Economics
Trade, fiscal policy, banking, agriculture and economic indicators
Rs 39.48 lakh cr sanctioned so far under PM-MUDRA, NPAs at around 2 pc: FM Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha on March 17, 2026, that a cumulative ₹39.48 lakh crore has been sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri ...
Second LPG tanker reaches India from war zone; efforts on to get back 22 stranded vessels
A second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, MV Nanda Devi, reached Kandla port in Gujarat after safely transiting the Strait of Hormuz — the first vessel, MV Shivali...
Oil shock: Panel urges Finance Ministry to craft strategic energy mitigation framework
The Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab, has recommended that the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the Fi...
What's key to India's forex defence? Patra suggests it's $1 trillion buffer
Former RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra, in an article published on BasisPoint Insight, advocated that India should build its foreign exchange (forex) reser...
India growth outlook dims as oil tops $100, gas crisis deepens
Goldman Sachs cut its India growth forecast for the fiscal year starting April 2026 (FY2027) by half a percentage point to 6.5%, becoming the first major age...
Issue of high trade margins in essential medical devices
The government acknowledged the problem of high trade margins in medical devices included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), where the NPPA ...
Affordable medicines and regulation of private hospitals
The government reaffirmed that drug prices in India are regulated under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO 2013), issued under the Essential Commod...
India oilmeal exports hit by US-Iran conflict, Red Sea disruptions
Escalating US-Iran military tensions in 2026 — including effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran — are severely disrupting India's oilmeal exports,...
Parliamentary panel urges a 'golden share' strategy to protect PSU autonomy if state stakes fall below 51%
A Parliamentary Standing Committee urged the government to finalize a "golden share" strategy to protect Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) autonomy when govern...
National Integrated Policy for Fishing Community
The Department of Fisheries affirmed in Parliament that it is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) as the flagship scheme for a "Blu...
Biopharma SHAKTI Scheme
The Government has formally launched the Biopharma SHAKTI scheme with a total outlay of ₹10,000 crore over five years, announced initially in Union Budget 20...
“Guarantee of both income and security for farmers”: Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan tells in Lok Sabha
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare informed the Lok Sabha that the government has accorded highest priority to farmers' income and security t...
Trade deficit with China tops $100bn
India's trade deficit with China has crossed $100 billion for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with the full calendar year 2025 deficit reaching a record $116.12 bil...
India's outsourcing industry is worth $300bn. Can it survive AI?
India's IT outsourcing industry, valued at approximately $300-315 billion and employing around 6 million people, is facing an existential reckoning as artifi...
Supreme Court nine-judge Constitution Bench commences hearing on definition of 'industry'
A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court commenced hearing on March 17, 2026 to definitively settle the meaning of "industry" under Section 2(j) ...
Oil prices up 2% amid escalating war in West Asia, closure of Strait of Hormuz
Crude oil prices surged over 2% on March 17, 2026, as fears grew over a prolonged disruption to the Strait of Hormuz — the world's most critical oil transit ...
FDI from China: From Thailand to Brazil, global lessons for India’s cautious playbook
India's Union Cabinet (March 10, 2026) approved amendments to the FDI policy for land-bordering countries — effectively liberalising aspects of Press Note 3 ...
India underreported rice, wheat price support: US, others to WTO
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) filed its fourth counter-notification against India at the WTO Committee on Agriculture, co-sponsored by Aus...
India-US trade deal to be signed after new US tariff framework is finalised
India's Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal confirmed on March 16, 2026, that India will sign the bilateral trade deal with the United States only after Washin...
Trade deficit nearly 2x in Feb; exports face battlefield ahead
India's merchandise trade deficit widened to $27.1 billion in February 2026, up sharply from $14 billion in February 2025 — nearly double year-on-year. Total...