Shares of Indian life insurance companies, particularly SBI Life Insurance and Canara HSBC Life Insurance, saw significant declines after the Department of Financial Services (DFS) secretary, M Nagaraju, stated that banks are being asked to avoid exclusive tie-ups with their own insurance subsidiaries and instead remain neutral.
Akasa Air, despite facing headwinds from the West Asia conflict and rising aviation turbine fuel prices, expects to maintain a 30-40 per cent growth trajectory over the next five years and aims for an initial public offering (IPO) within two to four years, according to CFO Ankur Goel.
Kerala police have issued a warning about a sophisticated cyber fraud targeting football fans. Scammers are using fake OTT apps and social media advertisements promising free access to FIFA World Cup 2026 matches. These malicious apps gain control of users' phones and illegally withdraw money from bank accounts. The police advise downloading apps only from official stores and being cautious of suspicious permissions.
Hospital stocks have emerged as a strong theme in 2026, outperforming benchmark indices due to robust earnings growth, improved occupancy, higher average revenue per occupied bed, and aggressive expansion plans by major chains.
Major life insurers in India reported close to double-digit growth in the value of new business (VNB) last financial year, primarily driven by increased sales of high-margin protection and non-participating (non-par) products.
Following Axis Max Life Insurance's second-quarter results for 2025-26, Sumit Madan, managing director and chief executive officer of the company, speaks to Aathira Varier and Subrata Panda/Business Standard about growth aspirations, strategies to offset the impact of the input tax credit (ITC) withdrawal, reverse merger plans, and more.
'However, this process will take some time. Depending on the approval timeline, it may span a few quarters.'
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The insurance industry is trying to get to grips with provisions in the proposed Insurance Amendment Bill, which gives additional powers to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), while there is ambiguity in the very definition of the insurance business, according to industry experts.
Both the life and non-life insurance segment posted over 20 per cent premium growth in November for the first time in this financial year (FY26), supported by the reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on premiums from 18 per cent to zero and a favourable base effect.
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).
Shares of healthcare services major Max Healthcare Institute have gained over 23 per cent since the start of this month and the stock crossed the Rs 1 trillion mark on September 24. On September 25, it closed 989.85 apiece at the NSE. The gains were cornered on the back of a strong outlook for the sector and aggressive expansion plans for the chain led by acquisitions and organic growth.
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.
Mocked, misjudged, written off, Lando Norris's carves own road to F1 Glory
Max Group founder and chairman Analjit Singh has on Monday refuted the allegations made against him in a petition filed with the NCLT, terming it as "downright untruthful". Singh has said he will contest these allegations in the NCLT hearing. "Apart from being downright untruthful, what is even more anguishing is the agenda with which these reports have been encouraged and planted while the matter is sub judice," said a statement put on BSE by Max quoting Analjit Singh.
To handle the sudden loss of cashless facility, patients should maintain an emergency fund or a short-term credit line to manage all or part of hospitalisation costs.
Let's decode how EPS works, who qualifies, and how pensions are calculated, using simple examples for different salary levels.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The average Indian worker must labour for an extraordinary 160 full working days to afford Apple's latest iPhone 17 Pro.
Akasa Air's standalone net loss rose 18.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to roughly Rs 1,983 crore in 2024-25 (FY25), driven by rising employee costs, aircraft maintenance and airport charges, and a sharp increase in foreign exchange (forex) expenses, sources privy to the development told Business Standard.
'Cancer incidence is projected to increase by 12.8 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020, necessitating more dedicated cancer treatment centres and specialised beds.'
Sahil Vachani fuels Analjit Singh's new business initiatives
Amitabh Chaudhry, who will now head the merged entity, will manage assets under management of about Rs 1.10 lakh crore and an employee base of 23,620 after the completion of the deal
Four years after setting up a "home away from home" in the Franschhoek winelands of Cape Town, he is increasing his investments in the hospitality sector in South Africa.
The failed deals could be the much-needed wake-up call for the M&A space.
Air India on Friday said it has completed the acquisition of its first A350-900 aircraft by way of a finance lease transaction with HSBC through the GIFT City. This is also the first wide body aircraft to be leased through the GIFT City, the country's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). In a release, the airline said the transaction was facilitated by its wholly-owned subsidiary AI Fleet Services Ltd (AIFS) and is also the first financing transaction from the orders for 470 aircraft that were made earlier this year.
General, life insurers with 8 & 10 yrs in biz, respectively, may have to list
Max India on Monday said it would completely exit from the telecom business by divesting its meagre stake of about two per cent in the cellular operator Hutchison India to raise funds for its healthcare and insurance services.
Unprecedented bribery charges, farewells, separation, failed union, monumental mergers and record-breaking IPOs, along with a healthy dose of online happenings in the form of spat and lessons in customer care, corporate India saw it all in 2024.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar.
Analysts are expecting pharmaceutical companies to post sales growth of 10-11 per cent in the second quarter this financial year while the Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) margins are anticipated to improve by about 110 basis points. Ebitda improvement will be led by lower input costs because prices of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are 5-15 per cent lower year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Axis Capital said sales growth would be around 10 per cent, of which growth in the India market would be 11 per cent or so.
Days before Sony Group pulled the plug on the $10 billion deal, Zee group founder Subhash Chandra had written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, blaming Sebi for trying to "scuttle" the merger of its flagship media firm Zee Entertainment Enterprise with the Japanese firm and subsequent investment in the merged entity. Alleging market regulator Sebi is "acting with a predetermined mind", the Zee group patriarch requested the finance minister to take the necessary steps "to safeguard the interest of the minority shareholders of Zee". Chandra in his letter dated January 16, seen by PTI, said Zee and all other people have been cooperating in the investigation related to the alleged fund diversion by promoters and expressed concern over a new notice issued by the market regulator to former directors of Zee.
HDFC Life has a balance between traditional policies and Ulips
Top Indian private sector lender ICICI Bank, which owns nearly 68 percent of the insurer, is selling up to 181.34 million shares in the IPO.
Why are DIIs holding such a high stake in Zee, which is beset with alleged governance issues? Perhaps they think Zee is a deep-value stock, observes Debashis Basu.
'The funds were arranged from multiple banks at a very competitive rate and converted into dollars at the best rates.'
However, investors have turned cautious over the likelihood of Britain leaving the European Union.
'We tightened our risk frameworks once the Covid crisis started.' 'We are slowly lightening this as we see economic activity pick up, salaries getting restored, and people getting back into jobs.'
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) is seeking rapprochement with Sony Group as it makes a last-ditch effort to resurrect a $10 billion merger, according to industry sources. After the Japanese multinational firm pulled the plug on its $10 billion merger deal in January, the Indian company reached out again to Sony to reconsider the termination and offered for talks this month, a source said. On the other hand, Sony is understood to be evaluating the proposal from Zee.
