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By Dr. Gyan Pathak The preliminary version of the OECD Outlook released on June 3, 2026 has projected the real GDP of India to grow by 6.3% during the FY 2026-27, which is a sharp decline from the robust growth rate of 7.8 per cent year-on-year in the quarter ending in December 2025 (Q3 FY2025–26), […]

The article India Stares At Difficult Days Ahead With Sharp Decline In Growth Rate In 2026-27 appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

MUMBAI/CHENNAI: Just as the microfinance sector appears to be emerging from a prolonged asset-quality stress cycle, a weaker monsoon forecast threatens to create fresh challenges. With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) downgrading its southwest monsoon forecast to “below normal” — potentially the weakest in 11 years — concerns are resurfacing for India’s over ₹3-lakh-crore microfinance […]

The article Weak Monsoon Forecast Raises Fresh Concerns For India’s Rs 3 Lakh Crore Microfinance Sector appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

Consumption growth in the world’s third-largest crude importer is now forecast at about 78,000 barrels a day for 2026, nearly 40 per cent below pre-war expectations. Excluding the Covid-hit year of 2020, that would mark the slowest expansion in a decade for an economy that has otherwise been one of the main pillars of global oil-demand growth.

The downgrade reflects the widening economic impact of the war involving Iran, which began at the end of February and disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil transit routes. International crude prices have risen sharply from pre-conflict levels, while refined product markets have tightened as Gulf exports of fuels and feedstocks remain constrained.

India’s reliance on imported crude and petroleum products has amplified the pressure. Higher energy prices are feeding into transport costs, refinery margins, aviation fuel expenses and household fuel supply management. A weaker rupee has added to the burden by increasing the local-currency cost of dollar-denominated imports.

State-run refiners have raised some fuel prices modestly, but domestic retail prices remain well below market-reflective levels. Oil ministry estimates indicate that processors have been losing about ₹6 billion a day on sales of diesel, petrol and liquefied petroleum gas. The strain has revived concerns over under-recoveries at state-controlled retailers, even as authorities seek to shield households and small businesses from a sharper fuel-price shock.

Diesel, the largest component of petroleum product consumption, is showing the clearest signs of stress. It powers trucks, tractors, construction equipment and a large portion of industrial activity. Forecasts for diesel-demand growth have been cut heavily, with some estimates suggesting growth may slow to only 4,000 to 5,000 barrels a day, compared with earlier expectations of 50,000 to 60,000 barrels a day.

Transport operators say higher running costs are already hurting freight movement. Rajendra Kapoor, president of the All India Motor and Goods Transport Association, said customers were resisting higher freight charges even as fuel expenses had risen. He estimated that fleet movement had fallen by 15 per cent to 20 per cent, affecting the movement of farm goods, industrial raw materials and retail products.

Petrol demand remains more resilient because passenger mobility has held up better than heavy freight. Even so, growth projections for petrol have been cut by about 40 per cent to around 38,000 barrels a day. Urban commuting, private vehicle use and two-wheeler demand continue to support consumption, but high prices and government appeals for fuel conservation are tempering growth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to save fuel by working from home where possible, using public transport and avoiding non-essential overseas travel. Such measures indicate how the energy shock has moved beyond refinery balance sheets into wider economic management.

Aviation turbine fuel is another area under pressure. Jet fuel costs account for a major share of airline operating expenses, and the loss of Middle East product exports has tightened supplies. Forecasts for jet fuel growth have been halved by some market consultants, while airlines face the twin challenge of higher fuel bills and weaker discretionary travel demand in price-sensitive segments.

Liquefied petroleum gas has also been hit by supply disruptions. April consumption fell to about 2.2 million metric tonnes, down more than 16 per cent from a year earlier, as import flows were affected. Authorities have asked state fuel retailers to build LPG storage capacity equivalent to 30 days of demand, a move aimed at strengthening energy security against further disruptions.

Official petroleum data showed total product consumption at 19.30 million metric tonnes in April, down 4.6 per cent from a year earlier. The contraction followed a record high of 21.75 million tonnes in December 2025, underlining the speed with which the war-related price shock has altered demand conditions.

Global oil-market agencies also disagree over the depth of the slowdown. Some forecasts still expect worldwide demand to rise this year, while others now see a contraction because of weaker refinery runs, reduced petrochemical feedstock availability and lower aviation activity. The sharpest downgrades have been concentrated in Asia, where import-dependent economies are most exposed to disruption in Gulf supply chains.

By T N Ashok The dust may have settled on the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election, but the political war has only intensified. Defeated former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has launched perhaps the most serious challenge yet to the legitimacy of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s sweeping victory, alleging that the saffron party manipulated electoral rolls, […]

The article Poll Results Were Out In Bengal A Month Ago, But Political Violence Is Still Continuing appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

The reported move, if confirmed, would mark a significant shift in the composition of India’s external buffers at a time when oil prices, foreign portfolio outflows and import demand are combining to test the country’s balance of payments position. The RBI has not publicly confirmed any gold sale of that scale, and the latest available reserve data show a fall in the value of gold holdings rather than a definitive disclosure of physical bullion sales.

India’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $681.4 billion for the week ended May 22, down $7.5 billion from the previous week. Foreign currency assets declined by about $3 billion to $543 billion, while the value of gold reserves dropped by roughly $4.5 billion. The fall came as the rupee traded near record lows, having weakened by more than 4 per cent since the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict and the accompanying rise in energy prices.

The rupee has been under sustained pressure from higher crude oil and liquefied natural gas costs, wider hedging by importers and withdrawals by overseas investors from domestic equities. Brent crude has traded in the mid-$90 range, raising concern over India’s import bill because the country depends heavily on overseas energy supplies. Any prolonged disruption in Gulf shipping routes would add to inflation risks and intensify demand for dollars from refiners and importers.

The RBI has intervened through state-run banks to slow the currency’s decline, with traders indicating that the central bank has been uncomfortable with disorderly depreciation. The rupee was around 95 to the dollar this week after briefly sliding close to 97 in May. The central bank’s policy decision due this week is being watched for signals on whether it will rely mainly on liquidity tools, dollar sales and administrative measures, or consider a firmer monetary response.

The reported $12 billion gold-related action has drawn attention because India’s gold holdings have expanded in importance within the reserve portfolio. The central bank held about 880.5 tonnes of gold at the end of March, with gold accounting for nearly 17 per cent of total foreign exchange reserves. The physical stock has been broadly steady around 880 tonnes since mid-2025, suggesting that changes in the dollar value of gold reserves can reflect price movements, accounting effects and reserve operations as well as outright sales.

Gold has become a larger part of central bank reserves worldwide as monetary authorities seek diversification away from dollar assets and protection against geopolitical shocks. India has also moved more of its bullion to domestic vaults, reducing custody risks linked to overseas storage. That strategy had been seen as a long-term strengthening of sovereign reserve control, making any suggestion of sizeable gold liquidation politically and financially sensitive.

The government has moved separately to curb foreign exchange outflows. Import duties on gold and silver have been lifted sharply to about 15 per cent from 6 per cent, reversing earlier tariff relief and increasing the landed cost of precious metals. Rules around some bullion imports have also been tightened, while appeals have been made to households to reduce discretionary gold purchases.

Fuel prices have also been raised as state-run retailers pass through part of the increase in international crude costs. Petrol and diesel prices have risen after several years of limited retail adjustments, adding to household costs but reducing the burden on public-sector oil marketing companies. The step is intended to limit under-recoveries at fuel retailers and reduce the fiscal strain that would otherwise build if global prices stay elevated.

The combined policy response reflects the strain of a classic external shock: a weaker currency lifts import costs, higher oil prices widen the trade deficit, and investors demand higher compensation for risk. India enters this phase with substantial reserves, moderate inflation by past crisis standards and a financial system that remains broadly stable, but the speed of the rupee’s decline has revived comparisons with earlier episodes of currency stress.

For markets, the key question is whether the central bank can preserve confidence without exhausting liquid dollar assets or signalling panic. A calibrated use of reserves can smooth volatility, but heavy intervention may raise doubts if investors see it as a defence of a particular exchange-rate level. The RBI’s challenge is to keep currency markets orderly while allowing enough flexibility for the rupee to adjust to the oil shock and global risk aversion.

By Nantoo Banerjee Bangladesh’s involvement of China in the country’s US$ 1.5-billion Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) seems to have posed a significant geopolitical tension for India and its defence concerns. Dhaka made a formal request to China for the project during Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman’s recent visit to Beijing, reflecting a […]

The article Chinese Part In Bangladesh Teesta Project Alarms India appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

The memorandum of understanding, signed by the Government of Odisha, Intel and 3DGS, covers an advanced packaging glass-core substrate manufacturing facility in the Bhubaneswar-Khurda region. The project is expected to focus on substrates used in next-generation chip packaging, a part of the semiconductor supply chain that has gained strategic importance as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and advanced data-centre processors demand larger, faster and more power-efficient packages.

The agreement places Odisha in a stronger position within India’s semiconductor map, which has so far been led by assembly, testing, marking and packaging projects, outsourced semiconductor assembly facilities, compound semiconductor proposals and early-stage fabrication investments. The planned plant would add a specialised layer to that ecosystem by targeting glass-core substrates and high-density interconnect technologies, areas that are increasingly viewed as critical for advanced packaging.

Intel’s role is expected to centre on technology know-how, process expertise and ecosystem support, while 3DGS brings specialisation in glass-based integration platforms. 3DGS, a US-based company, has developed glass-centric technologies for radio-frequency, photonics and semiconductor packaging applications. Its involvement gives the Odisha plan a sharper focus than conventional electronics manufacturing projects, as glass-core substrates remain an emerging technology rather than a mature commodity segment.

Glass substrates are attracting industry attention because conventional organic substrates face physical limits as chip packages become larger and denser. Advanced processors now often combine multiple chiplets, memory stacks and interconnect layers in one package. That increases pressure on the base material to carry more power and data connections while reducing warpage, signal loss and thermal stress. Glass offers better dimensional stability, finer interconnect potential and the ability to support larger package sizes, though yield, tooling and commercial-scale production remain challenges.

Intel has publicly positioned glass substrates as a key packaging technology for the second half of this decade. The company has argued that glass could help extend system-level performance gains beyond the limits of transistor scaling, particularly for artificial intelligence accelerators and high-performance computing chips. For India, participation in this segment could move the country beyond back-end assembly into a more advanced part of the global chip supply chain.

The Odisha project is also politically significant. The signing was witnessed by Union electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, alongside senior executives from Intel and 3DGS. The state has been pushing to attract electronics, data centre and semiconductor-linked investments as part of a broader industrial strategy aimed at diversifying beyond metals, mining and ports.

The proposed facility is expected to be developed over several years, with industry estimates placing the build-out period at five to six years. Employment projections point to high-skilled roles across engineering, materials science, process control, quality systems and equipment maintenance, while indirect jobs could emerge through chemicals, gases, logistics, clean-room services and precision component suppliers.

The investment comes as India seeks to reduce dependence on overseas semiconductor supply chains after pandemic-era shortages exposed vulnerabilities in electronics, automotive and defence manufacturing. The Union government’s semiconductor programme has already backed projects by Tata Electronics, Micron Technology, CG Power and Kaynes, while several states are competing to attract design, packaging and manufacturing facilities. Gujarat and Assam have emerged as early beneficiaries, while Odisha’s Intel-3DGS agreement signals a broader geographic spread of the chip ecosystem.

For Intel, the deal fits into a wider effort to strengthen its foundry and advanced packaging credentials at a time when the global chip industry is being reshaped by artificial intelligence demand. The company has been investing in packaging platforms such as EMIB and Foveros, while also promoting glass substrates as a future enabling technology. Its broader turnaround remains under scrutiny because of competitive pressure from Nvidia, AMD, TSMC and Samsung, but advanced packaging offers a route to relevance in custom accelerators and multi-die systems.

The project will still have to pass execution tests before it becomes a production anchor. Semiconductor substrate manufacturing requires tight process control, specialised equipment, stable utilities, skilled technical labour and reliable supply of materials. Glass-core technology also needs commercial validation at scale, as the industry has not yet shifted from established organic substrate supply chains in volume applications.

By Krishna Jha The entire origin and development of living world has led to the emergence of complicated natural environment of which human beings are part and parcel. Environment and society are inter-related and inter-dependent. Society has come to rely on the natural environment for its existence. Any destruction of environment is sure to pose […]

The article Supreme Court Bench Has To Give More Clarity To Their Views On Aravalli Hills appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

The guidance, issued on May 25 in a 38-page blueprint, reflects growing official concern that attackers are using generative AI, large language models and autonomous tools to discover exposed systems, weaponise flaws, craft phishing lures and scale malware operations faster than conventional security programmes can respond. The document places rapid remediation, continuous monitoring and exposure reduction at the centre of enterprise cyber defence.

CERT-In’s most stringent timeline applies to known exploited vulnerabilities affecting internet-facing and critical systems, including applications, identity platforms, cloud assets, APIs, operational technology and systems supporting essential business functions. Organisations are advised to patch, mitigate or isolate such weaknesses within 12 hours where feasible. Critical externally exposed vulnerabilities should be addressed within one day, while known exploited flaws inside internal systems should be fixed within one day unless compensating controls are implemented and documented.

The blueprint also recommends that critical internal vulnerabilities affecting high-value systems be remediated within three days, and high-severity vulnerabilities within five days based on risk prioritisation. Where patches are unavailable, organisations are expected to use temporary protections such as isolation, access restrictions, web application firewalls, API shields, feature disabling and enhanced monitoring until permanent fixes are deployed.

The directive signals a shift from audit-driven cybersecurity to continuous exposure management. CERT-In has warned that organisations can no longer depend on periodic assessments or reactive incident response when automated tools can identify weak credentials, misconfigured systems, insecure APIs and vulnerable internet-facing services at machine speed. The approach requires security teams to maintain live inventories of assets, prioritise exposed systems and test whether controls work under attack conditions.

AI is changing both sides of the cyber equation. Attackers can use it to automate reconnaissance, write exploit code, refine phishing messages, generate synthetic identities and adapt malicious software. Defenders are being pushed to use similar capabilities for anomaly detection, threat hunting, automated triage and faster containment. The risk, however, is that poorly governed AI systems can themselves become attack surfaces through prompt injection, data leakage, model manipulation, poisoned training data, model theft and compromised orchestration pipelines.

The guidance gives particular weight to organisations operating in banking, financial services, telecom, healthcare, government, energy, transport, cloud services and other critical infrastructure-linked sectors. These environments often rely on interconnected digital systems, third-party software, outsourced technology providers and legacy platforms, creating wider exposure when a single flaw is weaponised quickly.

Global breach data has reinforced the urgency behind faster patching. Software vulnerability exploitation has overtaken stolen credentials as a leading breach entry point in major datasets, while ransomware remains a high-impact threat. Security teams also face growing pressure from supply-chain compromise, shadow AI usage, cloud misconfiguration and business email compromise. Unauthorised use of public AI tools has become a data governance issue as employees may upload source code, business documents, credentials or customer information into platforms outside corporate oversight.

CERT-In’s blueprint calls for a zero-trust approach, least-privilege access, layered controls and secure-by-design practices across applications, infrastructure and AI workflows. It urges organisations to maintain visibility into AI deployments, restrict sensitive data uploads to public AI platforms, log AI activity, conduct adversarial testing and keep human approval for critical autonomous actions.

Software supply-chain visibility is another major focus. Organisations are encouraged to use software bills of materials and related inventories for AI models, cryptographic assets and hardware components to understand dependencies, validate provenance and coordinate remediation when vulnerabilities emerge in third-party products.

The new expectations build on India’s existing cyber incident reporting framework, under which specified cyber incidents must be reported to CERT-In within six hours. The latest blueprint does not merely extend compliance obligations; it raises operational expectations for boards, chief information security officers and technology vendors by linking resilience to the speed of response.

Smaller organisations may struggle with the 12-hour benchmark because patch testing, downtime concerns, legacy dependencies and staffing shortages often slow remediation. The guidance therefore recognises feasible mitigation as part of the response, but it also makes clear that unmanaged exposure is no longer acceptable when attackers can exploit public-facing weaknesses within hours.

The renewed memorandum of understanding was signed on 25 May by Rear Admiral Saif bin Nasser Al Rahbi, Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman and Chairman of the Maritime Security Committee, and G. V. Srinivas, India’s Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman. Oman was represented by the Maritime Security Centre, underlining the agreement’s operational focus on maritime safety, information-sharing and cooperation at sea.

The renewal keeps in place a mechanism that has gained importance as shipping routes through the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz face heightened risks from regional conflict, trafficking networks, drone threats, piracy-linked activity and disruptions to commercial navigation. For both countries, maritime security is tied not only to defence cooperation but also to energy flows, trade resilience and the protection of expatriate and commercial links across the Gulf.

The agreement aims to sustain joint cooperation and facilitate the exchange of expertise in maritime security, with the stated objective of contributing to the safety and security of maritime navigation. Its scope fits into a wider pattern of bilateral defence engagement involving naval interaction, coast guard cooperation, training, port calls, high-level meetings and operational contact between maritime agencies.

Oman’s location gives the pact strategic weight. The Sultanate sits close to the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of the world’s seaborne oil trade passes, and faces the Arabian Sea, a route connecting the Gulf with East Africa, South Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific. India’s energy imports, diaspora links and commercial shipping make stability in these waters a central security interest.

The renewed document also reflects a continuity in defence ties that have developed through structured mechanisms over two decades. India and Oman have maintained regular military cooperation, including joint committee meetings, staff-level exchanges and service-to-service engagement. Earlier maritime arrangements between the two sides covered cooperation against crimes at sea, including piracy, armed robbery, arms trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal immigration and people-smuggling by sea.

Coast guard engagement has become a practical arm of that relationship. The Indian Coast Guard and Royal Oman Police Coast Guard have used high-level meetings to discuss capacity-building, cross-ship visits, the Sea Rider programme, pollution-reporting links and cooperation against transnational illegal activity at sea. Such measures are aimed at creating working-level familiarity before crises emerge, particularly in areas where law-enforcement, search-and-rescue and environmental response overlap.

The agreement comes as maritime security has moved higher on the regional agenda. Attacks on merchant vessels in and around the Red Sea, tensions linked to the Israel-Gaza war, risks around Iran-linked flashpoints and the vulnerability of energy shipping have pushed Gulf and Indian Ocean states to strengthen coordination. Oman has also positioned itself as a diplomatic and maritime actor with an interest in keeping sea lanes open while maintaining dialogue with multiple regional powers.

For India, Oman remains one of its closest defence partners in the Gulf. Access, trust and geography make the relationship important for deployments, evacuation contingencies, anti-piracy coordination and wider maritime domain awareness. Oman has historically provided India with a reliable western Indian Ocean partner, while Muscat benefits from deeper technical, training and operational interaction with a major naval power.

The security renewal also sits alongside a growing economic relationship. Bilateral trade has crossed the $10 billion mark, and the two countries signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement in December 2025 to expand market access for goods and services. The trade pact gave exports from India zero-duty access across most Omani tariff lines, while New Delhi agreed tariff reductions covering a large share of imports from Oman by value.

That economic backdrop makes maritime security more than a defence concern. Smooth shipping flows affect energy supplies, fertilisers, minerals, food products, pharmaceuticals, textiles and engineering goods. Oman’s ports and logistics infrastructure are also relevant to India’s westward trade links, particularly as supply chains adjust to geopolitical tensions and route disruptions.

The renewed memorandum is expected to support more sustained institutional contact between the two sides rather than a one-off diplomatic gesture. Its emphasis on expertise-sharing suggests cooperation may cover surveillance practices, response protocols, training modules, information exchange and coordination against illegal activities at sea. It also offers a framework for strengthening maritime navigation safety at a time when commercial vessels increasingly require layered protection across contested waters.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday during the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, where External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks covering economic security, energy resilience and Indo-Pacific cooperation. The pact gives both countries a structured route to work together across the full minerals value chain, from exploration and extraction to refining and downstream industrial use.

Critical minerals and rare earth elements have become central to the global contest over clean-energy technologies, semiconductors, electric vehicles, defence systems, communications equipment and advanced manufacturing. For New Delhi, the agreement offers access to US capital, technology partnerships and supply-chain coordination at a time when domestic demand for lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, copper and rare earth magnets is expected to rise sharply.

China’s dominance remains the main strategic driver behind the pact. Beijing controls a large share of global rare earth refining and magnet production, giving it leverage over industries that depend on high-performance permanent magnets, battery inputs and specialised industrial materials. Export restrictions and licensing measures imposed by China on select critical minerals have added urgency to efforts by major economies to diversify sourcing and processing.

New Delhi’s gains could come in several layers. The first is supply security. India’s electronics, defence, renewable energy and electric mobility sectors need stable access to minerals that are often mined in one region and processed in another. A bilateral framework with Washington can help identify viable projects, link producers with manufacturers and create longer-term offtake arrangements that reduce price and availability shocks.

The second benefit lies in processing. India has mineral-bearing resources, a large manufacturing base and expanding demand, but it lacks sufficient refining and separation capacity for several high-value critical minerals. Collaboration with US companies and research institutions could support technology transfer, pilot processing facilities, environmental safeguards and recycling systems. That is particularly important because rare earth value chains are not only about mining; separation, purification and magnet-making often determine strategic control.

A third advantage is financing. Critical mineral projects are capital-intensive, slow to develop and vulnerable to volatile prices. The new framework is expected to encourage coordinated investment, risk-sharing and policy support. For India, this could help attract patient capital into mineral exploration, processing parks, recycling ventures and specialised manufacturing units linked to batteries, magnets and electronics.

The agreement also fits into New Delhi’s wider industrial strategy. The government has launched auctions for critical mineral blocks, expanded exploration and moved to build partnerships with resource-rich countries. State-backed and private companies have shown growing interest in lithium, rare earths and battery materials, while domestic manufacturers are seeking greater localisation of supply chains for electric vehicles, solar power, wind equipment and semiconductors.

Washington’s interest is equally clear. The US wants trusted partners that can help build alternatives to China-centred mineral flows. India offers scale, engineering capacity, a large market and geopolitical alignment through the Quad. A stronger minerals partnership can also support US efforts to diversify clean-energy and defence supply chains beyond a narrow group of suppliers.

The pact follows earlier India-US cooperation in technology, defence, semiconductors and clean energy. It also complements Quad-level initiatives designed to strengthen supply chains and energy security across the Indo-Pacific. Australia brings mining strength, Japan brings advanced materials and manufacturing capacity, the US brings capital and technology, and India brings market scale and industrial ambition.

Challenges remain substantial. New mining and processing projects often face long approval timelines, environmental scrutiny, land acquisition issues and high upfront costs. Rare earth separation involves complex chemistry and waste management concerns. Recycling can reduce dependence on fresh extraction, but collection systems and processing capacity remain underdeveloped. India will also need a skilled workforce, stable regulation and clear pricing signals to convert diplomatic agreements into viable industrial projects.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Ottawa and Toronto, accompanied by more than 100 business leaders, has added momentum to negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which both sides see as central to expanding market access, investment flows and supply-chain cooperation. The visit comes after a prolonged freeze in trade discussions caused by the diplomatic dispute that followed the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

New Delhi and Ottawa are now working to rebuild trust through a structured commercial agenda covering energy, agriculture, critical minerals, technology, education and services. The scale of the business delegation travelling with Goyal underlines the attempt to shift the relationship from political caution to transaction-led engagement. A “Team Canada” delegation is expected to visit India later this year, signalling that both governments want to sustain ministerial and private-sector contact beyond formal negotiating rounds.

Bilateral trade remains below potential for two large economies with complementary strengths. Merchandise trade between the two countries stood at about $13.6 billion in 2025, with Canada exporting vegetables, mineral fuels, oils and wood pulp, while imports from India were led by precious stones and metals, machinery, pharmaceuticals and manufactured goods. Services trade, especially in technology, education, professional services and mobility-linked sectors, has grown into a significant part of the relationship.

The $50 billion target is ambitious but not beyond reach if negotiations produce tariff concessions, regulatory clarity and stronger investment protections. India is seeking reliable access to critical minerals, energy products, gas, fuel and agricultural inputs from Canada. Ottawa, for its part, sees India as a large growth market at a time when Canada is trying to diversify trade beyond its heavy dependence on the United States.

Energy is likely to become one of the pillars of the renewed partnership. Canada’s reserves of uranium, potash, natural gas and critical minerals fit India’s requirements for food security, clean energy expansion and industrial supply chains. Civil nuclear cooperation has returned to the agenda, with uranium supply discussions forming part of the broader effort to rebuild strategic confidence. India’s rising electricity demand and its plan to expand non-fossil energy capacity give Canada a commercial opening in nuclear fuel and related technologies.

Agriculture and fertilisers also carry strategic weight. Canada is a major supplier of potash, while India’s farm sector requires stable input supplies to support food production. Pulses have long been part of the trade basket, though pricing, phytosanitary rules and domestic market sensitivities have at times complicated flows. A broader agreement could provide more predictable rules, but both sides will have to manage farmer concerns and safeguard mechanisms carefully.

Technology and education offer another route to deeper engagement. Canada remains a major destination for students from India, while companies in both countries are exploring artificial intelligence, clean technology, fintech, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing. Talent mobility will remain a sensitive but crucial component of any expanded economic relationship, especially as Canada adjusts immigration settings and India pushes for easier access for skilled professionals.

The political backdrop remains complex. Relations deteriorated sharply in 2023 after Canada alleged involvement by agents linked to New Delhi in Nijjar’s killing, an accusation India rejected. Diplomatic expulsions and a pause in trade talks followed, slowing a relationship that had already been marked by differences over separatist activism, security concerns and diaspora politics. The decision to restart CEPA negotiations reflects a pragmatic calculation that economic interests can create stabilising channels even when political trust is still being repaired.

Business groups on both sides are pressing for faster progress. Exporters want lower tariffs, simpler customs procedures and clearer standards rules. Investors are seeking safeguards, dispute-resolution mechanisms and sectoral openings. Canada’s pension funds and institutional investors already have exposure to infrastructure, real estate and financial assets in India, while companies from India are looking at Canadian opportunities in technology, mining, manufacturing and services.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is examining whether companies that list only debt securities should continue to face disclosure and compliance obligations similar to those imposed on equity-listed companies. The review is part of a wider effort to deepen the corporate bond market, where heavy reliance on private placements, limited retail participation and concentration among highly rated issuers have kept market breadth below policy ambitions.

Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, who took charge of the regulator in March 2025, has signalled that the next phase of reform will focus on making the debt market more usable for issuers and investors without weakening safeguards. A pilot framework for tokenising corporate bonds is expected to be launched within six to nine months, testing whether distributed-ledger technology can improve settlement speed, servicing, traceability and operational efficiency.

The proposed easing would be especially relevant for entities that raise money only through listed non-convertible securities and do not have listed shares. Such issuers have argued that several provisions under the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements framework were designed primarily for equity-market governance, where public shareholders carry voting and ownership rights. Debt investors, by contrast, are focused mainly on credit quality, repayment capacity, covenant compliance and timely interest payments.

The regulatory challenge is to separate investor-useful disclosure from procedural duplication. Quarterly financials, credit-rating updates, default alerts, asset-cover statements, related-party exposure and material event reporting remain central to creditor protection. Requirements linked more closely to equity ownership, board-shareholder dynamics and public float may be reviewed where they impose costs disproportionate to the risks faced by bondholders.

India’s corporate bond market has expanded sharply but remains structurally narrow. Net outstanding corporate bonds rose from ₹17.5 trillion in FY2014-15 to about ₹53.6 trillion in FY2024-25, with fresh issuances touching ₹9.9 trillion during 2024-25. The market accounts for roughly 15-16 per cent of GDP, far below deeper Asian and developed markets, and is still dominated by highly rated financial and public-sector issuers.

Private placements remain the preferred route for large borrowers, while public bond issues account for only a small share of overall issuance. That pattern has kept institutional investors at the centre of the market and limited participation by individuals, smaller corporates and lower-rated issuers. For policymakers, the issue is not simply market size but market diversity, liquidity and the ability of bonds to finance infrastructure, housing, manufacturing and growth-stage companies at competitive rates.

Tokenisation is being positioned as a market-infrastructure experiment rather than a replacement for existing bond-market systems. Under such a model, a bond can be represented as a digital token on a permissioned ledger, with ownership transfers, coupon payments and redemption records updated through automated processes. A well-designed pilot could reduce reconciliation gaps, improve audit trails and allow faster post-trade processing while preserving regulatory oversight.

Global fixed-income markets have been exploring tokenisation for similar reasons. Automation through smart contracts can simplify issuance, settlement and corporate actions, while better record keeping can lower operational risk. The benefits, however, depend on legal clarity, interoperability with depositories and clearing systems, cyber-security standards and clear rules on investor rights if technology vendors, wallets or ledger nodes fail.

Sebi’s review also comes amid wider changes in India’s debt-market architecture. Online bond platforms have been brought under regulation, the request-for-quote platform has gained traction, and policymakers are looking at ways to widen access to international debt products through regulated channels. Municipal bonds are also drawing greater attention as cities seek market funding for infrastructure, adding to the broader shift from bank-led financing towards market-based debt.

Investor protection will remain the central test for any relaxation. Lighter disclosure rules could encourage more issuers to list debt securities, but weaker transparency would raise borrowing costs and damage confidence if defaults rise or credit risks are obscured. The most likely outcome is a calibrated framework that retains credit-critical reporting while reducing requirements that do not materially affect bondholder decisions.

By Nantoo Banerjee India’s economy is navigating severe stress. The impact of Persian Gulf war, high cost of imported crude oil, frequent upward adjustment of retail oil prices, rising commodity rates, soaring transportation costs, weakening Rupee and continuous exit of foreign portfolio investors (FPI) are posing a big challenge to the economy. The government appears […]

The article Rising Prices, Falling Rupee And FPI Exit Pose Big Challenge To Economy appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

The Al Hamra, operated by ADNOC Logistics & Services, was tracked leaving the Gulf with a cargo headed towards western India after weeks of restricted tanker movements through the narrow waterway. The vessel had stopped transmitting its position around April 19, when it was empty and near the eastern entrance of Hormuz, before reappearing with indications that it had loaded and moved through the passage.

The shipment is significant because it points to a cautious reopening of Gulf energy trade for selected cargoes, even as shipping remains constrained by security checks, insurance costs and uncertainty over whether the waterway can return to normal operations. The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, making it the most sensitive maritime route for Gulf oil and gas exports to Asia.

For India, the transit offers limited relief after weeks of pressure on energy logistics. The country relies heavily on imported LNG to supply fertiliser plants, city gas networks, refineries, power producers and industrial users. Western India, where several import terminals are located, is a critical landing point for Gulf cargoes because of its proximity to major gas-consuming states and pipeline networks.

The war that began on February 28 led to a sharp fall in tanker traffic through Hormuz, leaving ships idle inside the Gulf and forcing buyers to consider alternative cargoes from outside the region. LNG, crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas flows were all affected, with importers seeking supplies from the United States, Africa and Southeast Asia where available. The disruption came at a sensitive time for Asian buyers, with summer demand rising and spot cargoes becoming more costly.

Around one-fifth of global LNG trade passes through Hormuz in normal conditions. Qatar is the dominant LNG exporter through the route, while the UAE also ships cargoes from its Das Island facility. Asia receives the overwhelming share of Hormuz-linked LNG, with China, India and South Korea among the leading destinations. Any sustained restriction therefore has an immediate effect on Asian gas pricing and supply planning.

India’s LNG import system has expanded over the past decade, but dependence on seaborne supply remains a strategic vulnerability. The country has operational terminals at Dahej, Hazira, Dabhol, Kochi, Ennore, Mundra and Dhamra, with combined capacity of nearly 48 million tonnes a year. Dahej in Gujarat remains the most important facility, serving fertiliser units, refineries, power plants and city gas distributors across northern and western markets.

The Al Hamra movement follows earlier signs that limited LNG traffic had resumed through the chokepoint. The Mubaraz, another LNG tanker linked to the UAE, crossed out of the Gulf in late April after weeks of inactivity, becoming the first loaded LNG shipment to exit Hormuz since the conflict began. A second ADNOC-linked LNG tanker followed in early May, showing that Gulf suppliers were testing the scope for controlled departures.

Shipping executives and energy traders remain cautious, however. Vessel owners are facing higher war-risk premiums, tighter routing decisions and uncertainty over whether transponders should remain active in conflict-sensitive waters. Some tankers have switched off tracking systems for security reasons, making it harder for buyers and market participants to confirm loading and transit details in real time.

India has also been dealing with pressure in LPG supply, a politically sensitive segment because of household cooking fuel demand. Several LPG cargoes linked to India were stranded or delayed after the Hormuz disruption, prompting authorities to prioritise the return of ships already inside the Gulf before sending more vessels into the area. That approach reflects a broader effort to balance energy security with crew safety and insurance exposure.

A 2026 software supply chain security assessment shows that about 65 per cent of organisations in India cannot detect malicious packages, while 71 per cent do not use container security tools. The findings underline a widening gap between the speed of AI-led software development and the controls needed to secure code, dependencies, models and deployment pipelines before they reach production systems.

Security teams are facing a more complex threat environment as AI coding assistants, model registries, agent frameworks and machine-learning libraries become embedded in day-to-day software engineering. AI is no longer confined to application features or analytics layers. It is becoming part of the software supply chain itself, influencing how code is written, tested, packaged and deployed.

Enterprises in India have been quick to adopt AI tools to improve developer productivity, reduce repetitive work and accelerate product releases. Yet the same shift has increased reliance on open-source packages, pre-trained models, plug-ins and automated build systems. Each of these components can introduce hidden risks if provenance, integrity and behaviour are not continuously verified.

Global software repositories are now attracting sustained attacks because they provide a direct route into enterprise development environments. Malicious npm packages rose by 451 per cent during 2025, while more than 48,000 new Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures were disclosed worldwide, a rise of about 20 per cent from the previous year.

The pressure on security teams is being amplified by the volume of AI-generated code. Developers in India are spending about 51 per cent of their time reviewing, validating and hardening code produced by AI tools. About 53 per cent treat such output only as a starting point and review every line before use, while 11 per cent rewrite AI-generated fixes from scratch.

This shift has altered the economics of software engineering. AI may reduce the time needed to draft code, but it can also transfer effort to verification, testing and security review. Weaknesses such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection and missing authorisation checks can still be reproduced by automated tools, particularly when developers rely on generated code without adequate scrutiny.

Governance is emerging as another area of concern. Nearly 97 per cent of organisations surveyed said they had certified AI model governance programmes, but only 59 per cent claimed full provenance visibility across production environments. About 48 per cent still needed a week or longer to produce audit-ready compliance evidence.

That gap points to a difference between policy and enforceable control. Many enterprises have AI governance frameworks on paper, but fewer can prove where every model, library, container image and software artefact came from, how it changed, who approved it and whether it complies with internal policy.

CERT-In has also warned that software supply chain compromises are increasingly targeting developer tools and trusted repositories. Its April 2026 activity note referred to attacks affecting npm, PyPI, GitHub Actions and container registries, including incidents involving Checkmarx, Trivy, LiteLLM, Axios, Telnyx and npm packages linked to the CanisterWorm campaign. The payloads observed in these attacks included credential harvesting, data exfiltration, remote execution and persistence within developer systems.

Model registries have added another layer to the risk. Around 1.4 million new AI artefacts were published on Hugging Face during 2025, representing 58 per cent of all new software packages tracked in one assessment. Researchers identified 495 malicious AI models in public repositories with active payloads capable of credential theft, command execution and reverse-shell activity, along with 969 malicious AI-agent skills designed to exploit developer environments and automation workflows.

For enterprises in India, the challenge is sharpened by the country’s role as a major software engineering and global capability centre hub. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Gurugram host large engineering teams serving banking, retail, telecoms, manufacturing and cloud services. These centres are increasingly responsible not only for maintenance work but also for product development, AI integration and security-sensitive digital platforms.

Regulatory and customer expectations are also tightening. Buyers are asking for software bills of materials, vulnerability disclosure processes, provenance records and proof that build pipelines are protected. CERT-In’s technical guidance on SBOM, QBOM, CBOM, AIBOM and HBOM has emphasised regular updates, vulnerability exploitability exchange documents and staff training around software supply chain visibility.

Security leaders are therefore moving towards stronger controls across development pipelines. These include automated malicious package detection, container image scanning, secrets detection, signed artefacts, dependency pinning, model provenance checks, policy enforcement in CI/CD systems and continuous monitoring of developer environments.

The investment case is becoming harder to ignore. Software supply chain attacks can bypass perimeter defences because they enter through trusted development channels. Once inside, malicious packages can steal credentials, alter builds, move into cloud environments or compromise downstream customers. AI raises the stakes because it can accelerate both legitimate development and attacker experimentation.

By Dr. Gyan Pathak Annoyed by the voice of the voiceless cockroaches on Social Media platform X, the Union Government of India led by PM Narendra Modi got their account banned in the country. Thanks to the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s one of the comments on May 15, 2026, that had triggered the […]

The article Modi Government Banned The Voice Of The Voiceless Cockroaches On X appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

By Dr. Gyan Pathak Despite several orders and recommendations of the Supreme Court and the Parliamentary Standing Committee, the Union Government did not structurally reform the National Testing Agency (NTA), and also did not take appropriate actions that helped the education mafia of the country to strengthen its grip over the agency. In the name […]

The article What Is Behind India’s Education Minister’s Refusal To Reform NTA? appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

By Nantoo Banerjee India’s continuous hesitancy to curb the retail oil consumption pattern despite a worldwide surge in fuel prices is inexplicable, if not unacceptable. The government, the biggest benefactor of large domestic fuel use by way of imposition of levies close to 50 percent of the retail oil prices, is not prepared to ration […]

The article India Needs To Curb Oil Consumption appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

The agreement, reached during Modi’s official visit to Abu Dhabi on 15 May 2026, includes a strategic collaboration between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to expand the UAE’s participation in India’s strategic petroleum reserves to 30 million barrels. Both sides will also work on establishing strategic gas reserves, a move that signals a broader shift from emergency crude storage towards a more diversified energy security framework.

The pact places ADNOC at the centre of New Delhi’s stockpiling strategy. The UAE became the first country to partner with India in strategic petroleum storage when ADNOC stored crude in the Mangaluru cavern under an earlier arrangement. The new framework is substantially larger and comes as India seeks to reduce exposure to sudden disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions-driven shifts in trade flows, shipping risks, and sharp swings in spot fuel prices.

India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, imports more than 85 per cent of its crude requirement and nearly half of its natural gas needs. Its existing strategic petroleum reserve system has underground rock caverns at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur, with a combined capacity of about 5.33 million tonnes, equivalent to roughly 39 million barrels. These reserves are separate from commercial inventories held by refiners and oil marketing companies.

The current reserve base covers only a limited number of consumption days, making expansion a long-standing policy priority. Phase-two plans have included additional capacity at Padur and a new facility at Chandikhol in Odisha, while officials have explored public-private partnership models to bring in foreign oil producers and trading firms. The UAE arrangement is likely to support that model by tying storage capacity to assured supply and commercial flexibility.

The energy package also includes a long-term LPG supply arrangement between Indian Oil Limited and ADNOC. The UAE is already the largest source of LPG for India, meeting about 40 per cent of its import requirement. A deeper supply contract is significant for household energy security, as LPG remains a politically sensitive fuel linked to cooking gas access, subsidy management and inflation expectations.

Gas cooperation is another important element. New Delhi has been trying to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix, but price volatility and limited storage have slowed progress. Strategic gas reserves could help shield fertiliser plants, city gas distributors, power producers and industrial users from abrupt supply constraints. The concept remains more complex than crude storage because gas requires specialised infrastructure, including LNG terminals, underground storage or converted reservoirs, but the agreement shows that both governments see gas security as part of the next phase of their partnership.

The Abu Dhabi talks also build on a wider hydrocarbons relationship. The UAE was among India’s top crude suppliers last year and has become a central partner in LNG, LPG, upstream investment and petroleum product trade. State-backed companies from India hold stakes in Abu Dhabi oil assets, including the Lower Zakum concession and Onshore Block 1, marking a rare upstream footprint for New Delhi in the Gulf.

The timing gives the agreement strategic weight. West Asian tensions have renewed concern over maritime chokepoints and insurance costs for energy cargoes. Any prolonged disruption near the Gulf would affect Asia’s largest consuming economies first, particularly import-dependent buyers such as India, Japan, South Korea and China. Larger stockpiles do not remove that vulnerability, but they give policymakers more room to manage price spikes, refinery supply schedules and emergency releases.

For the UAE, the pact strengthens its role as a long-term energy partner beyond crude sales. ADNOC has been widening its international storage, trading, LNG and downstream footprint as Abu Dhabi positions itself as both a reliable supplier and a capital partner. Participation in overseas strategic reserves gives the company access to storage optionality while reinforcing diplomatic ties with major demand centres.

The Modi-Sheikh Mohamed meeting also covered defence, investment, infrastructure and regional security, underscoring the shift in bilateral ties from labour, remittances and trade towards a broader strategic partnership. The UAE hosts a large expatriate community from India and remains one of New Delhi’s most important Gulf economic partners, with strong links in logistics, ports, food security, renewable energy and financial services.