Rafale deal unlikely to be announced during PM Modi’s France visit

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jun 11, 2026 | Business

The current proposal stipulates that 90 of the 114 Rafale jets are to be produced in India, while the remaining 24 will arrive in a fly-away condition

The estimated ₹3.25 lakh crore government-to-government defence deal with France for 114 Rafale fighter jets is unlikely to be announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming two-day visit to Paris starting June 13. The more significant part is that the Macron government is engaging seriously with India’s demand for access to source codes, which would allow the indigenous integration of weapons and systems. Another issue under extensive consideration is India’s push to execute the entire project under the ‘Make in India’ procurement policy, French diplomatic sources said on Thursday ahead of Modi’s visit.

Make in India

The current proposal stipulates that 90 of the 114 Rafale jets are to be produced in India, while the remaining 24 will arrive in a fly-away condition. This marks a significant shift from the two earlier Rafale contracts with France. When India purchased 36 Rafales for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2016 and another 26 marine versions last year, all aircraft were acquired in 100 per cent fly-away condition — they were built, assembled and tested entirely in France by Dassault Aviation. This time, however, 90 of them will be manufactured in India.

“Everything is open when the two leaders sit across the table,” said French diplomatic sources, noting that India formally issued a Letter of Request (LoR) last month seeking a commercial and technical response for what will be its biggest-ever defence acquisition. “Both the French government and French companies are committed to integrating Make in India into our defence deals, including the Rafale,” said sources.

As negotiations move into the formal stages of finalising costs, Indian content and manufacturing cooperation, the bilateral procurement route is visibly evolving from a traditional client-provider relationship. “It’s not a supplier-customer relationship. Its equal to equal,” said diplomatic sources.

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh had earlier said that Dassault Aviation had offered 40 per cent localisation during initial discussions. However, he stated that the Ministry of Defence is pushing for 50 per cent or more Indian content to boost self-reliance. For the first time, the aircraft will be manufactured outside of France.

French diplomatic sources, too, reiterated that this contract is a departure from previous defence agreements. “This Rafale deal will be different from earlier deals. Unlike the past, the integration of Indian components and weapons will be an inherent part of this contract,” said a source.

Prime Minister Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting in Nice on June 14.

The proposed acquisition is meant to fill the capacity deficiency of the IAF, which now has an existing fleet of 32 squadrons against the requirement of 40 squadrons to fight a two-front war. From 2029-30, the Rafale jets from the expected deal will start coming to India.

Published on June 11, 2026

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Trade sees India’s 2026-27 cotton carry-forward stocks 42% up at 85 lakh bales on higher imports

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jun 11, 2026 | Business

Cotton imports in the 2025-26 season are expected to rise to 60-65 lakh bales (of 170 kg each) following the government’s recent decision to exempt import duty, aimed at ensuring the textile industry has access to quality cotton.

As a result, carry-forward stocks at the start of the 2026-27 season in October are projected to rise by about 42 per cent to over 85 lakh bales.

According to the Cotton Association of India (CAI), imports till the end of May 2026 stood at 43.5 lakh bales, up nearly 32 per cent from 33 lakh bales in the corresponding period last year. The trade body had earlier projected imports of 47 lakh bales for the ongoing marketing season, ending September.
“Imports of 43.5 lakh bales had already arrived at Indian ports by the end of May. Following the recent duty exemption, we expect an additional 15 lakh bales to be imported. Total imports this season could reach 60-65 lakh bales,” said Atul S Ganatra, Chairman of CAI’s Crop Committee.

At its recent meeting, CAI retained its estimate of the 2025-26 cotton crop at 334 lakh bales. Cotton pressing for the season was completed at 322.35 lakh bales till the end of May, Ganatra said. Exports are estimated at 10 lakh bales. Closing stocks for 2025-26 are projected at 85.59 lakh bales, about 25 lakh bales higher than the previous season’s estimated 60 lakh bales.

“The higher closing stock is primarily on account of increased imports,” Ganatra said.

Though domestic and imported cotton are currently available at similar prices, textile mills continue to favour imported cotton as it delivers around 4 per cent higher yarn realisation, Ganatra said.

In addition, yarn produced from imported cotton commands a premium of about ₹7 per kg in the market, making imports more attractive despite price parity.

As of end-May, cotton stocks were estimated at 191.44 lakh bales. Of this, around 82 lakh bales were held by mills, while the rest was with the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), traders, ginners and multinational companies.

Published on June 11, 2026

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Govt nominates DFS Secretary Lohiya on central boards of RBI and SBI

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jun 11, 2026 | Business

Lohiya took over as Secretary, Department of Financial Services, with effect from June 1, 2026. (Representational image)

The Central government has nominated Sanjay Lohiya, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India and State Bank of India with immediate effect and until further orders.

Lohiya, who is an IAS Officer of 1994 batch (Assam Meghalaya cadre), nomination follows the superannuation of Nagaraju Maddirala on May 31, 2026, as DFS Secretary. Lohiya took over as Secretary, Department of Financial Services, with effect from June 1, 2026.

Published on June 11, 2026

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Gold, silver ETF investors pull out record sums as prices correct

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jun 11, 2026 | Share Market

Gold and silver exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors are cashing out as precious metal prices cool after a sharp rally. Investors pulled nearly ₹3,000 crore from gold and silver ETFs in May, marking the highest-ever combined monthly outflow from the two categories.

Gold ETFs recorded net outflows of ₹725 crore in May, the highest ever for the category and the first monthly redemption in over a year.

Gold prices had surged nearly 75 per cent in 2025, before hitting a record high on January 29 this year. Since then, prices have fallen about 17 per cent, prompting investors to lock in gains. Silver has followed a similar pattern, though the correction has been much steeper. Domestic silver prices are currently down nearly 39 per cent from their January peak.

The sharper decline in silver prices has led to heavier investor withdrawals from silver ETFs. The category witnessed record net outflows of ₹2,133 crore in May, extending its redemption streak to a fourth consecutive month. Investors have withdrawn ₹3,770 crore from silver ETFs over the period.

The outflows come after nearly six months of strong inflows into gold and silver ETFs. Both net inflows and folio additions had been scaling fresh highs month after month till January 2026, as soaring precious metal prices drew investors into the category.

“After strong inflows of ₹24,040 crore (into gold ETFs) in January, momentum tapered in subsequent months, indicating a gradual cooling in incremental allocations. The reversal appears to have been driven by a combination of profit booking following the earlier rally in gold prices and a shift in investor risk appetite, with some rotation away from safe-haven assets,” said Nehal Meshram, senior analyst, Morningstar Investment Research India.

The net folio addition data showed that a lot of investors have been exiting their investments in the two precious metal ETFs. Gold ETFs witnessed a decline in folios for the first time in at least a year, as the accounts shrunk by 134,343 in May. In the case of silver ETFs, the number of accounts have been on the decline for two straight months. The total number of accounts have come down by over 400,000 from the peak of 5.6 million in March 2026.

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SEBI proposes unified price bands for stocks listed across exchanges

by Hansraj Agrawal | Jun 11, 2026 | Business

Under the proposal, exchanges would use the closing price from the actively traded exchange to determine price bands and pre-open auction base prices in such cases.
| Photo Credit:
HEMANSHI KAMANI

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday proposed a uniform mechanism to determine price bands and pre-open session base prices for stocks listed on multiple exchanges, to address instances of significant price divergence in illiquid securities.

The regulator has proposed that where a stock trades on only one exchange on a given day, the other exchange should use the closing price of the exchange where trading occurred to determine the next day’s price band and the base price for the pre-open call auction session.

Further, where a stock trades on two or more exchanges but remains inactive on one or more of them, the non-trading exchange would use the closing price of the exchange with the highest trading volume for that stock to determine the subsequent day’s price band and pre-open base price.

Price alignment

Currently, stock exchanges apply stock-specific price bands of up to 20 per cent on either side of the previous closing price for stocks not traded in the derivatives segment. Some stocks trade on one exchange but not another for several days, leading to widening differences in closing prices because exchanges apply price bands based on their own previous-day closing prices.

This has been observed particularly in illiquid scrips where persistent buying interest, coupled with non-trading on one exchange, can result in “significant price divergence in the closing prices of the scrips across the exchanges,” SEBI said.

However, if the stock trades on all exchanges or does not trade on any exchange, each exchange will continue to use its latest closing price to set price bands.

The regulator has invited public comments on the proposals until July 2.

For implementation, SEBI has also proposed that stock exchanges enter into agreements or other arrangements to share closing-price data.

Published on June 11, 2026

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