Category: India LIVE

India’s electronics manufacturing drive has gained fresh momentum after Ashwini Vaishnaw said the country was positioned to become a trusted global value chain and supply chain partner, placing semiconductors, mobile phones, artificial intelligence infrastructure and component manufacturing at the centre of its industrial strategy.

The Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Railways and Information and Broadcasting made the remarks at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Google Cloud India AI Hub in Visakhapatnam, a project carrying an estimated investment of $15

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has cast Amaravati’s quantum push as a test of whether the country can build strategic technology capacity at home rather than remain tied to foreign platforms, using the launch of two indigenous open-access facilities to argue that partnership with global companies need not mean dependence. The remarks came days after the state unveiled Amaravati 1S and Amaravati 1Q on World Quantum Day, presenting the project as

Lenskart has raised $220 million from investors including Temasek and Falcon Edge Capital, a deal that marked one of the standout funding rounds in a year when technology companies were drawing heavy global capital and pushing valuations sharply higher. The eyewear retailer was valued at about $2.5 billion in that transaction, according to multiple reports at the time, extending a run in which consumer internet businesses were moving from niche start-up status into large-scale retail platforms with national reach.

The

New Delhi is treating the fallout from the Iran war as more than a passing oil shock, with the strain spreading from shipping lanes and fertiliser markets to trade flows and inflation risks. The concern inside government and industry is that even if fighting eases, higher freight, insurance and input costs could leave a long tail for an economy that still depends heavily on imported energy and exposed maritime routes.

Pressure on the economy is already visible in trade and

Reserve Bank officials have opened discussions with commercial lenders on how to attract larger and more stable deposits, as the banking system grapples with a widening mismatch between loan growth and deposit mobilisation. The push comes as households channel a bigger share of savings into equities and mutual funds, leaving banks under pressure to compete harder for retail money and rely more on costlier wholesale funding.

The backdrop is a funding strain that has become harder for lenders to ignore.

Formula 1 could return to Greater Noida in 2027 if the government, circuit stakeholders and the sport’s commercial side can align on taxes, approvals and financing, after Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said work was under way to revive the race at the Buddh International Circuit. His remarks have revived expectations among motorsport followers, but the project remains at the stage of negotiations rather than confirmation.

Mandaviya said the government was trying to remove

TCL Electronics is exploring the sale of a stake in its television manufacturing business in India to local buyers, in a move that could help the Chinese consumer electronics group expand more deeply in one of the world’s fastest-growing electronics production bases, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg reported the company is working with an adviser and is seeking to raise at least $200 million from the proposed stake sale.

The

Reserve Bank officials have sharpened their criticism of banks and foreign-exchange market makers after volatile rupee trading during the Middle East crisis, arguing that arbitrage activity between onshore and offshore markets worsened pressure on the currency and distorted price discovery at a delicate moment for the economy. The intervention marks a tougher regulatory message from Mumbai as policymakers try to contain imported inflation risks, calm hedging costs and restore order to a market jolted by oil shocks and shifting geopolitical

India’s push to build an artificial intelligence ecosystem that is both strategically independent and culturally grounded is gathering pace, as policymakers, startups and large enterprises converge around a shared question: how to create AI systems that are secure enough for national priorities and rich enough to reflect the country’s languages, knowledge traditions and institutional memory.

That debate has sharpened after comments by Arun Subramaniyan, founder and chief executive of Articul8, who argued that India’s AI trajectory should not be framed as

Qatar and India have moved to reinforce one of Asia’s most important energy relationships, with senior ministers in Doha pledging closer cooperation and calling for urgent protection of global supply chains as conflict-linked disruption continues to unsettle oil and gas markets. During talks on April 9 and 10, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy chief executive Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi told India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, that Doha would remain a reliable energy

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