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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Centre is exploring plans to sharply raise the national daily minimum wage to ₹350-450, at a time workers’ protests have prompted wage hikes in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.The Union labour ministry is working on fixing minimum wages for all workers in skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled categories, two people aware of the development said. Once a national floor is set, states will be compelled to revise their minimum wages accordingly, as wages cannot be set below the national floor.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.America’s divisive political culture and rising cost of living are fueling interest in retiring abroad. It can be a great way to cut your expenses and improve your quality of life—as long as you understand some key factors.The prospect of kicking back in a Tuscan villa or hacienda in Tulum certainly holds appeal. But many expats devote more time to imagining their lifestyle than investigating the less romantic considerations: financial management, tax planning, and healthcare.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Every now and then, you come across a news article about someone deleting food delivery and over-the-top entertainment apps from their phone and going on to save a substantial amount on monthly expenses. These stories feel nice, and somewhere, we all wish we could do that too. But who does not want to have some pizza when watching an IPL match at home or watch the latest shows on an OTT platform?“If you ask most people what they spend on “extras”, they’ll think of a big dinner or a weekend trip.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: After helping to secure funding to clear KTM’s dues, Bajaj Auto has shifted focus to cost cutting and tighter governance at the Austrian premium motorcycle maker, its largest acquisition, a top executive told Mint.The cost-reduction initiatives include a review of sourcing strategies and identification of synergies, while Bajaj steps up its role on KTM’s supervisory board, Bajaj Auto executive director Rakesh Sharma said.“Our support to them started with the first phase, where we had to get the liquidity organized. The second was putting in the top management.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd’s March quarter (Q4FY26) Ebitda touched a record quarterly high of ₹587.6 crore, aided by better realizations, exceeding Bloomberg’s consensus estimate by 5%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Since its merger-led transition into a bank in 2024, Slice has been moving away from an almost fully unsecured lending portfolio to a large, secured loan book, the bank’s top executive told Mint. Managing director and chief executive Rajan Bajaj said secured lending, which currently accounts for about 22% of the company’s portfolio, is expected to become the dominant segment over the next decade.“For us, secured business is growing faster than unsecured and will continue this way.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A new report suggests that India's budget and mid-scale hotels may be overbuilt by global standards, offering far more amenities than their international counterparts. Features such as multiple restaurants, banquet halls, and event spaces have become standard across categories, driven by strong demand for weddings and social gatherings.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Driven by soaring global prices and across-the-table lending, the gold loan market has exploded, expanding almost 4 times in just four years. This surge has made gold loans the second-largest retail credit category in India, according to the Gold Loan Landscape Report by TransUnion Cibil in April 2026.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With a parched monsoon forecast and a fertilizer supply chain disrupted by conflict in West Asia, Indian agriculture is caught between two raging storms. The India Meteorological Department has predicted a below-normal monsoon, while national fertilizer stocks sit at less than half of what’s required for the upcoming Kharif season.As El Niño threatens to dry up the fields and imported urea becomes harder to secure, the resilience of India's food production and the stability of rural demand are facing their toughest test in years.Mint explores whether these twin challenges will spark a spike in food prices or significantly dent farmers’ incomes.The four-month monsoon spanning June-September is critical for two reasons: India receives about 70% of its annual rainfall during these months, and nearly 45% of the country's farmland lacks irrigation, leaving it solely dependent on these rains.The India Meteorological Department has forecast the monsoon to be below normal at 92% of the long-period (50-year) average.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.When India enacted its four new Labour Codes, consolidating over 40 central labour laws, the promise was straightforward: simplify compliance, make labour markets more flexible and attract investment. These are worthy goals. But for the Codes to deliver on that promise, they should be accompanied by a reform that has been conspicuously absent from the conversation: a properly designed, state-sponsored unemployment insurance system.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.As investors gauge the full impact of the West Asia war on crude oil-led inflation, another problem seems to be emerging. The India Meteorological Department and private forecaster Skymet Weather Services predict rainfall in the June-September monsoon season may fall short of the long-term average.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Vikram Sarabhai, when pressed on why a poor country should spend on space research, offered an elegant rebuttal. He said that we are not in competition with economically advanced nations. We are endeavouring to apply the most advanced technologies to the real problems of humankind.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: India’s major ports are set to extend relief measures for exporters hit by disruptions from the ongoing West Asia conflict until the end of April, according to two people aware of the development, as shipping delays and logistics costs remain elevated.The extension will allow exporters to continue availing waivers on ground rent and dwell time charges, along with concessions on reefer plug-in fees and certain vessel-related charges for cargo stranded en route to West Asian markets.The measures, first rolled out in early March, initially covered cargo impacted until 15 March and were later extended to 31 March. With the conflict persisting and containers continuing to face delays and rerouting, authorities are considering a further extension through April.An extension would provide breathing room to exporters grappling with delayed shipments and working capital pressures due to longer transit times and supply chain disruptions, one of the people cited above said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Amid fuel supply disruptions due to the West Asia war, India's vehicle owners are increasingly turning to retrofitting—converting fossil fuel vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids—to cut running costs as well as to reduce dependence on petrol, diesel and gas.Retrofitting firms such as Bengaluru-based Exponent Energy and Gurugram-based Folks Motor said inquiries have more than doubled since the war, reflecting a sharp rise in consumer interest.While Exponent Energy focuses on the three-wheeler segment, converting liquefied natural gas or compressed natural gas (LPG or CNG) vehicles to EVs, Folks Motor works on converting internal combustion engine (ICE) cars to hybrids.“If you own an LPG or CNG vehicle in the three-wheeler space, you can just come in and overnight be converted to electric,” Arun Vinayak, chief executive and founder at Exponent Energy, told Mint.“We launched it early in Bengaluru as a pilot programme. But it's suddenly seeing a lot of interest, especially people who drive LPG vehicles,” he said.The company had announced entry into the retrofitting space in November, with early pilots beginning in Bengaluru.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The unrest in Noida’s industrial belt, with workers demanding higher wages, could accelerate automation on India's shop floors. As Indian manufacturing sector eyes global markets, the crisis highlights a deeper tension, between low-cost labour, rising wages and the push towards automation and robots. For manufacturers, the challenge will be to strike a balance to remain competitive.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Shares of health and nutrition products maker Zydus Wellness have climbed more than 25% in the last one months even as the company's profits show the strain of new launches and overseas acquisitions but its CEO's focus is elsewhere: stay ahead of consumer expectations, not lag them.“As long as you are focused on evolving with the brand or ahead of the consumer's expectations, you will stay in touch. If you are only following, you will lose relevance pretty quickly,” Tarun Arora told Mint in an interview.The strategy appears to be resonating with investors, at least in the near term.Shares of the company have risen 25.7% over the past month, significantly outperforming the NIFTY 500’s 3.7% gain.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.There is angst in the air about the US dollar’s once and future global role. For insight into the greenback’s prospects, pundits have looked to the British pound sterling, the dollar’s predecessor as the dominant international currency, and asked how economic stagnation, heavy debts and failed geopolitical adventures, like that in Suez in 1956, conspired to rob it of its global role.But informed observers can draw on a much longer history of international currencies—units used in cross-border transactions—stretching from the Dutch guilder of the 17th and 18th centuries back to the Florentine florin of the 14th and 15th centuries and the silver denarius of ancient Rome.In fact, it can be argued that the Roman denarius was the first true international currency.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The entry of Bollywood studios and music labels into regional languages isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be and comes with several business risks, according to experts. Such ventures over the past few years have typically led to budget inflation, higher regional star fees and costlier marketing for an audience that remains limited and niche.Success in these markets is culture-led and not driven by scale.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Retail inflation edged higher to 3.4% from a year ago in March from 3.2% in February, government data issued on Monday showed. The main driver was dearer food, whose prices rose 3.9%, quicker than February’s 3.5% increase. Inflation in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels was at about 2% while transport prices were flat.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s nearly 80 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)—employing over 328.2 million people and contributing 31.1% to gross domestic product (GDP), 35.4% to manufacturing output, and 48.58% to exports—have been navigating a harsh global environment over the past five years. From the covid-19 pandemic-induced economic standstill to cost shocks triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war, recurring volatility in West Asia, and trade disruptions under the Trump administration, the sector has faced repeated stress.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For salaried employees in the new tax regime, the list of meaningful tax-saving components has shrunk. Popular elements such as house rent allowance (HRA) and leave travel allowance (LTA) have lost relevance for those who have shifted to the simplified structure.