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In an era where medical marvels and a focus on healthy living are pushing the boundaries of human lifespan, the notion of retirement is undergoing a radical transformation. According to Harvard Medical School, “it’s very possible that the first person who will live to 150 has already been born.” Your retirement isn’t a decade-long vacation; it’s potentially a half-century-long second act, therefore ensuring financial security for this extended period becomes imperative.

The year 2023 has been marked by major global economic shocks such as the Russian-Ukraine war, NATO tension, stressed US-China relations, energy and food crisis, cyber-attacks, and climate risk. These shocks have led to significant geo-political reorientation. It has also resulted in an impending economic downturn in western economies, placing the global economy in a very vulnerable position. COVID-19 is another polarizing issue with many economic and social ramifications. India’s GDP and economic growth rate have also been adversely affected by these global tensions.

Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, SBI, says “I am quite confident that with the kind of plough back which we have, we will be in a position to generate adequate plough back to take care of this increased capital requirements which have been prescribed by RBI. We are very closely watching whatever is the situation and we will be ensuring that the bank should be very well capitalised. It is already well capitalised, but it should stay well capitalised and meet all the regulatory requirements because RBI prescription is one, our board prescription is invariably over and above that.” Should we start with new year resolutions? Dinesh Kumar Khara: Yes, new year resolution is to continue to improve upon where we left the year 2023.

Union Budget: India, as a land of diversity, architectural wonders, and vast and varied landscapes, makes for an ideal destination for leisure and business tourism. Travellers seek the country not only for cultural and heritage tourism but also on offer is a varied portfolio of niche tourism products — river cruises, adventure, medical, wellness, sports, MICE, eco-tourism, film, rural, and religious tourism. For a few years, the sector was marred by the pandemic, but has now made a massive comeback and holds great potential for growth and contribution to the Indian economy. The travel and hospitality industry in India is a multi-billion diverse sector driven by factors like disposable income and has attracted the attention of global investors.

Aditya-L1, which was launched on September 2, is poised for its final maneuver and is set to reach its designated L1 point on January 6, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath. The spacecraft has successfully completed four earth-bound maneuvers and a Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) maneuver during its journey.

Chinese rulers have long used campaigns against corruption to sideline rivals and consolidate power. Xi Jinping is increasingly tying his authority to a new variation: a purge that never ends. With echoes of Mao Zedong’s “continuous revolution," Xi has sent fear rippling through the ranks of the Communist Party for more than a decade with the largest campaign against corruption in modern Chinese history.

Zomato celebrated a triumphant New Year's Eve, recording a staggering surge in orders that dwarfs past years. CEO Deepinder Goyal took to social media to share the incredible feat, stating, "Fun fact: We've delivered almost as many orders on NYE 23 as we did on NYE 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 combined Excited about the future!" This translates to a phenomenal accomplishment. Zomato's New Year's Eve deliveries nearly matched the combined total of six previous New Year's Eves, highlighting a remarkable growth trajectory.

Israel, causing alarm as the new year began. Sirens had been heard across various cities including Ashdod, and Sderot, as well as in Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Holon, Lod, and Modiin. There have been no injuries reported.

inflation remains a worry. ET asked a galaxy of experts to make one prediction each for 2024, the early part of which will be dominated by the general elections. But it’s also a year when the Indian economy is set to cross the $4 trillion mark. Not too surprisingly, in our 24 Predictions For 2024, the most dominant theme was the impact of Artificial Intelligence on businesses and lives, but India’s economic potential figured as strongly.

India recorded a trade deficit with nine of its top ten trade partners in the first seven months of 2023-24, with the US being the only country with which exports exceeded imports. India's trade surplus with the US — its largest trading partner — was $19.59 billion in the April-October period, show data from the commerce and industry ministry. However, with China, the second largest partner, the deficit was a whopping $51.11 billion, followed by a $33.56 billion gap with Russia, the fourth largest trade partner of India.

₹10,000 crore—more than $1 billion (about ₹8,300 crore) —and I don’t think we’ll need to take that figure up further. Will local electronics manufacturing in India need concerted efforts to create a component supply chain now, given that we’re assembling a sizeable amount? Even China, which controls 70-72% of the global value chains (GVCs), makes a value addition that is in the low two-digits. Even they, for exports exceeding $1 trillion, import $650-700 billion in components.

In the coming year, we will see not greater multipolarity, but greater bipolarity. China has replaced Russia as America’s main competitor in a new cold war that is less about ideology and more about markets and technology. The $18 trillion Chinese economy has already overtaken that of all 27 European Union countries combined, and China is the largest trading partner to more than 120 countries.

To gain a glimpse of the kind of strains many countries will face in 2024, it can help to focus on the challenges facing a single country. Consider Egypt’s recent experience. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the sharp global increase in grain and fertilizer prices disrupted the Egyptian economy, which was already worn down by the covid-19 pandemic, water shortages, and debt.

BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY A big leap if BJP makes a hattrick of winning elections, a feat till now enjoyed by Congress under India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru With Ram Mandir and Article 370 done, the ruling party will now push for third core issue of uniform civil code, which is currently being tested at the state level With core objectives of the ruling party nearly achieved, BJP will need new driving issues for the cadre Can the party breach the southern frontier in its quest to become a pan-India party INDIA BLOC PARTIES After a dismal round of state elections, Congress needs a great leap to be in the reckoning for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls Congress leader Rahul Gandhi requires leaps of rebranding to be a credible challenger to the ruling dispensation that looks strong Opposition requires their poll funding to grow by leaps and bounds to match BJP’s election blitz INDIA parties require faith in each other to stick together and fix issues, including seat-sharing Opposition parties want VVPATs across all polling stations, but that looks a distant dream BIJU JANATA DAL Can Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik win another term and become the longest-serving chief minister in the country With Patnaik’s close aide VK Pandian joining the party, can BJD take a generational leap Can the party continue to maintain equidistance from both BJP and the Opposition alliance YSR CONGRESS PARTY Can YS Jagan Mohan Reddy repeat the success of his father YSR Rajasekhara Reddy by winning two successive assembly elections at a time when his family members are distancing themselves from the Andhra chief minister Can YSRCP still be attractive to voters, especially after the loss of BRS in the neighbouring Telangana C

2030 as one of the world’s strongest economies and its stature elevating on the world stage, this truly is India’s aviation decade. With international journeys poised to triple by 2030, strong domestic demand and new airports coming up, India is becoming a travel powerhouse.

By Ange Kasongo

The 'before' picture would show you an oversized individual, while the 'after' picture would feature the same person but with a perfect physique, thanks to whatever potion or gym was being advertised. Or, you could have an acne-scarred face magically transformed into a blemish-free one. No prizes for guessing what the messaging was all about. It's a bit like that when it comes to reading the tea leaves regarding the economy in 2024.

technologies coming up. If you are looking at the growth of the Indian economy, and you want the economy to grow at a nonlinear pace, then you will have at least these three technologies on the cusp of momentous growth. The first big prediction for the next year is the growth in the space sector.

Geopolitical pressures and other non-economic factors have put the global economy on a path towards fragmentation. Beyond its inherent risks, this trend will not only have profound implications for economic stability and growth but also could jeopardize efforts to combat climate change. Heightened geopolitical tensions, especially the escalating rivalry between the United States and China, are the primary catalyst of fragmentation.

Mint looks at factors that can aid or disrupt the dream run. In 2023, Indian economy’s strong performance defied expectations. The 6.1% growth in the January-March quarter pushed FY23 growth to 7.2%.

By Liangping Gao and Kevin Yao