Indian traders have sewn up deals to export half a million tonnes of wheat in recent days, and dealers are expected to sign more contracts to take advantage of record-high global prices, boosting shipments from the world's No.2 producer of the staple.
Pharmaceutical major Dr Reddy's Laboratories said on Wednesday it was focused on business continuity in and around Russia, as Indian drug exporters brace for temporary disruptions to sales due to the Ukraine crisis.
Citing the spurt in crude prices due to the war in Ukraine -- as a wake up call -- Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday urged CEOs of major vehicle manufacturers and representatives of automobile lobby group SIAM to expedite the roll-out of vehicles of flex-fuel variants.
India needs to recalibrate its response to the price situation following disruptions in global supply chains on account of Russia-Ukraine war, as losing the battle against inflation neither serves the government nor the central bank, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said.
The Indian Railways has invited bids for manufacturing and procurement of 90,000 wagons with an investment of Rs 30,000 crore to meet the growing demand of wagons amid its increased focus on freight transport.
In April last year, the scheme was first extended till June end and later till September 2021. The interest equalisation rates under the scheme have been revised to 2 per cent and 3 per cent for specified categories of MSME manufacturer exporters, the RBI said.
The Ukraine war and resultant spike in prices of commodities have increased risk aversion of investors, leading to a steep 19 bps increase in the cost of funds for the states, which shot up to the highest so far this fiscal to 7.29 per cent, according to a report.
International crude oil prices have hit a 14-year high at USD 130 a barrel on March 7, up from USD 94 a barrel before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which is the world's third-largest oil producer, supplying 14 per cent of global production. The price of the Indian crude oil basket has averaged USD 114.6 a barrel so far in March, a steep 22.9 per cent surge from USD 93.3 a barrel in February.
In a meeting with commerce and industry ministry on Tuesday, exporters said that freight support is much required. With crude oil prices soaring to their highest since 2008 at $139 per barrel amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, container rates have risen ten-fold in less than a fortnight while war insurance premiums are up 3-5%, as per sources.