FM Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday told Parliament that the recent rise in global crude oil prices is not expected to have a substantial impact on inflation at this stage, as India’s inflation remains near the lower bound. The price of both global crude oil and the Indian basket had been on a declining trajectory over the past year until geopolitical tensions in West Asia escalated on February 28, 2026, Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. “Given that India’s inflation is near the lower bound, the impact on inflation is not estimated to be substantial at this point,”she said.
Sebi studying CSE exit proposal: FinMin
The finance ministry on Monday informed Parliament that capital markets regulator Sebi is examining an application seeking the voluntary exit of the Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) from the stock exchange business. Sebi has constituted a working group on the matter and appointed avaluation agency to verify and value CSE’s assets and liabilities, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
PM-SYM enrolment crosses 5.24 million
Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje on Monday said over 5.24 million unorganised workers have enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) scheme as of March 4, 2026. This includes bulk registration of 506,603 beneficiaries during 2019–20. The government has so far contributed Rs 1,837.46 crore as its 50% share under the scheme. Since the scheme was launched in February 2019, pension disbursement will begin only from February 2039.
Operation deep manifest nets Rs 17.48 cr goods
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized consignments worth Rs 17.48 crore under Operation Deep Manifest, launched after the Pahalgam attack in April 2025. The operation aims to identify and seize consignments originating in Pakistan or routed to India via third countries, following India’s trade restrictions on Pakistan. “Till January 2026, a total of 12 cases involving goods of Pakistani origin have been booked by the DRI under this operation, with goods valued at Rs 1,748 lakh seized,” Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said.Govt ad spend on GST at Rs 88.74 cr
The finance ministry on Monday told Parliament that it has spent`88.74 crore on advertising for the GST Bachat Utsav, under which tax rates on a range of goods were reduced with effect from September 22, 2025.
Over 0.23 million join AI courses under SOAR
More than 0.23 million candidates have enrolled in four online courses on artificial intelligence (AI) under the Skilling for AI Readiness (SOAR) programme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in Phase I.
