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India's branded residences boom: Prestige, pricing and pitfalls

As branded residences gain ground in India's luxury housing market, buyers are paying hefty premiums for global names. But services, contracts and developer credibility matter more than logos

The Great Revival: A book that captures the CG Power turnaround story

How an out-of-the-box approach helped the company come back from bankruptcy

BlueScope Steel rejects $9 billion takeover offer for fourth time

BlueScope shares closed 1.12 per cent higher on Wednesday at A$29.87, just below the A$30 per share offer made public on Monday

ED attaches assets worth ₹2.67 crore in railway freight charge fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has attached properties worth Rs 2.67 crore as part of a money laundering investigation against a Guwahati-based company and its promoter in a railway freight charges and GST "evasion" case. A four-storey commercial building and another immovable property located in Gurugram (Haryana) of companies named Vinayak Logistics India, Vinayak Logistics and their owner and director, Pravesh Kabra, have been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED case stems from a chargesheet filed by the CBI in a case where it was alleged that the accused "wilfully" misdeclared high-freight commodities such as marble powder, waste marble powder and dolomite as low-freight goods like alum powder and putty, the federal probe agency said in a statement. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR in this case in August 2023. The accused unlawfully reduced their cargo liability and this "calculated ...

SC grants interim protection from arrest to singer Neha Singh Rathore

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim protection from arrest to folk singer Neha Singh Rathore in a case filed against her over a social media post on the Pahalgam terror attack. The said comments allegedly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP in connection with the killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant in the case, and said no coercive steps shall be taken against her. The top court directed Rathore to appear before the Investigating Officer and cooperate in the probe. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on December 5 last year had rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by the folk singer. It had observed that Rathore had not cooperated with the investigation despite directions issued by an earlier bench that had dismissed her petition seeking quashing of the FIR. The FIR against .

Won't get into statistics, govt with all: CM Yadav on Indore water deaths

Amid conflicting death figures in the Indore water contamination case, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Wednesday that his government won't dive into data and instead stand with everyone. The loss of even a single life is extremely painful for us. Therefore, we don't delve into statistics. It's a different matter that the administration follows its own procedures. Generally, only those cases where post-mortems were performed were considered valid figures, he said. The confusion over the number of deaths due to contaminated water in Indore's Bhagirathpura area continued after the district administration distributed compensation cheques to the kin of 18 victims on Tuesday, while maintaining the official figure at seven. This is a very sad incident. No matter who the people are, when it comes to providing relief, we will not look at the figures; we will stand with everyone, Yadav told reporters when asked about the exact death toll due to contaminated water in ...

Cut imports, boost exports to become 3rd-largest economy: Gadkari

India will have to reduce imports and increase exports, if it wants to become the third-largest economy in the world, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Speaking at 'CSIR's Technology Transfer Ceremony', Gadkari highlighted how agricultural waste can be converted into a valuable national resource and help in reducing the country's crude imports. The road transport and highways minister noted that the use of bio-bitumen, a petroleum-free component, in road construction is a transformative step towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. "By utilising agro-waste, it reduces pollution caused by crop burning and strengthens the circular economy. "With 15 per cent blending, India can save nearly USD 4,500 crore in foreign exchange and substantially reduce its dependence on imported crude oil," Gadkari said. The minister said that India, which is the fourth largest economy in the world, will have to reduce its imports and increase exports to become the third-largest. "If the

Ed-tech firm LEAD Group targets partnering with 1,200 schools in 2026

With nearly 8,500 schools already on board, LEAD Group is planning its next growth phase ahead of a proposed FY28 IPO

Hospitality sector needs reforms, infra status to drive growth: HAI

Hotel Association of India on Wednesday called policymakers to prioritise sector-specific reforms to drive growth and resilience in the hospitality sector, while reiterating demand for infrastructure status and allowing of industry benefits to hotels. Sharing the hospitality industry's expectations in the upcoming Union Budget, Hotel Association of India (HAI) President K B Kachru said the hotel sector should be given due recognition for its significant contribution to GDP, jobs, and foreign exchange earnings. Kachru, who is also Chairman, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, urged "policymakers to prioritise sector-specific reforms to drive growth and resilience in the hospitality sector". "The hotel sector should be given due recognition for its significant contribution to GDP, jobs, and foreign exchange earnings. The key policy interventions are according the infrastructure status and allowing industry benefits to hotels," he said in a statement. This will encourage investments in

Surviving Climate Anxiety: A manifesto for flourishing in climate change

Guilt-driven environmentalism that favours moral absolutism and blames individuals for inaction on climate issues is the wrong approach to climate action

Par panel examines impact of US tariff hikes on key Indian industries

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce is assessing the impact of enhanced tariffs by the United States on the entry of various Indian products and seeks to understand the challenges faced by various sectors. It also seeks to assess the various measures taken by financial institutions, central and state governments to mitigate the adverse effects of US tariffs. The committee members are currently on a study visit to Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Coimbatore from January 6-8 to evaluate India-US trade relations. The committee is chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen. In Visakhapatnam, the committee on Tuesday met with stakeholders and state government representatives, focusing on the Indian marine sector. A statement by the committee said the members of the panel interacted with representatives from fisheries, export councils, and financial institutions, and visited the Fishing Harbour and Sea Cages off Ramakrishna beach. On January 7, the committee will travel to Chennai to dis

Big capex challenge: Few sectors left to absorb infra spending push

With roads and railways nearing capacity limits and aviation largely privatised, the government is turning to ports and shipping to sustain its capex push in FY27

If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Destructive potential of sentient AI

AI is still not intelligent in the human sense, but fears of a superintelligent threat to humanity are not misplaced

American Reich explores the culture of hate in US' far-right groups

Eric Lichtblau's American Reich traces the murder of Blaze Bernstein to the wider, chilling rise of neo-Nazi violence and white supremacy in contemporary America

The living mountains: Anuradha Roy's intimate portrait of life in the hills

Anuradha Roy's Called by the Hills is a luminous, reflective memoir of building a life in the Himalayas-where gardens, memories and ecology quietly intertwine

98.41% of ₹2,000 banknotes withdrawn since May 2023 returned: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said 98.41 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation have been returned. The RBI had announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation on May 19, 2023. "The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of Rs 2000 banknotes was announced, has declined to Rs 5,669 crore at the close of business on December 31, 2025," it said. Thus, 98.41 per cent of the high-value banknotes in circulation as of May 19, 2023, have since been returned. A facility for deposit and/or exchange of the Rs 2000 banknotes was available at all bank branches in the country up to October 7, 2023. From October 9, 2023, the RBI's 19 Issue Offices are also accepting Rs 2000 banknotes from individuals/entities for deposit into their bank accounts. Apart from this, members of the public are sending Rs 2,000 banknotes through India Post from any po

Economica: How women shaped the economy long before history sidelined them

The book is interested in not just the stories of the women who amassed immense wealth and wielded great power, but those whose quiet labour laid the building blocks of history

Stepping to the beat: How dance classes are rewriting urban India's rhythm

As dance classes move beyond niche studios, they are reshaping how urban Indians approach fitness, social connection and cultural expression

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles records 14.1% jump in December sales

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd on Thursday reported a 14.1 per cent growth in total sales to 50,519 units in December 2025 compared to 44,289 units in the same month of 2024. Domestic passenger vehicle sales were at 50,046 units last month against 44,230 units in December 2024, up 13.1 per cent, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd said in a regulatory filing. The total electric vehicle sales surged 24.2 per cent to 6,906 units against 5,562 units in December 2024, it added. The total sales in the domestic and international market for Q3 FY26 stood at 1,71,013 units compared to 1,39,829 units during Q3 FY25, the company said. "CY25 saw steady progress for the PV industry, powered by a growing preference for SUVs and accelerating adoption of cleaner, emission-friendly powertrains. "For Tata Motors, it was the fifth consecutive year of record-breaking annual sales, with 587,218 units sold, including the highest-ever EV volumes of 81,125 units in a calendar year," Tata Motors Passe

Mahindra bets on AI and skills to drive its 'Tech-First' transformation

Chairman Anand Mahindra says artificial intelligence, skills and education reforms will reshape work, talent flows and growth, as the Group sharpens its technology-focused strategy