Retail lending is slowing down, and its rural gambit will take time to scale up. So, ICICI Bank is betting big on its international business.

Budget 2008 does not have any radical or bold moves on the indirect tax front. This is probably just as well, given that in an election year, the best that one can expect is no overly populist measures.

Millions of individuals waited with bated breath to hear whether the Finance Minister would dish out some sops to them in his direct tax proposals.

The economy is slowing down, foreign investors have turned wary, and there is an election to be won next year. So, will Finance Minister P. Chidambaram script Budget 2008 for votes or growth? Shalini S. Dagar tells us what we can expect this year.  Full coverage: Budget 2008-09

The 14th Business Today-KPMG survey of India’s Best Banks reveals, there’s one bank that continued to roll better than all others: HDFC Bank. Once again, for the fifth year in a row, the Aditya Puri-led bank beat 76 others to emerge as the #1 player in the industry.

HDFC Bank has emerged as #1 for the 5th year running. What is the secret formula that keeps it ahead, year after year?

From #5 to #2 is a big jump in any rankings—more so for HSBC, which has powered ahead on the back of sheer growth in deposits and profits.

The Indian banking system will have to deal with mind-boggling paradigm shifts in a complex global environment in the years ahead.

As in the recent years, the BT-KPMG survey methodology has been modified to address some of the questions that came from the banking community.

A 59 per cent rise in other income helped India Inc. to deliver a 32 per cent growth in net profit for the quarter ended December 2007, to Rs 70,232.2 crore (we used data for a total of 2,006 companies).

Plan to file income tax returns? Keep these documents ready

India’s rich investors are seeking out new asset classes.

How rising NPAs have crippled the Indian banking sector

The yellow metal is booming, and this is just the right time to add this asset class to your portfolio.

A voice of reason in a world swept up in the (Tom) Friedman mantra.

Canara Bank wants to be a super-speciality supermarket.

There are still quite a few undervalued stocks that could see big upsides in the new year. We shortlist 10 such gems.

Events that rocked the business world—or just made head honchos sit up and take notice.

He is the flagbearer of the Birla name, and also a commodities czar on the rise.

Jignesh Shah is using technology to deliver the benefits of globalisation to the masses.