India has now become the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market after the U.S. and China, as airlines such as IndiGo and Air India have expanded their fleet size to cater to the surge in air passengers, according to data compiled by aviation analytics firm OAG.

The data show India’s domestic airline capacity doubled in the last 10 years from 7.9 million seats in April 2014 to 15.5 million in April 2024 to surpass Brazil and Indonesia and move up from the 5th position.

India has replaced Brazil, which now stands at the fourth place with 9.7 million airline seats followed by Indonesia in fifth rank with 9.2 million.

Driven by the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, robust local manufacturing towards becoming a supply chain hub, and strong GDP growth, India is marching towards becoming a global economic superpower in the next decade.

The country embarked upon its journey under various schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in the last 10 years. It saw tremendous growth -- be it a thrust on local manufacturing, new semiconductor plants, AI, 5G, startups, innovation and PLI schemes for various sectors, while skilling the workforce and creating lakhs of new jobs.

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said due to India's human-centric approach, the country is the first responder in any crisis, and has become a strong voice of the Global South.

India has been at the forefront in safeguarding humanity; be it the Corona crisis or an earthquake or a war, the President said and added that due to the efforts of the Union government, Bharat is giving new confidence to the world as a Vishwa-Bandhu (global friend).

The way the world now views India was evident during the G-7 summit held in Italy, the President pointed out.

Indian frontline indices again touched an all-time high on Thursday as strong buying was seen in IT stocks.

Sensex and Nifty made an all-time high of 79,240 and 24,036 respectively. This is the first time that nifty crossed the 24,000 mark and Sensex exceeded the 79,000 level.

At 12:55 p.m., Sensex was up 418 points or 0.53 per cent at 79,092, and Nifty was up 135 points or 0.53 per cent at 24,004.

Among the sectors, buying is seen in IT, oil and gas, and FMCG while, PSU bank, auto, pharma, and media are top laggards.

India equity indices opened flat on Thursday following negative cues from global markets.

At 9:45 a.m., Sensex was up 20 points at 78,694 and Nifty was up 9 points at 23,877.

Midcap and smallcap stocks are outperforming compared to largecaps. The Nifty Midcap 100 index is at 55,429, up 183 points or 0.33 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index is at 18,334, up 35 points or 0.20 per cent.

Indian equity indices closed at a record high on Wednesday following a rally in media and energy stocks.

During the market hours, the Sensex and Nifty registered a new all-time high of 78,759 and 23,889 respectively.

At closing, Sensex was up 620 points or 0.80 per cent, at 78,674 and Nifty was up 147 points or 0.62 per cent, at 23,868.

Among the sectoral indices, media, energy, PSU bank, fin services and pharma were major gainers.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das sees India moving ahead towards an 8 per cent GDP growth trajectory on a sustained basis, driven by structural economic reforms such as GST.

"If you look at the average growth India recorded over the three years, the average comes to 8.3 per cent and the current year we have given a projection of 7.2 per cent growth," Das said at the 188th AGM (Annual General Meeting) of Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

India's growth momentum remains strong and could improve further in the coming months. The country was on a path to achieving 8 per cent growth on a sustained basis, he added.

Indian equity markets gave stellar returns in the first six months of 2024.

The Sensex was up nearly 8 per cent and Nifty was up nearly 9 per cent so far this year.

The impact of the rally in the market was also visible on mutual fund schemes and investors have got very good returns.

According to a media report, around 260 mutual fund schemes have given an average return of about 17.67 per cent in the first half of 2024.

Indian equity benchmarks opened flat on Wednesday following selling pressure on midcap stocks.

At 9:42 a.m., Sensex was up 49 points or 0.06 per cent, at 78,103 and Nifty was down 11 points or 0.05 per cent, at 23,709.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 75 points or 0.13 per cent to 55,294 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 41 points or 0.23 per cent to 18,284.

UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, L&T, Tata Motors, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra and TCS are the top gainers. M&M, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, JSW Steel and Sun Pharma are the top losers.

Driven by the financial sector, the Indian stock market saw a sharp rally to close at an all-time high on Tuesday, with the Bank Nifty index breaking above the resistance of 52,000 for the first time.

The domestic market experienced a financial sector-driven rally on Tuesday, primarily led by private banks, with the Nifty Bank reaching a new high and the Sensex surpassing 78,000.

Sensex closed at 78,053 points, or 712 points up, while Nifty reached 23,721, or 183 points up.

Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and L&T were top gainers on the Sensex.