Business

The Ministry of Mines has notified the Mineral (Auction) Second Amendment Rules, 2026 on March 30, 2026, marking a fresh push to fast-track mine operationalisation and strengthen efficiency across India’s mining sector. The move builds on ongoing reforms aimed at improving transparency and enhancing ease of doing business.Background: Earlier Reforms Focused on Timelines and Accountability The amendment follows significant changes introduced on October 17, 2025, to the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015. These earlier reforms established structured timelines from the issuance of the Letter of Intent (LoI) to the execution of mining leases.Under those rules:Preferred bidders faced a penalty of 1% of performance security for each month of...

Indian Navy's INS Sunayna, operating under the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) SAGAR initiative, reached Male on April 6, 2026, marking the first port call of its operational deployment. The arrival was met with a warm welcome from the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), underscoring the deep and enduring maritime partnership and close regional ties between India and the Maldives.Two MNDF personnel are part of the multinational crew embarked onboard the vessel.The international crew conducted intensive training during the transit to Male, covering seamanship, small arms firing, and damage control drills. This focus reflects a strong emphasis on collective readiness, operational interoperability, and maritime cooperation. The deployment...

New Delhi, April 7 Total retail sales of electric vehicles in India grew by 24.6 per cent to 24.52 lakh units in FY26, compared to the previous fiscal, with all categories experiencing strong double-digit growth, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations said on Tuesday.While electric two-wheelers reached 14 lakh units, retail sales of electric passenger vehicles fell just short of 2 lakh units but surged by 83.63 per cent in FY26, FADA said in a statement."FY'26 has been a turning point for India's electric mobility story. Total EV retail across two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles, and commercial vehicles stood at approximately 24.52 lakh units, growing nearly 24.6 per cent year-on-year, with every category...

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) organized a pre-bid conference on April 7, 2026, for prospective bidders under the 'Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnet,' receiving participation and interest from at least 25 companies.MHI issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) on March 20, 2026, inviting bids for establishing integrated Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) manufacturing facilities in India. The scheme targets a total manufacturing capacity of 6,000 MTPA with a scheme outlay of ₹7,280 Crore.During the conference at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, a detailed presentation covered the Scheme's contours, major provisions of the RFP, and procedural aspects of the bidding process. MHI...

New Delhi, April 7 – The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to maintain its policy rates, as liquidity tools will take center stage in 2026, even though crude prices are about 50 per cent above the central bank’s $70 per barrel assumption, a report said on Tuesday."Current oil prices are 50 per cent above RBI’s assumption of $70/bbl. Despite this, we continue to see a high bar for monetary tightening," the report from SBI Mutual Funds said.The AMC firm noted metals and mining as sectoral winners from higher energy prices and flagged negative impacts for airlines, tourism, chemicals, fertilizers, and textiles. IT, telecom, pharma, and power are relatively safe bets, it added.With large-cap valuations now inexpensive, any...

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has revised the base year for National Accounts to 2022-23. This revision aims to more accurately reflect the current structure of the economy by incorporating updated data sources and aligning estimation practices with evolving international standards. Concurrently, the base year for Gross State Value Addition (GSVA) will also be revised by States/UTs to ensure more accurate, consistent, and comparable estimates of the states' economic performance over time, aligning with the GDP at the National level.A Sub-Committee on Regional Accounts has been constituted under the ACNAS. This committee, chaired by Prof. Ravindra H. Dholakia (Retd.), Professor, IIM Ahmedabad, includes...

Beijing, April 7 China announced on Tuesday a further increase in gasoline and diesel prices, the second in about two weeks, due to rising international oil prices driven by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), announced that the new price increases would take effect from Wednesday.China had already increased gasoline and diesel prices on March 23 as part of preparations for a fuel crisis amid concerns about the current US-Israel-Iran conflict.Since the adjustment of domestic oil prices in late March, international crude oil prices have experienced significant fluctuations, the NDRC said in a statement.Due to control measures, the prices of...

Mumbai, April 7 – Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the first phases of Mumbai Metro Line 9 from Dahisar East to Kashigaon and Line 2B, which runs from Mandale to Chembur, on Tuesday.With regular services on both lines set to begin on Wednesday, the country's financial capital will have six operational metro lines.Fadnavis first inaugurated the first phase of Metro Line 9, starting a train from Dahisar East, and traveled to Kashigaon along with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, and Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde. This line connects the northern suburb of Dahisar with neighbouring Mira Bhayandar in Thane district.Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said that a convenient and...

New Delhi, April 7 The government is exploring options, including the issuance of preference shares or fresh equity, to maintain a 51% stake in the state-owned Power Finance Corporation after its merger with REC, a senior official said.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the restructuring of Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) in the FY27 budget to help achieve scale and improve efficiency in the public sector NBFC sector."The government would like to retain a majority stake in the merged entity, as it would be the largest government-owned NBFC with a strategic presence. Discussions are underway to ensure that the government's stake in the merged entity does not fall below 51%,"...

Mumbai, April 7 Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson told staff on Tuesday that it was the right time to hand over control of the airline for its next phase of growth.Wilson, who has decided to resign, has been at the helm for four years since mid-2022 and will remain with the airline to ensure a smooth transition."I am incredibly proud of what you have achieved, especially in the face of unprecedented challenges, including aircraft delivery delays, supply chain issues, two wars, airspace closures, high fuel prices, and, most tragically, the recent incident," Wilson said.He stated that it was the right time to hand over control of the airline."With a limited window until bulk deliveries from the nearly...

Mumbai, April 7 The stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, ended higher on Tuesday, as a drop in crude oil prices and a rally in global markets calmed investor sentiment.Furthermore, buying in IT stocks helped the market recover after early losses.The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 509.73 points, or 0.69 per cent, to close at 74,616.58. During the day, it reached a high of 74,686.32 and a low of 73,282.41, fluctuating by 1,403.91 points.The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 155.40 points, or 0.68 per cent, to end at 23,123.65.Among the major gainers from the 30-Sensex firms were Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, and Hindustan Unilever.InterGlobe Aviation, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra...

Seoul, April 7 – LG Energy Solution Ltd, South Korea's leading battery maker, announced on Tuesday that it had posted an operating loss in the first quarter, apparently due to the impact of the US-Iran conflict.The operating loss amounted to 207.8 billion won (US$138.2 million) for the January-March period, compared to a profit of 374.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales decreased by 2.5 percent to 6.55 trillion won. Data on net earnings was unavailable, according to Yonhap news agency.The operating loss was 30.4 percent higher than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.The company will release its final earnings report...

New Delhi, April 7 Jubilant Foodworks Ltd (JFL), the country's leading quick service restaurant (QSR) chain operator, reported a 6.2 per cent increase in domestic revenue to Rs 1,686 crore in the March quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year.For the full fiscal year, revenue reached Rs 6,887.8 crore, according to the Bhartiya-promoted firm, which holds franchise rights for global QSR brands such as Domino's and Popeyes.Consolidated revenue, which includes income from international operations, stood at Rs 2,505.8 crore in the March quarter, a 19.1 per cent year-on-year increase. The company's FY26 operational revenue was Rs 9,544.1 crore, a 17.2 per cent year-on-year increase, it stated in a BSE filing."During the quarter, 69 new stores...

Mumbai, April 7 The rupee depreciated by 10 paise to close at 93.00 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of US President Donald Trump's deadline for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy review.Forex traders said the USD/INR pair was trading under pressure, dragged down by continued withdrawal of foreign capital, a strong dollar, and higher crude oil prices amid a volatile geopolitical situation.Moreover, market participants will remain watchful of evolving geopolitical headlines and the upcoming RBI monetary policy decision.At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 93.05 against the US dollar, then lost ground to trade at...

New Delhi, April 7 AI-native operations intelligence platform WorkOnGrid has raised ₹22.5 crore in a funding round led by Transition VC, with participation from Indian Angel Network (IAN).With this, WorkOnGrid has raised a total of ₹28.5 crore in funding to date.The fresh capital will be used to expand WorkOnGrid’s global go-to-market activities, enhance its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, and develop international infrastructure to support wider deployment, according to a company statement."This funding round marks a pivotal step in our mission to modernize the last mile of critical infrastructure. By digitizing manual operations and embedding AI-native intelligence into utility workflows, we are...

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has formed a high-level Special Task Force (STF) aimed at proactively tackling emerging global challenges and developing strategies to bolster the agricultural sector. During its inaugural meeting, which was chaired by the Secretary DARE and the Director General, ICAR, a comprehensive framework was outlined to secure national food and input security.The task force plans several key interventions across the agricultural value chain. First, the scope of the 'Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav' (MGMG) campaign is set to be broadened, initiating action to enhance farmer outreach. This initiative will focus on 100 aspirational Districts, leveraging existing organizational structures to deliver a...

New Delhi, April 7 India and New Zealand are expected to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on April 24 here, which will provide tariff-free access to domestic exporters for their goods in the island nation's market, and will bring in USD 20 billion of investment over the next 15 years, an official said.The two countries announced the conclusion of negotiations for the trade deal on December 22 last year, which aims at doubling bilateral trade to USD 5 billion in the next five years.The official said that the pact is likely to be signed on April 24 in Bharat Mandapam.While India will get zero-duty market access on 100 per cent of its exports, the agreement will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand's exports to...

New Delhi, April 7 The government has extended its order to withhold the reporting of Television Rating Points (TRPs) for TV news channels for four weeks, with the aim of "curbing the display of sensationalism and speculative content" amidst the West Asia conflict.The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had on March 6 issued the first directive to the television rating agency, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), to immediately withhold reporting the TRPs for TV news channels for a period of four weeks or until further orders, whichever is earlier."This directive was aimed towards curbing the display of unwarranted sensationalism and speculative content by some news genre channels amidst the West Asia conflict, which may...

The Regulations for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and Charges, 2026 are designed to promote planned, sustainable, and transit-linked urban growth, especially along metro corridors, thereby improving accessibility and aiding the development of affordable housing stock in the NCT of Delhi. This new policy builds upon the vision established in the Master Plan of Delhi 2021.Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Manohar Lal stated that the TOD concept was already included in the Master Plan of Delhi 2021, and the 2026 Regulations enhance this vision to support transit-linked urban growth.Smt. Rekha Gupta elaborated that, following the vision of the Hon'ble Prime Minister, the TOD policy promotes planned, high-density...

New Delhi, April 7 The top 10% of rural households in India own 44% of the land, while 46% of rural households are landless, according to a working paper released by the World Inequality Lab.The paper, titled "Land Inequality in India: Nature, History, and Markets," further stated that the top 5% of households own 32% of the land, while 18% of rural land ownership is held by the top 1%.The paper is jointly authored by Nitin Kumar Bharti, David Blakeslee, and Samreen Malik, drawing on one of the largest datasets ever assembled on land ownership in India, covering approximately 650 million people across 270,000 villages."The average village land Gini coefficient (an index measuring landholding inequality on a scale of 0-100) reaches...