As Navratri draws to a close, I wish you and your family happiness, prosperity, and continued success. Festivals are a time of celebration, but they also serve as a valuable reminder to reflect on our financial habits and strengthen our financial discipline. In the spirit of the nine days of Navratri, here are nine essential financial tips to help you stay on track with your financial goals and make your journey towards financial freedom smoother and more secure. Build an Eme

The terms were right. The numbers made sense. The opportunity was genuinely good for both sides. And yet it did not close. Most founders, when a deal or partnership falls through, conduct a thorough post-mortem on the wrong things. They revisit the proposal. They question the pricing. They wonder if the timing was off or the market conditions unfavourable. They examine everything except the one variable that was present in every conversation, every meeting and every moment th

AI Generated Image Public sector lender UCO Bank reported a 26.77% year-on-year increase in net profit to ₹786 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, supported by growth in interest income, advances and its retail, agriculture and MSME (RAM) portfolio. The bank’s total business expanded 18.81% to ₹6.37 lakh crore during the period, reflecting sustained credit demand and deposit mobilisation. According to the bank’s financial results for the quarter and half year ende

AI Generated Image Yesterday, I went to my neighbourhood shop to buy aloo chop and vegetable chop to eat with muri. I reached for my phone to pay by UPI, as I do for almost everything. The shopkeeper stopped me. “This is the last time we’ll accept UPI. From tomorrow, CASH ONLY.” I didn’t argue or explain that payments up to Rs. 2,000 remain free. It would have been a waste of breath. So I let it go, but I kept thinking about it on the walk home because I think I know what he

Rising interest rates and 5.5 per cent inflation can put household budgets under pressure, forcing even financially disciplined families to reconsider their priorities. Bharath, a 32-year-old salaried professional, had always believed that a steady income and disciplined savings were enough to secure his family’s future. Every month, he paid his home-loan EMI, set aside money for his parents, covered household expenses and invested a small amount for the future. However, as g

For millions of Indians, paying through UPI has become almost invisible. Scan a QR code, enter a PIN, and the transaction is done usually without anyone asking what it costs to make that payment possible. That near-zero-cost experience has been central to UPI’s rapid adoption. Now, the proposed introduction of charges on certain UPI transactions marks a shift in the economics of India’s digital payments ecosystem. While consumers are not being asked to pay a fee for ordinary

AI Generated Image Navratri is a time when devotion, self-control, and celebration come together. For nine days, people across the country observe fasting, prayers, and rituals with discipline and faith. But beyond the spiritual significance, Navratri also carries valuable lessons for our financial lives - especially in how fasting and sacrifice mirror the principles of investing. Fasting as discipline When we fast, we consciously give up indulgence. It is not just about av

AI Generated Image Think of someone specific you met in the last six months who seemed genuinely interested in connecting further. The conversation was warm. There was energy in it. They said all the right things — let us stay in touch, I would love to explore this further, I will reach out next week. And then they did not. Not because they were rude or dismissive. Not because something went wrong. But because by the time next week arrived, you had simply faded. This is one o

Technology can handle repetitive work, while professionals can provide judgement and guidance. Bharath owns a small trading business. Over the last few years, his business has grown, and he now has regular customers, employees and several suppliers. He spends most of his day taking orders, speaking to customers, managing payments and solving daily business problems that come up as part of running the business. One month, while preparing for his GST return, Bharath realised th

Food and electronics are rising for very different reasons, but households pay for both. AI Generated Image India’s consumer price inflation rose to 4.82 percent in August 2026 from 4.45 percent in July, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) reported on September 14. Food inflation rose faster, to 5.95 percent from 5.52 percent. Both figures are provisional and use the new series with 2024 as the base year. September data is due on October 12, so Aug

Trade agreements are opening new markets for Indian businesses, but weak credit access could leave smaller exporters watching the opportunity from the sidelines. In the span of four months, India has done something few economies manage in a decade. It signed what diplomats are calling the “Mother of All Deals” with the European Union in January, reached a tariff framework with the United States in February, and in April chaired the first BRICS SME Working Group meeting under

AI Generated Image Mumbai: Mumbai continued to dominate India’s residential market in the first nine months of 2026, accounting for more than a fourth of housing sales across the country’s eight leading markets. The city recorded 72,804 residential sales between January and September, a 1% year-on-year increase, even as the overall market remained flat and the National Capital Region (NCR) witnessed an 11% decline, according to Knight Frank India. The Mumbai market also showe

India’s recurring tax-audit crunch is forcing a rethink of both the compliance calendar and who should be eligible to conduct tax audits. Every September brings the same scramble which includes tight deadlines, portal related delays and professionals working late into the night to complete audit filings. This year is no exception. As of September 25, 2026, the September 30 deadline for tax-audit reports for AY 2026-27 remains unchanged, with no CBDT extension notified. Charte

Investing for your financial goals is not just about choosing the right investment or earning the highest return possible. It is about building a well-rounded and strong financial foundation. A strong financial foundation helps you invest with greater confidence, remain disciplined and avoid disturbing long-term investments when unforeseen expenses arise. There are four important pillars that support this foundation. 1. Life Insurance The first pillar is adequate life insuran

There is a number in your head right now. The number you charge. The one you quote when someone asks what you cost. And somewhere alongside it — if you are honest with yourself — there is another number. A higher one. The one you suspect your work is actually worth but have never quite felt justified in asking for. The gap between those two numbers is not a pricing problem. It is a brand problem. I have worked with founders running serious, profitable businesses who consisten

The battle between Tata Sons and the Tata Trusts is testing the delicate balance between financial discipline and the stewardship model that has defined the Tata Group. A recurring debate in corporate circles is whether Noel Tata’s actions represent a departure from Ratan Tata’s legacy or reflect personal ambition. Such an interpretation, however, overlooks Noel Tata’s long-established business philosophy, which has consistently been rooted in prudence, financial discipline,

The Group’s latest governance crisis exposes a deeper tension between professional management, shareholder stewardship and the costly pursuit of new businesses. While India has witnessed numerous political confrontations in recent past, few would have imagined that a purely corporate dispute could command such widespread national attention. Over the past month, differences within the Tata Sons board have escalated into a major governance crisis with potentially far-reaching i

This is my one hundredth column. And for the first time in all of them, I am going to write about myself. Not as the strategist who observed someone else. Not as the professional who watched a pattern from across the room. But as the person who lived every single thing this series has been about — and who had to do the work before she could ever ask anyone else to do it. Before I built Suave U. Before the clients and the speaking and the column you are reading right now. Ther

Bharath walks into a shop to buy a mobile phone worth ₹50,000. He scans the UPI QR code, enters the amount and within seconds, the payment is done. There is no cash, no card and no extra charge visible to him. For Bharath, UPI is simply a convenient and almost effortless way of making a payment. But what happens on the other side of that QR code? The introduction of the new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework brings this question into focus. From October 15, 2026, specifie

Twelve years is a long time for a wage ceiling to remain unchanged. The last revision came in September 2014, when the limit was raised from Rs.6,500 to Rs.15,000. Last week, the Union Cabinet approved another increase, taking the ceiling to Rs.25,000 a month with effect from 17 September 2026. The government’s estimate is that more than 51 lakh additional employees will come within mandatory EPFO coverage as a result of the change. For employers and payroll professionals