The Delhi High Court has asked the central government why it cannot reduce the GST on air purifiers, considering the poor air quality in Delhi. The court's concern is that the current 18% GST makes air purifiers unaffordable for the common man.
'If the near-term economic pain is absorbed more by those who have the ability and the financial strength to do so, then small and medium enterprises in downstream industries will emerge stronger from the trade imbroglio.'
This was perhaps a missed opportunity for India to spotlight a core domestic challenge: The scale of workforce preparation required for a young, populous, rapidly growing country seeking to reach net zero, points out Radha Roy Biswas.
Chary also says some government officials have played an important role in favouring organisations that MCX competes with.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
The finance ministry welcomed an inter-meeting rate cut by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday, saying it reflected easing inflation concerns and vindicated the government's efforts to achieve economic growth without stoking inflation.
The 2G spectrum case has taken a wild turn with the release of a note that could be a game changer.
The CBI arrested Shafat Ahmed Shangloo, an absconder carrying a Rs 10 lakh reward, in connection with the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiyya Sayeed. He is allegedly part of a conspiracy hatched by the banned JKLF.
They weren't up for a windfall even after the trophy but life was certain to get a lot better as some sponsors and state governments stepped up to lift them financially.
India's exports jumped by 19.37 per cent to $38.13 billion in November, while imports dipped by 1.88 per cent to $62.66 billion, according to government data released on Monday.
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.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has sought urgent steps to clear the huge backlog of income-tax appeals, simplify tax deducted at source (TDS) compliance, and ensure tax neutrality for fast-track demergers, during its consultation with Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27.
'While intensification of fuel prices and broad-based domestic cost pass-through pressures is a downside risk, core inflation is expected to strengthen further as demand recovers to pre-Covid levels,' the ministry said on Friday.
State Bank of India has 18,000 pending cases and Bank of Baroda has around 1,000 cases.
The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to conduct a pan-India investigation into digital arrest scams and questioned the RBI about its lack of AI usage in detecting and freezing accounts used by cybercriminals.
A special court has released Shafat Ahmed Shangloo, arrested by the CBI in connection with the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiyya Sayeed. The court denied the CBI's request for custody, noting his absence in the charge sheet.
The Bill is likely to pave the way for amending two existing legislations -- the Atomic Energy Act 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010.
'The preparedness of our defence forces and positioning of intelligence assets were very different in 2008, so we had to rebuild our assets and preparedness.'
CAG warns most states of fiscal imprudence as March spending overshoots limits, with key departments exhausting large portions of budgets in the last month of FY24.
'If in our cities, all urban bus transport services are free, then the taxpayers are paying for it, or if electricity were to be made free, that's a huge cost to the rest of the people'
The government hopes to use this data to assess the extent of financial support needed to recover from the pandemic.
'As a result of delays, the desired reliefs are not coming for taxpayers.'
CPGRAMS -- an online platform available to citizens 24x7 to lodge their grievances to public authorities on service delivery -- has existed for close to two decades. But it has never been this active, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'Everyone involved in this transaction must be punished and penalised.'
The cost of any flight from Delhi and Mumbai could rise by up to Rs 3,000 soon unless the airport regulator is able to reverse a court order.
Opening up the corner office is fine, but will the government be able to attract talent without giving a market-rate salary?, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'If at all human beings require a religion, the future religion will be Hinduism.'
Students at Tezpur University in Assam have shut down the institution, protesting against Vice Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh over allegations of corruption and financial irregularities. The shutdown has led to the cancellation of end-term examinations and has garnered support from teachers and non-teaching staff.
The finance ministry has ruled out the proposal for the appointment of a chief operating officer (COO) of the rank of deputy governor in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as the government feels no interim arrangements should be made for such high-profile appointments.
The Indian government has appointed Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Pandey, a 1987-batch IAS officer, will replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year tenure ends on February 28. Pandey's appointment comes at a time when the markets are experiencing bear pressure due to withdrawals by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Pandey has extensive experience in the finance ministry, having served as the longest-serving secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). He also played a key role in the framing of the 2025-26 Budget and the drafting of the new Income Tax Bill. Pandey's appointment is for an initial period of three years.
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
The Indian steel industry is faced with a paradox: Rising demand and falling prices. Demand continues to surge as user industries gather pace, with the World Steel Association projecting around 9 per cent annual growth for India over 2025 and 2026, the year domestic demand is projected to be almost 75 million tonnes (mt) higher than in 2020.
After issuing notices to hotels across the country for allegedly underpaying goods and services tax (GST) on restaurant services, the revenue department has now widened its scrutiny by seeking information from online travel platforms.
The Russians have termed Putin's visit to India, his first to this country since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, as 'Druzhba Dosti', which means 'friendship' in Russian and Hindi respectively.
Suresh Prabhu on the priority being given to safety and the need for more funds for railways to move ahead.
Given that a sizeable part of this money is part of the coveted current accounts and savings accounts, it is surprising that banks are not in a hurry to revive these accounts, notes Tamal Bandyopdhyay.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tursday placed before the Supreme Court the finance ministry file on the issue of fixing the price of 2G spectrum in 2008, but it could not be taken on record and returned to the agency as some pages of the file were missing.
From appointment letters becoming mandatory to gig workers receiving social security to enhanced rights for women and contract labour, the changes reflect India's attempt to balance ease of doing business with stronger worker welfare.
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