The highest ever growth rate since Independence was recorded at 10.2 per cent in 1988-89 when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister.

Let's look at how the markets performed under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other former Prime Ministers of India.

Appealing for donations from people across the country, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan today said the road to recovery for the southern state is going to be a long one.

Why Indians should be grateful to Atal Bihari VajpayeeAs the nation mourns the loss of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it's also time to remember all that he did for India's economy. He started the 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan' with the aim to provide education for all. He made India a nuclear state. Pokhran 2 was conducted during his tenure. He laid the foundation of the Golden Quadrilateral in 1999 for smoother movements of products and people. He's also considered the architect of the telecommunication sector in the country. He established a separate disinvestment ministry. He passed the Chandrayan-1 project.Health insurance to now cover mental illness says IRDAIIn a pathbreaking move, 3 months after  the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 came into force, the Indian insurance regulator IRDAI has notified insurers to cover medical treatment for mental illnesses. The notice issued on Aug. 16, said that, \"every insurer shall make provision for medical insurance for treatment of mental illness on the same basis as is available for treatment of physical illness.\" The order is applicable on all insurance companies in India with immediate effect. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, which came into effect on May 29, is aimed at protecting the rights of persons with mental illnesses during delivery of mental healthcare and services.UPI gets an upgrade with new featuresNational Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched UPI 2.0 in Mumbai as an upgrade to the first iteration of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that debuted in April 2016. The new UPI version has features such as UPI Mandate and Invoice in the Inbox. There are also new security enhancements including Signed Intent and QR that are designed to let customers verify merchants before making any payments as reported by NDTV. Further, there is an option to attach UPI to an overdraft (OD) account. This comes in addition to the existing saving and current account support. Banks that are using the upgrade include State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, RBL Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank, and HSBC.Mercedes-Benz to hike prices by up to 4% next monthGerman luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz said it will hike prices of its vehicles across models by up to 4 per cent from September to offset adverse impacts of rising input costs and upward forex movement. The rising inflation due to geo-political dynamics, coupled with rising input costs and increasing forex rates has been exerting significant pressure on overall operations, Mercedes-Benz India said in a statement.Airlines advised to keep air fares in check for Kerala flightsThe Central government has asked domestic airlines to keep a check on air fares for flights operating to and from Kerala.The advisory comes as the state suffers from one of the worst bouts of floods in the recent past.According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, airfare on 18 domestic routes are being monitored. The monsoon fury has hit different parts of Western Ghats including districts of Kerala and adjoining areas in Karnataka.Plunging rupee to increase India's oil import bill by $26 billionIndia's crude oil import bill is likely to surge by about $26 billion in 2018-19 as rupee falling to a record low has made buying of oil from overseas costlier, government officials said yesterday as reported by Mint. The Indian rupee opened at 70.25 and plunged to a fresh record low of 70.40 a dollar. Moreover, the weak rupee will also lead to a hike in the retail selling price of petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG).

In the blog, Modi decodes how Vajpayee rescued the economy in the mid 1990s and how he was ahead of his times. PM Modi also talks about Vajpayee's four decades of illustrious leadership and the high standards of debate in Parliament.

Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's last rites were performed at Smriti Sthal with full state honour today.

As the nation mourns Vajpayee's loss, let's looks at the reasons why the country should be thankful to the poet prime minister.

The IT industry was tottering at around $6 billion in 1999-2000. It is more than a $150 billion industry now.

Vajpayee is no more, but no one can doubt his contribution on economic, political and diplomatic fronts.

The 93-year old political icon was suffering from kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection and even respiratory problems.

The rupee set a new all-time low record today, staying above the psychologically-important 70 mark against the US dollar. Here are the factors weighing down the rupee.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former prime minister who was undergoing treatment at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, breathed his last at 5:05 pm today.

One and a half decade after Vajpayee demitted office, he is today remembered as a leader who took forward India's telecom revolution, laid the foundation for massive infrastructure projects - road, rail and air, in a size and scale that matched the Nehruvian-era.

The currency fell 42 paise to hit a fresh all time low of 70.32 intra day. Earlier, it opened 35 paise lower to 70.25 level compared to the US dollar.

Arun Jaitley was referring to the RBI's foreign exchange reserves which stood at $402.70 billion in the week ended August 3 which provides a comfortable cushion.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away today at the age of 93. Leaders cutting across the political spectrum mourned the loss of India's former prime minister.

Delivering his Independence day address from the ramparts of Red Fort, Modi said that it is high time India ensures that its poor get access to good quality and affordable healthcare.

Prime Minister Modi said that the country has made rapid changes in the past few years compared to 2013 when the Congress-led UPA government was in power. The Prime Minister said that the country was on a new path of progress.

It is rare for the middle class to find direct mention in Indian Prime Ministers'  Independence Day speech. Farmer issues and the sufferings of the poor usually dominate PM Modi's Independence Day speeches.

Prime Minister Modi said that the country has made rapid changes in the past four years compared to 2013 when the Congress-led UPA government was in power.