With fears over oil supplies affecting markets worldwide, Arunima Bharadwaj has three stories examining the impact on India. First, she looks at how the US ‘waiver’ on Russian oil to India may have brought short-term relief but Chinese competition and Gulf exposure could limit the gains. Second, she spoke to government officials who told her that India, which has continued to buy Russian oil, was studying the legal implications of the ‘waiver’ and has been diversifying supplies beyond the Strait of Hormuz. Third, India has invoked emergency powers under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, directing refiners to maximise cooking gas output and asking fuel retailers to ensure that LPG produced is sold exclusively to domestic consumers. This on a day when crude surged to $89 a barrel and Qatar warned that the Iran war could choke global energy supplies within weeks. Also read Ishaan Gera’s piece on how India is more exposed to West Asian LNG supplies than most major importing economies, with nearly 60% of its LNG imports coming from the region in 2024.
On the markets, the Russia waiver boosted Reliance Industries, whose oil-to-chemicals business is tied to crude prices. The stock climbed as much as 2.5% during intraday trading and ended the session up 1.27%, writes J. Jagganath. Still, broader market sentiment remained jittery as the war entered its seventh day. Overall, on a day when benchmark equity indices declined by about 1.3%, Ravindra Sonavane reports that FPIs have continued trimming exposure to India’s IT sector, selling more than Rs 17,000 crore worth of shares in February.
With companies bracing for supply disruptions, Aishwarya Nair reports that fertiliser supply chains could face pressure, although industry executives say current inventories should cushion any immediate shock. In pharmaceuticals, Vishwanath Pilla reports that exporters could face a Rs 5,000 crore hit as freight costs and insurance premiums climb. Also read Ishaan’s piece on how India’s food exports are increasingly exposed to the Iran war. About 40% of the country’s rice exports, along with large shares of spices, fruits and meat shipments, are tied to Gulf markets around the Strait of Hormuz.
One of India’s most popular sporting teams may soon see a new owner. Deborshi Chaki and Swaraj Singh Dhanjal report that the Aditya Birla Group has teamed up with American sports investor David Blitzer to bid for a majority stake in the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals from current owner Manoj Badale. Shivam Saha writes that Aryaman Birla, son of Kumar Mangalam Birla and a former cricketer himself, once played for the very team his consortium now hopes to acquire.
Capital markets regulator Sebi has introduced a voluntary debit freeze facility for mutual fund folios. Brajesh Kumar reports that this allows investors to temporarily block any debit transactions in their holdings to enhance digital security and prevent unauthorized redemption or transfer of units. Also, SEBI Whole Time Member, Kamlesh Chandra Varshney told N. Mahalakshmi at Moneycontrol’s Fidex 2026 event in Mumbai today that performance verification agency PaRRVA, being developed jointly by the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and CARE Ratings, is likely to be operational by June. Market regulator. PaRRVA aims at enabling registered market intermediaries such as investment advisors and algorithmic trading providers to advertise their performance in a transparent and verifiable manner.
In the tech sector, one of Infosys’s largest outsourcing deals is beginning to unwind. US asset manager Vanguard has begun absorbing employees from Infosys as it reverses a deal signed in 2020, reports Reshab Shaw. Vanguard outsourced its recordkeeping business to Infosys, but is now taking it in-house.
Walmart-owned Flipkart has laid off around 300 employees, reports Aryaman Gupta. This layoff round impacts 1.5% of the e-commerce giant's workforce.
And finally, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah announced in his state budget today that the state would ban social media for children under 16. While it is unclear how this would be implemented, this follows similar moves by Australia and discussions in several European countries.
