The government on Sunday gave a strong push to upgradation and expansion of healthcare infrastructure, medical education and pharma sector with the Union Budget 2026-27 announcing a slew of steps, including those aimed at making India a global hub for allied healthcare professionals and biopharma manufacturing.
'The problem is not just slower growth, but also the quality of growth.'
'Despite acting in some 100 films and television plays, people still remember the daadi of Hum Log.'
2027's housing census trims questions but adds digital-age indicators like Internet and smartphones.
Political analysts express skepticism about the upcoming Bangladesh general election, citing concerns over manipulation, voter participation, and the influence of money and muscle in the changed political landscape.
In 2025-26, the government allocated Rs 6,81,210 crore for defence budget.
The turning point came with the appointment of Sergio Gor as the US ambassador to India.
Gross GST collections rose 6.2 per cent to a three-month high of over Rs 1.93 lakh crore in January, indicating increased consumption is making up for rate cuts late last year, sources said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the signing of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), saying it accounts for 25 per cent of global GDP and one-third of global trade.
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.
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.
Importers are rushing to hedge their dollar positions amid the sharp depreciation of the rupee against the American currency and expectations of further volatility even as exporters are holding off after suffering mark-to-market (MTM) losses on earlier hedges.
The Budget reflects a clear focus on strengthening India's long-term prospects by leaning on nation-building sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and technology while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised the Indian Coast Guard's role during Operation Sindoor and highlighted its importance in national security on the occasion of its 50th Raising Day.
The country's exports rose 1.87 per cent to $38.5 billion in December 2025 despite global economic uncertainties, though an increase in imports led to a marginal widening of the trade deficit to $25 billion.
Textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering goods, gems and jewellery exports will receive a boost from the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation European Union, according to exporters.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher on Wednesday as a sharp decline in IT blue-chip stocks restricted the rally in the markets.
The Budget reframes healthcare as a strategic national capability, backing biopharma innovation, workforce expansion and technology-led governance to power India's next growth phase.
AI is changing how IT companies hire, with skills like learning fast and solving problems now more important than degrees.
Silver and gold prices declined sharply in the futures trade on Friday as traders booked profits at elevated levels after a record-breaking rally, tracking a bearish sentiment in global markets and a rebound in the US dollar.
'Trump says India will buy over $500 billion of US goods.' 'At present, India's annual imports of goods and energy from the US are under $50 billion.' 'Reaching $500 billion would likely require more than 20 years, suggesting the figure refers to a long-term aspiration rather than a near-term commitment.'
India is growing fast, but to keep growing strong, the government must make more things at home, create jobs, and spend money wisely, suggests Rajiv Memani, regional managing partner, Africa-India Region, EY.
Rahul Gandhi claims the Indo-US trade deal will compromise the data security of 1.5 billion Indians, alleging Prime Minister Modi is surrendering India's data resources to the US. He warns of potential job losses in the IT sector due to AI and the importance of controlling India's data pool.
'Given that the population is almost evenly split, the Indian economy cannot grow without women participating in the workforce.' 'While women's participation has increased, it is still well below 40 per cent,' says Kartik Narayan, CEO of the professional networking and jobs platform, Apna.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
A 500 per cent tariff would effectively shut out India's goods and services exports to the US.
A bewildered world is at a loss to find bilateral and multilateral measures to stop President Trump from pursuing his vision of a world unabashedly dominated by the United States, points out T P Sreenivasan.
While many areas compete for resources, defence, education, and adaptation deserve focus for maximum impact, suggests Laveesh Bhandari.
The Budget emerges as a measured, credible and forward-looking policy document that reinforces India's commitment to remaining a stable, reform-oriented economy amid an increasingly fragmented global landscape, says A Balasubramanian.
Sustaining 8 per cent-plus growth rates is necessary if we are to reach high-income status by 2047, points out Amitabh Kant.
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
'While many politicians speak of development, Dada worked hard for it.' 'He realised that politics wasn't about power or politics -- it was about service to the people.'
'Despite a challenging FMCG environment, ITC Foods has grown at or above the industry rate.'
While Infosys never had a presence, Wipro's Venezuelan unit was liquidated many years ago.
Lemon grass, often referred to as citronella, is a tall, reed-like herb prized for its bright, zesty scent and clean citrus taste. Widely used in Thai cuisine, it brings a refreshing, aromatic lift to soups, curries and stir-fries.
The share of services in gross value added (GVA) in 2023-24 was the highest in Chandigarh (88.8 per cent), followed by Delhi (84.1 per cent), said a NITI Aayog report released recently.
The Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) will be able to reapply for recognition by the European Union's (EU) financial markets regulator following a pact signed on Tuesday between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma).
Usually, in the western view, corporate success is attributed to efficiency, organisational structure, and scale. R Gopalakrishnan and Harish Bhat argue that philosophy, culture, and the transmission of values are more important for sustaining growth and profitability of an enterprise over a period of time.
Rao acted in an "obscene manner which is unbecoming of a government servant and also caused embarrassment to the government", his suspension order read.
The value of the rupee, which has slipped to the 92 per dollar mark, does not accurately reflect India's stellar economic fundamentals, the Economic Survey said on Thursday.
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