Apollo Hospitals Enterprise is set to expand presence in metro cities during FY26 with the addition of five hospitals that would add over 1,400 beds.
Simplifying investment policies at the micro level and introducing a time-bound framework will be critical for India's growth targets, notes Krishna Ella.
The Maharashtra cabinet has approved the mandatory use of FASTag for toll collection across the state from April 1. This move is expected to streamline administrative processes, enhance transparency, and reduce congestion at toll plazas. The cabinet also approved revisions to the Rules of Business, streamlining administrative functioning and making it more efficient. The revisions include provisions related to matters to be presented before the cabinet, cases requiring approval from the Chief Minister or Governor, and procedures for meetings of the cabinet and council of ministers.
India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced an ambitious plan to develop the country's top 50 tourist destinations in a "challenge mode", with the aim of boosting employment-led growth and attracting international visitors. The Ministry of Tourism has received a significant budget increase for 2025-2026, with a focus on enhancing tourism infrastructure, promoting domestic and international travel, and ensuring the safety of tourists, particularly women. The government plans to promote homestays, improve connectivity to tourist spots, and provide performance-linked incentives to states that demonstrate effective destination management. The budget also includes investments in public enterprises, skill development programs, and initiatives to promote medical tourism and spiritual tourism.
'Stay disciplined, and remain invested.' 'Volatile times are the best to invest in structural opportunities at the right price.'
'Its nature changes, new types of jobs are created.' 'We need to invest in skilling and re-skilling our people for an AI-driven future,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his opening speech at the AI Action Summit in Paris, co-hosted by India.
Andhra Pradesh's IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh has pitched port city of Vizag in his state for setting up a data centre to Google Cloud CEO, saying the new government in the state has taken various initiatives for supporting industry that will help it transform into a cloud infrastructure hub. The state is focused on setting up data centres in Visakhapatnam and the minister invited Google Cloud to establish its data centre in the port city.
Growth in corporate profits needs to be commensurate with wages to boost the economy, Economic Survey 2024-25 said, noting that sharp disparities between the two pose risk to the economy by curbing demand. The document tabled in Parliament on Friday noted that while the labour share of GVA (gross value added) shows a slight uptick, the disproportionate rise in corporate profitsredominantly among large firmsaises concerns about income inequality.
India has declared 2025 as the year of defence reforms, aiming to establish integrated theatre commands to enhance synergy among the three armed forces and transform the military into a technologically-advanced combat-ready force. The reforms will also focus on streamlining acquisition procedures, promoting collaboration, and leveraging emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics.
India's decided that public-private partnerships will fuel growth. Without similar investment in regulatory capacity, that's backfiring.
The Cabinet meeting and the holy dip comes on a day that marks the first anniversary of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
'There's a misconception that all Rs 1 lakh crore will be spent immediately, leading to higher consumption of FMCG goods, travel, and vehicle purchases.' 'While some of this money will go toward consumption, not all of it will.' 'The impact depends on where people deploy their savings.'
Billionaire Gautam Adani's group on Saturday clarified on reports of Kenya cancelling more than $2.5 billion in deals after US indictment on bribery charges, saying it had not entered into any binding agreement to operate Kenya's main airport. On the pact it had signed last month to build and operate key electricity transmission lines in Kenya for 30 years, the group said the project did not fall within the ambit of Sebi's disclosure regulations, thereby not warranting any disclosure on its cancellation.
The FM proposed reduction in basic customs duty on gold and silver to 6 per cent and platinum to 6.4 per cent.
Around 7.4 per cent of Indians aged 60 and above are affected by dementia. This number is expected to rise from the current 8.8 million to 17 million by 2036, marking a 97 per cent increase.
The announcement for the QUAD Caucus came from Congressman Ami Bera, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, Congressman Rob Wittman, and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Pete Ricketts, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Do we have enough trained oncologists and medical professionals in India to man these over 4,500 beds in the public sector?
Once identified, these individuals are drawn into private groups where they are exposed to manipulative content, including fabricated videos depicting atrocities allegedly committed by security forces, the officials said.
Chief executive officers (CEOs) across sectors have expressed intentions to expand capacities, expecting the government's target to invest a record Rs 11.11 trillion on infrastructure development will act as a catalyst for a jump in consumer demand. "With the government planning a capex of Rs 11.11 trillion, private sector investment will come in a big way. Companies will be preparing for it right from today," H M Bangur, chairman of Shree Cement, told Business Standard. For the past few years, the investment scene in India has been dominated by government capital expenditures; private investments in the manufacturing sector have remained muted.
The government on Tuesday announced central assistance of Rs 2.2 lakh crore over the next five years to meet housing requirement of 1 crore urban poor and middle class families under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban and proposed interest subsidy to provide loans at affordable rates. In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Under the PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0, housing needs of 1 crore urban poor and middle-class families will be addressed with an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore." "This will include the central assistance of Rs 2.2 lakh crore in the next 5 years," she added.
The government on Tuesday announced setting up of hubs to promote exports through e-commerce medium in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode and initially 10-15 hubs will be established. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that these hubs, under a seamless regulatory and logistic framework, will facilitate trade and export-related services under one roof. "To enable MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and traditional artisans to sell their products in international markets, e-commerce export hubs will be set up in PPP mode," she said.
Sharing details about the decision, tourism minister Jaivir Singh said the tourism department would provide the company land for the international-level museum on a 90-year lease for a token amount of Re 1.
Ducati would like to develop a motorbike racetrack on the lines of the Buddh International Circuit.
'The top 10 per cent of the population should adopt and handhold the bottom 20 per cent of the population as a social responsibility.'
The finance minister clarified that indexation benefits offered until April 1, 2001 would be protected. This means older properties, including legacy assets, would benefit.
The Adani Group is planning to invest Rs 20,000 crore more to complete the remaining three phases of the Vizhinjam International Seaport, the first transshipment port in the country, managing director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) Karan Adani said in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Talking to PTI after the official reception ceremony for 'San Fernando', the first mothership to dock at Vizhinjam, Adani said the port will be a game changer for Indian manufacturers as it reduces logistics cost by 30 to 40 per cent.
'If there is a push towards a Marxist oriented government it will be dangerous.' 'We have seen this in Nepal and Myanmar and it will be a concern for India if it is surrounded by countries with such political dispensations.'
Messages sent through Internet-based messaging service providers such as Whatsapp, Signal, and Telegram, as well as those which are encrypted, are understood to be within the Act's ambit.
A Rs 7,056 crore outer harbour project by VO Chidambaranar (VOC) Port in Tuticorin is garnering interest from domestic and global majors in the sector, such as Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Singapore's PSA International, Dutch major Van Oord, JM Baxi, and JSW, among others, according to sources close to the development. The project aims to capitalise on the newfound investor interest in the region, spurred by mega investments such as the Rs 16,000 crore electric vehicle manufacturing unit by Vietnamese major VinFast, the Indian Space Research Organisation's second spaceport in Tamil Nadu's Kulasekarapattinam, and Singapore's Sembcorp's Rs 36,238 crore investment in renewable energy.
'There was a strong undercurrent of deprivation, and also frustration against misuse of power and authority.' 'This election was an opportunity for the manifestation of this discontentment.'
In the wake of deaths of several patients at government-run hospitals at Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in a short span, Maharashtra minister Hasan Mushrif on Thursday said positive changes will be brought in the functioning of the state-run medical facilities in four months.
'Similar to the case of the digital payment system where the government created a public platform and others joined in, we are exploring a similar structure to create a PPP platform where the compute required for AI could be accessed by the small player.'
Elections are not won or lost by expounding on such macro-economic matters. For the aam admi, what matters in manifestos are promises that will improve their quality of life, notes Vinayak Chatterjee.
The ministry of railways has dropped its proposal for monetisation of stations on public-private partnership mode, and projects are now being taken up under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode, a source said. The source also told PTI that the ministry of railways has been asked to expedite monetisation of other assets, including trains, goodsheds, hill rail, stadiums, railway colonies and railway land parcels among others. "Largest asset class (stations) dropped. Stations earlier proposed on PPP mode are now being taken up under EPC mode," the source said.
The government wants a collaborative model with a public-private partnership to fact-check social media content.
Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran on Thursday said the best of artificial intelligence and machine learning will be deployed at Air India and emphasised that the airline is not just another business for the group but a passion and a national mission. As Tata Group steers the transformation of loss-making Air India since taking control in January last year, Chandrasekaran said that he most of the time receives "caring criticism" about the airline that also further strengthens the commitment. Speaking at an event in the national capital where Air India's new brand identity and aircraft livery were unveiled, he said the focus is on upgrading all human resources aspects in the airline.
Responding to a question, he said, "It may also deal with fake news, though there is no specific mention in this regard."
The government has fixed an indicative value for Delhi's iconic 'The Ashok' hotel at Rs 7,409 crore under the national monetisation programme, according to sources. The Ashok and the adjacent hotel Samrat are among the eight India Tourism Development Corp assets listed under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last year. The sources said investor consultation has already been undertaken and a cabinet note for the sale of the sprawling 25-acre property in the heart of the national capital is under consideration.
In order to achieve $5 trillion GDP by FY'25, India needs to spend about $1.4 trillion over this period on infrastructure, according to the Economic Survey. During financial years 2008-17, India pumped in about $1.1 trillion on infrastructure. However, the challenge is to step up infrastructure investment substantially, the Economic Survey 2021-22 said.
US nominee for World Bank president, Ajay Banga, has tested positive for COVID-19 following which the meetings scheduled during his two-day visit to India have been cancelled. According to a Finance Ministry statement, Banga's meeting with Nirmala Sitharaman would not happen as he is in quarantine. "During routine testing, Ajay Banga tested positive for COVID-19 but remains asymptomatic.
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