The government on Sunday gave a strong push to upgradation and expansion of healthcare infrastructure, medical education and pharma sector with the Union Budget 2026-27 announcing a slew of steps, including those aimed at making India a global hub for allied healthcare professionals and biopharma manufacturing.
High energy costs, long a drag on India's manufacturing competitiveness, are finally easing. Power and fuel expenses accounted for 1.98 per cent of net sales in 2024-25, the lowest level in data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) over the past two decades.
Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers. In contrast, Eternal, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma and Maruti were among the laggards.
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Textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering goods, gems and jewellery exports will receive a boost from the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation European Union, according to exporters.
A parliamentary panel on Monday discussed resettlement policies, healthcare facilities and avenues for ex-servicemen and sought to know details about post-retirement employment prospects of former soldiers.
Information technology (IT) services major Infosys on Wednesday announced the formation of a joint venture (JV) with Telstra, Australia's leading telecommunications and technology company. This will allow Infosys to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cloud and digital solutions for Australian businesses.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has recently approved procurement proposals worth Rs 79,000 crore across three services and it has cleared AoN (Acceptance of Necessity) of Rs 3.3 trillion in financial year 2026 (FY26).
'Listing of scaled Indian subsidiaries of multinational corporations as well as of Indian conglomerates continues to remain a key theme for IPOs in India.'
India announces Padma Shri awards for 45 individuals, recognizing 'unsung heroes' like a former bus conductor who created the world's largest free library and a pediatrician who established Asia's first human milk bank.
Brokerages were divided on Bajaj Finance after its 2025-26 (FY26) third-quarter (October-December/ Q3) results, with a few raising targets on valuation comfort, while others flagged concerns over the credit cost trajectory.
The government on Wednesday launched Rs 4,531 crore market access support (MAS) intervention scheme for a six-year period (FY26-31) to improve global reach, visibility and competitiveness of Indian exporters through 'structured and outcome-oriented' interventions.
A Division Bench of the Delhi high court, comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Manoj Jain, issued the direction on a petition moved by Ondrilla Dasgupta. The court has scheduled a further hearing on January 13, 2026.
This is the second-worst performance by the pack during this period over the last five years since CY20.
'This has translated into a combined daily loss of 60 crore in revenues for exporters in Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Erode and Karur districts, pushing many small and medium enterprises to the brink of collapse.'
The aggregate net worth of the country's 176 dollar billionaires dropped to $984.2 billion during 2025, down from a record $1,036.2 billion at the end of December 2024.
Over 50 per cent, or 660 stocks, from the BSE 1000 index recorded negative returns during CY25.
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.
Among Sensex firms, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Eternal, Axis Bank and Maruti were the major laggards. However, ITC, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel and HDFC Bank were among the gainers.
Gold ETFs attracted around Rs 11,700 crore, the highest in a calendar month.
The exemption of individual life and health insurance premiums from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) enables the insurance industry to make products affordable and attractive, said Ajay Seth, chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025.
A host of macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would dictate investors' sentiment in the stock market this week, analysts said. Besides, auto sales data will be closely tracked, experts noted.
If Patel had lived a few years more, he may or may not have become prime minister. But for sure, his presence would have kept Nehru in check, points out Harishchandra.
Fund managers are divided on the prospects for beaten-down information technology (IT) stocks, reflected in the wide variance in equity mutual funds' (MFs) sector exposure. An analysis by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research shows that while six large fund houses were overweight the sector relative to its weight in the Nifty 200 index, five were underweight as of October 2025. UTI MF had the highest exposure at 17.8 per cent, while SBI MF sat at the bottom with 5 per cent.
Foreign portfolio investors' (FPI) ownership in NSE-listed companies has declined to 16.9 per cent at the end of September, lowest in 15 years, the largest stock bourse said on Thursday. The domestic mutual funds' ownership climbed to 10.9 per cent in the ninth straight quarter of increase, data shared by NSE said, adding that this is on the back of strong flows into systematic investment plans (SIP).
The number of suspected typhoid infections linked to a water pipeline leak in Gandhinagar has risen to 108. Authorities are working to resolve the issue and provide treatment.
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.
Ghost malls have a vacancy rate of over 50 per cent.
The Nifty 50 index could rise around 24 per cent from current levels to 32,032 by December 2026 in a bull-case scenario, Kotak Securities said in a recent note. "We value Nifty at a 10 per cent premium (at 22x) to the 10-year average price-to-earnings of 20x on 2027-28 estimated (E) earnings per share (EPS) of Rs 1,456, and arrive at a December 2026 Nifty target of 32,032," the analysts wrote.
Sanjay Malhotra has made structural changes to banking regulation to bring down costs and increase efficiency. Plus, he kicked off a benign interest regime. But there are challenges ahead.
India's $280-billion IT industry heads into 2026, balancing visa-related headwinds and global trade uncertainty against its biggest-ever push into artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of global capability centres (GCCs). Heightened scrutiny of the US H-1B visa programme - including a proposed $100,000 fee for new visas and concerns over a potential 25 per cent outsourcing tax - has complicated cross-border delivery for Indian firms, even as companies accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on onsite staffing.
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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 tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading.'
From the Sensex pack, Zomato jumped over 7 per cent. ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Asian Paints, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India were among the gainers. However, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra and Reliance Industries were the laggards.
The Army is also looking at strengthening the existing Pinaka regiments and had recently placed orders for buying the area denial ammunition for these rocket regiments.
'Raising the retrenchment, layoff and closure threshold to 300 workers for prior government permission enables hire-and-fire in more than 90 per cent of the Indian workplaces. More than 12,00,000 disputes are now pending for adjudication with an average disposal period ranging from 3 to five years for more than 75 per cent of the disputes.'
ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company has set a price band of Rs 2,061- Rs 2,165 per share for its Rs 10,600-crore initial public offering (IPO) that will open on Friday. At the upper end of the band, the country's largest asset manager will command a valuation of Rs 1.07 trillion.
This exercise allows investors to realign their portfolios with changing market conditions and evolving personal objectives.
'I don't see how a company like OpenAI can honestly expect to generate revenue significant enough to maintain its spending habits via John and Jane Q. Public,' points out Sree Sreenivasan.
