The Indian side also agreed to make revisions in the allocations for some projects because of evolving requirements. These issues were taken up during the India-Bhutan Development Cooperation Talks held in New Delhi, the external affairs ministry said.

The talks are an important bilateral mechanism to review the full spectrum of bilateral development partnership, and both sides reviewed the progress in implementing projects approved in previous rounds.

India provides most of the funding for Bhutan’s five-year plans and has committed ₹10,000 crore for the 13th five-year plan from 2024-2029. This includes support for “project tied assistance” (PTA) projects, high impact community development projects, the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) and budgetary support in the form of grants.

A total of 61 PTA projects worth ₹4,958 crore and 283 community projects worth ₹417 crore, covering a wide range of sectors, are in various stages of implementation. The Indian government has also released ₹750 crore for Bhutan’s ESP and ₹100 crore as programme grant and the meeting reviewed the progress in using these funds.

The Bhutanese side presented the second tranche of PTA project proposals to be implemented during the 13th five-year plan. Ten projects worth ₹1,113 crore, covering sectors such as healthcare, connectivity, urban infrastructure and livestock, were approved by the two sides.

“Both sides agreed to make suitable revisions to the allocations for some of the PTA projects taking into account the evolving requirements,” the ministry said without giving details.

India said it will continue working with the Bhutan government on its development agenda in line with the shared vision of the leadership of both sides, and based on the priorities of the government and people of Bhutan. The Indian delegation at the meeting was led by secretary (West) Tanmaya Lal and the Bhutanese team by foreign secretary Aum Pema Choden.

The two sides also agreed to hold the next Development Cooperation Talks in Thimphu at a mutually convenient date.

An Indian naval officer has conceded that the country lost fighter jets to Pakistani fire during their conflict in May and says the losses were a result of “constraints” placed on Indian forces by the government in New Delhi.

Captain Shiv Kumar, defence attache at the Indian embassy in Jakarta, made the comments at a seminar in Indonesia on June 10. The remarks went largely unnoticed at the time until The Wire, an Indian publication, reported on them on Sunday.

Kumar’s claims have sparked a political storm in India, where the opposition Indian National Congress party called them an “indictment” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

So what did Kumar say, how have the Indian government and opposition responded, and what happened between India and Pakistan on May 7?

What happened between India and Pakistan on May 7?

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated into a military confrontation on May 7 when India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting nine sites in six cities in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir with multiple missile attacks.

India said it hit “terrorist infrastructure” in response to the killings of tourists on April 22 in Pahalgam in India-administered Kashmir. Pakistan, on the other hand, said dozens of civilians were killed in the missile attacks along with several military personnel.

Islamabad said it downed six Indian jets in retaliation, including at least three Rafale fighters. Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said all the planes were downed inside Indian territory. An information war also ensued, in which India and Pakistan traded conflicting allegations and claims, but they both agreed on one fact: Aircraft from neither side crossed into the other’s territory during the attacks.

In subsequent days, the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours exchanged tit-for-tat missile strikes and drone attacks on each other’s territory until a ceasefire was reached on May 10. It was announced by United States President Donald Trump, who insisted he brokered it – a claim New Delhi rejects. India insisted all its disputes with Pakistan must be settled bilaterally and there is no room for third-party involvement.

What has the Indian naval attache in Indonesia said?

During the seminar organised by Air Marshal Suryadarma University in Indonesia, Kumar said he “may not agree [with an earlier Indonesian speaker’s claim] that we lost so many aircraft, but I do agree we did lose some aircraft”.

Kumar added: “That happened only because of the constraints given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defence” on May 7.

The naval attache said the Indian military subsequently changed tactics and began to target Pakistani military installations.

“We first achieved suppression of enemy air defences, and then that’s why all our attacks could easily go through using Brahmos missiles,” Kumar added.

The Brahmos, a product of an Indian-Russian joint venture, is a long-range missile. Indian media reported that India fired Brahmos missiles at  Pakistani airbases on the night of May 9-10.

What has India previously said about the fighter jets?

After Pakistan first said it had shot down six Indian jets on May 7, New Delhi did not officially confirm or deny those assertions.

When Chinese state news outlet The Global Times reported that Pakistan had brought down the Indian fighters, the Indian embassy in China described it as “disinformation”.

But subsequently, Indian officials started to suggest that they had lost planes.

When asked by reporters on May 11 whether Pakistan had managed to down Indian jets, Indian Director General of Air Operations AK Bharti said: “We are in a combat scenario, and losses are a part of it. As for details, at this time, I would not like to comment on that as we are still in combat and give advantage to the adversary. All our pilots are back home.”

Then, General Anil Chauhan, India’s chief of defence staff admitted that Indian jets were downed by Pakistan, without specifying the number of jets, during interviews on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, which took place May 30 to June 1.

Chauhan’s acknowledgement, made during interviews with the Reuters news agency and Bloomberg TV, marked the first time an Indian official admitted that Indian jets were shot down. “What was important is why did these losses occur and what we’ll do after that,” Chauhan said.

When a Bloomberg reporter asked Chauhan about Pakistan’s claims that six Indian jets were downed, Chauhan responded that this information was incorrect. He added that “what is important is … not the jets being downed but why they were downed”.

Chauhan said India “rectified tactics” after the May 7 losses and then “hit airbases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their air defences with impunity, carried out precision strikes” before the May 10 ceasefire.

How has the Indian government responded to Kumar’s comments? 

In a statement posted on its X account on Sunday, the Indian embassy in Indonesia said: “[Kumar’s] remarks have been quoted out of context and the media reports are a mis-representation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker.”

The embassy said that in the presentation, Kumar explained that Operation Sindoor was launched to target “terrorist infrastructure” and the attache was trying to emphasise that the Indian response was deliberately not escalatory.

“The presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood,” it added in a barb at Pakistan, where the military is the most dominant institution.

We have seen media reports regarding a presentation made by the Defence Attache at a Seminar.

His remarks have been quoted out of context and the media reports are a mis-representation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker.

The presentation…

— India in Indonesia (@IndianEmbJkt) June 29, 2025

Is this a shift in India’s position?

Not really. While neither the Indian government nor the military has ever bluntly linked the loss of jets to the Modi administration’s orders to the armed forces on May 7, New Delhi has been consistent in its narrative over its objectives that day.

In a media statement after India launched missiles on May 7, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the actions of India’s military “were measured, nonescalatory, proportionate and responsible”.

Colonel Sofia Qureshi of the Indian army, who accompanied Misri to the briefing, emphasised that “no military establishments were targeted”.

After the ceasefire, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told reporters that before firing at Pakistan on May 7, New Delhi had “sent a message to Pakistan that we are firing at terrorist infrastructure, we are not striking at the military, so the [Pakistani] military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process”.

“They chose not to take that good advice,” Jaishankar said.

The Indian government argued that the Pakistani military’s response to New Delhi’s May 7 attack forced it to also retaliate, culminating in the missile exchanges on May 10.

Why has this reignited the row with India’s opposition party?

The main opposition Congress party has been asking Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party government to inform parliament about India’s air losses during the conflict.

When Chauhan admitted Indian planes were downed, Congress members demanded a review of India’s defence preparedness.

“There are some very important questions which need to be asked,” Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge wrote in an X post at the time. “These can only be asked if a Special Session of the Parliament is immediately convened.”

Kumar’s remarks have revived those calls.

“The Modi government has misled the nation from the start – failing to disclose the aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor,” Congress leader Pawan Khera wrote on X on Sunday, calling the comments by Kumar an “indictment” of the government.

“No wonder they are ducking our demand for a Special Session of Parliament like the plague. They know they’ve compromised national security, and they’re terrified of what the Congress Party will expose before the people of India,” Khera wrote.

Another Congress leader, Jairam Ramesh, posted on X on Sunday: “Why is the PM refusing to preside over an all-party meeting and take the Opposition into confidence? Why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected?”

What sparked the May conflict?

On April 22, a group of armed men killed 26 people – almost all of them tourists – in Pahalgam, a popular tourist destination in India-administered Kashmir. An armed group called The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the attack.

New Delhi insisted that the TRF is an offshoot of another Pakistan-based armed group, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and has blamed Pakistan for supporting such groups. Islamabad denied the allegation and called for a neutral inquiry into the attack.

After the Pahalgam attack, the already dwindling relationship between the neighbours worsened. Pakistan and India scaled back their diplomatic engagement, suspended their participation in bilateral treaties and expelled each other’s citizens.

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New Delhi: Timezone, one of the world’s largest family entertainment centre (FEC) brands and owned by Australia-based TEEG (The Entertainment and Education Group), is scaling up its India operations. The company plans to continue investing over ₹100 crore annually as it targets 100 locations by 2026, up from 84 currently. It sees potential to expand across more than 80 cities in the country.

New Delhi: Timezone, one of the world’s largest family entertainment centre (FEC) brands and owned by Australia-based TEEG (The Entertainment and Education Group), is scaling up its India operations. The company plans to continue investing over ₹100 crore annually as it targets 100 locations by 2026, up from 84 currently. It sees potential to expand across more than 80 cities in the country.

“We’ve consistently opened 10 to 12 venues every year, and we plan to continue at that pace,” Abbas Jabalpurwala, CEO of Timezone India, told Mint in an interview. “We should close this calendar year at 92 and cross the 100-venue mark next year. What gives us confidence is that this expansion is largely funded through internal accruals—we’ve remained profitable throughout.”

“We’ve consistently opened 10 to 12 venues every year, and we plan to continue at that pace,” Abbas Jabalpurwala, CEO of Timezone India, told Mint in an interview. “We should close this calendar year at 92 and cross the 100-venue mark next year. What gives us confidence is that this expansion is largely funded through internal accruals—we’ve remained profitable throughout.”

Timezone has been in India for 14 years and, by its own estimates, has invested close to ₹800 crore in the country to date. The company typically spends ₹8-12 crore per centre, depending on the format. While Timezone does not disclose market-specific revenues, India is its second-largest market after Australia, in terms of both footfalls and revenue.

India has emerged as one of TEEG’s most important growth markets. The group, which also operates the Play ‘N’ Learn brand across the Asia-Pacific region, sees rising demand for high-quality social entertainment among Indian consumers.

“The Indian consumer is incredibly aware, aspirational, and eager for world-class social entertainment experiences,” said Caroline Leong, group chief customer officer at TEEG, said in the same interview. “This is no longer a metro-only market. Families, friends—even grandparents—are coming in together.”

TEEG is jointly owned by the LAI Group, led by the Steinberg family, and Quadrant Private Equity, which acquired a 50% stake in the Timezone business in 2017 to create the current structure. The group operates more than 300 centres across Asia-Pacific under brands such as Timezone, Zone Bowling, Kingpin and Play ’N’ Learn. It has also attracted institutional debt funding, with Australian firm QIC acquiring a portion of its A$625 million debt facility.

Beyond the metros

Having built its early presence in top-tier malls across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi, Timezone is now expanding into smaller cities such as Anand, Rourkela, Siliguri, and Varanasi.

“We’ve identified 80 cities we want to be in. Currently, we’re present in just 30. So, even if we only open one store per city, we have a solid five-year runway,” said Jabalpurwala.

The company’s newer locations in tier 2 and 3 cities are meeting—or even exceeding—expectations in terms of revenue. “Tier 2 and tier 3 customers are willing to pay for quality—they know what’s available in Mumbai or Delhi because of social media. As long as you don’t cut corners on the experience, they respond,” he said.

While the company does not share revenue figures, Jabalpurwala said the cost of building a centre typically ranges between ₹9,000 and ₹12,000 per sq. ft., with a targeted breakeven window of three years. “ROI-wise, we aim for a three-year payback window, though most locations break even on cash flow within the first month,” he noted.

Bigger, better centres

Timezone recently relaunched its first-ever location at Inorbit Mall in Mumbai’s Malad as a flagship venue, spread over 23,000 sq. ft. and packed with group-friendly features—bowling alleys, a laser tag arena for 18 players, bumper cars, cricket mini-games, and a full-service café.

While average store sizes range from 9,000 to 15,000 sq. ft., the brand is leaning into larger formats for key locations. This reflects a shift in consumer preferences toward immersive group experiences, particularly in the wake of the pandemic.

“Earlier, people came alone or in pairs. Now it’s six, eight, even 10 people coming together. Games are designed for group play—bumper cars, laser tag, VR (virtual reality) experiences,” said Leong.

Dwell times have grown as a result. On average, customers now spend 60 to 80 minutes per visit, with families flocking in during weekends and holidays. Weekday traffic, too, has picked up, driven by college students and corporate groups, Leong added.

Owning the experience

Unlike some competitors, Timezone India is fully company-owned and operated, with no franchisees. “Franchisees may not always uphold the brand spec or invest back in refreshing content, which is non-negotiable for us,” said Jabalpurwala. Most leases are long-term—nine to 12 years—and several have already been renewed multiple times.

The brand typically accounts for 3-5% of a mall’s monthly footfall, and average spending per family ranges from ₹2,000 to ₹3,000 on weekends. Per-customer spending has also been growing steadily at 8–10% year-on-year, according to Jabalpurwala.

What’s next?

TEEG is exploring the possibility of introducing Kingpin, its upscale bowling-bar format, to India. “India is evolving fast, and we see space for all our formats eventually,” Leong said, though she did not provide a timeline.

To deepen customer engagement, Timezone is leaning on data and loyalty tools. Its Powercard and mobile app track detailed user behaviour and enable hyper-personalized offers. “We have more than 2 million contactable users in India alone, and over 8 million globally. We know what they play, when they come, and what they like to eat,” said Leong.

While competition is intensifying from brands like Snow World, SMAAASH, and newer trampoline park chains, Timezone maintains a clear lead in the organized indoor FEC segment. It currently operates 84 centres in India, compared with fewer than 20 for SMAAASH and just two for Snow World. According to the company, it holds over 60% of the market share by venue count.

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Anant Raj Ltd. plans to spend 180 billion rupees ($2.1 billion) on data centers as it joins a growing list of Indian companies looking to ride the boom in demand for artificial intelligence and business process-led services in the country.

The Delhi-based developer with a market value of $2.3 billion will launch two more data centers or server farms in the northern Indian state of Haryana. This is in addition to the one already operational, as it aims for a capacity of little over 300 megawatts by 2032, Amit Sarin, managing director at Anant Raj said.

For context, India’s data center capacity is poised to grow by 77% to 1.8 gigawatts in the next four years, according to a 2025 report by property consultant JLL.

“India is witnessing one of the fastest growth phases globally for data centers,” said Sarin in an interview, adding that the project will be funded through the company’s own funds.

Anant Raj’s move follows ambitious plans by India’s top business houses Adani Group and Reliance Industries Ltd. to expand their footprint. The trend is underscored by Barclays Plc’s view that the South Asian nation will be a big beneficiary of the data center investment boom in Asia, driven by digitalization and rules requiring data to be stored within the country.

Smaller firms are not far behind. Bengaluru-based RMZ Corp. is spending $1.7 billion on two data centers and Panchshil Realty is considering partnering with Blackstone Inc. to build a large data center in Mumbai.

Data centers are expected to make up more than 40% of Anant Raj’s revenues in the next four years from 5% at present, Sarin said. The company tied up with the French IT company Orange Business to provide cloud services to its clients along with data centers last year.

“India currently generates 28% of the world’s data but houses only 1% of it locally, presenting a significant opportunity for expansion as data localization becomes inevitable,” Sarin said.

Virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs), a financial tool for energy-intensive industries seeking to meet their renewable energy obligations, have not gained momentum in India despite their seemingly promising nature. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) recently released draft guidelines to enable designated consumers to meet their renewable commitments. Under these guidelines, a VPPA or a designated consumer may enter into long-term bilateral virtual agreements with a renewable energy generator at an agreed-upon price.

The CERC issued a time frame for waiving interstate transmission (ISTS) charges for renewable energy, energy storage projects, green hydrogen, and green ammonia. Renewable energy generation stations based on wind, solar, or hybrid sources are eligible for waivers based on their commissioning date. Projects commissioned on or before June 30, 2025, will receive a full waiver for 25 years. Projects commissioned in successive years up to June 30, 2028, will receive progressively lower waivers, reducing from 75% to 25%. Projects commissioned after June 30, 2028, are not eligible for a waiver.

India added 1.1 GW of solar open access capacity in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, down nearly 48% from 2.1 GW in Q4 2024. Installations were down 47% year-over-year from over 2 GW, according to the Q1 2025 Mercom India Solar Open Access Market report. Domestic solar modules were scarce due to the rush to commission before the end of the financial year. The quarter saw a slowdown in the commissioning of solar open access projects due to a shortage of transmission infrastructure, delays in the clearance procedure for connectivity, and uncertainty regarding the ISTS waiver.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries launched the application portal for the ‘Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India,’ inviting global and domestic manufacturers to establish electric vehicle (EV) production facilities in the country. The application portal will remain active until October 21, 2025. The program aims to attract major global EV manufacturers by offering a reduced customs duty structure and a policy framework that encourages long-term investments in India’s automotive sector.

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission approved a tariff of ₹3.70 (~$0.043)/kWh for the procurement of 9.9 MW of wind-solar hybrid renewable energy by a power distribution licensee in the GIFT City in Gujarat. The petitioner, GIFT Power Company (GIFT PCL), had initiated power procurement through open access as a distribution licensee in May 2019. GIFT PCL has relied on a mix of short- and medium-term PPAs, the day-ahead market, and real-time market power purchases. However, with demand expected to increase from a base of 5 MW in the financial year (FY) 2025 to 20 MW by FY 2030, and peak load potentially reaching 40 MW, the company is shifting to long-term renewable sourcing to fulfill its universal service obligation and meet renewable purchase obligations.

The Ministry of Power proposed amendments to the guidelines for the tariff-based competitive bidding process to procure power from grid-connected power projects. These revisions apply to solar, wind, wind-solar hybrid, and firm and dispatchable power from renewable energy projects with energy storage systems. According to the proposed amendments, all projects will have a fixed timeline for regulatory approvals. The amendments would require that when power procurement involves an intermediary agency and the end buyer is a distribution licensee, the latter must obtain regulatory approval for the power sale agreement within 30 days of signing it. Such requirements apply to cases where prior approval was not obtained.

Integrated solar cell and module manufacturing company Premier Energies commissioned a new 1.2 GW tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell manufacturing line in Hyderabad, Telangana. TOCon technology involves an ultra-thin tunnel oxide layer (usually silicon dioxide) grown on the solar cell’s silicon wafer surface, which is then overlaid with a highly treated silicon layer. This technology helps electrons move faster compared to conventional cells. Premier Energies said the new TOPCon line has increased the company’s solar cell production capacity from 2 GW to 3.2 GW.

Solar module manufacturer Rayzon Solar filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to raise ₹15 billion (~$175 million) through an initial public offering of shares. The company will utilize up to ₹12.65 billion (~$147.5 million) of the net proceeds to invest in its wholly owned subsidiary, Rayzon Energy, and partly finance the development of a 3.5 GW TOPCon solar cell manufacturing plant in Surat, Gujarat. The DRHP said Axis Bank has approved a loan of ₹3 billion (~$34.98 million) for the cell facility.

The Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company invited bids to procure 800 MW of wind power from projects set up anywhere in India, with an additional capacity of up to 800 MW under the greenshoe option for 25 years. Bids must be submitted by July 23, 2025. Bids will be opened on July 25.  The scope of work also entails the identification of land, project installation, and ownership. Additionally, it involves obtaining connectivity and approvals, as well as interconnection with the ISTS or intrastate transmission system networks to supply power.

Gujarat-based Onix Renewable offered ₹264 (~$3) per share to acquire 1.6 million equity shares of Onix Solar Energy for approximately ₹429 million (~$5 million). Onix Solar Energy is a subsidiary of Onix Renewable. The offer represents 6.44% of Onix Solar Energy’s issued and outstanding voting share capital. Grow House Wealth Management is acting as the manager for this open offer. This open offer followed Onix Solar Energy’s board of directors authorizing a preferential allotment of 18.5 million fully paid-up equity shares, each with a face value of ₹10 (~$0.12), on a preferential basis. These shares represent 73.2% of Onix Renewable’s emerging voting share capital.

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President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had a buyer for the U.S. branch of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned video app that faces a ban over national security concerns.
In an interview on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo,” Trump said, “We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way.”

He added that he would need China’s approval, but “I think President Xi will probably do it,” in reference to China’s leader, Xi Jinping.

Trump did not disclose who the potential buyers were, saying only that it was “a group of very wealthy people.”

He added, “I’ll tell you in about two weeks.”

Approximately 96,285 houses were sold in the second quarter (April-June) of 2025 across the seven metropolitan cities – National Capital Region, MMR, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata, compared to 120,335 houses sold in the same period in 2024.

Housing sales in the seven cities increased marginally by 3% compared to the first quarter of 2025, the report shows. Chennai, the National Capital Region (NCR), Hyderabad and Bengaluru witnessed a spike in sales by 40%, 14%, 9% and 1% respectively. But in Kolkata, Pune and the MMR, housing sales dropped by 10%, 4% and 1%, respectively.

“The second quarter of 2025 was a rollercoaster for the Indian housing market, rocked by major military actions at home and abroad. The war-like climate pushed homebuyers into wait and watch mode, compounding the impact of soaring property prices over the past two years,” Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Group, told Hindustan Times. “Now, with domestic tensions easing and the Reserve Bank of India’s repo rate cut injecting fresh optimism, buyer sentiment is rebounding.”

Similar sentiments were shared by other real estate consultants.

“Geopolitical tensions always have an impact on Indian real estate, though the degree varies depending on the geography and Indian economic interests in those countries,” said a real estate consultant, requesting anonymity. “This time around, with America intervening in the Iran-Israel war, people feared that a medium to large-scale conflict may lead to economic slowdown or job cuts. Hence, home hunters decided to keep their purchase decisions on hold.”

In keeping with the dip in sales, new launches decelerated by 16% on a year-on-year basis, from approximately 117,165 units in the second quarter of 2024 to around 98,625 units in the second quarter of 2025. Realty hotspots MMR and NCR saw the maximum new supply, accounting for 48% of the total new supply across the seven cities. MMR witnessed a 36% yearly decline and a 8% quarterly decline in new supply.

One of the top developers in the MMR, who recently launched a project in the extended Navi Mumbai area, said, “When the Ukraine-Russia conflict broke out in February 2022, we thought it would last only a few weeks, but we have been proved wrong. But that conflict did not have as much impact on India’s realty industry as the one in the Middle East, especially with America’s involvement.”

Puri was optimistic about an uptick in sales in forthcoming quarters.

“Despite a 20% year-on-year dip in sales across the top seven cities, a 3% uptick this quarter signals renewed momentum,” he said. “With home loan rates softening and developers largely holding prices steady, the stage is set for a potential upswing in housing sales in the coming quarters.”

Oil prices retreated after briefly hitting $81 a barrel before steadying to $67 a barrel following the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and a subsequent fragile ceasefire between Tehran and Tel Aviv. Looking ahead, they are expected to be volatile — although supplies are plentiful with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reportedly expected to raise output in August following an increase planned for July — as geopolitical tensions persist in West Asia. Signalling his concern about oil prices, President Donald Trump urged the US department of energy to “drill, baby, drill”. If this is the compulsion of the world’s largest producer, how much greater would this be for India that has an import-dependence of 88% for its requirement of oil? To bolster its energy security, India must make determined efforts to boost domestic oil production that has been steadily declining since FY12. This has been falling for various reasons including low investment due to obstructive regulations, high taxation, and declining output from old and marginal fields. The country also lacks the technological capability for deep-water exploration. There have been no major hydrocarbon discoveries of late either.

To be sure, the government is seized of the imperative of stepping up oil production by incentivising domestic producers and global giants for exploration and production (E&P) and has enacted the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025. Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri states that the government is committed to increasing exploration acreage to 1 million square kilometres by 2030 especially in areas previously marked as no-go zones. In the ninth round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy, 38% of the bids were for exploration in the erstwhile no-go zones. Obviously, it will take more time before the relatively more pragmatic policy stance bears fruition. But the good news is that the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) drilled 578 wells in FY25, the highest recorded in 35 years, comprising 109 exploratory and 469 development wells. Its capex hit $7.2 billion. ONGC has inked a contract with British Petroleum to optimise oil recovery in Mumbai High. Private oil and gas majors like Cairn Oil & Gas plan to treble output and account for 50% of India’s oil production. Cairn has plans to invest $3-4 billion for E&P over the next five years.

Although India’s policy focus has shifted to production maximisation — which should be welcomed — higher domestic output is predicated on new discoveries. This in turn can happen with a much greater involvement of global oil majors. Puri is optimistic that India holds the potential of “several Guyanas” in the Andamans and that E&P offers investment opportunities of $100 billion. The interest of global oil majors, however, has been constrained by the challenging investment environment, including concerns regarding arbitration and compensation in case of expropriation. Foreign direct investment in petroleum and natural gas amounted to only $8.2 billion from April 2000 to September 2024. Domestic players need to be incentivised to “drill, baby, drill” in a bigger way. If taxes on revenues are 65% against a global average of 35% and costs of running operations take up another 20-25%, how much resources can be committed for E&P? A more facilitative tax regime is necessary when we need to go all in to reduce our vulnerability to volatile oil prices by improving relative self-sufficiency in domestic production over the medium term.

Chandigarh: Five young minds from Chandigarh, aged between 15 and 17, recently returned from a remarkable scientific journey to Japan — a fully-funded trip under the Sakura Science High School Program. Their visit, organised by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), brought them face to face with global peers and cutting-edge institutions in Tokyo, all thanks to the Govt of India’s INSPIRE-MANAK scheme that supports grassroots innovation in schools.The five students earned their place on the international platform after being shortlisted from about 70 participants in Chandigarh. They then competed at the national level in Delhi, where their ideas stood out for their originality, social relevance, and technical design. Ambica Thakur, a long-time mentor and the city’s nodal officer for the programme, accompanied them. “They’re problem-solvers with purpose. This experience gave them a glimpse of where science can take them — from school labs to global stages,” she said. Seventeen-year-old Adarsh, a student at GMSSS Sector 8B, developed a wearable ‘jogging charger’ — a device that uses leg movement to generate electricity, capable of powering small gadgets. At home, his father Arvind Kumar works as a gardener, while his mother Sushila Gupta supports the family through tailoring.Sixteen-year-old Janeesha Kaur Chawla, from Delhi Public School Sector 40-C, created a mobile app designed to support children with intellectual disabilities, offering therapy connections, community forums, and emergency services. Rohan Dhiman, also 16, built a portable, digital traffic-control system — a practical solution for areas without functioning signals. His father, Vikal Dhiman, is a mason, and his mother, Suman Rani, a homemaker.Sneha, 17, from Maloya colony, designed a compact mechanical door blocker for added security during emergencies. Her father Sunil Kumar works in the health department, while her mother Jasvinder Kaur manages the household.Fifteen-year-old Mannat Bhargava from Kundan International School devised a GPS-enabled hairclip for women’s safety, complete with an SOS button, live audio features, and automatic alerts. Her parents, Sachin and Dolly Bhargava, run an HR consultancy in Chandigarh.Their week in Japan was more than just a science tour — it was a journey that bridged ideas and cultures, and reminded each of them that innovation knows no boundaries.