Under the TMC, Bengal has seen expansion of welfare, but not big-ticket private investment.
A new study by AI firm Anthropic reveals that while AI hasn't caused widespread unemployment, it has slowed hiring for younger workers in AI-exposed roles. The study also highlights the gap between AI's theoretical capabilities and actual deployment, and the ongoing conflict between Anthropic and the US government over AI weaponisation.
Hiring demand strongest in ecommerce, tech startups, healthcare, and energy sectors, with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune leading.
The conflict may disrupt Budget 2026-2027 projections, squeezing revenues and raising subsidies, prompting fiscal adjustments and potential reforms, echoing lessons from the Covid-era shock, points out A K Bhattacharya.
CA Sumeet Mehta analyses the Union Budget 2026-2027, identifying key positives and negatives.
India's labour market in the second quarter (July-September/Q2) of 2025-26 (FY26) showed resilience, with the jobless rate easing even as more people entered the workforce. However, a rise in youth unemployment and a fall in the share of salaried workers remain areas of concern.
A new survey indicates that Indian employers are planning to increase hiring in the April-June quarter, driven by strong business confidence and domestic demand. The survey also highlights the impact of AI adoption on workforce strategy and the challenges of talent scarcity.
The World Bank has affirmed India's strong position to withstand the current global energy shock, citing high foreign exchange reserves, fiscal space, and low inflation as key buffers supporting continued growth despite international headwinds.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) office on Wednesday launched a sweeping investigation into manufacturing and industrial practices in 16 economies, including India, citing concerns over what it calls 'structural excess capacity' that could distort global trade. Announcing the move on a White House press call, Jamieson Greer said the probe would be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, one of Washington, DC's most powerful trade enforcement tools.
The agreement addresses non-tariff barriers and promotes increased trade in technology products and cooperation between the two countries.
India's services sector growth slowed in March, reaching a 14-month low, according to the HSBC India Services PMI. The slowdown reflects weaker new business intakes and rising input costs, particularly in fuel, transport, and logistics.
There are roughly 2,000 ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, carrying more than 20,000 seafarers, according to the International Maritime Organisation, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal.
The ministry of petroleum and natural gas on Friday reiterated that India has sufficient stock of crude oil, petrol and diesel, while ensuring an uninterrupted supply of LNG and LPG despite disruptions caused by the ongoing West Asia conflict.
Recognition of educational qualifications acquired abroad will send a strong message to foreign specialists and skilled workers that 'you are highly valued, appreciated and respected in this country,' Federal Minister for Education Annette Schavan said.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has accused the state government of imposing arbitrary conditions on crop purchases, alleging anti-farmer policies and demanding compensation for weather-related crop damage.
The cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
India's new manufacturing project announcements more than halved in the fourth quarter of FY26, falling 60 per cent sequentially and 78 per cent year-on-year to approximately 1.7 trillion, driven by global uncertainties, geopolitical conflicts in West Asia, and existing unutilised manufacturing capacity.
Buoyed by the robustness in rural job market on account of rabi sowing, India's monthly unemployment rate fell to an eight-month low of 4.7 per cent in November, the latest periodic labour force survey (PLFS) monthly bulletin released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday showed.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang argues that Artificial Intelligence is driving the largest infrastructure buildout in human history, requiring trillions of dollars in investment and creating significant demand for skilled blue-collar labour.
IndiGo airline will face near-term pressure on profitability from rising fuel prices following the escalation of conflict in West Asia, though it is likely to pass on higher costs to passengers over time because its ticket booking cycle is relatively short, according to a report by Moody's Ratings.
India's services sector experienced a slight moderation in growth during February, according to the HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index, with new order growth slowing and inflation picking up.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled more than 1 per cent on Friday due to across-the-board selloff, especially in metal, IT and commodity stocks, tracking sluggish global markets.
Two of the three strikes are related to the gig economy, a centrepiece of the new labour Codes.
Remittances from West Asia in March rose sharply amid the conflict in the region, with industry insiders estimating inflows to be 20-30 per cent higher than what is usual in a month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Rajya Sabha, detailing India's strategies to navigate the global energy crisis sparked by the West Asia conflict, including securing diverse energy sources and expanding strategic oil reserves.
The Maharashtra government has announced a flexible work time initiative for women state government employees working in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The 'Come Early, Go Early' initiative will allow women employees flexible reporting times and earlier departure times.
A nationwide strike called by central trade unions saw a mixed response across India, impacting various sectors and states differently, with some areas experiencing disruptions while others remained largely unaffected.
A tragic fire in a Delhi residential building near Palam Metro Station claimed the lives of seven family members, including three children, prompting a large-scale rescue operation by the Delhi Fire Service.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
Import duty cuts on labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and footwear, as well as cars, and wines, are likely to be part of the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation bloc European Union (EU), the conclusion of which is set to be announced on January 27 here, sources said.
To tackle acute shortage of skilled workers, Germany has agreed to open its labour market for specialists from non-EU countries, including India, by easing the minimum salary requirement to obtain a residence permit.
A 42-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing his wife and three daughters in Delhi due to gambling debts. He was apprehended in Rajasthan after a multi-state manhunt.
'The trade deficit in some sectors is huge and that is an area of opportunity to localise.'
'There is a lot of euphoria in the country after a trade agreement is signed. But it is an illusion for us. What is more important is making it real.'
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that an interim trade agreement between India and the US is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April, with chief negotiators meeting in Washington to finalize the details.
'Instant home services act as an on-demand household support system, bridging the gap between informal domestic help and structured service platforms,'
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.
A Jefferies report warns that the IT services sector is set for a structural shift due to AI, requiring talent and operating model overhauls and increasing cyclicality.
From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finserv, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Trent, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Eternal, Titan and Bajaj Finance were the gainers. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank and PowerGrid were the laggards.
