NEW DELHI: Chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran Friday raised the growth forecast for the next financial year to 7-7.4% as against 6.8-7.2% projected in last month’s Economic Survey, banking on improved policy certainty due to trade agreements and an improvement in capital flows, along with high-frequency data pointing to sustained momentum in consumption and investment.He said that the Indian economy was likely to cross $4 trillion next year. The CEA added that recent trends point to improved capital flows, especially when the handicap of India’s low AI exposure is behind it. Govt’s top economist also said the recent trade agreements signed by India will help in the coming months, while also offering policy certainty.

“Because of global uncertainties related to capital flows, the exchange rate had a depreciating (effect) in 2025. With these trade agreements and the second mover advantage that India has in AI ecosystem…so all those things will improve capital flows, stabilise the exchange rates… which will then mean that the dollar value of the Indian GDP will reflect better the true underlying performance of the Indian economy in rupee terms in the years to come,” Nageswaran said. “We also have had the framework agreement with the US (in the meantime). Though the full effect of these trade deals may be felt in 2027-28, there will (still) be a positive impact in terms of capital formation in FY 2026-27, which will spill over into the consumption (as well),” he said.

Citing multiple sets of numbers, he said the growth momentum was expected to sustain. “At the moment, the risk is on the upside in this range. Of course, global uncertainties are the downside risk factor to keep in mind.”Nageswaran stressed that the focus on policy and reforms, which are in “our control”, have helped India be among the fastest growing G20 countries, paving the way for a “sustained non-inflationary growth of at least 7% in real terms”, post Covid, despite the exchange rate not going in India’s favour in 2025.On the March quarter GDP growth, Nageswaran said, momentum in the economy is good enough to give a growth rate of 7.3% or more.

England faced New Zealand in an all-important 2026 T20 World Cup Super 8 Group 2 clash. The Kiwis won the toss and elected to bat first and scored 159/8 in their 20 overs. Coming out to chase, the Three Lions lost their openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, who went back to the pavilion in the first two overs.

Jos Buttler went back without scoring, as the string of low scores for the former England captain continues. His duck versus New Zealand marked his fifth consecutive single-figure score. Despite putting in additional net sessions and facing local spinners, he has failed to get out of his slump form as of yet.

Jos Buttler’s low score slump continues

In this edition against pace, Jos Buttler had a difficult run with the bat, managing just 35 runs in 7 innings off 38 balls, with 5 dismissals. His average of 7.0 and strike rate of 92.10 underline a rare slump for the usually explosive batter, as he has struggled to make meaningful contributions or provide the impact expected from him in the lineup.

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Horrible tournament continues for Jos Buttler. pic.twitter.com/Cl85WEOjS7

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 27, 2026

Jos Buttler has the highest score of 26, which came against Nepal in the first group stage match of the tournament. He has not able to go past the 30-run mark. He has scored 62 runs in seven innings with an average of 8.86. for the Three Lions.

Jos Buttler’s awful record in ICC events

Buttler has one half-century (83* v USA) from 26 innings across his last four ICC tournaments. This has been worrying sights for Jos Buttler as he has failed to get back to runs. Jos Buttler in ICC events since the 2023 ODI World Cup has an average of 17.2 across the four tournaments.

Buttler previously had the highest batting average as an opener in a T20 WC (Min 5 batted) back in 2021, with 89.66, and now he also has the lowest batting average as an opener in a T20 WC (Min 5 batted), in 2026, with 8.86.

Lowest Batting Average as an Opener in a T20 WC (Min 5 batted)

8.85 – Jos Buttler (2026)*
9.60 – Soumya Sarkar (2016)

Highest batting Average as an Opener in a T20 WC (Min 5 Inngs batted)

277 – Brian Bennett (2026)
89.66 – Jos Buttler (2021)#ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/pDkDoZDumF

— CricBeat (@Cric_beat) February 27, 2026

England in trouble against New Zealand

Coming to the match, Jofra Archer started brilliantly as the speedster bowled a maiden. Then two openers, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, started firepower from both ends, scoring at a good pace. The latter was the more explosive of the two.

Seifert was back in the pavilion after scoring 35 off 25 balls. Allen scored 29 off 19 balls and fell in Will Jacks’ over. After two sudden wickets, Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra controlled the middle overs. Rachin, who was the player of the match, did not have a good run with the bat and was dismissed for 11 runs.

Phillips played a knock of 39 off 28 balls, hitting four boundaries and one six. The Kiwis could only post a target of 160, with England making a comeback in the game. England has been in trouble for 58/4, and the captain, Harry Brook, has just been dismissed. The Kiwi spinners would now look to take the charge as the most in-form batter for England has departed.

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MUMBAI: Across the board selling pulled the sensex down by 961 points (1.2%) on Friday, and the 30-share index closed at 81,287 points with banks leading the slide. Tariff uncertainty, foreign fund selling and no visible progress in Iran-US talks left investors jittery and pressing the sell button ahead of the weekend.Foreign funds led the selling with a Rs 7,536 crore net outflow for the day. Combined with Thursday’s Rs 2,429 crore net selling, the aggregate in just two sessions is close to Rs 10,000 crore.On NSE, Nifty lost 318 points or 1.3% to close at 25,179 points. The day’s slide in the market left investors poorer by Rs 5 lakh crore with BSE’s market capitalisation now at 463.5 lakh crore.According to Ajit Mishra, SVP—Research, Religare Broking, in Friday’s market, selling was largely broad-based across sectors. “Investor sentiment weakened due to a combination of factors including inconsistent foreign flows, weak global cues and lingering geopolitical tensions. In addition, the underperformance of select heavyweights across sectors further intensified the decline.” Among the 30 sensex constituents, 25 closed in the red. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel contributed the most to the day’s slide in the index.In the broader market, the advance-decline ratio was not as skewed as in sensex. Compared to 2,633 stocks that declined, there were 1,574 that advanced, BSE data showed.Wall St declinesWall Street’s main indices dropped on Friday as AI anxiety hammered technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 602 points, or 1.2%, to 48,897, S& lost 46 points, or 0.7%, to 6,863, and Nasdaq Composite was down 226.6 points, or 1%, to 22,652.

NEW DELHI: Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib was granted bail on Saturday after he was arrested in connection to shirtless protest at Bharat Mandapam during the AI summit.Advocate Sulaiman Mohammad Khan said that a Duty Magistrate granted bail to Chib after Delhi Crime Branch was unable to produce any solid reasons to seek the police custody of the IYC National President.“We have also moved an application praying for the grant of bail to the National President, Uday Bhanu Chib. The Duty Magistrate was pleased enough to grant bail to Uday Bhanu Chib and has explained in the bail order we have just read that the Police Crime Branch has not been able to explain the reasons for seeking extension of PC remand to Uday Bhanu Chib,” Khan said.“Delhi Police Crime Branch has moved an application for extension of PC remand of National President of Youth Congress, Uday Bhanu Chib. They have sought a seven-day extension of the PC remand, and also moved two applications for remand of one of the accused for five days and the other for two days…” he added.Khan also added that certain conditions have been imposed that he has to surrender his passport and electronic gadgets before the Court, and he has to produce one surety of Rs 50,000 before the court.Advocate Roopesh Singh Bhadauria highlighted that Chib was in the police custody for four days. He was initially expected to be produced before the Duty Magistrate at 6 am, but the hearing was held earlier, at 1:30 am.“This was not a fresh arrest of Uday Bhanu Chib. He had already been in the PC for four days. We received a message at 12 midnight stating that he would be produced before the Duty Magistrate around 6 am. Thankfully, we at least received a message for him, because we didn’t even receive a message about the others. Then, at 12:30, we received a call saying he would be produced at 1 am. We arrived in a panic. His hearing began at 1:30...” he said.According to Delhi Police, Chib was the “main conspirator and mastermind” behind the February 20 protest at Bharat Mandapam. They say anti-national slogans were raised and an attempt was made to create a riot-like situation. Police claimed that, in conspiracy with Shree Krishna Hari, Kundan Yadav, Narsimha Yadav, Ajay Kumar Yadav, and others, he obstructed and assaulted police officials on duty.At the AI Impact Summit on Feb 20, several men allegedly entered the venue wearing T-shirts bearing images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, along with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal.

NEW DELHI: In an unusual introspective remark, Chief Justice Surya Kant-led bench of the Supreme Court on Friday said on several occasions the apex court passes sweeping orders unmindful of India’s social ground realities and without understanding their adverse impact on the social fabric.When a bunch of petitions challenging the validity of the sedition provision in BNS and a provision in BNSS allowing police to conduct preliminary inquiry prior to registration of FIR came up for hearing, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy said permitting police to conduct preliminary inquiry prior to registration of FIR was in violation of SC ruling in the 2014 Lalita Kumari judgment.

The SC in the 2014 judgment had ruled that if a complaint disclosed a cognizable offence, then the police must immediately register an FIR but can conduct preliminary inquiry into such complaints relating to matrimonial disputes, medical negligence and some other categories of cases.If police can’t verify complaint before FIR, who else will: SCCJI Kant said, to test the validity of provisions of any new law, one must wait for a few years to observe its working and on finding lacunae; the same could be challenged. “Do you know how Lalita Kumari ruling is abused by filing frivolous cases for registration of FIRs? How judicial forums are abused,” he asked.The CJI said, “In some cases, we pass sweeping orders as if sitting in ivory towers and without realising the social realities in the country. Frivolous complaints lodged in the heat of the moment in rural areas, when converted to FIRs, have the potential of causing deep animosity in society.”Justice Kant said, “We pass sweeping orders in the name of protecting fundamental rights which in reality disturb the social fabric.” Guruswamy said how can the police have the power to determine the veracity of a complaint at the time of registration of FIR to argue that police can do so after registering the FIR.The bench said, “If police can’t determine the veracity of the complaint prior to converting it into an FIR, who else will?” Justice Bagchi said, “Lalita Kumar judgment gives the power of preliminary inquiry power to police in several categories of cases, including matrimonial disputes. Legislature has reflected this aspect in the law with respect to the degree of punishment provided for the offences. Such a provision cannot be at the teeth of Lalita Kumari judgment.”Guruswamy argued that the sedition provision was incorporated in BNS despite Union govt undertaking before the SC not to do it. SC said, “Union govt can give such an undertaking. But Parliament is not bound by it. Parliament has the exclusive power to enact legislation. While testing its validity, SC can interpret and read it down.” It posted the petitions for a detailed hearing in March second week.

Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has warned clubs that they will be “deemed disqualified” from the next edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) if they do not make payments as per agreed timelines. The decision of the AIFF, the federation said in an email to all clubs on Thursday, “shall be final, binding, and not appealable.” As per the revised financial model for ISL 2025–26 season, clubs have to pay Rs 30 lakh latest by March 5, another Rs 30 lakh between March 28 and April 4, and Rs 20 lakh by May 1. Balance payments are to be paid upon reconciliation of accounts as determined by AIFF. “A fine of Rs 1 lakh per day shall be levied for each day of delay from the due date until actual payment. Upon the expiry of seven days of continued non-payment, AIFF shall issue a notice of disqualification to the club. If the default is not remedied within four days from the date of such notice, the club shall be deemed disqualified from participation in the next season of the ISL, without any further communication.” Club officials were surprised at the communication. “The timelines and figures are as per discussions held with the clubs but the threat of disqualification is new. Maybe, AIFF really needs the money. Its financial situation is precarious,” said a senior official. Interestingly, while AIFF had earlier announced that it would contribute Rs 9.7 crore towards the league’s operational costs for the season, the financial model shows the federation’s contribution as 0. “Here the clubs are bleeding financially while AIFF is making money at our expense,” said another official. “At the end of the league, once the clubs have paid the fixed participation fee, AIFF will make a profit of Rs 3.5 crore. The AIFF has been left with a deficit of Rs 25.9 crore till June this year and have been forced to cut down many activities till it finds a new commercial partner. The federation ran most of its activities with the Rs 50 crore that its marketing partners, Reliance-subsidiary FSDL, paid annually in return for commercial rights of all leagues and the national team. The 15-year contract ended Dec 8 last year, leaving the federation high and dry.