CA Sumeet Mehta analyses the Union Budget 2026-2027, identifying key positives and negatives.
India's household debt climbed to 41.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of March 2025, marking a sustained rise from its five-year average of 38.3 per cent, with consumption-related loans accounting for bulk of the borrowings, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its Financial Stability Report.
Six planets -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus -- will appear together in the evening sky.
In India, cricket games are part of our geographical landscape like the Ganga or the Himalayas or the Western Ghats or Kanyakumari. Millions of games unfold across India at any time of day. Travel in any direction and you are bound to see a cricket game in progress -- be it urban gully cricket to games on dusty village grounds to roaring stadiums to famous greens that cradled cricket like Shivaji Park or Azad Maidan.
The TVS Ntorq 150 brings stronger performance, modern features and lightweight agility to India's growing performance scooter segment, discovers Rajesh Alva.
India's real GDP grew 8.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025-26, up from 7.8 percent in the first quarter and 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal.
India's housing finance sector is riding a wave of post-pandemic revival, driven by policy support, digital innovation, and growing demand from younger homebuyers in emerging cities.
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
Responding to concerns raised by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said it is the foremost priority of the government that the kitchens of over 33 crore families, especially the poor and the underprivileged, do not face any shortage of gas.
Eighteen new-age technology firms went public during the year, a near triple increase from the five firms that debuted in 2023 and 38 per cent more than 2024's tally of 13.
Lit fests in India have become vibrant cultural celebrations across India, bringing together celebrated authors, emerging voices, poets, thinkers and passionate readers, many of them very young, under one lively roof.
The political rivalry in Nandigram that defined West Bengal's 2021 assembly polls is set to return to centre stage in a new arena, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee locking horns with her protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur, turning the south Kolkata seat into the likely epicentre of the 2026 electoral battle.
Lightning claims more lives in India annually than any other extreme weather event. Between April and July this year alone, 1,621 people died due to lightning strikes.
Mundane as it may seem, this is in some ways a metaphor for the challenges facing the nation, argue Arvind Subramanian and Devesh Kapur in their new book, A Sixth Of Humanity.
'Once the 60-plus population hits 20 to 30 per cent of the country, the demand for elderly-care treatments will surge -- cardiac, metabolic, neurological, and musculoskeletal medicines are going to dominate the market for the next several decades.'
Experts warn that air pollution in India is a major public health crisis, leading to a surge in undiagnosed airway diseases and cardiovascular issues. They urge for urgent action, early detection, and treatment.
Skoda India is focusing on cleaner fuel options, including CNG and EVs, while compact SUV Kylaq drives volumes, expands first-time buyers and strengthens the brand in India's competitive market
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.
India's diagnostics sector is accelerating capacity addition and geographic expansion, as large chains and regional players invest in new laboratories, integrated centres and dense sample collection networks to tap rising demand for preventive, advanced and precision testing.
'I am quite impulsive when making a movie. That is the reason I need to stop sometimes, probably pause.'
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'chaiwala' narrative, leading to a sharp response from the BJP.
Since 2000, per capita GDP has grown faster in India's rural areas than in its urban centres. Rural incomes are growing, and consumers are buying discretionary goods and lifestyle products, including mobile phones, television sets and two-wheelers, says Sanjay Dawar, MD, Management Consulting, Accenture, India.
Since 2000, per capita GDP has grown faster in India's rural areas than in its urban centres. Rural incomes are growing, and consumers are buying discretionary goods and lifestyle products, including mobile phones, television sets and two-wheelers, says Sanjay Dawar, MD, Management Consulting, Accenture, India.
Festivals also contribute to the rise in overall automobile retail sales, says dealers association.
Asia takes the lead, boasting four Indian cities on the list, according to the 2024 Savills Growth Hubs Index.
Gandhi shared a video carrying the remarks of an eyewitness, who said timely action could have saved the man, and that of the deceased's father, who lamented that there were several people there with some of them making videos but did not act to save his son.
This year's Economic Survey and the Union Budget were more closely followed for more reasons than one.
The FMCG industry in India achieved a 10.6% growth in value terms in the December quarter of 2024, driven largely by rural markets, which have surpassed the large urban markets in growth for the fourth consecutive quarter. Festive demand and consumption-driven growth played a key role, with overall volume up 7.1% despite inflationary pressures. However, the industry also saw a "preference shift of consumers towards smaller packs" due to high food inflation. Local manufacturers continue to outperform larger FMCG companies, fueled by consistent volume growth.
'That journey across India has changed me forever.'
"Operation Sagar Bandhu ' Humanitarian Assistance. In the wake of the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah across Sri Lanka, India swiftly launched Operation Sagar Bandhu to bolster relief efforts," the Indian Air Force said in a post on X on Saturday.
Buoyed by the robustness in rural job market on account of rabi sowing, India's monthly unemployment rate fell to an eight-month low of 4.7 per cent in November, the latest periodic labour force survey (PLFS) monthly bulletin released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday showed.
'Politicians's slogans on social distancing, showered like petals from their ivory towers, mock every single moment of pain and distress imposed on the vulnerable down below, at migrant labour stuffed like chickens on goods trucks, trying to get home at all costs,' observes Veenu Sandhu.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has launched an integrated audit across 32 states and Union Territories to assess the ease of doing business for the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.
Prosus, the Amsterdam-based technology investor with net assets valued at over $200 billion spanning payments to e-commerce, has identified India as one of its most critical growth markets, and is increasing its strategic investments here.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's biggest challenge will be to find a new growth driver, particularly against the backdrop of a global economy ravaged by heightened uncertainty and fragmentation, financial markets on a precipice, and global commodity prices on a continued uptrend.
Capex, infrastructure development, and prudent fiscal management are the key focus areas in the Budget, says Nilesh Shah.
India's two-wheeler industry is seen growing 6-9% in 2026, though a proposed ABS mandate for sub-125cc models could push up prices and temper volumes.
Winds of change are blowing across the fast-moving consumer goods market.
Urban Negi, a highly-rated nine-year-old Indian-origin footballer, has signed with Everton FC's Under-9 Youth Academy.
Discover the latest OTT releases, streaming between February 23 and March 1.
