed by the US on Indian shipments.
India needs to limit its reliance on multinational corporations (MNCs) for strategic audits and consulting in order to strengthen its economic sovereignty and achieve the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) said in an office memorandum released on Wednesday.
Indian Space Research Organisation is gearing up for one of its busiest times with seven more launches planned this financial year, even as India's first human spaceflight remains scheduled for 2027, its chairman V Narayanan said.
What is currently perceived as a massive, low-tech liability could become a high-value, export-oriented economic engine, points out Ajit Balakrishnan.
Sensex sinks 573 pts on global tensions and high crude prices
Yamaha expects its first EVs to hit showrooms by the last quarter of FY26 (January - March), once network readiness is complete.
Global tech giants surprisingly prefer skills over IIT and IIM tags which no longer guarantee entry into the world's most innovative workplaces.
India's services sector activity eased slightly in March, weighed down by a marginal slowdown in sales amid softer demand conditions and easing inflationary pressures, a monthly survey said on Friday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell from February's reading of 59.0 to 58.5 in March, but remained above its long-run average of 54.2.
'What we are seeing today is India stepping into its digital confidence, not as a follower but a leader.'
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd may spend about $12-15 billion over the next few years on AI infrastructure that could include a giant 1GW data centre, Morgan Stanley said in a report. Ambani had at the company's annual shareholder meeting in August announced a major push into AI through a new subsidiary and strategic partnerships.
Bengaluru is at a critical juncture, where its economic model, reliant on attracting and retaining skilled professionals, is directly threatened by a measurable decline in urban quality of life, point out Shishir Gupta and Rishita Sachdeva.
India's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity cooled in the second quarter of 2025-26 (Q2FY26), with deal value falling to $26.26 billion from $29.04 billion a year ago, according to Bloomberg data.
March 31 marked 10 years since the Modi government introduced its first Foreign Trade Policy (FTP 2015-20) that lasted for 8 years before the current FTP 2023 came in. Here is a brief assessment. In 2015, the government said that it aims to increase India's exports of merchandise and services from $465.9 billion in 2013-14 to approximately $900 billion by 2019-20 and to raise India's share in world exports from 2 per cent to 3.5 per cent.
Her brother, Celina Jaitly says, is a fourth-generation soldier, a man who dedicated his youth to the nation's service and received the Chief of Army Staff's Commendation for Gallantry.
'This means that there will be more than 1,000 tech talent in India over the next 12-18 months.'
Among the Sensex firms, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro were the gainers. Trent Ltd, Eternal, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever and NTPC were the laggards.
'Where rostering systems are automated and duty time software interfaces directly with DGCA, the assertion that they suddenly discovered crew shortages is simply implausible.' 'If adequate crew planning hasn't materialised within 12 to 24 months from inception, how will 45 days -- from December 5 to February 12 -- suddenly resolve matters?'
AIS Technolabs' Global Scholarship Program 2025 offers financial support and leadership opportunities to undergraduate and postgraduate students from around the world, in any field of study.
The Trump administration has sanctioned entities and individuals from India involved in sales of Iran's petroleum and petroleum products, saying the funds from this trade support Tehran's regional terrorist proxies and procure weapons systems that are a direct threat to the US.
'When global politics has some intervention on the core software one uses, and if you are cut off from your own data in critical workflows, sovereignty is no longer optional. It becomes a necessity.'
'They are a poor fit for anyone with near-term goals, low volatility tolerance, or a need for steady income or liquidity.' 'First-time investors should typically avoid them.'
The Indian government has expressed its disagreement with the IMF staff's 'baseline' assumption that the 50 per cent US tariffs on its goods exports 'would remain in place indefinitely', based on which the staff pegged the country's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent this year, and pared its 2026-27 projection by 20 basis points to 6.2 per cent.
Among Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest gainer, gaining 1.7 per cent after the October sales data. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) rose by 1.69 per cent. Eternal, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also among the major gainers.
Indian consumers are entering the festive season with renewed confidence and financial optimism, outpacing global benchmarks, according to Deloitte India's latest Consumer Signals: India Chapter. "With inflationary pressures easing and the recent Goods and Services Tax (GST) revisions enhancing purchasing power and festive cheer among consumers, this brings a new wave of consumption.
Ola Electric has denied media reports suggesting its involvement in a leak of proprietary pouch cell technology (tech) from South Korea's LG Energy Solution, calling the allegations "baseless". The company said it has no commercial or research interest in the older pouch cell format cited in the reports, emphasising that its new 4680 Bharat Cell - based on advanced dry-electrode cylindrical tech - is already in commercial production.
Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, HCL Tech and Adani Ports were the laggards. Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, State Bank of India and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked fintech firms to focus on risk management at a time when criminals are using AI to mimic voices, clone identities and create lifelike videos to manipulate people.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticizes Pakistan's attempts to protect a terror group at the UN Security Council, highlighting the need for urgent reforms within the global body.
Tata Motors' commercial vehicle (CV) business debuted on the BSE on Wednesday, completing the automaker's long-planned demerger into separate listed entities for its passenger and CV operations.
Putin's State visit will centre on fixing the huge India-Russia trade imbalance, with both sides pushing to lower duties, ease non-tariff barriers, and seal a landmark mobility pact to send more Indian workers to Russia.
The passenger vehicle (PV) business of Tata Motors, which also includes the electric vehicle and Jaguar Land Rover businesses, post-demerger is now valued at Rs 1.45 trillion.
Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, NTPC, Trent, Asian Paints and Axis Bank were the major laggards among Sensex stocks. However, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.
