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AIADMK, if voted to power, will give free fridges to ration cardholders

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday announced free refrigerators for all rice ration cardholders if his party is voted to power in the 2026 Assembly election. Also, he assured to provide one kilo dal and one litre of cooking oil for free to rice category ration cardholders in Tamil Nadu. His announcements toe the line of the party leader and late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who had announced the populist scheme to provide free fans, mixies, and grinders as part of the AIADMK election manifesto ahead of the 2011 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. After coming to power, she launched the distribution of these freebies on September 15, 2011, coinciding with former Chief Minister C N Annadurai's birth anniversary. Releasing the party's poll manifesto for the April 23 election, at the AIADMK state headquarters here, Palaniswami said, "The free fridge is meant to reduce the household workload of homemakers.

Iran conflict hits global economy as surveys show rising inflation risks

The ensuing leap in the price of oil, gas and other related products is a potential double whammy for economies around the world, feeding through into wider inflation and stunting growth

India ready for peak power demand, but supply, transmission risks remain

India is better prepared to meet a record 270 Gw peak power demand this summer, supported by strong coal stocks and renewables, though geopolitical tensions and grid constraints pose risks

Saudi Prince is said to push Trump to continue Iran war in recent calls

Prince Mohammed, the people familiar with the discussions said, has argued that Iran poses a long-term threat to the Gulf that can only be eliminated by getting rid of the government

Aditya Birla Fashion names Suraj Bahirwani as Pantaloons' CEO-designate

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd on Tuesday announced its top leadership succession plan for the Pantaloons brand, with the appointment of Suraj Bahirwani as CEO Designate. Bahirwani will succeed incumbent Sangeeta Tanwani from October 1, 2026, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) said in a regulatory filing. The company's board at its meeting held on March 24, 2026, has appointed Suraj Bahirwani as CEO (Designate) - Pantaloons and senior managerial personnel (SMP) of the company with effect from April 1, 2026, and as CEO - Pantaloons and SMP with effect from October 1, 2026, it added. Sangeeta Tanwani, CEO - Pantaloons and whole-time director (WTD) and key managerial personnel (KMP) of the company, will oversee a planned and phased leadership transition of her role as CEO-Pantaloons and will continue to be CEO-Pantaloons till September 30, 2026, the filing added. The company further said that from October 1, 2026 till her retirement on January 31, 2027, she will support

Archaic tree-felling laws, policy gaps curb India's agroforestry potential

Experts flag outdated tree-felling rules and policy gaps as key hurdles to India's agroforestry growth, warning of rising import dependence despite strong domestic demand and export potential

Iran strikes Israel with fresh wave of missiles, mocks Trump's talks claim

Three senior Israeli officials said Trump appeared determined to reach a deal, but that they thought it highly unlikely Iran would agree to US demands in any new round of negotiations

Indian brewers warn of shortages as Iran conflict hits packaging makers

Iranian attacks have partially disrupted Qatar's export capacity, tightening gas availability for Indian manufacturers

RBI developing AI-led digital payments platforms to boost user experience

The Reserve Bank is developing more digital public infrastructure and payments intelligence platforms by leveraging artificial intelligence and application programming interfaces to enhance customer experience and strengthen the payments ecosystem, according to a senior central bank official. "We are also creating more and more DPIs. We are talking about the use of AI to create all those DPIs and APIs. Of course, AI and APIs are going to be the future of all these DPIs and for all your online activities," P Vasudevan, executive director of RBI, said while addressing at MPAI Merchant's Day 2026. He said the central bank is considering deploying artificial intelligence to enhance customer journeys and automate grievance handling as digital transaction volumes continue to increase. "For example, let us say I make a UPI transaction and I have an issue, the transaction doesn't get completed. It automatically picks up this as a grievance and tries to complete the journey. That's what UPI

Ex-Coal India top brass seek PM Modi's help to revise stagnant pensions

Several former top brass of Coal India Ltd (CIL), its subsidiaries and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd have sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to revise retired employees' pension, pointing out that it "remains constant forever". Former CIL director (technical) Binay Dayal, a signatory of the letter, on Tuesday said 75 former chairpersons, managing directors and directors of the PSUs have written to the prime minister over the issue. In the March 23 letter, the former top executives said the pension fixed at the time of retirement remains "constant forever without any adjustment for rise in prices", leaving many retired miners struggling. They alleged mismanagement of the Coal Mines Pension Scheme (CMPS)-1998 corpus and suboptimal investment decisions as the root cause of the pension amount remaining static, pointing out that the Public Accounts Committee had highlighted these shortcomings in its 12th report. Despite the government's stated commitment to review and

Iran names ex-IRGC commander as top security official after Larijani death

Iran named a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander as the new secretary of the country's Supreme National Security Council on Tuesday, replacing Ali Larijani, who was killed in an airstrike. Iranian state television identified the new secretary as Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr. Zolghadr reached the rank of brigadier general in the Guard. He had been serving as the secretary of Iran's Expediency Council.

India veg oil refiners cut purchases, expect conflict-driven rally to fade

India, which meets nearly two-thirds of its vegetable oil needs through imports, brought in an average 1.36 million metric tons a month in the marketing year that ended in October 2025

Rupee gains 0.1% to 93.86 after 3 day slide, traders remain cautious

The ‌rupee nudged up 0.1 per cent to end the session at 93.8650, from its close at 93.9750 in the previous session

West Asia conflict: Trump pauses strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said there were no talks with US and that stance on the Strait of Hormuz, as well as conditions to end the war, did not change

Oil prices not high enough to cause demand destruction: US energy chief

Oil prices have climbed to multi-year highs and fuel prices in the US are sur- ging, creating potential trouble for President Donald Trump's Republican party ahead of the mid-term elections

Two more Indian LPG tankers cross Hormuz, set to reach India in two days

Two more Indian-flagged LPG tankers, carrying roughly a day's supply of the country's cooking gas, have safely navigated through the war-hit Strait of Hormuz and are expected to reach Indian shores over the next two days. LPG tankers Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, sailing close to each other, started from the Persian Gulf on Monday morning before crossing the strait, ship tracking data showed. The two ships are carrying 92,612 tonnes of LPG, said Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, at a news briefing. "The movement has started." The tankers are likely to reach Indian ports between March 26 and March 28. The vessels have 33 and 27 Indian seafarers onboard, according to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Both the LPG tankers sailed through waters between Iran's Larak and Qeshm islands -- possibly to make their identity clear to Iranian authorities before they cross the strait, ship tracking data showed. The two ships were am

Strikes on Gulf energy infra spark fears of prolonged global impact

This new phase of the war began Wednesday, when Iran carried out a retaliatory missile strike on Ras Laffan, Qatar's vast energy complex

American Maritime Strategy in Indian Ocean: Tracing US' post-Cold War shift

The author argues, "Supply chains and critical technologies, such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology, are becoming increasingly important to emerging nations in the IOR

Taco Bell, Dunkin franchisee to pay $1.5 million in NYC scheduling case

In December, New York City announced that Starbucks would pay $38.9 million to settle claims it violated the city's scheduling law

Wall Street jumps after Trump delays Iran strikes; oil falls, dollar dips

Global markets staged a sharp recovery after Trump's comments, with Europe's STOXX 600 and precious metals edging up while oil prices fell, signaling improving risk appetite