RBI intervention follows sharp rupee depreciation amid oil-driven trade pressures and foreign fund outflows to stabilise markets.
The rupee weakened to a record low against the US dollar amid high crude prices, sustained foreign portfolio outflows and a widening merchandise trade deficit; the Reserve Bank of India intervened in FX markets to stabilise the currency and limit excessive volatility, while market participants noted domestic equity recovery and imminent international monetary policy decisions as key near term influences on USD INR dynamics.

Brand marketing strategy: Bleevo marks first anniversary, emphasizing pan-India expansion, creative talent, and integrated branding services.
Bleevo marks its first anniversary as a women-led Out-of-Home and integrated marketing agency from Chennai, focused on pan-India expansion and offering full-service branding, outdoor advertising, public relations, performance marketing, and brand experiences. The agency emphasizes a people-first approach, a young predominantly female team, and guiding clients through discovery to translate brand essence into design, strategy, and storytelling while building nationwide recall.

Money laundering probe leads to arrest of food company promoter over alleged dairy product adulteration and forged export test reports.
Enforcement alleges the company manufactured and distributed adulterated dairy products by substituting milk fat with palm oil and other chemicals, supplied domestically and exported. Investigators allege multiple forged laboratory test reports were submitted to obtain export clearances while laboratories deny issuing them. The probe, which follows a local police complaint, targets proceeds from these activities as money laundering and has resulted in custodial remand of the company's principal for further PMLA investigative measures.

LPG supply prioritisation and PNG conversion policy secures fuel availability while imposing sectoral allocation controls.
Gujarat expanded LPG distribution and prioritised PNG connections, directing district collectors to coordinate with city gas distribution companies to encourage LPG-to-PNG conversion and facilitate new PNG connections for domestic and commercial users, while maintaining rising buffer stocks and sectoral LPG allocation rules where PNG is unavailable.

Digital inclusive finance recognition: WeBank's AI driven model advances accessibility and SME credit access across regions.
WeBank won four awards recognising its digital inclusive finance model and customer accessibility initiatives, retaining regional digital bank titles and adding awards for SME banking and a sign language service. The bank's AI native strategy strengthens infrastructure, toolchains, applications, governance and organisational design to integrate AI across business scenarios, deploying numerous AI applications and agents to enhance efficiency, risk management and customer experience. Its digital lending product Weiyedai and the Weilidai sign language service expand timely credit access for micro and small enterprises and provide accessible service for customers with hearing impairments.

Trade deficit widens as merchandise exports dip and imports surge, signalling supply-chain and geopolitical risks to trade.
Merchandise exports fell marginally in February while imports rose sharply, producing a monthly trade deficit; year to date exports rose modestly but imports grew faster. The Commerce Secretary warns of expected export softness in March due to logistical disruptions from the West Asia crisis, with trade-route interruptions, notably in the Strait of Hormuz, cited as the principal constraint on outbound shipments.

Wholesale price inflation rises driven by food and non-food articles, while retail inflation also edges upward.
Wholesale price inflation rose to 2.13% in February led by increases in food articles and manufactured products, with non-food articles spiking; fuel and power continued to record negative inflation. Retail inflation also rose to 3.2% in February, and the central bank has lowered policy rates in the current fiscal year while focusing on retail inflation for benchmark rate decisions.

Foreign exchange stability: rupee weakened as capital outflows and reserves decline increased market pressure.
Foreign exchange stability: the rupee weakened against the US dollar as foreign portfolio outflows, higher global crude prices and volatile equity markets drove the currency to near intra day lows; exchange data showed significant FII net selling and a notable weekly decline in forex reserves reported by the central bank, highlighting interacting external and domestic drivers relevant to reserve management and market stability.

Pre-deposit linkage: link DRC-03 payments via DRC-03A on portal to avoid duplicate pre-deposit when filing appeal.
Payments made through Form GST DRC-03 are not automatically recognised against a Demand ID for pre-deposit calculation. Taxpayers must file Form GST DRC-03A on the GST portal to map the DRC-03 payment to the relevant Demand ID so that the Electronic Liability Register reflects the adjustment and the automated pre-deposit check will not require duplicate payment when filing an appeal.

Regulatory harmonization for medical devices drives export policy to expand global market access and manufacturing competitiveness.
Strengthening India's medical devices export ecosystem focuses on regulatory harmonization, streamlining approval processes, and coordination between industry and regulators to reduce compliance bottlenecks and facilitate exports, supported by trade policy measures to improve market access. Complementary measures include development of manufacturing clusters, expansion of testing and certification capacity, and incentives for research and development and innovation to build global brand recognition and scale high value manufacturing.

Responsible Business Conduct: integrating ESG into corporate reporting, labour protections and insolvency frameworks for better market alignment.
The consultation advanced embedding Responsible Business Conduct and the social dimension of ESG across corporate, labour and financial frameworks by mapping national initiatives to the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct, aligning SEBI's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting with labour and social data, designing tiered compliance mechanisms for smaller enterprises, and exploring integration of employee wage protection and ESG considerations into insolvency and restructuring under the Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code.

Unclaimed dividend facilitation enabling direct investor access to recovery, KYC update, and on site grievance redressal services.
Facilitation of unclaimed dividends and shares via a one stop public outreach event connecting investors directly with companies and Registrars and Transfer Agents, offering on the spot KYC updates, nomination services, and immediate assistance for pending claims to streamline grievance redressal and recovery of long held unclaimed assets.

Smuggling of foreign-origin gold disrupted with seizures and arrests under customs enforcement, highlighting illegal melting and transport.
An enforcement operation uncovered an organised syndicate smuggling foreign-origin gold into India, transporting it by rail to illegal melting facilities where the gold was defaced to remove identifying marks before sale; seizures under the Customs Act, 1962 recovered gold, silver and currency and six persons involved in the collection, transport, melting and disposal were arrested.

Strait of Hormuz access disrupted, prompting multinational responses and elevated risks to regional shipping and energy flows.
A civilian freight convoy returning from Afghanistan to Turkey was struck near Zanjan in northwest Iran, killing a Turkish truck driver and leaving his vehicle shredded by shrapnel with a large crater at the site. Concurrent regional developments include restrictions on Strait of Hormuz access for certain states, discussion of strikes on energy infrastructure, a planned phased partial shutdown by a major aluminum producer due to blocked exports, and humanitarian and ordnance-clearance responses to civilian impacts.

Domestic gas priority may limit commercial hotel supplies; government seeks balanced approach to prevent operational disruptions.
The central advisory mandates uninterrupted household PNG and CNG supply and has led to regulated reductions in industrial and commercial gas deliveries, with commercial LPG allocated to states for priority distribution; Maharashtra will review hotel sector concerns and seek a balanced approach to protect domestic consumers while addressing commercial supply hardships.

Maritime safety: Indian-flagged tanker sailed from UAE after terminal attack, ensuring crew safety and fuel supply continuity.
An Indian-flagged crude tanker departed Fujairah safely after an attack on the oil terminal, with all crew reported safe. The Directorate General of Shipping has activated a control room to monitor vessel movements, handle communications, facilitate repatriation and coordinate with ship owners, RPSL agencies, Indian Missions and central ministries to ensure maritime safety, seafarer welfare and continuity of fuel supplies amid disruptions to Gulf shipping routes.

Piped gas priority: consumers with PNG must surrender domestic LPG connections, suppliers barred from providing refills.
The Ministry amended the LPG (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order to require consumers with PNG connections to surrender domestic LPG connections and forbade Government oil companies and distributors from providing domestic LPG connections or refills to consumers who already own PNG, while PNGRB instructed CGD companies to prioritise and accelerate domestic PNG rollout, deployment, permissions, and last-mile connectivity to reduce pressure on LPG supplies.

Energy security measures bolster fuel supply and exporter support amid West Asia supply disruptions with insurance cover and diversified imports.
The government has increased kerosene production as an alternative cooking fuel, diversified LPG/LNG and crude import sources to mitigate shipping-route disruptions, and maintained sufficient fuel stocks. The Commerce Ministry is engaging stakeholders through a 24-hour helpline and developing schemes that provide insurance cover for export cargo damaged, lost or delayed due to maritime disruptions, with a forthcoming concrete action agenda to support exporters.

Advance tax e campaign alerts: taxpayers told to ignore inaccurate emails and verify transactions on the Compliance Portal.
The tax authority advised taxpayers to ignore recent email alerts about significant transactions from the Advance Tax e Campaign because some messages contained inaccurate transaction details; it is coordinating with its service provider to resolve the issue and directed taxpayers to verify details using the e Campaign tab on the Compliance Portal via the e Filing portal to ensure appropriate advance tax compliance.

Attack on critical port infrastructure declared legitimate targets, prompting evacuation warnings and heightened risks to energy transit.
Iran threatened strikes on UAE ports, urging evacuation of Jebel Ali, Khalifa and Fujairah after alleging US forces operate from those civilian facilities and thereby designating them legitimate targets; the warning accompanies ongoing missile and drone exchanges, reported damage to Iran's Kharg Island oil export terminal and disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, while the UAE detained foreigners for posting alleged war-related disinformation.