India Financial News

Mint breaks down how digital nomad visas work and why countries are betting on remote workers.A digital nomad is a professional who works remotely while living and travelling across different cities or countries, relying on digital tools rather than a fixed office. Typically employed in fields such as technology, consulting, content creation or online services, digital nomads earn their income online and choose locations based on factors like cost of living, internet connectivity and lifestyle.In recent years, governments have begun to formally recognise this group through ‘digital nomad visas’, allowing remote workers to legally live in a country for extended periods without entering the local job market.

State-owned Central Bank of India is looking to change its loan book mix by stepping up corporate lending, even as retail, agriculture and MSME (RAM) segments remain its core strength, managing director Kalyan Kumar told Mint in an interview.As of September 2025, nearly 72% of the bank’s ₹2.93 trillion loan book was tilted towards RAM, with corporates accounting for just 28%. Kumar plans to change this mix to 65:35 by March 2026, without diluting the lender’s core focus on its rural and semi-urban franchise.Barely weeks after taking charge on 30 September, Kumar said that, “RAM will always remain our priority.

Pension System (NPS) to increase its wider acceptance among households, while the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) took some tough calls to plug complete withdrawals of the provident fund. Here are the headline events of 2025 in the space that you should take note of.NPS is a defined contribution plan. The original product required an investment for a certain number of years, and on vesting or maturity, which coincides with the traditional retirement age of 60, you annuitise at least 40% of that corpus to buy a pension for life.

Electric trucks are becoming the latest type of vehicle to benefit from battery swapping, which has until now been largely restricted to two- and three-wheelers. Pune-based e-truck maker Blue Energy Motors and Murugappa Group’s Montra Electric are rolling out 55-tonne e-trucks that are compatible with battery swapping.These zero-emission commercial vehicles provide the right use-case for price parity between EVs and internal combustion engines (ICE) once the cost of the battery is removed from the equation, according to manufacturers and domain experts.As India races to decarbonize its massive freight sector, battery swapping could prove to be the silver bullet for heavy-duty electric trucks.

A sharp rise in exports in November, aided by a low base, helped pull India sharply ahead of other emerging market (EM) peers, as shown by the latest Mint's Emerging Market Tracker, even as the rupee and stock market performance remained weak. India, with a composite score of 71, was way ahead in the race.

Cricket, Football, and Tennis at Livemint Sports. Stay ahead of the game! Follow our Asia Cup 2025 for real-time updates on India Asia Cup 2025 matches, the complete Asia Cup schedule 2025, and the latest Asia Cup points table 2025.

Dear reader, as 2025, a year of global tumult and volatility, rolls by, Mint's reporters and columnists look around the corner on what is coming in 2026—to help you know what to expect and prepare for it. Tell us what you think at [email protected]: After decades of calm, India’s paints industry has seen its equilibrium disrupted over the past year, as deep-pocketed conglomerates moved in—first with Aditya Birla Group’s Birla Opus, followed by JSW Paints’ acquisition of Dutch major Akzo Nobel’s India business.As competition surged, the industry’s largest players prioritised growth, often at the expense of near-term profitability.

Write to Joanna Stern at [email protected], Nicole Nguyen at [email protected] and Christopher Mims at [email protected] updated with the latest Trending, India , World and US news.

After a two-year run of stellar gains, US traders are signalling far more modest returns for gold and silver in 2026, possibly driven by lower central bank purchases, a stronger dollar, and moderating safe-haven demand, according to experts.Analysts and financial planners are warning domestic investors to brace for bouts of volatility next year, with corrections in silver likely to be sharper, even though expectations could shift with changes in global macro conditions—such as interest rate moves or rising economic uncertainty.Trader bets on Comex, the world's most diverse derivatives marketplace, show they expect the most liquid gold futures contractto rise 3.4% and silver 3% by December 2026 from Wednesday’s (24 December’s) closing of $4,503 and $71.68 per troy ounce (31.10 gm), respectively, per Bloomberg data.In 2025, Comex generic gold and silver futures rose 67.8% and 127%, respectively, from 1 January to 24 December, the data showed.Indian gold and silver prices tend to mirror international prices as most domestic demand for both metals is met through imports.Even as the Nifty 50 gave 12% returns in the current fiscal year (FY26) through 19 December, gold ETF (exchange-traded funds) prices surged 45% to ₹11,400 per gm while silver doubled to ₹200 per gm in the same period, based on the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) formula for ETFs using global benchmark London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) prices, excluding GST.In the previous fiscal, gold and silver ETFs gave 35% returns, while the Nifty returned just 5%.Sensing the warning signs, analysts and financial planners have called for caution, especially as Indian investors continue to diversify portfolios through gold and silver ETFs.Amol

Dear reader, as 2025, a year of global tumult and volatility, rolls by, Mint's reporters and columnists look around the corner on what is coming in 2026—to help you know what to expect and prepare for it. Tell us what you think at [email protected] Delhi: From the boardrooms of Mumbai to the policy corridors of Delhi, executives began huddling early this year over a little-known but indispensable component found in virtually every vehicle on the road: rare-earth magnets.When China imposed a ban on these materials in April 2025, not many were aware of the critical role these magnets played.

From India and New Zealand wrapping up trade talks in record time to the Centre planning a higher outlay on rail safety, a drop in overseas education remittances, shifts in the rural job guarantee burden, and a record US court payout in the Johnson & Johnson talc case—here's a compilation of this week's news in numbers.The Centre is likely to announce an outlay of over ₹1.3 trillion in FY27 on rail safety in the Union budget, about 12% higher than the current fiscal’s amount of ₹1.2 trillion, Mint reported. Funds would be used for rolling stock maintenance, track renewals, and expanding Kavach—India’s automatic train protection system.This marks a shift in the government’s focus towards railway safety: the outlay was up only 2% in FY26.

honhar birwan ke hote chikne paat—suggests that the signs of future success are visible early. It sums up the early years of Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani—Dhirubhai—one of India’s greatest industrial empire builders, whose youth too shimmered with portents.Ambani passed away in July 2002, leaving behind a giant conglomerate whose market capitalization today exceeds $250 billion and a legacy that continues to shape Indian business.While the details of his professional life are household lore now, repeated across newspapers, magazines, and films, it’s his early life, vividly captured in Dhirubhai Ambani: The Man I Knew by Kokilaben, that provides fascinating clues to his career.

Dear reader, as 2025, a year of global tumult and volatility, rolls by, Mint's reporters and columnists look around the corner on what is coming in 2026—to help you know what to expect and prepare for it. Tell us what you think at [email protected] struggled to protect farmers as the country’s agrarian distress worsened in 2025.Severe monsoon rains caused devastating floods in Punjab, inundating almost 200,000 hectares of farmland, besides damaging crops in Haryana and Maharashtra, notably the Marathwada region.

In what has become the latest entry in a flurry of inbound Japanese deals into India, Aica Kogyo Co. is set to acquire up to 53.12% stake in Indian laminates firm Stylam Industries Ltd for up to ₹2,030 crore.Stylam Industries Ltd’s promoters will sell up to 40% of their stake to the Japanese materials manufacturing major Aica Kogyo Co.

Mint explains what Titan's entry into this segment means for India’s nascent LGD market, and for the smaller, established players already operating in the space.beYon is Titan’s new lab-grown diamond jewellery brand, marking its first direct retail foray into the LGD segment. The brand has debuted with a standalone store on New Link Road in Andheri West, Mumbai.The location places beYon in the middle of one of Mumbai’s most competitive jewellery corridors.

US-India trade deal have emerged as a key disappointment for investors, he added.Sectoral trends were mixed, with selective profit-taking visible across most segments. Metals emerged as the week’s standout performer, gaining 2.3%, aided by recent gains in copper and zinc, Vijayakumar said.

Mint examines what relief the government is considering for Vodafone Idea, why AGR recalculation alone may not be enough, how high tariffs would need to rise for the company to remain viable, and whether India’s telecom market can sustain repeated price hikes without losing subscribers or competition.In October, the Supreme Court allowed the government to reassess Vodafone Idea’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, which stood at ₹83,400 crore as of end of March 2025. The ruling came as a breather for the company, which has flagged concerns about its ability to survive beyond the current financial year without government support.AGR is the revenue base used to calculate licence fees and spectrum usage charges payable to the government.

Write to Neal Templin at [email protected] updated with the latest Trending, India , World and US news.

Mint explains why the rule is being enforced now, who it affects, and what changes brands must make.The FSSAI has clarified that under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, “tea”—including variants such as Kangra tea, green tea and instant tea—must be obtained exclusively from the plant Camellia sinensis. Any infusion or blend made from other plants, flowers or herbs does not meet this legal standard and therefore cannot be named or marketed as “tea”.The decision flows from the Labelling and Display Regulations, 2020, which require every food package to clearly indicate the “true nature” of the product.

Dear reader, as 2025, a year of global tumult and volatility, rolls by, Mint's reporters and columnists look around the corner on what is coming in 2026—to help you know what to expect and prepare for it. Tell us what you think at [email protected] DELHI: India is pushing to upgrade its image from the 'pharmacy of the world' to a global life sciences hub, a goal that faces critical execution risks, especially concerning quality standards and policy follow-through.

electric vehicles, and electronics pushing the market into a supply deficit for the fifth consecutive year in 2025. Silver is currently trading at about $72 per ounce (oz), almost double the average of $36.6 per oz in the half-year ended September (H1FY26), and 1.4 times the FY25 average of $30.4 per oz. The persistent demand-supply mismatch is expected to keep prices firm.The rally brightens HZL’s earnings outlook.