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The Economic Times (India)

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India insurers seek doubling of tax-free limit

MUMBAI: Indian life insurers have asked the government to double the tax-free limit for insurance policies from 500,000 rupees ($5,232), hoping for a boost to inflows into these funds, three sources directly aware of the matter said. New tax limits were imposed in February 2023, applicable to all insurance schemes except unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs). Since then, inflows into ‌non-ULIP schemes have ⁠risen ⁠a modest 2% and 5% for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, respectively. This is sharply lower than the 13% and 18% growth in the previous two years, data showed. The flows for fiscal 2026 grew 16%, largely due to a reduction in the goods and services tax. Stronger inflows into such funds will boost demand for ultra-long bonds - which these funds heavily invest in - at a time when the federal and state ⁠governments' supply ‌has risen, the sources said, declining to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. Similar requests had been made after ⁠new tax limits were imposed. The Life Insurance Council and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment. Slower inflows have curbed demand for longer-maturity debt, along with pushing up yields on 30-year and above maturity papers, faster than the 10-year note. The Indian government has reduced the share of ultra-long bonds in April-September borrowing to 25%, sharply lower than 30% for the second half of fiscal 2026 and ‌35% for the preceding six months. It would be difficult to maintain supply at this level, and the government will have to increase it to at least 30% in October-March, according ⁠to traders. "Increasing the tax exemption limit is a necessary first step to unlock the deep pool of long-term capital required to anchor India's fiscal expansion," said Arun Srinivasan, chief - fixed income, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. "Implementing this measure will incentivise long-term retail and institutional savings, offering critical domestic support for the state's ultra-long-term borrowing needs," he said. The appeal was made via a letter from the Life Insurance Council, a forum which represents insurers, to the government earlier this month, the sources said.

The Economic Times (India)

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Anthropic eclipses OpenAI with valuation of $965 billion

Anthropic PBC raised $65 billion in a funding round that valued the artificial intelligence company at $965 billion including the new investment, eclipsing rival OpenAI’s value for the first time.The funding, announced Thursday, was led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital. Each of the lead investors put in more than $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Sequoia declined to comment. The other three firms did not respond to a request for comment.Alphabet Inc.’s Google contributed several billion dollars to the round as part of a previously announced commitment to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic over time, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon.com Inc. invested $5 billion in the round, also as part of a prior commitment, Anthropic said in a blog post.Google declined to comment. Micron Technology Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. also contributed an undisclosed amount, helping to push the round well above Anthropic’s initial $30 billion target.The large round came together in a matter of weeks, a sign of strong investor demand for the Claude maker. In late April, Anthropic had been weighing whether to pursue new financing at a more than $900 billion valuation after receiving several inbound proposals, Bloomberg News has reported. The artificial intelligence startup then kicked off advanced discussions earlier this month.Founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI employees, Anthropic has since emerged as a leader in the AI sector. Anthropic has developed a series of AI tools aimed at overhauling the way businesses handle tasks from coding to cybersecurity. Anthropic and OpenAI are both expected to go public as soon as this fall, Bloomberg News has reported. Anthropic is still expected to proceed with an IPO on that timeline after the latest funding, one person said.Anthropic declined to comment.Anthropic expects to post $10.9 billion in revenue for the second quarter, more than doubling from the prior three-month period as demand surges for its AI software, Bloomberg News has reported. The company is also on pace for its first profitable quarter.The company has told investors that its annualized run rate revenue will surpass $50 billion by the end of next month, people familiar with the matter said. Anthropic’s run rate, a metric that projects full-year revenue based on sales from a shorter period, was $4 billion in July of last year.OpenAI was most recently valued at $852 billion in a funding round completed in March. The company is expected to confidentially file draft paperwork to go public in the coming days or weeks.

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AI Giant Anthropic Nears $1 Trillion Valuation, Surpasses Rival OpenAI

India insurers seek doubling of tax-free limit

Anthropic eclipses OpenAI with valuation of $965 billion

Indian Railways approves ₹993-crore Arakkonam-Chengalpattu track doubling project