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Investors' rush to back electric commercial vehicle players has led to commitments worth $530 million in the last six months, backing new-age players at a time when the government's policy focus is shifting towards electrifying trucks and buses.Hero-backed Euler Motors became the latest to join the wave on Tuesday as it secured funding of $47 million from Lightrock, Hero MotoCorp and Blume Ventures, with additional debt funding of $27 million from BlackSoil, Trifecta, InnoVen and Alteria Capital.The latest funding round for the New Delhi-based electric light commercial vehicle maker brought the cumulative total of funding from investors for electric CV makers to $530 million since October, led by PMI Mobility, which secured a $310 million investment commitment from KKR.“The light commercial vehicle as a segment has continued to grow, because it makes fundamental sense,” Saurav Kumar, founder and chief executive at Euler Motors, told Mint. The superior long-term operational savings of electric commercial vehicles have made the sector's funding growth outpace all other transport categories, he added.Other fundraisers during this period include electric fleet operator Greencell Mobility’s $89 million, and electric bus and truck maker Eka Mobility’s $57 million fundraise.

NEW DELHI: The Centre has called a high-level meeting of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Financial Services and public sector banks on Wednesday to devise ways to curb high-value bank frauds amid the growing use of mule accounts, according to two people aware of the issue.Officials at the meeting will also help devise strategies to fill critical gaps in investigation and enforcement and zero in on procedural bottlenecks, especially delays in securing prosecution sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act, one person said on condition of anonymity. This issue has increasingly become a sticking point in fraud cases involving bank officials.“With probes often slowed by approval requirements and coordination challenges between lenders and investigators, the high-level meeting signals a push to streamline processes, tighten accountability and strengthen the system’s response to complex, network-driven financial frauds,” the second person said, asking not to be identified.According to Reserve Bank of India data, fraud cases in banks and financial institutions involving amounts of ₹1 lakh and above tripled to ₹34,771 crore in FY25 from ₹11,261 crore in FY24.

New Delhi: India imports around 50% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) requirements from West Asia, and most of it is sourced from Qatar. With the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on Ras Laffan industrial City, a large chunk of India's imports are halted. This supply crunch may impact several downstream industries in India including fertilizers and steel.

New Delhi: India’s top two-wheeler makers are bracing for pressure on margins and demand, as a surge in commodity costs linked to the ongoing West Asia war coincides with the impending withdrawal of electric vehicle (EV) subsidies. The twin blow has led to concerns that the companies, including TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp, may be forced to raise prices, absorb cost pressures, or risk slowing adoption of EVs.Analysts and industry executives note that the removal of subsidies under the government's PM E-Drive scheme from April can lead to price hikes of up to ₹5,000 for electric two wheelers.

New Delhi: As the West Asia conflict drives crude prices above $100 a barrel, India has begun a calibrated pass-through of the shock—raising prices of select fuels while holding the line on retail petrol and diesel.State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have raised industrial diesel prices by around ₹22 per litre and premium petrol by about ₹2 per litre, according to industry sources. However, the prices of regular transport fuels and premium diesel have been kept unchanged.In Delhi, the price of premium petrol has been increased from ₹99.89 per litre to ₹101.89, and the price of industrial diesel, which is procured in bulk, has been increased to ₹109.59 per litre.Earlier this month, prices of domestic cooking gas were raised by about ₹60 and commercial LPG by about ₹115.Addressing the media on the developments in West Asia, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG), said there has been no increase in prices of regular petrol and the hike is limited to premium variants, which account for just 3-4% of total demand.

New Delhi: As the war in West Asia disrupts global trade flows, the Indian government has launched a sweeping audit of critical supply chains to map vulnerabilities and reduce import dependence, according to three government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.The exercise, which covers sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, fertilizers and textiles, comes amid concerns that supply shocks could derail India’s growth trajectory.“The plan is to identify structural vulnerabilities in India’s industrial landscape, with a focus on supply chain dependencies and manufacturing capabilities,” the first official cited above said on condition of anonymity.A detailed government questionnaire circulated by the commerce ministry’s supply chain division—reviewed by Mint—to key stakeholders has asked firms to disclose granular data on import dependence, covering specific items, source countries, reliance on foreign suppliers, and whether key inputs are “irreplaceable or non-substitutable”.The questionnaire also seeks production metrics such as HSN-coded output, domestic and export turnover, and constraints to scale, including technology licensing barriers and infrastructure gaps.

The Supreme Court of India recently permitted the withdrawal of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration for Harish Rana, marking the first judicial case related to the fundamental right to die with dignity. The decision is a landmark in clinical and legal history. As the family took Harish to AIIMS, New Delhi, for the process, one can hardly imagine their emotional state.

New Delhi: Amid the West Asia war, ethanol makers have urged the petroleum ministry to accelerate higher fuel blending and utilize a massive surplus to safeguard national energy security, with India being one of the largest importers of crude oil, according to a letter seen by Mint.The All India Distillers Association (Aida) wrote to the petroleum and natural gas ministry on 3 March, days after the conflict broke out on 28 February, seeking incentives for flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), which run on very high ethanol blending, and higher procurement of ethanol by oil marketing companies (OMCs).Aida represents about 80% of India's total distillation capacity.The industry’s representation came after underutilisation of ethanol feedstocks in 2024-25 and 2025-26, according to a copy of the letter seen by Mint.Global oil volatility and supply chain disruptions make it imperative for India to strengthen domestic alternatives and accelerate indigenous biofuel production, the letter stated.“At a time when the country needs stronger domestic energy buffers against global oil shocks, idle biofuel capacity represents a missed strategic opportunity,” the letter said.Email queries sent to the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH), Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp.

New Delhi: India has joined a group of developing economies in pushing for a global framework to reduce the cost of cross-border remittances, positioning the issue as a key development priority ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization scheduled in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, later this month.The conference will take place during 26-29 March 2026.In a revised draft ministerial declaration circulated on 17 March, India, along with Morocco, Pakistan and the African Group, called for coordinated global action to bring down remittance transaction costs, which remain significantly above the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target of less than 3% by 2030.India is world’s largest recipient of remittances, with inflows estimated at around $135.4 billion in FY25, according to an India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) report. This marks a steady rise from about $129 billion in 2024 and reflects a strong increase over the past decade.

Even as the US-Israel war on Iran has put the world on edge, another flare-up closer home is threatening regional stability. As Kabul has reported, at least 400 people were killed in an airstrike by Pakistan that struck a hospital in Afghanistan.

Strait of Hormuz. Of these, six are carrying LPG, four are transporting crude oil, and one vessel is transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). West Asia and the Strait of Hormuz are key for India's energy security, with about 90% of India's LPG imports and 50% of India's crude imports dependent on this region."The talks have been positive so far.

Mint.The country currently has about 300 seismometers at earthquake monitoring stations for detection, early warning capability and scientific understanding of seismic activity.Scientists and disaster management experts say this brief gap between the arrival of different seismic waves can be used to safeguard critical infrastructure such as metro rail systems, transmission lines, power plants and industrial facilities. While earthquakes cannot be predicted in advance, many countries operate Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems that provide a few seconds to about one minute of lead time before strong shake reaches a location.The development is significant given that 59% of India is vulnerable to earthquakes due to its unique geological and tectonic setting, particularly its location at the collision boundary of the Indian and Eurasian plates.Mint had earlier reported that India was developing a system to predict destructive S-waves during earthquakes.According to the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), a New Delhi-based multilateral organization, India suffers losses of around $31.6 billion across nine infrastructure sectors—buildings, health, education, oil and gas, ports and airports, power, roads and railways, telecommunications, and water and wastewater—due to earthquakes, cyclones, floods, landslides and tsunamis every year.

NEW DELHI: Consumers will soon be able to check whether a shop is compliant with weights and measures or pricing norms by simply scanning a QR code at the outlet.The Centre is preparing to make quick-response code (QR)-based digital certification of retail shops in the country mandatory to help protect consumers and push towards formalization of the retail sector, according to two government officials aware of the development.The plan is part of a push to strengthen enforcement of legal metrology rules for weights and measures and ensure that businesses comply with standards through a foolproof verification mechanism. The tamper-proof QR codes must be prominently displayed by all retail shops.Customers should be able to scan the codes using a smartphone to check whether an establishment has been certified for its weighing and measuring instruments and complies with the rules.The plan comes in the backdrop of the government’s focus on targeting violations related to weights and measures, packaged commodity declarations and pricing practices in retail trade.

NEW DELHI: The civil aviation ministry proposes to offer as much as ₹1,800 crore as incentives to manufacture drones in India, increase adoption across defence and civilian sectors and reduce reliance on component imports from China.The tentatively titled Mission Drone Shakti is expected to set aside ₹1,600 crore-1,800 crore over five years to fund and support research and development and local manufacturing of components including critical parts and incentivize drone sales and adoption, an official aware of the discussions said.The plan is to introduce the scheme in FY27, targeting private Indian companies. The details are being finalized and after the finance ministry’s approval, it will be presented for the consideration of the Cabinet.The proposed Mission Drone Shakti mirrors India’s production-linked incentive schemes across 14 sectors such as electronics, textiles, pharmaceuticals and automobiles, which had a cumulative outlay of ₹1.97 trillion.

New Delhi: India has issued a new quality control order (QCO) for aluminium and aluminium alloy products, mandating compliance of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms by domestic and overseas firms for a wide range of products used across engineering, packaging, construction and electrical applications. India has seen a sharp rise in imports of the metal and its products in the recent past.The order comes in the backdrop of withdrawal of over 50 quality control orders imposed on various intermediary products and the relaxation of compliance requirements for some others.The 13 March order issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) replaces the QCO of 2025.

NEW DELHI: India’s steadily rising mobile phone exports, which generated $11 billion in revenue in the first six months of the current fiscal, are expected to take a multi-billion-dollar hit as a result of a prolonged impact of the Iran war on consumption, imports and freight transit in the Gulf region.Executives, analysts and brokerage firms estimate a loss of $2 billion-3 billion on India’s electronics exports, largely because electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companies export a sizeable quantity of mobile phones to the Gulf area—a key trade and consumption hub.Mobile phones are among the top five most-impacted commodities as a result of the Gulf nations and the West Asia region being directly affected in Israel and the US’s war on Iran, analysts Suvodeep Rakshit and Swarupjit Palit at brokerage firm Kotak Institutional Equities wrote in a note to investors on 6 March.The analysts cited India’s commerce ministry data to say that mobile phone exports to the Gulf and West Asia rose to $3.1 billion in FY25, accounting for 12% of the country’s net electronics exports. This entire chunk may be affected and EMS companies that rely significantly on mobile phone manufacturing may be substantially hit, at least in the current quarter and next.If the conflict continues, the entire $3 billion in export value may be wiped off in the next fiscal year, the Kotak analysts said.

New Delhi: Looking to build globally recognizable brands around India's traditional textiles, the government has proposed a new regulatory framework that would make it mandatory for all products sold as handloom to carry an official ‘Handloom Mark’ label, which will carry strict compliance norms.The move aims to curb misuse of the handloom tag and to strengthen consumer confidence in the authenticity of India's handwoven goods, as per a draft regulation notified by the textiles ministry to the World Trade Organization (WTO).The regulations follow the launch of the Kasturi Cotton Bharat—India’s first premium brand and logo for its home-grown cotton brand—and reflects a broader effort to sharpen the global positioning of for genuine handloom products and boost weavers' income. The aim is to promote premium Indian cotton on the lines of well-known international brands such as Egypt’s Giza cotton and US's Pima cotton.According to the WTO paper, the proposed regulations aim to promote handloom products in the domestic as well as international markets.

NEW DELHI: The Centre is considering a 12–16% incentive on large investments to boost domestic manufacturing of construction equipment such as tunnel boring machines, cranes and crawlers, two people familiar with the discussions said.The proposal is part of the scheme for enhancement of construction and infrastructure equipment (CIE) announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her FY27 budget speech on 1 February.

New Delhi: India’s automakers could be heading toward another semiconductor supply squeeze—this time triggered by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. As chipmakers shift manufacturing capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI data centres, supplies of conventional memory chips used in vehicles are tightening, driving up prices and raising supply risks for the industry.This could mark the third major supply disruption for the auto industry in recent years, after the rare earth magnet crunch triggered by China’s restrictions last year, and the global semiconductor shortage during the covid pandemic years of 2020-22.At least two industry executives said that if supply pressures persist, automakers may start facing shortages by the end of the next financial year (FY27).“Internal estimates suggest that the supply crunch will get serious towards the last two quarters of the next financial year, which is why there is a rush to prepare now,” one of the executives mentioned above said on the condition of anonymity.The issue was earlier flagged to analysts by Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M), which makes electric cars, and e-two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy Ltd.“Memory chips are something that is a supply chain risk/price sensitive thing because shortage obviously is driving premiums in memory chips,” M&M executive director Rajesh Jejurikar told analysts and investors on an 11 February earnings call.

New Delhi: The government has initiated a study to review and revise India’s workplace social accountability standard, a move that could shape how companies structure compliance and governance practices as the country prepares to operationalise its new labour codes, said two government officials.The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has commissioned research to examine whether amendments are needed to its existing Social Accountability at the Workplace norms, which set out requirements for organisations to establish policies, procedures and practices related to ethical conduct and workers’ welfare, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.The study will assess the relevance of the existing framework in light of recent policy and regulatory changes aimed at strengthening labour protections, the first of the two officials said.Mint reviewed the terms of reference for the research and development (R&D) project. These include reforms relating to child labour, forced labour, anti-discrimination provisions, whistleblower protection, data privacy and workplace safety, this person said.“Updating the workplace social accountability standard is important at a time when India’s labour regulations are undergoing major changes,” said Sumita Dawra, former labour secretary.

₹2 crore over five days, excluding revenue from souvenirs and other merchandise. The estimated economic impact generated for hotels, transport services, restaurants, artisans and local businesses is pegged at ₹130 crore, according to KLF officials.It was not an isolated spike.