Maharashtra govt hikes excise duty on liquor, introduces local category MML (The Indian Express)
Maharashtra has hiked excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), country liquor, and imported alcohol, with IMFL duty rising from 3x to 4.5x the manufacturing cost and country liquor duty moving to ₹205 per proof litre, pushing retail prices up by 50% and boosting expected annual excise revenue by ₹14,000 crore. A new category, Maharashtra Made Liquor (MML), has been introduced to revive dormant local distilleries, create a mid-priced segment between country liquor and IMFL, and potentially add ₹3,000 crore to state revenue while stimulating grain demand. Industry voices, however, warn that steep hikes could fuel smuggling from lower-taxed states and hurt legitimate trade in an already heavily taxed market.
India for balanced and ambitious FTA with EU, says EAM S Jaishankar (Business Standard)
India is pushing to seal an “ambitious and balanced” Free Trade Agreement with the EU by year-end, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar highlighting the need for resilient supply chains, tech cooperation, and digital trust, while calling for an early India-EU Trade and Technology Council meeting. In Brussels, Jaishankar reframed the India-Pakistan conflict as a fight against “Terroristan”, stressing zero tolerance for terrorism and rejecting nuclear blackmail, while lauding EU solidarity after the Pahalgam attack. He also emphasized India’s military edge post-conflict, citing decisive strikes on Pakistani airfields, as he met EU leaders and reaffirmed India’s deepening strategic and economic engagement with Europe.
World Bank predicts India dhoom amid global gloom (The Economic Times)
The World Bank trimmed India’s FY26 growth forecast to 6.3% from 6.7%, citing weak exports, rising global trade barriers, and policy uncertainty, though India remains the fastest-growing major economy. Despite global growth sliding to 2.3% in 2025, the slowest pace since 2008 outside recessions, India’s growth is expected to rebound to 6.5% in FY27, with South Asia averaging 6.2% in 2026–27, largely driven by India. Per-capita income in South Asia is set to stabilize at 5%, and India alone lifted 270 million people out of extreme poverty between 2011–12 and 2022–23, reinforcing its position as the region’s economic anchor.
Power ministry announces additional ₹5,400 cr VGF for 30 GWh battery energy storage (mint)
The government will pump in an additional ₹5,400 crore as viability gap funding (VGF) to build 30 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS), taking the total VGF pool to ₹9,100 crore, and unlocking private investments worth ₹33,000 crore. With India eyeing 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, including 393 GW from solar (293 GW) and wind (100 GW), the push for storage is critical to counter renewable intermittency and ensure 24/7 power reliability, especially during peak demand hours. As the country braces for a storage need of 411.4 GWh by FY32, the first tender under this new BESS funding will roll out in 3 months, while the government also moves to standardize AC temperatures between 20°C and 28°C.
