Bangladesh is set to hold parliamentary elections with unprecedented security measures in place, following a period of interim governance and political changes.
Budget 2026 is an intentional and ambitious one - From manufacturing growth to services supremacy, from technology consumption to AI-powered transformation. This is the blueprint for a $7 trillion economy built on intelligence, not just scale.
The Budget emerges as a measured, credible and forward-looking policy document that reinforces India's commitment to remaining a stable, reform-oriented economy amid an increasingly fragmented global landscape, says A Balasubramanian.
The 2026-27 Budget, seeking to harmonise the government's imperative to grant certainty while ensuring a rational tax policy, had several notable announcements to usher in halcyon days, says Mukesh Butani.
Sustaining 8 per cent-plus growth rates is necessary if we are to reach high-income status by 2047, points out Amitabh Kant.
The Indian government informed Parliament that India and the US are engaged in negotiations for a mutually beneficial multi-sectoral bilateral trade agreement. The two countries also cooperate on strategic, economic, and defense matters, managing divergences through high-level dialogues.
The agreement addresses non-tariff barriers and promotes increased trade in technology products and cooperation between the two countries.
Building on last year's clearance of 172K cases, I-T department is pushing for faster appeal disposals, penalty reforms and system-driven processes to curb litigation and boost tax certainty.
The proposals outlined in Budget 2026-27 represent a carefully crafted, multi-year strategy designed to strengthen India's big bets on the path to Viksit Bharat 2047, says Sameer Gupta.
'Today, we are at a stage where we have launched a voice-to-voice model that supports 14 Indian languages.'
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.
The Supreme Court has directed the government to raise awareness, compensate, and protect vulnerable individuals who have lost money in cyber scams. The court's remarks came while granting bail to an accused in a cybercrime case, emphasizing the need for public education and cybersecurity awareness.
Weakness in the information technology (IT) sector hiring has weighed on Info Edge (India) over the past year, leading to a 13 per cent correction in the stock during this period. While the company's 2025-26 (FY26) third-quarter (October-December/Q3) performance showed a marginal improvement, brokerages believe the IT hiring outlook remains weak due to macroeconomic uncertainty in the US.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday invited global businesses to participate in the growth story of India, which is the fastest growing large economy of the world.
'The real risk is not that AI will fail to transform India's economy.'
'The risk is that it already is -- while our measurement systems continue to look the other way,' observes Nishant Sahdev, a theoretical physicist at the University of North Carolina.
'When I met the prime minister, he asked me, "Dr Ganguly, what do you do with people in your company who lie to you?"' 'I said, "Prime Minister, we counsel them and give them a gentle warning. If they lie again, they are sacked".' '"This is my problem,'" Rajiv responded. "I can't sack people in government".' A revealing excerpt from former Hindustan Lever Chairman Dr Ashok S Ganguly's We Are Our Future: Reflections On Life.
'Global uncertainty is something which definitely occupies the minds of officials when we are preparing for the Budget.'
This Budget positions India's taxation ideology as not merely a revenue source but as a strategic catalyst for growth, inclusion and long-term confidence.
2026 looks promising for cinema lovers, with many highly anticipated, big-budget Hollywood films set to hit theatres this year.
Capex, infrastructure development, and prudent fiscal management are the key focus areas in the Budget, says Nilesh Shah.
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.
India is growing fast, but to keep growing strong, the government must make more things at home, create jobs, and spend money wisely, suggests Rajiv Memani, regional managing partner, Africa-India Region, EY.
The country's largest IT services company TCS on Thursday announced a tie-up with private equity major TPG for its upcoming data centre business, in which both the partners aim to invest Rs 18,000 crore. TPG will invest $1 billion or around Rs 8,870 crore in the AI data centre business christened as 'Hypervault', and hold a stake between 27.5-49 per cent in the venture.
The European Union's (EU's) offer to slash tariffs on 97.5 per cent of Indian chemical exports to zero is set to give India's pharmaceutical and medical device firms preferential access to the European markets.
While Infosys never had a presence, Wipro's Venezuelan unit was liquidated many years ago.
Guterres emphasised that global structures and institutions must reflect the complexity and the opportunity of the "new times and realities"
Is the parabolic rise in silver running out of steam or just getting started? Ramalingam Kalirajan offers his take on if you should invest in silver now?
Rahul Gandhi claims the Indo-US trade deal will compromise the data security of 1.5 billion Indians, alleging Prime Minister Modi is surrendering India's data resources to the US. He warns of potential job losses in the IT sector due to AI and the importance of controlling India's data pool.
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
The government's flagship Khelo India programme received an allocation of Rs 924.35 crore.
The Bharatiya Antariksh Station represents the next phase of India's human spaceflight ambitions, enabling long-duration presence in space, advanced microgravity research and technology development, and supporting future human exploration missions.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital is the country's busiest airport and RWY refers to runway.
'Despite a challenging FMCG environment, ITC Foods has grown at or above the industry rate.'
'If you go by the capital expenditure, this is a good defence budget. But we will have to see if the government can keep defence spending at 2 per cent or higher in 2027-2028.'
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz clash in the Australian Open final with history on the line as Djokovic chases a record 25th Slam and Alcaraz eyes a career Grand Slam.
'We frequently discuss AI, but we're waiting for other countries to develop solutions rather than creating intellectual property ourselves.' 'We haven't yet produced comprehensive AI solutions developed in India for global markets.'
With discretionary spending still under pressure, the information technology (IT) services industry continued to face an uncertain demand environment in the third quarter of 2025-26 (Q3FY26).
While many areas compete for resources, defence, education, and adaptation deserve focus for maximum impact, suggests Laveesh Bhandari.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
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