The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
Noting that recent uncertainties created by global tariffs have not impacted the Indian economy severely, Anuradha Thakur, secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said the central government is hopeful that the recent goods and services tax (GST) rationalisation will ignite the much needed animal spirits in the financial sector.
India's growth slowed in three months through December from a revised 7.4% expansion in the previous quarter, but it was much stronger than expected.
The power sector presents a puzzle. A fast-growing economy should be aligned to higher power demand but that hasn't been the case in the financial year 2026 till date (FY26TD).
Moody's Ratings on Wednesday said US tariffs will weaken credit conditions and raise defaults risks especially for low-rated and speculative grade corporates. It said that an unpredictable US trade policy will lead to a deterioration in global credit conditions and macroeconomic impact will slow growth with a growing possibility of recession.
Chinese airline China Eastern is set to begin its Delhi-Shanghai flight from Sunday, days after IndiGo's flight to Guangzhou from Kolkata, marking the resumption of the flight services between the two countries after a gap of five years.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday said the negotiations for a free trade agreement with India have been concluded.
Naval assets take years to build, and therefore, not only is futuristic force planning essential, but indigenous projects must also be put into the pipeline, technologies developed and contracts for assets signed regularly so that the Indian Navy always remains a future-focussed force, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari voiced concerns about increasing poverty and wealth concentration, advocating for wealth decentralization and job creation in rural areas. He also highlighted the need for balanced sectoral contributions to GDP and discussed infrastructure development initiatives.
Leading non-banking financial company (NBFC) Shriram Finance on Friday said Japan-based MUFG Bank would invest Rs 39,618 crore, or $4.4 billion, to acquire a 20 per cent stake on a fully diluted basis through a preferential issue of equity shares.
Financial services giant HDFC Bank, carrying a brand value of $44.9 billion, has surged past IT consulting behemoth Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to reclaim its crown as the country's most valued brand, according to the 2025 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Indian Brands report.
Analysts were anticipating the economy to clock a growth of around 3.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2010.
The US economy expanded at the fastest rate in six years, a growth of 5.6 per cent in the last three months of 2009, helped by increased private inventory and business investments.
The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.
Deloitte on Thursday projected economic growth at 6.5-6.7 per cent for the current fiscal, as tax incentives provided in the Budget are expected to push domestic demand amid an uncertain global trade environment. Deloitte estimated India's GDP growth at 6.3-6.5 per cent for FY25 and said that the economic outlook for FY26 hinges on a delicate balance between evolving trade relations and government efforts to boost domestic consumer demand.
India is on track to exceed the $4 trillion milestone in 2025-26 (FY26), surpassing the $3.9 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) mark recorded at the end of March 2025, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran said on Tuesday.
Years of repression and disappearances have taught Venezuelans, the hard way, not to voice either their anger or their joy, observes Radha Roy Biswas who spent her formative years in Venezuela.
The Indian economy recorded a six-quarter high growth of 8.2 per cent in July-September, as factories churned out more products in anticipation of a consumption boost from the GST rate cut, according to government data.
Indian economic growth moderated to 7.9 per cent in the first quarter of current fiscal, against 9.2 per a year ago as rising borrowing costs impacted manufacturing and some other sectors.
India is poised to be the third largest global economy by 2030 but rising population presents mounting challenges in basic service coverage and growing investment needs to maintain productivity, S&P Global Ratings said on Thursday. It said emerging economies have high ambitions for the next decade and beyond with India aiming to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047, from the current $3.6 trillion. India is currently the fifth largest economy.
'We have just scratched the surface because cricket has been around for the longest time.'
'Rate cut looks unlikely and there is reason to believe that the cycle is over.'
'...not merely in managing fiscal mathematics, but in demonstrating conservatism and prudence within that framework.' 'Looking forward, we believe sufficient growth drivers exist -- ranging from government reforms to revival in consumption to favourable monsoons. Numerous factors support the Indian economy.'
Overall hiring volumes grew by 17 per cent year-on-year across key consumption-linked sectors during the August-October period, driven by heightened consumer sentiment, attractive festive promotions, and wider geographic penetration, according to a report.
Bolstered by strong growth in Germany, the debt-crisis hit euro zone witnessed an economic growth of one per cent in the second quarter of 2010, much stronger than was expected.
The 2025 US National Security Strategy marks a major pullback, with America turning backward and effectively allowing China greater dominance in Asia. while long-time partners like India are left to face an increasingly unstable global order largely on their own, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
New investors or those with lower-than-planned exposure should add US-oriented funds through SIPs.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday described the reduction in GST rates as "game-changing" and the "biggest reform" since independence, as he asked the industry to pass on the full benefit to consumers.
'Coming over here and getting an opportunity to play in Australia is amazing, and to have contributed to the team's victory makes me definitely happy.'
With deposit growth remaining sluggish and the credit - deposit ratio of commercial banks crossing 80 per cent, banks have ramped up their borrowing in the certificate of deposit (CD) market. In the fortnight ended November 14, CD issuances climbed to nearly Rs 55,000 crore - double the borrowings of the preceding two fortnights and the highest since the September 19 fortnight.
The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's decision to impose a USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, arguing it harms American innovation and competitiveness.
The BJP has dismissed Rahul Gandhi's claims of vote theft in the Haryana Assembly polls as false and baseless, accusing him of defaming India's democracy and questioning the Election Commission to hide his failures.
'The Indian consumer is moving so quickly and they have so many options.'
India and Russia have solidified a five-year plan to enhance their economic and trade partnership, while also addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the threat of terrorism.
: Build lasting wealth via disciplined, long-term mutual fund investing in India's compounding marathon, Shanaihi, Shanaihi, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
In spite of a zero growth in agriculture sector, the Indian economy grew at an impressive 5.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2002-03 compared to 5.3 per cent in the same period last year.
Renewables sector stole the show as Andhra Pradesh bagged investments to the tune of around Rs 13.25 trillion during the three-day CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam. The sector accounted for the bulk of Rs 5.33 trillion out of the memorandum of understanding (MoUs) signed during the summit.
'As one of many immigrants at Nvidia, I know the opportunities we've found in America have profoundly shaped our lives.'
'Corporates now have multiple funding sources beyond banks, and many are sitting on large cash reserves.'
