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The Indian Railways increased fares twice in this financial year—first in July and then in December, marking its most concerted effort in years to narrow losses from passenger services and ease the burden on freight users who have cross-subsidised passenger travel.While the hikes have triggered political criticism, the railways argues that the increases are modest, progressive and fiscally unavoidable, especially when passenger fares recover barely 55% of costs, implying a subsidy element of about 45%, as railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted in the Lok Sabha during the recent winter session of Parliament.The twin fare revisions were part of a rationalization strategy aimed at improving the financial sustainability of passenger services without imposing a sudden shock on travellers.The railways has been absorbing the rising costs of employees, pensions, safety investments and network expansion even as passenger fares remained structurally underpriced.

First, trade pacts serve as instruments of political signalling, allowing India to deepen strategic partnerships while preserving strategic autonomy.Second, they function as tools for hedging risks in an uncertain global trade environment, helping diversify economic relationships and reduce over-dependence on China.Third, deeper engagements provide greater protection for investors by clarifying rules on investment, dispute settlement and regulation.Finally, bilateral agreements help pre-empt exclusion amid the formation of trade blocs that increasingly mirror geopolitical alignments.Our agreements with Oman and New Zealand illustrate this shift. Neither is a major merchandise trade partner.

India’s economy is at an inflection point. On one hand, we aspire to become a $5 trillion economy soon and project a bold vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. On the other, our economic reality tells a humbling story—just as we did not achieve the $5 trillion mark in 2025, as originally envisaged, the vision of ‘developed’ status by 2047 will not be realized if our GDP grows at its current rate.

Puneet Kumar Arora is an assistant professor of economics at Delhi Technological University.Catch all the Industry News, Banking News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

There is no contradiction between paying gig workers a living wage and the claim that gig work provides job opportunities to many who would otherwise struggle to earn anything. Delivery workers for food delivery and quick-commerce platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto and Blinkit went on strike recently, demanding better wages and work conditions.This has triggered a bizarre debate online, as if asking for better wages amounts to socialism and charges of gig worker exploitation go against entrepreneurship. The obvious gainers from low-paid gig work are consumers who get doorstep deliveries both extra-cheap and ultra-fast.

The US security plan’s focus on the Western hemisphere burst into the global spotlight with America’s “capture” from Caracas of its president Nicolás Maduro, who might be charged with support for drug-trafficking and terrorism. Washington, said US President Donald Trump, would run Venezuela till it’s deemed ready for self-rule.

Rachel Fox is a video reporter for Investor’s Business Daily. Follow her on X at @IBD_RFox.

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would run the country indefinitely until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could be arranged. He didn’t raise the prospect of elections.The president said “it would be tough” for the country’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, to play a major role, saying she lacked popularity.

The equity sales of company promoters in India reached a record in 2025, and their purchases fell to the lowest level since 2022, as valuation-driven monetization efforts drove sell calls throughout the year.The year 2025 saw promoter exits worth ₹1.38 trillion through secondary market deals alone, according to data from market intelligence firm PRIME Database. This figure represents a 22% increase from the ₹1.12 trillion figure recorded in 2024.

₹1,000 crore ($111 million), said two people in the know of the developments.An announcement is expected on Monday."The deal value for the acquisition is around ₹1,000 crore. With the slew of fresh acquisitions, Inox Clean may soon file a fresh DRHP (draft red herring prospectus) for its public listing," said one of the two people mentioned above.Mint had earlier reported that SHV Energy has appointed BNP Paribas to sell the solar energy assets of SunSource Energy in a deal having an equity value of around $100 million.

The share prices of domestic steel producers have risen by 4-6% since 30 December after the finance ministry notified the extension of safeguard duty imposition on steel imports, as per the recommendation of the director general of trade remedies. The big gainers here are JSW Steel Ltd and Jindal Steel Ltd (formerly Jindal Steel & Power Ltd), which increased 6%.The duty would be levied for three years on most grades of flat steel products at 12% for the first year, 11.5% for the second and 11% for the third year.

₹1.77 trillion, surpassing the 2024 high of ₹1.73 trillion.“A key catalyst was the primary market cycle, including widely recognised names such as Tata Capital, Meesho, Lenskart, LG Electronics, PhysicsWallah and ICICI Prudential–where familiar brands significantly lowered entry barriers for first-time investors across smaller towns,” said Ankit Mandholia, head equity and derivatives, wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.The growth in new investors from some of these states comes even as the active investor count has fallen from the post-pandemic highs amid global uncertainty and the Sebi’s crackdown against retail trading in the futures and options (F&O) markets.While state-wise data for individual investors is not available, the number of investors pan-India who traded in the cash segment at least once a year fell 8% in 2025. But those trading in the equity derivatives segment fell 25%, showed NSE data, indicating that new investors are participating in the cash market.Across regions, the entry pattern is consistent: the vast majority of new investors begin in cash equities and IPOs, while F&O participation remains a relatively small fraction, said Arief Mohamad, chief business officer-direct business, Angel One.

Mumbai: If searing heat is an annual feature of the Indian summer, air pollution is fast settling into a permanent fixture of winter. For companies that sell both air-conditioners (ACs) and air purifiers, sales and marketing now fall into two neatly-distinct seasons—summer for ACs and winter for air purifiers, a much smaller category. Given this sharp seasonality, how do marketing heads manage their business when demand peaks so unevenly through the year? Girish Hingorani, vice-president of marketing at Blue Star, tells Mint it is all about planning the year carefully and efficiently.

₹19.6 lakh in FY25 compared to ₹14.5 lakh for a private bank employee, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 29 December. The gap has widened since FY24, when the per-employee profit of government-owned banks stood at ₹15.2 lakh, surpassing ₹14 lakh for their private peers.Profit per employee is a key metric that tracks staff productivity.India’s public sector banks had an image of being inefficient, with governments continually injecting fresh capital into them each year.

Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman:DABUR(Cmp ₹522.60)DABUR: Buy above ₹525, stop ₹507 target ₹580 (Multiday)RRKABEL (Cmp ₹1510.50)RRKABEL:Buy above ₹1515, stop ₹1470 target ₹1615 (Multiday)PAYTM(Cmp ₹1340.60)PAYTM: Buy above ₹1340, stop ₹1315 target ₹1385 (Intraday)Stock Market RecapIndian equity markets closed on a strong note on Monday, buoyed by firm global cues and robust buying in banking and metal counters. The Sensex advanced 573.41 points, or 0.67 percent, to settle at 85,762.01 after touching an intraday high of 85,812.27.

New Delhi: The country’s second-largest battery manufacturer, Amara Raja Energy and Mobility Ltd, is betting on expansion in the US market as part of its bid to double the share of revenue from exports in the next five years.The Hyderabad-based auto ancillary firm is doubling down on building a local distribution network in the North American market to benefit from its edge in one of the advanced technologies in the lead acid battery industry to win incremental business at a time when tariffs in the US have brought uncertainty for Indian businesses, according to a top executive.“One of the most exciting opportunities, especially on the lead acid side, is building ourselves up in North America. That's where we see certain technology trends like a move towards AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) batteries,” Harshavardhana Gourineni, executive director at Amara Raja, told Mint.“We're the only manufacturer in India that's supplying AGM batteries to the OEMs.

Mint analysis, this is the third straight quarter where brokerages have outlined sequential growth below 4%, signalling a tempered outlook. This follows efforts by companies to pursue new growth avenues.TCS and HCLTech release their December quarter earnings on 12 January, Infosys on 14 January, and Tech Mahindra on 16 January.

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