Today’s Paper

Oil prices spike past $100 amid Iran war and supply cuts, raising fears of a sharply higher import bill, inflation and current account deficit for India

Indian markets fell to 10-month lows as crude oil surged on West Asia tensions, stoking fears of higher inflation, a wider current account deficit, and pressure on corporate earnings

With the war in West Asia upending global trade, the first part of a series examines how the global diamond hub is grappling with the raging crisis and also tariff uncertainty

Flipkart has completed shifting its holding company from Singapore to India, removing a key hurdle for a potential domestic listing as it strengthens governance and readies for an IPO

Hinduja Group is expanding AI across automotive, insurance, energy and healthcare businesses, with early deployments already improving efficiency and generating new digital revenue streams

Reliance Retail has acquired beauty and wellness brand Pahadi Local, with the founding team continuing in key roles as the company expands the label across retail and digital platforms

Tech Mahindra has denied social media claims that it plans large-scale layoffs, clarifying in an exchange filing that no such proposal is under consideration amid speculation of a 30,000 cut

Nasscom has urged tech firms to strengthen cybersecurity frameworks as West Asia conflict heightens risks, advising measures ranging from credential resets to DDoS readiness and supply-chain audits

Bhagwati Products has leased 430,000 sq ft in Oppo's Noida plant to expand smartphone output, marking another major industrial space deal amid strong demand in NCR's manufacturing hubs

Cars24's India used-cars chief Himanshu Ratnoo has resigned as the SoftBank-backed firm restructures leadership while pushing for profitability targets and preparing for a potential IPO

The collaboration is aimed at solving such issues faced by direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies

Snabbit has launched Kavach, a platform-embedded safety system that proactively monitors risk and triggers escalation during home-service jobs, strengthening protection for women workers

StrideOne has raised ₹100 crore in equity and structured debt and appointed industry veteran Rajesh Sud as co-founder and chairman as it strengthens governance and scales its MSME credit platform

Puravankara has signed a joint development agreement for a 4-acre land parcel on Hennur Road, Bengaluru, adding a project with an estimated GDV of over ₹1,300 crore to its growth pipeline

India and Canada step up energy cooperation with a $1.9-billion uranium deal as New Delhi pushes its nuclear expansion under the Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat

The count of active jobs in February was the lowest since October 2024, when it was 14.12 lakh, according to the NCS performance dashboard

Facing supply risks from the West Asia conflict, the government has ordered all refiners to channel full C3-C4 streams into LPG production to ensure adequate supply for households

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a written statement, said that the medium-term impact of global crude oil price rise on inflation would depend upon several factors

SC refused to examine a plea challenging Income Tax Act provisions permitting digital access during search operations, calling the concerns speculative and allowing withdrawal of the petition

If global crude averages $110-115 per barrel in FY27, India's net oil imports could rise by $56-64 billion annually, worsening the current account deficit and fuelling inflation

Surging crude oil prices amid the West Asia conflict threaten the RBI's 'Goldilocks' phase, raising inflation concerns and complicating monetary policy as growth headwinds intensify

In a press release following its 134th board meeting, the regulator said it had granted certificates of registration to one reinsurer and one general insurer

The rupee touched a fresh low as crude oil prices crossed $100/bbl and global volatility rose, while bond yields eased later after the RBI's OMO purchase helped stabilise sentiment

At a review meeting, the finance ministry directed public sector banks to minimise adjournments and speed up CIRP filings, aiming to accelerate NCLT admission and resolution timelines

Life insurers' new business premiums grew nearly 18% in February 2026, led by LIC's strong performance on a favourable base, while non-life insurers posted about 10% year-on-year premium growth

Some risks are covered, others require purchase of add-ons, and yet others are completely excluded

Oil prices have already risen 23.6 per cent, from about $72 per barrel a day before the war began on February 28 to around $89 per barrel now

Absolute foreign ownership of the Indian market is at a 15-year low, and we see foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) selling on a daily basis

China's growth model has lasted longer than expected but is now losing momentum, as the government runs out of fiscal space to sustain investment-driven expansion

Economists expect a CAD of about 1 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) this financial year. This could increase to about 1.5 per cent in 2026-27

Record Finance Commission grants promise greater fiscal autonomy for cities, but sharp cuts in central schemes shift the burden of urban transformation to states and municipalities

The retail prices of petrol and diesel currently stand at ₹94.77 per litre and ₹87.67 per litre, respectively, in Delhi, compared to ₹110.04 per litre and ₹98.42 per litre, respectively, in Nov 2021

Edelweiss Financial Services sold a 4.4% stake in EAAA India Alternatives for ₹375 crore to key investors as the alternatives platform prepares for a potential IPO

Prolonged geopolitical tensions could pose headwinds

Instead of steep hikes, states are relying on licence fee increases, reserve price revisions, and recalibration of tax

Leading market experts decode Monday's stock market crash, crude oil's sharp spike and the investment strategy that one can adopt in this backdrop.

UBS' Global Oil team has also raised their near-term oil price forecasts, Q1-26E to $71/bbl (around $80/bbl for March), and the average for 2026 to $72/bbl

Agrochemical stocks fell sharply as tensions in West Asia threatened supply chains and raised raw-material costs, with analysts warning of higher fertiliser prices, subsidy needs and margin pressure

Top court upholds approval of ₹1,950-crore settlement scheme for investors hit by the 2013 National Spot Exchange payment crisis, dismissing creditor's challenge

Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey urged investors to stay calm amid volatility triggered by the West Asia war, saying strong domestic fundamentals have helped Indian markets remain resilient

Sebi has settled enforcement proceedings with 29 venture capital funds that failed to liquidate assets after their schemes' tenure expired, under the VCF Settlement Scheme 2025

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai and the UAE are the major destinations for Indian buffalo meat exports

The push comes as India's internet ecosystem expands rapidly

The Delhi High Court has upheld an order permitting Dr Reddy's Laboratories to manufacture semaglutide in India solely for export, rejecting Novo Nordisk's appeal in the ongoing patent dispute

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called for accelerating the process of linking the country's education sector to the real world economy. Addressing a post-budget webinar, he said the focus on subjects like AI and automation needs to be increased. "We will have to accelerate the process of linking our education system to the real world economy even further... We will have to increase our focus on subjects like AI and automation, digital economy and design-driven manufacturing," he said, noting that India is moving towards an innovation driven economy. The prime minister also noted that India is today working on the vision of preventive and holistic health. In the past few years, the country's health infrastructure has been strengthened... medical colleges have opened in hundreds of districts... through the Ayushman Bharat scheme and Arogya Mandirs, access to health services has been extended to every village. Our yoga and Ayurveda are becoming popular all over the world," he

A Bombay HC ruling quashing a customs order after seized goods deteriorated in custody may help importers avoid demurrage and related charges, highlighting systemic issues in customs procedures

Nalco has asked the Odisha government to expedite land handover for its ₹30,000 crore expansion plan, including a new smelter, captive power plant and the Pottangi bauxite mine

The subsidy burden might rise as retail rates of major fertiliser such as urea and DAP has to kept fixed to support farmers while import cost and cost of domestic production will go up

Addressing the concluding session of the webinar, Dr VK Paul, member (health) at government think tank NITI Aayog said that the strategic way forward includes strengthening existing institutions

Siam asks MoPNG to give clarity on availability

Centrally funded infrastructure projects reported a 16.4% cost jump in January, with revised estimates climbing to ₹39.2 trillion across 1,702 projects, even as overruns eased sequentially

The National Restaurant Association of India has warned the Centre that disruption in commercial LPG supplies could trigger widespread restaurant closures, urging sustained cylinder availability

Deal activity also fell significantly, with the number of funding rounds dropping 29 per cent from 2024

Over 125 million women in India with secondary or higher education are outside the labour force

India and Uzbekistan have launched a policy-backed pharma-nutraceutical corridor to improve regulatory alignment, investment and market access for manufacturers targeting the $7-10 billion Eurasian he

Surplus ethanol capacity and rising geopolitical risks revive calls for higher blending targets as India weighs E30, flex fuels and even E50 to bolster energy security

The airline said on March 7 that it would restart its Europe operations as airlines gradually restored schedules following disruptions caused by the evolving situation in West Asia

A data analytics-driven probe by the Income Tax Department has uncovered ₹4.08 billion in suppressed sales in the restaurant sector, prompting surveys across 46 cities nationwide

India's T20 World Cup victory has sparked a surge in endorsement interest for rising cricket stars as brands look beyond legacy icons and tap the next generation of marketable athletes

Government data show that only 22% of candidates certified under PMKVY 1.0 to 3.0 secured jobs, with placements for SC and ST candidates at about 25%, even as PMKVY 4.0 delinks training from targets

Last year, the state's institutional paddy payments stood at about ₹13,370 crore

Commercial activities include site offices, maintenance storage, exhibitions, car washing, stone and marble sales, game zones, circuses, and other activities

Human beings may soon have the ability to intelligently design future lifeforms. This book offers a glimpse into that unsettling and thought-provoking future

Uber launched a feature Monday to allow both women riders and drivers across the US to be matched with other women for trips, expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its hail-riding platform. The new feature is being rolled out nationwide despite an ongoing class action lawsuit against the policy in California, filed by Uber drivers who argue that it is discriminatory against men. Rival ride-hailing company Lyft is also facing a discrimination lawsuit over a similar offering that it introduced nationwide in 2024. The feature, announced in a blog post, allows women to request a female driver through an option on the app called "Women Drivers." Passengers can opt for another ride if the wait for a woman is too long, and they can also reserve a trip with a woman driver in advance. A third option allows female users to set a preference for a woman driver in their app settings, which would increase the chances of being matched with a female driver, thou

In the West Asia, Iran has leaned on one of its strategic advantages: its ability to disrupt the flow of oil and natural gas through the Persian Gulf and hurt economies around the world

Kuwait and Papua New Guinea have been placed under FATF's increased monitoring, while Iran, DPRK and Myanmar continue on the high-risk list requiring enhanced due diligence

The unusually sharp repricing came as major oil producers cut supply and fears grew of prolonged shipping disruptions, pushing crude above $119 a barrel its highest level since mid-2022

Jaishankar told Parliament that Iran requested permission to dock three warships at Indian ports, as he outlined India's energy, trade and citizen-security priorities amid the West Asia conflict

How ready is India for space warfare

The Business Standard Defence Index is designed to track the performance of 25 key defence stocks

Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and France emerge as top export destinations

The latest military weapons from around the world

Equipped with pre-fragmented or penetration-blast warheads

The 'eagle on arm' concept aims to build drones for frontline soldiers

New radar contracts, Europe's , France's VTOL UAS, and China's hybrid transport aircraft highlight rapid advances in military and unmanned systems worldwide

From PLA-led naval drills in South Africa to new UAVs, air defences, troop moves, and advanced platforms, militaries across Africa and West Asia are ramping up capabilities

Dependence on critical foreign technologies constrains strategic choices

The US pressure has cast a shadow on India's strategic bet on the Chabahar Port

A drone-and-missile theatre

The strategic side of India-US ties is largely unaffected. So far

India's capabilities need a unified architecture

In 2018, India and Myanmar signed an agreement on land border crossing with the aim to facilitate regulation and harmonisation of already existing free movement rights.

First, in terms of its ideational outlook, India will need to position itself as a stronger regional net security provider

China is developing counterspace capabilities, which are a major component of militarising space.

Takaichi is committed to enhanced defence expenditure, already at 2 per cent of GDP but likely to go up to 3 per cent

In Warhead, Nicholas Wright turns the spotlight away from hard power to the human mind.

Assessing if India can bear a relatively higher expenditure within a constrained fiscal space

Archival records reveal whether India violated the Cirus deal with Canada for a 'peaceful nuclear experiment'

As Xi ousts his top military general and controls both the party and the gun, Taiwan's anxiety escalates unprecedentedly high levels

The war cry of Yeh dil mange more!

The indigenous Gallium nitride chips will boost the efficiency of missiles, drones and fighter aircraft

India needs many more warships, but must first choose between consolidation and competition in shipbuilders

Susannah Patton, one of the architects of the Asia Power Index and director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute speaks to BS Blueprint