Business
Work-life balance push: Right to Disconnect Bill sparks corporate debate; firms say boundaries help but flexibility key – The Times of India
The Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025 — a private member’s bill introduced in Parliament last week — has reopened the conversation on work-life boundaries, even though experts say it is unlikely to become law anytime soon. The legislation, moved by NCP MP Supriya Sule, proposes giving employees the legal right to ignore work-related communication outside designated working hours. While private member’s bills seldom translate into statutes, they often succeed in spotlighting issues of public concern — and this one has already triggered strong reactions across India Inc, according to an ET report.Executives at Mercedes-Benz India, RPG Group, Bombay Realty (Wadia Group), Grant Thornton Bharat, TeamLease Services and Randstad India said the move underlines a growing cultural shift toward employee well-being. Several countries including France, Belgium, Ireland and Australia have already enacted similar rights, experts noted. “Its stated intent is broadly aligned with our approach to employee well-being in a holistic manner,” an RPG Group spokesperson told ET. The conglomerate has implemented flexible hours, hybrid models and firm boundaries such as CEAT’s 8 pm–8 am no-work window, no-work weekends and silent lunch hours. “We believe a happy work environment leads to happy employees, who in turn will deliver their best,” the spokesperson said, ET quoted.Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO Santosh Iyer said the company’s hybrid working model — allowing employees to work from home twice a week — supports “quality time with family members” while maintaining accountability. “There is higher trust in hybrid culture,” he added. Randstad India CEO Viswanath PS described the proposed law as a “coming of age” moment for the Indian workforce. “This invites us to dismantle the ‘always-on’ habit,” he said, arguing that leadership must shift focus from “input metrics” like hours worked to “impact metrics”.Grant Thornton Bharat partner Priyanka Gulati said conversations with about 20 client organisations across sectors show broad support for clearer boundaries. “Self-accountability is more powerful in mature organisations where employees measure their energy, not just their hours,” she said. At the same time, she noted that companies expect employees to stretch when business demands it. TeamLease Digital CEO Neeti Sharma said defined hours — 9 am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday — act as a helpful baseline, particularly for dispersed teams. “Companies also need flexibility for global collaboration, time zones and project-based work,” she said.Experts stressed that young professionals often hesitate to say no, which makes clearer norms important. Lydia Naik, Group CHRO at Bombay Realty (Wadia Group), said there is “no one-size-fits-all” for work hours. “What truly matters is the quality of work, personal balance and ensuring workloads are realistic,” she said. Despite the bill’s uncertain legislative future, the renewed debate suggests a shift in how Indian workplaces view well-being, productivity and boundaries — with corporate India acknowledging that the era of being perpetually “online” may be nearing its end.
After the drop in gold price, Bitcoin price also fell.
Bitcoin fell below $77,000 in the global market, Bitcoin price fell by more than 13% in a week.
Bitcoin’s highest price in 6 months fell below $126,000, Bitcoin price has dropped by more than $49,000.
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The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 371 points, or 0.47%, at 81,090.24, while the NSE Nifty rises by 70 points to trade above 24,850 at 24,889.25.
Stock Market Today.
Market Updates Today: A day after the market crash following the Budget’s provision to hike Securities Transaction Tax (STT), the domestic equity market on Monday saw heightened volatility. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.
As of 3:16 pm, the BSE Sensex surged by 932 points, or up 1.13%, to 81,641.87 in the afternoon trade and the NSE Nifty rose by 267 points, or up 1.07%, to trade above 25,000 at 25,093.27. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.27.
Among the 30 Sensex shares, 25 stocks were trading in the green. Among the top gainers were PowerGrid, Adani Ports, BEL, Reliance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, and IndiGo, rising by up to 7.91%. The laggards were Axis Bank, Infosys, Titan, TCS, and Trent, falling by up to 1.97%.
After opening nearly flat, at around 9:30 am, the BSE Sensex jumped by 350 points to 81,112.03 in the opening trade, while the NSE Nifty rose 91 points to trade above the 24,900 level at 24,910.85. However, the benchmarks gave up all gains and declined to day’s low amid heavy volatility.
Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Ltd, said, “Near-term sentiment remains cautious despite some support from domestic technical indicators. The broader market direction will largely be influenced by global equity cues, crude oil price movements, and institutional fund flows.”
On Sunday, the Nifty saw an aggressive sell-off after the Budget 2026 announcement to hike STT, plunging nearly 870 points from 25,440 to an intraday low of 24,571, before staging a partial recovery to close at 24,825.
“A strong bearish candle was formed, with the index closing decisively below the 200-day EMA, indicating a deterioration in trend strength. Immediate resistance is placed at 24,950–25,000, while key support lies in the 24,650-24,700 zone. The RSI slipped to 31, reflecting oversold conditions, while India VIX surged 10.73% to 15.09, highlighting elevated market volatility,” Shah said.
On Sunday, February 1, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 588 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also remained net sellers, offloading shares worth Rs 682 crore, adding to the pressure on the market.
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “Yesterday’s market selloff resulting in 495 point crash in Nifty was a knee-jerk reaction to the sharp increase in STT on F&O trades. This was not a revenue-raising measure, but a decision to discourage retail traders from complex F&O trading, in which 92% of them were losing money. This decision is in the interest of retail investors. But this decision impacted the market sentiments, which were already impacted by the decision to make no changes in the LTCGs tax, which a section of the market was expecting rather unrealistically.”
It is important to understand that the Budget is a growth-oriented Budget with fiscal prudence. The 10% nominal GDP growth projected in the Budget is achievable and has the potential to deliver around 15% earnings growth in FY27. The market will soon start discounting this positive. But it is possible that FIIs may continue to sell impacting the market. Retail investors should keep their cool and remain invested and continue to invest systematically. A significant upturn in the market may take time; perhaps a retreat from AI trade globally. We don’t know when this will happen. But we know that an earnings rebound is imminent in response to this growth oriented Budget. That is a clear positive, he added.
February 02, 2026, 09:34 IST
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Gold prices have fallen significantly in both local and international markets, with 10 grams now priced at Rs18,433 and a tola at Rs21,500.
The price per tola fell below Rs22,000, reaching Rs21,500, while 10 grams dropped to Rs18,433.
Internationally, gold also saw a decline, with prices falling by 215 dollars to 4,676 dollars per ounce.
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