Business Standard

With the economics of affordable rental housing remaining challenging due to razor-thin margins, development incentives are critical to attracting private capital at scale

Food regulator suspends Marche Retail's licence for 30 days over serious non-compliance and bars SDP Industries from selling ghee over adulteration concerns

Around 300 people gathered at Connaught Place's outer circle in Delhi on Sunday to protest against caste-based reservation and demand reforms in the quota system, with police detaining over 20 protesters from the site, officials said. The protesters, who raised slogans and carried placards, called for greater emphasis on economic criteria in deciding eligibility for reservation and government support, arguing that assistance should reach economically disadvantaged people irrespective of caste. P

Philanthropist Sudha Murty on Sunday visited the ancient Barabar Caves in Bihar's Jehanabad district and advocated their inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage list, officials said. Murty, a noted author and Rajya Sabha MP, arrived at Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in Patna on Saturday. I have come to Patna after over two decades, and it pleases me to see the progress here over time, she had said after her arrival. According to a statement issued by the Jehanabad district administrati

IT services firm bets on AI-led transformation, West Asia expansion, growth in technology vertical and private equity partnerships to drive revenue

ISRO will focus on research, frontier technologies and big-ticket missions as private companies and PSUs take on launch vehicle manufacturing and operational scale

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is leading a 200-member business delegation to Japan for a four-day visit starting August 24 to discuss ways to boost trade and investment ties between the two countries. The visit assumes significance as Japan last year set an investment target of 10 trillion yen (about Rs 60,000 cr) in India over a decade. The minister will be travelling to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. The business delegation has representatives from various sectors, ranging from manufac

Sugar prices have skyrocketed in the market amid declining sugarcane production and increased stockpiling by traders, according to experts who attributed the sharp rise to multiple factors but ruled out diversion of sugar towards ethanol production as the main reason. Opposition parties have been targeting the Centre over increased ethanol blending in petrol, alleging that the policy was pushing up sugar prices and imposing an additional financial burden on people. The government has rejected th

As RBI largely maintains hands-off approach to intervention

Beijing's World Humanoid Robot Games move beyond record-breaking sprints to test whether machines can autonomously handle cables, warehouses and other real-world tasks

Bangladesh is open to joining the recently formed defence alliance between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, two junior ministers have said, while stressing that any decision would be guided by the country's national interests. Signed in Makkah on August 7, the pact establishes a framework for collective deterrence and stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three. Bangladesh maintains a positive approach towards the possibility of

Grasim Industries is set to reach a consolidated revenue of Rs 2 lakh crore in FY27, nearly double the level five years ago, driven by a diversified portfolio spanning building materials, financial services, digital commerce and renewable energy, its Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said. Grasim, the holding company of the flagship Aditya Birla Group firms such as UltraTech Cement, Aditya Birla Capital, Birla Opus, Aditya Birla Renewables and Birla Pivot, had reported its highest-ever consolidated

Global cybersecurity major Sophos has recorded a 60 per cent growth in its India business in the last financial year, outperforming the broader domestic market growth by four times, a top company executive said. India is now the largest contributor to the company's Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) operations and is currently the number one growth region for Sophos globally. The cybersecurity market in India is growing at approximately 15 per cent. In the last financial year (FY26), we grew at 60 per

Pakistan has taken on a mediator role in negotiations between Iran and the US aimed at ending the war which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is under pressure to offer clearer guidance on interest rates and inflation at Jackson Hole, as investors assess sticky price pressures and the outlook for monetary policy

Loui Ridi travelled from Ohio to Qusra to protect his family home, where residents say Israeli settlers have cut off water, electricity and access amid escalating West Bank violence

The growing renewable capacity has created an immediate need to scale up storage systems, industry stakeholders said, highlighting the huge gap between the demand and current capability to manufacture essential battery cell components. Sharing their views with PTI, industry members have also cautioned against treating import dependence as a reason for slow deployment. The experts' comments assume significance as India's domestic battery manufacturing currently accounts for less than 1 per cent (

Iran's president defended a memorandum of understanding with the United States as the best way out of a stalled war. Meanwhile, the new head of the Islamic Republic's top security body warned, in a more forceful tone, of retaliation if neighbouring countries support US threats to further sanction Tehran. A Palestinian man said he was beaten by an Israeli settler outside his home, and Israel's military said they were pursuing a stabbing suspect in a separate attack, the latest violence in the occ

Businesses from India and the US have expressed interest in investing in Bangladesh and made proposals to improve the country's investment climate, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir has said. Muktadir's remarks on Saturday came after attending a meeting at the Sylhet Metropolitan Police headquarters. He also said that some Indian businesspeople who recently visited Bangladesh have already invested in the country, the state-run BSS news agency reported. The commerce minister's remarks ca

Rising prices of steel and bitumen, geopolitical uncertainty, and continuing challenges in execution of infrastructure projects could moderate India's construction equipment industry growth in the current financial year, Shalabh Chaturvedi, Vice President of the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers' Association and Managing Director, India and SAARC, CASE Construction Equipment, has said. The industry had entered FY27 with expectations of stronger growth, but subsequent developments have

India's 28 big listed real estate firms' collective sales bookings fell 21 per cent to nearly Rs 40,000 crore in the latest June quarter due to lower volumes, as some big developers refrained from launching housing projects amid global economic uncertainties. According to data compiled from investor presentations, total combined sales bookings, or pre-sales, of the 28 major listed real estate companies stood at Rs 39,964 crore in the first quarter of 2026-27 compared to Rs 50,900 crore in the ye

Two of the 24 crew members aboard MV Ocean Winner have been rescued from life rafts so far, while search-and-rescue efforts are underway to trace the others

The company, officially known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., earned 23.8 billion yuan in the first half of last year

State-owned India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) has kick-started its USD 1.8 billion External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) fund-raising programme by mobilising USD 200 million through international markets. The mobilisation marks the first milestone in IIFCL's broader international fund-raising programme, following government approval to raise about USD 1.8 billion through ECBs, the company said in a statement on Sunday. The company is pursuing opportunities across international finan

Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on each other's commercial ships and ports in the Black Sea area, raising fears about the impact on grain supplies to world markets

NITI Aayog's 2036 target rests on cheaper inputs, testing laboratories, port-linked clusters, procurement reform and closer ties with global brands, industry leaders said at the IAMGAME conclave

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday virtually laid the foundation stone for five brownfield expansion projects of the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, and Yantra India Ltd, from Kolkata. Singh was accompanied by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari during the foundation laying ceremony here. The projects comprise three facilities of GRSE and two of Yantra India. Speaking on the occasion, Singh said foundation was laid for five projects worth nearly Rs 3,500 crore in West Beng

Gold and silver prices are expected to retain their upward momentum next week, though profit-booking at higher levels may temper the rally as investors await key US inflation data, analysts said. US Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation and GDP figures will be the key triggers for bullion. Developments surrounding West Asia geopolitics, particularly the US-Iran peace deal and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, will also remain in focus, they added. In the coming trading session,

Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Sunday said the convergence of streams like space technology, AI, quantum technologies, robotics, semiconductors and high-performance computing will determine a nation's geopolitical positioning. Speaking here on the 3rd National Space Day, the Union culture and tourism minister also said private participation in the space sector does not mean reducing the importance of entities like ISRO. Privatisation of space is the democratisation of space opportuni

Public sector lender Indian Bank expects its gold loan book to cross Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the current financial year, supported by robust demand for the product. Gold loan is safe lending for banks...it is not a consumption loan, but mostly it is income-generating and also helps small businesses to grow. Last year, we saw very significant growth of 30 per cent in the segment due to a jump in gold prices. It will be slower this year as there is a 30 per cent decline in gold prices, Indian Bank MD

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed creating an aura around the private sector in space research so that people worldwide feel that if they want to make a career, they should go to India. In an interaction with CEOs and founders of 20 space startups on Friday, Modi also highlighted India's cost-competitiveness in launching space ventures. He emphasised that the country's vast talent pool and high risk-taking capacity would allow India to rapidly establish a dominant position in the global

Chinese household consumption is stabilizing and even starting to rebound in some categories like high-end cosmetics, improving sentiment on China in the luxury sector

A Western Sydney trial found that training, guided rides and social support were crucial in helping participants build confidence and use e-bikes more often for daily travel

Crude oil prices and developments in the US-Iran conflict will remain the primary factors influencing stock market movements this week, according to analysts. Investors will closely monitor the Jackson Hole symposium, particularly comments from the US Federal Reserve Chairman, for indications on the future trajectory of interest rates. US GDP estimates, durable goods orders and consumer confidence will also provide important clues on the strength of the US economy and the Fed's policy outlook, A

Iran had prepared for a potential war with the US for four decades, including contingencies such as the loss of its top leadership, making it difficult for its adversaries to decimate the country, an Indian military expert has said. Speaking at an interactive session in Washington organised by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) America on Friday, retired Indian Army officer Lt General KJS Dhillon said Iran had retained the capability for attritional warfare despite suffering heavy losses in the

Amid a spike in monsoon-related illnesses, doctors have said people should avoid self-medication with antibiotics as fever does not automatically mean a bacterial infection and that indiscriminate use of the drugs can contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Physicians stressed that fever is a symptom rather than a diagnosis and could be caused by viral infections, dengue, malaria, typhoid and several other conditions. Treatment should be guided by the clinical assessment, duration of illness, as

Australia has been grappling with rising cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza after it landed in the country in June

The Petroleum Ministry has asked states and Union Territories to provide district-level administrative support to accelerate the shift of households from LPG to piped natural gas (PNG), seeking appointment of nodal officers to coordinate with gas distributors and oil marketing companies. In an August 21 letter to state chief secretaries, Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal said PNG, as a safer, cleaner and more efficient cooking fuel, has an important role in advancing India's energy transition wh

The new share placement comes as the Chinese company ratchets up quarterly capital spending to almost $10 billion, aiming to safeguard its position in a fiercely competitive global AI arena

He said India has been steadily expanding its capabilities since launching its space programme 64 years ago

The upkeep of Delhi's iconic Lutyens bungalows, now nearly a century old, is becoming increasingly expensive -- annual expenditure on the renovation, furnishing and repair of the official residences of Union ministers touched a record high of Rs 92.35 crore in 2025-26, more than three times the Rs 27.47 crore in 2014-15. According to information obtained by PTI through an RTI query, the government spent Rs 547.68 crore on such works between 2014-15 and 2025-26 through the Central Public Works De

Automaker evaluates global portfolio as EV penetration is projected to reach 17-18 per cent by 2030

State Bank of India's total business could potentially double to around Rs 200 lakh crore by 2030, when the bank celebrates its platinum jubilee, given the current growth trajectory, Chairman C S Setty said. SBI came into existence on July 1, 1955 through an Act of Parliament, which, among other things, provided for the transfer of the undertaking of the Imperial Bank of India. The country's biggest lender crossed the landmark of Rs 100 lakh crore total business, which is an aggregate of total l

Domestic firms have raised concerns, saying the move could make Indian medtech exports less competitive

The combined market valuation of four of the top-10 most valued firms eroded by Rs 87,960.29 crore last week, with Bharti Airtel taking the biggest hit, in-tandem with a bearish trend in equities. Last week, the BSE benchmark Sensex declined 468.42 points, or 0.60 per cent, and the NSE Nifty dipped 114 points, or 0.46 per cent. Indian equity markets ended the week on a cautious note, extending their recent corrective phase as elevated crude oil prices, rising global bond yields and persistent ge

Ten days after both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die, the Monsoon session is yet to end formally, giving rise to speculation that the government wants to pass a key legislation without convening a new session. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die (for an indefinite period) on August 13. Usually, the session is prorogued (formally ended) within the next three to four days. However, the prorogation notification for the Monsoon session had not been issued as of

Pride Hotels is looking to launch its initial public offering (IPO) by December, with the issue size expected to be around Rs 1,000 crore, as the hospitality chain accelerates expansion across leisure, wedding and corporate events and pilgrimage destinations, CEO Satyen Jain said. We have opened nine hotels in the last 12 months. This is the ninth in Indore, Jain said in an interaction with PTI. The expansion has taken Pride Hotels' portfolio to 40 properties, including eight owned hotels and 32

France is stepping up its education outreach in India with a four-city tour featuring more than 50 French institutions, as the two countries seek to deepen cooperation in higher education, innovation and artificial intelligence, an official French government agency said. The outreach comes amid a sharp rise in Indian enrolment in French higher education, with the number of students growing to 9,100 in 2024-25, according to a statement by Campus France on Friday. Campus France is the official Fre

CBSE is anticipated to issue the CTET September 2026 city intimation slip soon on the official website. The exam is scheduled to be held on Sept 6, 2026 in two shifts

Search continues for 22 after Panama-flagged vessel sinks in Bay of Bengal