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interim budget, presented on 1 February, pegged a capex of ₹11.1 trillion for FY25, marking an increase from FY24's budgeted estimates of ₹10 trillion and revised estimates of ₹9.5 trillion. Higher capex is largely proposed for infrastructure sectors such as roads, shipping and railways. The capital allocation for these ministries has also been scaled up substantially in the budget, allowing them to complete work under the Vision 2027 plan.

When Iran shot off rockets at Israel, analysts across the world waited with bated breath in anticipation of an oil-price spike. Some expected crude oil to cross $100 per barrel within days and hurt a global economy already reeling from supply chain bottlenecks. The ‘First Oil Shock’ of 1973 was recalled, when an Arab oil embargo disrupted Western economies.

At a time when the world is grappling with shifting global narratives and macroeconomic challenges, India is experiencing a remarkable transformation. Strong demand, resilient supply chains, relentless innovation, rapid digitization at scale, energetic entrepreneurship and a conducive policy-and-investment climate are shaping a new wave of global optimism over India. From governments across Europe and the US to power centres in the Global South, India’s name resonates in discussions on alliances and strategic partnerships.

Hindustan Times, Asaduddin Owaisi lambasted PM Modi and said, "...he has gone back to his original agenda of spewing venom, of creating divisions, creating suspicion about Muslims and calling them ghuspathis [infiltrators]..." "Now, he has gone back. He has forgotten G20, Chandrayaan 3, 5-trillion economy, permanent seat at the security council, Vishwa Guru, Viksit Bharat – all have gone into the dustbin...they have come back to the agenda which they started and will continue in future," Owaisi said. Watch Owaisi's full interview here: The AIMIM chief said this when asked about PM Modi's remark during an election rally in Rajasthan's Banswara.

India's G20 Sherpa and former CEO of Niti Aayog Amitabh Kant projected that the country is all set to overtake Japan as 4th largest economy in the world by 2025. The size of India's GDP is currently ranked 5th, after the US, China, Germany, and Japan. It overtook the UK in 2022. Just a decade ago, Indian GDP was the eleventh largest in the world. Currently, India's GDP is estimated to be around USD 3.7 trillion.

Stock markets are an enigma from which there is little escape. At times, it seems as if the S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty have become synonymous with everything that is happening in the country, including events that transcend the economy. High readings of the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) are routinely interpreted as a sign that the economy is buoyant, and this leads to stock-index gains.

Sandeep Tandon, CIO, Quant Mutual Fund, says “metals, PSU, pharma are very big themes and will lead the market. FMCG is also showing early signs of bottoming out. Each and every stock has not bottomed out, but some characteristics are there where we will look for a buying opportunity at bottom levels. I am not in a hurry so that we have to buy today only, but they are showing early signs of bottoming out.” Any specific reason why FIIs are selling because I can understand that the local crowd can get jittery, but FIIs typically have a very long view. They are often buyers when there is distress. Right now, FIIs are causing distress with rampant selling. Who are these FIIs who are selling and why are they selling in the month of May? Sandeep Tandon: It is not only in the month of May, FIIs have been sellers for a while. They used to run very concentrated holding in the past. If you can recollect, few banks, few technology companies, few FMCG and few consumption names was their thesis. So, they made very concentrated bets. All these stocks which they owned were part of the admired territory which peaked in September 2021 and are still correcting.

Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman, Motilal Oswal, says “in the last 25 years, total savings in the Indian economy was $10-12 trillion. But in the next 25 years, it is going to be $100 to $150 trillion and it is going to hit us every day. It is hitting us every day. This is the journey of India. By 10th or 12th year, India would be accumulating almost $5-6 trillion of savings per year. We are going to give birth to Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, a big JPMorgan or big asset management company out of India with a serious scale.” There are a lot of themes in this market, PSUs, defence, railways but one theme which you have really understood over the years is autos and auto seems to be in a great patch now. Two-wheelers are doing well. Escorts is also looking well. Maruti is doing well, Tata Motors is doing well. Do you see this kind of a comeback in the autos, especially at the discretionary end of the market, to last for the next two-three years? Raamdeo Agrawal: So long as you have the rallies going on in the capital market, which is another source of what you call wealth creation for the people at large, they are going to use their market cap power or financial wealth that they have created in their portfolios for buying discretionary stuff, whether it is high-end housing, high-end cars, high-end fashion, travel, all luxurious things.

Bank of England sent its clearest signal yet that it was closing in on interest-rate cuts, with Governor Andrew Bailey indicating markets were underpricing the pace of easing in the months ahead. The BOE governor made his comments after the UK central bank voted 7-2 to keep the base interest rate at 5.25%, a decision announced Thursday in London. He said recent inflation data have been “encouraging.” Meanwhile, price pressures in Brazil continued to ease, prompting the central bank to cut interest rates but at a slower pace.

liberalize the economy on May 10 aimed at ensuring freedom of entrepreneurship by developing competition, reducing state stakes in the economy, and decreasing business costs in a step that would encourage Indian private investors to explore the regional market by making Kazakhstan as a base. Firstly, it is envisaged to create a National Privatization Office at the Kazakh Agency for Protection and Promotion of Competition. This office will be responsible for developing the standards for state assets that are eligible for privatization and compiling a list of those assets.

₹21,000 crore mark. We have liberated the country from legacy issues. Be it huge NPAs endangering the Indian banking system or abrogating Article 370 ushering a new era of peace in Jammu & Kashmir.

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₹10,00,000. Sitharaman’s emphasis on employment opportunities to the students also comes in the context of opposition parties like Congress and AAP, among others, raising ‘unemployment’ as an issue in the ongoing national polls.

national oil goliath has a central position in the world’s oil markets. Its market value of $2trn, five times that of the second-biggest oil firm, ExxonMobil, is predicated on bountiful reserves of crude and a peerless ability to tap them cheaply and, as oil goes, cleanly. So the Saudi energy ministry stunned many industry-watchers in January by suspending the firm’s plans to expand oil-production capacity from 12m to 13m barrels per day (b/d).

an interview with us last week, President Emmanuel Macron offered his own diagnosis. There can be no great power without economic prosperity and technological sovereignty, but “Europe does not produce enough wealth per capita." It must become an attractive place to invest and innovate. This requires vast amounts of capital—and a well-oiled financial system that channels savings to promising investment opportunities across the continent.

Zerodha, Motilal Oswal and Kotak Securities have begun seeking self-declarations from clients stating that such positions are taken only against unhedged exposure within the $100 million limit across all foreign exchange contracts stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). On 5 January, the RBI said while users could take exchange-traded currency derivatives (ETCD) positions in dollar, yen, euro and pound with rupee as the other pair up to $100 million across all recognized exchanges, without having to establish underlying exposure, the exchanges must inform them that they should be able to establish the existence of a valid underlying exposure which has not been hedged.

The British economy bounced back strongly in the first three months of the year, bringing to an end to what economists termed a “technical recession.”

The Biden White House wants voters to know about its differences with Republicans over taxes

An annual survey of more than 500 European companies has found that slowing growth in China is weighing on company plans to expand their businesses in the world’s second largest economy

U.S. stocks coasted to the close of another winning week with a quiet, mixed finish

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a series of painful budget cuts to close the state's growing deficit