News for 'Services and Finance'

Sebi Alerts Investors to Fake STT Payment Demands

Sebi Alerts Investors to Fake STT Payment Demands

Rediff.com26 Feb 2026

Sebi cautions investors against fake notices demanding Securities Transaction Tax (STT) payments and warns about fraudsters posing as account handlers promising risk-free profits.

A long-game Budget

A long-game Budget

Rediff.com2 Feb 2026

The Union Budget for 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, which was a first, had an excellent domestic macro backdrop. According to the first advance estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices is projected to grow 7.4 per cent in the current financial year, against 6.5 per cent in 2024-25.

Iran War Exposes Washington's Strategic Chaos

Iran War Exposes Washington's Strategic Chaos

Rediff.com12 Mar 2026

What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.

Sensex crashes over 1K points on selling in metal, IT stocks

Sensex crashes over 1K points on selling in metal, IT stocks

Rediff.com13 Feb 2026

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled more than 1 per cent on Friday due to across-the-board selloff, especially in metal, IT and commodity stocks, tracking sluggish global markets.

Saini Targets Rivals, Courts OBCs in Punjab

Saini Targets Rivals, Courts OBCs in Punjab

Rediff.com1 Mar 2026

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini addressed the 'Saini Samaj' in Punjab, appealing to the OBC community ahead of the upcoming state elections. He criticized rival parties for neglecting OBCs and highlighted the BJP's commitment to their welfare.

India's GDP Grows 7.8% in Q3 Under New Series; beats estimate

India's GDP Grows 7.8% in Q3 Under New Series; beats estimate

Rediff.com27 Feb 2026

India's economy experienced a growth of 7.8 per cent during the October-December quarter of 2025-26, according to the new series of national accounts with 2022-23 as the base year.

Supreme Court's ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing: Trump

Supreme Court's ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing: Trump

Rediff.com21 Feb 2026

The ruling is expected to have wide-ranging consequences for global trade, businesses, consumers, inflation trends and household finances across the country.

'Global Uncertainties Are Of A Magnitude We've Never Seen Before'

'Global Uncertainties Are Of A Magnitude We've Never Seen Before'

Rediff.com2 Feb 2026

'Global uncertainty is something which definitely occupies the minds of officials when we are preparing for the Budget.'

Sensex closed 283 points higher on buying in bank, metal shares

Sensex closed 283 points higher on buying in bank, metal shares

Rediff.com18 Feb 2026

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty extended their gains for the third straight session on Wednesday, driven by last-hour buying in bank, metal, and FMCG shares.

What Budget 2026 Says About Taxes

What Budget 2026 Says About Taxes

Rediff.com5 Feb 2026

This Budget positions India's taxation ideology as not merely a revenue source but as a strategic catalyst for growth, inclusion and long-term confidence.

Smart Money Tips Every Woman MUST READ

Smart Money Tips Every Woman MUST READ

Rediff.com5 Mar 2026

'Money is not just about greed or accumulation. It gives you freedom, dignity and choice. And you have every right to all three.'

What Caused Nifty IT's 6% Fall On Thu?

What Caused Nifty IT's 6% Fall On Thu?

Rediff.com13 Feb 2026

The Nifty IT index hit a more than nine-month low, trading at its weakest level since April 17, 2025.

Budget: Where the rupee comes from, where it goes

Budget: Where the rupee comes from, where it goes

Rediff.com1 Feb 2026

Around 24 paise will come from borrowings and other liabilities, 10 paise from non-tax revenue like disinvestment, and 2 paise from non-debt capital receipts, the Budget documents showed.

Filmmaker Discusses 'The Voice of Hind Rajab'

Filmmaker Discusses 'The Voice of Hind Rajab'

Rediff.com6 Mar 2026

Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania discusses her docudrama 'The Voice of Hind Rajab,' which focuses on the tragic story of a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed during the Israel-Gaza conflict, and her motivations for making the film.

Sensex tumbles 558 points on sell-off in IT shares

Sensex tumbles 558 points on sell-off in IT shares

Rediff.com12 Feb 2026

Benchmark BSE Sensex fell 558 points on Thursday amid heavy selling in IT shares, as concerns over AI-led disruptions and waning hopes of a Fed rate cut after firm US economic data weighed on investor sentiment.

Stock markets end higher; ITC, banks lead recovery

Stock markets end higher; ITC, banks lead recovery

Rediff.com6 Feb 2026

Stock markets closed higher on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as expected and proposed allowing banks to lend to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with certain prudential safeguards to deepen the financing pool for the real estate sector.

Interview with chairman SC Shetty: 'SBI Will Double Its Balance Sheet In 6-7 Years'

Interview with chairman SC Shetty: 'SBI Will Double Its Balance Sheet In 6-7 Years'

Rediff.com11 Feb 2026

'Credit growth in India remains in double digits, even though corporate borrowing is subdued.' 'Corporate credit is weak because companies are cash-rich and cautious amid global uncertainty.'

How The Taxman Plans To Close Cases Faster

How The Taxman Plans To Close Cases Faster

Rediff.com11 Feb 2026

Building on last year's clearance of 172K cases, I-T department is pushing for faster appeal disposals, penalty reforms and system-driven processes to curb litigation and boost tax certainty.

Realty to get indirect push from Budget proposals

Realty to get indirect push from Budget proposals

Rediff.com3 Feb 2026

The government's Budget announcements providing tax holiday for data centres, setting up of city economic regions (CERs) and funding to improve infrastructure in Tier-II and -III cities may give an indirect boost to India's realty sector, said industry executives.

AI push: Tax break for global cloud firms using Indian data centres

AI push: Tax break for global cloud firms using Indian data centres

Rediff.com1 Feb 2026

The Union Budget on Sunday proposed a tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies that provide cloud services to customers globally using data centres located in India, signalling the government's push to make the country a major hub for AI and digital infrastructure.

AI push: Tax break for global cloud firms using Indian data centres

AI push: Tax break for global cloud firms using Indian data centres

Rediff.com1 Feb 2026

The Union Budget on Sunday proposed a tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies that provide cloud services to customers globally using data centres located in India, signalling the government's push to make the country a major hub for AI and digital infrastructure.

Strikes Shake India's Gig Economy

Strikes Shake India's Gig Economy

Rediff.com21 Feb 2026

Two of the three strikes are related to the gig economy, a centrepiece of the new labour Codes.

'This Isn't Day One Of AI; It Is Hour One'

'This Isn't Day One Of AI; It Is Hour One'

Rediff.com20 Feb 2026

'When a technology is this fundamental, a country should have its own version of it, rather than relying on whether someone else chooses to build it for you.'

Budget themes paint it as a reformative exercise

Budget themes paint it as a reformative exercise

Rediff.com11 Feb 2026

The 2026-27 Budget, seeking to harmonise the government's imperative to grant certainty while ensuring a rational tax policy, had several notable announcements to usher in halcyon days, says Mukesh Butani.

Gold likely to hold ground; silver braces for volatility

Gold likely to hold ground; silver braces for volatility

Rediff.com8 Feb 2026

Gold prices are likely to trade firm next week as traders await key economic data, including US inflation numbers, for fresh cues on interest rate outlook, while silver may remain volatile amid shifting risk sentiment and speculative activity, analysts said.

Has US Repeated Its Iraq Mistake?

Has US Repeated Its Iraq Mistake?

Rediff.com11 Mar 2026

Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.

Sensex climbed 208 points even as investors turned to profit-booking

Sensex climbed 208 points even as investors turned to profit-booking

Rediff.com10 Feb 2026

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty advanced for the third straight session on Tuesday driven by firm global cues and optimism over India-US trade agreement, even as investors turned to profit-booking at higher levels.

India must use current geopolitical churn to build manufacturing scale at home: Amitabh Kant

India must use current geopolitical churn to build manufacturing scale at home: Amitabh Kant

Rediff.com26 Feb 2026

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.

Sensex, Nifty close almost unchanged in choppy trade

Sensex, Nifty close almost unchanged in choppy trade

Rediff.com11 Feb 2026

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed on a flat note in a choppy session on Wednesday as gains in PSU banks and auto shares were offset by losses in IT stocks.

Rajiv Gandhi: 'I Can't Sack People'

Rajiv Gandhi: 'I Can't Sack People'

Rediff.com18 Feb 2026

'When I met the prime minister, he asked me, "Dr Ganguly, what do you do with people in your company who lie to you?"' 'I said, "Prime Minister, we counsel them and give them a gentle warning. If they lie again, they are sacked".' '"This is my problem,'" Rajiv responded. "I can't sack people in government".' A revealing excerpt from former Hindustan Lever Chairman Dr Ashok S Ganguly's We Are Our Future: Reflections On Life.

Sensex jumps 336 points on buying in services, telecom shares

Sensex jumps 336 points on buying in services, telecom shares

Rediff.com11 Nov 2025

Among the Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Eternal, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever and UltraTech Cement were the gainers. Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Kotak Mahindra Bank, PowerGrid and Tata Steel were among the laggards.

Highlights of Union Budget 2026-27

Highlights of Union Budget 2026-27

Rediff.com1 Feb 2026

Highlights of Union Budget 2026-27

Low-Wage Trap Looms Over India's Services Sector, Warns Niti Report

Low-Wage Trap Looms Over India's Services Sector, Warns Niti Report

Rediff.com30 Oct 2025

The services sector employs 188 million people but remains highly informal, trapping most workers in low-wage jobs without social protection.

STT hike on Futures drags markets down; Sensex crashes 1,547 points

STT hike on Futures drags markets down; Sensex crashes 1,547 points

Rediff.com1 Feb 2026

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty dived sharply by nearly 2 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives. Reversing the early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged sharply by 2,370.36 points or 2.88 per cent to slide below the 80,000-mark at 79,899.42 in afternoon trade as the finance minister announced a hike in STT on futures contracts to 0.05 per cent from the current 0.02 per cent.

Budget 2026: What The Fiscal Numbers Show

Budget 2026: What The Fiscal Numbers Show

Rediff.com12 Feb 2026

The idea of back-loading the target of fiscal consolidation is perhaps guided by the government's desire to be prepared for any adverse developments in the coming year, points out A K Bhattacharya.

Budget 2026: Key numbers to be watched

Budget 2026: Key numbers to be watched

Rediff.com1 Feb 2026

Here are the key numbers to watch out for in the Union Budget for 2025-26:

'Pakistan Treats Afghanistan As Its Province'

'Pakistan Treats Afghanistan As Its Province'

Rediff.com2 Mar 2026

'The unexpected turn of events and assertion of sovereignty by the Taliban has baffled the Pakistan security establishment.'

India Inc lauds Budget for bold bets on AI, data centres

India Inc lauds Budget for bold bets on AI, data centres

Rediff.com1 Feb 2026

India Inc on Sunday hailed the Union Budget 2026-27 as a 'structural shift' in the country's technology landscape, noting that the government is moving beyond fragmented pilots to build foundational layers where AI serves as a 'horizontal enabler' for the entire economy.

Brokerage stocks tank over 18% as Budget hikes STT on commodity futures

Brokerage stocks tank over 18% as Budget hikes STT on commodity futures

Rediff.com1 Feb 2026

Shares of brokerage-related companies nosedived 18 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed raising securities transaction tax on commodity futures to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent in the Union Budget 2026-27.

Why Budget 2026 Deserves 8.5/10

Why Budget 2026 Deserves 8.5/10

Rediff.com2 Feb 2026

This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.