Business News: Economy & Markets

No policy bars major airport operators from owning airlines: Govt

IANS | August 10, 2026 3:27 PM

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) The government on Monday clarified that there is no government policy preventing major airport operators from holding substantial stakes in or operating scheduled airlines, even as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received a request seeking a waiver of certain contractual restrictions that could enable an airport operator to enter the airline business.

India's smartphone financing tenure averages 10 months in Q2

IANS | August 10, 2026 2:58 PM

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Smartphone financing tenure in India averaged 10 months in Q2 2026, with Tier 2 cities emerging as the most financing‑driven market where EMI plans accounted for 57.5 per cent of purchases, a report said on Monday.

India's digital transformation market seen reaching $229.59 billion by 2029 amid AI adoption: Report

IANS | August 10, 2026 2:34 PM

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) India's digital transformation market is projected to reach $229.59 billion by 2029 due to rapid artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, cloud computing, enterprise digitisation and the expansion of digital public infrastructure, according to a report released on Monday.

Women pilots’ share in India will increase to 25 pc: Civil Aviation Minister

IANS | August 10, 2026 2:12 PM

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday said the government is working to increase women’s participation across India’s aviation workforce to 25 per cent, building on the country’s significantly higher representation of women pilots compared to the global average.

DGFT scraps physical duty payment challans for exporters under 2 schemes

IANS | August 10, 2026 1:59 PM

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) In a significant step to facilitate the ease of doing business for exporters, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has removed the requirement of submitting physical duty payment challans while applying for Export Obligation Discharge Certificates under the Advance Authorisation (AA) and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Schemes, according to a Commerce Ministry statement issued on Monday.

Centre’s expenditure on 1,847 big infra projects touches Rs 21.97 lakh crore

IANS | August 10, 2026 1:24 PM

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) The expenditure on India’s 1,847 major infrastructure projects, currently being implemented by the Centre, has reached Rs 21.97 lakh crore (as of June 2026), which represents over 54 per cent of the total investment of Rs 40.54 lakh crore earmarked for these mega projects, reflecting steady progress in the pace of work, according to a factsheet issued by the government on Monday.