India Inc on Sunday hailed the Union Budget 2026-27 as a 'structural shift' in the country's technology landscape, noting that the government is moving beyond fragmented pilots to build foundational layers where AI serves as a 'horizontal enabler' for the entire economy.
Makers of spirits, beer, and wine are working to identify new markets of growth as two of the industry's biggest liquor markets, Maharashtra and Telangana, remain embroiled in taxation and payment issues.
'Large firms and their interests can dominate the narrative, even as smaller stakeholders and retail investors struggle to be heard.' 'Regulators therefore require deep subject-matter expertise to assess representations, recognise underlying incentives, incorporate the perspectives of less-visible stakeholders, and guard against bias or capture,' notes Ananth Narayan.
In the first-ever separate resolution on foreign policy brought in its National Executive in Bengaluru, BJP attacked the previous Congress-led Government, saying "a cursory glance at the 'lost decade' of the UPA, reveals retreat and a loss of direction in engaging with neighbours, ham-handed diplomacy vis--vis Pakistan and a blind-spot in our foreign policy to the Indian Ocean island states."
The recent policies that have been announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will allow banks to fully use its capital, funding profile to keep business at an equilibrium level, which otherwise was getting skewed towards retail, said K V Kamath, chairman, Jio Financial Services.
India was being evaluated for a potential weight of around 1 per cent in the index, an allocation that could have translated into $25 billion of inflows, spread over roughly 10 months.
Chinese foreign policy will acquire a more ideological and less pragmatic character. It will be conducted with more nationalist overtones, predicts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Global risks include a potential delay in the US-India trade agreement, the possibility of a sharp correction in US equity markets, and renewed geopolitical tensions.
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
The Union Budget for 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, which was a first, had an excellent domestic macro backdrop. According to the first advance estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices is projected to grow 7.4 per cent in the current financial year, against 6.5 per cent in 2024-25.
Domestic mutual funds have infused the highest ever -- Rs 4.84 trillion -- this year amid strong inflows via SIPs.
'Foreign policy-making cannot be shifted out of Delhi and the regional satraps, who do not have a national perspective, should not be allowed to dominate foreign policy. But regional inputs should be integral to foreign policy-making at every step of the way,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
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.
United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that the situation in Iran is being monitored very closely and hoped for the protestors in the country to be safe.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Trent, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Bharat Electronics and Maruti were among the biggest gainers. However, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Titan were the laggards.
Left parties on Saturday denounced the United States for attacking Venezuela and capturing its President Nicholas Maduro, with Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary M A Baby terming the nighttime military action an 'act of international terrorism by US-led imperialism'.
FDI inflows into India are expected to register robust growth in 2026, supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, big-ticket investment announcements, sustained efforts to improve the ease of doing business, and a new generation of investment-linked trade pacts.
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.
The change at the helm comes in the wake of an underwhelming couple of years for Indian men's boxing.
"Our primary focus of foreign policy is increasingly moving towards the South Asian nations," Australian High Commissioner to India John McCarthy said.
Trump called for immediate negotiations for the US to acquire Greenland from Denmark, describing the country as ungrateful, during his speech at Davos.
The 61-year-old senior diplomat was taken away for questioning in late July after returning to Beijing from an overseas work trip, the paper reported, quoting people familiar with the matter.
Brawn triumphed over brain last week as the Bharatiya Janata Party announced, after "consultations" with "foreign policy experts", that it was for a "muscular" foreign policy so that "nobody thinks they can mess with India".
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
Opposition parties in India are demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and national security in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament. They raised concerns about federalism, national security, and the purity of voter lists during an all-party meeting.
'There are times when India should stand up without hesitation and voice its indignation over the US' pressure tactic. This is one such moment,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
This is the second-worst performance by the pack during this period over the last five years since CY20.
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.
China and Pakistan concluded their strategic dialogue, reiterating their opposition to unilateral actions in South Asia and discussing Kashmir, Afghanistan, and trilateral cooperation.
P V Narasimha Rao strongly felt that the reforms would have to be mindful of Indian concerns and would have to protect the interests of our poor and our working people, he said.
The United States Department of Justice released a batch of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking investigation, including photos and records showing Bill Clinton, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Michael Jackson in social settings with Epstein, CNN reported.
A host of macroeconomic data announcements, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors would dictate investors' sentiment in the stock market this week, analysts said. Besides, auto sales data will be closely tracked, experts noted.
India, the world's fourth largest economy, is set to maintain the 'goldilocks' phase with tailwinds of good growth, low inflation and robust banking performance as well as reform initiatives poised to sustain the economic pace witnessed during 2025.
'Alas, the Congress party offers no suggestions as to how to unscramble the omlette it cooked during 2004-2014 on which the Modi government may have since lavishly spread some tomato ketchup,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Among Sensex firms, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Trent, Bajaj Finserv, Titan and Reliance Industries were the major laggards. However, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finance and Hindustan Unilever were among the major gainers.
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday said the central bank does not target any band for the rupee in the forex market, and allows the domestic currency to find its own correct level.
'Retail portfolios were going nowhere even as headline indices moved higher, prompting investors to sell holdings and shift money to IPOs, attracted by listing-day gains.'
Bank lending to companies is expected to go up in the coming quarters because the difference in interest rates between corporate bonds and bank loans has narrowed. In addition, recent policy reforms by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), including allowing domestic banks to do acquisition financing, are expected to give further support to corporate lending, analysts said.
Maduro raised questions over the legality of his arrest during his first appearance before a US federal court in New York, claiming he was detained at his residence in Caracas, Venezuela, CNN reported.
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