Recent years have been turbulent for the insurance industry due to direct and indirect tax reforms, regulatory overhaul and other external pressures. The events cumulatively slowed growth rate to single digits from the high teens seen earlier.
The US on Wednesday mourned the death of veteran industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Naval Tata, remembering him as someone who drove India to greater prosperity and development. Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who transformed a staid group into India's largest and most influential conglomerate, breathed his last at south Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital at 11.30 pm on Wednesday. He was 86. "My last meeting with Ratan Tata at Google, we talked about the progress of Waymo and his vision was inspiring to hear. He leaves an extraordinary business and philanthropic legacy and was instrumental in mentoring and developing modern business leadership in India.
Given Modi's track record from the time he became Gujarat chief minister in October 2001, it is highly improbable that Nabin will get opportunities to display his individual capacity. Even the team of organisational leaders that he will 'appoint' in a few weeks or months, will unlikely to be his choice, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
This year's Asia Cup hangs in the balance following the recent clashes between tournament hosts India and arch-rivals Pakistan.
As part of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's state visit to the United States at the invitation of President Barack Obama on November 24, India and the US are endeavoring to announce the convening of a India-US Education Council on the lines of the US-India Business Council, Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal disclosed in Washington on Friday.
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's former first female prime minister and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has died at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness.
Simplifying GST rates, removing exemptions, easing disputes, and speeding up refunds can boost investment in India and offer the best reply to Trump's tariffs, observes V S Krishnan, former member, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
This has been our history of good governance: Things that were difficult to do and required planning and implementation were first taken up and then abandoned, notes Aaakr Patel.
USIBC has seen exponential growth in the last five years, from just 80 companies as its members to now more than 350 top American companies, including scores of Fortune 500 and global Indian companies.
The era where nations thrived through rigid alignments is giving way to an age where the connective State defines power. For India, that era has arrived, points out Dr Nishakant Ojha.
On August 7, the US president announced doubling tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent for India's purchases of Russian crude oil, but gave a 21-day window to negotiate an agreement.
OpenAI will provide 500,000 free ChatGPT licences for six months to students and teachers across government schools from classes 1 to 12, engineering and technical institutes, as well as K-12 educators.
India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is expected to attend a major security meeting in Moscow next week, organized by Russia's Security Council. Doval is invited for the 13th international meeting of high representatives for security issues, taking place from May 27-29. The meeting, chaired by Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, will see participation from over 150 countries and international organizations. Pakistan's NSA, Lt Gen Asim Malik, is also expected to attend the meeting, leading to speculation of a possible face-to-face meeting between the two NSAs amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack and subsequent retaliatory actions.
The Opposition in Maharashtra boycotted the government's customary tea party on the eve of the Winter session, citing its failure to appoint leaders of the opposition (LoPs) in both houses of the state legislature.
Opposition-ruled states warn of steep annual losses; Centre assures higher consumption will offset revenue hit.
With the completion of the US-India civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, India's Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde has said that India is open for business and American companies can avail themselves of the opportunities by contacting the Indian embassy or the consulates across the country for the necessary guidance.
Russia has launched its latest nuclear submarine to be armed with a 'Poseidon' nuclear drone, also known as 'doomsday missile' capable of 'wiping out' coastal nations, according to media reports.
Valli Chettiar, charter member of The Indus Entrepreneur, Vancouver feels the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was a wasted effort.
Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers breathed a sigh of relief after the GST Council on Wednesday night retained the concessional 5 per cent rate on EVs, though they now face competition from small petrol and diesel cars, which will attract a lower 18 per cent levy.
'Initiatives such as the Young Professionals Scheme also offer young graduates the chance to live and work in the UK after gaining experience.'
Communication channels between India and the US are open to resolve the ongoing tariff issues, and the glitch in trade ties is only temporary, given the long-term relationship between the two nations, government sources said on Wednesday. The US' 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports to America came into effect from August 27, barring a few sectors.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, scheduled to meet on June 22, could take a call on ending uncertainty on taxing foreign airlines and shippers as regards certain services, a senior official in the know told Business Standard. He said the Council was expected to decide on exempting the services in question from GST - aircraft lease rentals, maintenance, crew salaries, etc. These services are provided by foreign airlines to their Indian operations.
US President Donald Trump expresses frustration with the lack of progress in trade talks with India, imposing a 25% tariff. The move comes amid concerns over trade deficits and India's reliance on Russian military equipment and energy.
'When global politics has some intervention on the core software one uses, and if you are cut off from your own data in critical workflows, sovereignty is no longer optional. It becomes a necessity.'
Warner said the opportunities ranged from advancing the cause of the bilateral investment treaty, to advance the cause of greater collaboration between educational opportunities.
Yes, the entry of private bankers, particularly with global experience will add value to PSBs, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The UN Security Council could meet soon to discuss the situation between India and Pakistan, with the UNSC President expressing concern over rising tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. The President, Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris of Greece, said a meeting would provide an opportunity to express views and help diffuse tensions. Sekeris also condemned terrorism in all its forms, including the recent attack in Pahalgam, and called for de-escalation and dialogue between India and Pakistan.
'When an establishment operates despite demolition or closure orders, without proper fire exits, evacuation plans or safety audits, and yet is allowed to host large crowds, the state cannot hide behind the language of accident.' 'The authorities were aware of the risks and of the violations, but chose not to act decisively because doing so would have inconvenienced those with influence and financial stakes.' 'In such a scenario, the moral and legal responsibility for the resulting deaths moves from negligence towards culpability; calling it 'murder' is a way of underlining that these lives were sacrificed at the altar of greed and complicity, not fate.'
India and the UK have respected each other's political sensitivities during the negotiations for free trade agreement, with New Delhi agreeing to drop its demand on post-study work visas for students in exchange for Britain withdrawing its request to open up legal services here, an official said on Wednesday.
The edited sheep contains no foreign DNA, distinguishing it from transgenic organisms and paving the way for regulatory approval under India's evolving biotech policy framework.
"It is high time India traded dynasty for meritocracy. This would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated term limits to requiring meaningful internal party elections, together with a concerted effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit," Tharoor said.
How the UN's flagship climate summit lost its direction and what's at stake.
These changes certainly bring India's GST a lot closer to what an ideal GST would look like, points out Karan Bhasin.
The Congress party has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of GST reforms, calling them inadequate and demanding an apology for the tax imposed on essential items. They argue that the reforms are merely a 'band-aid' solution and that the government should address the states' demand for extended compensation.
There was no money, sponsors didn't make a beeline and foreign tours were an ordeal, but there were women of steel who believed in the old adage that "the show must go on." And Nutan Gavaskar was the first among equals, one of the torchbearers of the women's cricket movement in India back then in 1973.
India abstained from a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution regarding Afghanistan, citing the need for a balanced approach that combines incentives and disincentives, and calling for new initiatives to address the humanitarian crisis.
'One has to be very mindful because it will be applicable for big tech platforms and even for banks and insurers, whose business is completely different.'
Prime Minister Modi urged the people of the country to take pride in selling and buying indigenous goods.
'This is not a case of tax evasion but the result of long-standing ambiguities in GST rules and unawareness.'
The USA's steep 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods entering America will severely impact exports and job creation in labour-intensive export sectors such as shrimp, apparel, leather and gems and jewellery. Exporters said that the imposition of a 25 per cent penalty on India over and above the 25 per cent tariffs move will disrupt the flow of Indian goods to its largest export market.
