Economy

GST Council to take up far reaching compliance reforms at Thursday meeting

The GST Council is expected to consider simpler compliance, faster refunds and changes to prosecution and arrest rules, with no major rate changes likely at the meeting

'India-US trade breakthrough unlikely soon; narrow interim deal possible'

BMI says market access, agriculture and Russian oil remain obstacles to an India-US deal, with a narrow pact likely to offer modest gains and ease policy uncertainty

CPSEs achieve 51% of FY27 capital expenditure target in first half

Spending led by Railways and NHAI rises 12% YoY in April-September, though September outlays slide 17%

Govt unveils 2026-30 roadmap to measure value of India's natural wealth

Mospi's 2026-2030 strategy prioritises forests, water, minerals and pollination services, aiming to improve environmental accounts and their relevance to policymaking

RBI may hike interest rate further in December policy, say experts

The RBI's shift to a calibrated tightening stance and a 25-basis-point repo rate hike to 5.5 per cent have led economists to expect another increase of up to 50 basis points in December

Reliance drives India's Venezuela oil imports to seven-year high in Oct

Venezuelan crude deliveries to India are expected to more than double to about 465,000 barrels a day this month, from 196,000 in September, according to Kpler estimate

FX reserves fall for fourth week, down $50 billion from September peak

The reserves have dropped from their recent peak of $785.71 billion on September 4, a decline of about $50 billion in less than a ‌month

Inflation trajectory holds key for further rate hikes: Aditi Nayar, ICRA

Our base case pencils in the headline CPI inflation to average at 5 per cent in FY27, with risks tilted to the upside.

Digital credit push for micro firms as govt asks banks to step up lending

Banks have been asked to strengthen end-to-end digital lending and widen access to UPI credit lines as the government pushes deeper financial inclusion

Monetary Policy shifts gear, lays emphasis on containing supply-side shocks

The Governor acknowledged that price pressures are increasingly extending beyond food and fuel.

Piyush Goyal invites US firms to explore investment opportunities in India

He met President and COO of Blackstone Jonathan Gray, and Chairman of Blackstone's International Private Equity business Prakash Melwani

India gains ground in cleantech manufacturing as supply chains diversify

Policy support, a large domestic RE market and the global push to diversify supply chains are drawing manufacturing investment to India, though batteries and upstream solar components need to catch up

Coming soon: Faceless assessment for businesses with CGST registrations

Move aims to address a key administrative problem faced by large businesses with operations spread across multiple locations

Proposed GST changes aim to make India's services exports more competitive

Proposed changes seek to widen the definition of services exports, ease rules around overseas branches and allow faster GST refunds through a risk-based mechanism

India sets up unified transport authority to reshape infra planning

The ITLA will function as the apex body for integrated transport and logistics planning, research, project appraisal and monitoring, policy support and data analytics

Energy shock puts South Asia on inflation path: World Bank economist

"Inflation has gone up by about 3 percentage points in South Asia" since the conflict, Ohnsorge said

India services PMI rises to 55.2 in September amid demand recovery

India's services sector growth rose to a three-month high in September as new orders and international demand improved, while input-cost pressures eased to a 10-month low

World Bank lifts India FY27 growth view to 7.1% on robust domestic demand

World Bank raises India's FY27 growth forecast to 7.1 per cent from 6.6 per cent but flags risks from high oil prices, El Niño and capital flow volatility

Union Cabinet approves ₹10,000 crore commitment to SME Growth Fund

The fund will provide growth capital to SMEs seeking to expand capacity, adopt technology, enter global markets, make acquisitions and join global value chains

Monsoon deficit threatens crop output, adds to food inflation risks

India ended the southwest monsoon season with a 13 per cent rainfall deficit, with uneven distribution hurting key farm regions and raising concerns over kharif yields, rabi sowing and food prices