Daily News - Thursday, 28 May 2026
Rupee Nears INR 100 per USD $1 Amid Capital Shortage (Business Standard)
A US-Iran peace deal could ease India’s oil stress by stripping a USD $10-15 (INR 830-1,250) per barrel geopolitical premium from crude, improving the current account deficit by 0.5% of GDP and cooling inflation by 30 basis points, but India’s larger challenge lies in capital and innovation shortages. Net foreign direct investment plunged from USD $56 billion (INR 4.67 trillion) in FY2020 to USD $29 billion (INR 2.42 trillion) in April-December 2025, while foreign fund managers sold USD $32 billion (INR 2.67 trillion) in equities, and over 60% of IPO fundraising last year merely provided exits to original sponsors. Analysts at Crisil warn that prolonged supply-chain disruptions could compress profit margins by 200 basis points across 34 sectors, while the rupee has become Asia’s worst-performing currency, nearing INR 100 per USD $1. The Reserve Bank of India, led by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, has cut rates by 125 basis points since December 2024 but faces pressure to hike again to align with tight global financial conditions. Meanwhile, India lags behind China, South Korea, and Taiwan in AI and semiconductor innovation, leaving six million programmers in stagnation compared to Korea’s wage boom. Without new ideas and capital inflows, India risks trailing rivals like Brazil, South Korea, and Taiwan, even if oil flows freely again.
PM Modi Reviews USD $3.6 billion Rail, Road, and Power Projects at PRAGATI Meet (Business Today)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 51st PRAGATI meeting, reviewing seven major infrastructure projects worth ₹30,000 crore (USD $3.6 billion) across Railways, Power, and Road sectors in nine states, while also assessing the Ken-Betwa River Inter-linking Project and Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0; he directed ministries and states to expedite rooftop solar adoption in cities, deploy solar panels over canal networks, and strengthen solid waste management facilities including GOBARdhan plants, stressing that delays escalate costs and hurt citizens, and further urged integrated development of the upcoming Vadhavan Port with multimodal connectivity through highways, rail, waterways, and airports, alongside a new monthly review mechanism for social sector schemes to improve accountability and faster issue resolution.
India’s Locomotive Exports Surge to USD $107 Million in FY2026 (INR ₹8,950M) (Money Control)
India’s fastest-growing exports in FY26 were led by Indian Railways’ diesel-electric locomotives, which surged to USD $107.18 million (INR ₹8,950 million) from just USD $0.95 million (INR ₹79 million) a year earlier, reflecting the Ministry of Railways’ push to sell rolling stock abroad. Electronics manufacturers, including Dixon Technologies and Bharat Electronics Ltd, drove exports of populated printed circuit boards, which jumped from USD $79.43 million (INR ₹6,633 million) to USD $1.61 billion (INR ₹134,435 million). Consumer electronics firms like boAt and Noise contributed to the rise of true wireless stereo (TWS) devices, which grew more than sixfold to USD $202.26 million (INR ₹16,889 million). Agricultural exporters, supported by the Coffee Board of India, boosted arabica coffee cherry shipments from USD $0.53 million (INR ₹44 million) to USD $18.27 million (INR ₹1,525 million). Overall, Commerce Ministry data shows nearly 20% of export categories more than doubled year-on-year, signaling India’s shift toward higher value manufacturing and diversified trade.
