Turning ink into understanding…
General · 2 Aug 2026
Here’s a simple breakdown of the most important recent business, regulatory, and policy developments across India, from new energy schemes to updated market rules.
By Priya Nair
The Union Cabinet has approved a ₹84,084 crore offshore oil and gas exploration scheme called Samudra Manthan, which will run until FY2030-31. The scheme aims to boost India’s domestic energy security by unlocking more than 600 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent in reserves. The budget is split into four key parts. ₹43,200 crore is allocated to drill 60 deepwater exploration wells. The government will cover up to 50% of eligible drilling costs per well, capped at ₹675 crore. ₹28,534 crore is set aside for offshore data acquisition. ₹10,000 crore will fund shared offshore infrastructure hubs to commercialize new discoveries. ₹2,000 crore will go to building oil and gas manufacturing and services zones to support local production of critical equipment.
The government has extended the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme for four more years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31, with a total outlay of ₹3.15 lakh crore. The scheme provides a direct cash transfer of ₹6,000 per year to small and marginal farmers. Since its launch in 2019, the government has transferred over ₹4.47 lakh crore to farmers’ bank accounts in 23 instalments. The 23rd instalment reached more than 9.49 crore farmers, with over ₹18,984 crore released. Nearly 1 out of every 4 beneficiary is a woman farmer, and women farmers have received more than ₹1.06 lakh crore under the scheme to date. The direct cash support helps farmers invest in seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, and farm machinery, reducing their reliance on informal credit.
Markets regulator SEBI has clarified that off-market sales of unlisted equity shares by existing shareholders through private negotiations will not be treated as a deemed public issue. This applies as long as the number of purchasers does not exceed 200 in a financial year. SEBI noted these transactions are secondary transfers by existing shareholders, not an offer or invitation from the company to sell securities. The clarification reduces regulatory overhead for private share sales while protecting small investor groups.
India’s largest passenger vehicle maker Maruti Suzuki reported an 11% decline in Q1 net profit to ₹3,352 crore, down from ₹3,758 crore in the same period last year. The drop is due to high material costs, which were worsened by the ongoing war. Despite the lower profit, the company saw strong top-line growth. Net sales income rose 36% year-on-year to ₹49,959 crore. Total sales volume grew 29.3% year-on-year. Domestic small car sales grew 34.1%, SUV sales grew 44.6%, and exports grew 28.6%. The company’s domestic market share rose 2.3 percentage points to 41.2%. The growth is tied to the commissioning of its second plant in Kharkhoda. Inventory at the end of the quarter was just 13 days, indicating strong consumer demand.
Bengaluru received the first tariff-free shipment of Scottish salmon to India under the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The shipment, produced by Bakkafrost Scotland, was received by officials from the British Deputy High Commission. CETA eliminated India’s previous 33% import tariff on Scottish salmon. Industry estimates suggest the trade pact could generate up to £130 million in additional export opportunities for Scottish salmon producers over the next decade.
Tech giant Apple reported record June quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16% year-on-year. Growth was driven by double-digit expansion in most emerging markets, including India. The company’s gross margin was 50.1%, helped by roughly 2 percentage points of tariff refunds. Apple flagged potential risks for upcoming quarters due to rising memory chip prices and supply constraints.
The National Stock Exchange of India paid the final ₹714.74 crore tranche to SEBI to settle long-pending co-location and dark fibre cases, completing the agreed ₹1,491.21 crore settlement. The payment followed SEBI’s in-principle approval of revised settlement terms.
The Supreme Court upheld a NCLAT order that set aside a ₹301.6 crore penalty imposed on Grasim Industries by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for alleged abuse of dominant position in the viscose staple fibre market. The court ruled the CCI did not give Grasim a chance to present its arguments after the regulator’s probe unit, the Director General, issued findings the CCI disagreed with.
State-owned refiner Indian Oil Corporation reported a net loss of ₹2,661 crore for the latest quarter, narrower than anticipated, due to improved operational efficiencies at its refineries. Overall revenues rose 26% year-on-year to ₹2.76 lakh crore. Refinery throughput hit 19.165 million metric tonnes, with 109.4% capacity utilization, up 3% from the same period last year. The company posted its lowest-ever quarterly fuel loss of 8.04% since Bharat Stage-VI fuel norms were implemented. Indian Oil has secured crude oil supplies for all of August and most of September. To shield consumers from global price surges, the company absorbed under-recoveries of ₹720 per LPG cylinder in June and ₹503 per cylinder in July.
If you’re practicing for system design interviews or want to build skills for designing scalable real-world systems, explore the dedicated System Design practice path on Question Better to work through guided, hands-on problems.
Go further on Question Better
Practice from your own sources, or walk a System Design path with teach-gap lessons.