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Iraq starts shutting major oil fields as Hormuz crisis halts exports

The oil-market's worst fears have been realised this week after Hormuz all-but closed to shipping because of the Iran war

Telecom firms' gross revenue crosses ₹1 trillion in December quarter: Trai

The cumulative gross revenue of telecom service providers crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark in the December 2025 quarter to Rs 1.02 lakh crore, according to a report by sector regulator Trai, published on Tuesday. The gross revenue of telecom service providers (TSPs) was Rs 96,390 crore a year ago and Rs 99,828 crore in the September 2025 quarter. The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) grew by 8.13 per cent on a year-over-year basis to Rs 84,270 crore in the December 2025 quarter, from Rs 77,934 crore in the same period a year ago. The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) is derived from the sale of telecom services and government levies, including licence fees and spectrum usage charges. Access service providers, which are players like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, etc., accounted for 84.54 per cent of total AGR in the December 2025 quarter. The AGR data published till the September 2025 quarter by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in the performance indicator repor

Putin in contact with Gulf leaders to facilitate de-escalation: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin is making all possible efforts to de-escalate the crisis in the Gulf and is in close contact with the regional leaders as Iran is retaliating with massive strikes on the US facilities and infrastructure on their territories, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. The US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on Saturday, assassinating 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside family members, including his daughter and grandchildren. Since then, Iran has targeted multiple US bases in the surrounding Gulf States. "Putin will certainly make every effort to facilitate at least a minor easing of tensions. In this regard, we discussed with virtually all of our interlocutors yesterday," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Taking advantage of the dialogue we maintain with the Iranian leadership, (President) Putin will convey his deep concern regarding the strikes on their infrastructure to our colleagues in Iran," he added. According

Qatar declares force majeure, gas supplies to Indian industry cut

Qatar, India's largest supplier of imported natural gas, has declared force majeure on deliveries following a halt in production in the wake of an Iranian drone strike -- a disruption that has led to a cut in supplies to Indian industry by up to 40 per cent, sources said. Qatar supplies about 40 per cent of the nearly 27 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that India imports annually to meet demand across sectors ranging from power generation and fertiliser production to CNG distribution and piped cooking gas networks. Gas importer Petronet LNG Ltd has informed gas marketers of Qatar halting its liquefied natural gas production after Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and US strikes against it, they said. The attacks have also effectively brought oil and LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to a near halt, driving up global energy prices as well as sharply raising war-risk insurance and shipping costs. Iran controls the Strait -- a vi

QatarEnergy halts production of some downstream products after LNG shutdown

QatarEnergy will also stop making downstream products including urea, polymers and methanol, according to a statement on Tuesday

India eyes alternative energy supplies amid Strait of Hormuz disruption

Indian refiners process about 5.6 million barrels per day of crude, with about 40 per cent of their crude imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz

Employer must pay penalty for delay in compensation: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has fastened the liability to pay penalty on an employer for a delay in depositing the compensation amount under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923, saying the law is a "social welfare statute" for redressing employees' grievances. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P B Varale said in a catena of judgments, the apex court has stressed the "liberal and purposive interpretation" of the Act in favour of the employees being a social-welfare legislation. The bench delivered its verdict on an appeal filed by an insurance firm, challenging a May 2025 order of the Delhi High Court. The high court had fastened the liability of paying the penalty imposed under section 4A(3)(b) of the Act on the insurance firm. "The perusal of the statement of objects of the said legislation makes it crystal clear that the said legislation is a social welfare statute brought in by Parliament to redress the grievances of the employees in case of accidents that may occur in or during the

Power Ministry extends deadline for Draft NEP 2026 feedback till Mar 19

The Ministry of Power has extended the timeline seeking stakeholders' comments on the Draft National Electricity Policy 2026 by one month till March 19. The timeline has been extended on the request of several stakeholders who have sought additional time to examine the provisions of the draft electricity policy, the Ministry said in a notification dated February 25. Earlier, the last date to submit comments and suggestions was February 19. The National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2026 aims to address high losses and debt of discoms, non-cost-reflective tariffs, and high cross-subsidisation. A non-cost-reflective tariff is a pricing structure in which the rate charged to a particular consumer category is below the utility's average cost of generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity to that category. While cross-subsidisation is a pricing mechanism in which certain consumer groups (industrial, commercial, and higher-income domestic users) are charged tariffs above the cost

India starts countervailing duty probe against Chinese PVC resins

India has initiated a countervailing duty investigation against imports of Chinese PVC resins, used in multiple sectors including pipes, bottles, and cables, following complaints by domestic players. The investigation the DGTR follows an application filed by Chemplast Cuddalore Vinyls, DCM Shriram and DCW Ltd. The applicants have alleged that China is subsidising its PVC Suspension Resin makers and those companies are dumping the goods into Indian markets at cheaper prices, which is impacting domestic manufacturers. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is an arm of the commerce ministry. "On the basis of the duly substantiated application by the domestic industry, and having satisfied itself, on the basis of the prima facie evidence submitted by the applicants substantiating the existence of subsidization and consequent injury to the domestic industry, the authority hereby initiates an anti-subsidy investigation," the DGTR has said in a notification. The directorate wi

German firm Nemetschek appoints Alok Sharma as MD, VP of India biz

Germany-based Nemetschek Group, which provides software solutions for the construction sector, has appointed Alok Sharma as Managing Director and Vice President, India. The company provides software solutions for architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AEC/O) and media industries. In a statement, Nemetschek Group said Alok will anchor the company's India growth roadmap. Pete Nicholson, Senior Vice President, Nemetschek Group, said, "India represents one of the most dynamic construction markets globally. As infrastructure investments scale and digital mandates gather pace, strengthening local leadership is central to our long-term growth strategy." Founded in 1963, the Nemetschek Group, which has been listed in key German stock indices MDAX and TecDAX since 1999, achieved a revenue of EUR 1,191.2 million and an EBITDA of EUR 371.1 million in 2025, according to preliminary, unaudited figures.

Marketing That Works: A book on how 'unify, magnify, amplify' builds brands

After laying the foundation to the UMA model in the first half of the book, Mr Das Gupta offers 28 nuggets, each looking at one aspect of the Indian consumer that has changed

France to temporarily deploy nuclear aircraft to allies, says Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday that France will increase its number of nuclear warheads from the current level of below 300, but did not give a figure for the increase. It will be the first time France increases its nuclear arsenal since at least 1992. "I have decided to increase the numbers of warheads of our arsenal," Macron said at a military base at L'Ile Longue in northwestern France that hosts the country's ballistic missile submarines. Macron's speech was aimed at spelling out how French nuclear weapons fit into Europe's security amid concerns raised on the continent by recurring tensions with US President Donald Trump.

US Treasury to terminate all use of Anthropic products, says Bessent

The US Treasury Department is terminating all use of Anthropic products, including use of its platform, Secretary Scott Bessent said a social media post on Monday.

'Ready to do all we can': Putin offers to use Iran links to ease conflict

In a series of calls with the leaders of the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, Putin criticised the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, which the Kremlin described as "unprovoked aggression"

The 'big wave' is yet to come in the war with Iran, says Donald Trump

Reuters reported on Sunday that many senior US officials remain skeptical the military operation against the Islamic Republic will lead to a regime change in the near term

Strikes rock West Asia for third day; energy, airspace face major impact

As the conflict entered its third day, energy infrastructure, digital systems and maritime routes came under strain, while diplomatic channels struggled to keep pace with military escalation

Trump administration holds press conference as Iran conflict intensifies

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday spoke to widening concerns that the US-Israeli strikes in Iran could spiral into a protracted regional conflict by declaring, "This is not Iraq. This is not endless." Hegseth, along with Air Force Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held the Trump administration's first news briefing since Saturday's strikes. President Donald Trump, while he's conducted a few phone interviews with individual reporters, has not taken questions on camera and only released two videos since the operation began. Hegseth said the operation had a "clear, devastating, decisive mission" to "destroy the missile threat" from Iran, destroy its navy and "no nukes." "This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it," Hegseth said. The briefing comes as the conflict has intensified into a wider war in the region. Iran and its allied armed groups have launched missiles at Israel, Arab states and

Delhi govt to roll out 'Pink Saheli' cards from 50 centres on Tuesday

The Delhi government has set up around 50 centres across the city to facilitate the issuance of the "Pink Saheli" cards and the distribution process will commence from Tuesday. The Pink National Common Mobility card, launched by President Droupadi Murmu on Monday, will provide women and transgender individuals free bus travel and seamless access to multiple public transport systems through a single smart card, in line with the "one nation, one card" initiative. Around 50 centres, including offices of district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates, along with select Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) locations, have been established for card issuance, according to a statement. "The distribution at the 50 centres will take place from March 3 between 9 am and 5 pm on all days," the DTC said in the statement. Each pink card will be linked to the beneficiary's mobile number and Aadhaar to verify age, gender and Delhi residency, the statement said. The pink card will allow eligible

China refutes reports of selling CM-302 supersonic missiles to Iran

China on Monday denied reports of finalising a deal with Iran to sell CM-302 supersonic anti-ship missiles before the joint US-Israeli airstrikes on the country. If delivered, the missiles would be among the most advanced military hardware to be transferred to Iran by China in recent years, according to media reports. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the report of the deal is part of a disinformation campaign. "The report is not true. As a responsible major country, China always abides by its international obligations. China opposes ill-intentioned association and the spread of disinformation, and hopes relevant sides will choose the course of action conducive to de-escalating the tense situation," she said. The report is significant as the US has assembled a flotilla of naval groups, including aircraft carriers, close to Iranian waters to carry out the current military campaign against Iran. Chinese official media on Monday reported that the US planes cras

India's CAD widens to ₹13.2 billion in Q3 on higher trade deficit: RBI

The current account deficit stood at $11.3 billion, or 1.1 per cent of GDP, in the corresponding quarter of 2024-25