HYDERABAD, THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2026 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. NO. XXII 271, 22 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 76,704.13 ▲ 633.29 NIFTY: 23,777.80 ▲ 196.55 NIKKEI 225: 55,239.40 ▲ 1539.01 HANG SENG: 26,025.42 ▲ 156.88 `/$: 92.63 ▼ 0.24 `/€: 106.91 ▼ 0.22 BRENT: $109.66 ▲ $6.24 GOLD: `154,597 ▼ `700 IN THE NEWS PAGE 2 ECONOMY Q4 ADVANCE TAX COLLECTIONS GROW 6.42% THE CENTRE’S ADVANCE tax collections for Q4 FY26 from companies, LLPs and individuals rose by 6.42% on year, compared with a 14.62% growth seen in the yearago quarter, according to data released by CBDT, reports Kuldeep Singh. DPDPAct: Easier rules likely for govt departments GOVERNMENT MINISTRIESAND departments are unlikely to be classified as significant data fiduciaries under the DPDP Act, signalling a lighter compliance framework for public authorities, reports Ojasvi Gupta. ■ PAGE 5 NEWSPOINT PAGE 22 Nitin Chugh shifts from frontline banking to building the tech rails of global finance at Perfios INDIA’SCRUDEOILBASKETUP112%FROMFEBAVG OMCsstarttobleed, stareatsteeplosses ● Prices may not rise soon as govt shields end users SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION Crude price ($/barrel) 69.61 65.08 69.11 SAURAVANAND New Delhi, March 18 (Indian Basket, 2025-26) Sept Aug THEAVERAGE PRICE atwhich domestic refiners import oil -India’scrudeoilbasket--surged to$146.09perbarrelonMarch 17,up111.7%fromanaverage of$69.01inFebruary.Whilethe development has raised the prospect of a sharp spike in input costs across industries and marcoeconomic stress, amongfirsttobearthebruntare state-runoilmarketingcompanies (OMCs),whose marketing margins have come under immense pressure. The oil price surge has been steep,withtheIndia’sbasketrisingfrom$70.90onFebruary26 to $127.20 on March 12, $136.56 on March 13 and $142.69 on March 16, reflecting tightening global supplies amid disruptions inWestAsia. Continued on Page 7 »INSIDE« SPOT LNG PRICES RISE SHARPLY P2 10% MORE LPG FOR STATES FOR PNG PUSH P2 70.95 July 69.77 Jun 64.04 May 67.72 Apr IRAN’S HUGE PARS gas field was hit on Wednesday in the first reported strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure in the GulfduringtheUS-Israeliwar,a majorescalationthatprompted Tehran to warn its neighbours that their energy installations would be targeted“in the coming hours”,reports Reuters. 2,56,209 2,09,834 2,05,845 FY24 FY25 FY26* -1,42,985 -1,29,638 -1,34,054 FY23 a row, reports Anjana Therese Antony. The Sensex closed 0.8% up at 76,704.13 points, while Nifty ended 0.8% higher at 23,777.80. ■ PAGE 6 Rupee hits record closing low of 92.63 -1,27,040 FY22 -43,943 FY21 -7,201 FY20 2,21,389 1,29,301 2,76,140 6,07,141 7,98,395 FPIs *Up to March 18, 2026 Nov THE DIRECTORATE GENERAL of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday directed airlines to make at least 60% of seats on all domestic flights available free of anyadditional charge and to seat passengers on the same booking reference together, preferably in adjacent seats. The order follows a rise in passenger complaints over limited free seat availability during web check-ins and sustained pressure from consumergroupsandtheministry of consumer affairs. The ministry had flagged the issue in October 2023, terming the practice of marking most seats as paid an unfairtrade practice under the Consumer Protection Act and describing such design tactics as dark patterns. Passenger feedback pointed to airlines offering onlya handful of seatswithout any extra charges, often middle seats at the rear,while levying additional charge for most others. Families had flagged instances of being separated unless they paid extra. While the DGCA mandated in April 2024 that children under 12 be seatedwith at least one parent at no additional cost, the newdirectiveextendstheprinciple to all passengers on the 62.20 Dec 63.08 Jan 69.01 Feb 111.39 Mar Iran’s huge gas field struck in big escalation inWAsia DIIs have been on a buying spree since the West Asia Indices extend conflict began on Feb 28. Between March 2-18, they pumped nearly `91,598 crore into Indian equities. Their winning run total investments for FY26 is now almost `8 lakh crore, to third day higher than the all-time high of `6.07 lakh crore in FY25. In comparison, FPIs have remained net sellers. They have BENCHMARK INDICES ENDED nearly 1% up on pulled out `1.40 lakh crore so far in FY26, after offloading `1.27 lakh crore in FY25. --MAHESHNAYAK Wednesday, extendingin gains for the third day DIIs 64.31 YARUQHULLAH KHAN New Delhi, March 18 Crude Oil Indian Basket as on Mar 17, 2026: $146.09/barrel DII buying hits newhigh Netequityinvestments(`cr) Oct 60% of flight seats to be free of cost THE RUPEE FELL to fresh low on Wednesday amid ongoing pressure from high crude oil prices, fuelled by the West Asia crisis. It ended at 92.63 against the US dollar, down 24 paise from the previous close, reports Christina Titus. ■ PAGE 6 Pars is the Iranian sector of the world’s largest natural gas deposit,which Iran shares with QataracrosstheGulf.Iran’sFars news agency reported that gas tanksandpartsofarefineryhad beenhit,workershadbeenevacuated to a safe location and emergencycrewsweretryingto put out a fire. ■ PAGE 7 `33,660-crore scheme for 100 industrial parks THE GOVERNMENT ON Wednesday approved a scheme to develop 100 industrial parks across India that will involve `33,660-crore support from the exchequer over the next sixyears,reports Mukesh Jagota.The approval for the Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna (BHAVYA), announced in the 2024-25 Budget speech, came at the Cabinet meeting. ■ PAGE 2 Cabinet clears `2,584-cr small hydro scheme THE UNION CABINET on Wednesdaycleareda`2,584.6crore small hydro power scheme to add 1,500 MW capacity, marking a renewed push to scale decentralised renewable energy in remote and underserved regions, reports Saurav Anand. The scheme for FY26-31 is expected to unlock `15,000 crore in investments. ■ PAGE 2 HYDERABAD same PNR. Industryestimatesindicate that currently about 20% of seats come without any additional levy,with the rest priced basedonlocationandfeatures. “The move to eliminate fees on 60% of seats improves transparencyandfairness,”Vandana Singh, chairperson, aviation cargo, Federation of Aviation Industry in India,said. Continued on Page 7