Oil prices inched higher on the first trading day of 2026 after logging their steepest annual decline since 2020, as fresh geopolitical risks resurfaced in global energy markets.Brent crude futures rose 14 cents to $60.99 a barrel by 0146 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 14 cents to $57.56 a barrel.The modest…
MUMBAI: UPI payments closed 2025 at a new high extending the steady gains seen through the year. UPI transactions grew 5.7% to 2,163 crore in Dec over the previous month, while payments value climbed 6.3% to nearly Rs 28 lakh crore. The previous high was in Oct with 2,070 crore transactions worth Rs 27.3 lakh…
NEW DELHI: Helped by tax cuts and a healthy monsoon, the Indian passenger vehicles market is on course to end 2025 with record sales, with companies ranging from Maruti Suzuki, M&M, to Toyota and Kia reporting all-time high demand. In 2025, Tata Motors overtook Hyundai to emerge as the second largest player in the domestic…
NEW DELHI: An employee who loses a job is set to receive funds for reskilling within 45 days of retrenchment, the draft rules published under Industrial Relations Code, 2020 said. The amount – equivalent to 15 days of the worker’s last drawn wages – has been introduced under the new Industrial Relations Code as a…
Millions of Americans face higher healthcare costs as enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits expired on January 1, 2026, despite efforts from both Republicans and Democrats to find a solution. The expiration affects over 20 million people who rely on these subsidies, with average premium costs more than doubling for most enrollees.The subsidies were part…
Passenger vehicle (PV) wholesales in India rose to a record 45.5 lakh units in calendar year 2025, marking a growth of nearly 6 per cent, as policy tailwinds in the second half helped the industry overcome a sluggish start, according to industry estimates, PTI reported.The industry surpassed its previous peak of 43.05 lakh units in…
The Corporate Affairs Ministry has relaxed compliance requirements for company directors by replacing the mandatory annual KYC filing with a simplified requirement once every three years under the Companies Act, 2013, PTI reported.The change follows a review of Rule 12A of the Companies (Appointment & Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014, based on recommendations of the…
The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) on Thursday said it has rolled out its second Audit Practice Toolkit to support small and medium audit practitioners across the country, as part of its broader effort to improve the quality of auditing practices, PTI reported.The toolkit, titled ‘Risk & Response Memorandum: ROMM (Risk of Material Misstatement) Assessment…
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on Thursday permitted banks to independently set up pension funds to manage the government’s flagship National Pension System (NPS), a move aimed at enhancing competition and safeguarding subscriber interests, PTI reported.The PFRDA board “has approved, in principle, a framework to permit Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) to independently…
The Reserve Bank of India has flagged emerging structural pressures in the insurance sector, warning that premium growth is increasingly being driven by high-cost, distribution-led strategies rather than improvements in operating efficiency, even as the sector remains stable in the near term, according to its latest Financial Stability Report.“While posing no near-term systemic risks, the…
