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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India’s latest fuel price increase is expected to raise cultivation and transportation costs across the farm sector ahead of the crucial kharif sowing season, potentially adding fresh pressure on food inflation in the coming months, according to farmers, economists and agriculture experts.Oil marketing companies on Friday raised petrol and diesel prices by ₹3 per litre as a surge in global crude oil prices was hurting their margins. Following the hike, diesel prices in New Delhi rose to ₹90.67 a litre, while rates in Kolkata and Chennai increased to ₹95.13 and ₹95.25, respectively.The development assumes significance as the agriculture sector accounts for nearly two-fifths of India’s annual diesel consumption of around 92 million tonnes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: The US market regulator’s $18-million settlement of a civil case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and nephew Sagar Adani has no immediate bearing on a parallel criminal investigation initiated against them by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Adanis acknowledged that the settlement does not grant them immunity from any criminal liability related to the case, they said in their filings with a New York court.“This settles the civil action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. It has no implications for the existing criminal charges brought by the DoJ or any other criminal investigation that may be pending,” said Russell A.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai/New Delhi: Air India posted an estimated loss of nearly $3 billion in FY26, as foreign exchange losses, airspace disruptions and elevated fuel costs battered the Tata Group-owned airline during the year.The losses were large enough to significantly erode the dividend income parent Tata Sons earned from its cash cow Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the previous fiscal year.According to the full-year earnings released by Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Thursday, the carrier’s share of losses from Air India were at Singapore $945.2 million (US$742.4 million) in FY26, reflecting its 25.1% stake in the Tata Group-owned airline.With currency conversions factoring in Thursday's exchange rates, as per this shareholding, Air India Group’s total loss for the year is estimated at S$3.76 billion ($2.97 billion), or roughly ₹28,400 crore, at current exchange rates.To be sure, Tata Sons and employees own 74.9% of Air India, and hence its share of the losses would be about ₹21,270 crore, while the remaining 25.1% is being recognized by SIA.Tata Sons received about ₹28,292 crore in dividend income from TCS in FY26, down 12.1% from ₹32,184 crore in FY25, according to a Mint report published on 12 April.Tata Sons is expected to share its financial performance in July, while privately-held Air India will file its earnings with the ministry of corporate affairs in August.The estimated loss, which includes both full-service carrier Air India and low-cost subsidiary Air India Express, is almost three times the ₹10,859 crore loss reported in FY25, largely due to foreign exchange losses—as aircraft leases, fuel and maintenance expenses are denominated in US dollars—along with the financial impact of the

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Roche Pharma India has launched Tecentriq SC (atezolizumab), the country’s first subcutaneous, or under-the-skin, immunotherapy for lung cancer, the company said on Thursday. This breakthrough formulation marks a significant shift in oncology care, reducing treatment administration time from several hours of conventional intravenous (IV) infusion to just seven minutes.Approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) around two months ago for adjuvant and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Tecentriq SC is now available across India with more than 100 patients already on immunotherapy.The launch comes at a time when India grapples with a rising cancer burden.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Relief may be in sight for those weary of steep doctor fees and billing discrepancies at private hospitals. India is looking to regulate fees for consultation and common medical procedures at private healthcare facilities with range-bound limits, said two government officials in the know.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The government's push for flex-fuel vehicle rollout is facing a classic chicken-and-egg stalemate.Automakers aren't ready to commit to producing vehicles that run on high ethanol blends until the fuel is widely available. Oil marketing companies, on the other hand, are unwilling to invest in storing and supplying blends such as E85 and E100 until there are enough such vehicles on the road, according to three people aware of the development.The government is in talks with automakers and oil marketing companies to resolve the deadlock, the people cited above said, requesting anonymity.Unlike standard vehicles, flex-fuel vehicles can run on petrol or any petrol-ethanol blend.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Tata Motors Ltd, India’s largest commercial vehicle maker, expressed caution about the industry’s growth in FY27, saying the true impact of the West Asia war on fuel prices and consumer sentiment is yet to be seen.The Mumbai company said it expects single-digit growth for the industry this fiscal year after retail sales grew 12% in FY26, crossing a million units for the first time as the goods and services tax (GST) cuts in September 2025 boosted consumer sentiment.Management’s comments came after the company reported a 5% dip in consolidated net profit in FY26 to ₹3,030 crore on Wednesday evening. Without a ₹1,428-crore loss on investments due to its equity stake in Tata Capital, which was listed during the fiscal year, the company’s profit grew by 9% to ₹4,458 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The Centre is considering a nationwide ban on crop-protection chemicals paraquat and carbosulfan after Telangana and Odisha imposed restrictions on their use, two people familiar with the matter told Mint.Paraquat is extensively used for weed control and conservation tillage, while carbosulfan is considered one of the few effective options against gall midge attacks in paddy-growing regions.However, as the kharif sowing season advances, the agrochemical industry has approached the Centre, contending that restricting the two widely used chemicals at the start of the cultivation season could disrupt weed and pest management practices and pose risks to the production of key cereal crops, particularly rice.It is lobbying for a scientific reassessment rather than an outright ban, warning that removing the two molecules could reduce farmers’ choices, increase cultivation costs, and aggravate pesticide resistance.The two chemicals have a market size of around ₹2,100 crore and are widely used in crops such as rice, cotton, fruits, and vegetables.“A meeting was recently held in the agriculture ministry, where the industry has urged the government not to rely on the decisions taken by the two states before arriving at any final decision,” said the first of the two people cited above.The ministry has taken a tough stand and sought additional details backed by scientific evidence. “Once the submissions are received, they will be reviewed and reassessed by the concerned government body before any final decision is taken,” this person added.“The ministry is also taking inputs from its scientists and collecting data related to the chemicals' health impact.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: The ministry of railways is planning to dilute 5-10% stakes in six listed railway public sector undertakings and another 2-3% in another listed company through offer-for-sale transactions inFY27, as part of a broader push to meet a ₹2.62 trillion monetization target under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP 2.0), two people aware of the matter said.The seven listed railway PSUs are Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. (IRCTC), Indian Railway Finance Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India’s smaller airlines are bearing the brunt of the West Asia conflict, with Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet reducing international departures by nearly 60% in April and so far in May, even as larger carriers IndiGo and Air India cut overseas departures by about 21% during the same period.SpiceJet’s international departures fell 59% to 305 during April and May, while Akasa Air’s dropped 57% to 136 and Air India Express recorded a 56% decline to 1,818 departures, according to data compiled by UK-based aviation analytics firm OAG and reviewed by Mint.In contrast, IndiGo and Air India saw comparatively smaller reductions of 21%, with departures falling to 6,574 and 4,059, respectively.Taken together, international departures from India’s five largest airlines are down 30% in April and May to 12,892, with seat counts also down an identical 30% to 2.6 million, OAG data showed.The sharpest reductions have been on West Asia routes — among the most lucrative overseas markets for Indian low-cost carriers. Air India Express had the highest exposure to the region in terms of daily departures from India, followed by SpiceJet and Akasa Air.“Smaller airlines operate narrow-body planes on short-haul international routes, with Middle East (West Asia) destinations being the most lucrative.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: In a bid to tame recurring onion price shocks and improve farmer incomes, the Centre is working on a plan to help states locally procure and scientifically store the politically-sensitive crop in the producing regions, two people aware of the matter said. The strategy aims to cut wastage, reduce transport dependence on key producing states such as Maharashtra and create buffer stocks closer to demand centres to avert price spikes that stoke food inflation.Under the proposed framework for the world's second-largest onion producer, states would be encouraged to procure onions directly from local farmers and maintain buffer stocks through state warehousing corporations and other storage agencies, the people said.According to them, the government believes that improving storage infrastructure closer to cultivation clusters could help reduce wastage and stabilize supplies during tight availability periods.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Noida-headquartered Dixon Technologies, India’s largest publicly listed electronics manufacturer, expects revenue growth of 15-17% in FY27, with management expecting growth to accelerate to as much as 45% if its long-pending joint venture with Vivo gets government approval.In an interview with Mint following the company’s FY26 earnings on Tuesday, Saurabh Gupta, director and group chief financial officer of Dixon Technologies, said the company is in “advanced-stage talks” with the government regarding the Vivo joint venture and remains confident that approval is only “a matter of time away”.The proposed joint venture with Vivo, in which Dixon holds a 51% stake, was first disclosed in December 2024. However, with Vivo owning the remaining 49%, the venture has been under the Centre’s scrutiny for more than 18 months under the government’s Press Note 3 restrictions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Syrma SGS Technology Ltd. expects revenue to grow 30% in the ongoing fiscal, driven by strong demand in automotive and healthcare electronics, even as weakness in consumer electronics and geopolitical uncertainty weigh on the wider electronics manufacturing sector,“We’re expecting our automotive and med-tech verticals to do very well this fiscal, just like what we saw last fiscal,” Managing Director Jasbir Singh Gujral told Mint in an interview on Tuesday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The apex drug regulator has directed all licensed blood centres to enrol in a national digital portal, as part of a crackdown after cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections in children due to contaminated transfusions across multiple states, according to two government officials and a document reviewed by Mint.The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation issued a directive ordering all 4,153 licensed blood banks to complete registration on the Online National Drug Licensing System portal by 13 May, a single-window platform that centralizes licensing, tracks donor histories, and provides hospitals and patients visibility into verified blood supplies.“In order to strengthen regulatory oversight, enhance transparency in blood services, and ensure easy public access to blood and its components across the country, it has been decided to generate a database of all Blood Centres on the Online National Drug Licensing System (ONDLS) portal www.Statedrugs.gov.in,” the CDSCO directive to all State Licensing Authorities (SLAs) said.CDSCO has categorized this mission as a ‘priority’.“...all State Licensing Authorities (SLAs) are requested to direct all Blood Centres within their respective jurisdictions to complete this registration latest by 13.05.2026. Action taken may be informed to this directorate for submitting to the MoHFW (ministry of health and family welfare),” the letter said.The e-RaktKosh digital backbone for blood services and National Informatics Centre (NIC) teams are involved in the information flow to manage the technical rollout.The move, authorized by drugs controller general Dr.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Investors are beginning to finance commercial lawsuits in India in exchange for a share of future settlements or court awards, as litigation funding— a niche alternative asset class long established in some global markets—starts to take shape locally.At least three entities, including alternative investment fund (AIF) Five Rivers, New Delhi-based LegalPay, a litigation funder, and Singapore-based ELF Partners, a litigation finance consultancy, are active in the space, marking early institutional entry into what is also known as third-party funding (TPF).Five Rivers, a Mumbai-based AIF, is in talks with investors to close its first fund of $25-50 million,according to Irfan Mughal, the managing director of Five Rivers. It positions itself as the first dedicated fund of its kind in India, offering investors exposure to returns linked to outcomes in commercial disputes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is likely to meet before mid-July to consider proposals to simplify procedures and clarify matters including the taxation of ride-hailing app companies, according to two people aware of the development.The proposals likely to make it to the agenda include making tax registration and claiming tax credits simpler. Simpler GST registration procedures and input tax credit norms are expected to make compliance easier for businesses.While the reforms aim to streamline registration and invoice reconciliation, taxpayers continue to face practical challenges around withdrawal of registration applications and input tax claim-related procedural certainty, said Ikesh Nagpal, lead-indirect tax at AKM Global, a tax and consulting firm.The meeting may be scheduled before the monsoon session of Parliament that runs from July to August.In the case of cab aggregators such as Uber and Rapido, the effort will be to clarify the taxability of their operations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: After halting new cooking gas connections and extending refill booking periods, oil marketing companies (OMCs) are turning to tax data to weed out ineligible beneficiaries of the direct benefit transfer scheme for LPG (DBTL), even as high energy prices raise the possibility of a fuel price hike.Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Exploding sales of low-speed electric scooters—powered heavily by cheap Chinese imports—are giving a headache to India’s established electric vehicle (EV) makers, who warn that the poor-quality products risk hurting consumer confidence in electric two-wheelers just as the sector is gaining scale.Low-speed scooters—with speeds capped at 25 kmph—do not need to be registered on the Vahan portal, and so their growth has gone under the radar. But industry estimates point to sales numbers matching that of established players such as TVS Motor Co., Bajaj Auto, Ola Electric Mobility, and Ather Energy, among others.According to two-wheeler consultancy InsightEV, sales of low-speed electric scooters shot up more than 200% in 2025 to an estimated 1.3 million units.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The US-Iran war has crimped energy supplies, raised fuel prices, threatens to spike India’s import bill and thus strain its foreign exchange reserves. It was in this context that Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens on Sunday to cut fuel use, avoid unnecessary overseas travel and explore domestic destinations instead.For some affluent Indian travellers, that shift is already underway—India's premium domestic destinations are seeing stronger demand, higher occupancies and rising room tariffs this summer.A Delhi-based family of nine abandoned their usual summer plan of a European holiday as business class tickets surged past ₹5 lakh a seat on some key routes, nearly double the typical fares.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: The few seconds of music you hear while waiting for someone to answer a phone call is copyrighted intellectual property, and telecom operators offering caller tunes may now need separate licences and royalty payments to lyricists and composers after a recent Calcutta High Court ruling.On 8 May, the Calcutta High Court ruled against Vodafone Idea in its long-running dispute with the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS), holding that telecom operators cannot offer caller tunes and ringtones solely on the basis of licences obtained from music labels.Mint explains the ruling and what it could mean for telecom operators and digital platforms.The dispute centres on whether telecom operators offering caller tunes and ringtones require separate licences from lyricists and composers, apart from licences obtained from music labels such as Saregama.Telecom companies treat caller tunes as a value-added service, a paid add-on beyond regular calling and SMS facilities that generates additional revenue and improves user engagement.Vodafone Idea signed agreements with Saregama in 2014 to use songs for caller tune services. However, IPRS argued that while music labels may own sound recordings, lyricists and composers retain separate rights over the underlying literary and musical works under the Copyright Act, particularly after the 2012 amendments that strengthened creators’ royalty rights.In 2018, Vodafone Idea approached the Calcutta High Court challenging IPRS’s claim that telecom operators required separate licences and royalty payments for using songs as caller tunes and ringtones.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The Centre has amended rules to allow private, government-approved testing centres (GATCs) to inspect and certify petrol, diesel, and gaseous fuel dispensing machines, as it aims to reduce delays, ease compliance, and protect consumers, according to an official order reviewed by Mint.The calibration and verification certificate, which must be obtained every year, has become a massive exercise.