India's economic engine is revving up, but navigating the global headwinds requires sharp strategy. The rupee's recent volatility against the dollar underscores the complexities facing Indian businesses, impacting everything from import-export trade to domestic inflation. This week alone, we've seen significant shifts in the IT sector, with major players announcing restructuring and a renewed focus on AI-driven solutions. Meanwhile, the burgeoning startup ecosystem continues to attract substantial funding, despite a cautious global investor sentiment. The government's recent policy announcements on infrastructure development and digitalization are poised to further shape the business landscape, creating both opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs and established corporations alike. Understanding these market dynamics is crucial for success in today's rapidly evolving Indian economy. Stay informed with Abtak.com for the latest insights and analysis on key sectors including finance, manufacturing, and technology – empowering your business decisions in a dynamic market. Explore the complete business news section now to stay ahead of the curve.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said India is engaged with the United States and other stakeholders over President Donald Trump's new H-1B visa fee regulations for foreign workers. The Trump administration has hiked the yearly H-1B visa fee to a massive USD 100,000 (more than Rs 88 lakh as per today's exchange rate), handing a big blow to foreigners looking to work in America. The move affects Indians a great deal as they make up over 70 percent of H-1B visa holders. What did MEA say on US' H-1B visa move? MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing: "Skilled talent mobility and exchanges have contributed enormously to technology development, innovation, economic growth, competitiveness and wealth creation in the United States and India." Jaiswal added: "We would remain engaged with all concerned, including the industry, hoping that these factors receive due consideration." As the US move was announced, the MEA had warned of potential humanitarian consequences. "Government hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities," the ministry had said at the time. What is Trump's H-1B visa fee order? Trump has steeply hiked the H-1B visa fee to USD 100,000 -- a fresh attempt in the US president's harsh crackdown on immigration. After the order sparked confusion and panic, US officials clarified that it only applies to new applicants, not existing ones or renewals. The H-1B visa allows companies to employ foreign professionals in specialised sectors such as technology, engineering, and medicine. Indian immigrants remain the largest beneficiary of the H-1B visa programme: Since 2010, more than 70 percent of these visas have gone to Indian workers.
The Reserve Bank of India raised the interest rate caps on Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank (FCNR-B) deposits to attract more capital inflows, amid pressures on the rupee. Starting December 6, banks can offer higher rates -- up to 400 basis points for 1-3 year deposits and 500 basis points for 3-5 year deposits -- until March 31, 2025. This move comes as the rupee faces volatility.The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced a raise in the interest rate caps on the Indian diaspora's foreign cu ...Read More >
Bengaluru -- Gold prices rose for a second session on Tuesday as the dollar weakened, with markets evaluating the possible consequences of US President Donald Trump's policies in his second term after his inauguration. Spot gold gained 0.6% to $2,724.74/oz by 2.40am GMT. US gold futures was 0.2% lower at $2,742.50. The dollar was down about 1% after reports suggested any new taxes would be imposed in a "measured" way. A weaker dollar makes gold more attractive to foreign buyers. "There is a sense of relief in risk sentiment to know that tariffs have not been an immediate focus. The unwindin ...Read More >
Mumbai, Feb 10: The rupee on Monday plunged 45 paise and moved closer to the 88 per US dollar-level, weighed down by the strength of the American currency tariff concerns, but eventually settled at 87.45, up 5 paise, following RBI intervention. The American currency gained in the overseas market after US President Donald Trump's plans to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, along with reciprocal tariffs targeting countries taxing US exports. The move has added jitters over the global trade war with China's reciprocal duties coming into effect, they said. At the interban ...Read More >
Mark Carney declined to answer if he believed Indian PM had a role in murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar Canada's prime minister Mark Carney has defended his decision to invite India's prime minister Narendra Modi to the upcoming G7 summit in Alberta, despite Canada's federal police's conclusion that the murder of a prominent Sikh activist in British Columbia was orchestrated by the "highest levels" of the Indian government. Carney declined to answer reporters' questions over whether ...Read More >
Speaking at IIT Bombay's Techfest 2024, Mr Adani, the 27-year old younger son of infrastructure magnate Gautam Adani, said the future of technology is both scary and exciting. India cannot stay out of global technological race, said Jeet Adani. Mumbai: India cannot stay out of global technological race and should build capabilities that will keep it at the top while remaining vigilant against its misuse, said Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd. Speaking at IIT Bombay's Techfest ...Read More >
Chandigarh, Feb 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) In a major crackdown on fraudulent immigration consultants exploiting innocent individuals, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Punjab Police on Monday said it has taken action to dismantle the multinational human trafficking nexus operating in the region. This action pertains to the Indians who had been deported from the US and had landed in Amritsar. Punjab Police has recorded statements against travel agents who defrauded them with false promises of illegal entry into the US. Acting on complaints from victims, Punjab Police have regi ...Read More >
PNN New Delhi [India], May 20: With rising temperatures and vacation time in summer just around the corner, summer travel to Europe is seeing a huge boom from Indian tourists. According to recent reports, there has been a whopping 29% increase in Schengen visa applications from India, signifying strong demand to discover the cultural festivals, historic cities, and picturesque landscapes Europe has in store. Due to more efficient processes and enhanced travel assistance, Indian travelers are now opting to apply Schengen visa online with Akbar Travels--one of India's most reliable travel bran ...Read More >
NEW DELHI, June 3 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile attendance at a global airlines conference this week underscores how much India is banking on a boom in aviation to support wider development goals, but headwinds to its ambitions are gathering force. Undeterred by the uncertainty gripping the aviation sector globally due to trade tensions and shaky consumer confidence, India's biggest airlines are ploughing ahead with orders for new planes, following record deals two year ...Read More >
As per Moneycontrol's calculations, a 7 per cent growth in the remaining two quarters will put India's GDP at 6.5 per cent. The Indian economy would find it challenging to achieve over 7 per cent growth for the fourth consecutive year, economists said. They pointed out that the second-quarter (Q2) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, which was announced on November 29, has made the task even more daunting for the government. "A sharper than expected growth slowdown in Q2 has tilted risks to our outlook of 6.8 per cent for the current fiscal downwards," said DK Joshi, chief economist, Crisil. ...Read More >
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Import tariffs expected to be implemented by the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could lower economic growth and inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro, European Central Bank board member Piero Cipollone said on Tuesday. Most economists agree that the possible tariffs would impact growth, though views diverge on the effect on consumer prices. Some argue the U.S. trade barriers will push up the value of the dollar, making imports of key commodities more expensive, while likely retaliation from Europe will also raise costs. Cipollone, speaking i ...Read More >
AMRITSAR, India (AP) -- A U.S. military plane carrying 104 deported Indian migrants arrived in a northern Indian city on Wednesday, the first such flight to the country as part of a crackdown ordered by the Trump administration, airport officials said. The Indians who returned home had illegally entered the United States over the years and came from various Indian states. The move came ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington, which is expected next week. U.S. President Donald Trump and Modi discussed immigration in a phone call last week and Trump stressed the impo ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], May 23 (ANI): Criticising the BJP-led NDA government, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that India's foreign policy has collapsed. In a post on X, Gandhi raised three questions to the central government. "Will JJ explain, Why India has been hyphenated with Pakistan? Why didn't a single country back us in condemning Pakistan? Who asked Trump to "mediate" between India & Pakistan?" the LoP said. Reposting a video of S Jaishankar's interview with a media outlet, he said, "India's foreign policy has collapsed," he added. Earlier, Gandhi q ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jun 6 (PTI) Reserve Bank on Friday retained GDP growth projections for the current fiscal at 6.5 per cent, saying the Indian economy presents a picture of strength, stability and opportunity in the backdrop of global uncertainty. The FY26 growth projections are compared with the 6.5 per cent economic growth recorded in the 2024-25 fiscal year. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has projected economic growth at 6.5 per cent for the June quarter and 6.7 per cent for the September quarter. For the December and March quarters of FY26, GDP growth is estimated at 6.6 per cent and 6.3 per cent ...Read More >
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Trade talks between Indian and U.S. officials have been extended into next week as both sides seek consensus on tariff cuts in the farming and auto sectors, aiming to finalise an interim deal before a July 9 deadline, Indian government sources said. A U.S. delegation led by senior officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) held two days of discussions in New Delhi with Indian trade officials headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, the sources said. "The two countries are actively engaged in focused discussions to facilitate greater mark ...Read More >
Srinagar: Before towering cranes and cutting-edge engineering transformed the Himalayan landscape, the monumental dream of connecting "Kashmir to Kanyakumari" by rail began with the plodding footsteps of humble mules. This extraordinary backstory underpins the official realization of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 6, 2025, a project crowned by the awe-inspiring Chenab Bridge. According to Afcons Infrastructure Limited, the company behind the Chenab Bridge, the earliest and most formidable hurdle wasn't just the design of ...Read More >
Trump warns BRICS nations against replacing US dollar Dec 2 (Reuters) - A gauge of emerging market stocks rose on Monday, driven by positive manufacturing data from China and expectations of continued policy support from Beijing, while India's rupee hit a record low because of weaker-than-expected economic data. As of 0932 GMT, the MSCI's index for emerging market stocks had risen by 0.7%, on track for its biggest percentage gain in over three weeks. China's blue-chip CSI 300 climbed 0.8%, and the Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.1% after a private survey indicated that Chinese factory act ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) Terming the 5.4 per cent GDP growth in the second quarter as a "temporary phenomena", FICCI President Harsha Vardhan Agarwal on Thursday said the industry body expects India to achieve 6.5-7 per cent economic growth in the current financial year, while projecting a pick up in private investment. In an interview to PTI, Agarwal, who is also the Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Emami Ltd, said the RBI needs to manoeuvre a "tight-rope balancing act" between inflation and economic growth, as he opined that the central bank has been doing a prudent job. Notably, the FI ...Read More >
Mumbai: The rupee declined 14 paise and touched the crucial 86.00-mark (provisional) for the first time against the US dollar Friday as it failed to resist pressure from a stronger American currency and huge outflow of foreign funds. Surging crude oil prices overseas and negative sentiment in domestic equity markets also weighed down the Indian currency, forex traders said. Also, dollar strengthened on increased demand amid the anticipation of restrictive trade measures by the new US administration after Donald Trump takes over as president January 20. At the interbank foreign exchange, the ...Read More >
MUMBAI, India -- India's central bank cut interest rates more than expected on Friday. For this, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cited muted inflation and a need to kickstart economic growth. This happened as the impact of US tariffs weighed on the country's outlook. The RBI lowered the benchmark repo rate, the level at which it lends to commercial banks. This went down by 50 basis points to 5.5 percent. A majority of analysts had expected a 25-basis-point reduction. The cut was RBI's third in a row. This comes a week after government data showed India's economy expanded at its slowest pace ...Read More >
The U.S. dollar continued its strong run on Monday, bolstered by soaring Treasury yields and expectations of limited Federal Reserve rate cuts. Meanwhile, the yen steadied ahead of a key speech by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, where he may hint at a possible rate hike in December, with markets pricing a 55% chance of such a move. Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato's warning on yen intervention caused a temporary pullback, while the dollar index touched a one-year high of 107.07. Analysts forecast further dollar gains as U.S. economic policies and performance outshine global peers. K ...Read More >
(Bloomberg) -- Indian bonds are poised to gain while the rupee is set to weaken as analysts bet on a softer monetary policy after the government named career bureaucrat Sanjay Malhotra as the new Reserve Bank of India governor. Most Read from Bloomberg Malhotra, a surprise pick, will take charge from Shaktikanta Das under whom the RBI kept borrowing costs unchanged for almost two years. While Malhotra's views on monetary policy are largely unknown, he recently urged revenue officials to prioritize economic growth, and the markets may read his appointment as dovish. The central bank is expec ...Read More >
New Delhi [India] January 22 (ANI): Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a stand in defending the rights of Indian immigrants in the United States. Surjewala also highlighted the contributions of over 20,000 Indian immigrants and expressed concerns over the government's silence on the deportation orders under President Donald Trump's administration. Sharing a detailed post on X Surjewala said, "Dear Prime Minister Modi ji, Pls spare a few moments to watch Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde speaking the truth to President of United States of Amer ...Read More >
New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Tuesday said the government has taken measures to lower fiscal deficit and delivered a non-inflationary Budget, and hoped that the RBI's monetary policy will work in tandem with fiscal policy to support growth. He also said that although rupee depreciation increases inflation on imported inputs, it also adds to export competitiveness. Pandey said that the government has bettered its fiscal deficit projections for the current fiscal as well as the next. The fiscal deficit for FY'25 has been pegged lower at 4.8 per cent of GDP, low ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], May 29 (ANI): After a federal court of the United States struck down a reciprocal tariff announced by US President Donald Trump, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that India should proceed cautiously in its ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the US. A Manhattan-based federal court on May 28 struck down Trump's move to impose reciprocal tariffs on the trading partners of the US and ruled that he can't use emergency power to impose tariffs on foreign countries; it has to come from Congress. The order of the court determined that the tariffs, ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 5 (ANI): Silver prices on Thursday, crossed USD 35 mark per ounce and hit its highest level since March 2012, boosted by a combination of factors such as weaker US dollar, rising geopoltical tension and robust industrial demand. 'With the trust in dollar decreasing silver appears to be a good avenue for money to move to and the Gold Silver ratio was recently above 1.10 so the only way forward was either silver prices rise up or gold prices fall, and thats what has happened silver has risen far more than gold,' said Mrinesh Jain Director, Bombay Bullion Metal Hub LLP. ...Read More >
Trump's pressure on countries to remain tied to a US-dollar-based financial system could backfire, with potential increased motivation for BRICS to create alternatives. While the dollar's dominance persists due to existing economic strengths, recent global currency agreements indicate a cautious shift away from reliance on the greenback.Donald Trump's pressure on countries around the world to stay anchored to a US-dollar-based financial system is a tactic that risks backfiring, market watchers say. Dollar dominance looks set to continue for the foreseeable future and emerging nations' idea of ...Read More >
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Thursday took strong action against the police officers allegedly responsible for the Bengaluru stampede, suspending several high-ranking officials, including the city's police commissioner. Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also announced a one-man commission to probe the lapses that triggered the deadly stampede. "Cubbon Park Police Station police inspector, station house master, station house officer, ACP, Central Division DCP, cricket stadium in-charge, additional commissioner of police, commissioner of police have been susp ...Read More >
Hyderabad: In a major espionage breakthrough amid rising India-Pakistan tensions, the authorities have uncovered a network of Indian netizens allegedly recruited by Pakistan's ISI to leak sensitive information. The key figure in this alleged spy ring is Noshaba Shehzad, codenamed 'Madam N.' Shehzad, a travel agency head from Lahore, is accused of luring Indian net influencers and even government officials into becoming spies for Pakistan. Sources claim that Shehzad facilitated the travel of nearly 3,000 Indian citizens and 1,500 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to Pakistan over the last six months ...Read More >
Stock market today: The Indian stock market clocked healthy gains for the third consecutive session on Tuesday, December 3, led by gains in shares of select heavyweights, including Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Larsen and Toubro. Benchmark index Nifty 50 jumped 0.70 per cent to the level of 24,445.80, breaking above its 50 and 100-day exponential moving averages (DEMA). According to Trendlyne, an equity research platform, Nifty 50 is above its 100-day EMA of 24,306 and 50-day EMA of 24,364. However, the index is yet to breach its 50-day and 100-day simple moving averages (SMAs) of 24,643 ...Read More >
Mumbai, Dec 6 (VOICE) The RBI on Friday increased the interest rate ceilings on Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank deposits or FCNR (B) deposits which will enable NRIs to earn more on their savings.The move is aimed at attracting more foreign capital at a time when the Indian rupee has come under pressure as foreign investors have been pulling money out of the Indian stock markets resulting in hot money outflows. FCNR(B) deposits are accounts where Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) can hold their earnings in foreign currencies like USD or GBP, protecting them from exchange rate fluctuations. "In o ...Read More >