Business

The government plans to incentivise states and districts to work closely with industry to identify and address local skill gaps, adopting a hyper-local approach to build a future-ready workforce, a senior official told PTI on Monday.Addressing the CII Smart Manufacturing Summit 2025, Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Debashree Mukherjee said the…

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal with New Zealand’s Trade Minister Todd McClay (File photo-ANI) Negotiations between India and New Zealand on a proposed free trade agreement are likely to be wrapped up soon, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Monday, signalling progress after multiple rounds of discussions at both official and ministerial levels, PTI…

Gold prices surged to a fresh all-time high in futures trade on Monday, rising Rs 1,874 to Rs 1,35,496 per 10 grams, supported by strong cues from global markets. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), February gold contracts climbed 1.4%, extending their weekly gains to Rs 3,160, or 2.42%. The rally mirrored firm trends overseas,…

The rupee on Monday weakened further to close at a fresh all-time low of 90.74 against the US dollar, after slipping as much as 90.80 during intra-day trade, amid lingering uncertainty over an India–US trade deal and continued foreign fund outflows, according to market participants.At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at…

If you earn income beyond a fixed salary or have multiple income streams, December 15, 2025, is a tax deadline you cannot afford to overlook. Missing or underpaying advance tax does not trigger a one-time fine, but monthly interest penalties that continue to accumulate quietly until assessment.Under India’s “pay as you earn” framework, advance tax…

China posted an unprecedented $1 trillion trade surplus in the first 11 months of the year, brushing aside steep tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and highlighting deep global appetite for low-cost Chinese goods. The record surplus comes a year after Chinese manufacturers rushed to ship goods abroad after Trump’s election victory, in predicting…

India has begun discussions with Mexico to mitigate the impact of steep import tariffs approved by the Latin American country on goods from non-free trade agreement partners, including India, and to explore the possibility of a preferential trade agreement to safeguard bilateral trade interests, ANI reported.Mexico has cleared tariff hikes of up to 50 per…

The real cost of a loan lies not in the monthly instalment, but in the total interest paid over its lifetime. (AI image) The latest repo rate cut by RBI has brought relief to borrowers, especially home loan customers with long-term loans. With the repo rate reduced by another 25 basis points, the fourth cut…

If you are concentrated in just a handful of names, one bad event can do serious damage to your wealth. (AI image) When I look at individual investors’ stock portfolios, I usually see two extremes. On one side is the “all or nothing” investor who has poured most of their money into just two or…

Decline in trade deficit is attributable to decreased imports of gold, oil and coal. (AI image) India’s merchandise trade deficit of India dropped to $24.53 billion in November from $41.68 billion in October. This decline is attributable to decreased imports of gold, oil and coal, as shown in official government data released on Monday.India’s exports…