West Asia And The Gulf

India's exports hit record $863 billion despite trade shocks, says official

Despite global trade disruptions stemming from the West Asia conflict and the imposition of US tariffs, India's exports reached a record high of USD 863 billion in Financial Year 2025-26, a senior Commerce Ministry official said on Wednesday. "This has been a very difficult year, from US tariffs to West Asia crises, but despite that, we have proved that India is very resilient as far as the export ecosystem is concerned. India's total exports reached an all-time high of USD 863 billion in FY 2025-26," said Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Ajay Bhadoo. Bhadoo was speaking at the Outreach Programme: 12 years of achievements and progress of SEZs of Gujarat & vision of future" in Ahmedabad. He said India's overall exports have nearly doubled from approximately USD 441 billion to USD 863 billion over the last decade, led by sectors such as engineering goods, petroleum products, electronics, pharmaceuticals, gems & jewellery, and chemicals. He added that Gujarat ..

Modi, Kuwaiti Amir discuss West Asia tensions; India thanks Oman for rescue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the call for de-escalation in West Asia, while India thanked Oman for rescuing 24 Indian crew members from a disabled tanker

GDP growth momentum intact, no immediate need for borrowing: Govt officials

The Indian economy is facing headwinds from external sectors with rising fuel and fertiliser import bills due to West Asia crisis, but GDP growth momentum remains intact with domestic consumption holding up, government sources said on Tuesday. Sources said the FY27 Budget had taken into cognisance the uncertainties in the global economy around tariffs, and the government do not immediately need to account for additional borrowing or bring in supplementary demands for grants in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. On the fiscal deficit front, sources said the budgeted target of 4.3 per cent of GDP is still intact, and the government is actively tapping its non-tax revenue areas like disinvestment and asset monetisation in the current fiscal. "DIPAM and DPE have a year-long pipeline and also a medium-term outlook of disinvestment and asset monetisation. I would hope the budgeted Rs 80,000 crore under this head exceeds BE and both the departments are working on it," a source sai

Oil tanker with 24 Indians catches fire off Oman coast; all safe, says MEA

Missions issue advisory to Indians in Iran, Israel

Oil prices rise over 1% as new West Asia hostilities flare, talks stall

Brent futures rose $1.05, or 1.09 per cent, at $97.05 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.01, or 1.08 per cent, to settle at $94.77

Iran halts talks with mediators after Israel threat to bomb Beirut: Report

Iran stopped communicating with mediators after Israel threatened to bomb Beirut as it continues fighting the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, two semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported. The reports by the Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both believed to be close to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, come as Iran insists the fighting in Lebanon is part of the wider ceasefire talks with the United States over the war. Israel and the US maintain the fighting in Lebanon is separate from the Iran war talks. A regional official involved in the mediation, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks, said Iran has not communicated at all on Tuesday after saying that a ceasefire needed to be enforced in Lebanon for negotiations to continue.

An LNG glut is on its way despite disruption from West Asia conflict

The world's largest LNG plant is idled and Qatar says repairing it will take at least three years. And yet, the contours of a long-term surplus are already starting to emerge

Iran halts talks with US after Israel widens Lebanon offensive: Report

Negotiators will suspend "talks and the exchange of documents through mediators" the semi-official Tasnim new agency reported, citing a statement

Seamless pipe industry urges PM Modi to curb imports, save foreign exchange

Industry body STMAI has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps to curb rising imports of seamless pipes, particularly from China, warning that unchecked inflows are eroding domestic capacity utilisation and causing a substantial outflow of foreign exchange. The development assumes significance in the wake of Prime Minister Modi's call for energy conservation and austerity measures amid the West Asia crisis. In a representation to the Prime Minister, Seamless Tube Manufacturers' Association of India (STMAI) said India's installed seamless pipe manufacturing capacity stands at about 1.95 million tonnes per annum. However, fluctuating domestic demand and a sharp rise in imports, particularly from China and other countries, have led to sustained underutilisation of the country's manufacturing base. "Over the past several years, the Association has continuously represented these concerns before the Ministry of Steel, Ministry of Commerce, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence ...

US, Iran reach tentative deal to extend ceasefire, launch nuclear talks

US and Iranian negotiators have reached a tentative agreement to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and launch talks on Iran's nuclear program, according to a US official familiar with the matter. The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said President Donald Trump still needs to sign off on the emerging memorandum of understanding. The tentative agreement worked out by the two sides comes at a moment when the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran appeared to be wavering. The US military earlier on Thursday accused Iran of violating the ceasefire after Kuwait reported coming under attack following an American strike against the Islamic Republic. It was the latest flare-up of fighting to threaten ongoing negotiations to end the war. Details of the tentative agreement were first reported by the news outlet Axios.

AI spending to continue amid geopolitical uncertainty, says Gurnani

AIONOS Co-Founder C P Gurnani said companies will continue investing in AI and digital technologies despite geopolitical uncertainty and rising operational costs.

US rejects Iranian media's report on 'draft deal' to restore Hormuz traffic

The remark came after Iranian state television reported that Tehran had committed to restoring commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within one month

Crude oil price spike pushes helmet manufacturing cost by nearly 20%

Polycarbonate -- a strong plastic used in premium helmet shells -- increased from around ₹140 per kg before the conflict to ₹230 per kg now after touching ₹252 per kg

WFH, travel curbs: Maruti Suzuki India steers into energy-saving mode

As on March 31, 2025, MSIL had 19,966 regular employees and 33,811 non-regular employees on its rolls, as per the company's annual report

Crisil stress test reveals sectors facing risk, and those less affected

Crisil states 22 of the 34 sectors stress-tested could see operating profitability decline by over 10 per cent as companies may not be able to fully pass on higher costs to consumers immediately

India's FY27 fertiliser subsidy may top ₹3 trn if West Asia crisis persists

Krishna Kant Pathak, joint secretary in the Department of Fertilisers said that to solve the problem, India should now start looking at solutions

Trump says US-Iran deal will be meaningful or there will be no deal

Iran and ​the United States have played down ​hopes for an imminent breakthrough in efforts to end ​their three old war on Monday

West Asia turmoil may dent India Inc margins by 200 bps in FY27: Crisil

The rating agency said that only eight sectors, accounting for around 10 per cent of rated corporate debt, were expected to see a material impact on credit quality

Progress made in negotiations between US and Iran: Secretary Rubio

Some progress has been made in the negotiations between the US and Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday, signalling that the over two-month conflict in West Asia could be nearing a resolution. Rubio said the conflict has to be resolved, as President Donald Trump said, "one way or the other." The US Secretary of State, currently on a four-day visit to India, made the remarks while responding to reporters' questions on the margins of an event at the US embassy. "There has been some progress made. Even as I speak to you now, some work is being done," Rubio said. The top diplomat also said that Washington might have something to say on the issue in the next couple of days. "There's been some progress done, some progress made, even as I speak to you. There's some work being done. There is a chance that, whether it's later today, tomorrow, or in a couple of days, we may have something to say," he added. His comments came as hectic behind-the-scenes negotiations betw

Trump likely to decide by Sunday on resuming war with Iran: Report

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was meeting with his negotiators to discuss Iran's latest offer and would likely decide by Sunday whether to resume the war, US media outlet Axios reported. Trump told Axios that it was a "solid 50/50" as to whether he would be able to make a "good" deal or else "blow them to kingdom come." The US President said he would meet with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to discuss the proposal from Tehran. Vice President J D Vance, who is in Ohio, is likely to return to Washington to join the meeting. Pakistan's Army chief Asim Munir was in Tehran to discuss with the negotiators on the fine print of the peace deal. In Delhi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "There's been some progress done, some progress made.Even as I speak to you now, there's some work being done.There is a chance that, whether it's later today, tomorrow (Sunday), in a couple of days, we may have something to say." Rubio, who is on a four-day visit to India