Page 8 - Economy & Policy News

India's forex reserves rise $12.4 billion to record high of $729.3 billion

Forex reserves rose sharply on strong inflows under the RBI's concessional swap window and revaluation gains, while foreign currency assets increased by $9.48 billion

India state fiscal health: Telangana tops guarantees burden in FY25

Business Standard's India State Fiscal Health Tracker compares states and Union Territories on outstanding state guarantees as a share of GSDP. Here's what the FY25 Budget Estimates show

India state fiscal health: Pension burden highest in Himachal Pradesh

A higher ratio means pension spending accounts for a larger part of the revenue available to the state. A lower ratio means pension expenditure takes up a smaller share of revenue receipts

Hormuz crisis adds $22 bn to India's fossil fuel import costs: CREA

In terms of economic impact, India's net additional cost across all fossil fuels was estimated at $14.4 billion, equivalent to 0.38 per cent of its GDP, or about 1.4 days of national income

Will talk to Japan on increasing basmati rice exports from India: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India will take up the issue of greater market access for basmati rice with Japan during a review of the trade agreement

Govt pulls plug on ECLGS just over 3 months after launch; banks in a fix

ECLGS 5.0 was meant to run until March 2027, but its ₹2.5 trillion guarantee allocation was exhausted within months, leaving banks and borrowers with sanctioned but undisbursed loans

Payment aggregators push for fixed and direct share of UPI MDR

The demand is likely to draw resistance, as payment aggregators are not direct members of the UPI network run by the NPCI

Russia remains India's largest crude supplier in August: Kpler data

Russian crude imports are expected at around 2.1 mbpd in August, down from 2.6 mbpd in June and July; fresh US sanctions on Iran are unlikely to have a material direct impact

Focus on critical minerals during PM Narendra Modi's Uzbekistan visit

Bilateral trade rose from $13 billion in 2021 to $60 billion in 2025, while the trade imbalance widened from $6.6 billion to over $50 billion in Russia's favour

Piyush Goyal pushes for JPY 10 trillion Japanese investment in India

Commerce minister meets Japanese financial institutions and companies as India seeks investment in semiconductors, technology and resilient supply chains

S&P Global affirms India's BBB sovereign rating, flags slippage risk

Rating agency retains stable outlook, citing policy stability and infrastructure investment, but sees risks to Centre's FY27 fiscal deficit target from revenue, subsidy pressures

India, Canada can add certainty to global growth: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance minister pitches India as a stable investment destination as the two countries seek to conclude an investment protection agreement by the end of this year

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar's per capita income still trails India average

Punjab and Maharashtra, among the top 5 states at the dawn of reforms, have since moved down the order

Bond traders expect RBI to drain surplus liquidity as rate hikes loom

India's banking-system liquidity surplus has averaged more than 3.4 trillion rupees ($36 billion) so far in August and is expected to expand further

Streamlined approvals, KYC norms will help boost FDI flows: Piyush Goyal

There are very few sectors where foreign direct investment (FDI) is restricted, and the government is open to ideas from industry to further improve the investment regime, he said

China to ship at least 1.2 mn tonnes of key fertiliser variety to India

India is one of the biggest urea importers, making its purchases closely watched as a global benchmark

Datanomics: India's trade surplus with US declines after tariffs

India's trade surplus with the US fell 28% to $31.2 billion in 2025-26 as tariffs hit exports of key goods and imports increased

India's mushroom production surges, led by Bihar, but challenges remain

India's mushroom output rose from 51,000 tonnes in 2015 to 347,750 tonnes in 2024, with Bihar at the forefront, but productivity, cold-chain and infrastructure gaps threaten further growth.

Sugar prices ease after import approval, tighter bulk stockholding limits

Domestic sugar prices are easing after the government allowed 1 million tonnes of duty-free raw sugar imports and tightened stock limits for bulk buyers

Indian refiners widen oil search as Ukrainian attacks hurt Russian flows

Given the pressure on Moscow's crude exports, processors have been seeking alternative barrels from regions including West Africa and even the Americas