IPA Staff
16505 stories by IPA Staff
Gross GST Revenue Back In Positive Zone In December
NEW DELHI: The gross goods and services tax (GST) collections, including cess, came in at Rs 1.79 lakh crore in December 2025 (November transactions), recording a year-on-year growth of 1.3%, reflecting a gradual normalisation of GST revenues after taxes were cut on about 375 items on September 22. The...
Banks May Soon Sponsor Pension Funds As PFRDA Approves Major NPS Reforms
NEW DELHI: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has in principle approved a new framework aimed at strengthening the pension ecosystem, allowing Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) to independently sponsor funds for managing National Pension System (NPS) assets. The proposed framework seeks to remove regulatory constraints that had...
Fiscal Deficit Widens 15.4% Y-O-Y To ₹9.77 Lakh Crore In April-November FY26: UBI Report
NEW DELHI: India’s fiscal position during the April-November period of FY26 indicates that concerns over lagging tax revenues and adherence to the full-year budget targets have resurfaced, even as the government continues to prioritise capital expenditure-led growth, as per a report by Union Bank of India. The report stated...
Government Plans Next Phase Of Skilling Reforms With Outcome-Based Approach
NEW DELHI: Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary on Thursday chaired the concluding session of the week-long Kaushal Manthan, where deliberations were held on reforms like outcome-based grading mechanisms for ITIs to drive quality improvement and strengthening of Sector Skill Councils. Chaudhary, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development...
Gig Workers Concluded 2025 With All-India Strike, Will Have To Do More In 2026
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Gig workers of India have concluded the year 2025 with an all-India strike action on the last day, December 31, 2025, demanding fair wages and working conditions, which have undergone marked deterioration in the last three months. It happened despite the Union government’s repeated claim...
Bangladesh After The Begums: From Hasina’s Fall To Zia’s Demise
By T N Ashok By the end of 2025, Bangladesh finds itself without the two women figures who defined it. With the death of Khaleda Zia at 80 and the exile of Sheikh Hasina after her dramatic fall from power, Bangladesh has entered a political interregnum unlike any it...
Modi–Shah Formula Meets Its Hardest Test Outside Hindi Heartland
By R. Suryamurthy For more than a decade, Indian elections have revolved around a deceptively simple formula: Narendra Modi supplies the mass spectacle, Amit Shah perfects the electoral arithmetic. One dominates the narrative, the other controls the machine. Together, they have transformed the Bharatiya Janata Party into the most...
Drifting Quicksands Of Bengal Politics: Can Mamata Hold Fort?
By Anjan Roy West Bengal is witnessing hectic political manoeuvring by leading political figures, even though the assembly elections are a clear six months away at least. One of these, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was once a stalwart of the Congress, not only in the state but nationally, is...
Provincialisation Of ‘Venture Schools/Colleges’ In Assam’s BTR Areas
By Rabindra Nath Sinha KOLKATA: The third and subsisting tripartite Bodo Peace Accord signed on January 27, 2020 provides under clause 6.3 for “provincialisation” of schools and colleges in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), as also Bodo-medium schools outside BTR. [The accord rechristened what was then known as Bodoland...
Trump 2.0: The Year America Shook Up The Old-World Order
By Ashok Nilakantan Ayers NEW YORK: When Donald J. Trump placed his hand on the Bible on January 20, 2025, it was not merely the inauguration of a second-term president. It was a hostile takeover of the American state by a man who believed—more than ever—that power existed to...
Indian Diplomacy In 2025: Of National Interests And Global Ambitions
By Asad Mirza India’s foreign policy in 2025 continued to be anchored in the dual ethos of “Bharat First” and “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” balancing national interest with global cooperation. Strategic autonomy, non-alignment, and economic diplomacy remained central pillars of its international engagement. India maintained a multi-aligned posture, strengthening ties across...
Unnao Case: Atrocious Crime Against Humanity, So, Whither Is Justice?
By Nilotpal Basu The sensational developments over the last week brought the question of crimes against women to the forefront with a dramatic effect. The exceptional case of the Unnao rape victim, a mere 15-year-old who was lured by Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the local MLA of Unnao, has burst...
Govt Rolls Out Rs 4,531 Crore Market Access Support For Exporters
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday launched Rs 4,531 crore market access support for exporters under which financial support will be provided to participate in activities such as international fairs and exhibitions. It will help exporters at a time when they are facing a steep 50 per cent tariff...
External Uncertainties May Trigger Outflows, Forex Rate Volatility: RBI
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned that the country’s economy faces near-term risks largely from external uncertainties, including the possibility of a sharp correction in US equities that could trigger foreign portfolio outflows, heighten exchange rate volatility and tighten domestic financial conditions. In its Financial Stability...
Centre Imposes Steel Safeguard Duty For 3 Years; Up To 12% On Imports
NEW DELHI: The Centre has imposed a safeguard duty of up to 12 per cent on import of some steel products for three years, aiming to shield domestic producers from low-priced steel products from China and some other countries. The Central government had in April this year imposed a...
India’s Household Debt Rises To 41.3% Of GDP, Above Five-Year Average: RBI
MUMBAI: India’s household debt climbed to 41.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of March 2025, marking a sustained rise from its five-year average of 38.3 per cent, with consumption-related loans accounting for bulk of the borrowings, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in...
Centre’s Fiscal Deficit Widens To 62.3% Of FY26BE In April-November
NEW DELHI: The Centre’s fiscal deficit widened to 62.3% of the annual target during April-November period, compared to 52.5% of the respective target a year ago, due to a surge in capital expenditure growth while the net tax revenues continued to contract. The fiscal deficit in April-November of FY26...
Sensation Building Up Around Country’s Biggest Ever Arbitration Award
By K Raveendran As Indian corporates step into the new year buoyed by stronger growth momentum and easing inflationary pressures, a sense of anticipation is spreading across boardrooms and policy circles alike over a dispute that dwarfs most corporate battles seen in the country’s history. At the heart of...
