Latest News: Union Budget 2026–27 Highlights: New Income Tax Act, 2025 to be effective from April 2026; simplified tax rules and forms will be notified soon * Safe harbor limit for IT services raised from ₹300 crore to ₹2000 crore * Foreign cloud service providers granted a tax holiday until 2047 * All non-residents paying tax on an estimated basis exempted from Minimum Alternate Tax * Securities Transaction Tax on futures trading increased from 0.02% to 0.05% * Customs duty exemption extended for capital goods used in lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing * Customs duty exemption granted for capital goods required in processing critical minerals * Tariff rate on goods imported for personal use reduced from 20% to 10% * Basic customs duty exemption extended to 17 medicines and drugs * BioPharma Shakti program with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore to build an ecosystem for domestic production of biologics and biosimilars * Proposal for a ₹10,000 crore SME Development Fund to support MSMEs * Public capital expenditure increased from ₹11.2 lakh crore to ₹12.2 lakh crore in FY 2026–27 * Seven high-speed rail corridors to be developed as Growth Transport Links for sustainable passenger systems * Indian Institute of Design Technology, Mumbai to set up AVGC content creation labs in 15,000 high schools and 500 colleges * A girls’ hostel to be built in every district to address challenges faced by female students in higher education and STEM institutions * In partnership with IIMs, a 12-week hybrid training program will upgrade skills of 10,000 guides across 20 tourist destinations * ICAR packages on agricultural portals and practices to be integrated with AI systems as a multilingual AI tool * Tax on foreign travel packages reduced from current five per cent and 20% to two per cent * Customs bonded warehouse framework revamped into an operator-centric system with self-declaration, electronic monitoring, and risk-based accounting * Indian share markets will be open for trading on Sunday, February 01, as the Union Budget is being presented on that day * Key Highlights of Economic Survey 2025–26: GDP & GVA Growth Estimates for FY 2026: First advance estimates at 7.4% and 7.3% respectively * India’s Core Growth Projection: Around 7%, with real GDP growth for FY 2027 expected between 6.8% and 7.2% * Central Government Revenue: Rose to 11.6% of GDP in FY 2025 * Non-Performing Assets: Declined to a multi-decade low of 2.2% * PMJDY Accounts: Over 552 million bank accounts opened by March 2025; 366 million in rural and semi-urban areas * Investor Base: Surpassed 120 million by September 2025, with women comprising ~25% * Global Trade Share: India’s export share doubled from 1% in 2005 to 1.8% in 2024 * Services Export: Reached an all-time high of $387.6 billion in FY 2025, up 13.6% * Global Deposits: India became the largest recipient in FY 2025 with $135.4 billion * Foreign Exchange Reserves: Hit $701.4 billion on January 16, 2026—covering 11 months of imports and 94% of external debt * Inflation: Averaged 1.7% from April to December 2025 * Foodgrain Production: Reached 357.73 million metric tons in 2024–25, up 25.43 MMT from the previous year * PM-Kisan Scheme: Over ₹4.09 lakh crore disbursed to eligible farmers since inception * Rural Employment Alignment: “Viksit Bharat – Jee Ram Ji” initiative launched to replace MGNREGA in the vision for a developed India by 2047 * Manufacturing Growth: 7.72% in Q1 and 9.13% in Q2 of FY 2026 * PLI Scheme Impact: ₹2 lakh crore in actual investment across 14 sectors; production and sales exceeded ₹18.7 lakh crore; over 1.26 million jobs created by September 2025 * Semiconductor Mission: Domestic capacity boosted with ₹1.6 lakh crore invested across 10 projects * Railway High-Speed Corridor: Expanded from 550 km in FY 2014 to 5,364 km; 3,500 km added in FY 2026 * Civil Aviation: India became the third-largest domestic air travel market; airports increased from 74 in 2014 to 164 in 2025 * DISCOMs Turnaround: Recorded first-ever positive PAT of ₹20,701 crore in FY 2025 * Renewable Energy: India ranked third globally in total renewable and installed solar capacity * Satellite Docking: India became the fourth country to achieve autonomous satellite docking capability * School Enrollment Ratios: Primary – 90.9%, Upper Primary – 90.3%, Secondary – 78.7% * Higher Education Expansion: India now has 23 IITs, 21 IIMs, and 20 AIIMS; international IIT campuses established in Zanzibar and Abu Dhabi * Maternal & Infant Mortality: Declined since 1990, now below global average

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Be positive...! Really, it is not so tough...

You are the reflection of your thoughts. You are what you think. What you think, you just emit the frequency of those thoughts in the universe. If the frequency of those thoughts is so powerful then definitely it will be fulfilled. To get full access to this article, "Subscribe Now", in just Re.1 for the next 24 hours. 

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How can we remain happy in any situation?

Always remember that everything happens for a reason. There is always some reason behind every problem. We all want to be happy and positive but have you ever wondered what is happiness? Happiness is when you are satisfied with what you have the ability to not want more or to find satisfaction at the moment that you have right now. To get full access to this story, "Subscribe Now", in just Re.1 for the next 24 hours.

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Achanta Laxmipathi, pioneer of Ayurvedic practices in public health

Achanta Laxmipathi, popularly acclaimed as the pioneer of Ayurvedic practices in public health is known for his impeccable contributions in the localization of Ayurveda, countrywide. To get access to this article, "Subscribe Now", in just Re.1 for the next 24 hours.

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How to avoid falling into the fraudster trap while online cooking gas booking

Frequently, fraudsters ask the customers to share Debit card details, forward text messages, share Unified payments Interface registration One Time Password, etc. on the phone. They use this data to create a new Virtual Payment Address ID for the customer’s account and set MPIN to do transactions. Fraudsters ask customers to click unverified links over text messages and do the fraud. To get full access to this article, "Subscribe Now", in just Re.1 for the next 24 hours.

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Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, A great warrior of the nation

Baba Banda Singh Bahadur was born in the Rajput family of Rajouri in the year 1670. He was the first Sikh military leader to wage an offensive war against the Mughal rulers of India and extended the Sikh territory. To get full access to this story, "Subscribe Now", in just Re.1 for the next 24 hours.

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Major Laishram Jyotin Singh: The Hero of Kabul…

Major Laishram Jyotin Singh displayed exemplary courage, grit, selflessness, and valor in the face of a terrorist suicide bomber attack and made the supreme sacrifice during the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul. To get full access to this story, "Subscribe Now", in just Re.1 in the next 24 hours.

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Mediabharti

Mediabharti