Press Insider

The US has opened a sweeping trade investigation into India and dozens of other major trading partners to assess whether their governments are doing enough to prevent goods produced with forced labor from entering the US market, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said.

India’s retail inflation rose to 3.21% in February from 2.74% in January, the second reading under the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with base year 2024=100, as food prices firmed up and a surge in precious metals inflated parts of the basket. Even so, the print stayed below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) 4% target and well within its 2% to 6% tolerance band, leaving policymakers with a deceptively calm headline number just as the external backdrop turns uglier.

Contemplating the war of choice initiated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a conflict he has been dreaming about and preparing for nearly forty years, with the green signal from US President Donald Trump, who joined with alacrity, it is painfully clear that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. Israel and the US appear determined to compel Iran to surrender.

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the parent company of IndiGo, said Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers has stepped down with immediate effect for “personal reasons,” according to an exchange filing by the airline. The carrier said Managing Director Rahul Bhatia will assume interim management of the airline until a new chief executive is appointed.

Walmart-owned e-commerce company Flipkart has completed its “reverse flip” to India after securing regulatory approvals, shifting its corporate domicile from Singapore as it prepares for a domestic stock market listing.

India on Wednesday, 11 March, called for an early end to the escalating conflict in West Asia and said authorities are closely assessing its potential impact on Indian citizens, maritime trade and energy supply routes that pass through the region.

India’s oil ministry sought to reassure consumers on Wednesday, 11 March, that cooking gas supplies remain stable, urging households not to panic book LPG cylinders as global energy tensions triggered fears of shortages across several cities.

Six years after imposing tighter scrutiny on foreign direct investment (FDI) from neighboring countries, India has eased some of those restrictions, allowing certain non-controlling minority investments without prior approval and setting a 60-day decision timeline for selected manufacturing proposals, according to a government release.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Reliance Industries Ltd is backing what he described on Truth Social as the first new major US oil refinery in 50 years, tying the Indian conglomerate to a Brownsville, Texas, project that Trump is pitching as a boost to American energy security at a time when war-driven volatility has rattled oil and fuel markets.

Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday, 10 March, after US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could end “very soon,” easing concerns that a prolonged conflict could disrupt global energy supplies and trigger a broader inflation shock. Brent futures were down $6.75, or 6.8%, at $92.21 a barrel at 1012 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $6.41, or 6.8%, to $88.36, after both benchmarks had surged above $119 on Monday before reversing.