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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India is planning to overhaul its pharmaceutical storage rules for vaccines and biological products, as gaps in the regulatory framework have frequently led to drugs being stored under improper temperature conditions, potentially compromising their efficacy, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.The plan is to define and classify these medications into two group— thermostable or those that can survive high temperatures, and thermolabile, or those that cannot, to ensure medicines, including insulin and vaccines are handled with scientific precision throughout the supply chain. Currently, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, lacks these specific classifications.While Schedule P of the Drugs Rules, 1945 provides general storage instructions such as ‘cold place’ for temperatures not exceeding 8 degrees Celsius, there has been no comprehensive, science-based list to guide manufacturers and drug inspectors.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Amid diesel supply constraints triggered by the ongoing West Asia war, the government’s review of telecom operators and tower firms’ complaints has laid bare a crucial gap: the sector’s “critical infrastructure” tag is not ensuring priority fuel access on the ground. This threatens network continuity, especially in areas reliant on diesel-fuelled power backups, putting essential services—from hospitals to law enforcement—at risk of disruption.Despite its formal classification under national critical frameworks, telecom infrastructure continues to face uneven state-level curbs on diesel sales and movement.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.When India enacted its four new Labour Codes, consolidating over 40 central labour laws, the promise was straightforward: simplify compliance, make labour markets more flexible and attract investment. These are worthy goals. But for the Codes to deliver on that promise, they should be accompanied by a reform that has been conspicuously absent from the conversation: a properly designed, state-sponsored unemployment insurance system.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Many informal migrants who had returned to their villages during the covid lockdowns stayed back after the pandemic ended, which led to an increased share of India’s employed population working on farms. Disrupted supplies of affordable cooking gas in wake of the Iran conflict have restarted a slow but worrying reverse migration of informal workers to villages.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.I have quarrels with many words. Some are intense, long-running disputes; others are milder irritations. The word ‘impact’—deployed relentlessly across the social sector—belongs firmly to the first category.To be sure, I have no complaint with the word in its original, physical sense.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: India’s major ports are set to extend relief measures for exporters hit by disruptions from the ongoing West Asia conflict until the end of April, according to two people aware of the development, as shipping delays and logistics costs remain elevated.The extension will allow exporters to continue availing waivers on ground rent and dwell time charges, along with concessions on reefer plug-in fees and certain vessel-related charges for cargo stranded en route to West Asian markets.The measures, first rolled out in early March, initially covered cargo impacted until 15 March and were later extended to 31 March. With the conflict persisting and containers continuing to face delays and rerouting, authorities are considering a further extension through April.An extension would provide breathing room to exporters grappling with delayed shipments and working capital pressures due to longer transit times and supply chain disruptions, one of the people cited above said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The bulls are active and capitalising on every dip to trigger a recovery. However, the market continues to be dragged down by an inability to sustain gains at higher levels.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The initial public offering (IPO) market is preparing for an era of superjumbo listings that threatens to shift the earth’s financial axis. With SpaceX reportedly filing for a market debut that could eclipse Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion record in size, the stakes have moved beyond mere capital raising.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: As landfill capacity tightens in major cities and energy security concerns rise, investors are beginning to revisit a sector long avoided for its execution risks. Waste-to-energy in India is emerging as a policy-supported investment theme, moving from a neglected infrastructure niche, but it remains early, illiquid and operationally constrained.The shift is being reinforced by new regulatory signals.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Domestic travel stocks are in the limelight amid uncertainty around international travel routes and fuel supply disruptions. Strong summer travel demand, rising disposable incomes, and robust tourism activity are enhancing growth prospects for Indian hotels and online travel companies.Here are three travel stocks to watch: Thomas Cook (India) is a leading omnichannel travel company offering foreign exchange, leisure and corporate travel, and visa services.Founded in 1881, it operates across 28 countries and manages brands like SOTC and Sterling Holidays, providing end-to-end travel solutions with a strong global presence.The company reported revenues of ₹2145 crore vs ₹2061 crore YoY.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Goldman Sachs might have provided an early preview of market reaction to the first quarter earnings season, which in turn could be a warning to investors looking for outsize profit growth to offset the renewed risks tied to the U.S. war with Iran.The Wall Street titan on Monday posted a massive surge in first quarter profits, thanks in part to record stock trading revenue and a near doubling in investment banking fees, and solid gains from its asset management division.But its bottom line growth rate of 19%, in terms of overall profits, dwarfed the 6.5% rate at which Goldman topped Wall Street’s headline earnings estimate, suggesting investors had already priced a large amount of the bank’s performance into its stock price heading into Monday’s update.Shares in the group, in fact, were last marked 3.5% lower in early Monday trading, dragging both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 lower along the way.Deutsche Bank strategists, led by Binky Chanda, think this could be a theme that repeats itself throughout the whole of the first quarter reporting season.Across Wall Street, analysts are looking for headline earnings growth of around 14%, a rate that would take collective S&P 500 profits to just over $605 billion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For salaried employees in the new tax regime, the list of meaningful tax-saving components has shrunk. Popular elements such as house rent allowance (HRA) and leave travel allowance (LTA) have lost relevance for those who have shifted to the simplified structure.

Last week, I warned you that volatility in financial markets would rise further and reach crescendo levels that retail traders are not geared to handle. Sure enough, the markets gyrated wildly with larger-than-normal price swings. The expectations of a mean-reversion upmove and empirical evidence of a shorter trading week favouring bulls also played out as expected.

₹500- ₹2,000 crore, in the past month, according to investment bankers and deal advisors familiar with the matter.While the trend is becoming become more visible, intermediaries Mint spoke to declined to name any companies, citing dealmaking competition and confidentiality agreements governing the mandate shifts."I am seeing IPOs with new liquidity worth anywhere between ₹500 crore to ₹2,000 crore, turn into dual tracks over the last 30 days," a deal advisor working with IPO-bound companies told Mint on the condition of anonymity.This shift follows a cooling investor appetite amid global uncertainty, which has slowed listing activity. As a result, companies have now begun seeking alternative routes to provide liquidity to shareholders and founders."The current environment is not conducive for launching IPOs," said Samir Bahl, chief executive of investment banking at Anand Rathi Advisors.

With the introduction of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill of 2026 (JV2), India’s government has made one thing unmistakably clear: the decriminalization of various actions covered by the country’s statute book is not a one-time gesture, but a sustained and serious programme of reform. Covering 79 Central Acts in a single sweep, the JV2 Bill follows the Jan Vishwas Act of 2023 and picks up where the Select Committee-examined 2025 bill left off. The ambition behind this exercise deserves recognition on its own terms.

American multinational technology company Oracle, founded by Larry Ellison, is executing the largest layoffs in its history, cutting up to 30,000 jobs or about 19% of its 162,000 global workforce. In India, where it employs around 50,000 people, about 10,000-12,000 roles are being eliminated.At the same time, the company has raised its restructuring budget by $500 million to $2.1 billion in FY26 (June-May), mainly for severance. Oracle attributes part of the reduction to AI coding tools that allow smaller teams to build software faster.

shipbuilding and expand India's maritime capabilities, strengthen national security, and boost domestic industry.“To operationalise the Shipbuilding Cell's mandate effectively, there is an urgent requirement for 15 naval architects with specialized expertise in shipbuilding, technical assessment, strategic planning, digital infrastructure, and investment facilitation. These naval architects will serve as the technical backbone of the Shipbuilding Cell, providing hands-on expertise in policy development, yard assessment, market analysis, project development, and implementation support,” an official at the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways said, requesting anonymity.“This engagement is structured to attract two distinct categories of naval architects based on experience levels, ensuring a balanced team composition with both senior strategic guidance and intermediate technical execution capability,” the official added.The second person said that the Directorate General of Shipping is transitioning into the Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) under the new Merchant Shipping Act with the expanded mandate to include digital administration, green energy, and enhanced maritime security.The DGMA is expected to house the dedicated Shipbuilding Cell to develop India's shipbuilding and ship repair capacity, attract domestic and international investment, facilitate policy implementation, and support strategic maritime sector growth.

Indian benchmark indices surged about 6% this week—their strongest performance in over five years—driven by sharply improving global cues after a ceasefire between the US and Iran eased geopolitical tensions, stabilised crude oil prices, and triggered a risk-on rally across global equities.The Sensex recorded its sharpest weekly gain since the week ended 7 February 2021, when the markets had surged over 9% in a rally as covid-19 fears subsided. On Friday, the Nifty 50 rose 1.16% to close at 24,050.60, while the Sensex gained 1.2% to end at 77,550.25.At the same time, volatility cooled significantly.

NEW DELHI: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) promises a fresh start for bankrupt companies that have resolved their debt problems. Yet, creditors including government agencies come after them for their past dues – a headache for the company’s new investors.

Nayara Energy and Shell, have already raised prices in recent months. Reliance Industries is also India’s largest exporter of petroleum products.A dealer operating Jio-bp pumps said, "About 30% of diesel sales have dropped in the past few days due to the limit on sales.

Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, the textile processing clusters in Surat, Gujarat, and the glass manufacturing cluster in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh.This assumes significance given that the MSME sector contributes about 30.1% to India’s GDP and accounts for 35.4% of its manufacturing output and nearly 45% of the country's export.“The plan is to extend community kitchen services, which are already in operation in several states, to the manufacturing clusters. It may also include setting up new community kitchens with the cooperation of state governments, as well as industry and social groups,” said the second person, adding that it would be initiated with the provision of three meals a day.Queries sent on Wednesday to the spokespersons of the ministries of finance and MSME remained unanswered until press time.To be sure, several states run subsidized community kitchen or low-cost meal schemes for workers and the urban poor.