The economy has recently been yielding some discomfiting data, even before the war in West Asia began. The most recent of these was the February 2026 data on the Index of Eight Core Industries. This release showed that growth in the overall Index had dropped to a three-month low in February, half the rate of…
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. File | Photo Credit: ANI Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday (March 23, 2026) unveiled three new initiatives aimed at strengthening India’s media, broadcasting, and digital sector and promoting the “orange economy”, or the creative economy. The creative economy includes industries where economic value is generated primarily from creativity, culture, technology,…
With regard to outflows, the outward FDI by Indian companies increased by 5.4% in January 2026 to $2.1 billion. This was, however, nearly 30% lower than the outward FDI in December 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI Net foreign direct investment (FDI) into India contracted for the fifth consecutive month in January 2026, with outflows exceeding…
At present, domestic production of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) is fulfilling about 50-60% of our domestic demand, Sujata Sharma, Joint-Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) told reporters in the daily inter-ministerial briefing to discuss latest developments about the situation in West Asia Monday. “Right now, our domestic production is accounting for…
India is often described as an “underinsured” country. This claim is usually backed by two numbers that appear regularly in official speeches, policy papers, and media commentary: life insurance penetration and density. Low values of these indicators are taken as proof that insurance coverage in India is inadequate and that large sections of the population…
“Not every customer is willing to pay higher airfares, so there is a limit to how high we can price before demand drops,” Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu Air India CEO Campbell Wilson warned airline employees of a possible travel demand squeeze due to the rising cost of…
Refiners plan to resume buying Iranian oil while refiners elsewhere in Asia are examining such a move after Washington temporarily removed sanctions to alleviate an energy crunch caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, traders said. Image used for representation purpose only. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Refiners plan to resume buying Iranian oil while…
A farmer sprays pesticides in a watermelon field, in Nagaon. File. | Photo Credit: ANI CropLife India, an umbrella body of various pesticide manufacturers, has warned of about 20-25% increase in the pesticide and crop protection chemicals as an impact of the war in West Asia. They said the increase in prices is driven by…
The government, however, assured that this is limited only to the premium variants and that the prices of the normal grades of petrol and diesel remain unchanged. | Photo Credit: Muthuganesapandy. M In what could be the first sign of cracks due to the fiscal stress brought on by skyrocketing global oil prices, Indian oil-marketing…
Image used for representation purpose only. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Crude prices fell more than 2% on Friday (March 20, 2026) after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was being “decimated” and that the war would end earlier than many feared. Traders also welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks that Israeli forces would…
