All posts tagged: US and Israel

West Asia war: Singapore pips UAE as India’s second largest export destination | Business News

West Asia war: Singapore pips UAE as India’s second largest export destination | Business News

3 min readNew DelhiMay 17, 2026 05:21 AM IST India’s trade flows have begun shifting amid the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz since March, as traders have begun finding alternate routes to export goods amid disruption in trade with countries in the West Asia region, an analysis of data shared by the Commerce and Industry Ministry showed. The most notable shift in trade routes was seen in the two transshipment hubs that India has free trade agreements (FTA) with – UAE and Singapore. Replacing UAE, Singapore became India’s second largest export market in April, registering a five-fold jump compared to February. The Strait of Hormuz was closed on March 2.  While exports to Singapore surged by 180% in April to $3.20 billion compared to $1.14 billion a year ago, exports to UAE slipped by 36% to $2.18 billion last month compared to $3.43 billion a year ago. Exports from Singapore have been rising month-on-month too since February amid the disruption in trade with UAE. On the import side too, the West Asia war …

Amid West Asia crisis, government bans sugar exports until September 30 | Business News

Amid West Asia crisis, government bans sugar exports until September 30 | Business News

3 min readNew DelhiMay 14, 2026 01:57 AM IST The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) late on Wednesday prohibited export of raw, white and refined sugar with immediate effect till September 30 amid inflation and future supply-related concerns in the backdrop of the ongoing West Asia conflict. The prohibition will not apply to sugar exports to the European Union and the US under the preferential quota, the notification said. The prohibition on sugar exports will also not apply to the advance authorisation scheme (AAS), government-to-government exports, and consignments already in the physical export pipeline, it stated. The decision to ban sugar exports is seen more as a precautionary move, given the finely balanced supply and stocks position. Sugar production in the 2025-26 season (October-September) has been estimated at about 275 lakh tonnes . With opening stocks of 50 lakh tonnes, the total availability of 325 lakh tonnes can comfortably meet the projected domestic consumption requirement of 280 lakh tonnes. It will leave the closing stocks of sugar at 45 lakh tonnes, which is the …

Fiscal stress a reality, focus to stay on capex: Expenditure Secretary | Business News

Fiscal stress a reality, focus to stay on capex: Expenditure Secretary | Business News

3 min readNew DelhiMay 2, 2026 05:28 AM IST Fiscal stress is “very much a reality” and there could be lots of stress points going ahead amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, but the government is focused on spending on priority sectors and capital expenditure, which will continue to be at the budgeted level of Rs 12.2 lakh crore, Expenditure Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam said on Friday. Stating that the LPG crisis has been a “challenging situation” with India importing about 60% of its requirement, of which 90% comes through Strait of Hormuz that has been impacted by the disturbance, Vualnam said the government has been proactive in tackling these situations. However, there are also “systemic constraints” where one cannot really tackle off or wipe away all the impacts which are there, the Secretary said. For instance, beyond LPG, the cut in excise duties will also have a fiscal impact, he said. “So, the fiscal stress is indeed very much a reality. But at the same time, the priority sectors, for example, the capex could really …

There are three pathways for India to develop greater energy resilience

There are three pathways for India to develop greater energy resilience

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is, perhaps, a crisis too valuable to ignore. While some disruption is inevitable in the near term, within a timeframe of 5-10 years, more sustainable solutions may be found by realigning our energy dependence from external to internal sources. What are these internal sources? We could “drill, baby drill” for oil and gas off the Andaman & Nicobar islands. However, this is a very capital-intensive undertaking with uncertain outcomes, and if successful, it will, based on evidence, take decades to exploit. Commercialising fossil-fuel alternatives from locally available resources is imperative, along with an alternative supply and distribution chain for LNG. Based on current and emerging technologies, there are three feasible pathways for greater energy resilience: Widening electricity applications in transport, cooking, industrial process heat, and production of e-fuels; biofuels from agricultural residues and manure, municipal solid and liquid waste, and forestry biomass; increasing the share of natural gas in primary energy, and integrating small-scale LNG (SSLNG). We take up each in turn: First, India’s targets for non-fossil electricity …

Arsha drew cars, Fatema the globe: Artwork by kids killed in Iran school bombing come to Delhi | Delhi News

Arsha drew cars, Fatema the globe: Artwork by kids killed in Iran school bombing come to Delhi | Delhi News

3 min readNew DelhiApr 19, 2026 01:47 AM IST “I love my mother a lot. I miss her when I go to school. My father drops me to school” — these sentences in Persian feature in a drawing of a heart connected by two flowers, roughly shaded in red with a yellow centre. Another drawing, this one by six-year-old Arsha Mirani, shows two cars colored in blue, red, orange and pink. A sun shines above, with three hearts on the right. It, too, has a small message in Persian: ‘the sun is yellow… Arsha has a car and mother is cooking food’. The two drawings are among 28 photos on display at the Iran Embassy in Delhi, drawn by young children who were killed when a missile destroyed their school in Southern Iran’s Minab on February 28 — the day the Iran-US-Israel war broke out. The artworks were recovered from school bags, buried beneath the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school, by Red Crescent rescue teams. It was then scanned and emailed to the Iranian Embassy. …

Tavleen Singh writes: The United States of Trump

Tavleen Singh writes: The United States of Trump

6 min readApr 12, 2026 06:18 AM IST First published on: Apr 12, 2026 at 06:17 AM IST Till just the other day the United States of America was my favourite foreign country. It was this thought that came first to mind when Donald Trump threatened Iran in these words last week. ‘A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.’ This annihilation has been postponed for two weeks while the world’s most powerful leader broods over his options and rejoices over what he has annihilated already. It is hard to believe that this man is the President of the United States and not a megalomaniac ruling some tiny, totalitarian outpost in the backwoods of the world. This column does not usually concentrate much attention on geopolitics or foreign wars, but Trump has achieved the astonishing feat of making his war on Iran a domestic issue for too many countries. In India more so than others. As my friend and fellow columnist, …

Maggi to Maruti, war upends production schedules, retail prices | Business News

Maggi to Maruti, war upends production schedules, retail prices | Business News

5 min readNew DelhiApr 12, 2026 04:34 AM IST With the West Asia war disrupting supply chains, Nestlé India is facing a shortage of packaging material and this is learnt to have resulted in a pile-up of Maggi, the best-selling instant noodles brand, in at least one of its multiple production units in the country.  A leading multinational corporation dealing in food processing and packaging has reduced its energy usage at one of its key plants in western India following an official advisory requiring energy optimisation by industrial units. Even though the company is learnt to be dealing with higher costs for inputs such as aluminium and paperboard, it has kept its packaging plant operational but directed all extra employees at the worksite to work from home to sustain the packaging activity essentially running on gas.  Bisleri, the country’s leading mineral water brand, has already increased the price of its 1-litre bottle to Rs 20 from Rs 18 amid a rise in packaging costs, while one of the largest bottling franchisee of Coca-Cola has indicated that …

Jaishankar discusses West Asia situation with his UAE counterpart | India News

Jaishankar discusses West Asia situation with his UAE counterpart | India News

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 12, 2026 12:40 AM IST In his first visit to the Gulf region since the war in West Asia broke out six weeks ago, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. This two-day visit is important at a time when the talks between the US and Iran are taking place in Pakistan. Jaishankar posted on X, “A real pleasure to meet DPM & FM @ABZayed of UAE in Abu Dhabi this evening. Our conversation focused on the evolving regional situation and its implications.” “Conveyed our deep appreciation for ensuring the well-being of the Indian community in the UAE. Confident that our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will advance further,” Jaishankar said. He began his official visit to the UAE by interacting with the members of the Indian Community. A real pleasure to meet DPM & FM @ABZayed of UAE in Abu Dhabi this evening. Our conversation focused on the evolving regional situation and its implications. Conveyed our deep appreciation …

Ceramic City kilns go cold over fuel crisis: ‘Hippo’ cylinders run out, workers leave | India News

Ceramic City kilns go cold over fuel crisis: ‘Hippo’ cylinders run out, workers leave | India News

“The factory feels so cold. You must think that’s because of the clay, but it’s actually because the furnace isn’t running.” Standing inside his plant in Khurja’s industrial area, a factory owner gestures at the rows of clay moulds and half-finished plates stacked across the factory floor. The kilns have been cold for nearly a month, he says. Khurja, a town about 90 km from Delhi in UP’s Bulandshahr, has for decades been synonymous with Indian ceramics. More than 350 units operate here, producing everything from plates and cups to decorative trays and crockery that finds its way to hotel chains, canteens and homes across the country. The industry employs more than 25,000 people, directly and in ancillary trades, giving Khurja the title of “Ceramic City”. But since the outbreak of the Iran war disrupted energy supply chains, most pottery manufacturers in Khurja have been unable to run their plants due to an impact on gas supply, and mounting fuel costs. Some workers have also started to leave. India’s pottery ceramics market was valued at …

Cargo backlog at ports cleared due to timely intervention, monitoring: Sonowal | Business News

Cargo backlog at ports cleared due to timely intervention, monitoring: Sonowal | Business News

2 min readNew DelhiApr 11, 2026 12:05 AM IST Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said on Friday that nearly 90 per cent of the cargo backlog at Indian ports due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has been cleared because of timely intervention and continuous monitoring. He said this while chairing a high-level review meeting with senior officials and port authorities. The minister said the evolving situation in West Asia had initially disrupted cargo movement and vessel traffic. “We acted swiftly and in a coordinated manner to address emerging challenges. Continuous monitoring and timely intervention have helped us regularise port operations and clear the backlog efficiently, ensuring that India’s trade remains resilient,” Sonowal said. A source in the ministry told The Indian Express that cargo containers had piled up at various ports as vessels were not going towards West Asia. These were cleared and the cargo sent either to the domestic market or to the country of origin. The minister reviewed port-wise operational status and acknowledged the efforts of …