Companies like Flipkart, Amazon and Meesho as well as quick commerce ones like Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart may create hundreds of thousands of seasonal jobs for the coming festival season.
Lower rates effectively increase disposable income, strengthen purchasing capacity, and support broader consumption growth.
As the police make security arrangements for Anant Chaturthi, the 10th day of the Ganesh festival, the traffic police control room on Thursday received a threat message on their WhatsApp helpline, the official said.
'...and say that if I don't wear a sari, they will unfollow me.' 'Today, if I have 2.9 million followers on Instagram, out of that, the majority is from the South.' 'Telugu has given me the most fame and money.'
Faithfuls thronged the streets of Mumbai for immersion processions of Ganesh idols on Anant Chaturdashi, marking the end of the 10-day Ganpati festival.
The decision to hike US H-1B visa application fee to $100,000, trade talks and the GST rate cut will be the key drivers for stock market movement this week, analysts said.
These changes certainly bring India's GST a lot closer to what an ideal GST would look like, points out Karan Bhasin.
TVK cadres are worried, the leadership looks weak, and the party is not fully prepared for the 2026 elections, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'For most investors, I recommend a low double-digit allocation (10 to 12 per cent) to gold and silver combined.'
Two special dishes to include in your Onam feast.
Film folk are busy celebrating Ganpati by visiting their friends' homes, pandal-hopping or simply at home.
Glimpses from around India that will make you smile and cry.
'For us, it's not always about chasing revenue. It's about sustaining happiness and energy, because that's what drives long-term growth.'
Credit card spending reached Rs 2 trillion in October, a 14.5 per cent rise from September, largely driven by festival season purchases. However, the volume of outstanding credit cards increased only marginally during the same period. The spike in spending comes at a time when nearly all major credit card issuers are calibrating their growth in the segment due to visible signs of stress.
Real-estate firms have welcomed the Goods and Services Tax Council's reforms, expecting better affordability for buyers, spurring demand. The council has reduced the rate on cement from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, while the rate on sand lime bricks or stone inlay work and granite blocks has been cut to 5 per cent from 12 per cent.
Days before Diwali, the monthly economic review by the finance ministry has highlighted moderation in urban demand, softening consumer sentiments and limited footfall as areas that need to be watched. In its review, released on Monday, the ministry also noted the early signs of artificial intelligence displacing workers, as described in anecdotal reports. The commentary from several large consumer goods companies, including Nestl India, Hindustan Unilever, and ITC, in their recent quarterly earnings, has been around a sluggish urban demand. Rural consumption, however, has mostly seen a revival, the companies pointed out.
'It doesn't matter where you come from or what college you studied in. None of it defines your future. Just don't give up.'
'I was a nobody when I came here, and now I've become something.'
The employees called off the strike following government's assurance of a salary hike
Utkarsh Mishra's impressions of the Narendra Modi roadshow in Varanasi.
The fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival saw Bollywood folk add a lot of glamour in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In the slot of rural poor, there are those who struggle to pull themselves out of crumbling hovels, and there are the Jamtara-like bunch who turn to crime. Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound is about the former, whose quest for respect and dignity is thwarted because they are underprivileged, notes Deepa Gahlot.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
The cheeky young man who once gave me one-word answers grew into a philosophical, detached star yet remained simple and humble, never letting stardom steal his heart, notes Rediff's Shobha Warrier who first interviewed the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner in 1987.
'I am doing the drive in making sure that people pass this on. So the drive is not with distrust. The drive is just in case.' 'Just in case it doesn't get passed on, I am here.'
'We will be able to anticipate the full picture of the impact after August, which is also the time when demand for a year begins to peak ahead of the December holidays and Valentine's Day.'
'Gel nails look nice but your nails might not thank you for it later,' says Dr Rinky Kapoor, celebrity dermatologist and co-founder and director of The Esthetic Clinics. 'Think of nails as an investment. They're not just for beauty, they're a reflection of your overall health.'
A number of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have tapped into the debt capital market ahead of the festival season to meet increasing credit demand as bank funding slows. On Tuesday, Aptus Value Housing Finance secured Rs 300 crore at an interest rate of 8.75 per cent through bonds maturing in five years. ICICI Home Finance Company turned to the market to raise Rs 275 crore at 7.94 per cent, alongside another Rs 300 crore at 7.95 per cent, through bonds maturing in five and three years, respectively.
The Bombay high court on Monday said the entire city has been brought to a standstill due to the ongoing Maratha quota agitation led by activist Manoj Jarange, and the protest has not been peaceful and violated all conditions.
Denzel Washington was honoured with the prestigious honorary Palme d'Or, a special award given to celebrate his long and successful career in cinema.
'We are only demanding that we get our rightful share of quota based on the eligibility under the Kunbi category'
'The state governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu will be encouraged to consider measures of their own as the employment and economy in such export-oriented states will be affected.'
One flyer read: 'More Indians in 5 years, than Greeks and Italians in 100', adding, 'This isn't a slight cultural change, it's a replacement plain and simple'.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Dinesh Raheja salutes Sandhya, the acclaimed dancer who passed into the ages on October 4.
Sameera Reddy and mother-in-law Manjri Varde share a cute bond; here's how that came about.
Do home prices really never fall? Ramalingam Kalirajan begs to differ.
'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.'
