Reliance Industries announced that Star Television Productions Ltd has officially merged with Jiostar, following the media consolidation with Disney’s India business, forming one of the country’s largest entertainment platforms.

Reliance completes merger of Star Television Productions with Jiostar

Reliance Industries announced that Star Television Productions Ltd has officially merged with Jiostar, following the media consolidation with Disney&rsquo;s India business, forming one of the country&rsquo;s largest entertainment platforms.

Reliance Industries has completed the merger of Star Television Productions Ltd (STPL), a subsidiary of the company, with Jiostar, according to regulatory updates.
On November 14, 2024, Reliance had intimated about the scheme of arrangement for the merger of STPL with Star India, now known as Jiostar India, another subsidiary of the company.
"Jiostar has, on November 30, 2025 at 6:09 pm (IST), informed the Company that the said scheme has become effective from November 30, 2025, and STPL stands merged with Jiostar," Reliance Industries Ltd informed in a regulatory filing.
STPL owns the &lsquo;STAR&rsquo; brand and licenses it to group companies.
JioStar is the joint venture created after the merger of the media business of Reliance and the India business of global media giant Walt Disney in November 2024. The combined company was valued at USD 8.5 billion.
It is the country's leading media and entertainment platform and had reported revenues of Rs 7,232 crore in the September quarter along with a profit after tax of Rs 1,322 crore.
It had launched JioHotstar after the merger of two leading OTT platforms -- JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar -- in February this year.

Moody’s Ratings projects India’s GDP will expand 7% in 2025 and 6.4% in 2026, making it the fastest-growing economy among emerging markets and across the Asia-Pacific region.

India to lead emerging market growth with 7pc GDP rise in 2025: Moody’s

Moody&rsquo;s Ratings projects India&rsquo;s GDP will expand 7% in 2025 and 6.4% in 2026, making it the fastest-growing economy among emerging markets and across the Asia-Pacific region.

Moody's Ratings on Friday said with a 7 per cent GDP expansion in 2025 and 6.4 per cent in the next year, India will lead growth among emerging markets and across the Asia Pacific region.
Moody's also said that India's domestic growth drivers underpin its economic resilience amid global uncertainty.
Although the Indian rupee has continued to weaken against the dollar, most rated companies have active currency risk management or strong financial buffers, while investment-grade entities have demonstrated access to international capital markets.
"India will lead growth among emerging markets and across the region, with GDP growing 7 per cent in 2025 and 6.4 per cent in 2026," Moody's Ratings said.
Its projected average GDP growth in APAC (Asia-Pacific) will remain steady at 3.4 per cent in 2026 compared with 3.3 per cent in 2024 and expected growth of 3.6 per cent in 2025.
On a weighted average basis, emerging markets will drive GDP growth in the region, with average growth of 5.6 per cent, compared to average growth of 1.3 per cent in advanced markets, Moody's said.

Indian benchmark indices extended gains on Thursday, with Nifty reaching an all-time high amid hopes of a US Fed rate cut, strong foreign fund inflows, and positive global market trends.

Nifty hits record high after 14 months; Sensex nears all-time peak

Indian benchmark indices extended gains on Thursday, with Nifty reaching an all-time high amid hopes of a US Fed rate cut, strong foreign fund inflows, and positive global market trends.

Stock market benchmark indices extended their previous day's rally in early trade on Thursday, with the Nifty hitting its fresh record high amid favourable global trends on growing hopes of a US Fed rate cut and foreign fund inflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 313.38 points to 85,922.89 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 90.25 points to hit an all-time high of 26,295.55. The broader index had earlier scaled its record intra-day high of 26,277 on September 27, 2024.
From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Larsen &amp; Toubro, Asian Paints and Mahindra &amp; Mahindra were among the biggest gainers. However, Eternal, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement and Maruti were among the laggards.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading in positive territory. US markets ended higher on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 4,778.03 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also purchased stocks worth Rs 6,247.93 crore in the previous trade.
"Expectation of a rate cut by the Fed and a possible Russia-Ukraine peace accord have improved sentiments for equity markets globally," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.48 per cent to USD 62.83 per barrel.
"Global equity markets have extended their gains, buoyed by growing expectations of interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Major US indices &mdash; including the S&amp;P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq &mdash; posted another session of solid advances as softer Treasury yields and renewed policy optimism strengthened risk appetite. This upbeat sentiment has carried into today&rsquo;s global trade, with Asian markets opening higher," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
On Wednesday, the Sensex jumped 1,022.50 points or 1.21 per cent to settle at 85,609.51. The Nifty zoomed 320.50 points or 1.24 per cent to end at 26,205.30.

Reliance Industries stops using Russian crude at its export-only Jamnagar SEZ refinery ahead of EU fuel sanctions starting January 2026. All future exports from December 1 will be made from non-Russian oil to ensure full compliance.

Reliance stops Russian oil use at its only-for-export refinery to comply with EU sanctions

Reliance Industries stops using Russian crude at its export-only Jamnagar SEZ refinery ahead of EU fuel sanctions starting January 2026. All future exports from December 1 will be made from non-Russian oil to ensure full compliance.

Reliance Industries Ltd has said it has halted the use of Russian crude at its export-only refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat, as the company moves to comply with European Union sanctions.
Reliance is India's largest buyer of Russian oil, which it processes and turns into fuel, such as petrol and diesel, at its giant oil refining complex at Jamnagar.
The complex is made up of two refineries - one SEZ unit from which fuels are exported to the European Union, the US and other markets, and an older unit that caters to the domestic market.
The European Union - a big market for Reliance - has imposed wide-ranging sanctions targeting Russia's energy revenues, including measures that restrict the import and sale of fuels produced from Russian crude oil. To comply with these, Reliance has stopped processing Russian crude oil at its only-for-exports (SEZ) refinery.
"We have stopped importing Russian crude oil into our SEZ refinery with effect from November 20," a company spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.
As is the case with any large industrial factory, the refinery must have past raw material (crude oil) inventories, which it is currently processing and turning into fuels. Once the old inventory runs out, newer products will only be made from non-Russian oil.
"From December 1, all product exports from the SEZ refinery will be obtained from non-Russian crude oil," the firm said. "The transition has been completed ahead of schedule to ensure full compliance with product-import restrictions coming into force in January 2026."
Last month, when the US sanctioned Russia's largest oil exporters - Rosneft and Lukoil, the firm had stated that it would meet all applicable restrictions and would adjust its refinery operations to meet compliance requirements.
"We have noted the recent restrictions announced by the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States on crude oil imports from Russia and export of refined products to Europe. Reliance is currently assessing the implications, including the new compliance requirements," Reliance had said on October 24.
Reliance, which operates the world's largest single-site oil refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, purchased about half of the 1.7-1.8 million barrels per day of discounted Russian crude shipped to India.
The company refines the crude into petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), a large share of which is exported to regions such as Europe and the United States, at market prices, generating strong margins.
All this may change after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO (Lukoil) -- Russia's two largest oil companies that he accuses of helping fund the Kremlin's "war machine" in Ukraine.
Additionally, the European Union has barred the import of fuel made from Russian crude, starting January 2026.
"We will comply with the EU's guidelines on the import of refined products into Europe," Reliance had said.
On Thursday, the firm said the crude oil import in SEZ is a fully segregated facility catering to the production line in SEZ.
"All pre-committed liftings of Russian crude oil as of October 22, 2025, are being honoured, considering all transport arrangements were already in place."
"The final such cargo was loaded on November 12. Any (Russian) cargoes arriving on or after November 20 will be received and processed at our refinery in the domestic tariff area (DTA)," it said. "All operational activities ordinarily incident to such oil supply transactions can be completed, we believe, in a compliant way."
Reliance, which has signed a 25-year deal to buy up to 5,00,000 barrels of crude oil per day (25 million tonnes in a year) with Rosneft, has been cutting Russian imports since the US sanctions.
The company has huge business interests in the US and cannot risk attracting scrutiny.
Reliance, which bought an estimated USD 35 billion worth of Russian oil since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, started "recalibration" of its imports soon after the European Union adopted its 18th package of sanctions against Moscow in late July this year.
Recalibration is nothing but moving the import requirement to a different region. And this may get expedited now, industry sources said. Transactions involving the two sanctioned Russian firms need to be wound down by November 21.
Russia currently supplies nearly a third of India's crude imports, averaging around 1.7 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2025, of which approximately 1.2 mbd came directly from Rosneft and Lukoil.
Most of these volumes were bought by private refiners, Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy, with smaller allocations to state-owned refiners.

The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth over Rs 1,400 crore linked to Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani, taking the total attached assets in the ongoing money laundering case to around Rs 9,000 crore.

ED attaches fresh assets worth over Rs 1,400 cr in case against Anil Ambani's Reliance Group

The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth over Rs 1,400 crore linked to Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani, taking the total attached assets in the ongoing money laundering case to around Rs 9,000 crore.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 1,400 crore as part of a money laundering probe related to Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani and his companies, official sources said.
The federal investigative agency had earlier attached properties worth Rs 7,500 crore in this case.
The latest provisional attachment order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for the assets located in various parts of the country, the sources said.
A response from the Reliance Group is awaited.
Sources said the assets worth over Rs 1,400 crore have been attached as part of the latest order. This brings the total attachment in this case to about Rs 9,000 crore, the sources said.

India’s state-run oil firms have signed a landmark one-year deal to import 2.2 million tonnes of LPG from the US Gulf Coast in 2026, marking a major shift in sourcing strategy and a move to balance trade ties with Washington.

India signs 1-year deal to import 2.2 million tonnes of LPG from US

India&rsquo;s state-run oil firms have signed a landmark one-year deal to import 2.2 million tonnes of LPG from the US Gulf Coast in 2026, marking a major shift in sourcing strategy and a move to balance trade ties with Washington.

Indian state-run oil companies have signed a one-year deal to import cooking gas LPG from the United States in 2026, marking a push by New Delhi to expand energy purchases from Washington. The move is seen as an attempt to narrow India's trade surplus with the US - a sticking point for President Donald Trump, who has slapped a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods entering America.
"Indian PSU oil companies have successfully concluded a one-year structured contract to import around 2.2 million tonnes of LPG from the US Gulf Coast for the contract year 2026," an official statement said on Monday.
The quantity contracted is close to 10 per cent of India's annual LPG imports and marks the first such structured US LPG contract for the Indian market. While India is either self-sufficient or has surplus production in most fuels like petrol, diesel and jet fuel, it imports about 65 per cent of its LPG consumption of 31 million tonnes.
In 2024, about 90 per cent of the 20.4 million tonnes of LPG imports came from UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It sporadically imported cargos from the US but this is the first time it has entered into a structured contract.
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) will import about 48 very-large gas carriers of LPG in 2026. The supplies will be made by super majors Chevron, Phillips and TotalEnergies Trading SA.
India has offered to raise energy imports from the US as part of the bilateral trade deal that has been under discussions for the past couple of months. New Delhi buys about 8 per cent of its crude oil - the raw material for making petrol and diesel - from the US.
In the first half of 2025, India imported about 271,000 barrels per day (bpd) of US crude, up 51 per cent from 180,000 bpd in H1 2024. Scope for raising crude imports from the US is limited given that shipments take 45 days sea voyage to reach Indian shores - a period during which ships can make six sorties from the Middle East.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri took to X to announce the LPG deal. "A historic first! One of the largest and the world&rsquo;s fastest growing LPG markets opens up to the United States," he said.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A historic first! One of the largest and the world&rsquo;s fastest growing LPG market opens up to the United States. In our endeavour to provide secure affordable supplies of LPG to the people of India, we have been diversifying our LPG sourcing. In a significant development,&hellip;
&mdash; Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) <a href="https://twitter.com/HardeepSPuri/status/1990264405108670828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
"In our endeavour to provide secure affordable supplies of LPG to the people of India, we have been diversifying our LPG sourcing. In a significant development, Indian PSU oil companies have successfully concluded a 1 year deal for imports of around 2.2 MTPA LPG, close to 10 per cent of our annual imports - for the contract year 2026, to be sourced from the US Gulf Coast - the first structured contract of US LPG for the Indian market," he said.
This purchase is based on using Mount Belvieu as the benchmark for LPG purchases, he said adding a team from the three PSUs had visited the US and engaged in discussions with major US producers over the last few months, which have been concluded now.
He touted poor Ujjwala consumers - who make up for a third of all LPG users in the country - receiving cooking gas cylinders at just Rs 500-550 while the actual cost was over Rs 1,100. "Government of India incurred the cost of over Rs 40,000 crore last year in order to ensure our mothers and sisters did not feel the burden of rising international LPG prices."
The price of LPG for non-Ujjwala users currently is Rs 853 per 14.2-kg cylinder. For the US contract, the pricing shift - using Mount Belvieu as a benchmark - brings greater transparency and global linkage into India&rsquo;s procurement model.
For consumers, this diversification strengthens the ability to shield households from global price spikes. "The Minister emphasised that this new sourcing arrangement for 2026 is another step in strengthening India&rsquo;s energy security while ensuring affordable access to clean cooking fuel for millions of households," the statement added.

Delhi Police have strengthened security at Pragati Maidan ahead of the India International Trade Fair, with multi-layered checks, heavy deployment and traffic restrictions following the Red Fort blast that killed 13.

India International Trade Fair begins at Pragati Maidan amid tight security

Delhi Police have strengthened security at Pragati Maidan ahead of the India International Trade Fair, with multi-layered checks, heavy deployment and traffic restrictions following the Red Fort blast that killed 13.

Delhi Police has beefed up security in and around Pragati Maidan, where the India International Trade Fair is set to begin on Friday, an official said.
The security has already been tightened in the national capital after a blast near Red Fort killed 13 people and injured over two dozen people on Monday evening.
The 14-day trade fair, scheduled to be held from November 14 to 27, is expected to draw nearly 60,000 visitors daily, prompting multi-layered checks, enhanced surveillance and traffic restrictions around the venue.
A senior police officer said that additional personnel, traffic police and specialised units have been deployed across the exhibition grounds.
Anti-sabotage teams, Quick Reaction Teams and dog squads are conducting routine sweeps, while CCTV monitoring has been expanded to manage high footfall, especially over the weekends.&nbsp;
All the entry and exit points have been placed under strict access control to prevent any security lapse.
The Delhi Traffic Police said diversions and parking restrictions will remain in force throughout the fair period. Commuters have been advised to use public transport.
"The force is leaving no stone unturned to keep the city secure in the aftermath of the explosion near Red Fort. Units across the capital have been directed to maintain maximum vigil, conduct random checking and increase patrolling around crowded places, markets and transport hubs," said the officer.&nbsp;

Equity markets opened lower on Tuesday with Sensex down 55 points at 83,923.48 and Nifty slipping 40.95 points to 25,722.40, pressured by foreign fund outflows and weak Asian cues.

Stock markets decline in initial trade on foreign fund outflows, weak Asian peers

Equity markets opened lower on Tuesday with Sensex down 55 points at 83,923.48 and Nifty slipping 40.95 points to 25,722.40, pressured by foreign fund outflows and weak Asian cues.

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were trading lower in early trade on Tuesday amid persistent foreign fund outflows and weak trend in Asian markets.&nbsp;
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 55 points to 83,923.48 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 40.95 points to 25,722.40.
From the Sensex firms, Power Grid, Eternal, HCL Tech, Maruti, Tata Motors and Infosys were among the major laggards. However, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Reliance Industries and Mahindra &amp; Mahindra were the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,883.78 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 3,516.36 crore in the previous trade.
"FIIs renewed selling is constraining the rally in the market. During the last four days FIIs have sold equity worth Rs 14,269 crore. This is an indication that they will continue to sell on rallies. Higher valuations in India and muted earnings growth are restraining FIIs who are more focused on cheaper markets with better earnings growth," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index quoted lower while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded in positive territory. US markets ended mostly higher on Monday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.20 per cent to USD 64.76 a barrel.
On Monday, the Sensex inched up by 39.78 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 83,978.49. The Nifty eked out a marginal gain of 41.25 points or 0.16 per cent to end at 25,763.35.

Amazon plans to cut around 30,000 office jobs, nearly 10% of its corporate staff, as it trims costs and boosts investment in artificial intelligence.

Amazon to lay off 30,000 office workers amid AI-driven cost cuts

Amazon plans to cut around 30,000 office jobs, nearly 10% of its corporate staff, as it trims costs and boosts investment in artificial intelligence.

Amazon will lay off tens of thousands of office workers as the e-commerce and tech giant trims costs amid ramped-up investments in artificial intelligence, according to US media reports.
Some 30,000 positions will be cut in a belt-tightening move expected to begin on Tuesday, multiple news outlets reported.
The reduction will represent nearly 10 percent of the approximately 350,000 office jobs at Amazon but is reported not to affect the distribution and warehouse workforce that makes up the majority of the company's more than 1.5 million employees.
Seattle-based Amazon did not reply to AFP queries regarding the planned cuts reported by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and other outlets citing anonymous sources.
Amazon shares ended the formal trading day up slightly as word of the potential cost-cutting move spread.
Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy has lauded the potential of AI to streamline workplace operations, from engaging with customers online to making offices more efficient.
"Our conviction that AI will change every customer experience is starting to play out," Jassy said during Amazon's last quarterly earnings call.
Amazon will next report earnings on Thursday, and is among the tech titans under pressure to show the merit of huge investments in AI.
"AWS will be under pressure to both show revenue acceleration and operating margin improvement in light of its massive AI investments," Emarketer principal analyst Sky Canaves said, referring to Amazon Web Services cloud computing unit.
Amazon will also likely be pressed for details about a recent AWS outage.
Popular internet services ranging from streaming platforms to messaging services to banking were offline for hours last week due to an outage in Amazon's crucial cloud network, illustrating the extent to which internet life depends on the tech titan.
The disruption affected streaming platforms, including Amazon's Prime Video service and Disney+, as well as Perplexity AI, the Fortnite game, Airbnb, Snapchat and Duolingo.
Mobile telephone services and messaging apps Signal and WhatsApp were affected in Europe, according to Downdetector.
People also reported problems reaching websites including Amazon's own e-commerce shop.
Some banks such as Lloyd's were also impacted, and pointed to Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing platform as the source.
Amazon said it identified the "trigger of the event" as an issue involving the Domain Name System (DNS), which acts as an internet address book directing data traffic.
AWS leads the cloud computing market, followed closely by Microsoft Azure, with Google Cloud in third place.
Businesses, governments and consumers worldwide rely on their infrastructure for online activities.

US sanctions on Russia’s top oil firms Rosneft and Lukoil may force Reliance Industries to recalibrate imports, while state refiners continue via intermediaries.

US sanctions on Russian firms to hit Reliance; PSUs likely to keep buying Russian oil via traders

US sanctions on Russia&rsquo;s top oil firms Rosneft and Lukoil may force Reliance Industries to recalibrate imports, while state refiners continue via intermediaries.

US sanctions against two of Russia's largest oil companies are expected to impact Reliance Industries' crude imports from Russia, while state-run refiners may continue purchases through intermediary traders for now.
Industry sources said public-sector units are assessing compliance risks but are unlikely to halt Russian crude flows immediately as they buy almost all of their needs from traders, mostly European (who are out of the sanctions net).
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd - India's largest buyer of Russian crude, accounting for roughly half of the country's 1.7 million barrels per day of imports from Moscow - may however have to recalibrate its imports as it buys crude oil directly from Russia's Rosneft, they said.
Reliance had in December 2024 signed a term deal with Russia's Rosneft - now sanctioned - to import as much as 500,000 barrels per day of Russian oil for 25 years.
It also buys oil from intermediaries.
The company did not immediately respond to an email sent for comments.
The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed further sanctions on Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO (Lukoil) - Russia's two largest oil companies that the Trump administration accuses of helping fund the Kremlin's "war machine" in Ukraine.
The two companies together export 3.1 million barrels of oil per day.
Rosneft alone is responsible for 6 per cent of global and nearly half of all Russian oil production.
India became the largest purchaser of Russian crude since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, capitalising on steep discounts that followed Western buyers' withdrawal.
Russian oil is bought both by private sector firms - Reliance Industries Ltd and Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy - and state-owned refiners Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL).
State-owned refiners do not have any term or fixed quantity deal with either Rosneft or Lukoil and typically buy Russian oil through tenders.
In these tenders, oil traders, mostly European or ones based in Dubai and Singapore, who had purchased oil from Russian entities, participated.
These traders have not been sanctioned by the US, sources said adding European Union sanctions too had not targeted these traders.
And even if some traders shy away from picking Russian volumes, Moscow is capable of overnight resurrecting new ones with Dubai registration, sources said, adding these traders can buy oil from Russian firms and sell to refiners such as those in India and China.
"The measures by the Trump administration are 'half-hearted'," a source involved in the business said.
"For months, US President Donald Trump has resisted pressure from US lawmakers to impose energy sanctions and even now the ones who do bulk of the trade are out of its net."
Another source said the markets are somehow not buying into Trump's latest sanctions.
"If sanctions were so impregnable, international oil prices would have jumped at least USD 5-10 per barrel on news of such large volumes going out of the market.
Instead what we saw was just a USD 2 per barrel increase, implying the market believes not all of the oil that is exported from Russia is going anywhere."
Nayara Energy, in which Rosneft holds a 49.13 per cent stake, is the other big private sector buyer of Russian oil.
The company, which operates a 20 million tonnes a year oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat, has already been sanctioned by the European Union and it may have to recalibrate its purchases, sources said.
Nayara did not respond to an email seeking comments.
Kesani Enterprises Company Limited - a consortium led by Mareterra and Russian investment group United Capital Partners (UCP) - holds another 49.13 per cent stake in Nayara.
Sources said the Indian government has not so far given any instruction to refiners on stopping or reducing Russian oil imports.
They said Trump's recent comments on India agreeing to stop all purchases of Russian oil (with no such commitment being made by New Delhi) may have got to do with the European Union (EU) sanctions on import of fuel made from Russian oil.
The EU has banned import of fuels refined from Russian crude with effect from January 21 next year.
Reliance, whose one of the two refineries is only-for-export, refines Russian crude into fuels like petrol and diesel, some of which is exported to the EU.
MRPL also exports to the EU.
From January, such exports will have to stop and in a way Reliance and MRPL will have to cut Russian oil purchases if they have to continue to export to EU, they said adding Nayara has already stopped fuel exports to EU after being sanctioned.
With three big buyers of Russian oil recalibrating their purchases, Russian flows will reduce by January and this is something that Trump may be using as a bargaining chip to beat around his point, they added.

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Sensex and Nifty opened weaker along with global cues as markets across US to Asia fell after hawkish comments from the Fed Chair. Broader Asian market gauge fell about 1% to a more than one-month low as yields shot up in anticipation of higher and faster hikes from the Federal Reserve

Sensex, Nifty crack on Fed rate hike fears

Powell’s statements are critical as they come at a time when the US central bank is trying to tame inflation that is running at its fastest pace in more than 40 years.

Sensex tanks 600 points, Nifty nears 17,200

Sensex and Nifty opened weaker along with global cues as markets across US to Asia fell after hawkish comments from the Fed Chair.&nbsp; Broader Asian market gauge fell about 1% to a more than one-month low as yields shot up in anticipation of higher and faster hikes from the Federal Reserve.&nbsp;
Also read/watch|&nbsp;<a title="Fed fears spark sell-off, Powell braces for 50 bps hike, and more" href="https://www.editorji.com/business-news/markets/us-markets-crack-in-a-dramatic-reversal-as-fed-signals-50-bps-rate-hike-1650593137107" target="_blank">Fed fears spark sell-off, Powell braces for 50 bps hike, and more</a> Powell&rsquo;s statements are critical as they come at a time when the US central bank is trying to tame inflation that is running at its fastest pace in more than 40 years. News bases stocks such as Adani&nbsp;Ports on a new acquisition and HCL&nbsp;Tech on the back of strong earnings bucked the downside trend.&nbsp;

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a USD 17.5 billion investment in India over 2026–2029 to boost AI infrastructure, sovereign cloud, and skilling initiatives, marking the company’s largest-ever investment in Asia.

Microsoft commits USD 17.5 billion investment in India: CEO Satya Nadella

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a USD 17.5 billion investment in India over 2026&ndash;2029 to boost AI infrastructure, sovereign cloud, and skilling initiatives, marking the company&rsquo;s largest-ever investment in Asia.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday announced plans to invest USD 17.5 billion in India to help build infrastructure and sovereign capabilities for the country's AI-first future, marking the third major AI-driven investment in the country in the past two months.
Microsoft said that the USD 17.5 billion (around Rs 1.58 lakh crore) investment builds on the USD 3 billion (around Rs 26,955 crore) funding announced earlier this year, which the company is on track to spend by the end of CY (calendar year) 2026.
"To support the country&rsquo;s ambitions, Microsoft is committing USD 17.5B&mdash;our largest investment ever in Asia&mdash;to help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India&rsquo;s AI-first future," Nadella said on X after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thank you, PM <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a> ji, for an inspiring conversation on India&rsquo;s AI opportunity. To support the country&rsquo;s ambitions, Microsoft is committing US$17.5B&mdash;our largest investment ever in Asia&mdash;to help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/NdFEpWzoyZ">pic.twitter.com/NdFEpWzoyZ</a>
&mdash; Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) <a href="https://twitter.com/satyanadella/status/1998376337938039091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Microsoft, in a statement, said it plans to invest USD 17.5 billion in India over the next four years (2026-2029) to drive AI diffusion at a population scale.
The announcement follows Nadella&rsquo;s meeting with Modi, ahead of the Microsoft India AI tour. "In their meeting, both leaders discussed the country&rsquo;s AI roadmap and growth priorities," Microsoft said.
Microsoft's funding commitment is the third major AI-driven investment announced in the country in the past two months.
On October 14, Google announced plans to invest USD 15 billion over the next five years to set up an AI hub in India, which will include the country's largest data centre in partnership with Adani Group.
It was followed by a USD 11 billion investment plan announced by Digital Connexion&mdash;a joint venture between Brookfield, Reliance Industries and US-based Digital Realty.
In May 2023, Amazon announced plans to invest USD 12.7 billion in India by 2030 into its local cloud and AI infrastructure across Telangana and Maharashtra. The company has already invested USD 3.7 billion between 2016 and 22 in India.
Microsoft said that its India South Central cloud region, based in Hyderabad, is set to go live in mid-2026.
"This will be our largest hyperscale region in India, comprising three availability zones &mdash; roughly equivalent in size to two Eden Gardens stadiums combined," the statement said.
Microsoft has doubled its commitment on developing AI skilled talent in India to 20 million by 2030 from 10 million it planned earlier.
"India&rsquo;s AI journey depends on empowering skilled talent. For this, we are doubling our commitment of January 2025 to equip 20 million Indians with essential AI skills by 2030, working with government, industry, and digital public platforms to ensure equitable access to opportunity. Through our ADVANTA(I)GE India initiative, executed by Microsoft Elevate, we have already trained 5.6 million people since January 2025 &mdash;well ahead of the original goal of training 10 million by 2030," the statement said.
Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India remains committed to innovation anchored in trust and sovereignty as AI reshapes the digital economy.
"Microsoft&rsquo;s landmark investment signals India&rsquo;s rise as a reliable technology partner for the world. This partnership will set new benchmarks and drive the country&rsquo;s leap from digital public infrastructure to AI public infrastructure," Vaishnaw said.
Microsoft India and South Asia, President, Puneet Chandok said that the company's investment will be used to continue to scale its cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling initiatives and ongoing operations across India.
"This includes our workforce of more than 22,000 employees across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, Noida and other cities &mdash; representing the diversity of Microsoft&rsquo;s businesses," Chandok said.
As the country gears up to implement the Digital Personal Data Protection regime, Microsoft is introducing sovereign public cloud and sovereign private cloud for Indian customers.
&ldquo;With sovereign public cloud now available in India, organisations can leverage a prescriptive architecture for deploying workloads in Azure with built-in compliance guardrails using Sovereign Landing Zones, do policy enforcement, and apply governance controls,&rdquo; the statement said.
The company had recently announced that Microsoft 365 Copilot will offer in-country data processing in India by the end of 2025.
The move by Microsoft to put sovereign cloud and in-country data processing is likely to put pressure on competitors in AI space which may lead to more investment flowing into the country ahead of the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules 2025 coming into effect.
The company also announced integration of advanced AI capabilities into two key digital public platforms of the Ministry of Labour and Employment &mdash; e-Shram and the National Career Service (NCS).
&ldquo;The initiative aims to extend the benefits of AI to more than 310 million informal workers,&rdquo; the statement said.

The CBI has registered a case against Jai Anmol Anil Ambani and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. for allegedly cheating Union Bank of India, causing a loss of ₹228 crore through diversion and misappropriation of funds.

CBI books Anil Ambani's son, Reliance Home Finance Ltd. in Rs 228 crore bank fraud case

The CBI has registered a case against Jai Anmol Anil Ambani and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. for allegedly cheating Union Bank of India, causing a loss of ₹228 crore through diversion and misappropriation of funds.

The CBI has booked the son of industrialist Anil Ambani, Jai Anmol Anil Ambani, and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. (RHFL) in a case of alleged cheating in Union Bank of India that caused a loss of Rs 228 crore to the public bank, officials said on Tuesday.
The CBI acted on a complaint from the bank (erstwhile Andhra Bank) against Reliance Home Finance Ltd., Jai Anmol Anil Ambani and Ravindra Sharad Sudhakar, both directors in RHFL, they said.
The company had availed credit limits to the tune of Rs 450 crore from the bank's SCF branch in Mumbai for business needs, the complaint stated.
The bank had laid down the condition to maintain financial discipline including timely repayment, service of interest and other charges and submission of position of security and other required papers in time and routing the entire sale proceeds through the bank account.
The company failed to pay the instalments to the bank and hence, the said account was classified as a non-performing asset (NPA) on September 30, 2019, the officials said.
A forensic examination of the accounts was carried out by Grant Thornton (GT), for a review period from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, which showed that borrowed funds were mis-apportioned and considered as diversion of funds, they said.
"The accused persons in their capacity of erstwhile promoters /directors of the borrower Company committed fraudulent misappropriation of funds through manipulation of accounts and criminal breach of trust and diverted/siphoned off the funds for the purposes other than the purpose for which finance was extended," the bank alleged.

The RBI has revised India’s FY26 GDP growth projection to 7.3% after robust 8.2% Q2 growth, supported by strong demand, healthy investments and stable inflation.

RBI raises FY26 GDP growth projection to 7.3 pc

The RBI has revised India&rsquo;s FY26 GDP growth projection to 7.3% after robust 8.2% Q2 growth, supported by strong demand, healthy investments and stable inflation.

Reserve Bank on Friday raised the GDP growth projection to 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal from its earlier estimate of 6.8 per cent following robust economic performance in the July-September quarter.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registered a six-quarter high growth of 8.2 per cent in Q2 of 2025-26, underpinned by resilient domestic demand amidst global trade and policy uncertainties.
On the supply side, real Gross Value Added (GVA) expanded by 8.1 per cent, aided by buoyant industrial and services sectors.
Unveiling the December monetary policy, Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra said economic activity during the first half of 2025-26 benefited from income tax and Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalisation, softer crude oil prices, front-loading of government capital expenditure, and facilitative monetary and financial conditions supported by benign inflation.
High-frequency indicators suggest that domestic economic activity is holding up in the October-December quarter, although there are some emerging signs of weakness in few leading indicators, he said.
"GST rationalisation and festival-related spending supported domestic demand during October-November," he said and added rural demand continues to be robust while urban demand is recovering steadily.
Also, investment activity remains healthy with private investment gaining steam on the back of expansion in non-food bank credit, and high capacity utilisation.
The governor also noted that merchandise exports declined sharply in October amid subdued external demand, accompanied by softer services exports.
On the supply side, agricultural growth is supported by healthy kharif crop production, higher reservoir levels and better rabi crop sowing.
Manufacturing activity continues to improve, while the services sector is maintaining a steady pace, Malhotra said.
"Taking all these factors into consideration, real GDP growth for 2025-26 is projected at 7.3 per cent, with Q3 at 7 per cent; and Q4 at 6.5 per cent. Real GDP growth for Q1 of 2026-27 is projected at 6.7 per cent and Q2 at 6.8 per cent. The risks are evenly balanced," he said.
On the external front, the governor said Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to India increased at a robust pace during the first half of the year.
Net FDI also increased significantly due to a decline in repatriation despite a rise in outward FDI.
However, Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) to India recorded net outflows of USD 0.7 billion in 2025-26 so far (April-December 03), due to outflows in the equity segment.
Flows under external commercial borrowings and non-resident deposit accounts moderated as compared to last year.
As on November 28, 2025, India&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 686.2 billion, providing a robust import cover of more than 11 months, Malhotra said.
"Overall, India&rsquo;s external sector remains resilient. We are confident of meeting our external financing requirements comfortably," he said.
India&rsquo;s current account deficit moderated from 2.2 per cent of GDP in Q2 of 2024-25 to 1.3 per cent in Q2 of 2025-26 on account of robust services exports and strong remittances.
The governor also said that contrary to earlier expectations, global growth has been relatively strong. Evolving geopolitical and trade environments, however, continue to weigh on the outlook, he added.

RBI reduces interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25% to boost economic growth, with inflation at historic low of 0.25% and Q2 GDP rising to 8.2%. Rate cut aims to make loans cheaper amid rupee depreciation.

RBI trims policy interest rate by 25bps to 5.25pc, loans to get cheaper

RBI reduces interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25% to boost economic growth, with inflation at historic low of 0.25% and Q2 GDP rising to 8.2%. Rate cut aims to make loans cheaper amid rupee depreciation.

Shrugging off concerns over the depreciation of rupee, the RBI on Friday cut interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent in a bid to further bolster economic growth, which rose to a six-quarter high of 8.2 per cent in the second quarter of the current financial year.
The development is expected to make advances, including housing, auto and commercial loans cheaper.
Announcing the fifth bi-monthly monetary policy for the current fiscal, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has unanimously decided to cut the short-term lending rate or repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent with a neutral stance.
The rate cut comes on the back of the consumer price index (CPI) based headline retail inflation ruling below the 2 per cent lower band mandated by the government for the last three months.
India's retail inflation dropped to a historic low of 0.25 per cent in October 2025, marking the lowest level since the Consumer Price Index (CPI) series was introduced.
Besides, the Indian economy has clocked better-than-expected GDP growth of 8.2 per cent in the second quarter.
However, the rupee declined to historic low and crossed 90 against a dollar earlier this week making imports costlier, raising fears of rise in inflation. Rupee has depreciated by about 5 per cent so far this year.
The RBI has sharply raised growth projection to 7.3 per cent from earlier 6.8 per cent for the current financial year. The central bank has been tasked by the government to ensure that CPI- based retail inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
Based on the recommendation of the MPC, the RBI reduced the repo rate by 25 bps each in February and April, and 50 basis points in June amidst easing retail inflation.
The retail inflation is trending below 4 per cent since February this year. It eased to historic low in October, aided by an easing of food prices and favourable base effect.

The Indian rupee plunged to a new intra-day low of 90.25 against the US dollar due to FII outflows, strong dollar demand by banks, and uncertainty over India-US trade talks.

Rupee slumps to all-time low of 90.25 against US dollar in intra-day trade

The Indian rupee plunged to a new intra-day low of 90.25 against the US dollar due to FII outflows, strong dollar demand by banks, and uncertainty over India-US trade talks.

The rupee plummeted to a new low of 90.25 against the greenback in the intra-day session on Wednesday, falling 29 paise from its previous close, amid FII outflows and sustained buying of dollars by banks.
A decline in the domestic equity markets and the absence of an India-US trade deal put further pressure on the local unit, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 89.96 against the greenback and slipped to an all-time intra-day low of 90.25, down 29 paise from its previous close.
On Tuesday, the rupee settled 43 paise down at an all-time closing low of 89.96 against the US dollar, largely owing to continued short-covering from speculators and sustained importer demand for the American currency.
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst, Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said, "The rupee slipped below the 90-mark for the first time, pressured by the absence of a confirmed India-US trade deal and repeated delays in timelines. Markets now want concrete numbers rather than broad assurances, leading to accelerated selling in the rupee over the past few weeks."
"Record-high metal and bullion prices have further worsened India's import bill, while steep US tariffs continue to strain export competitiveness," he said.
"The rupee has been weakening with the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wanting to help exporters and may have kept the dollar well bid in the past few days," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said. Nationalised banks purchased dollars at higher levels consistently on Tuesday, he said.
The MPC meeting starts on Wednesday and the interest rate decision will be declared on December 5 ahead of the Fed interest rate outcome on December 10. "A rate cut by the RBI could invite further selling of the rupee," Bhansali added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.18 per cent lower at 99.17. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.03 per cent lower at USD 62.43 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex was down intra-day by 277.23 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 84,861.04 points. Nifty, too, was trading lower by 111.70 points, or 0.43 per cent to 25,920.50.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 3,642.30 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

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