The Kremlin has stated that India is free to purchase oil from any country, dismissing claims that India agreed to reduce Russian oil imports. Russia maintains that energy trade with India benefits both nations and contributes to international energy market stability.
India's decision to import LPG from the US helps it to diversify sources as it reduces almost full reliance on West Asian countries for supply of the country's primary cooking fuel.
India's top cement producers delivered a solid July-September quarter (Q2) in 2025-26 (FY26), lifted by firmer prices, higher sales volumes, and a favourable base. Seasonal weakness and maintenance outages did dent sequential performance, but the overall picture remained positive - and the road ahead looks steady.
Saudi Arabia's steep cut in LPG benchmark prices has pushed India's household LPG underrecoveries to their lowest level in over two years, slashing oil companies' losses from Rs 200-250 per cylinder last year to about Rs 20-40 now.
Overall economic activity continued to hold up in November with demand conditions remaining robust, thanks to strengthening urban demand, but manufacturing and rural demand showed some signs of deceleration even as services remained strong, according to an article on the State of the Economy written by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials in the central bank's December bulletin.
Deloitte India on Thursday projected India's economy to grow 6.7-6.9 per cent in the current fiscal amid buoyant demand and policy reforms. Indian economy grew 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter of current fiscal.
If crude prices have increased, retail petro product prices should go up.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed a heated debate between the opposition and the government regarding a discussion on the West Asia crisis, with accusations of political maneuvering and failure to uphold the dignity of parliamentary positions.
The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
The Opposition on its part wants to corner the government by raising issues like alleged shortcomings in the healthcare system during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the distribution of Covid vaccines to states.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
The US has granted India permission to buy Russian oil already in transit to ease global supply pressures amidst the West Asia conflict. This decision comes after India agreed to halt sanctioned Russian oil purchases and substitute them with US oil.
The new Renault Duster with hybrid engine has an edge over its rivals despite having no diesel engine while the styling also appeals with its butch looks, says Somnath Chatterjee.
India's gross GST collection increased by 8.1 per cent to over Rs 1.83 lakh crore in February, driven by higher import revenues and improved domestic sales. Despite some states reporting negative or below-average growth, experts see the overall trend as a sign of a maturing tax ecosystem and a confident domestic market.
Rural India outpaced urban centres in passenger vehicle sales in 2025, recording a growth of 12 per cent compared with 8 per cent in cities.
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) stayed in negative territory for the second consecutive month at (-) 0.58 per cent in July, as prices of food articles and fuel saw deflation, even though prices of manufactured items increased, government data showed on Thursday.
"My understanding is that the rules are weighted in favour of big cars, even though smaller cars emit fewer emissions per passenger, use less material, and consume less fuel," Bhargava said in an interview with Business Standard.
The Indian government has revised its natural gas allocation priorities, placing LPG production alongside CNG and piped cooking gas at the top, due to disruptions in imported gas supplies caused by the conflict in West Asia.
Consumers are paying an exorbitant 180 per cent tax on petrol, and 140 per cent on diesel in Delhi and in most other towns in India. Little wonder then that the central government expects a staggering Rs 3.46 trillion by levying excise duties on retail sale of the two fuels this year, and Rs 3.2 trillion the next. States would generally have had reason to cheer, as they command a 41 per cent share in Centre's tax revenues. But as the Centre has raised excise duties in the form of "cess," the revenue proceeds are by nature not shareable with states.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of tax cuts on petroleum products, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said people were aware of the fact behind the issue and pointed out at his government effecting a Rs 3 a litre cut on petrol earlier.
On the back of an aggressive asset monetisation push, the government will press the throttle on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model - under which private developers fund highway construction - for future highway development, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said.
Retail inflation inched up to 0.71 per cent in November on rising prices of vegetables, protein-rich items, and fuel, government data showed on Friday. The consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation had fallen to a record low of 0.25 per cent in October, mainly due to lower prices helped by GST rate cuts and a favourable base.
According to a report by rating and research agency CRISIL, it now takes six years to recover the premium-between Rs 100,000 on small cars and Rs 300,000 on luxury sedans-paid for diesel variants.
India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, spent 2.5 billion euro on buying crude oil from Russia in September, 14 per cent less than the previous month, a European think tank said. India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in September behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
India's annual oil import bill could rise by $9-11 billion if the country is compelled to move away from Russian crude in response to US threats of additional tariffs or penalties on Indian exports, analysts said. India, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer, has reaped significant benefits by swiftly substituting market-priced oil with discounted Russian crude following Western sanctions on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to the formula being worked out, the company would raise the fuel charge by Rs 50 for every Rs 1,000-per-kilolitre increase in the rates of jet fuel. Inversely, there would be a slide in the fares by the same amount in case of a Rs 1,000-per-kl decrease.
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The Petroleum Federation of India, the apex body of public and private oil firms, has submitted to the oil ministry a 100-day agenda for the new government. On top of its list is decontrol of petrol and diesel prices. Currently, public sector retailers sell auto fuel at government-dictated rates, which the private sector competition is unable to match in times of high input cost (crude oil prices).
'Indian refiners can operate without Russian crude from a technical standpoint, but the shift would involve major economic and strategic trade-offs'
In a first, Indian oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) finalised a one-year contract to import around 2.2 million tonnes (mt) of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the US. The LPG import deal comes at a time when negotiations for an India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) are gathering steam. Earlier in the month, US President Donald Trump had said Washington and New Delhi were "pretty close" to reaching a fair trade deal.
When everyone has footage and no one can verify it, the loudest voice wins, notes Prem Panicker who begins a daily blog on the War in the Middle East.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
After a record-breaking year, India's automobile industry is entering 2026 on a relatively strong footing, with sales growth expected in the 6-8 per cent range. The outlook is underpinned by policy support, including GST rationalisation, easing monetary conditions, and income tax relief, which together are likely to improve affordability and sustain consumer demand across vehicle segments.
'The entire US ecosystem built over decades at the bases in the Gulf region, especially the UAE, costing trillions of dollars have been decimated, dealing a mortal blow to the US Central Command's war capability,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) returned to the positive zone after two months at 0.52 per cent in August, as prices of food articles and manufactured items inched up, government data showed on Monday. WPI-based inflation was (-) 0.58 and (-) 0.19 per cent in July and June, respectively.
