The exemption of individual life and health insurance premiums from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) enables the insurance industry to make products affordable and attractive, said Ajay Seth, chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025.
From a surge in startups to crewed mission preparations, 2025 marks a transformative year as India eyes $44 billion space economy by 2033.
Next week's three-nation foreign tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will see India and Oman sign a free trade deal. The visit will also pave the way for agreements with Ethiopia and Jordan to increase India's bilateral trade and investments.
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.
Tata Motors, which now houses the company's commercial vehicle business, on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 867 crore in the September quarter, impacted by mark-to-market losses of Rs 2,026 crore on account of investment in Tata Capital.
Across all sectors, the future of work depends on adaptability.
'It will increase the contribution to gratuity, which is something the employer has to give.'
'I can sanction projects worth Rs 20 trillion annually as of today.' 'But my system is only capable of executing projects worth Rs 3 trillion to Rs 4 trillion.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked India Inc to take advantage of the policies and reforms undertaken by the government and no longer hesitate to invest more and expand capacities. Sitharaman also asked the industry to partner with the government for skilling the youth and also to engage with the government throughout the year, and not just before the Budget.
In 2024, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) implemented significant reforms, focusing on cooling down the derivatives segment, enhancing transparency and accountability in small and midsised enterprise (SME) listings, and deepening the fund management ecosystem.
Speaking at the 'Samudra se Samruddhi' event, where he inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs 34,200 crore, Modi said all the problems of India have only one solution, and that is self-reliance.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lauded 'Operation Sindoor' as a prime example of tri-services synergy, emphasizing Pakistan's ongoing recovery from the operation's impact. He highlighted the need for coordinated defense strategies and civil-military fusion to address modern security challenges.
With farm Acts out of the picture, the government may look at reforming the input side of the agriculture sector - regulations and rules that govern seeds, fertilisers and plant chemicals. Sources said such a blueprint, which is aimed at making the life of farmers easier, with quicker approvals but not compromising on quality, is in the works as part of the 100-day agenda of Modi 3.0. Also, ways to administer fertiliser subsidy more effectively and cutting down on leakages and diversions to build on the success of neem-coated urea are being thought of.
The Congress party has accused Union Minister Nitin Gadkari of conflict of interest, alleging his sons' companies have benefited from the government's ethanol blending policy. The BJP has rejected the allegations.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
You can't be the second-most expensive market in the world and deliver just 10 per cent EPS growth, points out Akash Prakash.
India's housing market has remained resilient this festival season (Dussehra-Diwali period), despite global macroeconomic challenges, tech-sector layoffs, and affordability pressures, with developers reporting 10-25 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in home sales across major cities.
SEBI's blockbuster reforms are rewriting the rules of mutual fund investing -- faster growth, sharper transparency, and smarter safeguards that put investors first, explains Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Opening up the corner office is fine, but will the government be able to attract talent without giving a market-rate salary?, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Learning from East Asia, India must reform its district administration with performance, accountability, and vision to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat, points out Deepak Mishra.
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
Kant, a retired 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Kerala cadre, was appointed as India's G20 Sherpa in July 2022, months before India assumed the G20 Presidency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked the Congress to tell the nation who prevented India's military response after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks linked to Pakistan, and accused the party of weakening the fight against terrorism when in power.
Hospitality players want the government to accord infrastructure status to hotels to make investments on new properties more attractive rather than categorising them as luxury or even 'sin goods' in the upcoming Union Budget considering the sector's potential to play a key role in India's growth. They also want the government to consider incentives in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices, while asserting that the upcoming budget must accelerate the tourism agenda saying it is an opportunity to make Indian hospitality the emerging engine for GDP growth and employment generation.
With general government debt now approaching three-quarters of GDP, and only incremental reform efforts visible, Pakistan risks prolonging its economic stagnation unless fundamental governance, regulatory, and industrial overhauls are undertaken.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's sudden resignation after only a year in office has thrown Japan into political turmoil, raising doubts about how the country will handle economic and regional challenges, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey admitted that club football 'is going through crisis' due to the uncertainty over the future of the country's top-tier league ISL and said a collective effort is needed to tide over it.
Some of the key names include: Maruti, M&M, Ashok Leyland, Britannia, Ultratech, JK Cement, Havells, Voltas, Amber, Metro, Trent, LemonTree, Indian Hotels, Niva Bupa, HDFC Life, IGL, Acme Solar, Suzlon, Swiggy, Delhivery, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance," according to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
If India caves in to US pressure as Trump hopes it will, he will further try to blackmail it into submission, points out Ramesh Menon.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the nation on the eve of Independence Day, praising the response to terrorism, highlighting achievements in defense self-reliance, and emphasizing unity and progress.
India fully utilised its military modernisation budget in 2024-2025 -- the first time in five years -- and signed a record Rs 2 trillion defence contracts.
The time is ideal for a 'Dream Budget' akin to the 1991 reforms that sparked high growth and unlocked significant gains in productivity, points out Rajeswari Sengupta.
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.
Passenger vehicle dispatches in India from factories to dealers rose to record levels at over 43 lakh units in FY25, with utility vehicles accounting for 65 per cent of the total sales in the segment, industry body SIAM said on Tuesday. Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches rose to 43,01,848 units in the last fiscal year, marking a 2 per cent increase compared to 42,18,750 units in FY 2023-24.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slapped 11 new conditions on Pakistan for the release of the next tranche of its bailout programme and warned that tensions with India could heighten risks to the scheme's fiscal, external, and reform goals, according to a media report on Sunday.
Citing evolving needs and aspirations of the citizens, he said that the civil service must adapt to contemporary challenges to remain relevant.
'Similar to the case of the digital payment system where the government created a public platform and others joined in, we are exploring a similar structure to create a PPP platform where the compute required for AI could be accessed by the small player.'
The Opposition has been protesting against allowing foreign direct investment in the retail sector, as well as the rise in fuel prices.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the Union Budget as a "people's budget" that fulfills the dreams of every Indian and said that it is a "force-multiplier" that will boost consumption, investment and growth. He highlighted a host of measures for different sectors, including welfare initiatives for gig workers, tax relief for the middle class, and support for the manufacturing sector.
President Droupadi Murmu's address to the nation on the eve of the 79th Independence Day.
