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.
India's market regulator is moving ahead to include real estate investment trusts (Reits) in benchmark indices in a phased manner, Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, while asserting that the regulator was working to strengthen the link between infrastructure building and the markets.
'Caring for one's parents is the husband's responsibility, especially if he is the earning member of the family.' 'The wife may be financially dependent on him but that does not create a legal obligation for her to serve or care for her in-laws.'
Officials said the government is keen to conform to the convention of the Union Budget for 2026-2027 being presented on February 1 despite it falling on a Sunday in 2026.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that raising the FDI limit to 100 per cent in the insurance sector will help attract more capital, improve competition and increase insurance penetration by making policies more affordable.
'We kept importing educational models from outside that had no connection to our cultural and intellectual strengths.'
'During the 5-day visit, Amir Khan Muttaqi would have, conceivably, bumped into our powerful security agencies one way or another and some interaction would have ensued, which, in turn, can lead to future dealings.' 'Indeed, this will be the one crucial template of the Indo-Afghan relationship that Pakistan will be monitoring closely,' points Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
Sri Lanka stays with you not just in memory, but gently reminds you what a society can achieve when heart and heritage guide the way.
Avatar: Fire And Ash is visually stunning and emotionally engaging, offering strong performances and thrilling action, notes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
ETS introduces adaptive TOEFL, fairness protocols and faster scores to ease global students' stress and test anxiety.
Over 25 crore workers across India are set to strike against new labour codes and privatisation, potentially disrupting banking, postal, and other essential services.
According to CBSE officials, an expert committee will be formed and a content development agency may be engaged to ensure updated textbooks are ready for the next academic session.
Actor-politician Vijay, founder of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, is set to resume his political campaign on Sunday in Kanchipuram district. He will address people at an indoor facility, with arrangements made for a smooth event. Approximately 1,500 people with QR-coded passes will be allowed entry, and security measures are in place.
'India kills its own talent before the world even gets to see it'
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's sudden resignation after only a year in office has thrown Japan into political turmoil, raising doubts about how the country will handle economic and regional challenges, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'IndiGo will receive a sharp rap on the knuckles -- a punishment, a huge penalty. 'I look towards them creating a compensation fund.' 'I would like to think they would do that for all the passengers who are affected on every single day since cancellations began.'
Opposition-ruled states warn of steep annual losses; Centre assures higher consumption will offset revenue hit.
"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.
Any industrial policy is only as good as how it is applied and the other reforms that support it. This was as true 40 years ago as it is now, points out Debashis Basu.
Being small does not make a child a less human being than a grown up, the court observed.
'The (Maoist) organisation is in visible decline. Their senior leaders are ageing. Forest life is unforgiving -- older leaders simply cannot cope physically.' 'Earlier, they attracted educated youth from cities. That stream has dried up. Today's recruits largely come from poor village backgrounds and lack ideological depth.'
There is clearly something deeply rotten in the systems of institutional governance in the bastions of higher education in India, says TCA Anant.
'We have 38 Dalits who are MLAs and ministers. But that does not mean the Dalits of Bihar are prospering.'
Amid a row over irregularities in competitive exams National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and National Eligibility Test (NET), the education ministry on Saturday notified a seven-member panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Radhakrishnan to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Nine Indian universities and institutions have secured a place among the world's top 50 in the QS subject-wise rankings, with the Indian School of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad claiming the highest position at 20th globally for Engineering-Mineral and Mining. Despite the success, some top institutions, including three IITs, two IIMs and JNU, have experienced a drop in their rankings. The QS World University Rankings by Subject, in its 15th edition, highlight India's growing higher education ecosystem in terms of both size and quality.
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
At the Mumbai campus the institute will offer both UG and graduate degrees, most of its courses will focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Initially, we will look to take a small batch of a few hundred students, with a plan to increase this to 5,000 students in the next five years, and eventually 10,000 by 2036.'
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
'This is so sad the way she was humiliated.' Harjit Kaur's deportation has drawn condemnation from civil rights organisations and the Sikh American community.
'Returning Indians can leverage their international skills and the strong funding environment for start-ups here.'
'The Indian Army won't induct anyone who has killed Indian soldiers.' 'That's why the army respects these reformed men so much -- they're on the frontline now, protecting India.'
'If the NDA returns with the BJP substantially ahead of the JD-U, a BJP CM bid becomes plausible; if the gap is narrow or JD-U holds pivotal seats, continuity with Nitish is the lower-risk option.'
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has identified around Rs 77,800 crore as "difficult-to-recover" or DTR dues in its annual report for 2024-25 (FY26), marking a nearly 2 per cent increase from the previous year. These dues remain unrecovered despite exhaustive recovery efforts.
The Supreme Court has raised concerns about discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, questioning the Centre on the lack of 'upward movement' for meritorious candidates. The court also ordered nationwide monitoring of care institutions for persons with cognitive disabilities.
'When manufacturing or even services cannot generate the kind of employment they are looking for, they prefer to be unemployed rather than under-employed.'
The CMs with lowest assets are West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with assets worth over Rs 15.38 lakh, Omar Abdullah, CM of Jammu and Kashmir, with assets worth over Rs 55.24 lakh, and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who has assets worth Rs 1.18 crore.
The bench, which asked Jain to withdraw the plea filed against a Delhi high court order that dismissed a writ petition challenging the registration and recognition of the AIMIM by the Election Commission (EC), granted liberty to the petitioner to file a writ petition, wherein he may make a wider prayer for reforms in respect of political parties on different counts.
