NSO: Out-of-pocket spending still drives hospitalisation costs

Despite a substantial increase in the coverage of health insurance or finance schemes, which only cover inpatient treatment, between 2017-18 and 2025, out-of-pocket expenditure by patients and their families still accounts for almost all of the spending on hospitalisation. This was revealed in the latest household consumption survey on health conducted by the National Statistical…

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‘Trade deal to provide huge opportunities’: Piyush Goyal ahead of India-New Zealand FTA signing

Union minister Piyush Goyal Agra: The free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand, scheduled to be signed on Monday, will provide huge opportunities for domestic firms, including leather exporters from the city of the Taj Mahal, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Sunday. Goyal is here with the visiting New Zealand’s trade and investment…

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Summer travel gets dearer on conflict, weak rupee

Chennai: Summer vacations for Indians to exotic destinations have been disrupted as the West Asia conflict and a weakening rupee have pushed overseas tour package costs up by about 20%, offsetting the Centre’s cut in Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on such packages to 2% from 20% and 5%.The conflict has also led to a…

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‘No room for complacency’ – The Times of India

Mumbai: Veteran banker Uday Kotak cautioned that India’s foreign exchange reserves remain strong but leave “very little room for complacency”, as large foreign capital flows expose the economy to risks from global volatility. At the ET Awards, Kotak said India has received around $1.5 trillion in foreign capital through FPI and FDI, which creates vulnerability…

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Gold and silver outlook: Where are precious metals headed this week? Analysts answer

Precious metals gold and silver could remain under pressure in a holiday-shortened trading week as markets react to developments around US-Iran peace talks, movements in crude oil prices and key global central bank policy decisions, analysts said. According to analysts, sentiment in precious metals is expected to be shaped largely by geopolitical and macroeconomic triggers…

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India’s wheat outlook: Production stable despite challenges, says government

India’s wheat output for the 2025–26 crop year is expected to remain steady despite weather disruptions, the agriculture ministry said on Sunday, even as an industry estimate suggested lower production. The ministry said that the crop is “stable and resilient despite localised damage” caused by unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms. It described the season as “mixed…

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