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Mint explains.India is the world’s second-largest fertilizer consumer, but domestic supply hasn’t kept pace.The country imports about 60% of its diammonium phosphate (DAP) requirement and roughly 15% of its urea and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK)-based fertilizer demand, along with intermediates such as rock phosphate, phosphoric acid and potash.Even urea relies on natural gas as feedstock, much of which is imported. This leaves domestic production exposed to global energy markets.“Domestic availability is limited for raw materials and intermediaries such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), phosphate rock and ammonia,” said Anand Kulkarni, director at Crisil Ratings.Analysts say this dependence is unlikely to ease without a shift in technology.

Stephen Miran has dissented in favor of easier policy at every meeting since joining the board last September. Before that, he served as a top economic adviser to Trump.Christopher Waller, who also dissented at the most recent gathering in January, is seen as a candidate to dissent again after February’s unexpected drop in payrolls reinforced his argument that a weak labor market is near a tipping point.Michelle Bowman cited the labor-market report as evidence the economy “could use some support from our policy rate” in a television interview two weeks ago.

First is the policy statement. A minority of officials pushed unsuccessfully in January to jettison language hinting that the next move is a cut.

Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. US President Donald Trump warned that oil infrastructure on the island could be next if Iran disrupted shipping in the region.Facing adversaries that far outstrip it in firepower and military might, Iran appears to have chosen its targets carefully.The first is international fuel supplies.Iran has attacked at least 16 ships in the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on 28 February.

“The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.”—All the President’s MenAmerican Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a Democrat and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, took to social media Tuesday night to share takeaways from a classified briefing the White House shared with him and other legislators about the Iran war.“I obviously can’t disclose classified info, but you deserve to know how incoherent and incomplete these war plans are,” he noted, emphasizing that regime change in Iran is no longer in the cards. “They are going to spend hundreds of billions of your taxpayer dollars, get a whole bunch of Americans killed, and a hardline regime—probably a MORE anti-American hardline regime—will still be in charge.”Murphy also said US President Donald Trump’s administration no longer intends to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.

Mint asked how deep the present correction could run.The Nifty has fallen 9.5% from its record high of 26,373.2 on 5 January this year to 23,866.85 on Wednesday.On Thursday, the index was down around 1%.The benchmark index had hit a low of 21,743.65 on 7 April last year, six months after touching a record 26,277.35 on 27 September 2024. The 17% drawdown came after an intense spell of foreign institutional selling amid fears that global tariffs proposed by US President Donald Trump would impact emerging markets like India.Asked how he had positioned himself in the current market, Kedia said, "I am sitting like an eagle, waiting and watching to make the right move."Following the downturn, Kedia has set his sights on the midcap and smallcap space, where he believes "value can be found" by those having an investment horizon of at least three years."Many mid- and small-cap stocks are illiquid, so on small volumes they fall a lot more (than large caps), but they also can rise a lot more on small volumes after a bottom has been made."The Nifty Midcap 150 has outperformed the benchmark having fallen 8% from a record high of 22,650.05 on 7 January through 20,839.35 on Wednesday.

Now that Kevin Warsh has been nominated as the next chair of the US Federal Reserve Board, it is worth asking how different a Warsh Fed would be from the current one. President Donald Trump had made it clear that he wants a Fed chair who will push for lower policy rates to juice the US economy and support his broader agenda.

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Springing a surprise, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a plan for what he called America’s first new refinery in half-a-century, backed by investment from India’s Reliance. To be built by America First Refining, it is part of a deal whose value Trump put at $300 billion, calling it the biggest in US history.“Thank you to our partners in India, and their largest privately held Energy Company, Reliance, for this tremendous Investment,” he said in a Truth Social post.

February data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India signals a rise in equity appetite. Funds investing in them saw an 8% bump-up in inflows from January to ₹25,977 crore, with mid- and small-cap funds in the lead; inflows into the former rose 26% and those in the latter surged 32%. Flexi-cap funds, which are quite popular, saw inflows decline, though not by much.

New Delhi: Indian refiners have ramped up daily domestic production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by around 10% in the past few days in the face of a supply squeeze from the US-Iran war, two people aware of the development said.The refiners have also secured 20 very large gas carriers (VLGC) carrying around 1 million tonne (mt) cargo, mostly from the US, the people said on condition of anonymity.However, the country is still short of another 20 VLGCs—totalling 2 mt—which Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been scouting for since the war broke out on 28 February, these people added.“Production has already gone up by 10%,” the first person cited above said, adding that India is looking at sourcing more LPG from all available sources, including the US, Canada, Australia and Algeria.The second person said: “There was a shortfall of about 40 VLGCs, and 20 VLGCs have already been booked.

"Khamenei Out.” That was the title of an event wager on the prediction market Kalshi. On the website of its rival, Polymarket, wagers were being made on “the timing of the Iran war” just before it began. Posts by Bubblemaps, a blockchain analytics tool, on X indicate that six accounts collectively pocketed $1.2 million in profit from Polymarket bets.

If you thought 2025 was a tough transition, 2026 now seems to have plenty more surprises in store. India, in particular, has to trek through two tricky minefields over the next 10 months: energy security and technological flux. These two prickly issues will have to fight for the political leadership’s mind-space, cluttered as it is with tricky geopolitics, rising unemployment, sticky economic growth and an always-on electoral cycle.

In international relations, manifestly illegal government action can sometimes be morally defensible. While historical examples of legitimacy trumping legality are few and far between, they do exist.

India is weighing a plan to prioritize natural gas supply to critical sectors after LNG (liquefied natural gas) shipments from Qatar were disrupted following an attack on QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan liquefaction complex on Monday, three people aware of the matter said.The move assumes significance as India imports about 55% of its natural gas requirement. Further, of the $14.9 billion worth of natural gas imports in FY25, Qatar’s share was about 50%, according to data from Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).“The government is looking at multiple options to ensure uninterrupted supply of natural gas,” one of the three people mentioned above said on condition of anonymity.

A new wave of affluent buyers in their twenties and early thirties is driving growth in India’s luxury watch market, forcing global brands to reposition for a more aspirational consumer.The shift comes at a time when rising disposable incomes, a swelling base of high-net-worth individuals and easing import duties under India’s trade pact with the European Union are reshaping the premium timepiece landscape. Lower tariffs on Swiss watches are expected to narrow price gaps, intensify competition and accelerate premiumisation in a market that executives say is expanding rapidly.The luxury watch market is poised for strong expansion, with annual growth estimated at 11-12%, supported by the country's rising affluent base and growing wealth among high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), according to an October 2025 report by SOIC Research.The share of luxury and high-end watch sales has jumped from 48% in FY20 to 70% in FY25, indicating that Indian buyers are gravitating toward more exclusive, higher-value brands.

Those who view President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran as a blow to China should think again. Beijing will manage any potential leadership change in Tehran as long as the oil keeps flowing, a summit with Trump and President Xi Jinping stays on track, and Washington handles Taiwan—China’s most sensitive red line—with care. Xi’s strategy is closer to the ancient Chinese phrase that notes the benefit of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight: conserve strength while others exhaust themselves, and intervene only if core interests are directly threatened.Beijing doesn’t think of alliances the way the US does.

The American-Israeli attack on Iran raises a number of vital questions for India and the rest of the world, delving into which is necessary to make the best of a bad situation. The prices of oil and liquefied natural gas have begun to rise as Iran attempts to choke the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one in every fourth barrel of all seaborne crude oil moves. If this grip lasts, it will make energy imports dearer, weaken the rupee and give inflation a cost-push.

New Delhi: Basmati rice exporters will meet officials of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) this week to assess the fallout of escalating tensions in West Asia, as shipping disruptions and rising freight and insurance costs threaten India’s nearly $6 billion basmati trade in FY25, as per people in the know.The move comes amid growing uncertainty over consignments bound for the Gulf region, which accounts for nearly 60-70% of India’s basmati exports. Exporters said that while the immediate damage is still being assessed, several shipments are either stuck in transit or held up at ports, raising concerns over delayed payments and contractual risks if the conflict is prolonged.“Exports have come to a standstill in some corridors.

MSMEs, accounting for about 45% of India’s total exports, any prolonged instability threatens not just margins but order continuity.“We are fortunate that our goods are not stuck in transit,” said Sushma Morthania, director at Shezar Technologies, which exports electronic components worth around ₹50 lakh each month. Nearly 40% of her shipments go to West Asia, Europe, and parts of Latin America via Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port.

Mint examines how events in Iran will unfold and their implications for India and the rest of the world.Late on Saturday, the US and Israeli forces launched ‘Operation Epic Fury’—a massive military operation that not only killed Iran's supreme leader Khamenei but also 40 senior officials, disrupting the Islamic Republic’s command and control. The strikes happened across 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones into Israel and other Arab states in the region.