'Spending by the middle class is limited with a focus on savings. However, there is buoyancy at the top-end.'
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday snubbed the Rashtriya Janata Dal, headed by his arch-rival Lalu Prasad Yadav, stating that he had forged alliances 'by mistake' with the opposition party which 'did nothing' while in power.
The government has also proposed to set up a Mission on Low Cost Affordable Housing to be anchored in the National Housing Bank.
Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?
A man suspected to have contracted Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) has died in Maharashtra's Solapur district, while the number of cases of the immunological nerve disorder in Pune rose to 110, health officials said on Monday.
Technology is rapidly reshaping industries that have long been rooted in tradition, driving a wave of innovation that is transforming everything from finance, banking, steel to manufacturing.
The epicentre was located in Tsogo Township of Dingri County, which has a population of approximately 6,900 people within a 20-km radius. There are 27 villages within this area.
Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a forward-looking Budget, reinforcing the government's commitment to 'Reform, Perform, and Transform'.
'But when we actually express ourselves, sometimes our parents can surprise us, because they just love their children.' 'Sometimes it's just that simple. That is what I wanted to show in this film.'
A 36-year-old man diagnosed with Guillain-Barr Syndrome (GBS), a rare nerve disorder, died in a civic-run hospital in Pune, taking the number of suspected GBS fatalities to three in Maharashtra. The patient, a driver with a cab service, was admitted to the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) in Pimpri Chinchwad on January 21. An expert committee at YCMH concluded that the cause of death was trauma to the respiratory system due to pneumonia, leading to severe difficulty in breathing. The committee also noted that the patient had been diagnosed with GBS, with a nerve conduction test done on January 22. The immediate cause of death was identified as severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). With the latest loss of life, the number of suspected GBS deaths in Maharashtra has reached three. According to health officials, the suspected cases of the rare nerve disorder have risen to 130 in the state. Most of the cases in the state are from Pune and surrounding areas, and these infections, including the latest case, are likely linked to contaminated water sources. Campylobacter jejuni, a bacteria found in contaminated food and water, is believed to be the reason for the outbreak.
Job creation, improving farm productivity, and mobilising public funds for infrastructure development were some of the issues that figured during the interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and economists ahead of the 2025-26 Union Budget. The prime minister on Tuesday met eminent economists and sectoral experts at NITI Aayog to hear their views and suggestions for the upcoming Budget. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget for 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha on February 1, 2025.
Manu Bhaker's home is a heartfelt tribute to her parents, seamlessly blending minimalism with personal touches.
Apart from recruiting 18,000 women in state's police force, Thackeray said all female police stations will also be established in Maharashtra.
"Does God send his emissary to sponsor hooliganism in the name of CAA or stop funds for 100-day work or prevent rural houses from being built? Does God go back on his promise of depositing Rs 15 lakhs in people's bank accounts? God cannot do such things," she added.
Gems of wisdom from Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed into the ages on December 26, 2024.
'If you want to win you need to perform.' 'Governments have found a way to buck anti-incumbency, but one policy intervention will not pay in all elections.'
'I wonder if they will keep it up after the elections.' 'I fear they'll start questioning eligibility -- income, age, bank accounts -- and eventually stop the scheme altogether.'
We the people are left in the wind, waiting on the whims of an unengaged president and an oligarch with a nearly bottomless wallet, observes Sree Sreenivasan.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has re-introduced the Special Public Security Bill in the state assembly, aiming to combat 'urban Naxalism'. The bill, which seeks to criminalize activities deemed to disrupt public order, has faced criticism from opposition parties who argue it could stifle dissent. The proposed law will be referred to a joint select committee for review and is expected to be passed in the monsoon session next year.
Although UltraTech Cement's results for the December quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25) were not an improvement compared to Q3FY24, the company managed to surpass Street expectations. The company's profit attributable to the owners of the parent dropped 17.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,469.5 crore in Q3FY25 as against Rs 1,777 crore in Q3FY24.
10 largecaps stocks which stand to gain from the Budget.
More than 50 per cent of SIP accounts come from semi-urban and rural areas.
'The critical event signalling a new era for India was Dr Singh's 1991 Budget in which he quoted Victor Hugo to say that no power on earth could stop an idea whose time has come,' recalls T N Ninan.
There are enough threads left to weave a Season 4, hopefully without the dark clouds hovering over Phulera.
His cinema of compassion inspired me, gave me tools to develop empathy for others. But it also made me understand that serious, socially committed cinema with deeply engaging narratives and great performances is an art form to admire, appreciate and explore. Aseem Chhabra remembers Shyam Benegal, who passed into the ages on Monday evening.
Shopkeepers in Bahraich scrambled to salvage their goods on Saturday, apprehending a demolition drive by the authorities. According to a local lawmaker, the Public Works Department has served demolition notices to 23 establishments -- 20 of them belonging to Muslims.
The paint sector is seeing heightened competition with the entry of deep-pocketed groups like Aditya Birla and JSW. However, some brokerages see an opportunity in select stocks.
Following are comments from economists at leading financial institutions, banks and rating agencies on the interim Budget:
Nitin Desai, who has known Dr Singh from 1971, extends his 'deepest condolences to his wife Gurcharan Kaur and to his three talented daughters Upinder, the historian; Daman, the writer; and Amrit, the human rights activist.'
The government has facilitated setting up of Central Electronic Registry under the SARFAESI Act, 2002 to prevent frauds in loan cases involving multiple lending from different banks on the same immovable property. This Registry will become operational by March 31, 2011.
The police have registered a FIR against Manorama and her husband Dilip Khedkar besides five others, after a video showing her allegedly threatening some persons with a gun over a land dispute emerged.
Official panel points to bid deficiencies in rural job guarantee, pensions, housing and other programmes.
The government will come out with a credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to facilitate term loans without collateral or third party guarantee, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. Presenting her seventh straight Union Budget, she also said that public sector banks to build in-house capability for credit assessment of MSMEs.
'The government does not want to be transparent or accountable. Therefore, they do not want to appoint information commissioners.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Each bottle of pickle that leaves FarmDidi, headed to a consumer, has a little kahani behind it -- it's linked to the tale of a life, the life of a simple, striving village woman who created it, and that's what gives Manjari Sharma satisfaction and happiness.
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.
A freebie once granted can hardly be discontinued. All that can happen is to substitute it with a bigger freebie, notes A K Bhattacharya.
The much-delayed decadal census exercise and the work to update the National Population Register (NPR) are likely to begin early 2025 and the data will be declared by 2026, thus changing future census cycles completely, official sources said.
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