Business
Indian IT Firms Hire Freshers As Automation Trims Overall Workforce
NEW DELHI: India’s biggest IT services companies are still hiring thousands of fresh graduates and have reported stabilising attrition in FY26 so far. However, some firms have seen their total employee numbers fall year-on-year as automation and artificial intelligence reduce demand for mid-skill roles and drive restructuring. Three of...
RBI Tightens PSL Norms, Asks Banks To Get External Auditor Certification
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank has strengthened the priority sector lending (PSL) compliance norms, mandating external auditor certificates from intermediaries to prevent double-claiming of loans, a move comes within two days of two leading private sector banks disclosing that the regulator has found mismatches in their PSL classification of agri...
India, UAE Set $200 Billion Trade Target, Deepen Nuclear And Infra Ties
NEW DELHI: India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday announced a dozen outcomes, including plans to double bilateral trade to over $200 billion by 2032, cooperation in the development and deployment of large nuclear reactors and small modular reactors, and Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s invitation to...
Fiscal Space For FY27 Limited, Conditional: Economists
NEW DELHI: As the Union government prepares for the 2026–27 Budget, it confronts a familiar but increasingly delicate policy challenge: how to support domestic growth amid an uncertain global environment while remaining firmly committed to its medium-term fiscal consolidation and debt-reduction goals. Economists broadly agree that some fiscal space...
Industry Confidence Hits Five-Quarter High In October-December Period: Survey
NEW DELHI: Business confidence in India Inc rose to a five-quarter high in the December quarter of FY26, amid further reform expectations and steady domestic demand, a survey by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) showed. The CII Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose for the third consecutive quarter...
India Needs Fertiliser Pricing Reforms To Restore Soil Health: Paper
NEW DELHI: India needs to urgently restore the health of its soils to improve crop health and human nutrition through a combination of approaches, including policies for rationalising fertiliser pricing, a new paper said. It also called for the development of precise, customised and site-specific fertilisation solutions, complemented by...
Public Sector Banks Seek RBI OMO Support For State Development Loans
MUMBAI: Public sector banks have requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to include state bonds in open market operation (OMO) purchase auctions, sources said. The last time the central bank included state development loans (SDLs) in OMO auctions was in 2020, when yields had surged. “There have been...
Greenland Tariffs Spur India To Guard Trade Autonomy
NEW DELHI: Though officials indicate that a trade deal with the US is close, President Donald Trump’s Greenland-related tariffs on eight European countries highlight the need for greater caution on India’s part. New Delhi must safeguard its strategic autonomy and build adequate protections into any trade agreement, experts said....
New CPI And GDP Series To Enhance Inflation And Growth Balance: RBI Governor
MUMBAI: The new base year revision of key economic indicators such as the GDP, IIP and inflation will help the Reserve Bank achieve its twin objectives of price stability and sustained economic growth, Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said. The National Statistical Office (NSO) under the ministry of statistics and...
New FEMA Regulations For Exports And Imports To Take Effect From October 1
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday notified the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, along with detailed directions, which will come into effect from October 1, 2026. Under the regulations, authorised dealer (AD) banks are required to enter export declaration...
India-EU FTA Will Be Mother Of All Deals: Piyush Goyal
NEW DELHI: The free trade agreement that is close to being finalised with the European Union (EU) will be the mother of all trade deals India has signed so far, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Friday. “I have done seven deals so far. All with developed economies....
SEBI Proposes ‘Netting’ Mechanism For FPIs’ Cash Market Transactions
MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) on Friday proposed allowing large foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to settle only the net value of their trades instead of each transaction – a move that is expected to cut funding cost of these investors. The proposed overhaul is part...
India Inc Shows Interest For Rs 7,280-Crore Rare Earth Magnet Scheme
NEW DELHI: India’s largest industrial groups, including Adani Enterprises, Reliance Industries, JSW Group, Kalyani Group and Maruti Suzuki India, have shown initial interest in the government’s proposed ₹7,280-crore incentive scheme aimed at building domestic capacity for rare earth permanent magnets (REPM). According to people familiar with the discussions, representatives...
India, EU Likely To Conclude Much Awaited FTA Talks On January 27
NEW DELHI: India and the European Union (EU) are likely to announce the conclusion of talks for the much awaited free-trade agreement (FTA) on January 27 during the visit of the bloc’s leadership. “We are expected to conclude the negotiations and have the deal ready. Signing, I think, is...
Exports Rise 1.87 Per Cent In December, Trade Deficit Widens Marginally
NEW DELHI: The country’s exports grew 1.87 per cent to $38.5 billion in December last year due to global economic uncertainties, while an increase in imports led to a marginal widening of the trade deficit to $25 billion. The country’s exports in November 2025 was up by about 20...
SEBI Calls For Sharper IPO Disclosures On Risk Factors, Valuation Rationale
MUMBAI: Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Thursday called for more sharper disclosures in IPO (initial public offering) offer documents, particularly around risk factors, valuation rationale, objects of the issue, and utilisation of proceeds. Speaking at the 14th Annual Convention of the Association...
Debt-GDP May Dip To 55.1 Per Cent, Fiscal Deficit To 4.2 Per Cent In FY27
NEW DELHI: The Centre’s debt-to-GDP ratio in 2026–27 may be reduced by one percentage point to nearly 55.1%, signalling a structural shift in India’s fiscal policy framework. A one-percentage-point reduction in the debt ratio would translate into a fiscal deficit of around 4.2% of GDP in FY27, compared with...
India-US Trade Deal ‘Very Near’ As Both Sides Eye Breakthrough
NEW DELHI: India and the U.S. are very close to a trade agreement and it would materialse when both sides are ready, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said Thursday. The talks between India and US had never broken down and both sides remained engaged, he added. “In the last week...
