The Union Budget for 2026-27 is expected to sketch out a road map for trebling the cooperative sector's contribution to the Indian economy over the next decade, with the aim of bringing 500 million people within its ambit, in line with the objectives of the National Cooperative Policy, 2025.
India should resist knee-jerk responses to tariff volatility in the US and instead use the current geopolitical churn to build manufacturing scale at home, former G20 Sherpa and former chief executive officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
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.
The deal shifts the US posture towards India from hostile to neutral, and that matters for growth, points out T T Ram Mohan.
Long-term climate and vegetation stability is why the one-horned rhinoceros survived in north east India even as it vanished from much of the subcontinent.
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.
Sustaining 8 per cent-plus growth rates is necessary if we are to reach high-income status by 2047, points out Amitabh Kant.
The fiscal tilt towards capex benefits companies in investment-related sectors like capital goods, defence equipment, engineering & construction and metal & mining. The planned cut in revenue expenditure will weigh on companies in consumption sectors like FMCG, consumer durables and retail.
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.
'This Budget has a one-year agenda, which you can call the sprint, and the marathon is towards Viksit Bharat.'
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
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.
'Our problem is not a budget deficit but a trust deficit. We need to trust our institutions and industries to innovate and lead. That is the way forward for India.'
Activity in the corporate bond market is set to gain momentum following a 25-bp policy repo rate cut by the rate-setting panel of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). State-owned public cebPower Finance Corporation (PFC) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) are planning to raise up to Rs 11,500 crore through bonds on Tuesday as issuers expect borrowing costs to ease.
India, the world's fourth largest economy, is set to maintain the 'goldilocks' phase with tailwinds of good growth, low inflation and robust banking performance as well as reform initiatives poised to sustain the economic pace witnessed during 2025.
'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.'
Ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy review in the first week of December, major public sector non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) - the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), Power Finance Corporation (PFC), and Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) - plan to raise up to Rs 24,000 crore together through bond issuancesk.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the people of Manipur, assuring them of the government's commitment to strengthening harmony and ensuring security in the wake of ethnic violence. She highlighted the state's resilience, contributions to the nation, and the government's initiatives for development and inclusivity.
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.
'Trump had done a deal with the current regime minus Maduro. The current regime is giving Trump entry into Venezuelan oil. They are obeying him and doing whatever he says.' 'They are happy because they have saved their heads by sacrificing only two, Maduro and his wife. Thousands of Venezuelan military leaders would have been jailed or killed in American action had Maduro stayed in power.'
India and Russia have solidified a five-year plan to enhance their economic and trade partnership, while also addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the threat of terrorism.
'At COP30, the emphasis will be on unlocking climate finance, reinforcing the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and building resilience through inclusive transitions and the mainstreaming of adaptation.'
'They are totally disconnected with farm activities which their families have been involved in for years.'
The era where nations thrived through rigid alignments is giving way to an age where the connective State defines power. For India, that era has arrived, points out Dr Nishakant Ojha.
On the table are additional batches of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia, which India used with immense success during Operation Sindoor. India could buy at least two squadrons of Su-57 fighter jets plus joint production of S-500 air defence systems.
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
'Our politics is transparent -- it's about ensuring farmers don't die by suicide, about ensuring agriculture remains viable, about ensuring food security for the nation.' 'If that's politics, then yes, we do politics.'
'Most pollution boards across the country have unused funds. There is practically no reason why pollution should not be a political priority.'
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Sri Lanka stays with you not just in memory, but gently reminds you what a society can achieve when heart and heritage guide the way.
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.
'India has experienced any number of doctors, engineers, and individuals from professional backgrounds being implicated in terrorism. This is not a novel development.' 'These are mobilisations of opportunity. One does not exclusively associate with one's own kind. A comprehensive conspiracy requires diverse skill sets.' 'One needs individuals with local community contacts, those possessing physical capabilities, technical expertise -- an entire spectrum of capacities.'
Private sector banks slipped in market capitalisation (mcap) during the July-September quarter, underperforming their government-owned peers as trade uncertainties dragged market sentiment, said S&P Global Market Intelligence. According to its analysis, HDFC Bank shed 4.8 per cent in mcap during the third quarter, while ICICI Bank's dropped 6.7 per cent.
Currently, the NAPCC has eight active missions across sectors like water, energy, and agriculture, aimed at addressing climate change.
Brave statements such as we will continue to be the fastest growing large country are of no consolation, because the direction of trade also determines the flow of investment, points out M Govinda Rao.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi criticizes the Modi government's stance on Palestine, calling it a 'profound silence' and an abdication of humanity and morality. She argues that India needs to demonstrate leadership on the issue and that the government's actions are driven by personal friendship rather than constitutional values or strategic interests.
'The biggest point of contention is market access for US agricultural and dairy products.'
'Zubeen Garg had come on his own free will.'
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
The textile and apparel sector is India's second-largest employment provider, after agriculture, and it is now caught in a wave of uncertainty following the Donald Trump administration's tariff policy.
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