India’s leather and footwear industry is struggling with high input costs due to the ongoing Middle East crisis and is seeking import duty exemptions on essential raw materials, machinery and components. Industry representatives have taken up the issue with the commerce and industry ministry, warning that the disruption has sharply raised the cost of several…
Healthcare industry body NATHEALTH on Sunday welcomed the government’s National Building Construction Standards (NBCS) 2026, saying the new norms easing height restrictions for hospitals are expected to reduce infrastructure bottlenecks and improve access to healthcare, PTI reported.The industry body said the revised standards allow hospitals to build beyond earlier limits and permit Intensive Care Units…
Oil prices soared to a four-year peak on Thursday before retreating, as fears over the intensifying US-Iran war rattled global energy markets and fueled concerns over disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, briefly climbed to $126.41 a barrel overnight, its highest level in four years, before easing back to…
Air India’s board will meet on May 7 to review cost-saving measures, discuss CEO succession plans and consider the airline’s FY26 financials as mounting losses and the Middle East conflict intensify pressure on the Tata Group-owned carrier, PTI reported.Sources told news agency PTI that the board, chaired by Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, is scheduled…
US Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr has warned that stress in the fast-growing private credit market could trigger “psychological contagion” and spill into the broader financial system, Reuters reported citing an interview with Bloomberg News.Barr said direct links between banks and private credit firms do not currently appear “super worrisome”, but other areas such as…
New Delhi: Residential buildings under 24 metres in height — a category that includes a large number multi-storey homes, such as the ill-fated one in Delhi’s Vivek Vihar — will fall outside the scope of “fire and life safety” provisions under the newly notified National Building Construction Standards (NBCS), which replaced the National Building Code…
Gold and silver prices are likely to remain range-bound next week as investors track developments in the US-Iran conflict, key global macroeconomic data and domestic political cues, analysts said, PTI reported.Market participants will watch PMI readings from major economies early in the week, followed by US labour market indicators and non-farm payroll data later in…
For many Americans worried about rising prices, one of the biggest pressures on household budgets may not be immediately obvious. Beyond grocery aisles and holiday bookings, the declining value of the US dollar is quietly making everyday life more expensive. Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House as the president, dollar has dropped around…
A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker carrying cargo for India has crossed the Strait of Hormuz and is now sailing towards the country, offering some relief to supplies disrupted by the Middle East conflict, PTI reported.An official statement said the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel MT Sarv Shakti, carrying 46,313 tonnes of LPG, cleared the strategic chokepoint…
The Asian Development Bank on Sunday rolled out an ambitious $70 billion regional investment roadmap to strengthen electricity links and digital infrastructure across Asia and the Pacific by 2035, in a push to improve resilience, reduce costs and widen access, PTI reported.The package combines two large programmes –a $50 billion Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative and…