Winning Bizness Economic Desk
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a public sector undertaking (PSU), has emerged as the lowest bidder for a Rs 5,000-crore order by the Indian defence ministry.
The order involves the construction of five Next Generation Survey Vessels or NGSVs for the country’s navy, the mini-ratna public sector undertaking said in an exchange filing.
“We would like to inform that at the meeting held today (Monday) at the Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has been declared as L1 in the tender floated by the Ministry of Defence for the construction of five numbers of Next Generation Survey Vessels (NGSVs) for the Indian Navy. The estimated total order value is around Rs 5,000-crore,” the filing stated.
It added that the final announcement of the contract will depend on the satisfactory completion of “necessary formalities” in this regard, and will be updated in due course.
India’s January Retail Inflation Stands at 2.75 Per Cent
Retail inflation stood at 2.75 per cent in January on an annual basis under the newly released Consumer Price Index (CPI) series as compared to the 1.33 per cent under the old series in December of last year (2025).
This marks the first major revision of the country’s retail inflation series in over a decade, with the base year updated from 2012 to 2024.
Despite the increase, inflation remained within the country’s apex bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s tolerance limit.
According to data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), inflation in rural areas edged up to 2.73 per cent while in urban regions, it climbed up northward to 2.77 per cent.
The food inflation rate recorded inflation of 2.13 per cent as compared to a deflation of 2.7 per cent in December last year.
A significant feature of the revised CPI is the reduced weight and influence of food in the index.
According to the ministry, the increase in headline and food inflation in January 2026 was mainly attributed to rising prices in personal-care, social protection, education services, clothing and footwear, restaurants and accommodation services and tobacco.
India’s Wholesale Inflation Climbs Up to 10-Month High in January
The country’s wholesale price-based inflation registered a northward movement last month (January 2026), reaching 1.81 per cent as compared to the 0.83 per cent in the previous month.
This climb is primarily propelled by a surge in food prices and increased costs within the manufacturing sector.
The core inflation was at 3.2 per cent Month-on-Month (MoM), up from two per cent.
Food inflation moved up to 1.41 per cent as compared to the 0 per cent registered in the prior month.
This was largely fuelled by an increase in vegetables which jumped to 6.78 per cent. Additionally, the price growth for eggs, meat and fish tripled to 3.66 per cent, up from 1.14 per cent.
A point to note here is that despite the overall increase, certain kitchen staples remained cheaper. Potato inflation stood at -38.84 per cent, showing little change from the previous months of -38.21 per cent.
Onion prices also remained at -33.42 per cent from -54.40 per cent witnessed previously.
The broader industrial and commodity sectors revealed diverging trends.
The All Commodities Index has increased by 0.51 per cent while the Primary Articles Index has dropped by 0.15 per cent.
The Fuel and Power Index has slid southward by 1.62 per cent while the Manufactured Products Index has climbed up by 1.30 per cent.
Passenger Vehicles Up 12.6 Per Cent in January: SIAM
Indian automobile companies have reported wholesales of 4.5-lakh units of Passenger Vehicles (PVs) in January of this year.
This is a healthy northward movement of 12.6 per cent over the numbers sold in January of 2025.
Three-wheelers registered a robust increase of 30.2 per cent compared to January of the previous year (2025) with sales of 0.76-lakh units, while two-wheelers grew by 26.6 per cent in January of this year as compared to January of 2025, with sales of 19.26-lakh units.
The figures are as per the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers(SIAM).
SIAM’s Director-General Mr Rajesh Menon, said that “passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers posted their highest-ever sales of January 2026, with double-digit growth, compared to January 2025.”
“The new year has begun on a positive note, extending the strong momentum seen in the previous quarter, supported by sustained demand following the GST rate reduction,” Mr Menon added.
The initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2026 (announced earlier this month) to strengthen India’s manufacturing base, along with existing policy tailwinds, are expected to deliver long-term benefits for the sector and support growth in the medium-term, Mr Menon said.
HAL Bags Rs 2,312-cr Order from Defence Ministry for Eight Dornier 228 Aircraft
The public sector company, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has said that it has received a Rs 2,312-crore contract from the country’s Defence Ministry for the acquisition of eight Dornier 228 aircraft.
The contract was inked with Hindustan Aeronautics’ Transport Aircraft Division in Kanpur (UP) and includes the supply of operational role equipment for the Indian Coast Guard under the Buy Indian category.
The agreement was signed in New Delhi in the presence of defence secretary Mr Rajesh Kumar Singh.
The public sector unit said that the programme is expected to generate significant direct and indirect employment by strengthening its production eco-system and supporting a wide network of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and ancillary industries.
An important point to note here is that the project would also create long-term opportunities in maintenance, repair and overhaul activities, along with life-cycle tech support.
The company said that the order underlines the government’s focus on self-reliance and Make in India, while enhancing India’s maritime security capabilities.
Separately, just a few days earlier, the company had clarified that five Tejas Mk 1A fighter aircraft were fully ready for handover to the Indian Air Force (IAF), with nine more aircraft already built and flight-tested.
The clarification came after a media report suggested deliveries could face further delays.
HAL said that the aircraft meet contracted specifications and would be delivered once the pending engines from GE were received.
Here, it must be pointed out that in September last year, HAL secured a Rs 62,370-crore contract from the defence ministry for the supply of 97 Light Combat Aircraft Mk 1A to the Indian Air Force.
India’s Gem and Jewellery Exports Remained Broadly Stable, Says GJEPC
The country’s gem and jewellery exports remained broadly stable during the April 2025-to-January 2026 period, the apex body of the industry—the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said.
This performance reflected resilience amid global trade headwinds and tariff related pressures in key markets, it said.
Overall gross exports stood at USD 23.19-billion, clocking a slight dip of 0.64 per cent in dollar terms while climbing up by 3.57 per cent in Rupee terms, compared to exports of USD 23.33-billion registered during the same period the previous year.
This performance underscores the sector’s underlying stability despite volatile global conditions.
Here, an important point to note is that the export outcome was influenced by a sharp contraction in shipments to the United States (US), India’s biggest gem and jewellery destination.
Here, exports slipped sharply by over 45 per cent due to high tariffs and pricing disadvantages.
However, the recently announced India-US trade deal, which restores access for gems and jewellery at 18 per cent, is expected to be a major inflection point.
The tariff rollback is expected to lift India’s gem and jewellery exports by USD 3-billion in the near term, propelled by renewed price competitiveness and trade re-creation.
Even as exports to the United States faced temporary pressure, India successfully diversified its export markets recording robust growth across multiple key destinations.
During the April 2025-to-January 2026 period, exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) grew 23.71 per cent, Hong Kong rose 33.5 per cent while Australia and France clocked a robust growth of over 36 per cent each.
Other markets such as Belgium Thailand and Israel also registered double-digit growths, demonstrating India’s growing global footprint and the industry’s ability to adapt to shifting trade dynamics.
