Business
Take some green levies, not VAT, off bills to cut energy costs, Treasury urged
The Government should cut energy bills by removing renewables subsidies, reducing system costs and implementing efficiency standards for landlords, a think tank has urged.
Green Alliance says the measures could reduce the typical household fuel bill by £178 a year by 2030 – and much higher savings of up to £587 for families renting draughty, inefficient homes.
Reports suggest the Treasury is eyeing up removing VAT from energy and cutting efficiency programmes paid for through bills, as it seeks to bring down costs for households to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and counter criticism about the price-tag attached to net zero policies.
Green Alliance said the Government must act immediately to lower bills, with the average household paying £478 more in October 2025 than four years earlier – and nine million UK households in fuel poverty.
But the environmental organisation said cutting VAT and energy efficiency programmes would be the wrong way to do it.
Green Alliance senior policy adviser Stuart Dossett said: “We are still very much living in a cost-of-living crisis, which has been a fossil fuel-driven energy crisis.
“There are households up and down the country that are being battered by this, and many people, as we move into winter, will be unable to heat their homes to a comfortable temperature because bills are too high.”
While the Government has “rightly” recognised the need to bring down costs, Mr Dossett argued that bringing VAT rates down to zero could immediately cut bills, but would be a “forever more move”, as it would be politically difficult to reverse.
Using the £2.3 billion the VAT cut would cost the Treasury to take some green levies – focusing on subsidies for renewables dating back more than a decade – off bills and into government spending would still reduce consumer costs.
These would include the feed-in tariffs for household solar power and some of the “renewables obligation” subsidies for early clean electricity projects such as wind farms.
It would have advantages over zero-rating VAT as the schemes’ costs will decline until their conclusion in 2037, making it a better value move for the Government, Green Alliance argues.
And as they are levied on electricity bills, removing them would give greater savings to those who rely on direct electric heating – who tend to be lower income and in deep fuel poverty because of high running costs – while also incentivising take-up of clean electric-powered heat pumps.
Mr Dossett also warned the Government should not cut spending on energy efficiency measures, which pay for insulation and other improvements for households in fuel poverty via a levy on bills.
“If the Government is serious about lowering people’s bills for good, the way to do that is investing in insulating our homes, not raiding schemes that have helped families lower their energy costs as a way of making their sums add up in the Budget,” he said.
A new paper from Green Alliance launched ahead of the Budget also says that system costs could be reduced by 2030 with a series of “no regret” options, including lowering voltage levels on the low voltage network as modern appliances are using more power than they need.
Green Alliance also advocates for putting gas power plants in a “strategic reserve”, removing them from the power market and enabling system operator Neso to determining when to generate electricity from gas, to prevent high gas prices pushing up the cost of power.
And measures to reduce the financing costs of new renewables could cut how much they cost to build and the price of the electricity they generate, while boosting their deployment and reducing the UK’s exposure to expensive fossil fuels.
The think tank also calls for the Government to implement a private rental sector minimum energy efficiency standard equivalent to Energy Performance Standard (EPC) C by 2030, to help people in rented accommodation who are often the most vulnerable to high bills.
Mr Dossett said the move would be “crucially important for lifting huge swathes of households that are currently experiencing fuel poverty out of it”.
Other measures including installing smart meters that could also help people reduce energy use and cut their bills.
Taken together, a typical household could save up to £178 a year by 2030, and a family in rented accommodation that is improved from an EPC E to a C rating and gets a smart meter, could save up to £587 in total, Green Alliance said.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the Government did not comment on speculation over tax changes.
But they said: “The Government’s clean energy mission is exactly how we will deliver cheaper power and bring down bills for good.
“Our mission is relentlessly focused on delivering lower bills for the British people, to tackle the affordability crisis that has been driven by our dependence on fossil fuel markets.”
The spokesperson said the Government would publish an update on plans to make private rental homes reach EPC C standard by 2030 in “due course”, and was exploring options for rebalancing gas and electricity prices.
Business
Anthropic At $380 Billion Surpasses India’s Top IT Firms Combined As AI Fears Rock Stocks
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Anthropic’s AI tools have triggered a sharp decline in Indian IT stocks like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, eroding Rs 3,11,873 crore in market value.

Anthropic’s valuation surpassed combined value of total IT firms in India
The entire Information Technology (IT) industry in India is battering with the existential threat, which comes on the heels of rising generative AI, posing doubts over the viability of their business model.
Stocks of the IT industries, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, etc., hit brutally over the past week. This was triggered with the launch of new AI tools by Anthropic’s Claude for Cowork, which is like an office teammate helping the user to do tasks such as file sorting, reading legal drafts, etc.
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Anthropic’s Valuation vs Nifty IT Index
Anthropic’s phenomenal valuation rise has surpassed the combined value of India’s top IT firms. Standing at a valuation of $380 billion, the US-based AI company has eclipsed India’s Nifty IT index, whose market cap was at $296.4 billion by the time of writing this report.
Investors are accelerating their exit from technology stocks as concerns intensify that advanced artificial intelligence tools could disrupt core segments of the global software and IT services industry.
This week alone, TCS, Infosys and HCL Technologies dragged 9-11 per cent.
The sharp correction has wiped out substantial investor wealth. Based on intraday lows, the combined market capitalisation of the top five domestic IT companies has eroded by nearly Rs 3,11,873 crore this week.
TCS emerged as the biggest laggard, losing Rs 1,28,800 crore in market value, with its market capitalisation slipping to Rs 9,35,253 crore. The fall also pushed it to the fifth-most valued listed company from the fourth position.
Infosys has seen its market capitalisation shrink by Rs 91,431 crore following a 15 per cent decline this week. HCL Technologies has lost Rs 53,647 crore in market value over the past five trading sessions. Wipro and Tech Mahindra have also recorded declines, with their market capitalisations falling by Rs 22,762 crore and Rs 15,233 crore, respectively, during the same period.
| Company Name | Mcap ($Billion) |
| Tata Consultancy Services | 107.4 |
| Infosys | 61.2 |
| HCL Technologies | 43.6 |
| Wipro | 24.8 |
| Tech Mahindra | 16.6 |
| LTIMindtree | 16.7 |
| Persistent Systems | 9.5 |
| Oracle Financial Services Soft | 6.4 |
| Coforge | 5 |
| Mphasis | 5.2 |
| Total | 296.4 |
Source: Bloomberg
Anthropic’s Recent Funding Round
Anthropic has recently raised $30 billion in Series G funding led by GIC and Coatue, valuing Anthropic at $380 billion post-money, as announced by the company in the press release.
The investment will fuel the frontier research, product development, and infrastructure expansions that have made Anthropic the market leader in enterprise AI and coding.
February 14, 2026, 09:15 IST
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Business
IndiGo plans to hire over 1,000 pilots after December’s crew crunch – The Times of India
IndiGo, the country’s largest airline is set to go on a hiring spree, bringing over 1,000 pilots on board. This comes after the aviation giant faced massive operational disruption last December, when the company was forced to cancel more than 5,000 flights within seven days.The fresh intake will span trainee first officers, senior first officers and commanders. A recruitment notice shows the carrier is also ready to accept applicants without time on the Airbus A320, the workhorse aircraft across its network, ET reported.Under the updated framework, the number of landings permitted between 12 am and 6 am has been limited, while the mandatory weekly rest period for pilots has gone up.A review carried out by the irectorate General of Civil Aviation concluded that the airline had neither hired in line with the new rules nor accelerated its training capacity. This, the probe noted, resulted in pilots being stretched through repeated reassignments, lengthier duty spans and greater use of deadheading, in which crew are moved as passengers to operate flights elsewhere.
Stepping up expansion
A senior official, as cited by ET, maintained that IndiGo is now lining up a steady supply of cockpit crew to keep pace with rapid aircraft additions. The airline’s in-house system is currently upgrading about 20–25 first officers to captain each month. Now, alongside hiring, the carrier has begun adjusting its network planning to create more breathing space in daily operations. From almost no buffer in December, the margin has been raised to 3% this month. Standby crew availability has also been lifted to a minimum of 15%.Fleet expansion is continuing at a brisk rate, with roughly four aircraft joining the airline every month on average.Training remains a long lead activity. Trainee first officers require around six months before they are cleared to operate, while promotion to captaincy demands at least 1,500 hours of flying, though airlines may prescribe stricter benchmarks.While the regulator’s baseline requirement is three sets of pilots per aircraft, including one captain and one first officer, IndiGo’s intense utilisation levels push its need to well over twice that figure.Figures placed during the inquiry into the December episode showed the airline needed 2,422 captains but had 2,357.
DGCA findings
After the disruption, the watchdog stepped in with temporary relaxations, suspending night-duty restriction rules until February 10.In its assessment, the DGCA said there was an overriding focus on maximising utilisation of crew, aircraft, and network resources, which significantly reduced roster buffer margins.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that the airline structured its crew schedules to extract the longest possible duty hours, leaning heavily on deadheading, tail swaps and stretched work patterns while leaving very little room for recovery. It noted that such planning weakened roster integrity and hurt operational resilience.
Business
Piyush Goyal Dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s Farmer Meet Video, Rebuts ‘Fake Narrative’ On India-US Trade Deal
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The minister offered a detailed reality check to counter what he termed ‘Rahul ji’s fakery’

Goyal reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies are intrinsically linked to farmer welfare. (File Photo: PTI)
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of orchestrating a “fake narrative” aimed at provoking India’s farming community. Responding to a video released on social media by the Leader of the Opposition on Friday, Goyal dismissed the interaction as a stage-managed performance featuring Congress activists masquerading as genuine farmer leaders. He asserted that the dialogue followed a predetermined script designed to mislead the public regarding the safeguards in the recent India-US trade deal.
Rahul Gandhi has alleged that “any trade deal that takes away the livelihood of farmers or weakens the food security of the country is anti-farmer”. He was pointing to the recently concluded India-US framework agreement for bilateral trade, which is expected to be signed after tweaks by the end of March.
Piyush Goyal offered a detailed reality check to counter what he termed “Rahul ji’s fakery”, placing on record that the Narendra Modi government has fully protected the interests of annadatas, fishermen, MSMEs, and artisans. The minister categorically clarified that sensitive crops like soyameal and maize have been granted no concessions whatsoever in the agreement, ensuring that domestic farmers remain shielded from competitive pressure. He criticised the opposition for repeating “baseless allegations” in an attempt to instill unnecessary fear among the rural population.
Addressing specific claims regarding apple and walnut imports, the minister provided a technical breakdown of the protectionist measures in place. He noted that while India already imports approximately 550,000 tonnes of apples annually due to high domestic demand, the new US deal does not allow unlimited entry. Instead, a strict quota has been established, far below current import levels, and subject to a Minimum Import Price (MIP) of Rs 80 per kg. With an additional duty of Rs 25, the landed cost of US apples will be roughly Rs 105 per kg—significantly higher than the current average landed cost of Rs 75 per kg from other nations—thereby ensuring Indian growers are not undercut. Similarly, for walnuts, the US has been offered a modest quota of 13,000 metric tonnes against India’s total annual import requirement of 60,000 metric tonnes, making it impossible for the deal to harm local producers.
Goyal also took a swipe at the historical record of the Congress party, pointing out the irony of its current stance. He reminded the public that during the Congress-led UPA era, India imported nearly $20 billion worth of agricultural products, including dairy items, which the current administration has strictly excluded from the US pact. He challenged Rahul Gandhi to explain his “betrayal of farmers” and questioned how much longer the opposition intended to peddle fabricated stories.
Concluding with the slogan “Kisan Surakshit Desh Viksit”, Goyal reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies are intrinsically linked to farmer welfare. He maintained that the India-US agreement is a balanced framework that opens new markets for Indian exports like basmati rice and spices while keeping the nation’s agricultural backbone secure.
February 14, 2026, 05:29 IST
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