Category: India LIVE

India has moved to secure 2.5 million tonnes of imported urea ahead of the kharif sowing season, opening one of its largest buying exercises in months as the West Asia war squeezes gas availability, disrupts shipping routes and cuts domestic fertiliser output. State-run Indian Potash Ltd has invited bids for 1.5 million tonnes for west coast ports and 1 million tonnes for east coast ports, with vessels required to sail by 14 June and bids due on 15 April.

The

Tata Steel has been served with a demand notice of ₹17.55 billion by the District Mining Office in Ramgarh, Jharkhand, over alleged excess coal extraction at its West Bokaro Colliery, adding another legal challenge to the steelmaker’s long-running mining disputes in eastern India. The company said it received the notice on April 3, a day after the end of the financial year, and would contest it through judicial or quasi-judicial forums.

In its stock exchange disclosure dated April 4, Tata

India has opened talks with leading global producers of nitrogen and phosphatic fertilisers to secure supplies directly, as the war involving Iran continues to disrupt Gulf trade routes, lift freight costs and unsettle prices ahead of the kharif planting cycle. Officials have moved to widen procurement channels after supply risks from the Middle East, a major source of imported urea and diammonium phosphate, sharpened over the past month.

The push reflects both urgency and caution. Government officials have said fertiliser

IndiGo has turned to airline veteran William Walsh to lead the carrier through its next phase, handing the top job to a figure known across global aviation for combining operational discipline with outspoken views on industry policy. The appointment, announced on March 31, comes after the departure of Pieter Elbers and places one of the sector’s most recognisable executives at the helm of the country’s largest airline by market share.

Walsh, widely known in the industry as Willie Walsh, is

Blackstone has opened talks with investment banks over a possible Mumbai listing of AGS Health that could raise as much as $500 million, according to reports on Tuesday, putting another sizeable healthcare-linked offering on the radar even as the primary market remains more selective than it was a year ago. The discussions are at an early stage, and the proposed float has yet to move into formal filing territory, but people familiar

India’s rupee surged on Monday after the Reserve Bank of India tightened banks’ foreign-exchange position limits, forcing lenders to cut dollar holdings and unwind arbitrage trades that had built up as the currency slid to a record low at the end of last week. The rupee rose as much as 1.4% in early trade and was quoted around 93.48 to 93.85 per US dollar, marking its sharpest one-day gain since February.

The immediate

India has cut special excise duties on petrol and diesel after a sharp rise in global crude prices, seeking to shield consumers from a broader inflation shock as the Iran war and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz continue to unsettle energy markets. A government order issued late on Thursday reduced the special excise duty on petrol to Rs 3 a litre from Rs 13, while the levy on diesel was removed entirely

Banks are pressing the Reserve Bank of India to soften a new foreign-exchange rule that dealers say could force the unwinding of large arbitrage positions, deepen trading losses and add fresh strain to the rupee at a fragile moment for the currency market. The central bank has told lenders to keep their net open rupee positions in the onshore deliverable market within $100 million by the end of each business day

Foreign visitors to India will have to complete a digital e-Arrival Card before landing from April 1, 2026, marking the end of the paper disembarkation card that travellers had long filled out on board or at immigration counters. The move is part of a wider technology-led overhaul of border processing that authorities say is aimed at cutting queues, improving data accuracy and giving immigration officers faster access to passenger information.

The e-Arrival Card

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with retail magnate M. A. Yusuff Ali on the continuity of food supplies from India to Gulf markets, as policymakers and industry leaders assess supply resilience amid shifting global trade dynamics.

The meeting highlighted the role of LuLu Group International, which operates more than 280 hypermarkets across the Gulf Cooperation Council, in maintaining steady flows of essential commodities including rice, wheat, pulses, fruits and vegetables. Officials familiar with the interaction indicated that the discussion centred

Reliance Industries has secured about five million barrels of crude oil from Iran in a transaction estimated at more than $350 million, signalling a calculated return to a trade corridor constrained for years by geopolitical tensions and sanctions.

The purchase, attributed to cargoes loaded through intermediaries and structured channels, underscores a shifting pattern in global oil flows as refiners seek cost advantages amid volatile benchmarks. Market participants said the acquisition reflects both commercial pragmatism and a broader recalibration of sourcing strategies

France’s decision to withhold access to critical source codes for Rafale fighter systems has intensified concerns within New Delhi over long-term control of its air combat capabilities, exposing tensions between strategic partnership and technological dependence.

Officials and defence analysts indicate that the refusal centres on highly sensitive software governing the aircraft’s Active Electronically Scanned Array radar, mission computer architecture and the SPECTRA electronic warfare suite. These components underpin the Rafale’s operational edge, enabling advanced targeting, threat detection and real-time combat adaptability.

Two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas carriers are navigating the Strait of Hormuz along a route close to Iran’s coastline, according to ship-tracking data, underscoring a cautious approach by operators as geopolitical tensions continue to shape shipping decisions in one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.

The vessels, loaded with LPG cargoes, are following a path similar to that taken by earlier ships that received clearance to transit the narrow waterway. Industry observers say hugging the Iranian side of the strait

UTI Pension Fund, the country’s third-largest pension manager, is recalibrating its investment strategy by increasing exposure to debt instruments after an extended period of aggressive equity accumulation, a move that market participants say could stabilise segments of the sovereign and corporate bond market under pressure.

Senior executives within the fund have indicated that elevated equity valuations and tightening liquidity conditions have prompted a reassessment of asset allocation, with a renewed emphasis on fixed-income securities offering more predictable returns. The adjustment comes

Central Board of Secondary Education has cancelled all Class 12 board examinations scheduled between March 16 and April 10 across several Middle Eastern countries, citing security concerns linked to the widening conflict involving Iran and regional powers.

The decision affects CBSE-affiliated schools in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where thousands of expatriate students were preparing for the final phase of the 2026 board examination cycle. The

Dubai-based technology firm Solstice Data has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kerala government to invest ₹52,600 crore in a large-scale data infrastructure project at the KINFRA Industrial Park in Mattannur, marking one of the biggest technology investments proposed for the state’s digital economy. The agreement envisions the development of advanced artificial intelligence-driven high-performance computing data centres on approximately 100 acres of land in Kannur district, a move officials say could reshape

New Delhi has pressed Tehran to allow more India-bound vessels to cross the Strait of Hormuz after two liquefied petroleum gas carriers carrying critical fuel supplies cleared the strategic waterway, highlighting the vulnerability of energy flows through one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.

Officials confirmed that two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, passed through the strait with cargo bound for ports in Gujarat, transporting roughly 92,700 tonnes of cooking gas.

Bosch SDS and NxtGen Datacenter & Cloud Technologies have unveiled plans to launch a sovereign artificial intelligence cloud platform designed to accelerate Industry 4.0 adoption across India’s manufacturing and industrial sectors. The initiative aims to give enterprises secure domestic infrastructure for deploying advanced AI applications, including predictive maintenance, asset optimisation and real-time industrial data orchestration from factory floors to cloud platforms.

The partnership brings together Bosch’s software and digital engineering capabilities with NxtGen’s

Government plans to establish an $11 billion fund aimed at accelerating semiconductor development, a move designed to strengthen the country’s position in the global electronics supply chain and reduce dependence on imported chips. The proposed initiative, valued at more than ₹1 trillion, is under active discussion and could be unveiled within months as part of a broader push to expand domestic technology manufacturing.

Semiconductors form the backbone of modern technology, powering devices

Pressure on cooking gas supplies has pushed households and businesses across the country toward more polluting fuels, including kerosene, biomass and fuel oil, highlighting the vulnerability of energy supply chains during geopolitical upheaval.

Authorities have authorised the wider use of alternative fuels to ease the strain on liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas networks after disruptions to shipments from West Asia tightened availability and drove up prices. The shift marks a temporary reversal of a decade-long policy drive aimed at replacing

Engineering group ABB has committed about $75 million to expand manufacturing and research operations across five locations in India, a move aimed at strengthening production for sectors such as renewable energy, metro rail systems and data centres. The investment reflects rising demand for advanced electrification and automation technologies as infrastructure projects accelerate and digital capacity expands across the country.

ABB said the spending will upgrade and enlarge facilities that produce critical components including switchgear, power distribution equipment and industrial automation systems.

Government officials confirmed that a warship from Iran was granted permission to dock at a naval facility in Kochi shortly before another vessel from the same flotilla was sunk by a United States submarine in the Indian Ocean, an episode that has drawn global attention to maritime diplomacy and escalating naval tensions around South Asia.

The vessel, identified as IRIS Lavan, sought permission to enter Kochi harbour

Stock markets across India tumbled sharply as escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran heightened geopolitical risks and rattled investor confidence. The benchmark Sensex plunged by more than 1,000 points, slipping beneath the 81,000 mark, while the Nifty 50 index lost upwards of 300 points, breaching the crucial 25,000 support level as traders moved out of riskier assets. Over two trading sessions, equities have shed value significantly, wiping out approximately ₹11 lakh crore in market capitalisation, underlining how