Vir Vikram Yadv (Image credit: ministry of environment, forest and climate change website)

NEW DELHI: Senior bureaucrat Vir Vikram Yadav has been appointed Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), replacing Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, according to an official order issued on Tuesday, cited by PTI. Yadav, a 1996-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, is currently serving as additional secretary in the ministry of environment, forest and climate change. Kidwai, who headed the aviation safety regulator for a little over a year, has been appointed additional secretary in the department of personnel and training. The leadership change comes at a time when the DGCA is dealing with multiple challenges, including safety concerns, operational disruptions and the impact of ongoing tensions in West Asia on airline operations. During Kidwai’s tenure, the regulator faced scrutiny following widespread disruptions at IndiGo in December 2025, lapses at various airlines, accidents involving non-scheduled operators, and a fatal crash involving an Air India aircraft in June last year. The DGCA had taken enforcement actions, including penalties against IndiGo. Airline operations are also under pressure due to airspace restrictions linked to the Middle East conflict, leading to longer routes and higher fuel costs. At the same time, India’s aviation sector continues to see strong growth in passenger demand, even as airlines grapple with aircraft shortages. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu recently said deliveries of about 1,700 ordered aircraft could take up to 15 years due to global supply chain issues. The DGCA has also introduced several passenger-friendly measures, including new norms on seat allocation and ticket cancellations, though airlines have raised concerns over potential revenue impact.

Mumbai: Khizar Farooqui, a truck driver from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, has secured a work visa from a Saudi Arabian company through a travel agency in Mumbai. Grounded by the West Asia war, which has stretched beyond a month now, he is worried that long-term unemployment will push his family into acute poverty.“I have been in Mumbai for over 20 days. Despite the risks and friends’ advice against travelling to Saudi in these conditions, I want to go, as I desperately need to work. But the air ticket prices have almost doubled from what they were a month ago. I don’t know what to do,” he said. Around 1 lakh-odd unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled Indian workers with secured job permits in the Gulf countries whose plans —and hopes—have been derailed by the war, according to Abdul Karim, president of Indian Personnel Exports Promotion Council, an association of registered recruitment agencies. “The war has virtually brought the process of recruitment to a standstill. Workers with visas are apprehensive and under pressure from families against flying out of the country. The situation will worsen if the war persists for a few more weeks,” he warned. Karim said around 95 lakh Indian expatriates live and work in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait). These expatriates working in sectors like construction, engineering, healthcare and hospitality collectively contribute around Rs 33 billion of the Rs 83-billion annual foreign remittances to India. “If these workers further pause their travel, it will aggravate the unemployment scenario in the country. These drivers, plumbers, pipe fitters and masons, who get between Rs 25,000 and Rs and Rs 30,000 monthly in the Gulf countries, will not find jobs for even Rs 10,000 monthly here. The war must end immediately,” said businessman-educationist Nasir Jamal, who originally hails from UP, which sends out a large workforce (3-4 lakh) annually to West Asia. Ashhad Anwar Siddiqui of BKC-based Ashhad Travel Agency said there are 150 persons who have secured visas through his company but have postponed their travel, both because of pressure from the family and the hike in airfares. “The situation has been made more complicated by the requirement of a skill test, in addition to an interview by a delegation of the employers,” he said.Wasib Peshimam of Al Samit International, a recruitment agency in Mahim, is saddled with a list of 150 workers who have secured visas. “We are hurtling towards a situation like the Covid-induced crisis. There has been no announcement of any compensation for this sector.”

In a span of just a month, BSE Sensex is down over 9,300 points or 11.48%! (AI image)

Blood bath on Dalal Street, foreign investors’ exodus, mass selloff, several lakh crore of investors’ wealth wiped out – these are the headlines that have dominated financial news this month. The US-Israel-Iran war has dealt a massive blow to the Indian stock market indices BSE Sensex and Nifty50 which were already struggling for the last few months after Donald Trump announced tariffs.With global crude oil prices rising to levels not seen in several years, the inflationary impact globally and its resultant blow to GDP growth has kept investors on tenterhooks forcing them to flee riskier assets like equities.The selloff by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) has been particularly pronounced. Rupee has seen its worst financial year in over 14 years, breaching the 95 per dollar mark in trade on the last trading day (March 30) of the fiscal year.At the start of the new financial year 2026-27, what’s the outlook for BSE Sensex and Nifty50? When will foreign investors become net investors?

Sensex & Nifty Round-Up – Facts & Figures: A Telling Picture

Analysts are of the view that the risk aversion seen in stock markets in March is one of the worst since the Covid pandemic back in 2020.

Why are foreign institutional investors rushing out of India?

Experts say the factors driving the current selloff is a mix of factors: attractive valuations in developed markets, rupee depreciation, recent US-Iran war which has driven up global crude oil prices.Pabitro Mukherjee, Associate Vice President – Technical Research Bajaj Broking blames external factors for this month’s exodus.“The current wave of FPI outflows has been primarily driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, which have triggered a global “risk-off” sentiment. This has been further compounded by macroeconomic pressures, including a weakening Indian Rupee breaching ₹95/USD, and a sharp rise in crude oil prices, which has heightened inflation concerns and widened the current account deficit,” he told TOI.

“These factors appear largely external and cyclical in nature, linked to global uncertainty and risk aversion rather than domestic structural weaknesses,” he believes.Tanvi Kanchan, Associate Director at Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Limited explains that with Brent crude prices above $100, a classic risk-off move has been fuelled. This has been compounded by the rupee hovering near ₹92-95 against the dollar, elevated US bond yields, and a mixed Q4 earnings outlook.Rising US bond yields and tightening global liquidity have improved the relative attractiveness of developed market fixed income, prompting reallocation away from emerging markets including India, she tells TOI.She is also of the view that most of these drivers are cyclical, not structural – the West Asia conflict, crude spike, and dollar strength are external shocks. “India’s domestic fundamentals, 7%+ GDP growth, fiscal consolidation, and a robust DII ecosystem, remain intact. The one structurally evolving factor is FPI reassessment of IT earnings amid AI disruption, which will take 12-18 months to play out,” she opines.What’s spooking investors is the possible economic fallout of the persistent Middle East crisis.“Approximately 70-80% of the selling is externally driven on the backs of weakness in global equity markets following the West Asia war, steady rupee depreciation, fears of declining Gulf remittances, and the impact of high crude on India’s growth and corporate earnings are all contributing to sustained FPI selling. FPIs were also sellers in other emerging markets like Taiwan and South Korea, confirming this is a global risk-off move, not an India-specific rejection,” says Tanvi Kanchan.

Also, domestically, Indian valuations continue to remain relatively elevated compared to several emerging market peers, which may still be prompting selective profit-booking and reallocation, but this is a secondary factor, not the primary driver, she adds.One pointer of structural strength is the continued faith that domestic investors are showing. “While domestic institutional investors have shown strong participation, with record buying of ₹1.28 lakh crore, their support has only partially offset the scale of FPI selling, indicating that global developments are the dominant influence in the current phase,” says Pabitro Mukherjee.For Tanvi Kanchan, the silver lining is DIIs, whose monthly SIP inflows of Rs 30,000 crore and deployable mutual fund cash of around $6 billion provide a strong floor, preventing a disorderly market collapse.

What’s The Road Ahead?

Experts are of the view that the FII selling may continue through the first half of financial year 2026-27, with a clearer trend reversal possibly emerging only in the second half. However, market analysts believe in the fundamental strength of India’s economic growth story and believe that the market remains structurally sound, with possible signs of optimism emerging once the immediate war settles down and crude oil prices come below $100 per below.“FII inflows are expected to be majorly skewed towards H2FY27 because H1 earnings will be impacted by the war scenario. Key reversal signals to watch would be crude oil dropping sustainably below $90/barrel; the rupee stabilising below ₹91-92; a ceasefire or de-escalation in West Asia; Q4FY26 earnings reaffirming growth visibility for FY27; and the US Federal Reserve resuming rate cuts,” Tanvi Kanchan says.

The persistence of foreign selling is closely tied to the continuation of global risk-off sentiment and geopolitical uncertainty. As long as these conditions remain elevated, FPI outflows are likely to continue.A reversal would likely be indicated by easing geopolitical tensions, stabilisation in crude oil prices, and improvement in currency stability, which would collectively help restore investor confidence, says Pabitro Mukherjee.So when will FIIs be back on D-Street? According to Tanvi Kanchan, going forward, the key conditions are:

She explains that a combination of external easing and domestic policy action is needed. “On the external side we see crude oil cooling, US yield moderation, and West Asia de-escalation. On the domestic side, February 2026 showed what works, the combination of an interim India-US trade framework reducing tariff uncertainty, the Union Budget retaining fiscal credibility with a 4.3% deficit target, and valuation comfort after earlier corrections brought Rs 22,615 crore back in a single month,” the Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers expert says.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)

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India is set to receive its first shipment of Iranian crude oil since 2019, with a tanker carrying 600,000 barrels of oil en route to Gujarat following a temporary sanctions waiver by the US, according to PTI.Ship-tracking data indicates that the vessel Ping Shun is headed towards Vadinar port, marking a potential revival of Indo-Iran oil trade after nearly five years.“The Indo-Iranian oil trade has flickered back to life. Following the US administration’s decision to grant a 30-day window for Iranian oil “on the water” due to regional conflict, the vessel Ping Shun is now en route to Vadinar (in Gujarat) with 600,000 barrels of crude. This is the first such delivery since May 2019 and comes at a critical time for Indian refiners facing tightening inventories,” said Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst, Refining and Modelling at Kpler.The development follows Washington’s decision earlier this month to allow a 30-day window for the purchase of Iranian oil already at sea, aimed at easing global oil prices amid the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran. The window is set to expire on April 19.While the buyer of the cargo remains unidentified, Vadinar houses a 20 million tonnes per annum refinery operated by Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy and also serves as a landing point for crude supplies to inland refineries such as BPCL’s Bina unit.India’s oil ministry has so far maintained that any decision to resume imports from Iran will depend on techno-commercial viability.Before sanctions were tightened in 2018, India was among the largest buyers of Iranian crude, importing both Iran Light and Iran Heavy grades due to refinery compatibility and favourable pricing terms.Imports ceased in May 2019 after US sanctions were reimposed, with India shifting to alternative suppliers including the Middle East and the US. At its peak, Iranian crude accounted for 11.5 per cent of India’s total imports.India had imported about 518,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil in 2018, which declined to 268,000 bpd between January and May 2019 during a sanctions waiver period before dropping to zero thereafter.“The Aframax Ping Shun (IMO 9231901) loaded with Iranian crude oil from Kharg Island in early March has emerged as the first vessel observed signalling a destination of Vadinar, India since May 2019, following sanction reimposition on Iranian oil by the first Trump administration,” Ritolia said.The tanker is estimated to have loaded around 600,000 barrels from Kharg Island around March 4 and is expected to reach Vadinar on April 4.An estimated 95 million barrels of Iranian oil are currently stored on vessels at sea, of which around 51 million barrels could be supplied to India, while the rest may be directed to China and Southeast Asian markets.However, payment mechanisms remain uncertain as Iran continues to be excluded from the SWIFT global banking system, complicating international transactions.Earlier, payments were routed in euros through Turkish banks, but that channel is no longer available following renewed sanctions restrictions.Iran was first disconnected from SWIFT in 2012 due to EU sanctions over its nuclear programme, with further disruptions in 2018 after the US reimposed sanctions, limiting its ability to receive payments and access foreign currency reserves.