Of the Rs 31,820.80 crore allocated to central sector schemes and projects, only Rs 11,868.05 crore was utilised, according to the revised estimates.
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.
For MSMEs the transition could mean higher wage bills and tougher compliance -- unless strong handholding follows reports Auhona Mukherjee.
In a historic decision, the government on Friday announced the implementation of the four Labour Codes, which rationalised 29 existing labour laws, with immediate effect. The four labour codes are -- the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.
'It will increase the contribution to gratuity, which is something the employer has to give.'
Newly-appointed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has been allocated the portfolios of State Excise Duty, Sports and Youth Affairs and Minorities Development and Aukaf.
Two more workers from Odisha who were stranded in Thailand have returned home after the state government intervened. This follows the return of four other workers last week. The workers had faced hardships including non-payment of wages.
From appointment letters becoming mandatory to gig workers receiving social security to enhanced rights for women and contract labour, the changes reflect India's attempt to balance ease of doing business with stronger worker welfare.
India's economy experienced a growth of 7.8 per cent during the October-December quarter of 2025-26, according to the new series of national accounts with 2022-23 as the base year.
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.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that an interim trade agreement between India and the US is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April, with chief negotiators meeting in Washington to finalize the details.
The country's exports rose marginally by 0.61 per cent to $36.56 billion in January, while trade deficit widened to a three-month high of $34.68 billion, government data showed on Monday.
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
Following a Supreme Court setback, Donald Trump has announced an increase in global tariffs from 10% to 15%, impacting international trade relations and raising concerns about economic repercussions.
'As long as apps show impossible delivery times, delivery and packaging workers will be pressured to meet unsafe, unhealthy standards.'
The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has written to the labour and employment ministry accusing global Information Technology (IT) firm Wipro of delaying onboarding of about 250 engineering graduates even though commitments were made by the company through offer letters and formal communication.
Unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above rose marginally to 4.8 per cent in December 2025 compared to 4.7 per cent in the preceding month. The unemployment rate (UR) or joblessness, among persons of age 15 years and above, remained largely stable in December 2025, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Thursday.
The agreement addresses non-tariff barriers and promotes increased trade in technology products and cooperation between the two countries.
India has been on an FTA-signing spree of late. Since 2021, it has signed eight trade agreements, three of which -- with the UK, Oman and New Zealand -- were finalised in 2025 alone.
India's new national accounts will leverage new data sources and surveys to enhance the measurement of the country's informal economy, and introduce double deflation methods across sectors, replacing the current system that relies on a single deflation mechanism in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calculations.
Eternal-owned quick-commerce firm Blinkit has dropped its '10-minute' delivery claim after intervention by the Labour Ministry amid growing concerns over the welfare and safety of delivery workers.
Electors in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls will be required to present either a voter photo ID card or any one of the 12 alternative identity documents approved by the State Election Commission to cast their vote, officials said.
'Grassroots-level corruption, which disrupts the last-mile work, cannot be ignored in your enthusiasm and drive to get going to complete the project.' 'Like it was in MGNREGA, in some states, it is the case with the Jal Jeevan mission.' 'The last minute levels of corruption can ruin the intent of the project itself.' 'When you see that people can game a particular well-intended and well-crafted project, you need to correct that.'
'Once the actual scope is understood, it becomes evident that the framework is about internal redress and course correction, and in no way criminalisation.'
The Indian economy is likely to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2025-26, up from 6.5 per cent in the previous fiscal, mainly on account of better performance of manufacturing and services sectors, as per the government data released on Wednesday.
President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, which aims to replace MGNREGA and guarantee 125 days of wage employment per rural household.
It is difficult to make conveyor belt and baggage-scanning scenes thrilling -- which is how most people trying to sneak out through the Green Channel are caught -- but Neeraj Pandey and co-director Raghav M Jairath and co-writer Vipul K Rawal make sure there is enough going on to make the series watchable, raves Deepa Gahlot.
India has protected the interest of domestic farmers and MSMEs by not extending any duty concessions on products across several sectors, including agricultural items such as dairy, as well as chocolates, gold, silver, jewellery, footwear, and sports goods, under the trade pact with Oman.
Developers are entering one of the busiest construction cycles, with the top four firms planning launches worth Rs 1.13 trillion over the near to medium term, even as execution faces pressure from approval delays, labour shortages, rising costs, and contractor capacity limits across the industry.
The change in the government's engagement with the economy's need for reforms is more nuanced than how analysts have so far perceived it, points out A K Bhattacharya.
This was perhaps a missed opportunity for India to spotlight a core domestic challenge: The scale of workforce preparation required for a young, populous, rapidly growing country seeking to reach net zero, points out Radha Roy Biswas.
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.
India has raised concerns with the United States regarding the cancellation of scheduled H1B visa interviews for Indian applicants due to enhanced vetting measures. Both countries are engaged in discussions to address the disruptions caused by the delays.
'Don't look at Russia only as a place to earn quickly and then leave.' 'Try to build experience in serious companies, skills and certifications that will serve you anywhere in the world.'
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
A bill to repeal the MGNREGA and introduce a new rural employment law, the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), has been circulated among Lok Sabha members.
Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate was shifted from the agriculture ministry to the sports and youth welfare department in a late-night reshuffle. Dattatrey Bharne will be the new agriculture minister. The reshuffle comes after Kokate faced controversy for playing online rummy during a legislative council session and allegedly equating farmers with beggars.
Mexico on Thursday imposed a tariff of up to 50 per cent on imports from its non-preferential trade partners, including India, a move that might hit New Delhi's annual $5.75 billion shipments to its third-largest car export market.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has launched an integrated audit across 32 states and Union Territories to assess the ease of doing business for the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.
The rate of unemployment for those aged 15 and above remained steady at 5.2 per cent in October, according to a government survey released on Monday.
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