Business

What if children picked up a ringing phone instead of a smartphone after school? This might sound strange, given the 21st centuary, the era of digital and smart devices. However, it is becoming a reality in some homes and schools, as a landline-style device called the Tin Can gains popularity among families trying to cut…

India’s wheat output for the 2025–26 crop year is expected to remain steady despite weather disruptions, the agriculture ministry said on Sunday, even as an industry estimate suggested lower production. The ministry said that the crop is “stable and resilient despite localised damage” caused by unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms. It described the season as “mixed…

A mix of global tensions, corporate earnings and key economic cues is set to shape stock market movement in the coming week, which will be shorter due to a market holiday on Friday for Maharashtra Day.Developments in the Middle East, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, remain at the centre of investor attention, with their…

India and New Zealand are set to sign their long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Monday at Bharat Mandapam, in the presence of Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand’s minister for trade and investment Todd McClay. The agreement, finalised in December 2025 after negotiations that began in March the same year,…

India is adopting a strategic approach in its trade relationship with China, aiming to expand exports and strengthen domestic manufacturing while gradually reducing its dependence on Chinese inputs. A senior government official told PTI that the focus is on maintaining balance rather than pursuing a complete break from Beijing.The executive said that India is boosting…

Dalal Street ended the week in red, dragging down the valuations of several heavyweight companies, erasing more than Rs 2 lakh crore from seven of India’s ten most-valued firms. Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries accounted for the largest share of this decline as the broader market remained under pressure.The slide in stock prices mirrored…

Mumbai: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday signalled fresh Covid-era style policy support to cushion the impact of the West Asia conflict, while urging India Inc to step up investment and replace imports with domestic manufacturing.At the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence, Sitharaman said the govt is working on support measures for sectors hit by…

Mumbai: Salaried taxpayers claiming House Rent Allowance (HRA) under the Income-Tax (I-T) Act, face tighter disclosure norms from April 1, 2026, with the introduction of a new declaration format: Form 124 which replaces the earlier Form 12BB and requires additional details to curb misuse.Employees are required to submit this form to their employers for the…

MUMBAI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Saturday urged markets regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India to take the lead in implementing the govt-initiated ‘one nation, one KYC’ process.For long, the govt has been working on a unified know your client (KYC) system to eliminate repetition across services regulated by banks, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, insurance…

The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and around 40 shipping companies and tankers linked to Iranian oil transport, escalating its campaign to choke Tehran’s key revenue stream.The move, announced on Friday, targets what Washington describes as an extensive “shadow network” used to move Iranian crude to global markets.It…