Cabinet approves Khelo Bharat Niti, says it will bring India into top-5 of world sports
The underrepresentation of women in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) poses a significant risk of perpetuating the prevailing societal biases into future technologies, according to a top Microsoft executive. Himani Agrawal, chief partner officer, Microsoft India and South Asia, believes that inclusion is a shared responsibility and if AI continues to be shaped without diverse perspectives, the biases of today risk becoming hardwired into the technology of tomorrow.
State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Thursday entirely subscribed to the Rs 5,000 crore bond issue of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) at a coupon rate of 7.75 per cent, said sources privy to the development.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday thanked United States President Donald Trump for the 'historic' trade agreement reached between Islamabad and Washington, and expressed hope that it would expand cooperation between the two nations.
'Additionally, the significant employment multiplier will boost direct and indirect jobs of up to 1.1 million.'
Shifting to a PPP model could repeat the errors of the past
'Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft have large operations in India and rely on smooth trade and data flows.' 'Restrictions could raise their costs, limit AI chip exports, and complicate their India strategies.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked fintech startups to come out with solutions to deal with the rising incidence of digital arrests, cheating by fly-by-night operators, and other kinds of cyber frauds. Speaking at the Digital Payments Awards 2025 ceremony here, the minister credited fintechs with helping speed up financial inclusion and taking the payment system to even the far-flung areas of the country.
Over the past two years, some 30 mid-career bureaucrats are said to have joined the private sector as COOs, CEOs and partners in consultancies.
Infrastructure Development Finance Company is planning to hit the capital markets by June end to fund its capital requirements.
The fund will promote domestic shipbuilding of all types and sizes to reduce India's dependence on foreign ships.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Bimal Jalan on Friday said that there was no dearth of liquidity in financing the infrastructure projects in the country.
Larsen & Toubro Ltd said on Tuesday the country's leading housing finance company Housing Development Finance Corporation and HDFC India Real Estate Fund will acquire a 25 per cent stake in L&T Urban Infrastructure Ltd.
'Every delay directly increases the cost burden on developers. Land holding charges, financing costs, and compliance expenses escalate as approvals drag on.'
The market capitalisation of listed companies on the NSE surpassed $5 trillion (Rs 416.57 trillion) on Thursday on a day when the Nifty 50 index touched an all-time high of 22,993.60. The Nifty 500 index also touched an all-time high of 21,505.25 on Thursday indicating that growth in the equity market is not restricted to only the large capitalised stocks, a statement by NSE said.
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
About railways sector, the Survey said that it is facing stiff competition from other modes of transportation and the government is initiating various transformative measures to keep railways on track.
As the Apple CEO put it to his staff, the choice is stark: Adopt AI or risk being left behind. The same applies to everyone preparing for the future of work.
Office space owners are looking at good times ahead as rentals are expected to rise due to demand for Grade A office spaces outpacing supply that has been sluggish due to construction delays, long gestation periods and developers' interests shifting to residential.
Do home prices really never fall? Ramalingam Kalirajan begs to differ.
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.
Several executives argue that UPI has the potential to grow tenfold, but warn that the absence of a monetisation model risks stagnating the real-time payments system, which has been recording all-time-high transaction volumes every year.
Public sector companies and some government departments have come in for severe criticism in the India Infrastructure Report 2003. The report says the inefficiencies of PSUs have provided private firms with a huge pricing advantage.
Research and development (R&D) spending by BSE 100 companies has grown steadily, rising from 0.89 per cent of revenue in FY20 to 1.32 per cent in FY24, averaging around 1 per cent over the period in-between, according to data compiled from Bloomberg and company annual reports. Also, these companies more than doubled their R&D spending in absolute terms over these five years: From Rs 25,041 crore to Rs 63,072 crore. While this reflects a prioritisation of innovation, corporate R&D investment remains relatively conservative.
"I don't think the only solution for us is a bank, though it could be a bank. On the other hand, if the financial system continues to grow at 20-25 per cent, there's no reason why in our current construct, we can't comfortably keep growing at that same pace," says Rajiv Lall, CEO and Managing Director, IDFC.
The finance minister, in her Budget speech, should focus more on what she is directly responsible for, rather than on programmes where her role is largely supportive, notes Nitin Desai.
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
Chief executive officers (CEOs) across sectors have expressed intentions to expand capacities, expecting the government's target to invest a record Rs 11.11 trillion on infrastructure development will act as a catalyst for a jump in consumer demand. "With the government planning a capex of Rs 11.11 trillion, private sector investment will come in a big way. Companies will be preparing for it right from today," H M Bangur, chairman of Shree Cement, told Business Standard. For the past few years, the investment scene in India has been dominated by government capital expenditures; private investments in the manufacturing sector have remained muted.
'BSE has facilitated nearly Rs 35 trillion in capital raising across multiple segments.'
