Business

MUMBAI: The CEO of Niva Bupa Health Insurance said it is the cross-subsidisation of loss-making corporate group policies by retail health insurance, rather than high acquisition costs, that is weighing on retail insurance penetration.Krishnan Ramachandran, MD & CEO, Niva Bupa said insurers need to step up investments to expand retail health insurance and increase its…

Budget 2026 income tax expectations (AI image) By Surabhi MarwahThe Union Budget 2026 comes at an important moment, as taxpayers prepare for a major shift—the introduction of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (ITA 2025), effective April 1, 2026. This is one of the most significant updates in decades, and many individuals are hoping that the Budget…

MUMBAI: Bank of Baroda on Friday reported a net profit of Rs 5,055 crore for the quarter ended December 2025, up 4.5% from Rs 4,837 crore a year earlier, helped by a sharp fall in provisions even as margins stayed under pressure.Net interest income (NII) was largely flat at Rs 11,800 crore, compared with Rs…

AI image (Picture credit: Google Gemini) As Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Union Budget for 2026–27 on February 1, defence expenditure has once again moved to the centre of policy discussions. Although it is always a matter of interest to the experts about how one of the world’s largest economies spends…

A well-crafted budget has the potential to unlock new opportunities for growth and with careful planning and foresight, individuals can make the most of it. (AI image) By Jiju VidyadharanThe Union Budget 2026 provides the government an opportunity to accelerate India’s economic transformation in the wake of prolonged global uncertainties and higher tariffs imposed by…

The BJP launched a nationwide campaign to explain the Union Budget 2026 to the public, with press conferences reportedly planned at 150 locations featuring ministers and party leaders from February 1-15. The party will combine traditional outreach with digital campaigns.A special team led by National General Secretary Tarun Chugh will oversee the ‘Budget Outreach Campaign…

With the Union Budget just days away, the manufacturing sector is being seen as one of the main reasons India has stayed economically resilient—even as many countries face slow growth.The Economic Survey 2025–26 has set an upbeat tone, projecting India’s GDP growth at 7.4 per cent for the current financial year. In simple terms, that…

As finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Union Budget for FY 2026-27 on February 1, the exercise also draws attention to how India’s most important economic document has evolved – from a colonial-era English text to a more accessible public instrument. Colonial origins of the Budget India’s first Union Budget was presented on…

NEW DELHI: As India prepares for the Union Budget for 2026–27, scheduled to be presented on February 1, it is worth noting that when the country’s budgetary journey began, in a vastly different India, still finding its feet after independence.India’s first Union Budget was presented on November 26, 1947, three months after the country attained…

NEW DELHI: High railway freight rates arising from cross-subsidisation are distorting competition with road transport, pushing up commodity prices, consumer inflation, and overall logistics costs, the Economic Survey 2025–26 highlighted.Reiterating the proposal in the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2026, the survey recommended the complete elimination of cross-subsidies for railways and the manufacturing sector within the next…