Download Our App
Indian real estate attracts record institutional investments in January-June period at $4.1 billion: Vestian
As automation spreads, India's FMCG companies rethink the size of their workforce
Apparel exports drag India's textile and clothing exports despite growth in textile shipments: CITI
India’s peak power demand is expected to touch 300 GW next year, driven by the rapid expansion of data centres, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal said, underlining the need for large-scale energy storage and domestic manufacturing to secure the country’s clean energy transition. Speaking at the 12th India Energy Storage Week 2026 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, the minister said India has already reached 271 GW of peak demand, while available capacity has grown to 284 GW. “Our available capacity has grown up to 284 GW, which enables us to meet all types of demand. But with the accelerating pace of electrification, we must prepare for 300 GW peak demand next year,” he said.
India’s telecom operators are expected to report another quarter of steady operating performance for the three months ended June, with customer premiumisation continuing to drive average revenue per user (Arpu) despite the absence of fresh tariff hikes, analysts said. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are expected to post healthy subscriber additions, modest expansion in operating margins and continued momentum in home broadband. Markets will also watch out for management commentary on the timing of the next tariff hike, expected in the coming months, as well as Vodafone Idea’s fund-raising plans and pace of network expansion. Industry-wide, analysts expect wireless Arpu to improve around 1.5-2% sequentially, helped by one additional day in the quarter and continued customer upgrades to higher-value plans. On a year-on-year basis, Arpu growth is expected to remain healthy despite the absence of tariff hikes, reflecting the ongoing shift towards premium plans and higher data usage.
The share price of Tata Steel fell nearly 1% in early trade after the company released its provisional business update on July 8, after market hours. For Q1FY27, Tata Steel India’s crude steel production increased 11% year-on-year to 5.82 million tonnes from 5.23 million tonnes reported in the year-ago period. Domestic crude steel production rises 9% YoY The company said the rise in its domestic crude steel production was driven by higher output at its Jamshedpur and Kalinganagar units. Its domestic delivery volumes also jumped by nearly 9% to 5.17 million tonnes from 4.75 million tonnes. “Domestic deliveries grew 11% YoY, broadly in line with production, supported by enriched product mix and strong marketing franchise,” the company said in its filing. Tata Steel added that its automotive and special products unit achieved its ‘best-ever’ first-quarter volumes of around 0.9 million tonnes. “Continued ramp-up of Kalinganagar’s Continuous Annealing and Galvanising lines led to a 20% YoY increase in hi-end products,” the Tata Group company said in its business update.
India’s drugmakers have a global repute, and they supply nearly half of all generic medicines sold at retail pharmacy outlets in the US. As soon as a new drug lost patent protection, they hit the market with acceptable-quality bioequivalent generic alternatives. However, this dexterity is not yet matched in the “bulk drugs” segment. A third of active pharmaceutical ingredients that go into formulations manufactured in the country are still being imported. In 2024-25, India imported 200 categories of APIs, bulk drugs, and drug intermediates worth $4.35 billion. China accounted for nearly 74% of these imports. The continued reliance on the neighbour is for a clutch of APIs such as nitrogen heterocyclic compounds, amino mixtures, oxygenated carboxylic acids, heterocyclic-oxygen combinations, and certain antibiotics. Despite the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for bulk drugs launched in March 2020 catalysing investments totalling over Rs 4,800 crore, China still supplies 66-86% of the API categories that India imports. To be sure, China’s share in overall API imports by India has risen from 68% in 2020-21.
India’s energy storage tender pipeline has surged to 260 GWh, while the country’s installed lithium-ion cell manufacturing capacity remains at only around 2 GWh, exposing a widening gap between project demand and domestic manufacturing depth as battery storage becomes central to India’s renewable energy transition. According to the India BESS Market Review released by India Energy Storage Alliance and Customized Energy Solutions at India Energy Storage Week 2026, India will require 888 GWh of energy storage system capacity by 2035-36, a massive jump from the current 1-GWh scale. Exponential BESS Capacity Surge The report shows that India’s installed battery energy storage system capacity rose 11-fold in just six months, from 0.78 GWh in December 2025 to 8.7 GWh in H1 2026. The country is now on track to cross 10 GWh of installed BESS capacity by the end of the year.
Right-of-way, land acquisition and regulatory delays in transmission projects are emerging as a key risk for renewable energy developers, with around 33% of recently commissioned 54.8 GW renewable energy capacity being evacuated through the temporary general network access route as of May 2026, where curtailment during solar hours has remained as high as 50-60%, even as India lines up a ₹5-6 trillion transmission capex cycle between 2026-27 and 2031-32, Icra said. The rating agency expects a significant uptick in capacity addition in the power transmission sector as the country prepares to integrate upcoming renewable energy capacity into the grid. The capex will be driven by the government’s plan to evacuate power from over 900 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2035-36, including around 548 GW of solar and wind capacity. “The projected transmission capex of ₹5-6 trillion entails strengthening of the existing infrastructure, adding evacuation capacities as well as new transmission routes to support the generation centres,” said Ankit Jain, Vice President and Co-Group Head, Icra Limited.
India’s power sector reported a strong Q1FY27 with total generation rising 9% year-on-year to 524 billion units, while renewable power generation jumped 25% to 93 billion units. But even as demand stayed robust and peak load hit a record 270 GW, the sector’s next challenge is shifting from building capacity to managing margins for renewable equipment makers amid rising commodity costs. Power demand hits record 270 GW in Q1 According to a report of Elara Capital, power demand remained strong through the quarter, driven by higher summer temperatures, an extended heatwave and a delayed monsoon. Peak demand touched a record 270 GW in Q1FY27, with April demand up 8.9% year-on-year to 256.0 GW, May demand rising 17.7% to 270.8 GW and June demand at 264.8 GW, up about 9.3%. The strong demand environment also lifted trading activity on the Indian Energy Exchange, where electricity traded volume reached 37,534 million units, up 15.9% year-on-year, according to a detailed report by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
India and Australia on Thursday finalised the administrative arrangements required to enable the export of Australian uranium to India, while committing to deepen bilateral energy trade, strengthen resilient supply chains and accelerate work on a broader economic partnership as both countries sought to bolster economic security amid global geopolitical disruptions. The announcement came in a joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, where both sides also agreed to support the uninterrupted flow of energy products, expand cooperation across the energy value chain and work towards building supply chains for emerging technical industries. The two countries said they would advance bilateral energy trade and investment through the existing Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), ongoing negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and other bilateral mechanisms.
Global nuclear capacity is set to climb 44% over the next decade after years of tepid growth, spurred by growing demand for electricity and aggressive efforts to build reactors in China and India. The world may have as much as 535 gigawatts of installed nuclear power by 2036, up from 372 last year, according to a report Wednesday from BloombergNEF. China had 59 gigawatts of reactors under construction at the end of 2025 and is on track to reach a total of 102 by the end of the decade, a figure that would propel it past the US to become the world’s biggest nuclear nation. The industry is benefiting from several key trends. The international effort to rein in climate change is boosting demand for carbon-free power from reactors. At the same time, electricity demand is surging, driven by industrial users, increasingly electrified homes, and power-hungry data centers. Meanwhile, rising social acceptance of nuclear power is pushing utilities and governments around the world to reconsider policies that have hindered development.
The government's move to waive basic customs duty on key components for electronics manufacturing will help deepen the value chain and the ecosystem, IT Secretary S Krishnan said on Thursday. Terming it an "important change", Krishnan said the move will also stimulate the electronics component industry in the country. "Based on industry representations, this is something that we had taken up with the Ministry of Finance. We are very happy that these notifications have been issued. This will really stimulate the electronics industry, especially the electronic component industry in the country," Krihnan said on the sidelines of the CII GCC Business Summit.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is facing mounting anger over a mandatory 20% ethanol-blended fuel policy, with vehicle owners demanding choice and an opposition politician asking carmakers Maruti Suzuki and Toyota to provide clarity. The 20% ethanol-blended petrol, called E20, became the only fuel sold at India's 90,000 petrol pumps at the end of last year, triggering a public uproar that however dissipated within weeks. But it's now again at the centre of controversy after a top government lawyer called E20 an "experiment" in court - and then backtracked on the comments - re-igniting concerns about the fuel affecting the performance of cars and what critics called its hasty rollout.
Electric vehicles are gaining ground fast in key city gas areas and the surge is starting to eat into CNG market share and could weigh on long-term PNG demand too, according to a report by brokerage firm Dolat Capital. This comes in contrast to City Gas Distributors cutting prices to defend market share against propane. According to Dolat Capital's research report, CNG registrations are still rising across geographical areas (GA) of Mahanagar Gas, Indraprastha Gas, and Gujarat Energy but EV growth is now outpacing it in some geographies. "The Pace of EV registrations has improved significantly in 1HCY26 while in some GAs it has crossed the CNG," the report said.
India hosts around half of the world's Global Capability Centres and has become the second-largest base of enterprise Al talent globally, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said on July 9. Speaking at the CII GCC Business Summit, Nageswaran said India's GCC ecosystem has moved far beyond its early back-office role. "Two decades ago, we had a handful of back offices. Today, it is more than 2,000 such centres, and they employ more than 2 million professionals," he said. The employment estimate is now moving towards 2.3 million, while revenue has crossed $60 billion and is climbing towards $100 billion, Nageswaran said.
India is assembling electric vehicles (EVs) at record pace, but the technologies that power them remain overwhelmingly dependent on China. Even as the country pushes to build a domestic EV ecosystem through production-linked incentives and critical mineral programmes, industry estimates suggest about 66% of component imports still come from China. The dependence has grown alongside the market. India sold about 2.27 million EVs in 2025, up 16.4% from 1.95 million units a year earlier, while demand for advanced chemistry cells (ACC) touched around 28 GWh. Against this, only 1.4 GWh of domestic cell manufacturing capacity had been commissioned under the government’s Rs 18,100-crore ACC production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme by October 2025. While India has developed nearly 60 GWh of battery-pack assembly capacity, most packs are assembled using imported cells. Only 30-40% of the EV value chain is estimated to have been localised, with the highest-value technologies continuing to come from overseas.
The pace of solar power installations in India has been remarkably swift over the last decade. With the growth of such capacity creation in the United States and the European Union slumping after several years of double-digit expansion, India is set to become the world’s second largest solar market by annual installations after China. That sounds reassuring. And a sharp 70% fall in solar module imports by value in FY26 signals creditable progress in indigenisation. To be sure, the policy thrust on renewable energy (RE), with the solar segment as its core, is chiefly aimed at cutting India’s massive fossil fuel imports. It is also central to the effort to de-carbonise economic growth and meet the goal of net-zero carbon emission by 2070. But the country’s solar story is marred by a “large upstream gap” that still needs bridging. A heavy dependence on Chinese cells, wafers, polysilicon, inverters and other production equipment persists. This is despite efforts to diversify the sourcing of these items to countries like Indonesia, Ethiopia, Thailand and Vietnam.
India’s hydropower generation fell by an average 6.3 GW year on year in June 2026, while coal-fired output increased by 20.7 GW, as the loss of flexible hydroelectricity forced the power system to lean more heavily on thermal generation to maintain grid reliability. An average decline of 6.3 GW means hydropower plants produced 6.3 GW less electricity at any given time during June than in the same month last year. India registered the steepest decline among seven key Asian markets and accounted for nearly half of the region’s combined 13-GW average fall in hydropower generation, according to S&P Global. Vietnam recorded the second-largest reduction at 4.6 GW. Together, India and Vietnam contributed more than 80% of the decline across Japan, South Korea, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. S&P Global said the broad-based fall pointed to a common weather-driven regional trend rather than isolated disruptions in individual markets.
The home services platforms are increasingly betting on at-home beauty as the next growth engine, shifting focus beyond repair and maintenance services to a category that offers higher repeat usage, standardised delivery and opportunities to deepen customer relationships. NoBroker’s recent foray into the segment signals intensifying competition in a market where users typically book services once or twice a month and repeat rates are estimated at around 50%, according to industry estimates. The move reflects a broader shift in the convenience economy, where platforms are looking beyond speed to eliminate the friction associated with everyday tasks. Unlike plumbing or electrical repairs, beauty services are easier to standardise, train for and price, while generating recurring demand that can improve customer retention and create opportunities to cross-sell other home services. NoBroker enters beauty services NoBroker recently launched its beauty services brand, Zivora, in Bengaluru, joining category leader Urban Company and newer entrant Snabbit in the space. The proptech and home services platform said it already completes around 200,000 home service jobs every month across categories such as painting, cleaning, plumbing, electrical work and AC servicing. For its beauty business, it has trained over 200 professionals and plans to expand the service to more cities.
The domestic auto component industry recorded a turnover of Rs 7.60 lakh crore ($85.9 billion) in FY26, up 12.7% from the previous fiscal, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) said on Tuesday. However, imports outpaced exports, pushing the sector into a trade deficit for the first time in two years. The industry exported auto components worth $24 billion, up 5% year-on-year, while imports rose a sharper 13% to $25.4 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of about $1.37 billion. The surge in imports was driven by higher demand for advanced technologies and specialised components, particularly electronics and EV parts. As a result, China’s share in India’s auto component imports increased to 36% in FY26 from 32% in FY25. Engine components and drive transmission and steering systems accounted for over half of the country’s exports. Imports were also dominated by drive transmission and steering and engine components, which together contributed 56% of total imports. Europe recorded the strongest export growth during the year.
Uttar Pradesh is set to become a green, AI-ready and globally competitive data centre hub. The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Monday approved the Uttar Pradesh Data Center Policy 2026. Under the policy, the state aims to attract more than Rs 2 lakh crore in investments and develop an additional 2 Gigawatts (GW) of data centre capacity. “The objective of the policy is to develop Uttar Pradesh as a Green, AI-ready, and globally competitive Data Center hub,” UP Government noted. About UP Data Center Policy Uttar Pradesh Data Center Policy 2021 was introduced in January 2021, which was later amended in November 2022. This policy expired on January 27, following which the government has introduced the new Uttar Pradesh Data Center Policy-2026.
The Tamil Nadu government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hitachi Energy Technology Services Private Limited for a Rs 1,000‑crore expansion of the company’s operations in the state. The agreement, signed at the Secretariat in Chennai in the presence of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, will fund upgrades and capacity expansion at Hitachi’s Global Technology and Innovation Centre (GTIC) in Porur, Chennai and at its manufacturing facility in Chengalpattu. The two projects are expected to be implemented over the next three to five years and are projected to create 1,000 high‑skilled technology jobs. Under the MoU, Hitachi Energy will invest around Rs 1,000 crore across two linked projects- an expansion of the GTIC in Chennai (Porur) and a production expansion at the Chengalpattu manufacturing facility. The company said the investments will be phased over a three‑to‑five‑year period and will include the establishment of a new manufacturing line for semiconductor‑based Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC)‑to‑HVDC conversion equipment, reflecting the firm’s move into advanced power‑electronics manufacturing.
Listed retailers are increasingly relying on new store additions rather than higher sales from existing outlets to sustain growth, with business updates for the June quarter pointing to moderating same-store sales growth (SSG) and softer store productivity across key consumer segments amid intensifying competition and uneven demand. Analysts said the moderation comes amid increasing pressure from quick commerce platforms, which are capturing a larger share of routine grocery and top-up purchases that traditionally drove footfalls to large-format supermarkets. According to Citi, the rapid adoption of instant-delivery services is gradually changing shopping behaviour, reducing the frequency of bulk shopping trips and weighing on productivity at established outlets. The trend was most visible in food and grocery retail, where Avenue Supermarts, which operates the DMart chain, reported a 15% year-on-year increase in standalone revenue for the June quarter, slower than the 17-18% growth seen in recent quarters. The company added only three stores during the quarter, among its slowest pace of expansion in recent years.
India's cement industry is expected to see subdued volume growth in H1FY27 as April 2026 price hikes are unlikely to offset the profitability decline, with weak demand and fresh supply additions during FY27-28 expected to keep prices under pressure, according to a report by Nuvama Institutional Equities. As per the report, the sector witnessed sluggish demand during April-May 2026 due to multiple factors, including global uncertainty, labour shortages, heatwaves, raw material constraints, and unseasonal rainfall. Apart from this, cement prices surged across regions in April 2026; to mitigate the impact of rising petcoke prices and packaging costs. In a related report, the brokerage house noted that petcoke prices increased to "USD153/t (up ~USD41/t from Q3FY26) due to global cues with its impact likely to be reflected starting the second half of Q1FY27."
A delayed and patchy monsoon has dealt a major blow to India's hydropower generation, with electricity output from dams plunging in June as shrinking reservoir levels limited water availability. The shortfall came at a time when the country was grappling with soaring summer electricity demand, prompting coal, nuclear and renewable energy plants to shoulder a bigger share of the load.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's three-day visit to India from July 1-3 for the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit has renewed focus on expanding bilateral cooperation beyond strategic and government-led initiatives, with greater emphasis on industry partnerships. In Japan, over 3.36 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 99.7% of all businesses and around 70% of total employment, according to a World Economic Forum analysis. Experts believe closer collaboration between Indian and Japanese MSMEs could unlock significant opportunities, particularly in electronics, computer software, and digital services, where Japanese technological expertise complements India’s scale. The opportunity assumes greater significance as India's electronics manufacturing and IT services ecosystem, valued at well over $300 billion annually, continues to emerge as a key pillar of economic growth and one of the country’s largest contributors to employment and exports. Against this backdrop, The Economic Times Digital spoke to Gurmeet Singh, Executive Director of the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC India), an industry body representing electronics, IT, and software exporters, including numerous MSMEs. Singh discussed the challenges facing Indian exporters and the policy measures needed to strengthen partnerships between Indian and Japanese businesses. Edited excerpts:
According to a recent report by Equirus Securities, the biggest hurdle is not strategy, but execution, with heavy reliance on imported equipment and gaps in the domestic supply chain posing key challenges. The report said India's semiconductor roadmap draws on proven approaches adopted by leading Asian chip- making economies instead of attempting to build an entirely new model. The country has steered clear of the Chinese approach while incorporating government-backed research and development from Taiwan, foreign direct investment-led manufacturing from Malaysia, domestic champions from South Korea, and capital discipline from Singapore. Now, execution is the biggest hurdle and not strategy. The report said that India needs to rapidly develop a skilled workforce, strengthen local supply chains and meet globally competitive quality standards. The report highlighted that India is concentrating on segments where it already holds a competitive edge, supported by a talent base of nearly three lakh chip designers, representing around one-fifth of the global semiconductor design workforce.
The pace of solar power installations in India has been remarkably swift over the last decade. With the growth of such capacity creation in the United States and the European Union slumping after several years of double-digit expansion, India is set to become the world’s second largest solar market by annual installations after China. That sounds reassuring. And a sharp 70% fall in solar module imports by value in FY26 signals creditable progress in indigenisation. To be sure, the policy thrust on renewable energy (RE), with the solar segment as its core, is chiefly aimed at cutting India’s massive fossil fuel imports.
India needs a lot more electricity in the coming years. More homes need cooling as summers get harsher, more factories are coming up, and data centres are guzzling power like never before. But generating that power is only half the job; it also has to travel from power plants to homes and factories through transformers, cables and substations. That’s the unglamorous but essential business of transmission and distribution (T&D), and brokerage firm Macquarie Research believes it’s about to boom.
The Indian government has found itself issuing repeated clarifications following the mandatory rollout of ethanol-blended petrol last year. Criticism has continued to mount — with declining mileage and engine performance flagged as primary points of contention. According to an Indian Express report, the government is likely to delay a proposed shift to E25 fuel amid growing backlash. The Centre has led a speedy rollout of ethanol blended fuel since 2023 — raising the percentage to E20 well ahead of its 2030 deadline. The fuel variant with 80% petrol and 20% ethanol is now the nationally available standard.
India’s organised diagnostic industry is likely to sustain its growth momentum, with revenues expected to rise 12-14% in FY27, supported by deeper penetration in non-urban markets, rising demand for bundled packages, preventive health checkups and speciality tests, and increasing preference for organised diagnostic chains, ratings agency ICRA said on Monday. The agency said that the diagnostic test volumes for its sample of five listed companies – which together account for around a quarter of the organised diagnostics market – to grow 10-12% this fiscal. Though the realisations are projected to grow at a modest 1-2% as leading chains continue to avoid major price hikes amid an increasingly competitive market.
India’s tier-II housing markets are closing the gap with the country’s biggest property hubs, with several emerging cities matching or even outpacing the growth seen in major metropolitan markets over the past five years, according to a report by Crisil Intelligence. Housing sales across the top 10 cities grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% between FY21 and FY26. A few tier-II cities, including Nagpur, Coimbatore and Lucknow, recorded around 20% growth during the period, while Tier-II markets as a whole posted a healthy 14% CAGR, the report said.
Central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) and other state-run agencies—namely the railways and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)—reported an aggregate capex growth of 26% in the first quarter of the current financial year. Their capex achievement in Q1FY27 stood at Rs 2.1 lakh crore, representing 25% of the annual target, compared to Rs 1.67 lakh crore, or 21.24% of the target, achieved in the year-ago period.
India’s electric two-wheeler market has crossed an inflection point, with EV penetration moving into double digits for the first time, according to TVS Motor Company. The brand further says that the next phase of growth will be via policy support, a wider choice of products and improving charging infrastructure accelerate consumer adoption. “Any industry which touches 10% is a tipping point. It’s a very significant penetration level compared to where we were two years ago. Last year we were at around 6%, and today we’ve crossed 10%,” Gaurav Gupta, President, India Two-Wheeler Business, TVS Motor Company, told Financial Express on the sidelines of the TVS Apache 7 million unit sales celebration event.
India’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have entered July with caution, as a looming threat of El Nino raise concerns over rural incomes, agricultural output and consumption growth. While the cumulative rainfall deficit has narrowed to 24% below the long-period average (LPA)during June 1-July 5, from nearly 40% at the end of June, experts warn the current active phase of the monsoon may weaken after July 8. Signs of stress are becoming obvious with the retail food inflation climbing to 4.78% in May 2026 from 4.2% seen in April, pushing the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) to a 16-month high of 3.93%, according to the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
With Mark Zuckerberg promising to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure, skeptics wondered how his social-media empire would ever monetize that expensive bet. We now have a plausible answer. Meta Platforms Inc. is turning a capital-expenditure drag into a new revenue source. An internal initiative dubbed “Meta Compute” plans to lease out excess capacity to enterprise clients, Bloomberg News reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter. It remains to be seen what kind of a dent it can make in the domination of the ruling trinity of Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., and Amazon. com Inc. over the cloud business. But to see where some of the early tremors will be felt, look to India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed numerous deals, including defence and technology, with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto as the leaders held bilateral talks to strengthen strategic ties on Tuesday. The leaders signed more than eight agreements spanning health, education, technology and defence. The meet was closely watched as India and Indonesia sealed a long-discussed BrahMos missile agreement which become the latest link in New Delhi's latest link in a growing network of coastal missile deployments stretching across Southeast Asia. India also agreed to supply ASTRA systems to Indonesia under the new pact between Bharat Dynamics and Republic Corps.
The first quarter of financial year 2026-2027 is likely to be a seasonally healthy quarter for the consumer durable sector, according to a report by Centrum. Driven by an intense summer season and a higher prevalence of cooling products, the report expects a healthy Q1 led by favourable base and seasonality. "Q1FY27 is likely to be a seasonally healthy quarter for Consumer Durable sector with our coverage universe posting 21% YoY value growth in sales," the report stated.
Industrial policy is fashionable again. From Washington to Brussels, Tokyo to Seoul, governments are writing large cheques to attract factories, secure supply chains and reduce strategic dependence. Covid, weaponisation of trade and fracturing of the China-centric manufacturing consensus have reminded policymakers that manufacturing is not merely an economic activity, but also a source of resilience, employment, technology and geopolitical leverage. But the hard truth is that most industrial policy sounds impressive at launch and disappoints in delivery. India's smartphone PLI scheme is, therefore, worth examining. In 5 yrs, it transformed India from a large consumer market into one of the world's most important smartphone manufacturing and export hubs.
Home minister Amit Shah on Sunday directed authorities to implement a 'zero coal leakage plan' and strengthen enforcement against illegal coal mining and unauthorised transportation amid rising concerns over coal theft in Jharkhand's Dhanbad region. At a high-level review meeting attended by coal minister G Kishan Reddy, home secretary Govind Mohan, coal secretary Vikram Dev Dutt, and senior officials from the coal ministry, CISF, Coal India and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, Shah expressed concern over the growing incidence of illegal mining and coal theft in Dhanbad and adjoining areas. He directed officials of the home ministry to include the coal sector in the CISF's priority deployment list for vulnerable areas.
India's overall white-collar hiring remained subdued in June, with the foundit Insights Tracker (fit) reporting a 5% month-on-month and 9% year-on-year decline. In contrast, the country's global capability centre (GCC) ecosystem continued to expand, with hiring increasingly focused on artificial intelligence (AI). Nearly two in three GCC roles created in 2026 (64%) require AI, data science or intelligent automation skills. Technology and software, and banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), together account for 56% of all GCC hiring. India recorded 227,991 GCC hires in the first half of 2026, up 11% from a year earlier, taking the number of GCCs operating in the country to nearly 2,120.
Indian car buyers are increasingly moving away from conventional petrol and diesel vehicles, with compressed natural gas (CNG), hybrid and electric models accounting for more than 40% of passenger vehicle retail sales for the first time in June, signalling a structural shift in consumer preference towards lower running costs and fuel-efficient technologies.
US restrictions on access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models are beginning to reshape India’s AI strategy, with the government building independent capability to test critical software and cybersecurity systems instead of waiting for access to Anthropic’s most advanced model. The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has started using alternative frontier AI models to stress-test critical code while accelerating work on indigenous frontier models, reflecting a broader effort to reduce reliance on overseas AI platforms for strategic applications. The move comes even as India continues to seek access to Anthropic’s Mythos 5 under Project Glasswing, a trusted-partner programme that Washington is yet to expand.
The Centre on Saturday lifted emergency restrictions on the allocation, use and diversion of natural gas, ending controls imposed nearly four months ago after the West Asia conflict disrupted liquefied natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and forced suppliers to declare force majeure. The withdrawal, effective Saturday, removes the substantive provisions of the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order issued on March 9, which empowered the government to regulate production, sector-wise allocation, distribution and consumption of natural gas, including LNG and re-gasified LNG.
Revenue growth of specialty chemical manufacturers is expected to slow by 200 basis points to around 6% this fiscal, from about 8% in each of the past two years, while weak exports and volatile crude-linked input costs could compress operating margins by as much as 200 basis points, according to Crisil Ratings. Operating margins are projected to fall to 14-14.5% from nearly 16% last fiscal, as exporters face global supply disruptions, cautious overseas procurement and limited ability to pass on higher feedstock costs. Export sales typically offer better margins than domestic business.
Gujarat has attracted investments worth Rs 1.24 lakh crore across six key semiconductor projects approved under the India Semiconductor Mission. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated an assembly and test facility in Sanand on Saturday — noting that the country was now building the entire electronics value chain from products and components to semiconductors. State government officials say the upcoming projects are expected to generate more than 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and significantly strengthen India’s efforts to build domestic semiconductor capabilities under the government’s ‘Make in India‘ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant) initiatives.
India's passenger vehicle sales stood at at 4,10,853 units, recording an annual jump of 28.63 per cent in June, according to latest data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). The autodealers body reported that the total automobile industry retailed 25,57,234 units with a 21.83 per cent growth in June with tractors recording 25.31 per cent growth, two-wheelers at 21.22 per cent, commercial vehicles at 16.88 per cent and three-wheelers at 16.21 per cent.
India's automobile industry is expected to maintain healthy demand across vehicle segments, but automakers are likely to face pressure on profit margins in the first half of FY27 before profitability improves in the second half, according to an Antique Stock Broking monthly sector report. The brokerage said robust wholesale dispatches across passenger vehicles (PVs), commercial vehicles (CVs) and tractors indicate demand remains resilient, even as cost pressures are expected to weigh on original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the near term.
India will require roughly 500,000 tonnes of additional refined copper capacity every five years to keep pace with rising demand of the metal, International Copper Association India (ICA India) Managing Director Mayur Karmarkar said on Sunday. Speaking on the outlook for the ongoing financial year, Karmarkar said copper demand is likely to track overall GDP growth and the association is anticipating at least around 9 per cent growth over 2026.
India's pharmaceutical exports to the US, the industry's largest market, fell 6.31% in the April-May period, continuing the trend from the previous fiscal year, show government data. Shipments to the West Asia North Africa (WANA) region also shrank in the first two months of this fiscal year. Despite this pressure from two key markets, India's total pharmaceutical exports grew 6.63% during the period to more than $5.29 billion. According to the data, shipments to the US were valued at $1.6 billion, or just over 30% of India's total pharma exports during the two months.
The 16th India-Japan Summit, held during Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi's visit to India last week, can easily be framed as another diplomatic milestone, marked by new memoranda of cooperation, 75 years of bilateral ties, plans to celebrate 2027 as the India-Japan Year of Shared Horizons, expanding people-to-people exchanges, growing influence of Japanese culture and language in India, and Japan's role as a leading development finance partner with $3.7 billion in outward FDI to India in FY2025-26. Yet while this narrative is accurate, it's also incomplete.
India’s electronics exports hit a record nearly $48 billion in FY26, cementing the country’s emergence as a global smartphone manufacturing hub. Smartphones alone accounted for over $31 billion of exports, driven by Apple’s expanding manufacturing footprint and rising shipments to the US and Europe. Yet, the export success masks a deeper reality: much of the value inside those devices still comes from China. Semiconductor chips, display assemblies, camera modules, printed circuit board inputs, connectors, sensors, manufacturing equipment and several industrial inputs continue to be imported, underscoring the gap between assembling electronics and building a self-sustaining manufacturing ecosystem.
The Centre’s decision to allow four Chinese power equipment manufacturers with factories in India to bid for critical government projects is expected to intensify competition. However, domestic players say they have invested heavily in manufacturing, research and development (R&D), and localisation to strengthen their capabilities and remain competitive. The finance ministry’s move follows a request from the Power Ministry in January seeking an exemption from an earlier order that required companies from countries sharing a land border with India to obtain prior government registration before bidding for critical public power projects. Approval of such registrations was entirely at the government’s discretion.
The Centre on Friday approved defence acquisition proposals worth around Rs 52,000 crore, giving a major push to the armed forces’ efforts to strengthen air defence, counter-drone capabilities and surveillance as India continues to sharpen its military preparedness amid evolving regional security challenges. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN)—the first stage of procurement approval—for a range of systems for the Army, Navy and Air Force. For the Army, the approvals focus heavily on countering emerging aerial and mechanised threats. Among the key clearances is the procurement of the Akash Tarang anti-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) electronic warfare system, designed to detect, jam and neutralise hostile drones that have emerged as a growing battlefield challenge. The Army will also acquire the indigenous Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM), Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) weapon system, Very Short Range Air Defence System (V-SHORADS), Active Protection Systems for tanks and jet-powered kamikaze drones.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Rajasthan and Gujarat on July 4 to launch a series of infrastructure, aviation, energy and semiconductor projects. The Rajasthan leg will include projects worth around Rs 1.06 lakh crore, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. PM Modi will visit Rajasthan and Gujarat on Saturday, with the launch of the modified UDAN scheme in Jodhpur and the inauguration of a semiconductor assembly and testing facility in Sanand among the key events on his schedule. According to an official statement, the modified UDAN scheme has been allocated Rs 28,840 crore over the next 10 years. The scheme aims to strengthen regional air connectivity by developing 100 aerodromes from existing unserved airstrips and building 200 helipads.
Some of the country’s leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies expect double-digit growth in both revenue and profit in the June quarter of FY27 (Q1), driven by calibrated pricing action and broad-based growth across categories. Latest business updates by firms such as Dabur, Godrej Consumer (GCPL), Marico and AWL Agri Business indicate that demand conditions have been stable in Q1 despite inflationary pressures. On Friday, Dabur said that it saw double-digit growth in consolidated Q1 topline and profit supported by healthy demand across its domestic and international businesses. Rural Renaissance Rural demand, Dabur said, continued to outpace urban markets, while price hikes helped offset higher input costs during the quarter. GCPL said that consolidated revenue growth was likely to be in the high-teens in Q1, ahead of its full-year double-digit guidance, led by high single-digit underlying volume growth (UVG). Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was also expected to come in ahead of its double-digit guidance, though margins were likely to be lower due to elevated input costs.
Hiring for artificial intelligence (AI) roles continued to grow in India’s technology sector in June even as overall recruitment in the industry declined. According to Naukri.com’s latest JobSpeak report, hiring for AI-related roles in the IT sector increased by 16 per cent in June compared with the same month last year. During the same period, overall IT hiring fell by 3 per cent. The report is based on job listings from more than 1.5 lakh companies that use Naukri’s recruitment platform. The figures suggest that technology companies are becoming more selective about the talent they recruit. While they have slowed hiring in traditional technology roles, they continue to invest in professionals with expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning. India’s IT industry, valued at around $315 billion, has faced pressure over the past year as many global clients reduced technology spending because of an uncertain economic environment, reported Reuters citing data from Nakri site. At the same time, rapid advances in AI have forced companies to rethink their business models and invest in new technologies.
Indian Railways loaded 142.21 million tonnes of freight in June 2026, a 4% rise over the 136.71 million tonnes moved in the same month last year, as demand from core sectors such as fertilisers and iron ore continued to hold up. Passenger numbers also grew, with the railways carrying 63.81 crore passengers during the month against 62.37 crore a year earlier, according to figures released by the Ministry of Railways. Why did Indian Railways’ freight loading increase in June? The freight numbers were driven by gains across several commodity categories. Fertiliser loading rose 19.1% year-on-year, while the ‘Balance Other Goods’ category climbed 17.3%. Iron ore loading increased 9.4%, domestic coal rose 4.9%, total coal grew 3.6%, and clinker loading was up 7.2%.
The Indian government on Friday said that it has launched an investigation into an alleged cybersecurity breach at Tata Electronics after reports claimed sensitive internal documents connected to Apple’s unreleased iPhone 18 Pro were leaked online. This development marks the first official statement by New Delhi regarding the reported breach, raising concerns over cybersecurity vulnerabilities within India’s rapidly expanding electronics manufacturing ecosystem, particularly as global tech giants increasingly shift production to the country. Government launches probe into Tata Electronics leak Speaking on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conference, S Krishnan, Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), confirmed that authorities are examining the reported breach.
The artificial intelligence boom has begun to exact a visible toll on the world’s smartphone industry — and Indian buyers are squarely in the line of fire. While India-specific figures are not yet available, China’s three largest Android makers — Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo — have slashed their 2026 global shipment targets by as much as 30%, according to a Nikkei Asia report this week, as memory chips are diverted wholesale to Ai data centres. In India, the crisis was already visible and is expected to worsen further. Smartphone shipments in India fell 3% year-on-year in the January–March quarter, the market’s weakest showing in six years, with more than 80 models seeing average price increases of about 15% as memory costs surged, according to Counterpoint Research.
India’s attempt to fire up its fledgling private space program is showing early signs of success. Three years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi allowed non-government firms to own spaceports, launch rockets and sell remote-sensing data, the country has its first space unicorn preparing for a lift-off, and boasts startups making advanced Earth-imaging and all-weather satellites. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani is also evaluating plans to deploy a constellation that could pit him against Elon Musk’s Starlink in India. For decades, the Indian Space Research Organisation has launched cost-effective, pioneering missions, including the world’s first landing near the Moon’s south pole. The national agency, which allows startups to use its facilities for early tests, will soon share technology involving its workhorse rocket to speed up local knowhow.
India announced on Friday that it has extended anti-dumping duties on imports of normal butanol (N-Butyl Alcohol) from the US, Malaysia and South Africa for another five years, seeking to shield domestic manufacturers from unfairly priced overseas shipments. The decision comes after the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) concluded in its final review that withdrawing the duty could trigger a fresh wave of dumped imports, causing material injury to Indian producers. The trade remedies body found that there was a likelihood of the continuation or recurrence of both dumping and injury to the domestic industry if the existing duty was allowed to lapse. Butyl alcohol is a key industrial chemical used in the manufacture of paints and coatings, solvents, plasticisers and a wide range of other chemical products.
The Odisha government on Friday signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the ACME Group and Japan's IHI Corporation for a proposed investment of Rs 67,000 crore, aimed at accelerating technology transfer and green industrialisation. The agreements were signed during Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi's interaction with a high-level business delegation from Japan here. The development assumes significance as it comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held summit talks with his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi in New Delhi, Majhi said.
India has the potential to transform into a net exporter of aluminium if production is executed at a highly competitive rate, as the domestic market currently maintains enough room for multiple players to operate simultaneously, said Karan Adani, Managing Director of AdPorts & Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ). While speaking to the media post the MoU signing between Adani Enterprises Ltd and the Odisha govt, Adani noted that despite the presence of large domestic capacities and established industry participants, India continues to rely on aluminium imports to meet its internal requirements. This ongoing reliance signals robust underlying demand within the local market. "I think if you look at the overall market, even with such large capacities being there, large players being there, we still import aluminium, which is a sign that there is more demand and there is going to be enough room for everybody to be in this market," Adani said.
Institutional investments in Indian real estate rose 70 per cent year-on-year to USD 2.9 billion in the second quarter of calendar year 2026 (Q2 CY2026), driven by strong domestic and foreign investor participation, with Chennai and Bengaluru contributing around 27 per cent of inflows, according to a report by Colliers. The report said domestic investments more than doubled to USD 1.33 billion during the quarter, accounting for 46 per cent of the total inflows. Foreign investments stood at USD 1.54 billion, contributing 54 per cent of the total despite global trade and capital deployment uncertainties arising from the West Asia crisis. The inflows were supported by select large transactions. According to the report, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) recorded the largest deal of the quarter by investing USD 675 million in Kotak Alternate Asset Managers' mixed-use assets across multiple cities.
India appears set to move towards a dedicated regulatory framework for artificial intelligence, with IT Secretary S Krishnan on Friday saying the time has come to look at a separate AI regulation. Krishnan noted that while existing legal provisions have so far been adequate in addressing initial concerns on issues like deepfakes and AI-generated synthetic content, an "additional regulation or law may be needed". "It is a conversation which has commenced, and my Minister (IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw) and I have both been on record earlier that we will look at AI regulation when the time is right, and it appears that the time is getting right, and we will start looking at it," Krishnan said. He added: "We have used the IT rules, and other provisions of existing law to address various concerns that AI raises, but now, probably the time has come to look at a separate legislation." Why A New AI Law Is Needed Asked about the timelines for bringing out a new AI regulation, the IT secretary said: "As Ministry, at an official level, what we can do is prepare draft legislation...when it finally comes out, is not something which I can comment, especially when it is a legislation."
The Rajasthan government has received investment proposals worth more than Rs 43,000 crore in the data centre sector, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said, as the state positions itself as an emerging hub for Artificial Intelligence and digital infrastructure. He said the government is committed to making Rajasthan the country’s preferred destination for AI and data centre investments. Addressing industry leaders at a round-table discussion held after the 29th National Conference on e-Governance at the Rajasthan International Centre, CM Sharma said the state is strengthening its digital backbone to realise the vision of “Viksit Bharat–Viksit Rajasthan 2047” under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The government recently extended the deadline to submit bids for the PLI scheme to make rare earth magnets. This is the second such extension. Suvendu Bose explains how sovereign loan guarantees, risk-sharing finance mechanisms & targeted upstream technology grants can make the scheme more industry-friendly l What are rare earth permanent magnets? RARE EARTH PERMANENT magnet or REPM are magnets made from rare earth elements such as Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), Samarium (Sm), and Dysprosium (Dy). These magnets generate exceptionally strong magnetic fields relative to their size.
Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) reported a 15.9% year-on-year (YoY) increase in electricity traded volume for the Q1FY27, driven by record power demand during an unusually hot summer. “During the first quarter of this financial year, India experienced hotter-than-normal summer marked by persistent heatwaves and above-normal temperatures and India’s peak power demand surged to an all-time high of 270.8 GW in May 2026. Consequently, the country’s energy consumption touched 485.4 BUs in Q1FY27, registering a YoY growth of 8.8%,” IEX said in its regulatory filing.
Pharmaceutical companies will now be rewarded for using superior packaging solutions or tweaking dosage forms of their medicines if they can convince the price regulator that such practices have a therapeutic value for patients. In addition, they can sell the same drug at different prices among bulk buyers like hospitals and retail consumers citing the different pack sizes required. The government has introduced flexibility in determining the ceiling prices of “essential” drugs regulated under the Drug Prices Control Order (DPCO) 2013. Instead of notifying a single, uniform ceiling price for any “scheduled essential drug”, which are identified based on the active molecule, its specified standard dosage and strength—the price regulator will now factor in the specialised physical formats in which it is sold. The notified price caps could vary depending on the format and their efficacy for the patients.
The Maharashtra government has identified Dighi in Raigad district as the preferred location for a ‘mega greenfield shipbuilding cluster’ estimated at more than Rs 20,000 crore, with state-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) being approached to serve as the anchor shipyard. Mumbai Port Authority Chairman M Angamuthu said the project has moved into a more concrete phase, adding that the site is a good location for the proposed cluster.
The Public Relations industry is witnessing a decisive shift as it matures in a new era dominated by AI. According to the Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI), the Indian PR industry grew 11% in FY26 to reach ₹3,230 crore, accounting for 12.6% of the Asia-Pacific market. The highlights a major market shift: between 2022 and 2026, the government’s share of top client categories nearly tripled from 4% to 11%. During this period, private corporations – the industry’s traditional backbone – saw their share decline from 48% to 42%. Start-ups have nearly quadrupled their share, from 6% to 22% over the same period, the data showed.
The government has nearly doubled its commitment to India’s sovereign-anchored infrastructure fund. The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) will raise its second infrastructure-focused vehicle, a roughly Rs 30,000-crore successor to the fund that has already built ports, roads, data centres and renewable energy platforms across the country. According to those tracking the fund, the eventual beneficiaries will not be any single company or promoter group, but the broader universe of transportation, energy, digital infrastructure and e-mobility projects that the money is meant to seed.
The Rs 10,000-crore jet fuel price stabilisation programme has failed to take off, with no airline signing up for the scheme as a decline in international oil prices eroded its appeal, sources said. The Union Cabinet last month approved a one-time Rs 10,000-crore scheme to compensate state-owned fuel retailers for selling aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to airlines at capped prices for upto three years, aiming to shield carriers from surging fuel costs triggered by the West Asia crisis. The scheme was voluntary, and airlines were to sign agreements with oil marketing companies to avail of the capped price of about Rs 115 per litre. However, no airline has signed up for the scheme so far, sources said.
State-run oil marketing companies incurred a loss of ₹74,781 crore in the April-June quarter by selling fuels below market prices, oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at a press conference on Thursday. Puri remained noncommittal on cutting domestic pump prices despite the recent decline in global crude prices, saying refiners are still processing higher-priced crude purchased earlier. Refiners typically order crude one to two months in advance and keep a two-week inventory at their facilities. He did not clarify whether the companies were still incurring losses.
The largest impetus to India's renewable energy sector comes from the enormous growth in solar power, which is significant for global climate action, and also for countries like Norway, a top representative of Renewables Norway has said. Speaking to PTI Videos, Bard Vegar Solhjell, CEO of Fornybar Norge (Renewables Norway) highlighted that if India can develop manufacturing capacity across the value chain, from rare earth minerals to solar wafers and cells, it could become an exporter to European nations like Norway.
India has allowed four Chinese power equipment manufacturers with factories in the country to participate in government tenders for critical power projects, according to a government order. TBEA Energy, Nanjing Electric India, New Northeast Electric India and Taikai Electric (India) will be allowed to participate in the tenders, the order from India's Ministry of Finance dated June 24 and reviewed by Reuters said.
The series of free trade agreements (FTAs) finalised by India, including the ones with the UK and the European Union, will give a major boost to toy exports, according to industry officials. Under the free trade agreements with the EU and UK, Indian toys will get zero duty access, Toy Association of India Chairman Manu Giota said. At present, the products face about 5-6 per cent import duty in these two markets.
Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani and Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal have joined a newly launched global commission on artificial intelligence that brings together more than 40 world leaders, technology executives and heads of multilateral organisations to steer the responsible development and adoption of Al. The Al for Good Global Commission, announced on July 3 by Rwanda President Paul Kagame, Salesforce chair and CEO Marc Benioff, and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) secretary-general Doreen Bogdan-Martin, aims to define practical pathways to strengthen trust in Al, expand access to the technology and accelerate its use in addressing global challenges.
India’s information technology services companies are expected to report another subdued performance for the April-June quarter, as weak discretionary spending, delayed client decision-making and uncertainty around artificial intelligence (AI) continuing to weigh on revenue growth, analysts said. Mid-tier IT firms are expected to outperform larger peers, supported by large deal ramp-ups and acquisitions, while Tier-I companies are likely to post muted sequential growth, they added. Among large-cap companies, Infosys and Tech Mahindra are expected to perform relatively better.
Passenger vehicle sales clocked 3,97,607 units in June 2026, up 24.14 % from 3,20,278 units a year earlier, with robust demand for SUVs and small cars driving double-digit growth for most automakers, while Hyundai’s performance was hit by supply disruptions. Maruti Suzuki India retained its leadership with domestic passenger vehicle sales rising 23.7 % year-on-year to 147,187 units. Growth was broad-based, with entry-level models Alto and S-Presso posting a 78 % jump to 11,416 units. The compact portfolio comprising Baleno, Swift, Dzire, WagonR, Celerio, Ignis and Ciaz grew 15.6 % to 63,815 units. SUVs remained the biggest growth driver, with Brezza, Fronx, Grand Vitara, e Vitara, Ertiga, Jimny, Invicto, Victoris and XL6 sales rising 28.7 % to 61,726 units, while Eeco MPV sales increased 9.5 % to 10,230 units.
The Ministry of Tourism on Tuesday partnered with Google India to strengthen the digital promotion of Indian tourism destinations using AI and data-driven insights, even as a new NITI Aayog report warned that attracting more travellers alone will not be enough unless India rapidly expands tourism infrastructure and eases regulations for investors. The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Google India to leverage digital technologies, AI, travel trends and consumer insights to promote Indian destinations among domestic and international travellers. The collaboration will also include capacity-building programmes for ministry officials on digital marketing, content creation and AI.
India's carbonated soft drinks market is heating up with ITC introducing a premium sugar-free cola, joining Reliance Industries, to challenge global giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Launched under ITC's B Natural beverage portfolio, the Coconut Cola drink is made with tender coconut water. The company is initially retailing it through quick commerce platforms as a pilot before a wider rollout, targeting the country's fastest-growing diet cola segment. ITC is also planning to expand its carbonated beverages portfolio with additional flavours and variants. ITC chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri told ET the company will continue to augment its beverages business with new flavours, variants and pack sizes.
A quiet stretch of Andhra Pradesh's coastline is now attracting some of the biggest names in technology. Google is investing $15 billion. Reliance-backed Digital Connexion has announced plans worth billions more. It has reportedly unveiled a Rs 98,000 crore (about $11 billion) AI infrastructure plan, while Meta is also said to be planning a significant presence in the city — all pointing to an unlikely destination for India's next AI infrastructure boom: Visakhapatnam (Vizag). What was once primarily known as a port city is now being seen as the foundation of a new kind of technology ecosystem: one built around data centres, subsea cables, power infrastructure and the computing capacity required to power artificial intelligence.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has urged the power regulator to retain a separate deviation settlement mechanism (DSM) for wind and solar projects, arguing that renewable generators should not be treated on par with conventional power plants. In its comments on the draft Deviation Settlement Mechanism and Related Matters (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026, the ministry said renewable energy generation is inherently weather-dependent and cannot be equated with controllable output from thermal or other conventional plants. The draft regulations propose treating future wind and solar generators like other electricity sellers for DSM charges and changing the benchmark used for certain contract-rate calculations.
Electric car and two-wheeler sales gathered fresh momentum in June, with e-cars growing at a fast clip, as a wider choice of models, higher fuel prices, improving charging infrastructure and growing consumer confidence accelerated the shift towards cleaner mobility. Vehicle registration data from the government's Vahan portal, covering the top 10 manufacturers in both segments, showed e-two-wheeler registrations surged 62% year-on-year to 170,426 units in June. E-car registrations, however, more than doubled to 30,454 units, signalling that the transition to electric mobility is firmly underway.
NITI Aayog is working on policy recommendations, including royalty and incentive mechanisms, to encourage the extraction of critical minerals and strengthen India's critical mineral value chain amid rising demand from clean energy and advanced technologies, Anupam Lahiri, Principal Director (Minerals) and Additional Director General at NITI Aayog, said on Wednesday. "We are working on policy prescriptions. One aspect is what the royalty should be so that state governments are compensated, but more importantly, how incentivisation can come for the mine owner so that they can invest in extracting the critical minerals," Lahiri said.
The Centre cut the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) for domestic airlines by Rs 5 per litre, bringing the effective rate down to Rs 110 per litre, even as it revised export duties on petrol, diesel and ATF a day earlier under its fortnightly review mechanism. Export levies revised for new fortnight The Ministry of Finance on Tuesday issued two notifications updating the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) applicable to fuel exports for the fortnight beginning July 1. The export duty on petrol has been fixed at Rs 4 per litre, while diesel will attract Rs 8.5 per litre. The Road and Infrastructure Cess on both fuels remains nil, meaning the SAED alone constitutes the entire export levy.
The government on Tuesday raised the export duty on petrol while lowering levies on diesel and aviation turbine fuel for the fortnight beginning July 1, recalibrating the tax structure in line with movements in global crude and product prices. The special additional excise duty on petrol exports has been increased to ₹4 per litre from ₹1.5 per litre. In contrast, the levy on diesel exports has been cut to ₹8.5 per litre from ₹14 per litre, while the duty on ATF has been reduced to ₹7.5 per litre from ₹12.5 per litre.
India’s office market continued to attract global institutional capital in the first half of 2026, with Delhi-NCR emerging as the biggest investment destination as Global Capability Centre (GCC) expansion drove demand for income-generating office assets, according to Knight Frank India. The property consultancy said private equity (PE) investments in Indian real estate stood at $1.13 billion in H1 2026, down 23% from $1.47 billion a year earlier. Despite the decline, office assets accounted for nearly 89% of total investments, while Delhi-NCR attracted the highest inflows among the country’s top eight property markets.
The government on Tuesday extended the nil customs duty on imports of 40 critical petrochemical products by 15 days to July 15, seeking to prevent supply disruptions and ease cost pressures on downstream industries as conditions linked to the West Asia crisis gradually normalise. The full duty exemption, introduced on April 2, was due to expire on June 30. The finance ministry said the measure had been provided as temporary and targeted relief to maintain adequate domestic availability after Indian petroleum companies were asked to prioritise LPG production.
India’s annual solar installations could jump nearly 70% to about 85 GW by FY30 from around 50 GW in FY27, as rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence-led data centres, green hydrogen and battery storage opens up a new growth cycle beyond the country’s already sizeable utility project pipeline, according to an Equirus Securities report. The report estimates that these emerging demand segments, along with the use of existing grid connectivity during non-solar hours, could add 15–20 GW of incremental solar demand every year from FY29—a requirement that is not currently captured in Central Electricity Authority forecasts or analyst estimates.
India’s electric vehicle (EV) market has crossed an inflection point, with adoption moving beyond early enthusiasts into the mainstream, prompting Tata Motors to shift its focus from creating demand to expanding production capacity. Speaking on the sidelines of the Sierra EV launch, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, said India’s EV journey is diverging from global trends. “As far as India is concerned, the story is completely different from what is happening across the world,” he said.
India is poised to emerge as a global hub for data centres. ICICI Securities projects “multi-billion-dollar investments to ensue over the next decade”. Rising mobile data consumption and massive artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud adoption remain the key growth drivers. However, what’s really giving India an edge over global countries are scalable power pools, government policies and a strong pipeline.
India’s power sector is entering a new phase of its energy transition, with battery energy storage systems (BESS) emerging as a critical pillar of the country’s renewable energy strategy as electricity demand continues to climb, according to HSBC. The brokerage said operational BESS capacity has reached 2.7 GW/7.5 GWh, with May alone adding 1.6 GWh of storage capacity as renewable energy developers increasingly capitalise on merchant arbitrage opportunities. It added that battery storage is already playing a meaningful role in balancing the grid, contributing up to 4.5 GW during evening peak demand while charging during solar generation hours.
The Union health ministry has proposed amendments to the Medical Devices Rules, 2017 to shorten the timelines for the grant of manufacturing licences for medical devices across different risk categories. The draft notification, published in the official gazette, seeks to simplify and expedite the licensing process while ensuring continued compliance with quality, safety and performance requirements, the ministry said on Sunday The proposed amendments seek to rationalise the timelines for the grant of manufacturing licences for medical devices across different risk categories. The initiative is aimed at enhancing the ease of doing business, improving regulatory efficiency, and facilitating the timely availability of quality medical devices in the country, the ministry said.
Automobiles have emerged as the biggest driver of India's export growth to Japan, with their share in outbound shipments rising sharply from just one percent in FY21 to 13 percent in FY26, reflecting the country's increasing integration into Japan-linked automotive value chains, according to a report. Exports of engineering and industrial products also gained prominence, with unwrought aluminium, turbo jets and propellers increasing their shares from 3 percent to 6 percent and 1 percent to 6 percent, respectively, it said.
India is poised to become one of the world’s fastest-growing retail lending markets. This is according to Anand Rathi estimate. They expect to see more than $1 trillion opportunity, in India’s retail lending market, over the next few years. Rapid expansion of digital lending, improving household incomes and supportive government policies are seen as the key catalysts. “Retail credit has grown 2-3x faster than corporate since FY22. The growth alpha sits squarely in retail – accessible via NBFCs, fintechs, and co-lending vehicles,” Anand Rathi noted.
The Delhi government has approved its much-anticipated Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announcing that the new policy will come into effect from July 1 as part of an aggressive push to accelerate the capital’s transition toward clean mobility. The policy, cleared by the Delhi Cabinet on Monday, will see the government invest nearly Rs 15,000 crore over the next four years, while aiming to ensure that 95% of all new vehicle registrations in Delhi are electric by 2027. Rs 15,000 crore investment planned over four years The new EV policy is being positioned as a major step in strengthening Delhi’s leadership in electric mobility adoption. According to the government, the large-scale investment will focus on expanding EV infrastructure, accelerating adoption and supporting consumers through direct incentives.
The Centre on Monday lifted the temporary restrictions on the sale of petrol and diesel to commercial, industrial and institutional consumers through public sector retail outlets, restoring normal fuel sales from July 1 after the domestic supply situation improved following disruptions caused by the West Asia crisis. The rollback ends the emergency 200-litre daily cap on diesel sales imposed on June 12 to curb diversion, hoarding and black marketing after a sharp gap emerged between retail and bulk diesel prices.
The government is planning to introduce a scheme to promote the adoption of clean technologies in steelmaking processes with an outlay of Rs 5,000 crore, according to an official. The move is aimed at reducing carbon emissions from the domestic steel industry. The scheme named National Strategy for Sustainable Secondary Steel is expected to be launched in the next three months, a senior government official told PTI. "The scheme may go for approval of the union cabinet," another official in the know of the development said.
At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last month, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh stated that India has signed a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile deal with Vietnam. A similar agreement with Indonesia, he said, was in its final stages. These are just a few of many. Going back a few years, the Philippines had signed India's first-ever BrahMos export contract in January 2022 for $375 million, covering three shore-based coastal defence missile batteries, according to Reuters. The first battery was delivered in April 2024, the second in April 2025, and the third is currently in the pipeline.
India’s car market is witnessing a shift in consumer behaviour. Even as household incomes rise and new vehicle sales continue to grow, more buyers are turning towards used cars, seeing pre-owned vehicles not as a compromise but as a practical financial choice. According to a Redseer report, India’s used-car market is expected to expand significantly over the next five years, reaching a value of around $70 billion by FY31. Annual sales are projected to touch 9-10 million vehicles, with the sector expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14-18%.
Capacity augmentation, technological innovation and value-added applications will be critical for India to become a global leader in stainless steel production, a top industry executive said. India's stainless-steel industry stands at a defining moment. With sustained investments in capacity expansion, technological advancement, product innovation, and value-added applications, India has the potential to emerge as a global hub for stainless steel manufacturing, Abhyuday Jindal, the Managing Director of Jindal Stainless, said.
An analysis of 37 dairies by Crisil Ratings, accounting for 60% of the organised segment’s revenue, show that the revenue growth of the organised dairy sector is expected to accelerate by 200–400 basis points this fiscal, over a healthy print of 11% growth estimated for last fiscal. This uptick will be supported by a sustained volume growth of 8–10% and staggered price increases. Volume growth will be driven by the non-discretionary nature of milk and traditional dairy products such as butter and ghee and growing demand for value-added offerings. Price hikes will stem from higher procurement cost of raw milk amid increased production expenses and slower milk supply growth. These hikes will help players sustain their operating profitability in the face of rising input costs. Given the strong growth momentum, players are expected to sustain their capex momentum in line with average of past 4 years.
India’s renewable electricity generation climbed nearly 24% in 2025, while electricity generation from coal, oil and natural gas declined, even as the world recorded another year of record energy demand and fossil fuel consumption. India’s emissions rose just 0.9%, below the global average of 1.1% and significantly lower than the US’ 3.2%, highlighting a contrasting energy transition as global energy demand grew 1.7% and every major fuel reached an all-time high, according to the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy. The report, released by the Energy Institute in partnership with Ember and in collaboration with Kearney and KPMG, shows that while the global energy transition gathered momentum, rising demand continued to outpace decarbonisation efforts. Total energy supply increased 1.7% in 2025, with oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear energy and renewables all reaching record consumption levels for the second consecutive year.
Export consignments to West Asia will now get enhanced insurance cover against default in payments till September 30. Earlier the enhanced cover for exporters taking credit risk insurance from Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) was available for shipments to West Asia sent between March 16 and June 15. The enhanced risk cover announced in March was part of the Resilience and Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation (RELIEF) scheme under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) to support exports to West Asia in view of the war in the region.
South Korean Ambassador Lee Seong-ho said on Monday that the nation wants to deepen its economic and strategic partnership with India through fresh investments in shipbuilding, defence manufacturing and industrial projects. The envoy said Seoul now sees India as a key partner in its long-term growth strategy as global supply chains shift and geopolitical challenges reshape Asia. In an interview with ANI, Lee said South Korea hopes to launch a “second wave” of investments in India that goes beyond the automobile and electronics sectors, which drove Korean business expansion in the country during the 1990s.
Indian air-conditioning brands are preparing to head to Europe, prompted by spiralling demand for cooling appliances amid unprecedented heatwaves this year and global warming prospects only growing. They will, however, be facing competition from Chinese and South Korean companies, which currently dominate the European market and are said to have production costs 15-18% lower than those of Indian manufacturers. Indian companies can potentially begin selling only from 2027.
The government has taken a major step towards expanding India's semiconductor ecosystem, with the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) clearing an outlay of Rs 1.25 lakh crore for the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0, CNBC-TV18 reported, citing sources. According to the report, the EFC approved the proposed outlay at its meeting last week, paving the way for the next phase of the mission to be placed before the Union Cabinet for final approval. Sources told CNBC-TV18 that ISM 2.0 will be geared towards the entire semiconductor value chain, spanning chip design, fabrication and packaging, broadening the scope of the government's semiconductor push.
As aI reshapes the global IT services industry, acquisitions are emerging as the fastest route to growth. With enterprises tightening discretionary technology spending and AI reducing demand for people-intensive services, companies are increasingly buying specialised capabilities instead of building them organically. Global consulting giant Accenture’s decision to raise its acquisition budget for FY26 to about $9 billion from an earlier target of $5 billion reflects that shift. The company expects deals already announced to contribute nearly 2% of its FY27 revenue, underscoring the growing role of inorganic growth in its business model.
Smart appliance startups, once largely ignored by venture capital investors, are entering an aggressive expansion phase as funding fuels offline retail, product development and manufacturing capabilities, signalling that the consumer hardware segment is finally beginning to scale. The shift comes after years of scepticism over whether consumers would pay a premium for connected appliances and whether startups could compete with established electronics brands. Before the pandemic, nearly 30 startups in the segment shut down amid weak demand and limited investor interest. But growing adoption of smart kitchens, home security systems, energy-efficient appliances and connected home products has changed that outlook.
Every time a shopper asks ChatGPT which running shoe to buy, Gemini to recommend a frozen meal, or Claude to suggest a skincare product, an invisible battle is playing out among brands. Unlike Google search, where dozens of results compete for attention, AI assistants typically recommend only a handful of products. For brands that fail to make that shortlist, it is the digital equivalent of disappearing from the shelf altogether. That shift in consumer discovery is quietly creating an entirely new layer of commerce infrastructure. As conversational AI increasingly becomes the first stop for shopping decisions, companies are scrambling to figure out how to make their products surface inside ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other AI assistants.
When Prabhjeet Singh takes charge as OpenAI’s India managing director later this year, he will leave behind one of the best-known consumer technology companies for one of the world’s most closely watched artificial intelligence firms. At one level, it is another high-profile executive transition. At another, it marks the point where India’s AI story is becoming less about technology and more about execution. Singh’s tenure at Uber may not have prepared him to build large language models, but it may have prepared him for something equally important: building a business in one of the world’s most complex and unpredictable markets.
Tiruppur, India’s knitwear capital, will transition towards a manufacturing mix of 50% cotton and 50% man-made fibre (MMF)-based products to tap emerging global export opportunities, industry leaders announced on Sunday during Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh’s visit to the textile hub. A Sakthivel, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and Honorary Chairman of the Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA), said the cluster would place special emphasis on the production and export of MMF garments in line with changing global demand.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (June 28) used his monthly radio broadcast ‘Mann Ki Baat’ to underline how India is steadily becoming more self-reliant across defence, technology and manufacturing, citing major milestones ranging from the maiden flight of the made-in-India C-295 aircraft to the successful test of an indigenous long-range cruise missile. PM Modi said June had brought several achievements that fill every citizen with pride, and argued that these developments show a country moving from dependence to domestic capability “from the seas to the skies.” PM Narendra Modi remarks came as the government continues to push for a stronger indigenous industrial base, especially in strategic sectors where imports have traditionally dominated.
For decades, India’s aviation security ecosystem has been dominated by imported technologies. From X-ray baggage scanners and explosive detection systems to advanced passenger screening equipment, airports have largely relied on global manufacturers for critical security infrastructure. The change is being driven by two parallel developments: India’s rapid airport expansion and the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat push to strengthen technological self-reliance in strategic sectors. As new airports come up under the country’s aviation expansion plans and existing ones modernise, domestic companies are increasingly competing in a space that was once almost exclusively occupied by foreign vendors.
The shares of Waaree Energies crashed nearly 5% on Monday after the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ruling, with JM Financial highlighting the possible impact on the company's reputation even after the solar module-maker issued a clarification. The shares of the company dropped to Rs 2,860.40 apiece on NSE on Monday morning, the lowest level seen by the stock since March 17 this year. The US Customs and Border Protection had initiated a formal investigation into Waaree and its US subsidiary, Waaree Solar Americas Inc., over suspected evasion of anti-dumping and countervailing duties. The probe stems from a 2025 petition filed by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which had pointed to data showing Waaree's sharply rising imports of Chinese solar cells into India and subsequently to the US.
Residential sales have dipped to 90,715 units in April-June quarter, lowest since January 2023, as persistent uncertainty amid the West Asia war and supply chain disruptions impacted the sentiments across the country, according to Anarock data. With 4,04,005 units sold in FY26, the numbers are lowest since FY23. As per the data sales dropped 6%, with 90,715 units sold in the quarter against 96,285 units in Q2 2025. On Q-o-Q basis, housing sales fell 11% “These numbers are along expected lines, as the Middle East war’s impacts on the entire sector were all too obvious. However, the most sales growth now is in premium housing, GCC-led employment hubs, and infrastructure-driven corridors. Also, the Middle East war’s disruptions and, inevitably, AI-related uncertainties in the IT/ITeS sector have pushed more buyers onto the fence,” said Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Group.
In FY26, revenue for auto ancillaries grew 12.5 per cent year-on-year, led by healthy volume growth across segments and an improved product mix. According to a research report by Elara Capital, this top-line expansion was accompanied by a 13.3 per cent growth in absolute EBITDA, although the aggregate operating margin remained flat at 13.6 per cent. The report noted that out of the 59 listed auto component manufacturers analyzed in the study, 25 firms reported a contraction in their operating margins. Across segments, the suspension braking and multiproduct categories led the revenue expansion, registering year-on-year growth of 16 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. In terms of profitability, tyres, lighting, and suspension segments outperformed with a 17 per cent EBITDA growth, whereas forgings and batteries posted a degrowth of 4 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday confirmed that Ministry of Commerce will deploy 1,000 advisory personnel across the country to upgrade its trade portal to help exporters maximise benefits under the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which is scheduled to be effective from July 15. During his address at the 10th Annual UK-India Week in London, Goyal said, “The India-UK partnership has expanded beyond traditional trade to encompass strategic sectors such as technology, sovereign AI, critical minerals, defence and clean energy.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day State Visit to Seychelles marked a major step in deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries. Both sides signed a series of agreements covering digital payments, maritime security, artificial intelligence, cyber security, space cooperation and development projects. India also announced a Rs 1,250 crore Line of Credit, handed over humanitarian assistance and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Seychelles’ development priorities. Addressing a special media briefing in Victoria, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the visit showed the importance India attaches to its partnership with Seychelles under the MAHASAGAR vision and India’s broader engagement with the Global South. “As you would be aware, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a state visit to the Republic of Seychelles from June 27 to 29 at the invitation of His Excellency President Herminie. This visit comes on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the independence of Seychelles. It is also a happy coincidence that it is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Seychelles,” Misri said.
India is making a decisive bet on semiconductors as it looks to move beyond the foundational gains of Digital India into the next phase of technological self-reliance. The government recently approved 12 semiconductor projects worth about Rs 1.64 lakh crore amid efforts to build a national AI ecosystem backed by over 45,000 GPUs. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said on Saturday that India was turning firmly towards “the frontier domains of artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing” to define its technological future. Chip manufacturing is no longer a distant ambition but a core industrial priority for the country as the Digital India programme completes 11 years.
At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last month, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh stated that India has signed a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile deal with Vietnam. A similar agreement with Indonesia, he said, was in its final stages. These are just a few of many. Going back a few years, the Philippines had signed India's first-ever BrahMos export contract in January 2022 for $375 million, covering three shore-based coastal defence missile batteries, according to Reuters. The first battery was delivered in April 2024, the second in April 2025, and the third is currently in the pipeline.
India is set to become the world’s second-largest solar market in 2026 as the country emerges as one of the fastest-growing solar power markets globally, with cumulative installed solar capacity crossing 150 GW in March 2026. According to technology and analytics firm Rubix Data Sciences, India improved its global ranking from ninth place in 2015 to third place in cumulative installed solar capacity by 2025. The sector has seen some near term challenges such as a steep tariff barrier from the US, India’s largest export market for solar modules, along with lower domestic demand compared to India’s manufacturing capacity and an increased dependence on China for photovoltaic (PV) cell imports. Despite these challenges, Rubix remains confident about the sector.
India’s airport infrastructure is increasingly moving beyond runways and passenger terminals. Adani Airport City Limited (AACL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), has unveiled plans to develop integrated airport cities across six airports, betting that aviation hubs can also emerge as centres for business, hospitality, retail and entertainment. The first phase of the programme involves an investment of more than Rs 20,000 crore to develop nearly 22 million square feet across airports in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur and Guwahati. The company plans to transform airport land into mixed-use urban districts designed to serve not only travellers but also businesses and surrounding communities.
he commercial vehicle (CV) industry is expected to sustain its growth trajectory in FY2027, although at a slower pace than last year, as a high base moderates year-on-year gains. Rating agency ICRA has projected domestic CV wholesale volumes to grow 4-6% this fiscal, supported by continued infrastructure spending, replacement demand and improving freight movement, even as higher fuel prices and financing constraints remain key risks. The outlook comes after a strong start to the fiscal. Domestic CV wholesale volumes rose 13.5% year-on-year in May, while retail sales increased 5.3%, aided by the lingering benefits of GST rate cuts, stronger rural demand and a favourable base. In the first two months of FY2027, wholesale dispatches were up 15% over the year-ago period, reflecting sustained demand despite a sequential moderation.
Climate change has become a growing concern for manufacturers in India — with the impact felt by hundreds of MSMEs. A new report by WRI India found that extreme heat and flooding were now affecting productivity and disrupting operations. Businesses operating in the country also face cascading shocks from these unpredictable weather events, leading to infrastructural failures and economic pressures “Heat stress is affecting labour productivity, workforce well-being, and operational efficiency, while floods are damaging assets, disrupting logistics, interrupting supply chains, and constraining market access. Together, these risks are reshaping the conditions under which MSMEs operate, compete, and grow,” the report began.
The domestic aviation sector faces a much tougher FY27, with projected industry losses nearly tripling to ₹36,000-38,000 crore from earlier estimates and passenger growth forecasts being cut as the West Asia conflict, elevated fuel prices and a weakening rupee squeeze airline finances. The latest aviation outlook report by ICRA, released on Friday, has sharply revised its FY27 net loss estimate for the industry to ₹36,000-38,000 crore from its earlier projection of ₹11,000-12,000 crore. It has also revised its FY26 loss estimate upwards to ₹32,000-34,000 crore from ₹17,000-18,000 crore estimated earlier, reflecting the impact of the prolonged geopolitical conflict, higher aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, rupee depreciation and rising aircraft lease rentals.
The government’s temporary custom duty exemption on cotton is expected to ease cost pressures on textile manufacturers. Industry officials and sector experts, however, argue that the measure reveals deeper challanges confronting India’s $190 billion textile and apparel industry. They point to persistent challenges in productivity, quality, and global competitiveness that require structural reforms instead of temporary tariff interventions. Notably, the government on May 30, 2026, announced a temporary exemption on customs duties on cotton imports between June 1 and October 31, 2026. The measure aims to ensure adequate cotton availability for the textile industry, support MSMEs, moderate input costs, and strengthen the competitiveness of Indian textiles while safeguarding farmers’ interests.
Fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have begun picking up following an interim deal to end the Iran war, data showed, though analysts say it will take time before they return to pre-conflict levels and provide relief to the market. Before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on February 28, about a third of globally traded urea - the world's most widely used fertiliser - and nearly half of seaborne sulphur, a key input, typically flowed through the strait. The near closure of the critical waterway for most of the conflict, however, sharply reduced those shipments. Since the deal between Washington and Tehran was announced on June 15, around 640,000 metric tons of sulphur - critical for making fertilisers like diammonium phosphate, or DAP - have left the strait for destinations including Indonesia, Morocco, Tanzania and China, according to the latest analysis of flows by price reporting agency Argus. That compares to a total of just 80,000 tons over the course of the 3-1/2 month war.
India's refiners are poised to benefit from a rapidly improving business environment, fuelled by the retreat of crude prices to pre-war levels and expansion of cheaper supply options with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Benchmark Brent fell to around $72 a barrel Thursday, down from an average of $99 in first week of June and $109 during the three months till May. Russia has resumed offering discounts, reversing the hefty premiums it charged after the Iran war began. Refiners also expect to gain from Iran's re-entry into international markets, the UAE's exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the continued availability of large Russian volumes, developments that are likely to intensify competition among suppliers and strengthen buyers' bargaining power.
The renewable energy ministry has identified several products across solar modules, green hydrogen and the wind energy value chain, including solar inverters and electrodes and catalysts, for local manufacturing as part of the broader local manufacturing plan by the government to reduce dependence on disruption-prone imports. "This is an identification exercise for identifying priority items. Action plans will be worked out subsequently," a senior government official told ET. The Centre had constituted six sector-specific working groups to identify 100 products for promoting domestic manufacturing and reducing import dependence, with energy being one of them.
India's technology services industry is already generating an estimated $10-12 billion in revenue from artificial intelligence (AI) services, with nearly a quarter of companies moving Al projects from experimentation to production, according to industry body Nasscom, PTI reported. Speaking at the Nasscom US CEO Forum in New York, industry leaders said Al is creating fresh growth opportunities for technology services rather than replacing traditional IT work.
Demand for gold jewellery is starting to come back after moderating in May due to the rise in custom duties on the precious metal was raised to 15 percent, Sandeep Kohli, chief executive officer at Indriya Jewellery, from the house of Aditya Birla told Moneycontrol in an interview on Thursday. "The 9 percent hike in customs duty, not surprisingly, made people wait a bit before they absorbed the hike and adjusted to the new prices. Across the industry, footfalls were slow but demand has come back quite strongly in the last two weeks," the top executive said.
Smartphone brands are expecting a tepid festive season, with sales expected to decline 9-10% compared to last year, as sustained handset price hikes are weighing on demand, said industry executives and market trackers. Executives said brands are still finalising their festive season strategies. Their plans are getting hampered by persistent smartphone price increases and uncertainty over component spot prices next quarter. The expectation is that handset makers will still offer festive discounts, which has emerged as a crucial lever of driving sales in the Indian market. However, due to the baseline prices of phones going up, consumers will effectively get a discount on the higher price rather than a true markdown from current costs, analysts said.
The Centre is drawing up a scheme that could offer interest subvention, partial credit guarantees and capital subsidies to support electric bus purchases by private fleet owners, officials said. "A scheme is being worked out. It could offer incentives of around ₹12,000 crore," a senior official told ET. The proposed incentives could also include waivers of toll charges and vehicle registration fees, the official said, adding that a final decision on the scheme and its incentives will be taken soon. The proposed partial credit guarantee will de-risk lending by banks, while interest subvention could lower financing costs by 3-5%, encouraging wider adoption of electric buses, the official said.
India has received an assurance from the United States that trusted partners will continue to have access to advanced American artificial intelligence technologies without the risk of sudden restrictions. The assurance was shared by S. Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), during the 2nd Pax Silica Summit in Washington. His comments come as India and the US work to strengthen cooperation in AI, semiconductors and other critical technologies. India wanted clarity on future access Krishnan said India wanted a clear understanding of how the US plans to manage access to advanced AI technologies in the future. He explained that if India is expected to use these technologies across government services and digital infrastructure, access cannot suddenly be cut off.
India is emerging as Asia Pacific’s most AI-ready consumer market, with a majority of users showing strong interest in adopting personal artificial intelligence assistants, a trend that could unlock massive business opportunities for brands racing to capitalise on the next phase of the digital economy. According to the latest 2026 AI and Digital Trends Report released by Adobe, nearly 60% of Indian consumers are interested in creating their own personal AI agent, the highest among countries surveyed in the Asia Pacific region, revealing India’s rapidly growing appetite for AI-driven digital experiences. According to the Adobe report, the findings position India as a crucial growth market in the global AI economy, particularly as companies invest heavily in automation, customer experience technologies and next-generation AI-powered commerce.
As AI models become increasingly commoditised, the next phase of competition will be determined by how effectively companies harness their proprietary data, a shift that could play to India’s strengths as one of the world’s largest generators of digital data, according to Databricks. Companies globally are moving beyond AI experimentation and beginning to embed AI agents into business workflows and decision-making processes. In this environment, access to frontier models alone is unlikely to provide a sustainable advantage, said Nick Eayrs, vice-president, field engineering, Asia-Pacific and Japan at Databricks. “The real differentiator is no longer access to a particular model. It is the ability to combine those models with business data and business context to create agentic experiences and applications,” Eayrs told Fe.
India is seeking to broaden its textile manufacturing footprint beyond established hubs such as Tirupur and Surat, with the textiles ministry intensifying outreach to states with limited industry presence. "There are discussions with Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Jharkhand to facilitate development of textiles manufacturing in these states," an official said. The government is looking to attract more investments and ensure smoother implementation under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles, the person said. The sector is among the country's largest employment generators, directly employing more than 45 million people. At present, textiles manufacturing is largely concentrated in Tirupur, Surat, Panipat and Ludhiana. With the rollout of the third round of PLI, the ministry has set up a dedicated unit that will directly interface with companies and states.
The Union Health Ministry on Friday proposed easing residual shelf-life norms for imported drugs, requiring them to have a minimum remaining shelf life of 12 months at the time of import instead of the current threshold of more than 60% of total shelf life. The proposal, published as a draft notification for public consultation on June 22, aims to promote ease of doing business while ensuring patients continue to receive quality medicines with adequate usable shelf life. However, the existing requirement of a minimum residual shelf life of more than 60% will continue to apply to biological products and radiopharmaceuticals owing to their specialised nature and public health considerations.
Indian pharmaceutical companies are increasingly shifting their growth focus beyond the traditional US generics market, betting on specialty medicines, biosimilars, chronic therapies, and branded businesses in India and emerging markets to drive the next phase of expansion. Management commentary from major drugmakers, including Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Cipla, and Lupin, points to a broader industry transition towards higher-value products and geographically diversified revenue streams. One of the clearest signs of this shift comes from Sun Pharma. Its Global Innovative Medicines business crossed $1.4 billion in 2025-2026 (FY26) and now contributes more than 22 per cent of consolidated sales. The company said growth in emerging markets is increasingly being driven by innovative therapies alongside branded generics.
Despite electronics emerging as one of India's largest export categories, the country continues to remain heavily dependent on imports, with electronics imports exceeding exports by nearly 2.4 times in FY26. According to data from the Commerce Ministry, India's electronics exports stood at $47.69 billion during April 2025-March 2026, while imports were significantly higher at $116.18 billion, resulting in deficit of $68 billion. Electronics accounted for nearly 11% of India's total exports and about 15% of the country's import basket during the year. Industry executives say the widening trade gap is less a consequence of rising imports and more a reflection of India's inability to scale exports due to low domestic value addition and the absence of dedicated manufacturing ecosystems. Imports of electronic goods grew more than 17% during FY26, with accumulators and batteries registering the sharpest increase of nearly 51%. China remained the dominant source of imports, accounting for around 38% of India's imports of electronic instruments.
Odisha will invest more than Rs 50,000 crore in two major maritime projects—a deep‑sea port at Ganjam and a shipbuilding cluster in Paradip—Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced on the sidelines of the 14th Multi‑Agency Maritime Security Group (Policy) Meeting in Bhubaneswar. Developed with central government support, the projects are flagship infrastructure initiatives intended to strengthen the state’s port capacity, expand industrial activity along the coast and position Odisha as a strategic hub in India’s maritime economy. CM Majhi framed the investments within a broader vision of maritime security and economic opportunity, stressing that enhanced ports and shipbuilding capacity will boost regional growth, generate employment, and deepen the state’s contribution to the blue economy. He underlined the historical importance of Odisha’s 575‑km coastline and its longstanding trade links with Southeast Asia, arguing that modern maritime infrastructure will revive those connections and create new avenues for international commerce and collaboration. Announcing the plans after inaugurating the policy meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan, CM Majhi said the projects will also reinforce coastal security by improving infrastructure that supports maritime domain awareness and protection of critical assets. “To strengthen the state’s maritime infrastructure, we are building a deep seaport in Ganjam with the help of the Central Govt. In Paradip too, we are building a shipbuilding cluster. These are being built at an expenditure of more than Rs 50,000 Crores,” he said, signalling Odisha’s intent to align economic development with coordinated security and environmental stewardship.
Freight rates that surged during the recent West Asia crisis are expected to gradually moderate over the next few months as congestion eases and container backlogs clear at Mundra Port, officials tell FE. The vessel waiting time at Mundra, which had risen to between eight and ten days during the peak of the disruption, has now fallen to around two to three days. Authorities expect congestion to ease further in the coming days as the remaining backlog is cleared. “Now it is moving properly. Congestion is still there because a large volume of transshipment cargo remains at the terminals, but the situation is improving and should ease further over the next four to five days,” a senior port official said. Backlog Drastically Reduced The crisis had disrupted shipping schedules across the region, forcing containers to remain stranded at ports and creating severe pressure on logistics networks. At one stage, Mundra was holding between 70,000 and 80,000 containers linked to delayed cargo movements. That number has now dropped significantly, with only around 7,000-8,000 containers yet to be cleared.
India’s 28 big-listed real estate companies sold properties worth Rs 1.95 lakh crore in the last fiscal, driven by strong housing demand, with Godrej Properties clocking the highest sales bookings, a PTI report shows. According to the data compiled by PTI from investor presentations, the total combined sales bookings or pre-sales of the 28 major listed realtors stood at nearly Rs 1.95 lakh crore during the 2025-26 financial year, up 17 percent from over Rs 1.66 lakh crore in the preceding fiscal. Godrej leads, DLF trails Godrej Properties, which has a presence across major cities, retained the position of the largest listed realty firm in terms of sales bookings in FY26. As per the data, Godrej Properties’ sales bookings last fiscal rose to Rs 34,171 crore from Rs 29,444 crore in the preceding year.
The government may ask airlines to review surge charges and additional fares if crude oil prices remain stable over a longer period, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said on Thursday. Currently, the Centre reviews Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices on a fortnightly basis, based on movement of global crude prices. Besides it has also created a Rs 10,000 crore price stabilisation fund to support airlines in times of distress due to the ongoing US-Iran war. Naidu said the Centre was closely monitoring ATF prices and was in discussions with airlines to assess whether the recent decline in prices was sustainable.
The majority of India’s planned renewable energy infrastructure will be exposed to escalating climate hazards, putting about $55 billion of physical assets at risk of damage by the end of this decade, according to a new study. Some 239 gigawatts of proposed solar, wind and hydropower capacity across 10 Indian states — about 90% of the total — face high or critical vulnerabilities to compounding weather events like tornadoes, wildfires and extreme floods, Zurich Insurance Group AG said in an assessment published Thursday. “It hits the balance sheet,” Mark Fletcher, head of Zurich Resilience Solutions for Asia Pacific, said in an interview. “If your solar panel is less efficient, you’re generating less revenue. If your wind farm is blown down and you have four or five turbines damaged, you have a business interruption on the revenue side, but you also have a direct cost to fix that.”
30 India-bound ships have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, sources in the shipping ministry told The Times of India, adding that 26 other vessels are waiting to cross the critical sea route which has been disrupted since the US-Iran war began on February 28. 15 of the transited ships carried Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), whil eight others had bulk cargo and seven were crude oil tankers. Officials cited by TOI said that 19 transits happened between March 1 and June 17 and 11 crossed the strait following the signing of the MoU between Washington and Tehran.
Eversource Capital-backed mobility platform Lithium Urban Technologies on Thursday said it has secured a strategic investment from JSW Green Mobility as it looks to achieve three-fold growth over the next two years. The move is aimed at accelerating the company's expansion amid rising demand for reliable, technology-enabled and sustainable mobility solutions that continue to grow across enterprise and digital mobility ecosystems, it said. Lithium Urban Technologies said its planned expansion is expected to create 12,000-15,000 jobs while strengthening the company's integrated e-mobility platform.
India needs to step up from incremental progress to innovation at scale to fulfill its ambition of becoming a global discovery hub, according to Dr Reddy's Laboratories Chairman Satish Reddy. This requires stronger translational research pathways to ensure that scientific discoveries translate into meaningful patient impact, he said while releasing a white paper titled 'Translational Research Ecosystem: Learnings from the World & Building for India' by the company. The white paper highlights the growing importance of translational science as the critical bridge between discovery and real-world healthcare impact, sitting at the intersection of scientific innovation, multidisciplinary collaboration, funding, regulation, clinical development, policymaking and commercialisation.
Despite the absence of a specific law prohibiting goods linked to forced labour across supply chains, Indian manufacturers ranging from textiles and apparel to auto components, processed foods and steel have put in place stringent frameworks, including multi-layered compliance mechanisms, traceability systems, documentation protocols and adherence to global ESG standards. These measures, industry executives say, help manufacturers uphold ethical sourcing practices, mitigate forced labour risks and strengthen India’s position as a trusted partner in global supply chains. While domestic regulations prohibit forced labour within the country, the issue has gained fresh relevance following the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) proposal to impose a 12.5% tariff under Section 301 on imports from India and several regional peers. The proposed levy targets countries deemed to have inadequate safeguards against goods produced using forced labour anywhere in their supply chains.
In a major push to strengthen its fast-growing private space ecosystem, India has announced plans to transfer technology related to its flagship Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to domestic private companies, marking a significant step in the country’s efforts to expand indigenous rocket production and become a global hub for satellite launches. According to Bloomberg, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre Chairman Pawan Goenka said the government has released an Expression of Interest (EOI) inviting private sector participation for technology transfer of the PSLV, one of India’s most successful and reliable launch vehicles developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The “workhorse” of the Indian space program has been used for deep-space exploration, including the historic Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan missions.As of December 2024, PSLV has launched as mnay as 360 foreign satellites from 36 countries.
The Indian government has issued a sharp clarification following a series of “misleading and unsubstantiated claims” about ethanol blended petrol. The Oil Ministry has also dismissed claims that the use of E20 fuel could affect the validity of vehicle insurance policies. “Old images and videos are being recirculated in an apparent attempt to garner viewership through sensationalism and create unwarranted concerns regarding ethanol-blended fuel. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas reiterates that the Ethanol Blending Programme is scientifically validated and continuously monitored by the Government,” an official statement began. It also noted that implementation was constantly monitored by the government in consultation with oil marketing companies, automobile manufacturers, fuel testing agencies and other stakeholders. The Ministry insisted that no widespread issues of engine failure or vehicle breakdown attributable to ethanol blending have been reported since the introduction of E20 petrol.
The government has raised the target of critical mineral exploration projects to be completed by 2031 to 2,000 from 1,200 planned earlier, Mines Secretary Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. The target is set under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM). Speaking at an event here, organised by the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI), he said, “So far, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has completed 571 exploration projects, while another 300 projects are expected to be completed during the current year.” Also, against the target of auctioning 100 critical mineral blocks by 2031, 56 blocks have already been auctioned, and the ministry expects to take the number to over 200 by the end of the mission period.
In a major push to strengthen the defence manufacturing ecosystem in India and accelerate self-reliance in military production, the Centre is working on an ambitious plan to establish seven specialised defence manufacturing clusters across the country, according to a report published by BusinessLine. The proposed initiative is aimed at creating region-specific defence hubs that can significantly boost indigenous production, innovation, exports, and reduce India’s dependence on foreign military imports. This development is being seen as a crucial step under Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision, with the government looking to transform India from one of the world’s largest arms importers into a major global defence manufacturing hub. Why is the government setting up these defence clusters? The Defence Ministry is reportedly holding multiple rounds of consultations to create a new defence manufacturing framework that brings together state governments, private industry, research institutions, startups and academia under a single integrated ecosystem.
India’s hotel industry is bracing for a stronger second half of the fiscal year, with sector executives and analysts pointing to easing geopolitical tensions and resilient domestic demand as the key drivers, even as the March quarter bore the brunt of disruptions tied to the conflict in West Asia. A note from Nomura’s Global Markets Research, dated June 15, said the sector’s fourth quarter revenue and EBITDA grew 12% and 9% year-on-year, respectively. According to the report, the first quarter of FY27 is expected to be strong for the companies mentioned below as they cater to delegation travel and have super-luxury properties. Domestic demand picks up the slack The Nomura report further noted that the hotel companies leaned heavily on domestic travellers to offset the dip in foreign tourist arrivals during the quarter.
The Himachal Pradesh government has signed implementation agreements for 19 hydropower projects in 2026, involving a combined generation capacity of 278 MW and an estimated investment of Rs 3,336 crore, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said. The agreements mark another step in the state’s effort to harness its significant hydropower resources, expand electricity generation and strengthen its long-term energy revenue base. The projects cover a wide range of capacities and locations across the state. They include Soyal Dashal (9 MW), Khauli-II (6 MW), Gramang (9 MW), Umli (10 MW), Bharmour Stage-I (24 MW), Bharmour Stage-II (21 MW), Harsar Stage-II (22.5 MW), Harsar Stage-III (19 MW), Tundah Stage-II (24 MW), Janglik (18 MW), Rupin Stage-II (15 MW), Dunali-I and II (17 MW), Jari (12 MW), Toral Kundli (18 MW), Tundan (15 MW), Kot Dogri (10 MW), Upper Kurmi (8 MW), Kalal Khol (11 MW) and Melan (9.6 MW). Together, these projects are expected to add fresh power capacity and attract new capital into the state’s power sector.
India’s electric vehicle (EV) industry is racing towards deeper localisation, with several high-value component categories expected to achieve 90-100% localisation by 2030, but the sector remains heavily dependent on imported semiconductors and rare-earth magnets, exposing the country’s clean mobility ambitions to global supply-chain disruptions despite a ₹25,938-crore government incentive programme, according to a report by IEEFA and JMK Research. The challenge is particularly significant because India’s EV market has expanded nearly 14-fold since FY20, making it one of the fastest-growing automotive segments in the country. Yet some of the most critical technologies powering electric vehicles continue to be sourced from overseas. The report found that traction motors remain 100% dependent on imported rare-earth magnets, while motor controller units and vehicle control units continue to rely entirely on imported semiconductors, with global supply chains concentrated largely in China and Taiwan.
A supertanker has been provisionally booked to transport oil from the Persian Gulf to India at a rate equivalent to almost nine times benchmark freight costs, an eye-watering price that reflects the shortage of available, empty vessels in the area. The very-large crude carrier, capable of handling about two million barrels of oil, will be supplied by South Korea shipowner Sinokor at 897 Worldscale points, or 897% of the benchmark, according to shipbrokers. That fee ranks as the highest so far this year, they added, asking not to be named as discussions are not public. Worldscale rates, the standard measure of charter fees in the tanker industry, are set yearly for specific routes such as Persian Gulf to China, or to Singapore. Ships are booked at a percentage — also known as points — of this underlying rate. In this case, the Sinokor booking was based on the rate for the Persian Gulf-to-Singapore route, the shipbrokers said.
India is increasing the use of domestic fuel to more than 50% at power plants designed to run on imported coal, as the world's second-largest thermal coal importer seeks to curb costly overseas purchases, government and industry officials said. The South Asian nation is already using domestic coal for operating 5.7 gigawatts capacity so far this year of the total 18.7 GW capacity at imported coal-based power plants, they said. Trials are underway to expand the switch to another 4.3 GW of capacity.
India's pharmaceutical industry continues to rely heavily on China for critical raw materials, with nearly 65 per cent of its requirements for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), key starting materials (KSMs), and intermediates being sourced from the neighbouring country, according to NITI Aayog. In the eighth edition of its Trade Watch Quarterly report released on Tuesday, the government think tank highlighted persistent supply chain vulnerabilities in the sector, particularly in fermentation-based products, while also flagging rising environmental compliance costs that are increasing manufacturing and research expenses for domestic drugmakers. The report stated that India's pharmaceutical ecosystem faces challenges beyond supply chains, including a weak innovation and commercialisation framework that has created uncertainty for innovators and discouraged long-term investments.
By Vinod K. Bansal For decades, India’s electricity story was defined by scarcity. Power cuts were routine, industries planned production around outages, and households learned to live with uncertainty. The central question facing policymakers was whether the country could generate enough electricity to support economic growth and meet the aspirations of a rapidly developing nation. That question has largely been answered. India today possesses one of the largest power systems in the world. Installed generation capacity has crossed 520 GW, while non fossil fuel sources account for more than half of that capacity. Peak power demand has reached record levels and, more importantly, has been met without major shortages. Massive investments in generation, transmission, and renewable energy have transformed a sector that was once considered a chronic bottleneck for growth.
If India’s Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) companies had to choose a phrase to describe FY27, it would probably be “record order book”. From Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and NCC to KEC International and Kalpataru Projects International, recent earnings calls and investor presentations have been replete with references to all-time-high order inflows, robust bid pipelines and unprecedented revenue visibility. Some companies are sitting on order books equivalent to three to four years of revenue. Others have guided investors to double-digit growth in FY27 despite geopolitical uncertainty and execution challenges. The optimism is understandable.
As artificial Intelligence drives an unprecedented surge in computing demand, SpaceX and xAI have announced plans to deploy 100 GW of orbital computing capacity annually — ten times the combined announced pipeline of all other orbital data centre developers globally — highlighting growing industry interest in moving data infrastructure beyond Earth. But despite the momentum, the economics remain daunting, with a hypothetical 1 GW orbital data centre estimated to cost $170 billion, more than three times the cost of an equivalent terrestrial facility, according to a report by Wood Mackenzie. The push comes as next-generation AI agents are expected to consume between 10,000 and 40,000 times more computing power per task than today’s chatbots, placing mounting pressure on power systems, grid infrastructure and data centre capacity worldwide.
India spends tens of billions of dollars every year importing crude oil and natural gas, and that bill is set to climb further over the next two decades even as the country pushes electric vehicles and solar power, according to estimates by Kotak Institutional Equities. The budding question here is whether a faster shift to renewables and EVs meaningfully cuts the country’s dependence on imported fuel, or will rising overall demand simply outpace the gains from going green? The scale of the import problem India currently imports 85% of its crude oil needs, and roughly half its natural gas, a dependence that leaves the economy exposed every time global energy prices spike. As per the Kotak report, the country’s total energy demand will rise from 40 exajoules in FY2026 to 89 exajoules by FY2056, while domestic supply will lag behind, reaching only 65 exajoules in the same period.
India has emerged as the world's top ship-recycling nation, with its share of global ship-recycling increasing to 35.4 per cent in 2025 from 30.1 per cent in 2024, according to an official statement. The statement, citing the latest report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said ship recycling in India rose significantly to 2.99 million gross tonnes (GT) in 2025, up nearly 60 per cent from 1.86 million GT in 2024. With this achievement, the target set under the Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 to become the world's leading ship-recycling nation has been met well ahead of schedule, it added.
When India launched the India Semiconductor Mission in 2021 with a Rs 76,000-crore incentive package, its objective extended beyond manufacturing chips. The ambition was to secure a place in a technology supply chain increasingly shaped by geopolitics, reduce dependence on imports for a critical technology, and position India as a credible player in an industry expected to cross $1 trillion globally by the end of the decade.
At the Global Wind Day Conference in Goa recently, Suzlon announced the launch of its first 5 MW wind turbine following its successful commissioning at Vijayanagar, Karnataka. Girish Tanti, Executive Vice Chairman of Suzlon Group, spoke with Rakesh Kumar of TNIE on how its new offering would help unlock new wind energy opportunities while supporting the country's clean energy transition. You have said that India's target of achieving 100 GW of wind energy capacity is achievable. With the country having crossed 56 GW of installed capacity, what gives you confidence that the target can be met?
India’s rooftop solar market recorded its strongest-ever quarterly performance in the January-March period, with installations surging 125% year-on-year to 2.7 GW, driven by robust residential demand under the PM Surya Ghar scheme and rapid adoption across large states, including Uttar Pradesh. The addition was 25% higher than the 2.2 GW installed in the previous quarter and more than double the 1.2 GW added in Q1 2025, according to Mercom India Research. While Maharashtra led quarterly installations with a 17% share, Uttar Pradesh accounted for 16% of all rooftop solar capacity additions, emerging as one of the country’s most significant growth markets. Gujarat followed closely with a 15% share. The strong performance highlights how rooftop solar adoption is expanding beyond traditional solar-heavy states. Uttar Pradesh also recorded one of the fastest growth trajectories in the country, registering a 22% compounded quarterly growth rate between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026, second only to Assam’s 40%.
Design and engineering software company Autodesk is betting on India’s infrastructure and data centre buildout to drive growth as it shifts to a platform-led delivery model. India’s ambitious infrastructure pipeline, manufacturing push and rising investment in AI-led data centres are creating long-term demand for digital design and construction technologies, Kamolika Gupta Peres, Vice President – India & SAARC, Autodesk said. Autodesk is increasingly positioning itself as a platform provider rather than a standalone software vendor. Through its Forma platform, formerly Construction Cloud, the company aims to connect designers, contractors, suppliers and project owners on a common data environment.
Demand for cooling appliances, particularly air conditioners (ACs), has slowed sharply in June compared with May as the peak summer buying cycle eases and consumers remain cautious amid higher prices, industry executives told FE. Persistent price increases over recent months have also pushed some entry-level buyers towards lower-cost alternatives such as air coolers and fans. In contrast, fast-moving consumer goods such as beverages and ice cream have seen strong growth in June as consumers continue to seek relief from high temperatures. “Sales growth rates for ACs in June have slowed to around 10-15% versus 30-35% seen in May,” NS Satish, chief executive officer, Haier Appliances India, said. “Input costs remain elevated across several categories, including ACs, requiring calibrated pricing actions. Consumers are increasingly focused on value, particularly in larger appliances,” he said.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Coal India Limited are jointly investing over Rs 25,000 crore in a coal gasification project in Odisha. The foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jharsuguda on Saturday — a landmark move to expand coal utilisation beyond conventional power generation. Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy said the initiative signalled a transformative shift in how India leverages its coal reserves, dubbing it a new chapter for the coal sector of Odisha. “Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu have ushered in a new chapter for Odisha’s coal sector. Moving beyond the traditional use of coal, new avenues will now open up through coal gasification…BHEL and Coal India Limited are jointly investing Rs 25,000 crore in this initiative,” Reddy said.
As artificial intelligence attracts trillions of dollars in investment worldwide, valuation expert and NYU Stern School of Business professor Aswath Damodaran is warning that the risks associated with the current AI boom may be far greater than those seen during the dot-com era. Damodaran, known as the “Dean of Valuation,” believes the ongoing AI race differs significantly from the internet boom of the late 1990s, not only in the scale of investment involved but also in the way the sector is being financed. While he stopped short of predicting an imminent crash, he said history tells that periods of intense market enthusiasm are often followed by a correction.
The over 3-month conflict across West Asia has some far reaching impact. Even as the Strait of Hormuz is opening up gradually with the ship movement increasing, India has significantly diversified its import sources for LPG. A Crisil report highlights that even during the peak of the conflict and supply constraints, India made adequate efforts to diversify its LPG sourcing. India diversifying LPG import sourcing The Crisil report showed that India sharply diversified its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sourcing during the West Asia conflict, increasing imports from the US, Iran and several other countries to reduce dependence on the Gulf region, while state-owned fuel retailers absorbed much of the surge in international prices to shield households.
The department of telecommunications (DoT) has issued draft rules for administrative assignment of spectrum to state-run entities such as BSNL and MTNL, law enforcement agencies as well as private firms in the satellite and broadcasting segment including very small aperture terminal (VSAT) players and teleport operators. The rules will be applicable when spectrum is assigned administratively or without auctions to entities for specific purposes under Schedule 1 of Telecommunications Act. For satellite spectrum, the draft rules, however, apply only to firms using a geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite such as traditional players offering VSAT, teleport or broadcasting services. The rules won't be applicable to non-GSO players such as Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Amazon Leo. "Spectrum assignment rules for NGSO players are also being worked out by the DoT and a Cabinet approval has to be taken for pricing and other modalities," an official told ET on condition of anonymity.
Delays to green steel projects are growing and government support is far short of what is needed, jeopardising the industry's drive to cut emissions, steel associations warned at an annual meeting in Singapore this week. About half of the world's planned green steel projects have already been delayed, while governments have committed just $20 billion of the $1.5 trillion needed to decarbonise the sector, according to the World Steel Association. Industry executives said progress on cutting emissions has been slow and is likely to remain so without a major increase in state funding or customers willing to pay more for cleaner steel. The gloomy assessment stands in contrast to renewed investor interest in renewable energy and clean technology following the Iran war, which has driven up oil and gas prices.
India is seeking to seize a rare opportunity to promote its airports as hub alternatives to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha amid the travel disruptions in the Gulf due to the Iran war. The government has formulated an integrated policy to develop the main airports of Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru into international transit centres, said a senior official. Such airports aggregate passenger demand from an entire region and offer multiple direct flights to major cities worldwide. Currently, 85% of India's connecting traffic travels via airports such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore's Changi. Many Indian passengers travelling to North America also tend to connect through European airports such as Frankfurt and London.
IBM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna has questioned whether the economics of the current artificial intelligence infrastructure race can justify the scale of spending being committed by major technology companies, saying the capital required to build data centres for artificial general intelligence may be difficult to recover under current assumptions. Speaking on The Verge's Decoder podcast with editor-in-chief Nilay Patel, Krishna said it costs about $80 billion to fill a one-gigawatt data centre at today's ☐ prices. A company committing 20-30 gigawatts of capacity would be looking at about $1.5 trillion of capital expenditure, he said.
Mukesh Ambani on Friday unveiled an expansive artificial intelligence strategy that spans compute infrastructure, AI applications and satellite connectivity, signalling its ambition to become a key provider of the country’s AI and digital infrastructure. At the centre of the strategy is a massive AI data centre and compute facility being built in Jamnagar under Reliance Intelligence, the group’s AI venture announced last year. Ambani said the project is aimed at addressing what he described as India’s biggest AI bottleneck today: the scarcity and high cost of compute capacity required to train, deploy and run AI applications.
As India’s ambitions expand and problems grow more complex the institutions capable of long-term thinking and policy translation are essential. The Director of Adani Enterprises and Gautam Adani‘s nephew, Pranav Adani called for stronger investment in India’s ‘intellectual infrastructure’ and argued that physical infrastructure alone—roads, ports, airports and digital networks—will not be enough to navigate the complex issues that India faces today. Adani urged India to invest in intellectual infrastructure, saying the country’s growing ambitions and mounting challenges require institutions that can think beyond immediate headlines and connect ideas to policy and added that the intellectual capacity be built alongside physical projects to navigate the nation’s evolving challenges.
Reliance Industries‘ battery giga factory in Jamnagar and its renewable energy hub in Kutch will set new global benchmarks in clean energy deployment, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said outlining the scale of the Group’s green energy ambitions. The projects form the centrepiece of Reliance’s new energy strategy and are expected to begin contributing meaningfully to the company’s financial performance from FY27 onwards, Ambani said. At the 5,000-acre Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar, Reliance is building battery energy storage systems (BESS), cell manufacturing facilities, solar photovoltaic modules and electrolyser production units. Ambani said the company is targeting peak installation rates of 55 MWp of solar modules and 150 MWh of battery containers a day.
India's beauty and personal care (BPC) products market is projected to reach USD 39 billion by 2030, driven by a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour, according to a report by e-commerce major Flipkart. Once an aspirational segment, beauty is increasingly being viewed as a daily essential for self-care and identity rather than an occasional indulgence, the report said. According to the 'Flipkart GlamUp Annual Beauty Trends Report 2026', the Indian beauty market, currently valued at approximately USD 27 billion, is identified by industry experts as one of the most attractive growth markets globally.
Passenger vehicle sales are likely to grow 4-6 per cent this fiscal, driven by sustained demand momentum, improving affordability following GST rate cuts, and traction in utility vehicles, a report said. Passenger vehicle wholesale volumes recorded a strong 27 per cent year-on-year growth in the last fiscal, reaching 4.4 lakh units, while retail sales grew 33 per cent on the back of robust consumer demand, newly launched models, and an extended summer wedding season, according to the report by ratings agency Icra. However, the agency said that rising fuel and commodity prices, along with concerns around a weak monsoon, remain key factors to watch.
Mukesh Ambani on Friday laid out an ambitious roadmap to reinvent Reliance Industries' traditional oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, saying the conglomerate plans to move beyond conventional refining and convert crude oil into high-value products such as carbon fibre, specialty materials and green chemicals to reduce its exposure to geopolitical and commodity price shocks. Speaking at Reliance's 49th annual general meeting, Ambani described the O2C business as the group's long-standing growth engine but said its next phase would look very different.
India has initiated an anti-dumping probe against imports of a chemical, used in tyre and rubber products, from China and Japan, a commerce ministry notification said. The investigation followed a complaint in this regard by Atul Ltd to the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). The applicant has alleged that the cheap imports of 'Resorcinol' is significantly harming the domestic industry. "On the basis of the duly substantiated application filed by the applicant and having satisfied itself, on the basis of the prima facie evidence submitted by the applicant, regarding dumping of the subject goods...the authority hereby initiates an anti-dumping investigation," the DGTR's notification said.
India has managed to secure a virtual exemption from the UK’s controversial steel safeguard tariff measures, paving the way for the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade agreement (CETA) between the two countries starting July 15. The measures, set to come into force from July 1, were expected to impact 15% of India’s commodity exports to the UK while 85% were exempt. Sources said that through a combination of measures covering country-specific quotas and “other instruments,” almost all Indian products will get duty-free access to the UK, once the CETA is in force, sources said. India exported steel goods worth nearly $ 840 million to the UK in FY26. In all 188 items that accounted for $ 137 million worth of steel exports from India to UK (in FY26) were covered by safeguard measures but now these products too will get duty-free market access, sources said.
India’s gems and jewellery exports fell 2.49% in May to $2,047.89 million, with plain gold jewellery shipments down nearly 15% as record-high gold prices and a shortage of gold for factories hurt export production. Despite this, a Nuvama report added that the same price rise helped jewellery shops at home report some of their best sales in years. Exports slip as gold supply tightens India’s total gems and jewellery exports fell 2.49% in May to $2,047.89 million, from $2,100.21 million in the same month last year, according to the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The biggest drag was plain gold jewellery, where exports dropped 14.75% to $758.44 million. GJEPC chairman Kirit Bhansali said three things were behind the fall: gold prices were too high, there was not enough gold available for factories to make jewellery for export, and banks were facing regulatory hurdles in supplying gold to manufacturers.
India’s new domestic-content mandate for solar cells is set to sharply reduce reliance on imports, with indigenous manufacturers expected to meet around half of the country’s 60-65 GW solar cell demand this fiscal, compared with just one-fourth last fiscal. However, the rapid capacity build-up triggered by the policy could pressure utilisation levels and extend payback periods for new investments, according to Crisil Ratings. The assessment comes as the government’s Approved List of Cell Manufacturers (ALCM) framework becomes effective from June 2026, requiring the use of domestically approved solar cells in utility-scale, net-metering and open-access projects. The move is aimed at reducing dependence on imported solar cells and strengthening domestic manufacturing. “The ALCM will sharply reset India’s solar cell supply mix. Domestic supply will gain share and meet around half of the 60-65 GW demand this fiscal, with imports making up for the rest,” said Manish Gupta, Deputy Chief Ratings Officer, Crisil Ratings. “The shift will be led by demand for indigenous cells from newer utility-scale bids, net-metering and open-access projects, and government-backed schemes such as KUSUM.”
The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which comes into force on July 15, is set to create a significant export opportunity for Indian automakers by opening duty-free access for up to 88,000 electric, hybrid and hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles in the UK market. According to the agreement, India will gain preferential access to the UK’s green vehicle segment from the sixth year of implementation. The quota for made-in-India electric, hybrid and hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles will start at 17,600 units and gradually rise to 88,000 units annually by the 15th year, benefiting manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki. At the same time, India has agreed to allow imports of 3,78,000 conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger vehicles from the UK at concessional customs duty over the first 15 years of the agreement.
India could need 817 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2035, more than five times what it has today, driven in large part by two sources of demand that were barely on the radar when the country first set its renewable energy targets: artificial intelligence data centres and green hydrogen production. According to a Nuvama Institutional Equities’ report, the market has significantly underestimated where solar demand is headed. The demand from data centres and green hydrogen plants alone, they estimate, could add 251 gigawatts of solar capacity over the next decade, which, to give you more context, is more than India’s entire installed solar base today. The brokerage further noted that solar power demand is growing at 22% annually through FY35, with solar’s share of total electricity generation rising from 9% now to 33% by the end of the decade. Despite that growth outlook, solar photovoltaic cell (PV) companies currently trade at just 14 times FY28 estimated earnings.
Indian defence manufacturer SMPP has signed a teaming agreement with European defence major KNDS to manufacture advanced loitering munitions in India, as the country looks to strengthen indigenous defence production and meet the armed forces' growing requirement for precision strike systems. The agreement, signed at the Eurosatory defence exhibition in Paris on Wednesday, will see SMPP, through its subsidiary SMPP Ammunition, manufacture the systems in India under the government's Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. The partnership will initially focus on offering the loitering munitions to the Indian Army, which has an urgent requirement for such systems amid the military's push to induct advanced battlefield capabilities.
The government should consider a host of measures, such as removing the import levy on unwrought aluminium, correcting the inverted duty structure, and imposing a 20 per cent export duty on the metal to boost domestic aluminium-based manufacturing, think tank GTRI said on Thursday. It said that India's tariff policies have created some major distortions in the aluminium value chain - encouraging metal exports, inflating raw material costs for manufacturers, and increasing dependence on imported finished products. Aluminium is one of the foundations of modern industrial economies. It is essential for power transmission, renewable energy, electric vehicles, railways, construction, packaging, aerospace, defence, and a wide range of consumer and engineering products.
India's thermal coal imports fell to a 4-year low in January-May due to higher local output and rising renewable energy generation, commodities consultancy BigMint said. Overall, thermal coal imports, at 65 million tons in the year till May, declined by an annual 12%, the consultancy said. India, the world's second-largest importer of thermal coal, has been seeking to reduce its reliance on imports and aims to cut the use of such coal for power generation by at least 30% this year.
A high-level delegation from South Korea’s Hyundai Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday (June 17) to advance plans for a mega greenfield shipbuilding cluster in Thoothukudi valued at roughly Rs 38,000 crore (USD 4 billion). The proposed investment, if realised, would mark one of the largest single industrial commitments to southern Tamil Nadu and is projected to catalyse significant economic activity across the region. Big-ticket investment and employment impact The Rs 38,000 crore project is expected to create about 15,000 direct jobs and a far larger number of indirect positions through ancillary industries and local supply chains. Officials described the development as a strategic move to position Thoothukudi as a global shipbuilding hub and to strengthen India’s maritime manufacturing capacity.
The operating profit of domestic airlines is expected to decline 10-15% this financial year as elevated aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, airspace restrictions and rupee depreciation linked to the West Asia conflict continue to increase costs, Crisil Ratings said on Wednesday. It estimates aggregate operating profit for domestic airlines at ₹16,000-17,000 crore this fiscal, down from around ₹19,000 crore last fiscal, due to higher operating costs, limited pricing power and capacity rationalisation. According to Crisil Ratings, the West Asia conflict has pushed up global ATF prices, which remain well above last fiscal’s average despite recent easing.
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran’s prediction that Tata Consultancy Services could have as many AI agents as human employees within three years deserves attention not because of the precise number involved but because of what it signals about the future of the country’s information technology (IT) industry. For decades, the sector’s success has been measured not only by revenues and exports but also by the number of engineers it employed. India’s largest IT services companies became symbols of upward mobility by creating millions of jobs and recruiting tens of thousands of graduates every year. Chandrasekaran’s remarks suggest that this equation may be changing. If AI agents increasingly perform coding, testing, support, and other routine tasks, technology companies may be able to grow without expanding their workforce at the pace that became familiar over the past three decades. The significance of the statement lies less in the technology itself and more in the possibility that the industry’s traditional link between growth and hiring is beginning to weaken.
India is readying an incentive scheme to support local manufacturing of advanced cell battery components, officials said. Manufacturing of cathode active materials (CAM), anode active materials (AAM), electrolysers and copper foil separators will be supported under this scheme with a likely allocation of about ₹12,000 crore via financial support, they said. India is currently completely dependent on imports for these components crucial to advanced chemistry cell battery manufacturing. "The battery component incentive scheme is in final stages of approval," one of the officials told ET, adding funding support will come with attached conditions to encourage domestic manufacturing and setting up of supply chains. "We don't want companies to import end products or perform last stage processing and claim incentives," the official said.
In a relief for India's pharmaceutical sector, prices of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) have declined by 5-10% as the geopolitical situation in West Asia shows signs of stabilisation. The easing of the crisis, which had severely disrupted supply chains of critical raw materials including petrochemical-based solvents, ammonia, methanol and propylene, has brought some breathing room to domestic drug manufacturers which had been grappling with soaring input costs. "There has been a fall in the prices by 5-10%. Prices of azithromycin, paracetamol and major vitamins are down," said Mehul Shah, an industry expert. However, industry insiders caution that a full normalisation may still take time.
As prospects of a US-Iran truce brightened, US buyers have resumed enquiries with Indian apparel exporters. However, buyers are seeking discounts of 5%-10% across apparel categories, putting pressure on already-thin exporter margins. "Enquiries are coming, but US buyers are offering lower prices," said K.M. Subramanian, president of the Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA). India's readymade garment (RMG) exports have declined for the sixth consecutive month in May, shrinking the year-on-year growth by 14.1% in May 2026 primarily due to weaker demand in the United States, India's largest apparel export market. The US accounts for nearly one-third of India's total apparel exports.
After being at a war for over four months, the US and Iran will finally be signing an interim memorandum of understanding on Friday. The signing, which will take place in Switzerland, will pave the way for 60 days of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict and imposing strict limits on Tehran's nuclear programme. According to a draft of the agreement, Iran would be allowed to immediately resume oil exports and gain access to an economic development programme worth at least $300 billion as part of broader efforts to reach a permanent peace deal addressing its nuclear activities.
The country's installed power generation capacity has crossed 530 GW and is expected to reach nearly 600 GW next year, driven by rapid additions in renewable energy, thermal power and battery storage, a senior Power Ministry official said on Wednesday. Aadhar Raj, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Power, said the country's electricity sector continues to expand at one of the fastest rates globally, with annual growth of more than 7-8 per cent and renewable energy additions of around 30-40 GW every year.
India could need 817 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2035, more than five times what it has today, driven in large part by two sources of demand that were barely on the radar when the country first set its renewable energy targets: artificial intelligence data centres and green hydrogen production. According to a Nuvama Institutional Equities’ report, the market has significantly underestimated where solar demand is headed. The demand from data centres and green hydrogen plants alone, they estimate, could add 251 gigawatts of solar capacity over the next decade, which, to give you more context, is more than India’s entire installed solar base today.
India's annual defence production rose to an all-time high of Rs 1.78 lakh crore in the financial year 2025-26, more than doubling in five years as the government's push for self-reliance in military manufacturing gathered pace. The record output marks a 15.6 per cent increase from Rs 1.54 lakh crore in FY 2024-25 and a 110 per cent jump from Rs 84,643 crore in FY 2020-21, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Indigenous defence production has nearly quadrupled from Rs 43,746 crore in FY 2013-14, underscoring the rapid expansion of domestic manufacturing capabilities. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed the milestone, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and the efforts of stakeholders across the sector.
The Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM) is expected to maintain its double-digit growth trajectory, driven by strong volume growth and broad-based demand across therapies, according to a report by brokerage firm Equirus. The brokerage described May's performance as one of the strongest demand trends in recent years, with both chronic and acute therapies witnessing robust growth. According to the report, the IPM "posted monthly growth of 12.1 per cent in May'26, marking the sixth consecutive month of double-digit expansion - the most sustained high-growth run in over two years."
For more than two decades, China's breakneck urbanisation and construction boom dictated the fortunes of the global steel industry. Today, as Chinese steel demand slows and miners search for new growth markets, attention is increasingly shifting to India. Executives from BHP and Rio Tinto this week pointed to India and Southeast Asia as the next major centres of steel demand growth, arguing that infrastructure spending, industrialisation and urbanisation could help offset weaker consumption in China.
The Health Ministry has issued a notice that excludes all “syrups” from over-the-counter sale of medication. The move is likely to affect a wide array of products — including cough syrups and some digestive medications. A prescription is now mandatory for purchase of all medicines consumed under this dosage format. The notification did not outline any specific formula or brands — opting instead for an umbrella change that covers nearly all oral, liquid medications. The change will not impact alternative solid formats of the same medicines. “In the Drugs Rules, 1945, in Schedule K, in the column, under the heading Class of Drugs, against serial number 13, in item number (7), the word ‘Syrups,’ shall be omitted,” read the official message from the Health Ministry.
Veteran venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has issued a bold warning about the future of India’s massive IT services industry, saying the traditional model that built the sector could soon collapse under the pressure of artificial intelligence. Speaking on the latest episode of Podcast Alpha, Khosla did not hold back. “India’s IT services industry will be gone,” he said, “That’s not a hedged observation.” The comment comes at a striking moment for the sector. India’s IT and business process management industry is on track to cross $300 billion in revenue in FY26 for the first time, according to NASSCOM. Exports alone are estimated at around $200–233 billion. The industry supports nearly 6 million jobs and remains one of the country’s biggest economic pillars.
India stands at a crossroads. With over one million young workers entering the labour market every month, a demographic dividend that economists call the envy of the world, and an ambitious $5-trillion economy target firmly in sight, it has every structural reason to accelerate the formalisation of its workforce. And yet, buried within the GST framework — a tax architecture otherwise celebrated for unifying India into a single market — lies a quiet contradiction: an 18% tax on the very services that convert informal workers into formal employees, for the industry that brings underprivileged job market entrants to formal employment opportunity.
After a record-breaking year of adding 6.1 GW of installations in 2025-26, the Indian wind sector is projected to exceed expectations and add 8 GW of wind capacity in 2026-27. Pralhad Joshi, the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), stated that 6.1 GW was the highest capacity India has added in a single year. He said the sector is poised for its next growth phase as wind energy becomes a more reliable source of renewable power, especially with energy security becoming a key focus for the country. According to Joshi, renewable energy has recently met 33% of the nation’s peak energy requirements and can provide round-the-clock power through a combination of solar, wind, and energy storage.
Gujarat has unveiled its Industrial Policy 2026, targeting investments worth ₹10 lakh crore during the five-year policy period. The policy combines higher incentives, support for MSMEs, promotion of emerging sectors, and a new framework aimed at shifting industries away from congested urban centres. One of the key features of the policy, titled Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy 2026, is a 50% capital subsidy for R&D centres, with building costs capped at 20% of the total investment. The subsidy is available for the first five R&D centres with a minimum investment of ₹300 crore, subject to a cap of ₹50 crore per annum for five years. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the policy also gives a thrust to Mission THRIVE (Transition for Harmonized Relocation and Inclusive Vibrant Economy), aimed at decongesting cities and improving urban living by encouraging eligible industrial units to relocate outside city limits.
Japan's Proterial, a global leader in advanced materials, will set up a rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of ₹2,250 crore, marking a key step toward building India's local rare earth value chain and reducing its reliance on Chinese sources, said people with knowledge of the matter. The project, to be located at Achutapuram in Anakapalli district, will manufacture 1.2 kilo tonnes per annum (ktpa) of sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets, among the most critical components used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, industrial motors, electronics, aerospace and defence systems. The State Investment Promotion Committee approved the project at its meeting last week.
Stepping up efforts towards strengthening energy security amid growing AI/data centre push, the Centre is learnt to have asked states to speed up clearances and processes on proposed nuclear power plants and renewable energy storage systems, ET has learnt. The matter was taken up at the recent 11th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog with all chief ministers and top officials where it was pointed out that nearly 15 states/UTs required "accelerated action". ET gathers that before the June 11 meeting, states were reminded of pending approvals with respect to setting up of nuclear plants and battery energy storage systems.
Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi on Monday launched India's first dedicated Wind Turbine Supply Chain Management (WT-MARUT) Portal, aimed at strengthening the country's domestic wind manufacturing ecosystem and accelerating its clean energy ambitions. The portal was unveiled at the Global Wind Day Conference in Goa, organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) with support from industry bodies including the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA), Wind Independent Power Producers Association (WIPPA) and Indian Wind Power Association (IWPA).
The government is overhauling the IndiaAI Mission, reassessing priorities amid growing concerns over access to frontier artificial intelligence technologies and the strategic implications of relying on overseas providers, sources said. The review comes against the backdrop of the recent decision by US authorities to suspend foreign access to Anthropic’s latest AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, a move that has intensified debate globally over sovereign AI capabilities and access to advanced technologies. Officials said detailed consultations are underway with industry leaders, researchers and startups to redefine the mission’s objectives. While the current IndiaAI Mission has largely focused on building compute infrastructure and supporting the development of indigenous AI models, there is a growing feeling that the rapid proliferation of open-source models has altered the landscape.
India has emerged as one of Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) fastest-growing markets, powered by its vast talent pool, thriving developer ecosystem, and an increasingly innovation-first mindset. As AI adoption accelerates across industries, businesses are moving beyond experimentation and exploring new ways to transform operations and customer experiences. Jaime Valles, Amazon VP and MD of AWS Global Sales for Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China (APJC), speaks to Sudhir Chowdhary about India’s rise as a technology innovation hub, the growing impact of AI, and the opportunities shaping the region’s digital future. Excerpts: What makes India unique for AWS, and which sectors are leading cloud and AI adoption? India stands out for its scale, talent, and mindset. It has one of the world’s largest developer communities and a strong “build from India for the world” outlook, which accelerates innovation. We are seeing strong AI and cloud adoption across sectors. Agentic AI, in particular, is driving transformation, supported by startups, enterprises, and developers.
For decades, India's telecom wars have been fought over spectrum auctions, mobile towers and data tariffs. The next one could be fought on highways. Buried within a 263-page consultation paper titled the Regulatory Framework for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communication released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is a question that extends far beyond connected cars and road safety: who will control the digital infrastructure of India's future mobility ecosystem?
Domestic passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers rose 27.3 per cent year-on-year to a record 4,38,854 units in May this year with the demand created due to reduced GST rates and impact of easier financing reflected in higher offtake, industry body SIAM said on Monday. Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches stood at 3,44,656 units in May 2025, SIAM said in a statement. Total two-wheeler sales rose 14.8 per cent to 19,02,209 units last month as against 16,57,116 units in May last year, it added. "Passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and two-wheelers recorded the highest ever sales of May in 2026, with high double-digit growth in each segment," SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said.
Stepping up efforts towards strengthening energy security amid growing AI/data centre push, the Centre is learnt to have asked states to speed up clearances and processes on proposed nuclear power plants and renewable energy storage systems, ET has learnt. The matter was taken up at the recent 11th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog with all chief ministers and top officials where it was pointed out that nearly 15 states/UTs required "accelerated action". ET gathers that before the June 11 meeting, states were reminded of pending approvals with respect to setting up of nuclear plants and battery energy storage systems
Despite surging urbanisation, booming real estate and ambitious city visions, the country has only one building that towers over the 300-metre mark. Apoorva Mittal traces the limit of our vertical ambitions. Non-profit organisation Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) defines supertalls as buildings that measure at least 300 metres (984 feet). Lokhandwala Minerva in Mumbai is at 301 metres. Completed in 2022, it is India’s first — and so far only — building that crosses the threshold. Just about. KEY REASONS INDIA HAS NO SUPERTALLS “There are many bottlenecks namely fragmented regulations, approval red tape and lack of infrastructure readiness that prevent supertall buildings from emerging. The local bodies ( municipalities ) in most Indian cities are not used to handling such projects for approvals. The requisite technical personnel and specialised expertise to examine them are not there.
India is set to add 25.4 lakh tonnes of annual urea production capacity with two new fertiliser plants expected to begin operations shortly, a move the government says will strengthen domestic availability and reduce reliance on imports, PTI reported. The announcement comes as India continues efforts to boost fertiliser self-sufficiency while shielding farmers from global supply disruptions and price volatility. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, six new mega urea plants have already been established since 2014, adding a combined annual capacity of 76.2 lakh tonnes. "Two more high-capacity urea plants with a combined annual capacity of 25.4 lakh tonnes are set to commence production shortly," the ministry said.
India’s quick commerce sector is seeing renewed interest and entering a new phase of competition. With Zepto moving closer to its stock market debut after filing an updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), investors are deliberating on the changing dynamics in the fastest-growing internet businesses. How does Zepto compare with the two listed players already competing in the segment, namely Eternal’s Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart? Although all the three companies are chasing the same customer who wants groceries, snacks, electronics and daily essentials delivered within minutes, their operating strategies, profitability profiles and growth priorities look quite different. Let’s take a look at some of the most important trends shaping India’s quick commerce race –
India is preparing a major DigiDukaan push to digitise 1.4 crore kirana stores, as industry stakeholders discuss a coordinated digital transformation for the country’s sprawling General Trade network. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), together with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), convened the CPG Roundtable, Bharat Commerce Chintan Shivir on Friday (June 12) to plan how to bring millions of neighbourhood shops online and integrate them into formal digital supply chains. DigiDukaan is an initiative aimed at giving kirana stores digital tools for ordering, inventory visibility, scheme tracking and working‑capital optimisation so they can transact more efficiently with distributors and brands. Today, most of India’s 1.4 crore kiranas operate with fragmented ordering systems, manual record‑keeping and limited secondary‑sales visibility, which leads to inventory inefficiencies, higher costs and poor scheme implementation. It seeks to address these gaps by enabling direct procurement, digitised collections and shop‑level data flows that improve fill rates, reduce field costs for distributors and provide brands with actionable demand signals.
India’s defence exports are on track to surpass the government’s Rs 50,000 crore target before 2029. Speaking at an investor interaction hosted by JM Financial, former DRDO chairman Dr Samir V Kamat said that India’s defence exports currently stand at around Rs 38,000 crore and are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. “Indigenous system procurement has risen to 70% and imports have fallen to 30%. Over the next five years, indigenous procurement is expected to reach 80-85%,” Kamat said. Growing global demand helping India India is likely to exceed the target as international interest in Indian defence products continues to grow. Key export products include the BrahMos missile, Akash missile system, Astra air-to-air missile, Pinaka rocket system, advanced artillery guns and radar systems. However, he noted that major defence spenders such as the US and China are unlikely to source military equipment from India due to geopolitical considerations. Europe presents a significant opportunity, although many European countries are also pushing for local manufacturing. This could create larger opportunities for Indian companies supplying subsystems and components rather than complete defence platforms.
The banking sector was one of the worst impacted sectors due to the Middle East war. Elara Capital, an investment bank and brokerage firm, noted that the loan growth to MSMEs has slowed across all types of lenders – PSU banks, private banks, and NBFCs as their businesses are hurting due to higher fuel costs, shipping disruptions, and weaker trade. Elara Capital also believes that the impact remains manageable so far, but the brokerage cautioned that a prolonged conflict in West Asia could create challenges. MSME loan growth loses momentum According to Elara Capital, the MSME loan portfolio stood at Rs 46 trillion in April 2026, up 12.8% year-on-year (YoY). Active loans rose 2.4% from a year ago to 19.2 million.
India’s space sector is poised for rapid transformation as the government calls upon established industries to scale up their participation in the country’s burgeoning space economy. The government has introduced a Rs 1,000 crore Venture Capital Fund and a Rs 500 crore Technology Adoption Fund. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, highlighted how the private space ecosystem has evolved from a handful of pioneering enterprises to more than 400 startups. He mentioned the role of firms like Skyroot Aerospace, Agnikul Cosmos, Pixxel, GalaxEye and many others that are now leading the charge in developing launch vehicles, satellites, propulsion systems and downstream space solutions.
Indian government bonds surged on Friday, buoyed by a sharp drop in crude prices after U.S. President Donald Trump revived hopes of a breakthrough with Iran, though domestic fiscal concerns limited gains. The yield on the benchmark 6.94% 2036 note shed 2.8 basis points to 6.8957%, its lowest since issuance in May. A U.S.-Iran memorandum to halt the Gulf war could be signed as early as Sunday, a source told Reuters on Friday, adding that the text was still being finalised.
In a move aimed at ensuring uninterrupted fuel availability for ordinary consumers, the government has barred industrial, commercial and institutional users from purchasing petrol and diesel from retail fuel pumps and directed them to procure fuel through designated bulk supply channels instead, PTI reported citing an official order. The restrictions, which can remain in force for up to 90 days, come amid concerns that a growing number of bulk consumers have shifted to buying fuel from petrol pumps to take advantage of lower retail prices, putting pressure on supplies meant for the general public. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on June 11 issued the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Temporary Regulation of Supply through Retail Outlets) Order, 2026, empowering fuel retailers and oil marketing companies to regulate fuel sales through retail outlets.
The first India-manufactured Airbus C295 military transport aircraft has successfully completed its maiden test flight from the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vadodara. This marks a major milestone for India’s defence manufacturing ambitions and the country’s push to build military aircraft domestically under the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. Announcing the development, Air Defence said that the first “Made in India” C295 conducted its maiden flight from Vadodara, calling it a “milestone for Indian aviation and defence.” The company said the flight is a crucial step in the aircraft’s post production testing process and advances the programme’s objective of delivering the first India-built C295 aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) later this year. Reacting to the achievement, the IAF said it “congratulates the entire team behind the successful maiden flight of the first India-made C-295.” The force added that the milestone “reinforces India’s growing aerospace capabilities” and highlights its commitment to fostering indigenous defence capability under the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), home to India’s only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), is seeking to emerge as a hub for aviation leasing. With Indian airlines expected to add around 2,200 aircraft over the next decade, GIFT City sees a significant opportunity in aircraft leasing and aviation finance. “Right now, the aircraft is flying in one place while the financing is happening somewhere else. What we aspire to do is bring that financing activity here,” said Sanjay Kaul, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of GIFT City, during a media interaction on Thursday. At present, Dublin is the global hub for aircraft leasing and aviation finance, accounting for more than 60% of the world’s leased commercial aircraft fleet. Other established centres include Dubai and Singapore.
India is rapidly reshaping its energy landscape, with solar power playing the central role. Vikram Solar Ltd has emerged as a frontrunner, leveraging technology, innovation, and sustainability to lead the sector. Having evolved as a leading solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer from India, the company is now embedding itself deeper into the energy ecosystem. India's ambitious target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity by 2030 aims to transform the energy landscape. As of March 2024, the country’s renewable energy capacity had tripled, reaching 191GW, with solar power contributing a significant 82GW.
Indian industrial groups Reliance, Vedanta and Adani have shown interest in developing facilities to process Andhra Pradesh state's significant reserves of increasingly important rare-earth minerals, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. With New Delhi seeking to cut India's dependence on China for rare earths, the three companies are among about 10 who have expressed interest in setting up rare earth facilities in the southern state, one of the sources said. The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
India on Thursday granted retrospective customs duty relief on specified nuclear power generation equipment imported between April 1, 2019 and January 31, 2026, shielding importers from any tax demands on such shipments during the period. In a notification issued Thursday, the Finance Ministry said the relief covers goods used for generation of nuclear power. The notification clarified that any customs duty, if any, payable on imports of the specified goods during the period would not be required to be paid.
A plant that farmers across the Deccan Plateau dismissed for decades as a fencing weed is now earning them premium payments from India's newest category of distillers, according to a BBC report published on June 12. Masapalli Venkatesh, who grows tomatoes, peanuts and corn on a 10-acre farm in Kandukur on the Deccan Plateau, was first approached by traders seeking agave americana in 2010, the BBC reported. Farmers in the region had treated the cactus as a 'stubborn, valueless weed, planting it only as fencing to keep wild animals away from crops, according to the report. The plant, however, belongs to the same family that supplies the $15-billion global tequila and mezcal market, the BBC said. Venkatesh now coordinates villagers and farmers across a 100-km radius, aggregating wild agave from multiple farms into the steady, high-volume supply that distilleries pay a premium for, he told the BBC. The income stream has earned the plant a local nickname, 'blue gold', according to the report
India, which ranks as the world’s third-largest importer and consumer of oil, announced on Wednesday that it has removed the excise duty on petrol blended with higher proportions of ethanol. Under the new policy, petrol containing between 22% and 30% ethanol will no longer be subject to excise tax, according to an official notification. The tax exemption applies to E22, E25, E27 and E30 petrol blends, which contain different amounts of ethanol mixed with petrol. According to the Finance Ministry, these fuels consist of 78%, 75%, 73% and 70% petrol, with the remaining 22%, 25%, 27% and 30% containing ethanol, respectively. The news does not just put oil marketing stocks in spotlight. In fact, the development will directly put the focus on stocks linked to the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program. These include a host of sugar manufacturers that are looking to pivot to green fuel. Balrampur and Dhampur Chini are up well over 2% each after opening with 4 per cent plus gains. Biofuel manufacturer Praj Industries also opened higher but has now given up the gains intra-day.
As Reliance Jio moves closer to a long-awaited public listing, investors are taking a fresh look at a telecom sector that appears markedly different from the one shaped by tariff wars, mounting debt and regulatory disputes over the past decade. The reassessment comes amid a series of developments that have improved visibility on the sector’s long-term economics. The government’s recent relief package for Vodafone Idea, coupled with the Bombay High Court’s decision to strike down a long-running one-time spectrum charge dispute, has strengthened expectations that many of the legacy overhangs that weighed on telecom valuations are gradually easing. Together with rising tariffs, improving average revenue per user (Arpu) and a more predictable spectrum auction framework, the changes are altering the investment case for the industry.
Zoho Corp on Wednesday launched Nathu La, a server platform designed in India, which makes it one of the few domestic technology companies to build a homegrown server architecture leading to reduced infrastructure costs and greater control over AI workloads. Built over five years by Zoho’s hardware engineering team in Nagpur, this is the company’s first bet towards entering hardware and is expected to reduce total cost of ownership by 20-30% and lower power consumption by 12-18%. The Chennai headquartered company has already deployed nearly 1,000 Nathu La servers in production and pre-production environments as part of its India data centres by year-end. For Zoho, which operates 20 data centres globally and runs its software stack on its own infrastructure rather than public cloud providers, the move depicts a fragment of its larger strategy to own every layer of technology, from hardware and data centres to software applications and artificial intelligence models.
India has identified more than 102 GWp of floating solar potential across reservoirs and water bodies, opening up a new frontier in the country’s clean energy expansion and taking the nation’s total assessed solar potential to 3,445 GWp, Union renewable energy minister Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday. The assessment, released by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), comes as India rapidly scales up renewable energy capacity and seeks new avenues to sustain growth after emerging as one of the world’s largest solar markets. The government is now working on a dedicated scheme for floating solar projects, signalling a policy push towards reservoir-based renewable energy development. The report estimates India’s floating solar photovoltaic (FSPV) potential at 102.18 GWp, based on utilisation of up to 20% of suitable waterbody area across the country.
A UAE real estate magnate close to Donald Trump is pumping billions of dollars into data centres, hoping to cash in on the AI boom and become the global leader in the field. DAMAC Properties chairman Hussain Sajwani, who attended the US president's 2025 inauguration and is second on Forbes' Arab rich-list, sees "huge" potential in data as demand for computing power soars. Sajwani, whose Instagram feed pictures him with the likes of Trump, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, rode Dubai's real estate rollercoaster to amass a net worth of $15.3 billion, according to Forbes.
The Indian textile sector is entering a phase of recovery and renewed optimism as the uncertainty surrounding US tariffs recedes and global demand begins to improve, according to a report by Dolat Capital. The report, said that the "worst is behind" for the sector and highlighted improving industry fundamentals, better demand visibility and favourable policy developments. "The sector, in our opinion, is now entering a phase of renewed optimism, supported by the resolution of US tariff-related uncertainties, improving demand visibility, and a series of strategic Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that are strengthening India's position in global sourcing chains," the report said.
The Centre on Wednesday decided to extend anti-dumping duty on aluminium foil imported from China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia till December 15, 2026. Several companies, including Hindalco Industries and SRF Altech, had requested this measure. The Ministry of Finance through a notification amended Notification No. 51/2021-Customs (ADD) dated September 16, 2021, inserting a new provision stating that, notwithstanding anything contained in the earlier notification, the anti-dumping duty will continue to remain in force up to and including December 15, 2026.
Giving a push to cleaner non-fossil energy, ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has officially launched operational guidelines for setting up small hydropower projects of up to 25 MW capacity over the next five years, with a financial outlay of nearly Rs 2,585 crore. It has also launched a dedicated portal to enhance transparency and efficiency in implementation of the programme The scheme aims to support the installation of around 1,500 MW of small hydropower capacity across the country, with special emphasis on hilly and northeastern states.
Government plans to raise the issue of the US decision to impose a 100% duty on patented drug imports from India, seeking tariff parity to safeguard the interests of domestic manufacturers. The matter is expected to figure during the trade negotiations with Washington, with New Delhi seeking tariff concessions in line with the UK and countries in the European Union, following industry representation, sources told TOI. The tariffs announced in April, following the Section 232 probe, could place domestic companies exporting innovator drugs at a sharp disadvantage compared with the UK and EU countries, which enjoy concessional tariff rates of 15-20%, they added. Industry experts said these duties threaten the viability of India's drug exports and future investments in the CRDMO (Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organisation) sector. The tariffs are expected to be implemented in phases beginning July this year.
The piling up of containers and the shortage of trailer drivers at the large West Coast ports have resulted in increasing instances of exporters missing their contracted ships. Turnaround time at ports has risen, inflating costs by up to Rs 25,000-30,000 per container. This compounds exporters’ worries at a time when geopolitical developments have dented market access and intensified competition in key markets. One reason for the container pile-up was the cargo bound for West Asia returning due to the onset of war in the region. Many containers that came back have still not been evacuated back to factories. Unloading of transhipment cargo at Indian ports added to the congestion. Adding to the worries was a sudden shortage of trailer drivers in April-May. The reason for the shortage of drivers was that this is the time when a lot of them head back home for vacation. Adding to the seasonal vacation time shortage of drivers was elections in West Bengal and increase in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices in the open market, industry sources said.
Electric passenger vehicle retail sales in India grew by 81.2 per cent to 26,682 units in May as compared to 14,725 units in the same month last year, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Tuesday. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd continued to lead the pack with 10,340 units sold last month, up 103.42 per cent from 5,083 units in May 2025, FADA said in a statement. Homegrown rival Mahindra & Mahindra followed in the second spot with 6,210 units in May 2026, as against 2,891 units in the year-ago month, up 114.8 per cent, it added.
A key measure of bulk shipping rates dropped for an eighth consecutive day as demand in the larger vessel segments cooled following a multi-month rally that pushed the market to its highest level since late 2023. The Baltic Dry Index fell 3.4% to 2,818 points on Tuesday, marking its longest losing streak since mid-January. The gauge tracks freight rates for Capesize, Panamax and Supramax ships transporting raw materials such as iron ore, coal and grain. “It’s attributed to the recent loss of momentum in the Capesize segment, but we should note that it has still delivered the strongest first half of the year in the past three years,” said Maria Bertzeletou, a senior market analyst at Signal Group.
India will consider extending import tax exemptions on petrochemicals used for making plastics and pharmaceutical goods beyond June 30 to help local industries, Ravi Teja, deputy director at the Department of Commerce, said on Tuesday. In April, India suspended the import tax on 40 petrochemicals products until June 30.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Monday projected that India’s pharma industry could double its current size of around $60 billion to $120 billion in the next five years, largely driven by innovation, and alignment with the global best manufacturing practices. He said that India has certainly not reached anywhere close to its potential in the pharma sector, the industry is now moving beyond the generics segment into innovative products, while continuing to supply affordable medicines to the patients worldwide. Addressing the launch event of iPHEX 2026, Goyal said that India’s patent filings have jumped by almost 100% in the last few years. “We are focusing on high value segments through Biopharma Shakti mission, a programme that was launched to encourage innovation in the pharma sector,” the minister said.
Passenger vehicle retail sales surged 23.25 % year-on-year to 402,591 units in May, helping the country’s loverall auto retail market grow 9.55 % to 2.53 million units despite a sharp fuel-price hike, intense heatwave conditions and geopolitical tensions in West Asia, according to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). “The growth was unexpected despite what is going on in the market. The booking backlog helped push sales, while rural sales saw 30 % growth, which also supported demand,” said Sai Girdhar, vice-president, FADA. The passenger vehicle story was driven largely by rural India rather than metropolitan cities. Rural PV sales jumped 30.35 % , significantly outpacing the 18.8 % growth recorded in urban markets, reflecting stronger rural consumption and improving farm incomes. Demand was aided by a revival in small cars alongside continued strength in SUVs.
Indian Railways has approved a Rs 285.01 crore project to strengthen train operations on one of its important high-density routes. The project will upgrade the existing electric traction network on the Mahbubnagar-Secunderabad-Medchal section, improving power supply and supporting higher traffic volumes. The upgrade covers nearly 141 route kilometres under South Central Railway and forms part of the national transporter’s broader effort to enhance capacity on heavily used rail corridors. At the heart of the project is the replacement of the existing 1×25 kV electric traction system with a more advanced 2×25 kV system. Railway officials expect the modern technology to provide a more stable and efficient power supply for trains, helping improve operational reliability across the route.
Delhi is set to significantly expand its public transport system with the addition of 2,800 new air-conditioned low-floor electric buses under the Centre’s PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme. The new buses will be added to the fleet operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), strengthening both main routes and neighbourhood-level connectivity. New Electric Bus Plan The planned induction includes 1,400 nine-metre electric buses and 1,400 twelve-metre electric buses, designed to serve both busy routes and local areas.
The widening conflict in the Middle East has emerged as the biggest threat to the global airline industry’s profitability this year. At the meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) sharply downgraded its 2026 financial outlook, citing the fallout from the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The conflict triggered widespread airspace restrictions across the region, forcing airlines to avoid key flight corridors, lengthening journey times, increasing fuel burn and reducing aircraft utilisation. The disruption has been especially severe for Gulf carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, which sit at the heart of one of the world’s busiest long-haul transit networks. The near-complete shutdown of regional airspace during the initial phase of the conflict exposed the vulnerability of airlines that depend heavily on the Middle East as a global aviation crossroads.
The passenger vehicle market may be becoming increasingly concentrated, but a clutch of global automakers and new entrants are preparing a fresh investment and product offensive aimed at strengthening their presence. The push comes even as Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors together accounted for 78.28% of industry sales in April 2026, underscoring the growing dominance of the top four manufacturers. Rivals, including Toyota, Honda, Renault, Nissan, Volkswagen, Skoda, Stellantis and MG Motor, along with new entrant JSW Motors, are responding with new factories, local product development programmes, SUVs, hybrids and electric vehicles.
The domestic pharma market recorded sales of Rs 21,805 crore in May 2026, up by 10.9% from the corresponding month last year, driven by continued demand across chronic therapies, and an overall improvement in the volume growth, according to the latest Pharmarack report. The latest figures show that the unit growth of the industry stood at 1.4%, suggesting that price increases have largely contributed to the May growth in comparison to the volume growth. The sector recorded healthy growth last month despite a relatively high base and, persistent pricing pressures.
Asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) acquired bad loans worth over Rs 2 lakh crore in FY26, with retail assets emerging as the fastest-growing segment amid a steady decline in corporate non-performing assets (NPAs). According to industry data, total dues acquired by ARCs rose by Rs 2.05 lakh crore to Rs 18.2 lakh crore as of March. While corporate assets continued to account for the bulk of acquisitions, retail loans recorded a significantly faster growth. Retail dues acquired increased by Rs 54,727 crore, or nearly 29% year-on-year, to Rs 2.47 lakh crore, while corporate acquisitions grew by Rs 1.5 lakh crore, or around 11%, to Rs 15.7 lakh crore.
West Bengal could get a major railway infrastructure upgrade if projects worth around Rs 1 lakh crore are advanced as planned. The proposed investments were discussed during a meeting between Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at Nabanna on Saturday. The plans include redevelopment of the 102 station, metro extensions, new rail links and road-rail infrastructure aimed at enhancing connectivity across the state. Adhikari stated that the state would support the Railways in securing land and clearances for pending projects. He further added that timely land acquisition and no-objection certificates (NoCs) could clear the way for railway investments of about Rs 1 lakh crore in West Bengal.
India's automobile retail sales rose 9.6% year-on-year in May, defying higher fuel prices, intense heatwave conditions and uncertainty stemming from the West Asia conflict, dealers' body FADA said on Monday, while expressing confidence that monsoon-led rural demand and Kharif sowing activity will help sustain sales momentum in the coming months. Vehicle registrations across categories climbed to 25.31 lakh units in May, according to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). The industry recorded its best-ever May performance for passenger vehicles (PVs), three-wheelers, tractors and overall retail registrations, even as sales slipped 6.8% from April due to seasonal factors and a delayed onset of the southwest monsoon.
India's Global Capability Centres (GCCs) — in-house technology and operations hubs set up by multinational corporations — have taken the lead as one of the fastest-growing segments of the country's technology sector, outpacing the traditional IT services sector on several metrics. Behind the trend driving the rapid expansion of GCCs in India is the corporate need for control. Industry stakeholders say that the shift from outsourcing services to relying on in-house capabilities allows multinational companies to better manage intellectual property, proprietary technologies and sensitive data. India, currently the world's largest GCC hub with over 2,100 centres, employs around 2.36 million people while generating nearly $100 billion in revenue, driven largely by the country's deep and diverse talent pool, according to a report by Nasscom and Zinnov. By 2030, 2,500 GCCs are projected to employ 3.5 million.
Coal India Ltd (CIL) has offered a record 35 million tonnes (MT) of high-grade coal to sponge iron manufacturers under its linkage auction route, while announcing a series of policy changes aimed at increasing coal availability and operational flexibility for non-regulated sector (NRS) consumers. The linkage auction, scheduled for June 12, is expected to support domestic sponge iron producers, a key consumer of high-GCV coal, and help reduce imports of the fuel grade. The move comes as CIL steps up coal supplies to industrial consumers alongside meeting demand from the power sector. Policy Relief In another policy change, the company has allowed the steel (coking) sub-sector to sell surplus coal middlings in the open market. Middlings are power-grade coal generated during the washing of raw coking coal and are partly used in captive power plants. The provision has been introduced under the ongoing Tranche-X linkage auctions, which began on June 3.
Nestle India is intensifying its rural bet, placing greater emphasis on consumer-centricity and penetration-led volume growth, apart from accelerating tech-enabled sales and operations and reinvesting behind brands, Nestle India’s chairman and MD Manish Tiwary said in the company’s latest annual report released Friday. Addressing shareholders in his first letter to them, Tiwary, who succeeded Suresh Narayanan on August 1, 2025, laid out his roadmap for the future amid a dynamic operating environment. Describing domestic consumption in FY26 as a “push-pull”, Tiwary said it was shaped by a combination of improving macro stability and uneven household sentiment. ‘Food inflation and affordability continued to influence everyday choices. Urban demand remained relatively resilient, while premium segments stayed comparatively stable. Rural recovery was shaped by monsoon outcomes, farm income and government support,” Tiwary added.
Airbus SE is falling behind on deliveries of the A321XLR, a longer-range version of its most popular jet, with Indian customer IndiGo unlikely to receive the full batch of nine units this year, according to people familiar with the matter. InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., the operator of Asia’s largest low-cost carrier, was supposed to receive the XLRs by year’s end, but the time frame on some units has been pushed back by several months, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. IndiGo has received two XLR jets so far, and they’re being used on routes to Athens and Istanbul.
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], June 5 (ANI): India's seafood exports increased by 70 per cent in dollar terms from 2014 to 2025, contrasting sharply with a global international seafood trade expansion of barely 12 to 12.5 per cent during the same period. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, speaking to ANI, stated that the performance underscores domestic resilience amid international challenges. "Even in dollar terms, from 2014 to 2025, India's seafood exports increased by 70%, whereas the world international trade on seafood increased by barely 12-12.5%, clearly demonstrating the capabilities of our fishermen, the wonderful work that our stakeholders related to this sector, whether they are processors, whether they are exporters, all of them are doing," Goyal said.
Anthropic, one of the biggest companies in the artificial intelligence race, is finally raising a question that many in the tech world have been debating for years: What happens if AI becomes so advanced that it can improve itself without human help? In a blog post published on Thursday, the company suggested that the world may need to consider slowing down the development of the most powerful AI systems if they continue advancing at their current pace. Anthropic said such a move could give governments, researchers, and society enough time to understand the risks and put safeguards in place. The tech firm also suggested creating a global agreement that would allow countries and companies to slow development if needed, along with a way to verify that everyone follows the rules.
War-risk insurance premiums for tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz have surged by more than 1,000%, pushing additional insurance costs for a typical Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) to as much as $7.5 million per voyage, even as intermittent ceasefires have failed to restore confidence among shipowners, charterers and insurers. The sharp escalation in insurance costs has emerged as one of the biggest barriers to the resumption of normal commercial traffic through one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, forcing shipowners to demand higher freight rates, reroute vessels and reassess deployments in the Gulf region. Prior to the conflict, war-risk premiums typically ranged between 0.1% and 0.3% of vessel value. Following attacks on commercial vessels, premiums jumped to 2.5%-5%, significantly increasing voyage costs and disrupting tanker economics across global energy markets.
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana has crossed the 40-lakh beneficiary household mark within two years of launch and is on track to reach 75 lakh households by December 2026, marking one of the fastest expansions of residential rooftop solar anywhere in the world. Union new and renewable energy minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said the scheme is witnessing unprecedented growth, with more than 65 lakh applications currently in the pipeline and rooftop solar installations rising from around 7,000 per month before the scheme to over 3 lakh installations a month now. “PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana has already crossed 40 lakh beneficiary households within two years and I am hopeful that by the end of 2026, we will cross 75 lakh households,” Joshi said at an event marking two years of the flagship
A day after the Union Cabinet approved a ₹10,000-crore jet fuel price stabilisation fund, the government on Thursday said domestic airlines can opt to buy aviation turbine fuel (ATF) at a fixed benchmark rate of ₹86.32 per litre for domestic operations and ₹104.49 per litre for international flights. This is meant to insulate them from global fuel prices that have surged amid the West Asia crisis. After accounting for airport charges, oil company margins and taxes, the effective selling price under the scheme works out to about ₹115 per litre in Delhi, ₹114.5 per litre in Mumbai and ₹139 per litre in Chennai, officials said. The announcement comes as international ATF prices have climbed sharply due to the West Asia conflict and the disruption of shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, increasing cost pressures on airlines and leading to losses for state-owned fuel retailers.
The next wave in India is going to be the demand for data centre capacity. The data centre industry is set for huge expansion, with total installed capacity expected to nearly triple from 1.65 GW in 2025 to 5 GW by 2030. What’s driving the growth? According to Avendus Capital, the sector is benefiting from a dual growth trajectory. On one hand, the sector benefits from a rapid expansion of India’s digital economy and on the other, a rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. “India’s data centre ecosystem is on a dual growth trajectory, driven by surging demand from expanding digital economy, and scaling infrastructure to support GPU deployments for AI training and inference workloads,” Avendus Capital said in its report. India’s data centre capacity is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26% through 2030. Developers are expected to invest around $25 billion to add more than 3 GW of new capacity over the next five years. However, AI-dedicated data centre capacity in India alone could rise from 0.3 GW in 2025 to 1.2 GW by 2030.
India is expected to soon unveil a policy to encourage domestic processing of lithium and nickel, two minerals that are crucial for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, news agency Reuters reported quoting sources. The proposed scheme, being prepared by the Ministry of Mines, is expected to have an outlay of around Rs 30 billion (about Rs 3,000 crore). The move is aimed at strengthening India’s supply chain for critical minerals as the country pushes to expand EV adoption and reduce dependence on imports. Reuters had first reported in January that the government was working on an incentive programme covering lithium and nickel processing. In April, the mines secretary said the government had shortlisted two critical minerals linked to securing India’s EV value chain for a processing policy, though he did not identify them.
Whenever you type a question into ChatGPT or any other AI chatbox or ask an AI to write your email, watch a video conjured by a generative model, a small but measurable quantity of water evaporates somewhere on earth. A new report from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) has put hard figures on what was until now only vaguely understood, the full environmental toll of the world’s rapidly growing appetite for artificial intelligence. The report, which quantifies the carbon, water, and land footprints of AI’s global electricity use, finds that by 2030 data centres powering AI are projected to consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity, nearly triple the combined annual electricity use of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria, countries that together are home to more than 650 million people which means AI could use as much water as 1.3 billion people by 2030.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held extensive talks with Venezuela's acting President Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez on forging a long-term energy partnership, as India continues efforts to diversify its crude oil supply sources to bolster energy security. Modi, during the meeting with Delcy, signalled India's willingness to build stable and long-term energy ties with Venezuela, encompassing the upstream and downstream sectors, people said. Both leaders also explored deeper cooperation in critical minerals and mining sectors. The discussions also covered expanding commercial engagement in pharmaceuticals, animal husbandry, transportation, and agriculture for building a strong economic foundation, the people said.
India’s top IT services companies are rapidly scaling artificial intelligence adoption, with Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro each deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot to more than 100,000 employees, Microsoft said on Wednesday. The milestone takes the combined number of Copilot licences across the three firms to over 300,000, more than double the 150,000 licences announced by Microsoft and the companies in December last year. The expansion highlights how large technology services firms are moving beyond AI pilots and integrating generative AI tools into day-to-day operations across engineering, delivery and corporate functions.
The West Asia conflict is expected to dent the profitability of the domestic auto component sector, with operating margins likely to soften to 10.5–11% in FY27 from around 12% last year amid rising raw material and freight costs, Crisil Ratings said on Wednesday. Raw materials account for nearly three-fourths of the sector’s total cost, with steel and aluminium together comprising 50–60% of input expenses. Both commodities have witnessed sharp price increases in recent months. Despite the cost pressures, Crisil expects the sector’s revenue to grow 9–11% this fiscal, helping stabilise absolute operating profits even as margins narrow. Demand from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which contribute more than two-thirds of sector revenues, is expected to remain steady. New passenger vehicle launches, infrastructure-linked commercial vehicle activity, continued premiumisation in the two-wheeler segment, and rising electric vehicle (EV) adoption are expected to support demand. The aftermarket segment also remains stable, backed by a large installed base of vehicles sold in previous years.
India's Global Capability Centres (GCCs) — in-house technology and operations hubs set up by multinational corporations — have taken the lead as one of the fastest-growing segments of the country's technology sector, outpacing the traditional IT services sector on several metrics. Behind the trend driving the rapid expansion of GCCs in India is the corporate need for control. Industry stakeholders say that the shift from outsourcing services to relying on in-house capabilities allows multinational companies to better manage intellectual property, proprietary technologies and sensitive data.
India's push to tighten power grid discipline is colliding with its clean energy ambitions as tougher rules for solar and wind projects alarm investors, who warn the requirements could slash returns and impede investment needed for the energy transition. The most-feared regulations, due to take effect in April 2027, sharply increase penalties when renewable power producers fail to deliver electricity matching their commitments to the grid, according to industry executives, investor presentations and documents reviewed by Reuters. Industry groups estimate the tougher regime could cut revenue by about 11% for solar projects and as much as 48% for wind farms, fuelling concerns that India could make renewable investments less attractive just as it seeks billions of dollars to expand clean energy capacity.
India's federal Ministry of Mines is expected to shortly unveil a policy with incentives to process lithium and nickel with an outlay of around Rs 3,000 crore ($313.48 million), according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources did not want to be identified publicly because they were not authorised to speak to the media. The mines ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment. In January, Reuters reported that the incentive policy would cover lithium and nickel.
India will pilot hydrogen-powered buses and trucks on 10 roads across the country, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday, adding that major conglomerates including Reliance Industries, Tata Group, NTPC and Ashok Leyland have joined the initiative. "We have undertaken a pilot project that on 10 roads of India hydrogen buses and trucks will start. Reliance, Tata, NTPC, Ashok Leyland and many others have joined hands with us for this. We have started making hydrogen," Gadkari said.
Artificial intelligence (AI) may be dominating boardroom discussions, investor presentations and government policy agendas, but the real battle for long-term control of the technology will ultimately be fought in semiconductors, according to Gilroy Mathew, chief operating officer of AI and technology solutions company UST. As countries and technology companies race to secure semiconductor supply chains amid surging demand for AI infrastructure, advanced computing and connected devices, Mathew argues that chips, not AI applications, will determine who controls the economics, scalability and strategic power of the next technology era.
India's exports of refined petroleum products fell to about 930,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, their lowest level since October 2022, as refinery maintenance, changing production priorities and stronger domestic demand curtailed overseas shipments. Exports declined to around 930,000 bpd, down to levels last seen when shipments averaged 926,000 bpd in October 2022, reflecting a combination of lower refinery throughput and a growing focus on supplying the domestic market, according to data analytics firm Kpler. "This sharp cutback was driven by a combination of lower refinery throughput, maintenance activity, and a structural pivot toward the domestic market," said Sumit Ritolia, model and refining manager at Kpler. A key factor behind the decline was planned maintenance at Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refining complex, India's largest refinery and a major exporter of refined fuels.
India’s revised Schedule M regulations are gradually reshaping the country’s pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem. Industry officials caution that while the reforms are expected to improve quality standards and global credibility, they could also lead to consolidation among thousands of small- and medium-sized drug manufacturers that may find it challenging to comply with the new requirements. The common concern across the industry is that compliance is no longer limited to installing new equipment or upgrading facilities. It now requires sustained investment in quality systems, documentation, data integrity, skilled manpower, and continuous audits, significantly increasing the cost of doing business. Latest estimates by industry body Pharmexcil suggest that only 25-40% of India's nearly 8,500 small and medium pharmaceutical manufacturing units are currently fully compliant or near-compliant with the revised Schedule M requirements.
Households planning to install rooftop solar systems may have to pay more as the domestic content requirement (DCR) for solar cells comes into force from June 1, with industry estimates suggesting installation costs could rise by around ₹4,000-6000 per kilowatt, translating into an additional ₹20,000-₹30,000 for a typical 3-kW rooftop system. The mandate requires solar projects connected through net-metering and open-access arrangements to use domestically manufactured solar cells, a move aimed at strengthening India’s solar manufacturing ecosystem and reducing dependence on imported equipment. The cost impact is expected to be most visible in the rooftop solar segment. Alekhya Datta, Director, Electricity and Renewables Division at TERI, estimated that a typical 3-kW rooftop solar system using DCR-compliant equipment could cost between ₹1.8 lakh and ₹2.1 lakh, compared with around ₹1.5 lakh for a non-DCR system, implying an additional cost of about ₹30,000.
A wave of AI-driven layoffs across global technology companies, coupled with growing uncertainty around immigration policies in the US, is prompting an increasing number of Indian professionals overseas to consider returning home, according to affected employees and recruiters. Last week, Meta cut about 8,000 jobs globally, with several Indian-origin employees in the US and the UK among those impacted. The move follows Amazon’s ongoing workforce reduction programme, under which the company has announced 16,000 job cuts this year, in addition to 14,000 layoffs announced in October 2025. For many Indian professionals abroad, the latest round of job cuts has accelerated plans that were already under consideration.
Revenue of India’s cable and wire (C&W) manufacturers is expected to rise 28-30% in FY27, driven by 18-20% price hikes to offset soaring raw material costs, even as the sector continues to benefit from a ₹10-12 lakh crore investment pipeline across power, renewable energy, real estate, data centres and smart meters, according to Crisil Ratings. The sharp growth outlook comes after the industry delivered more than 20% volume-led growth in FY26, with demand continuing to be supported by infrastructure-linked sectors amid rising power consumption, urbanisation and digitisation. An analysis of 17 cable and wire manufacturers, accounting for nearly 70% of the organised sector’s ₹1 lakh crore revenue, indicates that volumes are expected to grow around 10% this fiscal despite higher prices. Organised players account for nearly two-thirds of the overall industry revenue.
In India, a car doesn't just come with keys; it comes with visibility. For decades, that visibility was expected to arrive factory-fresh. But as aspirations race ahead of incomes, a growing number of Indians are discovering that status doesn't have to be showroom-new. The country's booming used-car market is proving that the shortest route to a bigger badge may be through a previous owner. The old assumption, that Indians buy a small new hatchback first, then slowly climb the ownership ladder over the years, is starting to crack. A growing number of buyers are simply bypassing the “starter car” phase entirely.
More than 80% of India’s diesel exports in May headed to Africa as demand from Asia and Europe weakened and geopolitical tensions reshaped global diesel trade flows. India exported 394,000 barrels per day (bpd) of diesel in May, compared with 376,000 bpd in April and 399,000 bpd in February, according to energy cargo tracker Kpler. About 327,000 bpd, or 83% of total exports, went to Africa in May, against 32% in April and 64% in February. No diesel was exported to Europe, while shipments to Asia fell 76% to 40,000 bpd in May. “This shift (from Asia to Africa) is due to improved refinery runs across the broader Asian region this month, as China's crude appetite fell to a 10-year low, freeing up crude availability for other Asian refiners,” said Nikhil Dubey, lead analyst - refining at Kpler.
India’s fuel exports tumbled to the lowest level in nearly four years in May as a push to ensure domestic supplies during the Iran war shock along with refinery maintenance curbed overseas flows. Outbound shipments of products including diesel, gasoline and jet fuel averaged about 878,000 barrels a day last month, the lowest since October 2022 and down 31% from a year earlier, according data analytics firm Kpler Ltd. The conflict in the Middle East has led to the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz, choking off flows of crude and fuels to global customers, including India. Nations across Asia scrambled to ensure domestic requirements wouldn’t be significantly disrupted by the war by curbing some of their exports.
State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) are continuing to incur under-recoveries of around ₹30 per litre on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sold to domestic airlines after keeping jet fuel prices unchanged for a second straight month. Prices for international carriers, however, were cut by a steep 27% in the monthly revision effective June 1. “There is under-recovery of around ₹30 per litre on domestic jet fuel, but this under-recovery is variable based on international prices,” Sujata Sharma, joint secretary at the petroleum ministry, said on Monday. Domestic airlines will continue to pay ₹104,927.18 per kilolitre for ATF, the rate applicable since April 1. The price was left unchanged in May and June despite elevated international benchmark prices.
The two-wheeler industry maintained its growth momentum in May, with leading manufacturers reporting healthy increases in domestic sales and strong export growth, indicating resilient demand in the domestic market and improving conditions in overseas geographies. Domestic sales growth ranged from high single digits to mid-double digits across major manufacturers, supported by sustained demand for motorcycles and scooters. At the same time, exports continued to recover, providing an additional growth driver for the industry.
India’s medical technology sector could grow over four times to touch $89 billion by 2035, driven by rising domestic demand, active policy push, strong capital flows into the sector, and favourable trade position, a new report by BCG, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) and Kalam Institute of Health Technology (KIHT) said. As per the report, the domestic MedTech market has jumped from $11 billion in 2022 to $16 billion in 2025, making it one of the fastest-growing segments in the healthcare sector. Domestic manufacturing has grown sharply with its share in domestic demand surging from 20% in 2022 to 45% in 2025. At the same time, the share of imports in domestic consumption has dropped from about 80% to 55%. Despite the progress, India still remains heavily dependent on imports in critical segments. Large medical equipment such as MRI and CT scanners continue to have import dependence while consumables and diagnostics also rely significantly on imported components and raw materials.
Passenger vehicle (PV) industry continued its second consecutive month of strong growth of over 25% in FY27, with domestic wholesales rising 26.2% year-on-year (YoY) to 4,44,394 units in May, compared with 3,52,218 units in the year-ago period, driven by sustained SUV demand, improving rural traction and a sharp uptick in CNG vehicle sales amid higher fuel prices. The strong performance indicates continued momentum in the sector at the start of FY27, despite fuel price hikes and global uncertainty, supported by improving supply conditions, new model launches and a clear shift in consumer preference towards lower running-cost vehicles.
The domestic aviation sector saw passenger growth virtually stall in the first four months of 2026, signalling that the post-pandemic travel boom may be losing momentum amid softer discretionary demand, elevated airfares and persistent operational disruptions. Domestic airlines carried 57.55 million passengers during January-April 2026, up just 0.06% from 57.51 million a year earlier, according to industry data. The growth was sharply lower than the 9.87% expansion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025 and marks the weakest performance since the industry emerged from the pandemic-induced downturn. The weakness became particularly visible in April, when domestic passenger traffic fell 3.47% year-on-year to 13.82 million passengers from 14.32 million. Traffic was also 4.2% lower than the 14.4 million passengers carried in March, highlighting a moderation in travel demand.
LPG sales fell 24% year-on-year in May, a much steeper decline than the month before while petrol and diesel sales by state-run oil companies rose 4.8% and 6.4%, respectively. Aviation turbine fuel sales rose 1.8% from a year earlier in May, according to sales data from IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. The three state-run companies control 90% of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel market, and nearly entire domestic LPG market. Sales data for the industry, including private sector, slated to be issued by the oil ministry in a week, will provide a clearer picture of fuel consumption in May. In April, LPG sales by state-run companies had dropped about 16% year-on-year. The unusually high growth in diesel sales by state-run fuel retailers in May points to a significant demand shift away from pumps operated by private retailers.
Retrospective tax liability has returned to haunt Indian businesses, this time through the Supreme Court upholding the government’s power to tax online real-money gaming companies for past periods. In Gameskraft Technologies, the court ruled that the government could impose 28 percent GST on the entire contest or betting amount deposited on online gaming platforms. The industry’s principal contention was not merely the rate of taxation but the basis on which GST should be levied. It argued that tax should apply only to the platform fee or commission earned by gaming companies for facilitating online gaming, rather than to the entire amount staked by players. The industry also urged the court against imposing tax liabilities for periods during which the legal position remained uncertain and heavily contested. For years, online gaming companies operated under a framework where GST applied only to platform fees, consistent with the earlier service tax regime. That position changed with an amendment that came into force on October 1, 2023 with the government arguing that it was merely clarificatory and did not introduce a new levy. According to this interpretation, a 28 percent GST on the full betting amount had always been applicable since the introduction of GST on July 1, 2017. Accepting this argument, the Supreme Court held that the amendments were clarificatory rather than substantive. Still, the judgement leaves the industry facing tax demands of nearly ₹1.5 lakh crore, even though the sector’s total revenue during the relevant period—from July, 2017 to March, 2022—was only around ₹10,100 crore.
India should seek to build a $120-150 billion semiconductor value chain by 2035, with the centre funding at least one-third of the required investments to de-risk projects and attract long-term capital, according to a report released by NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub. The report titiled ‘Future of India’s Semiconductor Industry’, lays focus on transitioning the country beyond being a participant in the global semiconductor race to building leadership in areas where it can become strategically indispensable. It recommends focusing on advanced packaging, outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT), semiconductor design, system architecture, and wide-bandgap materials such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN), rather than attempting to directly compete with global leaders in advanced wafer fabrication.
Maharashtra is looking to position itself at the forefront of India’s artificial intelligence push, with plans to attract Rs 10,000 crore in investments, create 125 lakh jobs and build dedicated infrastructure to support startups and innovation in the sector. Speaking at an event organised by the tech startup community in Mumbai, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state has already put in place an AI policy aimed at creating a comprehensive ecosystem around the technology. “We have created a very robust policy whereby we look at Rs 10,000 crore investment in AI, 125 lakh jobs being created. We want to create six centres of excellence around AI. We are going to create AI innovation regions,” Fadnavis said during his address at day 1 of Mumbai Tech Week.
The domestic aviation sector began the financial year 2026-2027 (FY27) on a subdued note, with domestic passenger traffic declining year-on-year amid elevated airfares, rising fuel costs and geopolitical disruptions weighing on travel demand, according to a report by ICRA. Domestic air passenger traffic stood at 14.08 million passengers in April 2026, down 1.6% year-on-year from 14.31 million passengers in April 2025 and 2% sequentially from 14.37 million passengers in March 2026, the ratings agency said in its latest aviation outlook report released on Friday. The decline comes at a time when airlines are grappling with higher aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, rupee depreciation and operational disruptions arising from the ongoing West Asia conflict.
Solar Industries India and its subsidiary have secured export orders worth Rs 1,076 crore for the supply of defence products to international clients. Solar Industries did not disclose the names of the clients or details of the products in its regulatory filing. However, it said that the orders will be executed over a period of three years. Solar Industries Q4FY26 In its Q4FY26 earning release, Solar Industries said that it currently has an order book of Rs 21,300 crore. it is targeting revenue of around Rs 14,000 crore in FY27 while maintaining current margins. The company plans to spend Rs 2,050 crore as capital expenditure in FY27 after investing more than Rs 2,700 crore over the past two years.
India needs to accelerate efforts to build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem, with self-reliance in chip manufacturing becoming critical for economic resilience, national security and inclusive growth, according to a new report by NITI Aayog. The report said that while government initiatives such as the India Semiconductor Mission are helping lay the foundation for a domestic industry, India's semiconductor manufacturing base remains at a nascent stage. With global supply chains undergoing a major realignment, the report cautioned that the country has a narrowing window to establish itself as a meaningful player in the sector.
All India House Price Index (HPI) rose 4.2 per cent in the January-March quarter of 2025-26, compared with an expansion of 3.8 per cent in the year-ago period, according to Reserve Bank data released on Friday. The increase in the fourth quarter was primarily driven by cities such as Nagpur, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Kanpur. The data also showed that the House Price Index rose to 115.9 in Q4:2025-26, from 115.6 in the previous quarter, driven by an increase in housing prices across Jaipur, Lucknow and Pune, reflecting a quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.2 per cent.
India's cumulative investments of nearly USD 360 billion in infrastructure development over the last decade has significantly slashed India's logistics cost to 10-10.7 percent of GDP in FY 2026, from 13-14 percent a decade ago, a report by CII Knight-Frank said on Friday. The report titled 'Fast-Tracking MMLPs to Enable Modal Shift: India's Multimodal Logistics Transformation: A Strategic Outlook' further said India will need many more Multimodal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) to unlock next level logistical efficiency. Reflecting this progress, the report said India's position in the global Logistics Performance Index (LPI) improved from 54th in 2014 to 38th in 2023.
