'Given that the population is almost evenly split, the Indian economy cannot grow without women participating in the workforce.' 'While women's participation has increased, it is still well below 40 per cent,' says Kartik Narayan, CEO of the professional networking and jobs platform, Apna.
The Budget reflects a clear focus on strengthening India's long-term prospects by leaning on nation-building sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and technology while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
India's electric two-wheeler (e2W) manufacturers have urged the government to extend subsidies under the PM E-Drive (Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme beyond March 2026, cautioning that a withdrawal could slow near-term demand even as confidence in long-term electric mobility adoption remains intact.
Here are the key numbers to watch out for in the Union Budget for 2025-26:
Despite a 2.8 per cent fall in 2025 volumes, Mercedes-Benz India reported its best-ever revenue and profitability, led by top-end models, AMG growth and higher BEV mix.
After the last Budget's announcement of a major tax relief for those earning an annual salary of less than Rs 12 lakh, there is not much that individuals can look forward to in the forthcoming Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Parents of Kashmiri students studying in Iran have appealed to the Indian government to evacuate their children due to ongoing tensions and protests in the country. They cite difficulties in communication and travel arrangements.
'Instant home services act as an on-demand household support system, bridging the gap between informal domestic help and structured service platforms,'
The European Union's (EU's) offer to slash tariffs on 97.5 per cent of Indian chemical exports to zero is set to give India's pharmaceutical and medical device firms preferential access to the European markets.
Sanjay Malhotra has made structural changes to banking regulation to bring down costs and increase efficiency. Plus, he kicked off a benign interest regime. But there are challenges ahead.
Once the might of the Indian establishment turned completely against the Maoists, there was no way they could survive -- either in Gadchiroli or anywhere else, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
Customs duty cannot be levied on electricity supplied from a special economic zone (SEZ) to the domestic market, ruled the Supreme Court on Monday while upholding Adani Power's appeal against a 2019 judgment of the Gujarat high court. The 2019 judgment had denied relief to Adani Power from Customs duty on electricity supplied from its Mundra SEZ unit to the domestic tariff area (DTA).
'We created war rooms -- from an IT perspective and also a customer war room -- to address any challenges that come up.'
Banks cannot treat compliance as a quarter-end activity, and must have stronger operational discipline and data governance throughout the year, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J said in a speech at the Third Annual Global Conference of the College of Supervisors.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
The country's largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services on Wednesday outlined an aggressive plan to become the "world's largest AI-led technology services company" as CEO K Krithivasan shared that the company has logged about $1.5 billion in annualised revenue.
HCLTech expects its recent large acquisitions to contribute about 1.5 per cent to revenue in 2026-27 (FY27), Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director C Vijayakumar said, as the company looks to build newer revenue streams in a subdued macroeconomic environment.
Sebi is working with other regulators to expand the CAS framework.
Ruling that Flipkart cannot "escape liability" as "mere intermediary" in an online purchase, a consumer commission here has found the e-commerce platform and television manufacturing company Thomson guilty of deficiency in service after a defective TV was delivered to a customer.
Sunil Bharti Mittal-led conglomerate Bharti Enterprises and private equity firm Warburg Pincus will collectively acquire a 49 per cent stake in Haier Appliances India, the local unit of China's Shandong-based Haier group, for an undisclosed amount. The transaction, according to industry sources, values the company at about 15,000 crore.
A 500 per cent tariff would effectively shut out India's goods and services exports to the US.
NPS Vatsalya offers a disciplined investment avenue that parents can use to create intergenerational wealth by contributing even small sums.
'It's harder to attract women initially, but once they come in, retention is significantly higher.'
Under the new rules, users must take a "live selfie" using software that verifies their presence, typically through eye-blinking or head movement. The measure helps prevent the use of static photos or deepfakes.
India Post has suspended all mail operations to the US due to a lack of clarity regarding new customs regulations imposed by the US Customs Department. The suspension affects all categories of mail, including letters, documents, and gift items.
The share of first-time luxury customers in BMW's portfolio has risen sharply -- from around 43 per cent in 2024 to nearly 49 per cent in 2025. In some models, the figure is even higher.
India pays a higher cost of poor customer service compared to New Zealand and Australia that were also part of the survey. The three countries put together lose Rs 28,000 crore ($5.6 billion) in revenue, the survey sponsored by GenesysTelecom Labs, part of Alcatel-Lucent company, said.
As AI adoption replaces routine roles, hiring is increasingly shifting toward AI-specific skills.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
App-based communication services providers and Indian telcos are at loggerheads over the SIM-binding directions issued by the department of telecom, which are to be complied with by the end of February 2026.
Eternal-owned quick-commerce firm Blinkit has dropped its '10-minute' delivery claim after intervention by the Labour Ministry amid growing concerns over the welfare and safety of delivery workers.
India has been on an FTA-signing spree of late. Since 2021, it has signed eight trade agreements, three of which -- with the UK, Oman and New Zealand -- were finalised in 2025 alone.
India's shopping carts on Blinkit turned into quiet storytellers this year.
IT services firm HCLTech on Monday reported a 11.2 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,076 crore in the October-December quarter of FY26.
Hiring was strongest in education and training, healthcare services, retail, financial services and wellness.
Usually, in the western view, corporate success is attributed to efficiency, organisational structure, and scale. R Gopalakrishnan and Harish Bhat argue that philosophy, culture, and the transmission of values are more important for sustaining growth and profitability of an enterprise over a period of time.
'Headcount expansion is more likely in revenue-linked and product-critical teams than in broad based hiring.'
Moving beyond digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the operator of Unified Payments Interface, is planning to add more muscle to the country's digital infrastructure by setting up a fourth subsidiary, NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd (NTSL).
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
Sustaining 8 per cent-plus growth rates is necessary if we are to reach high-income status by 2047, points out Amitabh Kant.
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