India Financial News

The US-Israel attack on Iran has profound implications for the long-term stability of the West Asian region, global geopolitics, energy security and global economics. The expanding nature of the conflict is spawning a long list of collateral damages, amplifying vulnerabilities wherever they exist.

Mint explains the nuances of this new, yet strategically crucial, industry.Yes. Ever since the Indian space industry was privatized in 2020, a crop of private Indian space startups has emerged with core technologies that enable space-based surveillance services.These include imagery and data from satellites, analytics from ground stations based on satellite data, and maps of satellites that help countries monitor who might be observing them.

oil price spike has worsened the external flow position further by widening the current account deficit and triggering large FPI capital outflows.While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced measures to curb speculation in the onshore forex market, the rupee's depreciation is likely to persist and add to inflationary pressures.At present, the headline inflation remains below the target rate and with the excise duty cuts, the central government has ensured that the near-term impact of the adverse shock on inflation and growth is contained.It is thus likely that the MPC will leave the repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, awaiting clarity on the duration of the oil market disruption, while acknowledging that higher oil prices have significantly increased the risk of inflation rising above 4% over the year.The policy stance is likely to be retained as neutral, providing the MPC with the flexibility to act appropriately depending on the evolving macro-economic conditions.The longer oil prices stay above $100 per barrel level, the greater will be the upward pressure on imported and overall inflation and downward pressure on real GDP growth. Thus, over the course of this fiscal year, the MPC will closely monitor disruptions to energy markets due to the West Asia conflict.

Amid daily price swings in crude oil, based on what the US or Iran says on a given day, global growth prospects for 2026 appear grim. Even if the war ends within days, rebuilding energy infrastructure in West Asia, battered by bombings and drone attacks, will take months if not years.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has given a clean chit to nine whole-time directors (WTDs) of various public sector banks, saying there were no adverse findings against them, two people aware of the development told Mint.Those cleared include Nidhhu Saxena (MD & CEO, Bank of Maharashtra), Bhavendra Kumar (executive director, Canara Bank), Mahendra Dohare (executive director, Central Bank of India), Bijay Baran Singh (executive director, Indian Bank), Ravi Mehra (executive director, Punjab & Sind Bank), and Vijaykumar Nivruti Kamble (executive director, UCO Bank), one of the people cited above said.A second person added that Rajiv Mishra (executive director, Bank of India), Brajesh Kumar Singh (executive director, Indian Bank), and Dhanraj T (executive director, Indian Overseas Bank) had also received clearance from the CVC.The development is significant as it comes at a time when the government has tightened oversight of board-level appointments in public sector banks following recent lapses and controversies related to vigilance disclosures. The clearances are seen as a critical filtering exercise amid heightened scrutiny of senior appointments.The move also comes against the backdrop of an unusual and high-profile action last year, in which the Centre demoted Union Bank of India Executive Director Pankaj Dwivedi to general manager at Punjab & Sind Bank.

standing out in a falling market, and what’s driving their strength.Lupin is trading at ₹2,335, just shy of its 52-week high of ₹2,376, and is up 11% so far in 2026.An integrated pharmaceutical company, Lupin operates across formulations and APIs, with formulations contributing about 95% of revenue. Geographically, the US remains its largest market, followed by India and other developed and emerging markets.It ranks as the third-largest pharmaceutical player in the US by prescriptions and eighth in the Indian market.Financially, Lupin has delivered steady growth.

manufacturing sector continuing to be a male fortress. Of the top 100 manufacturing companies in India today, only a handful are headed by women who reached those heights without the leverage of a family name.Born to a Sindhi Amil family in Hyderabad (Sindh) in 1944, Lila Thadani’s steel was forged in the harsh kiln of partition.

₹1.05 lakh per kilolitre, though lower than initially announced.On Wednesday, state-run oil marketing companies briefly hiked jet fuel prices by more than 100% before rolling back the increase for domestic scheduled flights following government intervention.International routes, however, will bear the full increase, setting the stage for costlier overseas travel ahead of the peak summer season. With ATF accounting for a substantial share of airline operating costs, carriers are expected to pass on the higher burden, making outbound travel more expensive in the coming weeks.FY26 proved turbulent for Indian equities, with foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turning decisively bearish amid mounting global headwinds—from US-led tariff disruptions to the West Asia war.Net FPI outflows totalled ₹1.8 trillion in FY26, the highest since records began in 1992, according to a Mint analysis of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) data, exceeding all previous episodes, including the global financial crisis in FY09.The selloff intensified towards end of the year, with March 2026 alone recording ₹1.2 trillion in outflows, as geopolitical uncertainty fuelled fears of FY27 earnings downgrades and unsettled India’s macroeconomic outlook.

Mint.Jio, which has over 500 million subscribers, told the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) that it was in compliance with the regulator's guidelines, and the tariff plans offered are based on “intelligible criteria”, and cannot be treated as discriminatory.The service provider has been given time till 14 April to comply with two directions. First, Jio has to publish and make available all tariff offerings, including the three special tariff vouchers— ₹249, ₹199 and ₹209—at all its platforms such as retail stores, customer care centres, website and app.

Mint. “There is no need for a manager to fold up a fund.

India Inc. is increasingly turning to its own shareholders for capital.Companies sharply ramped up fundraising through rights issues in FY26, signalling a clear preference for funding from promoters and existing investors as volatile markets and cautious institutional investor flows made external capital harder to access.Qualified institutional placements continued to dominate fundraising by companies, although the gap with rights issues narrowed sharply from FY25.Companies raised ₹47,280 crore through rights issues in FY26, more than tripling from ₹13,797 crore in FY25 and marking the highest mobilization since FY21, according to Prime Database.

The swimwear market is being transformed as fitness and geopolitical shifts in travel have diverted millions of vacationers to pools and beaches in India. The sector, which nearly doubled to ₹8.5 billion over the last five years, is shedding its seasonal reputation as more people use it as a year-round low-impact cardio exercise.This surge is bringing a wave of direct-to-consumer (D2C) firms, challenging Speedo's decade-long dominance.

Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer is riding India’s growing middle class to bet that localized retail sales can offset a falling global appetite for high-end Swiss timepieces. The LVMH-owned brand plans to open boutique shops rather than rely on third-party distributors to shore up sales in a volatile luxury market.As parent LVMH struggles with a profit slide, India’s demand for Swiss watches has defied the downturn, surging more than 26% early this year.

₹600 per kg to ₹1,000 per kg, premium Mamra almonds from Iran up about 25% to ₹3,500 per kg, and prunes in some cases doubling from ₹500 per kg to ₹1,000 per kg. Pistachio prices have risen from ₹2,000 per kg to ₹2,800 per kg in the past month.Overall, he said, imported dry fruit prices have increased between 15% and 100%, depending on availability and sourcing constraints.India sources a wide range of dry fruits globally, with Iran and Afghanistan among the key suppliers of pistachios, figs, raisins, apricots, dates and premium Mamra almonds.

steel tubes market, supported by an expansive distribution network.That scale advantage is difficult for competitors to replicate, and remains the backbone of APL’s pricing power and market-share resilience. Thanks to this pricing power, Nuvama Institutional Equities expects Ebitda per tonne to remain healthy at over ₹5,500.Importantly, this is no longer just a volume-led story.

The civil aviation ministry on Thursday has suspended a decision requiring airlines to offer passengers free selection for at least 60% of the seats on a flight. Mint examines whether this will help airlines offset rising aviation turbine fuel costs triggered by the war in Iran.Last month, the country’s aviation regulator asked airlines to offer 60% of the seats on every domestic flight to be selected free of charge, allowing passengers to choose them without paying an additional fee.

move, cleared at Sebi’s March board meeting, allows FPIs to settle funds on a net basis in the cash market, replacing the current system where each leg of a transaction is settled separately. The change is aimed at reducing funding costs and aligning India with global practices, but intermediaries warn it could strain systems and workflows.Some industry participants have also questioned the timing amid volatile global conditions.Under the current gross settlement system, FPIs must fund each transaction independently.

With the war in Iran now in its second month, India’s cooking-gas shortage is turning serious. Policymakers must view this as more than a temporary blip; it is a crisis that may permanently shift how the world’s most-populous nation consumes energy. Electric cooktops are vanishing from shelves: Amazon’s local unit reported a 30-fold jump in sales.

India’s defence exports surged to a record ₹38,424 crore in 2025-26, marking a 63% increase over the previous year, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday. The ballast was provided by defence public sector undertakings, whose outbound shipments saw an impressive 151% increase to ₹21,071 crore. Defence exports by the private sector recorded a relatively modest 14% rise to ₹17,353 crore.

India’s proposed amendments of its IT Rules may read at first glance as a technical tightening of platform obligations. The government has described them as “clarificatory and procedural,” intended to improve legal certainty, strengthen enforceability and ensure more effective oversight of content hosted by online intermediaries, particularly news and current affairs.A closer reading, however, suggests that government ‘advisories,’ ‘guidelines’ and ‘clarifications’ could effectively become binding.

Brent crude prices soaring in 2026.Brent began the year at approximately $61.98 per barrel and surged to around $114.57 by the end of trading on 27 March, following the outbreak of the Iran war on 28 February.This sharp rally of about 85% is a result of a massive geopolitical risk premium. The catalyst was the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which trapped nearly 20% of global oil supply.Physical strikes on refineries, skyrocketing maritime insurance, and speculative hedging have further strained the market.