Economy

The underlying benchmark will be the Indian Gas Exchange’s GIXI price at the Gujarat delivery hub of Dahej. The benchmark reflects prices discovered through physical natural gas transactions conducted on IGX and will exclude transportation expenses, taxes, fees and other associated charges.

The automated system uses AI-enabled cameras to inspect linen after washing and identify visible stains that may have escaped conventional quality checks. The technology is being tested at Pune Division under Central Railway and the Jaipur and Jodhpur divisions of North Western Railway. The results of the pilot could guide its wider deployment across the railway network.

Cotton production stood at 311.17 lakh bales in 2021–22 before recovering to 336.60 lakh bales in 2022–23. It subsequently declined to 325.22 lakh bales in 2023–24 and 297.24 lakh bales in 2024–25. The figures indicate that changes in cultivated acreage have played a larger role in production fluctuations than changes in yield per hectare.

Seven States and Union Territories—Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand—have adopted the WINDS initiative. A total of 16,843 locations have been approved for the installation of weather-monitoring equipment. Civil work has been completed at 1,188 sites, while 892 Automatic Weather Stations and Automatic Rain Gauges have been installed.

Industry revenue is expected to rise from ₹7.56 lakh crore in FY26 to ₹11.87 lakh crore by FY30. Annual growth is estimated at 7% in FY27, 12% in FY28 and 10% in FY29, while EBITDA could increase at a faster CAGR of 15%.