The equity benchmark indices posted their strongest weekly gains in years, driven by bargain hunting and optimism over a reversal in foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows. The Sensex rose 558 points, or 0.7 per cent, on Friday to close at 76,906, while the Nifty 50 gained 160 points to end at 23,350. Over the past five sessions, both indices advanced around 4.3 per cent - marking the Sensex's best weekly performance since July 22, 2022, and the Nifty 50's strongest rally since February 5, 2021.
A scientist working at a government research institute funded by the University Grants Commission shares his experience.
By democratising access to finance, empowering women and marginalised groups, and adapting to India's diverse regional landscapes, PMMY has helped fortify the country's grassroots growth engines, says Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, V Anantha Nageswaran.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Asian Paints were among the laggards. Reliance Industries fell the most by 2.38 per cent to close at Rs 1,171.10 apiece.
In a significant move, the United States on Wednesday removed restrictions on three Indian nuclear entities, over a week after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced that Washington was finalising steps to 'remove' hurdles for civil nuclear partnership between Indian and American firms.
Among Sensex scrips, Bharti Airtel, Titan, NTPC, State Bank of India, ITC, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors were the major laggards. Adani Ports, Infosys, Axis Bank, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.
From the Sensex pack, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, ITC, Nestle India, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, Asian Paints and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the gainers. Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, and Zomato were the laggards.
Investors will take cues from the December quarter corporate earnings, with blue-chips like Infosys, Reliance Industries scheduled to report their results this week, in addition, inflation data and trading activity of foreign investors will also be crucial in dictating market trends, analysts said.
'If there is a military standoff eyeball to eyeball on the western border, the Chinese could create problems by making movements in the north, in our northeast, which could involve us tying down some forces there so that could stretch our military actions.'
Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Tata Motors, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle and Maruti were also among the major laggards. HDFC Bank emerged as the only gainer from the pack.
India has its share of both large tech companies and large national laboratories, but why is it that these don't seem to be at the forefront of any innovation news headlines? asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
'The very fact that his autobiography is called India Rising is a correct example of his wish for India to be a developed country and do as best as possible by science reaching to the common people.'
What is pushing students to take this extreme step?
Among 30 Sensex shares, Zomato tanked over 5 per cent. Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever and ITC were the biggest laggards. Bharti Airtel was the only gainer among Sensex scrips.
'While suppression of information is acceptable for the government, the Opposition's efforts at pinning the government and its leaders is labeled anti-national,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Equity benchmark indices are facing massive corrections, with the NSE Nifty declining over 14 per cent from its lifetime high hit in September last year due to several negative triggers like stretched valuations, foreign fund exodus, disappointing quarterly earnings and rising global trade tensions dragging markets lower. The BSE benchmark Sensex hit its record peak of 85,978.25 on September 27 last year, and the Nifty also reached a lifetime high of 26,277.35 on the same day.
Start with your strongest subject. This will give you an edge. Don't risk negative marking with blind guesses, advises rediffGURU Nayagam PP.
Falling for the fifth day in a row on Monday, equity benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled over 1 per cent to drop below the crucial 75,000 level, tracking a US market trend and unabated foreign fund outflows amid concerns over US tariffs. The 30-share BSE benchmark tanked 856.65 points or 1.14 per cent to settle at 74,454.41. During the day, it plummeted 923.62 points or 1.22 per cent to 74,387.44.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Larsen & Toubro rallied nearly 5 per cent. Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement and Asian Paints were also among the major gainers. ITC Hotels, Zomato, Nestle and Maruti were among the laggards.
The government may save over Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion) on capital and revenue expenditure allocated towards new schemes in the FY25 Budget that are yet to be implemented.
India's demographic advantage and diverse economic landscape position it uniquely to benefit from AI, the Economic Survey for 2024-25 tabled in the Parliament on Friday afternoon asserted. However, achieving these benefits requires significant investments in education and workforce skilling, supported by enabling, insuring, and stewarding institutions, the state of the economy report tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
US President Donald Trump has proposed a deal to China that would see the sale of TikTok's US operations to an American buyer in exchange for a reduction in tariffs on Chinese exports to the US. The proposal comes amid a trade war between the two countries and follows China's retaliation of Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump has also said that tariffs are a powerful economic tool and that he is determined to ensure fair trade between the US and China.
Debroy's economic interests and research work covered numerous areas such as economic theory, income inequality, and infrastructure financing.
Soros, a Hungarian-American political activist, and his organisations like OSF have been accused by the ruling BJP of acting against India's interests. His utterances during the Adani-Hindenburg controversy also drew criticism from the party.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Power Grid, Tata Steel, Zomato, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC and Tata Motors were among the major laggards. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank and Tata Consultancy Services were the gainers.
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
rediffGURU Rohit Gupta, co-founder and COO of College Vidya, provides a list of competitive exams that can help you land a job in the public sector.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Tata Steel, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, Zomato, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Industries were among the biggest laggards. Titan and Sun Pharma were the only gainers.
'Granting the country's highest civilian honour to Prime Minister Modi was surprising as it indicated the government was going out of its way to have India as a close partner.'
The Indian government's announcement of 10,000 additional seats in medical colleges next year, part of a plan to add 75,000 seats over five years, has been welcomed by education experts and stakeholders. The move aims to address the shortage of medical professionals and reduce the outflow of Indian medical students to other countries. The budget also includes infrastructure expansion at five new IITs to accommodate 6,500 more students and an allocation of Rs 500 crore to set up a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education.
Just as the atom and the byte needed careful societal control to prevent damage to society, perhaps, so does the gene, particularly in debates like 'genes vs merit', explains Ajit Balakrishnan.
NFP Internship scheme is available at Institute for Plasma Research [IPR] Gandhinagar (Gujarat) for post graduate (ME/M Tech / MSc/ M Phil/MCA / MBA) students.
The recent selloff in the Indian equity market has been far more painful for mid and smallcap stocks compared to largecap stocks. The benchmark BSE Sensex is now down 9.5 per cent from its record monthly closing of 84,300 at the end of September last year. In the same period, the BSE MidCap has lost 17 per cent of its value, while the BSE SmallCap has corrected by 17.1 per cent.
Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Motors were among the gainers. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,486.41 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
He said that as compared to global models costing 2.5 to 3 US dollars per hour usage, India's AI model will cost less than less than Rs 100 per hour (1.16 US dollars per hour) after 40 percent government subsidy.
Under its new chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has gravitated towards greater transparency and ease of doing business, setting an objective of "effective and optimum" regulation. On Monday, during its first board meeting under Pandey, the regulator has decided to constitute a high-level committee (HLC) to review conflicts of interest and unveiled initiatives to simplify regulatory processes.
The Indian Diaspora has been able to carve a niche in their adopted countries as a result of their talent, perseverance and hardworking nature, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
India needs to invest a lot more money in science research and translate this research into products and solutions for its people, says trustee at the Infosys Science Foundation and co-founder at Infosys Kris Gopalakrishnan.