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The life insurance industry recorded nearly 40 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in new business premiums (NBP), aided by the rationalisation of goods and services tax (GST) on individual life insurance premiums, which has made policies more affordable for consumers.
Gurugram police have arrested a wanted accused linked to several ATM thefts amounting to lakhs of rupees. The accused, Aashiq, is a proclaimed offender and has multiple cases registered against him.
The new labour Codes, notified by the central government in November 2025, have pushed up employee costs for private-sector banks and insurance companies, with these firms reporting higher operating expenses in the October-December quarter (Q3FY26) due to the statutory impact of the new labour Codes.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in March seeking action against political parties that promise or distribute 'irrational freebies' before elections. The PIL argues that such practices unduly influence voters and undermine the fairness of the electoral process.
India has expressed concerns over the potential humanitarian consequences of the Trump administration's new restrictions on the H1B visa program, particularly the disruption to families. The government hopes the US authorities will address these issues.
From the Sensex pack, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, Titan, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers. On the other hand, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries were the only laggards.
From the Sensex pack, Eternal, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Trent, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, ITC, PowerGrid, Tata Motors Ltd's Commercial Vehicles business, and Bajaj Finserv were the gainers. Infosys, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki India, and Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.
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.
Properties worth approximately Rs 110 crore belonging to Zila Panchayat member Devendra Singh, which were attached in connection with a Gangster Act case, are being released following a Supreme Court order quashing the proceedings against him.
The Centre is considering amendments to the Recovery of Debt and Bankruptcy Act in the Budget to allow some Debt Recovery Tribunals to focus only on high-value cases.
India's state-level fiscal rules have improved headline deficits, but the gains are fragile and uneven with major states still grappling with high debt levels, a World Bank report submitted to the 16th Finance Commission (FC) said. According to the report, despite nearly two decades of adoption of fiscal responsibility laws (FRLs), debt levels have not converged.
Macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would be major driving factors for market movement this week, analysts said. Unabated capital infusion by domestic institutional investors have supported the positive trend in the stock market last week, traders said.
Following the notification allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, the Finance Ministry has revised norms to remove the requirement that a majority of directors and key management personnel in an insurance company with foreign investment be Indian residents.
India should have strong trading arrangements with its neighbours including China, which is a USD 18 trillion economy that cannot be avoided, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam has said.
The number of rights issues more than doubled and hit a 28-year high in 2025, even as qualified institutional placements (QIPs) shrank amid a broader market correction and the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) revised framework for rights issues.
Earlier, such entities were only permitted to invest their rupee surplus balance in accounts in central government securities, including treasury bills. "It has now been decided to also permit investment of these balances in non-convertible debentures/bonds and commercial papers issued by an Indian company," the RBI said.
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.
India's main inflation measure, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is set for another major update, even though it has been in its current form for only about 15 years.
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.
Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 11,820 crore ($1.3 billion) from Indian equities in the first week of this month, primarily driven by the sharp depreciation of the rupee. This sharp withdrawal follows a net outflow of Rs 3,765 crore in November, further pressuring markets.
Quarterly earnings, macroeconomic data announcements and global trends will drive the Indian stock markets in a holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Stock markets would remain closed on Wednesday for the Guru Nanak Gurpurab holiday.
The committee formed under the Life Insurance Council to review the commission structure in the life insurance sector has recommended capping distributor commissions or deferring them to ease acquisition costs. The recommendations will be sent to the insurance regulator -- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).
'The problem is not just slower growth, but also the quality of growth.'
As the rupee remains under pressure due to several headwinds and the uncertainty around the India-US trade deal, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been stepping in only to calm volatility, not to stop the fall.
A neutral monetary policy stance, heavy government borrowing, and issuers adjusting to a higher-for-longer yield environment have set the stage for a largely stable corporate bond market in 2026.
India's high cost of capital due to relatively shallow corporate bond markets, limited institutional investor depth, sovereign risk premia, and regulatory restrictions on capital flows, is a constraint on private investment and long-run growth, the Economic Survey, authored by Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran, said.
Retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 1.33 per cent in December 2025 mainly due to higher prices of kitchen essentials, including vegetables and protein-rich items.
The rupee slumped 5 per cent in 2025 as persistent capital outflows from foreign investors, alongside heightened dollar demand from importers, making it one of the worst-performing Asian currencies.
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.
After a gap of more than three years, the central government has agreed to resume the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) works in West Bengal with immediate effect, but subject to mandatory adherence to stringent conditions. These include a prohibition on any work valued at more than 20 lakh, compulsory 100 per cent electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) verification of all workers, and mandatory pre-estimation field visits for all works before they are undertaken.
The European Union's (EU's) offer to slash tariffs on 97.5 per cent of Indian chemical exports to zero is set to give India's pharmaceutical and medical device firms preferential access to the European markets.
The DPDP rules, which have come into effect, require companies to implement a data protection and consent management system by November 2026.
Banks are depending more heavily on the market for certificates of deposit (CDs), whose worth climbed to a record Rs 5.75 trillion in the fortnight to January 15, owing to deposit tightness in the system.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) stayed in negative territory for the second consecutive month at (-) 0.58 per cent in July, as prices of food articles and fuel saw deflation, even though prices of manufactured items increased, government data showed on Thursday.
'If companies want to hire foreign workers instead of Americans, my bill will hit them where it hurts: Their pocketbooks.'
The initial public offering of non-banking financial company Tata Capital Ltd got fully subscribed on the final day of bidding on Wednesday. The company's Rs 15,512 crore share sale received bids for 45,84,78,044 shares against 33,34,36,996 shares on offer, translating into 1.38 times subscription, according to NSE data till 13:36 hours.
The loss of input tax credit (ITC) following the rationalisation of the goods and services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance from 18 per cent to nil is may weigh on the profits of life insurers in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025-26 (FY26).
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
Over 50 per cent, or 660 stocks, from the BSE 1000 index recorded negative returns during CY25.
