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.
Arjun Erigaisi had to face involuntary downgrade from business class, rude staff and above all baggage loss.
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.
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.
The IPL 2026 auction is gearing up for a blockbuster showdown, with 350 players fighting for just 77 spots including 31 overseas berths in what promises to be one of the most competitive bidding wars yet.
After a record-breaking year, India's automobile industry is entering 2026 on a relatively strong footing, with sales growth expected in the 6-8 per cent range. The outlook is underpinned by policy support, including GST rationalisation, easing monetary conditions, and income tax relief, which together are likely to improve affordability and sustain consumer demand across vehicle segments.
What is currently perceived as a massive, low-tech liability could become a high-value, export-oriented economic engine, points out Ajit Balakrishnan.
Asian Paints reported a good performance for the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26), with some help from base effects, despite strong competition and extended monsoon. Volume grew in low double digits in the key domestic decorative paints, and value in that segment grew by 6 per cent. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) grew 21 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), and PAT (profit after tax) grew 14 per cent. Asian Paints also defended market share better after several quarters where it had lost ground to Birla Opus.
Financial services giant HDFC Bank, carrying a brand value of $44.9 billion, has surged past IT consulting behemoth Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to reclaim its crown as the country's most valued brand, according to the 2025 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Indian Brands report.
Airlines waive cancellation and rescheduling fees and boost flight capacity from Srinagar.
'The Indian consumer is moving so quickly and they have so many options.'
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
Across all sectors, the future of work depends on adaptability.
While the economy will wait for a rate cut in December, the banking industry should be happy with the wave of liberalisation -- a big push for growth in bank credit, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
GMR Group-led DIAL, which manages and operates India's largest airport, recently requested the AERA to double the user development fee (UDF) for international business and first-class travellers compared to economy and premium economy over the next four years. It has also sought higher UDF for all domestic passengers flying during peak hours -- 5 am-8:55 am and 5 pm-8:55 pm.
: Build lasting wealth via disciplined, long-term mutual fund investing in India's compounding marathon, Shanaihi, Shanaihi, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
Canadian firm Manulife and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), an Indian automaker with interests in financial services, have signed an agreement to form a 50:50 life insurance joint venture (JV) with a total capital commitment of up to Rs 3,600 crore each totalling Rs 7,200 crore.
Investors who constantly hop between 'top-performing' funds often end up earning far lower returns than the very funds they invest in -- simply because they enter late and exit early. Best investors don't chase returns, they chase discipline, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Bengaluru-based United Breweries (UBL), makers of Kingfisher beer, is eying strong growth in the premium beer segment, driven by changing consumer preferences towards premiumisation. "Across categories, premiumisation is taking place as people are looking for better choices and beer is no different. "People are upgrading to better beer and newer brands. We have a good offering of premium brands - Kingfisher's premium variants are Ultra and Ultra Max," Vikram Bahl, chief marketing officer (CMO), UBL, said in an interview.
The average Indian worker must labour for an extraordinary 160 full working days to afford Apple's latest iPhone 17 Pro.
Between April and August this financial year, passenger car exports rose 8.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), while domestic sales fell by 8.5 per cent.
Delhi is the second Indian destination after Bengaluru.
'Lots of YouTubers and influencers use a phone that can do lots of things, but if you need to do heavy editing or proper editing, you will still come back to a proper laptop setup.'
You can't be the second-most expensive market in the world and deliver just 10 per cent EPS growth, points out Akash Prakash.
Owing to uncertainties on higher inflation and muted growth in the United States (US), coupled with concerns around America's rising debt and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, the world's largest economy has become the epicentre of an unabated record rally in prices of precious metals.
'The Indian economy is expected to grow in terms of per capita income and GDP, and with that, the luxury segment becomes more relevant.'
The Trump administration has launched a premium immigration programme targeting wealthy individuals worldwide, offering permanent residency in the United States through expensive 'Gold Cards' that could generate billions in revenue for the American Treasury.
Festive sales are expected to surge 27 per cent to cross Rs 120,000 crore in 2025, driving Amazon and Flipkart to expand warehousing capacity by millions of cubic feet and extend delivery networks to thousands of new pin codes -- an infrastructure buildout that could reshape India's retail landscape for years.
'In case a particular industry has not passed on the benefits and if we receive complaints, we will take up the matter with the industry body concerned.'
Chartered accountant Nitin Kaushik's message to India's young workforce is clear: spend smart, save smarter and let money serve your goals.
'India is cosying up to Xi Jinping. They don't need the Russian oil. It's a refining profiteering scheme.'
'While the concept was introduced globally over four decades ago, branded residences have taken off now in India.'
Vistara has poor load factors currently, it needs to bring down fares a bit to improve flight occupancy.
'The retail industry is still growing in double digits.'
At the stroke of midnight, live dashboards lit up simultaneously across Amazon India's World Trade Centre headquarters and Flipkart's Outer Ring Road office in Bengaluru. In sprawling "war rooms" at both the companies, executives monitored real-time data streams tracking payment speeds, inventory levels, and delivery logistics as millions of shoppers flooded online platforms.
'Ek baar aap GST dekh lo!' - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gentle nudge to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in December last year sparked the beginning of a mammoth exercise to overhaul the tangled goods and services tax regime. And the final outcome is a significantly simplified system with lower tax rates and easier compliance for businesses.
The proposed reforms in goods and services tax (GST) announced by the government last week, coupled with the eighth pay commission dole-out, is likely to push consumption-driven stocks - such as air conditioners (ACs), select automobiles, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and counters of quick-service restaurants (QSRs) - into higher orbit over the next few months, believe analysts.
Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday posted 24 per cent increase in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 1,169 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025 riding on higher margins backed by better product mix, parts revenue and cost effectiveness. The company had reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 943 crore in January-March FY24.
Some of the key names include: Maruti, M&M, Ashok Leyland, Britannia, Ultratech, JK Cement, Havells, Voltas, Amber, Metro, Trent, LemonTree, Indian Hotels, Niva Bupa, HDFC Life, IGL, Acme Solar, Suzlon, Swiggy, Delhivery, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance," according to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Red Square and VDNKh easily rank among the most striking places I've visited -- both for their historical significance and architectural splendour.
My admiration for Russian culture, vision and ambition grew with every step as I clocked the miles, Nitin Sathe tells us after a visit to Moscow and St Petersburg.
