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Budget 2026 Outlook: Will India's debt-anchored fiscal reset make a mark?

The FY27 Union Budget will test India's shift to a debt-based fiscal framework as tax risks, Finance Commission changes, capex priorities and election pressures shape policy choices

Arijit Singh retires from playback singing, to continue independent music

"I am calling it off, it was a wonderful journey," said Arijit Singh on Tuesday, announcing that he will not be taking up any new assignments as a playback singer, a decision that sent shockwaves across his fan base. In a message shared on his social media pages, Singh said he has decided to step away from playback singing, a move that comes at the peak of his career as one of the most popular and in-demand voices in Hindi cinema. "Hello, Happy New Year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not going to be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey," he wrote. The 38-year-old, however, clarified that he would continue to make music independently and complete existing commitments. "God has been really kind to me. I am a fan of good music and in future will be learning more and do more on my own as a small little artist. Thanks again

Harsh words not enough, must see economic cost of air pollution: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday orally observed that the impact of air pollution on the economy needed to be examined and just uttering "harsh words will not yield any results". During a hearing on the issue of air pollution, amicus curiae (friend of court) Darius Khambata cited former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath's recent comments in Davos that "pollution is a major economic threat to India than trade-related challenges". In 2023, the court had taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of increasing air pollution and passed a slew of directions to civic bodies and other authorities to take steps to deal with the problem. During the previous hearing on January 23, a bench led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar had slammed civic authorities for their "belligerent disregard" of its orders to mitigate air pollution and warned of halting salaries of top municipal officials. When the matter was called on Tuesday, Amicus Darius Khambata, during his ...

RBI proposes disaster relief framework for banks, seeks feedback

The ‍proposed rules will kick in from April 1. The central bank ‍has ‍sought feedback from ‌stakeholders and public until February 17

Tata Power bets big on home automation, targets mass adoption across India

Tata Power is expanding its footprint in the home automation space, relying on rising mass acceptance of Internet of Things (IoT)-based products, a senior company official said here on Tuesday. The power major, which forayed into the retail home automation segment last year, is targeting one crore households with IoT-enabled converters and other products as part of a rapid expansion strategy, its renewable and automation head Kaushik Sanyal said. "We are growing at around 60 per cent, but growth will be unprecedented with this device. My aim is to take this to one crore households," Sanyal said at the launch of the company's EZ Home Automation Solutions in Kolkata. Tata Power currently operates in nine cities and plans to expand to 100 cities within three years, he said. Sanyal said the segment is poised for phenomenal growth, amid rising aspirations among Indian households to automate homes at affordable price points, driven by increasing awareness around safety, convenience and .

Budget 2026 Outllook: The 16th Finance Commission and fiscal consolidation

An examination of Finance Commission awards from the 11th to the 15th shows that transfers to states have not materially strained the Centre's finances, even during periods of higher devolution

Meta inks $6 bn deal with Corning for AI data center fiber cables: Report

Corning's optical connectivity products are among key components required to support the massive computing and data transmission demands at data centers

Aviation reforms in focus as India air show attracts global players

Analysts and industry executives will be looking for signals from government ​officials at the show on how India plans to ease airspace congestion in major cities

DFS seeks states' support to ensure banking ops during Jan 27 bank strike

The DFS said banks have conveyed that ATMs are being adequately loaded with sufficient cash, and arrangements have been made to ensure timely replenishment

Negotiations over, India-EU much-awaited FTA set for rollout by 2027

Deal likely to be announced on Tuesday; legal scrubbing, pact signing may take 5-6 months

Russian oil sanctions look porous as India, China absorb excess supply

Shipping and production data show Russian crude exports since November exceeding available non-sanctioned supply, with Indian and Chinese refiners absorbing most of the excess flows

F1 teams test their 2026 cars in private amid concerns they could fail

Ten new cars, five days, no fans. Formula 1 starts a new era with the public and the media excluded from its private testing session in Spain starting Monday. It's hard to imagine a bigger contrast to last year's lavish launch party that involved 16,000 fans and famous faces in London. Mercedes was one of the first teams on track Monday, F1 said, along with Alpine and Audi, which took part in its first official F1 event since it was renamed from Sauber. F1 has an 11th team this year as Cadillac makes its debut, but only 10 will be in Spain after Williams hit delays getting its car ready. There won't be TV coverage, except brief clips from F1's own broadcaster, or official results from the five-day test this week, so it'll be hard to gauge who's got a head start on F1's new regulations. The second test in Bahrain next month is when the focus switches to performance. Communications blackoutSo why is F1 blocking fans from seeing the new cars on track? F1 originally referred to this

Games Hospitals Play: Unhealthy truths about private medicine in India

Overtreatment, health check-ups as money-spinners, and tricky referrals - Abantika Ghosh's book is a helpful guide on how to navigate the complex web of medical care in India

Europe funding war via Russian oil routed through India: US Treasury chief

The US imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, but the Europeans signed a trade deal with New Delhi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said as he emphasised that Europe is financing the "war" against itself by purchasing refined Russian oil products from India. President Donald Trump has worked to negotiate a settlement on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Bessent said, adding that the US has made much bigger sacrifices than the Europeans. "We have put 25 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Guess what happened last week? The Europeans signed a trade deal with India," Bessent told ABC News Sunday. "And just to be clear again, the Russian oil goes into India, the refined products come out, and the Europeans buy the refined products. They are financing the war against themselves," he said, adding that under Trump's leadership, "we will eventually end" the Russia-Ukraine war. The Trump administration has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, including 25 pe

Global firms take 58% share of office leasing in 7 Indian cities: Report

Global companies remained major demand driver for office space in India during 2025 as they leased nearly 60 per cent of ofifce spaces in India's seven major cities to expand their businesses, according to JLL India. According to data by real estate consultant JLL India, the gross leasing of office spaces rose by 8 per cent to record 83.3 million square feet last year across seven major cities from 77.2 million square feet in the preceding year. These seven cities are Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. Out of the total leasing, the global firms took on lease 48.6 million square feet office last year, contributing 58 per cent to the total office demand. Availability of skilled English speaking talent and supply of premium office space at a very affordable rentals are the major factors that attract global firms to invest in India. Global firms took 31.4 million square feet area for setting up of Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Domestic firms absor

Gehlot seeks probe into all Rajasthan govt recruitments over 11 years

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday renewed his attack on the BJP-led state government over alleged tampering of OMR sheets in recruitment examinations. He accused the government of indulging in politics instead of rectifying the system and doing justice to youths. Gehlot demanded a comprehensive probe into all recruitments conducted over the past 11 years. "We demand an inquiry into all recruitments from the time this game started about 11 years ago, including the Congress tenure, up to 2026, to ensure justice for youths," he said in a statement. Terming Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma's remarks "misleading and laughable", Gehlot said it was wrong to suggest that those arrested in the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board (RSSB) paper leak case were involved in the malpractice only during the Congress regime. If a person was involved in changing OMR sheets in 2019 and remained on the same post till 2026, is it possible that he stopped committing the crime during the

India needs culturally rooted AI to counter Western bias: EY India

As India accelerates its quest for sovereign AI, the nation must prioritise the release of government-held data to counter the western standpoint of current global models, EY's Rajnish Gupta said. Ahead of the Union Budget, Gupta urged the government to make vast amounts of public data available to local developers to ensure India builds AI that reflects its own identity. Gupta, Partner, Tax and Economic Policy Group, EY India, warned that today's most popular Large Language Models (LLMs) are fundamentally biased because they are trained primarily on US and European data. To ensure India builds the next generation of AI that is culturally and linguistically relevant, he argued the government must act as a primary data provider. Gupta noted that India's unique cultural nuances, diverse languages, and religious complexities are often misunderstood or ignored by global models. "One of the big things which we could do a little more in India is make a lot of data available publicly. (Mo

'The Elements of Power' uncovers the dirty truth behind clean-energy EVs

Electric vehicles promise a green future, but the dirty reality of battery supply chains raises a harder question: climate solution-or the next environmental and human cost?

Not stating arrest grounds in memo is dereliction of duty: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that failure to disclose specific grounds of arrest in the arrest memo will amount to dereliction of duty and has directed that errant cops be suspended. It is high time that police officials, who are not complying with the requirements of the arrest memo and are violating the constitutional mandate, are sternly dealt with, the court said, allowing a habeas corpus petition. A bench comprising Justices Siddharth and Jai Krishna Upadhyay directed that the petitioners -- Umang Rastogi and another person -- who were arrested on December 26, 2025, from Haldwani in Uttarakhand be set free, declaring the arrest and the subsequent remand order as illegal, null and void. The High Court, in its verdict dated January 22, ordered that any police officer in Uttar Pradesh who fails to disclose specific grounds of arrest in the arrest memo shall be liable for departmental proceedings after being placed under suspension. The court observed, "Empty compliance o

NDMC converts community halls near government hospitals into night shelters

As biting cold prevails across the capital, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Saturday announced that it has opened its 'barat ghars' (banquet halls) and community halls to shelter relatives and attendants of patients near major government hospitals. NDMC Vice-Chairman Kuljeet Singh Chahal, in a statement, said the step was taken in compliance with directions of the Delhi High Court and in coordination with the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB). He said the facility would remain available till March 15, depending on the availability of community halls. The shelters are meant primarily for patients and their attendants visiting AIIMS, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital, many of whom are forced to spend nights outdoors during treatment, the statement read. Chahal said barat ghars and community halls without prior bookings were being used, to ensure that scheduled public functions were not disrupted. "Locations are being chosen carefully so t