Budget 2026 is an intentional and ambitious one - From manufacturing growth to services supremacy, from technology consumption to AI-powered transformation. This is the blueprint for a $7 trillion economy built on intelligence, not just scale.
Indian IT services companies are set to significantly increase their acquisition spending to $6.5-7 billion this year, up from $5 billion last year, as they seek to boost revenue and capabilities in areas like Cloud, data, enterprise platforms, and AI amidst a challenging economic environment.
Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo announced that the Census 2027 will be a fully digital and paperless exercise, utilising mobile technology, AI, and cloud computing for accuracy and efficiency, marking a shift towards data-driven governance.
Adani group on Tuesday announced a $100 billion investment to develop hyperscale, artificial intelligence (AI)-ready data centres powered by renewable energy by 2035. The initiative is expected to catalyse an extra $150 billion in investment across server manufacturing, electrical infrastructure, Cloud platforms, and supporting industries over the next decade.
India is among the fastest-growing markets for Google in the cloud services segment, a senior executive has said, adding that the tech giant is looking to partner companies in their business transformation through its offerings. Google Cloud India is seeing an "increased adoption" of its offerings across segments from the public sector to small and medium businesses and from startups and digital-native companies, Google Cloud India vice president and country managing director Bikram Singh Bedi told PTI.
Analysts warn that global markets are significantly underpricing the risk of an oil price shock, with Brent crude potentially soaring to $150 per barrel if the West Asia conflict escalates or damages critical oil and gas infrastructure. This could lead to severe inflation and economic repercussions, particularly for import-dependent nations like India.
...on par with oil, power, and defence, and to restrict its storage under foreign control.
'Periods of geopolitical uncertainty often see a rise in coordinated cyber threats, disinformation campaigns, and infrastructure targeting.'
We cannot simply have a 60-65 per cent import dependency in LPG, the bulk of which comes from just one volatile region -- West Asia, points out R Jagannathan.
A new book by cybersecurity expert Durga Prasad Dube explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the global digital landscape and creating new cyber risks.
Gold prices experienced a significant decline in futures trading due to uncertainty surrounding geopolitical tensions in West Asia and conflicting statements regarding the conflict. Investors are also awaiting key macroeconomic data for further direction on interest rate cuts.
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.
Rediff.com India Ltd, a subsidiary of AvenuesAI Ltd, has filed draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI through the confidential pre-filing route, marking an important step towards a potential public listing after its acquisition and strategic shift to an AI-led digital platform.
Accel and Google's AI Futures Fund have announced the five startups selected for the 2026 Atoms AI Cohort, focusing on enterprise, voice, and industrial AI solutions, with each startup receiving significant investment and resources.
The CBI has filed a chargesheet against 17 people, including four Chinese nationals, and 58 companies for their alleged roles in a transnational cyber fraud network that siphoned off over Rs 1,000 crore.
Amazon will invest more than Rs 2,000 crore (about $233 million) in India in 2025 as it strengthens its logistics and safety standards, said the ecommerce company on Thursday.
E-commerce giant Amazon plans to make a mega-investment of $35 billion, over Rs 3.14 lakh crore, in India by 2030 across its businesses with a focus on AI-driven digitization, export growth and job creation, a senior company official said on Wednesday.
India's information technology (IT) spend is projected to touch $176.3 billion in 2026, rising 10.6 per cent from 2025, and outpacing the 9.8 per cent growth expected globally, according to the latest forecast by Gartner Inc., a business and technology insights company.
Across all sectors, the future of work depends on adaptability.
The initial public offer of app-based beauty and home services platform Urban Company Ltd received overwhelming investor participation, with the issue getting a huge 103.63 times subscription on the last day of bidding on Friday. The Rs 1,900-crore IPO received bids for 11,06,46,08,960 shares against 10,67,73,244 shares on offer, according to NSE data.
Eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions is gearing up to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on October 31, aiming to raise Rs 2,150 crore through a fresh issue of shares. This marks its much-awaited entry into the public markets.
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.
TeamLease Digital CEO Neeti Sharma discusses how AI is driving a structural reset in the tech industry, leading to layoffs, reshaping hiring practices, and increasing job insecurity.
Shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent of online broking platform Groww, soared nearly 30 per cent on their market debut on Wednesday, defying the recent trend of muted listings. The stock opened at Rs 112 and hit a high of Rs 134.4 before settling at Rs 128.85 on the NSE - a gain of 28.85 per cent over its issue price of Rs 100.
Trade deals ease risks for Indian equities, but weak demand and stretched valuations raise questions over whether optimism -- especially in smallcaps -- can turn into a sustained bull run, points out Debashis Basu.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
The proposals outlined in Budget 2026-27 represent a carefully crafted, multi-year strategy designed to strengthen India's big bets on the path to Viksit Bharat 2047, says Sameer Gupta.
Residential areas now exist cheek by jowl with smokestacks, while convoys of heavy trucks rumble through narrow roads day and night, throwing up clouds of dust.
After a year of muted single-digit growth, hiring intent has returned to double digits at 11 per cent, up from 9.75 per cent last year, supported by formalisation and regional expansion, says a report. According to the India Decoding Jobs 2026 Report, launched by digital recruitment platform Taggd in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), sectors such as BFSI, manufacturing, and infrastructure are set to drive hiring momentum.
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.
Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday said there is a tremendous momentum in cloud adoption, as he termed cloud a "big game changer". Nadella, who is currently in India, addressed Microsoft Future Ready Leadership Summit in Mumbai on Tuesday. He is also scheduled to visit Delhi and Bengaluru this week, and will be meeting key customers, startups, developers, educators and students during his India visit.
'Employers increasingly want candidates who can take AI pilots from proof-of-concept to production-ready systems.' 'That requires governance, monitoring, and ROI measurement -- skills that go beyond coding and into business impact.'
India remains one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for SAP, and the scale of products being built in the country is bigger compared to other geographies, Manish Prasad, president and managing director of SAP India, said. "The beauty of India is scale, size, and agility.
'For those in for the long haul, this is a God-given opportunity.' 'Your market is falling despite strong fundamentals, and such a clear roadmap has been announced.'
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.
The cloud market in India is expected to grow by 26% by the end of 2022.
The IPL 2025 season was thrown into turmoil on Thursday night after the Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals match was abruptly halted
Google on Tuesday announced funding support of USD 8 million to India's AI Centers of Excellence for health, agriculture, education, and sustainable cities, and committed USD 4,00,000 to support development of India's health foundation model.
The Budget emerges as a measured, credible and forward-looking policy document that reinforces India's commitment to remaining a stable, reform-oriented economy amid an increasingly fragmented global landscape, says A Balasubramanian.
Thousands of Indian H-1B workers are stranded in India after sudden visa appointment cancellations at US consulates.
