Episode Details

Petrol, diesel prices raised by over ₹2.50/litre in fourth hike in 10 days

Fuel prices have gone up again, with state-run oil companies raising petrol prices by about ₹2.61 per litre and diesel by around ₹2.71 per litre. This is the fourth hike in just ten days, taking the total increase since May 15 to roughly ₹7.50 per litre. Petrol now costs over ₹102 per litre in Delhi and nearly ₹108 in Chennai, while diesel prices are nearing ₹100 per litre in several cities.

Fertiliser subsidy expected to exceed ₹3 lakh crore in FY27 if geopolitical tensions continue

India’s fertiliser subsidy bill could cross ₹3 lakh crore this financial year, far above the Budget estimate of ₹1.71 lakh crore. Officials say rising global prices of fertiliser inputs, driven by the West Asia crisis, are sharply increasing costs. There are also concerns that disruptions to key shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz could push the subsidy burden even higher during the upcoming Rabi season.

Nirmala Sitharaman says Modi’s call to conserve forex ‘very important’

Amid rising fuel and fertiliser costs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called for greater focus on what she described as the “three Fs” — fuel, fertiliser and forex. Speaking at an event hosted by SIDBI, Sitharaman said India’s economy remains resilient despite global uncertainty, but warned that high crude oil, fertiliser and gold prices are creating pressure on the economy and foreign exchange reserves.

Privacy concerns grow as firms use human recordings to train AI

Privacy concerns around artificial intelligence are growing after reports that domestic services startup Pronto used in-home recordings to help train robotics and AI systems. Experts say India’s evolving data protection laws still leave major grey areas around consent and the commercial use of personal recordings captured inside homes and workplaces.

The controversy has sparked wider debate over the growing use of “first-person” human activity data to train AI systems. Pronto said participation in the pilot programme was voluntary and limited to a small fraction of customers, while rivals including Urban Company and Snabbit have publicly distanced themselves from similar practices. Report by Meenakshi Verma Ambwani.