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India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation announced the cancellation of 444 flights on March 1, 2026, due to airspace restrictions over Iran and the Middle East stemming from heightened Iran-Israel tensions. This follows 410 cancellations the previous day, with the DGCA coordinating airline compliance and passenger safety measures at major airports.
The Finance Ministry advances to the final stage of the Union Budget 2026-27, implementing a lock-in period for officials to protect budget secrecy. The traditional Alva festival accompanies the process, reflecting cultural practices surrounding budgeting in India. Printing and security measures are coordinated across departments to ensure confidentiality.
The finance ministry stage manages end-of-year budget preparations with the halwa festival ahead of the February 1, 2026 submission. The event highlights finalising documents, print procedures, and the lock-in period for officials to safeguard budget secrecy.
The Finance Ministry will review interest rates for Post Office small savings schemes, including PPF and NSC, on December 31, 2025, with new rates effective January-March 2026. Current top rates remain 8.2% for SCSS and Sukanya Samriddhi, while PPF stands at 7.1%. Falling bank FD rates after RBI’s 2025 repo cuts and lower 10-year G-Sec yields (6.54%) suggest potential reductions, though the govern
The Indian Finance Ministry stated in Parliament that gold and silver prices are determined by market forces, with no government role in fixing them, amid volatility driven by geopolitical tensions. As relief, it cut gold import customs duty from 15% to 6% in July 2024 and promotes schemes like Gold Monetization Scheme, ETFs, and Sovereign Gold Bonds to curb physical demand and imports.
The Finance Ministry has clarified that there is no proposal to merge the existing Dearness Allowance (DA) with the basic pay for central government employees and pensioners. The DA, which currently stands at 58%, is revised twice a year based on the All India Consumer Price Index to protect employees’ salaries and pensions from inflation.
India’s telecom ministry has ordered all smartphone manufacturers to pre-install cyber-security app, Sanchar Saathi, on all new devices within 90 days, and to push it to existing phones via software updates.
The Finance Ministry is reconsidering the merger of Oriental Insurance, National Insurance, and United India Insurance after recent government capital support strengthened their financial positions. Although the consolidation plan was postponed earlier, improved finances have revived the proposal, with efficiency and scale being major motivations. The government is also evaluating the possibility
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has introduced new regulations that sharply raise fitness test fees for vehicles older than 20 years, aiming to phase out high pollution vehicles from India’s roads. Commercial vehicles will incur increased charges once they cross 10 years. The revised fees affect all categories light motor vehicles, heavy trucks and buses, and even two wheelers
