Country Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: State-run Oil India Ltd (OIL) plans to raise its exploration and production capital expenditure by over 10% to ₹10,000 crore this fiscal year, chairman and managing director Ranjit Rath said, as the country grapples with an energy shock amid the West Asia war.The Maharatna company, which traces its origin to India’s first commercial crude oil discovery in Digboi (Assam), expects to produce about 4 million tonnes (mt) of crude oil this fiscal, compared with 3.45 mt in FY26. He added that work on the $20-billion Mozambique LNG project has resumed.

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.Should India tighten capital controls in response to its dollar crunch? Not unless the country faces a dire emergency. That’s a key lesson from the ‘taper tantrum’ crisis of 2013.

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.New Delhi: India’s efforts to diversify LPG supplies have gained momentum after state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) made its first-ever spot purchases from the American market, a top company official said, as the country seeks to reduce dependence on West Asia amid ongoing conflict in the region.The development assumes significance as India imports 60-65% of its annual liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) requirement of 33 million tonnes, with nearly 90% of these imports sourced from West Asia, making it vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions amid the ongoing US-Iran tensions in the region.Although the mobilization period from the US is about 45 days, cargoes from North America would ease supply crunch faced by the world's second-largest LPG importer, said VRK Gupta, director (finance) at BPCL."For the first time, BPCL has procured 2 US cargoes of LPG on spot purchase basis which have arrived in the month of May 2026. Hence, even if it takes about 90 days (to and fro), cargoes from the US will ease the supply scenario," Gupta told Mint in an interview.These are very large gas carriers (VLGC), with a capacity of 45,000-48,000 tonnes.BPCL’s LPG business accounts for about 28% of the country’s liquefied petroleum gas market, covering 93.5 million cylinder connections.LPG is a sensitive issue in the country as it is used for cooking by nearly 340 million households.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Executives at Nippon Life India Asset Management and Deutsche Bank’s asset manager DWS said global investors continue to view India as a key long-term market despite continued foreign portfolio outflows from equities.Global investors may be in a temporary “wait-and-watch” mood, said Sundeep Sikka, managing director and CEO of Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.At a gathering of academics and policymakers at Harvard this month, a participant reminded me that I had published a column 15 years ago on ‘The Manufacturing Imperative.’ As the title suggests, the piece emphasized the importance of industrialization in driving economic growth, creating good jobs, and building a middle class. “This is one of my all-time favourite articles,” the policymaker from Africa told the audience.There is scarcely a greater reward for a scholar than having his ideas resonate strongly with the people for whom he writes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: This month, India’s semiconductor push gathered momentum with Tata Electronics’ pact with Dutch major ASML and two new projects, a mini/micro-LED display fabrication unit in Dholera and an OSAT packaging facility in Surat.With nearly a dozen semiconductor initiatives now underway, how close is India to becoming self-reliant in chips?Tata Electronics’ pact with ASML, the world’s leading maker of chip lithography equipment, marks a key step in India’s entry into global semiconductor manufacturing by securing access to critical technology. Alongside the two projects announced in May—a micro-LED display fab in Dholera and an OSAT packaging facility in Surat with a combined investment of ₹3,936 crore—the move broadens India’s semiconductor base.The micro-LED fab positions India in advanced display manufacturing, while the OSAT unit helps plug a packaging gap, reducing dependence on Taiwan and Malaysia.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The arrival Tuesday of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing will mark a watershed moment for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, one that he has pursued since taking power in 2012—and bet his country’s future to achieve.Welcoming Moscow’s ruler just days after President Trump’s motorcade swept out of the Chinese capital represents, for Xi, a vindication of 14 years of relentless economic competition with the U.S. and his strategic embrace of the Kremlin through the Ukraine war.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In a reminder that the inflation beast is never fully tamed, but can at best be forced to retreat temporarily, wholesale price inflation in India jumped to a 42-month high of 8.3% in April. That’s more than double the previous month’s 3.9% and a far cry from the 0.9% recorded a year ago. The longer global oil supply remains disrupted, the likelier it will go into double digits.And with diesel and petrol filling-station prices hiked only in May (and more hikes likely), it is just a matter of time before retail inflation, already at a 13-month high of 3.5% in April, increases.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The world is making a run on U.S. energy, setting American motorists and foreign buyers on a collision course.President Trump and his administration have successfully talked down and taken measures to contain American energy prices. That, combined with the fact that the country has a huge surplus, has prompted overseas buyers to buy huge volumes of U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Indian currency has been experiencing sharp depreciation amid the West Asian crisis, driven largely by rising energy prices and moderating capital flows. That said, the weakness of the Indian rupee has been a persistent concern over the past year, even before the conflict began. It has depreciated by about 11% over the past year, with about 5% of this value loss having occurred after the US-Iran war began on 28 February.The main concern for the rupee is India’s weak balance-of-payments position.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Youngsters riding bikes at high speed without hands on the handlebars and performing stunts have long been a common sight in India, raising serious safety concerns for both riders and other motorists and even pedestrians.This could soon change.The government is planning a three-layer “hands-free” safety system for two-wheelers, requiring manufacturers to install technology that can detect whether riders have both hands on the handlebars and step in if they do not, amid rising road accidents in the country.According to an internal draft of the proposal, reviewed by Mint, the planned safety standards would require bikes and scooters to prevent ignition without both hands on the grip, issue audio and visual alerts if hands are removed while riding, and gradually slow down the vehicle in such cases.The introduction of new standards will lead to additional costs for automakers, which are typically passed on to consumers, with the proposed measures expected to increase prices by ₹800-1,000 per unit for installing sensors on handlebars, at least two industry executives said. The move marks a fresh push by the Centre to tighten two-wheeler safety norms even as its attempt to mandate anti-lock braking systems (ABS) across all categories of two-wheelers irrespective of engine capacity remains stuck amid industry resistance and cost concerns.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Chemical fertilizers in India are heavily subsidized and import-dependent. Their use, over the years, has led to significant deterioration in soil health. To promote soil testing, provide farmers with crop-specific nutrient recommendations, improve soil fertility and optimize fertilizer use, the government launched the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme in 2015.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Coal is making a comeback.Countries around the world are returning to the highly polluting but reliable source of power after the Iran war effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz and cut off around 20% of global liquefied natural gas supplies.Taiwan is restarting idled coal-fired power plants and South Korea boosted the amount of electricity it generated from coal by more than a third last month. In Europe, Italy has put its coal plants on standby as it girds for a prolonged energy shock.Spot coal prices at Australia’s Newcastle port, a key supplier to Asia, have jumped 12% since the war started.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In his first speech as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Joseph Vijay said in Tamil, “I have known poverty; I’ve known hunger. I am not from some royalty.” This whole country seems to be filled with self-made men. Except that most of them may not be at all.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.US President Donald Trump’s description of his China visit as “very successful” and “unforgettable” may be as self-congratulatory as his claims of victory over Iran.Trump, in his own telling, had a successful stay in Beijing during a presidential visit that came after nearly a decade and at a crucial juncture in American diplomacy.Having painted himself into a corner by underestimating a sanctions-hit Iran, which now has the world economy in a chokehold through the Strait of Hormuz, he was clearly hoping to secure the Asian giant's help in ending the impasse, not just for favourable economic deals.He claimed to have concluded several trade deals, including an order for 200 Boeing jets that could rise to 750 if the aircraft maker performs well. China also agreed to purchase 400-450 engines from General Electric, he added.Except there were no mentions of these by his host, Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom Trump described as an “incredible guy” to Fox News reporters on 15 May while returning home.In fact, his 14 May meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People suggests he may have been told, politely, that he no longer holds all the cards.A Chinese readout said Xi noted that “transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe, and the international situation is fluid and turbulent.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia carried out multiple strikes against Iran after their countries were attacked by the regime in the early days of the war, showing the depth of the Gulf states’ involvement in the conflict and how much the region’s geopolitics have been transformed.Before the war, strikes by the Gulf states on their large and heavily armed neighbor and rival for power in the Middle East would have been unthinkable. But new details have emerged that give a clearer picture of how directly they fought in the war, upending a careful balance the countries had sought to achieve.The U.A.E.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The war in Iran has triggered the largest oil-supply disruption in modern history.The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is forcing governments to redefine energy security for an age of geopolitical fragmentation—one in which resilience depends not only on how much oil the world produces, but where it flows, who can get it and which countries are able to absorb the shock when it is interrupted.Nearly 15% of global oil supply has been removed from the market. Crude prices remain elevated above $100 a barrel after initially spiking higher. They will very likely move sharply higher as inventories run dry.But while the oil market is global and rising costs are felt everywhere, the consequences are not evenly distributed.Asia has been hit first and hardest.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Karan Mahajan’s third novel The Complex is aptly titled, as it is set in a warren of apartments that belong to the Chopra family in Model Colony, north Delhi. The word “complex” itself denotes psychology (inferiority complex, god complex and the like), architecture (a building with added features), and of course everyday language (complicated).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Climate Change & You is a fortnightly newsletter written by Bibek Bhattacharya and Sayantan Bera. Subscribe to Mint’s newsletters to get them directly in your inbox.How much nations consume, and how extravagantly, has a direct impact on the health of the planet, via what is known as the carbon footprint of consumption.