Philippines declared "National Energy Emergency" on Tuesday, citing risks to fuel supply due to West Asia war. "A state of National Energy Emergency is...declared in light of ongoing conflict...and resulting imminent danger posed upon availability...of country's energy supply," Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said. The government will now boost power generation from coal-fired plants.

India's informal sector added 74.52 lakh new jobs in 2025, according to the latest government survey. The sector is also undergoing rapid digital transformation, with the share of establishments using the internet rising from 26.7% to 39.4%. The sector now employs 12.81 crore individuals and reached the total gross value added (GVA) of ₹19.92 lakh crore in 2025.

Himachal Pradesh government's fiscal stress was caused by weak revenue growth that coincided with COVID-19 pandemic, when expenditure was increased to focus on welfare and support measures, Moneycontrol reported. This caused the state's fiscal deficit to widen beyond 4% of state GDP, compared with 3.4% before the pandemic. Meanwhile, Himachal's pension and subsidy bills have doubled in six years.

Telecom regulator TRAI has introduced stricter rules with higher interest and penalty caps on payment defaults to ensure accurate financial disclosures and timely tariff reporting by service providers. Companies such as Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, and Reliance Jio will face stricter penalties incase they fail to do so. TRAI now mandates reporting new tariffs within 7 days of implementation.

Turmeric has gotten cheaper due to the US-Israel-Iran war, with prices dropping by ₹3,500 per quintal as the war halts exports from Maharashtra's Marathwada. Prices of turmeric in the domestic Indian market are down to ₹13,000 per quintal from ₹16,500, according to a PTI report. According to government data, India’s turmeric exports stood at $341.54 million (₹3,206 crore) in 2024-2025.

HSBC has appointed David Rice as its first Chief AI Officer to cut costs and improve performance by increasing generative AI usage across its businesses worldwide. David Rice, who was previously the COO for HSBC's Corporate and Institutional Banking business, will take charge from April 1 onwards. Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that HSBC could shed 20,000 jobs.

Nearly half of Indian male youth, both 12th standard passouts (51.9%) and graduates (49%), found some employment within a year of declaring themselves unemployed, according to State of Working India 2026 report. However, among graduates, only 6.7% find permanent salaried employment, while this figure is 4% for 12th-standard passouts. Around 3.7% of graduates reported getting a white-collar job.

The prices of gold, considered a safe-haven asset, have fallen by 19.52% in March 2026 amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, reported News24. This makes it the biggest one-month drop since 1975, surpassing previous downturns seen in 1978, 1980, 1983, and during the 2008 financial crisis. Currently, spot gold is priced at $4,418.52 per ounce.

SEBI proposed introducing gift cards or gift prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) for mutual funds. Under the proposal, a buyer will be able to gift the MF gift card to a recipient, who can then use it to subscribe to MF units, SEBI said in its consultation paper. SEBI suggested an annual cap of ₹50,000/investor for MF investments via gift cards.

Intuitive Machines (LUNR) stock fell 10% after NASA paused its Gateway lunar space station program to focus on building a Moon base. This shift away from the Gateway program impacts LUNR, which held key contracts to support the orbital hub. Other space infrastructure companies like Voyager Technologies and Rocket Lab also saw their shares decline.