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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Most of us grew up seeing conservation at home—saving water, switching off what we did not need, repairing rather than discarding things and treating resources with quiet respect. We never called it ‘sustainability.’ It was common sense, passed down by elders, absorbed without effort and practised without announcement.In today’s global environment, that common sense is not just a virtue but a practical national strength. That is why I read the Prime Minister’s recent seven-point appeal as a timely reminder and not as a signal of panic.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Policy formulation will see challenges mount in 2026-27 as the effects of the West Asia war unsettle India’s growth picture. The high price of oil has exposed its vulnerability, with the reverberations of every policy action or non-action likely to influence other parts of the economy.Let’s start with monetary policy first. The regime of low interest rates is over and the decision that India’s central bank must take is when—and by how much—to raise its repo rate.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India’s electric-bus rollout under two central government schemes is nearing completion, with Karnataka, Maharashtra and Delhi accounting for the largest share of allocations, while Uttar Pradesh received no buses and Bihar was allotted 400, according to parliamentary data analysed by Mint.As much as 98% of the buses planned under the PM E-Drive and PM E-bus Sewa programmes have now been tendered, the data showed, effectively bringing the government’s push to electrify state-run bus fleets into its final phase and shaping how electric buses will enter urban transport over the next decade under long-term contracts.Data on the e-buses tendered under the PM E-Drive by the ministry of heavy industries and the PM E-bus Sewa by the ministry of housing and urban affairs showed Karnataka (5,250 e-buses), Maharashtra (4,109 e-buses), and Delhi (2,800 e-buses) leading the chart.The country's most populous state Uttar Pradesh did not win any busesunder the schemes while Bihar won only 400 buses. The contribution of these states is important to note given their large population and high dependence on public transport.Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu all have received only 50 e-buses each, with Ladakh receiving 48, and Andaman & Nicobar getting 45, the data showed.Tenders under these central schemes assume importance as these state-run buses will ply on Indian roads for at least the next decade, since these are long-term contracts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Indian FMCG products might get costlier on account of the war in West Asia as companies use up their buffer raw material stocks and shipments of key ingredients, including crude oil and oil-derived products, slow down because of global tensions, experts said.Persistent crude oil-linked inflation could keep companies cautious on pricing, margins and expansion plans. As inflationary pressures build, consumers are expected to cut back on discretionary spending and reduce shopping frequency.“People will start to look at value for money often.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The Centre is weighing an emergency, one-time increase in prices of around 300 essential medicines as the West Asia war disrupts supplies of petrochemical-based pharmaceutical inputs and drives up manufacturing costs, according to two government officials and two industry executives.The increase, which is being discussed between the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), and the commerce ministry, would be rolled back once supply chains stabilize, they said.The medicines under discussion include antibiotics and anti-infectives (amoxicillin, azithromycin), cardiac drugs (amlodipine, atorvastatin), and analgesics (paracetamol), besides other essential and life-saving formulations such as steroids (dexamethasone) and vitamins (ascorbic acid) that are dependent on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients and petrochemical-based solvents.“A proposal has come from the industry to the government regarding this pricing, and the government is reviewing the matter,” one of the two officials cited above said, requesting anonymity.“Indian Drugs Manufacturing Association (IDMA) is in dialogue with the government for getting some temporary relief under Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO), in order to ensure a balance between the industry concerns and patients’ needs,” said Dr.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai/Bengaluru: A ₹6,700-crore windfall from the listing of Tata Capital last October will help Tata Sons offset an over 10% decline in dividend income from its listed companies, helping the holding company end FY26 with its overall revenue higher than the previous year. The one-off boost comes as Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, the majority shareholder in Tata Sons, raised concern over mounting losses in newer businesses that continue to consume significant funding.Tata Trusts, worried over ballooning losses, has sought clarity on Tata Sons chairman N.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India is looking to accelerate its government fleet electrification programme via its clean energy agency to central ministries, state governments, public sector banks, and autonomous bodies—widening a drive that has so far hardly made a dent in a vehicle fleet of over 800,000 units.Led by the Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a central clean energy agency, the expansion plan will offer state governments and public sector undertakings (PSUs) a leasing-based 'EV as a Service' model that eliminates purchase costs and provides charging infrastructure and maintenance. The model, launched in 2024, will help circumvent the two big barriers to fleet electrification: high capital outlay and logistical complexity.“CESL is also reaching out to public sector banks, central/state governments, PSUs, autonomous bodies, etc., to align with the government’s larger vision of reducing fossil fuel dependence, lowering operational fuel costs and accelerating clean mobility adoption across public institutions,” a CESL spokesperson told Mint.The move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for increased use of electric vehicles (EVs), and as the finance ministry directed all public sector banks, insurance companies and financial institutions to switch to EVs as part of an austerity programme.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Artificial intelligence is like a cake, says Jensen Huang, the boss of Nvidia, a chipmaker. ai applications, such as chatbots, are at the top. The next layer down is software, like the large language models (llms) on which chatbots run.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Last week, US President Donald Trump’s historic two-day meeting with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, the first in Beijing at this level since 2017, ended without a commercial breakthrough despite the presence of a high-powered technology delegation of 17 American CEOs, including Elon Musk of SpaceX and Jensen Huang of Nvidia. China did not respond to US overtures, including the potential sale of Nvidia’s cutting-edge H200 chips to Chinese entities that the Joe Biden administration had blocked and Trump administration reversed. US officials dismissed a lack of business progress as immaterial.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Air India is cutting domestic and international capacity this summer, flying up to 5% fewer flights on domestic routes and nearly 40% less on international corridors compared with a year ago, as a depleted fleet, surging jet fuel costs, and war-related airspace closures squeeze the Tata Group carrier.The airline and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express together offered roughly 9.24 million domestic seats in April and May, down from 9.71 million a year ago, even as India's largest carrier, IndiGo, expanded domestic capacity 6% to 23.04 million seats and newcomer Akasa Air grew 9% to 1.63 million seats, according to data from aviation analytics firm OAG reviewed by Mint. Seats are a measure of capacity for airlines.The move reflects pressures that analysts say have pushed Air India's network strategy into what one expert calls ‘survival mode’.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Petrol and diesel prices have increased by nearly ₹4 following back-to-back price hikes over the past week. With crude oil prices still above $100 and no end in sight to the conflict in West Asia, at least two independent analysts have said retail fuel prices will have to increase by ₹13-20 per litre to curb the losses of oil companies.Mint explains why more fuel price hikes are probably on the way and what it means for consumers.The simple reason is that oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Indraprastha Gas Ltd’s (IGL) March quarter (Q4FY26) earnings underscored a familiar contradiction for city gas distributors (CGDs)—robust demand growth alongside rising concerns over profitability owing to cost pressures.Volumes rose 6% year-on-year to 9.7 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) in Q4, aided by 5% growth in CNG and 9% and 13% increases in industrial/commercial and domestic PNG volumes, respectively. Revenue grew 5.4% to ₹4,163 crore.The company has guided for FY27 exit volumes of 10.6 mmscmd.Tailwinds remain supportive.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: The mutual fund industry may be closing in on a structural fix to a long-running cost problem that weighs on asset manager profitability and makes small investments less viable.The industry is working on creating its own KYC Registration Agency (KRA) through Mutual Fund Utility (MFU), a move that could cut know-your-customer (KYC) expenses by nearly half, according to four people aware of the discussions.If implemented, the shift would directly reduce fixed onboarding costs that AMCs must pay for every new investor, regardless of investment size, these people said.Currently, asset management companies (AMCs) pay around ₹35 to KRA agencies for every new investor onboarded. That cost applies even to very small investments.Take a ₹500 monthly systematic investment plan.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.To grab hold of the glossy dream of overseas education and eventual global employment, Indian parents have willingly liquidated family assets and taken out hefty education loans — all in the hope that earnings in dollars or euros would wipe out the debt.But in 2026, that fundamental equation stands fractured. With the Indian rupee hitting record lows of ₹96 against the US dollar, the financial math of studying abroad demands a hard reset.The equation has changed.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A weekslong selloff in government bonds has intensified in recent days, threatening to drive up borrowing costs across the globe and knocking some momentum out of what had been a furious stock rally.With bond prices sliding, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, a key benchmark for mortgage rates and other borrowing costs, reached as high as 4.687% Tuesday, its highest intraday level since January 2025.The yield on the 30-year U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For the last few years, Indian companies had a fairly predictable ally on their side: benign input costs. Crude prices stayed manageable, freight rates cooled after the pandemic spike, and commodity inflation largely remained under control.That cushion is beginning to disappear.Crude oil prices have surged sharply in recent months amid escalating tensions in West Asia, pushing India’s wholesale inflation to a 42-month high of 8.3% in April 2026. Fuel and power inflation alone jumped nearly 25%, while prices of crude petroleum, metals and manufactured products also moved up sharply.For India Inc, this creates a familiar problem.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India’s automakers have told the government that consumers are unlikely to adopt flex-fuel vehicles unless high-ethanol fuels such as E85 and E100 are priced significantly below petrol, according to two people aware of discussions between the petroleum ministry, oil marketing companies, and auto lobby group Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).The industry has sought lower retail pricing for high-ethanol fuels along with tax benefits as the government accelerates work on a roadmap for higher ethanol blending amid rising energy security concerns.In Brazil, where most vehicles can run on E85 or E100 fuels, high-ethanol blends are priced lower than the standard E27, according to the country’s national agency of petroleum, natural gas, and biofuels.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: As the domino effect of the West Asia war builds inflationary pressures across the economy, Zydus Wellness Ltd sees a larger share of its growth coming from price increases rather than higher sales volumes in the coming quarters. The consumer wellness firm said rising packaging, freight and input costs are beginning to influence pricing decisions, reflecting the broader pressure on consumer-facing businesses.“While growth is driven by volumes, there will also be a value component, as there is some level of inflation,” chief executive officer Tarun Arora told Mint in an interaction on Tuesday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Coming soon to ChatGPT: help with your personal finances based on insights from your actual accounts. OpenAI says subscribers to the Pro version of its artificial-intelligence chatbot will be able to connect their financial accounts to it and get personalized guidance.OpenAI is relying on Plaid, a fintech company, to securely link users’ bank accounts to ChatGPT, according to an OpenAI announcement on Friday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged employees across organizations to work from home (WFH). With fewer commutes, nationwide fuel consumption would fall, making WFH seem like an instant remedy for the current fuel crunch. The critical question, however, is whether WFH is a reversible move.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Electric mobility in India has moved from being an environmental statement to an economic necessity.An expected yet sudden ₹3-per-litre fuel hike, along with government austerity measures such as remote-work mandates to conserve foreign reserves, has intensified the pressure on internal combustion engines. Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer futuristic alternatives — they are increasingly financial hedges against fuel volatility.But unlocking their full value requires new habits.