Op Sindoor planner tied to choosing terror targets in Pakistan: Who is Ram Temple CEO Jeetendra Mishra?Jeetendra Mishra accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Adampur air base in Punjab after Operation Sindoor. Updated on: Sep 3, 2026, 08:00:02 IST By Rahul Singh
Banks’ 'Certificate of Deposits' rates dip as FCNR flows hit $127 billionThe RBI’s scheme for attracting foreign currency deposits from NRIs has boosted banking-system liquidity, reducing banks’ need to raise funds through CD's. Updated on: Sep 3, 2026
IAF veteran, Delhi businessman, lawyer, RSS worker: Meet Ram Temple Trust’s new facesJeetendra Mishra, the Ram Temple trust’s first CEO, is an IAF veteran. He was also among the senior planners of Operation Sindoor. Updated on: Sep 3, 2026, 07:42:26 IST By Pawan Dixit | Edited by Priyanshu
Controversy is swirling around Rachel Cusk's new novel and its movie-star protagonist named "M". Why the fuss – and could the character be based on Natalie Portman? From Truman Capote mining the secrets of his high society friends for his writing to The Devil Wears Prada's Miranda Priestly
India retains status as fastest-growing large economy with latest GDP growth of 7.8%: KwatraIndia retains status as fastest-growing large economy with latest GDP growth of 7.8%: Kwatra Published on: Sep 3, 2026, 07:22:47 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link New York, India's 7
Did Travis Kelce’s ex Kayla Nicole really ‘expose’ him? Viral cheating and $5M claims debunkedThe viral Kayla Nicole and Travis Kelce claims raise questions about cheating, $5 million, and what Nicole actually said. Published on: Sep 3, 2026
For almost two decades, Lady Victoria Beckham has been trying to prove that she is more than simply Posh Spice. Now, her fashion and beauty business has reached a milestone many doubted it would achieve: profitability. Victoria Beckham Holdings announced an operating profit of £7
Spotify will not ban AI-generated music but will focus on preventing impersonation. The company introduced AI Credits for artists to disclose AI usage in songs. New AI Persona badges will identify profiles that appear to be AI-generated. This approach aims to inform listeners and protect genuine
The economic challenges facing the next UK prime minister
We've had six prime ministers in a decade and it looks increasingly likely that Andy Burnham will be the seventh. But whoever is in charge, they face the same challenges.
That's because what has underpinned political instability over recent years has been, to a great extent, the economy.
Lack of job opportunities, lack of improvement in living standards, and pressured public services – the public expects change and its patience has been wearing thin.
So here are the issues the next prime minister will have to tackle.
Burnham has pledged to revive the economy but also stick to the current government's own rules on borrowing and spending.
That means only borrowing to invest, not to fund day to day spending, and in a few years' time reducing debt as proportion of the whole economy.
Before the US-Israel war with Iran started, Chancellor Rachel Reeves reckoned she could meet her financial rules with £24bn to spare. But much of that could have been eroded because of the conflict.
Burnham's pledge to stick to the current government's rules shows he is wary of upsetting the bond markets, the government's lenders, at a time when just the interest repayments on our national debt account for one in every £10 the government spends.
Even the plans Burnham has hinted at so far could easily exceed the available wiggle room. His ambitions may be thwarted and some ideas may not survive contact with financial reality.
He could tweak those rules. For example, bond markets could be sympathetic towards borrowing to fund more investment if they were convinced that would pay off in the terms of higher growth.
Or he could simply look to raise the money from elsewhere to fund priorities, including through taxes – or cutting from other areas.
Growth, putting more money in pockets, will have to remain the government's number one priority.
Between 1990 and 2007, the average person was better off by roughly 2.5% per year.
Since then, living standards have improved at half that rate, meaning households are thousands of pounds worse off than they could've been otherwise.
A lack of investment – public and private – in the years of austerity and then following Brexit has taken its toll on productivity and that has affected our prosperity. This was then made worse by the disruption of Covid and higher energy prices.
Meanwhile, food prices have jumped by 40% in just a few years, which has clobbered people's finances.
While we've been hit less by the war than once feared, there remain several challenges to ensuring economic growth is raised sustainably and permanently.
More investment is likely to be needed, and more focus on skills. While his plans remain unclear, Andy Burnham has implied boosting both – as well as more state control of utilities to lower bills.
Underpowered growth is one reason why hiring is at its lowest level for five years, with young people hit particularly hard.
The reluctance from companies to hire reflects more than just recent economic woes. Automation and the government's own policies, including higher national minimum wages and taxes, have played a role.
The latter is most telling in the concentration of job losses in sectors such as retail and hospitality. These are industries most vulnerable to an increase in labour costs and, crucially, they are typically a source of entry-level jobs.
The recent report by former Labour minister Alan Milburn highlighted how a longer term erosion of such posts contributed the recent rise in youth joblessness, adding to the rising number of those not in employment, education, or training (NEETs).
He warned NEETs could rise to one in six young people, potentially blighting lives for decades.
The second part of that report, containing policy recommendations, will be published later in the year. It's been suggested that it will call for a radical overhaul of the way every part of the public sector – from education to health and the welfare system – interacts with the private sector.
The next prime minister will have to decide exactly how those recommendations are taken on board, and there will be a cost involved.
Talking of costs, the bills to provide us with better and safer lives could mount fast.
Still unsettled is the government's pledge to increase spending on defence to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. Burnham has indicated he wants to support that.
But that takes more than good intentions. Rather, it could take tens of billions of pounds.
John Healey quit as defence secretary over what he termed the unwillingness of the Treasury to "commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats".
Finding that cash may mean taking some away from other bits of government spending because of the self-imposed constraints on public finances. And remember, many departments are already facing a squeeze on their budgets.
That brings us on to welfare spending. That is set to rise by over a quarter between 2025 and 2030, with the main increases being sickness-related payouts for working age adults and pensioner benefits.
Pushing through welfare reform has proved difficult for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Will a new prime minister have greater will and freedom to do so?
The government's official forecasters have flagged that the cost of providing the state pension under the triple lock system – which increases it by the greater of 2.5%, inflation or earnings every year – is set to double within the next 50 years.
Simplifying that formula could mean smaller pension increases and would save tens of billions of pounds. It's an approach backed by many economists, including Lord Jim O'Neill, one of Andy Burnham's new advisers.
But would Mr Burnham venture where few politicians have and upset the most influential group of voters?
While older people are most likely to vote, it is younger generations who feel the most short changed.
With house prices rising more slowly than earnings, purchasing a home for the first time is more possible compared to just a couple of years ago. At the start of the year, the Nationwide Building Society said mortgage payments accounted for a third of take home pay – well below the record of 48% in 1989.
But today's prospective buyers tend to be juggling high rental costs too, making it harder to save for a deposit. This is partly he average age of the first time buyer has risen over recent years.
The most sustainable solution is to build more homes, but the government's behind on its target. The number of new homes was down by 6% last year and below the 300,000 needed to reach the government's target.
Andy Burnham wants to build more social housing, which would help. But, as successive governments have found, it's not easy.
Housing is one the many big plans Burnham has hinted at to cure our economic malaise, but he has to grapple with a challenging inheritance.
Ironically, the easiest way to fund his plans would be to draw on the spoils of faster growth.
Like many before him, Andy Burnham's vision appears to be that you have to spend more money to make money. But whose money?
Source: BBC
Related Posts: Middle East conflict looks increasingly like war nobody can win Politics increasingly trumps economics in present era Why scholars around the world are growing increasingly wary of studying India Blessed For Glory Indian Union Muslim League ends nearly six-decade-long alliance with DMK Prime Ministers Come And Go Request Sonia Gandhi to return Nehru's letters to Prime Ministers' Museum Modi is one of India’s most powerful prime ministers – so why is he so bothered by Gen Z profanity A beachside shooting throws Australia's three-decade gun control regime into question Sandhya Devanathan exits Meta after a decade
Shriya Pilgaonkar says Guilty Minds Season 2 cancellation ‘broke my heart’: ‘Rare to get a part like that’ | InterviewDuring the promotions of Haiwaan, the actor told Hindustan Times that the show remains closest to her heart even if season 2 was not comissioned by Prime Video
14 hours ago
Himachal Pradesh Assembly passed a bill amending the state university recruitment system. The government aims for transparent and merit-based appointments in universities. Opposition legislators and university teachers protested the proposed changes to recruitment powers
14 hours ago
Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, in an interview to India Today on Tuesday defended the Union government’s change in the methodology for calculating the gross domestic product amid Opposition’s allegations of data manipulation.Sanjeev Sanyal
14 hours ago
Donald Trump's portrait has made its way on to a US coin - the first time a living president has appeared on American currency in a century. The US Mint launched the commemorative $1 coin with a portrait of Trump alongside the words "In God we trust", to celebrate America's 250th anniversary
14 hours ago
Uber layoffs: CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to cut 10% of staff to simplify business. Read full memoUber is cutting 10% of its global workforce to flatten organisational layers, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a memo. Updated on: Sep 3, 2026, 07:08:17 IST By Trisha Sengupta Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy
14 hours ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions.Google Pixel 10a covers: 4 official options on Flipkart if you want style and protectionJust bought the Google Pixel 10a? These four official Google cases on Flipkart offer different
14 hours ago
A little bit of hunger is good for you," says Serge Pizzorno. "Keeps you going. The Kasabian frontman is describing a typical day in his home recording studio. Snacks and phones are banned, but he might screen a film in the background (typically something by David Lynch) while he tinkers with his
1 days ago
Three killed in separate wall collapse incidents in Odisha amid heavy rainfallOdisha recorded 1,154.3 mm of rainfall between June 1 and August 31 against its normal seasonal rainfall of 1,150.2 mm Updated on: Sep 2, 2026, 07:49:44 IST By Debabrata Mohanty Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link
1 days ago
If you’re depositing your PF with a company, this is important. This is big news for the millions of members of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). The central government is making major changes to the EPFO’s digital system, and under EPFO 3.0
1 days ago
Commercial LPG Cylinder Price Hike September 1: The revised prices, effective from September 1, and are expected to raise the operating costs for businesses such as hotels, restaurants and cloud kitchens that rely on LPG for their day-to-day activities
1 days ago
GoPro sold for $285 million: Starman Optical to take 90% stake in camera makerGoPro is being bought by Starman Optical for $285 million as the action-camera maker faces debt, rising memory chip prices and tough Chinese competition. Updated on: Sep 1, 2026
1 days ago
Vaishnavi Patil, 26, was supposed to share the stage with Rahul Gandhi at a Congress party event for women in Pune last month. She could not address the crowd because of time constraints but was far from disappointed. “This was the first event where a political party head was talking about
1 days ago
3-day national youth athletics meet kicks off at Guru Nanak Stadium in LudhianaBeing held from September 1 to 3 under the aegis of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and organised by the Punjab Athletics Association, the opening day witnessed competition for national honours across various
1 days ago
Aug 31 (Reuters) - Anthropic said on Monday it resumed external cybersecurity testing of AI models after deploying new safeguards, following incidents last month in which Claude models accessed the internet and hacked into other systems during security evaluations
1 days ago
ICTS 2026: Centre says Delhi set to get comprehensive road-grid plan within 3-4 monthsThe Capital is set to get a comprehensive road-grid plan within months as the Centre moves to implement the city’s new master plan, a senior Union housing and urban affairs ministry official said on Tuesday
1 days ago
The John Ternus era: How Apple is redefining design beyond the Jony Ive yearsJohn Ternus has evolved the approach from the Jony Ive era on three key characteristics. Published on: Sep 1, 2026, 21:11:24 IST By Vishal Mathur Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Before John Ternus
1 days ago
Fact check: Is Dollywood closing permanently after a fire? Could Disney buy the park for $200 billion?Rumors that Dollywood burned down and is permanently closing are false. The park remains open. While, Disney takeover claims are also untrue. Published on: Sep 2, 2026
1 days ago
HONG KONG, Sept 2 (Reuters) - While Nvidia is synonymous with the AI boom, a lesser-known group of power and cooling equipment suppliers is cashing in on a global data centre construction spree as developers race to avoid infrastructure bottlenecks
1 days ago
September has begun, bringing a fresh set of money-related changes and important financial dates for taxpayers, investors and households. While the August 31 deadlines for certain ITR filers and LPG e-KYC have now passed, September has several dates to watch
1 days ago
As India moves from AI experimentation to real-world application, the ET AI Awards 2027 recognise organisations, teams and leaders driving AI innovation, business transformation and measurable impact. Across AI startups, SMEs and enterprises, the awards spotlight excellence in AI products
1 days ago
From September 1, international passengers departing from India will no longer be required to get their boarding passes stamped at immigration counters. The Bureau of Immigration has introduced the change to simplify the departure process and make immigration clearance faster and more convenient
1 days ago
Erin Piacenti’s killer posted about ‘stabbing others for no reason’ months before attackMonths before killing Bank of America VP Erin Piacenti, Pamela Cisneros shared a series of posts where she rambled about religion, the meaning of life and more Updated on: Sep 2, 2026
1 days ago
Premier League clubs have broken their all-time summer transfer record after spending reached £3.46bn. English top flight clubs had already pushed well beyond the £3bn barrier when Iliman Ndiaye's move from Everton to Manchester City on deadline day for an initial £60m took the amount spent past
1 days ago
Ariana Grande made an emotional exit on Tuesday night, as she wrapped up her Eternal Sunshine tour, and prepared to step back from public life. The singer was occasionally close to tears - most notably during One Last Time, the song that took on extra meaning as an anthem for survivors of the 2017
1 days ago
About a century ago, long before environmental degradation became the crisis of our times, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore had sounded early warning bells about the destruction of forests. Though Tagore was born in the city of Kolkata, he had a deep and abiding contact with nature from childhood
1 days ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions.The joy of drawing anywhere starts with the right tablet, and these six options make a strong case for leaving the deskLarge canvases
1 days ago
Cops quiz witnesses to form ‘watertight’ case over Greater Noida-Delhi bus gangrapeA police officer associated with the probe said that they have written to the Forensic Science Laboratory to expedite the report. Updated on: Sep 2, 2026, 07:21:59 IST By Hemani Bhandari Prefer HTon Google Share
1 days ago
