Explained: Four amendments to Income Tax Act to be applicable in FY26

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New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) The government has introduced four amendments to the Income Tax Act, 1961, relevant for FY 2025-26, but included in the Income Tax Bill, 2025, applicable for FY 2026-27, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said.The major amendment grants tax exemption on dividends, interest, and long-term capital gains to sovereign wealth funds and pension funds investing in infrastructure from April 1, 2020, to December 31, 2030, subject to notification.The Public Investment F…

RBI may cut repo rate if GDP further declines: Report

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New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) could consider further policy rate cuts if upcoming GDP data falls short of expectations and the US Federal Reserve begins aggressive easing in response to a weaker labour market, a report said on Thursday. Any additional room for easing could open up if growth underperforms and the US Fed cuts rates to counter labour market weakness, HSBC Mutual Fund said in its report.In its latest policy meeting, the MPC ke…

HDFC Bank says no raise in average minimum balance for saving accounts

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New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) HDFC Bank on Wednesday clarified that the bank has not raised the Average Monthly Balance (AMB) for savings accounts, denying reports suggesting that new account holders in metro or urban branches would need to maintain an average AMB of Rs 25,000.”There has been no change in the Average Monthly Balance (AMB) requirement for any account type,” the private sector lender said in a statement.The bank said the AMB for the regular saving accounts and ‘saving max accounts’ con…

Indian markets remain resilient despite Rs 1.5 lakh crore sell-off by FIIs

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Mumbai, Aug 14 (IANS) Even as foreign institutional investors (FII) continue to sell Indian equities, the stock markets are holding strong due to significant buying from domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and retail investors.The secondary market outflows by FIIs in 2025 saw the highest level of foreign selling in India’s markets to date. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have pumped in over Rs 4 lakh crore into the Indian stock market this year, the largest inflow by this ca…

Ashok Leyland's Q1 profit plunges 47 pc sequentially, revenue down over 20 pc

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Mumbai, Aug 14 (IANS) Ashok Leyland on Thursday reported a sharp sequential drop in its consolidated net profit for the April–June quarter (Q1 FY26), with earnings falling 47.21 per cent to Rs 657.72 crore from Rs 1,245.92 crore in the previous quarter (Q4 FY25). Revenue from operations also declined 20.32 per cent to Rs 11,708.54 crore, compared to Rs 14,695.55 crore in Q4 FY25, according to its stock exchange filing.The company’s total income fell in line with revenue to Rs 11,807.2 crore,…

WPI decline to spur domestic demand despite global volatility: PHDCCI

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New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) The fall in India’s wholesale inflation will boost domestic demand despite global economic uncertainties, industry body PHDCCI said on Thursday. The provisional annual inflation rate based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) eased to (-) 0.58 per cent in July compared to the same month previous year, led by a sharp drop in the prices of food articles and crude petroleum.PHDCCI President Hemant Jain said that food prices have been consistently softening since February, w…

Cognizant announces wage hike for 80 pc of eligible employees

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Mumbai, Aug 14 (IANS) Global Information Technology (IT) major Cognizant announced that around 80 per cent of its eligible employees will receive a salary hike from November. The company indicated that the hike will be in a “single high digit” (7 to 9 per cent) of the employees’ current salary. During its second-quarter earnings, the company had indicated plans to award merit-based pay rises to the vast majority of staff in the second half of 2025.“Cognizant today said that approximately 80 pe…

India’s WPI inflation falls to 2-year low in July as food prices dip

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New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) India’s annual rate of inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) fell further in the negative zone to a two-year low of (-) 0.58 in July this year, compared to the same month of the previous year — primarily due to a decrease in the prices of food articles and fuels such as petrol, diesel and natural gas, according to data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Thursday.The WPI inflation for July is also lower than the -0.13 per cent that was recorde…

India can help reshape semiconductor and rare earth supply map in Southeast Asia

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New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) As Southeast Asia emerges as a transformative critical player in the global semiconductor and rare earth mineral industries, India can play a significant role amid the reshaping of the world trade and supply chain order as US tariff tensions escalate. Although no single silver bullet exists to overturn decades of Chinese dominance, yet the combination of US defence funding, EU market regulations, JOGMEC diplomacy and Indian exploration is already reshaping the supply map…

India's warehouse demand records 42 pc YoY growth in H1 2025: Report

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New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) India’s warehousing market recorded a 42 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) surge in leasing volumes to 32.1 million square feet (mn sq ft) across the top eight markets in the first half of 2025 (H1 2025), a report said on Thursday.This sharp rise in demand was led by the manufacturing sector, which saw a 71 per cent YoY growth in space uptake, accounting for 45 per cent of the total transactions, Knight and Frank, a global property consultant, said in its latest report.Accordi…