India has moved closer to its biggest-ever defence deal, as the Defence Acquisition Council cleared a ₹3.25 lakh crore proposal to buy 114 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation, ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India next week. The government-to-government deal involves manufacturing most aircraft in India, with final costs, technology transfer and production terms to be negotiated after Cabinet approval. While an announcement is expected during Macron’s visit, the contract process may extend into the latter half of the year, as India also cleared missile, aircraft and defence procurement proposals worth over ₹3.6 lakh crore.
India Unveils New Inflation Gauge; January CPI at 2.75% Under Revised Base Year
India’s retail inflation stood at 2.75 per cent in January, marking the first reading under the newly revised Consumer Price Index with a 2024 base year, the Statistics Ministry said. The new series updates the consumption basket to better reflect current household spending and is not comparable with December’s 2012-based data. Food inflation was at 2.13 per cent, Telangana saw the highest state-level inflation, and the government said the overhaul will improve the accuracy of monetary and fiscal policy decisions.
IT stocks plunge 5.5% as AI disruption fears grip markets; Nifty sheds 147 points
Indian markets closed sharply lower on Thursday, led by a heavy sell-off in IT stocks, as concerns grew over artificial intelligence disrupting traditional outsourcing models. The Nifty 50 fell 0.57 per cent and the BSE Sensex dropped 0.66 per cent, with the Nifty IT index sliding 5.5 per cent to a ten-month low as stocks like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services plunged. Strong US jobs data also dampened hopes of early Federal Reserve rate cuts, while financial stocks offered limited support. Analysts expect markets to stay range-bound amid global cues, inflation data and AI-related volatility.
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Agnikul Cosmos to partner with NeevCloud to host data centre in space
As demand for AI computing drives the expansion of data centres, Indian space technology start-up Agnikul Cosmos is preparing to enable data centres in space. The company has developed the capability to repurpose its rocket’s extendable upper stage to host space-based data centres and has signed its first commercial partnership with cloud services firm NeevCloud to deploy its AI SuperCloud platform in orbit. The initiative aims to place AI computing infrastructure in low Earth orbit to overcome terrestrial constraints such as power, cooling, and scalability, with a prototype planned in an upcoming launch and a full-scale deployment targeted by 2027.
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Published on February 13, 2026