India's merchandise trade deficit widened to a record $41.68 billion in October, as gold imports trebled and outbound shipments registered their sharpest contraction in 14 months, according to data released by the commerce department.
Global rating Moody's on Monday affirmed India's long-term local and foreign-currency issuer ratings and the local-currency senior unsecured rating at 'Baa3' with a 'stable' outlook on the back of robust economic growth and sound external position. The rating agency also affirmed India's other short-term local-currency rating at P-3.
About 85 per cent of the digital payment transactions take place through UPI in India, and the country can be a case study in inclusive, secure, and scalable Digital Public Platforms (DPPs), Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said. He was speaking at a "High-Level Dialogue on Forging Economic Resilience through Digital Public Platforms" organised by RBI on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC on Tuesday.
'More and more people from the middle class will become self-employed gig workers mostly working from home, rather than as office workers with salary, promotion, bonuses, etc.'
The Indian government has expressed its disagreement with the IMF staff's 'baseline' assumption that the 50 per cent US tariffs on its goods exports 'would remain in place indefinitely', based on which the staff pegged the country's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent this year, and pared its 2026-27 projection by 20 basis points to 6.2 per cent.
A figure above 50 indicates that the sector is expanding, while a figure below that level means contraction.
So far this year, the rupee has fallen by 4.2 per cent, the worst among its Asian peers.
Amid US-China trade tensions and economic vulnerabilities, India must seize the 'China +1' opportunity, deepen reforms, secure FTAs, and globalise its firms for long-term growth, suggests Ajay Shah.
Among the Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Adani Ports, Trent, State Bank of India, Titan and Tata Consultancy Services were the laggards. However, Maruti, Infosys, NTPC, Asian Paints, Eternal and Hindustan Unilever were among the biggest gainers.
From a surge in startups to crewed mission preparations, 2025 marks a transformative year as India eyes $44 billion space economy by 2033.
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.
Over 50 per cent, or 660 stocks, from the BSE 1000 index recorded negative returns during CY25.
Companies' rent and lease expenses have seen a significant decline relative to the money they make since the pandemic.
All three Bharti group companies outperformed in CY25 but the biggest gain came from Bharti Airtel, the flagship.
India has a comparative edge over key competitors in a majority of products it exports to the US and stands to gain market share as the US raises tariffs on its major trade partners, NITI Aayog said on Monday. In its quarterly trade report, it recommended that the government fast-track the India-US free trade agreement with time-bound goals to resolve non-tariff barriers and finalise digital trade rules on data flows and e-signatures to support services exports.
A shift appears underway in India's tax landscape. States with relatively smaller tax collections like Odisha and Telangana are emerging as the fastest-growing contributors to indirect and direct tax collections, respectively.
The services sector suffering due to slowing orders, says HSBC.
'Solutions developed in India are being commercialised and offered globally because we're executing at scale, creating new markets and revenue streams.'
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India rose 18 per cent to $35.18 billion during April-September this fiscal year, while the inflow from the US more than doubled to $6.62 billion during the first half of this fiscal, according to government data released on Monday. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during April-September FY24 stood at $29.79 billion.
'Because of the size and complexity of the economy, we can address almost every job that is there, from agriculture farming to healthcare.'
Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Adani Ports, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma were the major losers. Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and Maruti were among the gainers.
Gold and silver prices are poised to maintain their record-setting rally in the coming week as investors focus on global inflation data and key macroeconomic indicators that shape central bank policy paths, analysts said.
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.
Construction major L&T is gearing up to expand its footprint in the global nuclear supply chain, a senior company official has said, while calling for amendments to key legislations on the domestic front to pave the way for the entry of private players and foreign capital necessary for capacity enhancement.
'India is giving selective traffic rights wherever it makes sense to allocate those traffic rights.'
India's two-wheeler industry is seen growing 6-9% in 2026, though a proposed ABS mandate for sub-125cc models could push up prices and temper volumes.
India's economic growth slowed to 7.4 per cent in the March quarter, bringing down the annual growth rate to 6.5 per cent during 2024-25, according to official data released on Friday. The growth in the January-March period was lower than the 8.4 per cent expansion in the year-ago quarter.
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.
ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company has set a price band of Rs 2,061- Rs 2,165 per share for its Rs 10,600-crore initial public offering (IPO) that will open on Friday. At the upper end of the band, the country's largest asset manager will command a valuation of Rs 1.07 trillion.
Open offers this calendar year, following attempts at acquisition and takeover, came in at more than two a week. There were 121 such open offers to acquire additional shares following a substantial acquisition or change of control, shows the data compiled by primedatabase.com.
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.
These losses increase insurance premiums for customers and reduce insurer margins on the other.
The country's largest IT services company TCS on Monday reported 13.91 per cent decline in December quarter net profit at Rs 10,657 crore. The Tata Group company had posted a net profit of Rs 12,380 crore in the October-December period of FY25 and Rs 12,075 crore in the preceding September quarter.
Gandhi said it is ordinary Indians who pay the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd may spend about $12-15 billion over the next few years on AI infrastructure that could include a giant 1GW data centre, Morgan Stanley said in a report. Ambani had at the company's annual shareholder meeting in August announced a major push into AI through a new subsidiary and strategic partnerships.
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.
Three laws passed in Parliament could boost central revenues, reshape GST cess flows, shift MGNREGA costs to states and create new budget headroom ahead of the 2026-2027 Union Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
India's third-largest telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) has secured a 10-year breather on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) payments from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). This is expected to ease pressure on its balance sheet and enable the company to raise bank debt for capital expenditure.
'Don't look at Russia only as a place to earn quickly and then leave.' 'Try to build experience in serious companies, skills and certifications that will serve you anywhere in the world.'
'What the government is doing would be a drop in the ocean. It has to be matched by investments by industry.'
