N Murali has been unanimously appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited (THGPPL) for a term of three years. He succeeds Dr Nirmala Lakshman, who stepped down as Chairperson at the Board’s meeting on Thursday, June 18, 2026, upon nearing the completion of her three-year term. The Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board, chaired by Mr Krishna Srinivasan, Senior Advocate, unanimously recommended appointment of Mr Murali to lead the Board at this challenging time for the news media and for professional journalism.

Mr Murali brings more than 56 years of hands-on experience in the management, business, and financial aspects of the newspaper industry to this role. After completing his school education at the Madras Christian College High School, graduating in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai, and professionally qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, he joined the family business of The Hindu in 1969. He became General Manager in 1977 and Joint Managing Director in 1995. In 2006, he took over as Managing Director of M/s. Kasturi & Sons Limited, publishers of The Hindu and other allied publications. He subsequently served as Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Limited (the holding company of The Hindu Group of Publications). Over the last several years, he has been a Director of THGPPL and KSL.

Over the decades, Mr. Murali has served in senior positions in a number of industry bodies: he was President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS); Chairman, Council of Management, Audit Bureau of Circulations; Chairman, National Readership Studies Council; Chairman, Board of Governors, Advertising Standards Council of India; and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Press Institute of India–RIND. He was elected as the first Board Member from South Asia of the world’s leading association for media publishing, IFRA, Darmstadt, Germany (1998-2004), and served as a Member of the Board of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), Paris (2005-2006). He is a Trustee of the Media Development Foundation, Chennai, which administers the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ).

He is the President of The Music Academy, Madras.

The Board of Directors of The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited placed on record its appreciation of Dr Nirmala Lakshman’s contributions to the Group and its publications and the efficient way in which she led the deliberations and proceedings at the Board level. Board members and employees expressed enthusiasm and confidence that Mr Murali, with his rich experience and perspectives gained in a field that has witnessed many successes, undergone a series of disruptive transformations, and repeatedly demonstrated resilience and relevance, will lead the company to new heights.

Published on June 18, 2026

US President Donald Trump formally agreed an interim peace deal with Iran, shifting focus to the planned reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a complex 60-day negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Trump signed the so-called memorandum of understanding at the Palace of Versailles near Paris on Wednesday evening, at the end of a Group of Seven summit. He was flanked by world and business leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Blackstone Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman, who applauded as he did so.

“Oil down,” Trump immediately said, emphasizing why he has been so keen to end a war with Iran he started alongside Israel at the end of February. The conflict and Iran’s closure of the critical waterway caused energy prices to soar, and led to chaos across the Middle East.

Trump said further military conflict “could have caused an international depression.”

Those concerns led him to accept an agreement many Iran hawks in the US, as well as Israel, say concedes far too much to the Islamic Republic in terms of sanctions relief and potentially unfreezing tens of billions of dollars of funds. Many say it looks no better than the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear deal that the US leader calls the “worst deal ever.”

“History teaches us giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea,” said Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who is normally supportive of Trump’s policies.

While ships weren’t moving en masse through the Strait of Hormuz as of Thursday morning, some appeared to sail through. Three Saudi Arabian supertankers that had been stuck inside the Persian Gulf were recorded as being in the Gulf of Oman, on the other side of the chokepoint. That represents the first large volumes, around 6 million barrels, of Saudi oil to cross the strait since the war began more than three months ago.

Many shipping and oil executives have said they need more clarity, including on whether the strait is clear of mines and whether they need to seek any kind of permission from Iran before sailing through.

There’s also confusion over whether Iran will allow ships free passage. Iranian media has said that might only happen for two months, before Tehran starts charging navigation fees. The US, Europe and Gulf Arab states have balked at the idea of Iran charging a toll for what’s widely considered international waters.

Oil fell further on Thursday, with Brent dropping 1.9% to $78.10 a barrel. It’s down from close to $95 since Trump said late last week that a deal was imminent.

Still, oil remains roughly 30% higher for the year, with energy traders saying it will take months, if not longer, for volumes of oil and liquefied natural gas going through Hormuz to return to normal.

US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Friday for a ceremony to mark the signing and start a further round of negotiations to permanently end the war.

The MOU extends a US-Iran ceasefire that began in April by 60 days. During that time, the sides will try to agree restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program and how to dilute or destroy its stocks of highly enriched uranium. Many nuclear experts say 60 days is too little to negotiate something so complex and technical, and the MOU says the timeframe can be extended.

The 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump abandoned during his first term, took about two years to finalize. 

Israel and the US said the conflict was necessary to prevent Iran acquiring atomic weapons. The Islamic Republic has always denied wanting to do that, though it has raised the suspicions of many governments by enriching uranium far beyond the levels needed for nuclear power plants.

While Iran’s economy has been battered by the war and some of its most senior leaders killed, its ruling regime remains entrenched. The Iranian military proved able to inflict plenty of damage on the US and allies such as the United Arab Emirates by firing thousands of drones and missiles across the region.

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz by firing on several ships weakened Trump’s position. As gasoline prices jumped in the US, the war became more and more unpopular among Americans and caused the polling numbers of Trump and his Republican Party to drop ahead of midterm elections in November.

Trump faced pressure, too, from European allies and Gulf states such as Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to strike a deal with Iran.

Iran will be allowed to restart oil exports immediately under the MOU, with the US granting sanctions waivers. Tehran will also potentially benefit from a $300 billion rehabilitation fund that the US and regional allies are meant to set up. The US has said it won’t provide any money but that other countries are free to.

The document says the US could unfreeze Iranian funds held in various countries, albeit only if Tehran meets certain criteria.

The upcoming negotiations will likely be tense as Trump comes under increasing pressure from Republicans who say he should “finish the job” with the Islamic Republic, an adversary of the US since its birth with the 1979 Iranian revolution.

“Iran is on its back heel right now, weaker than it’s ever been before,” Mike Pence, Trump’s first term vice president, told Bloomberg Government. “My concerns about the MOU, now that we’ve seen it, have to do with the fact that there’s no mention of verifiably dismantling the nuclear weapons program.”

Trump has claimed for years that former President Barack Obama’s 2015 deal amounted to a massive financial giveaway to Tehran. Trump scrapped it in 2018, ramping up sanctions on Iran and promising something far better. 

As more details emerged about the scope of the memorandum, some Republican lawmakers suggested the war wasn’t worth it.

“This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana wrote on social media.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Published on June 18, 2026

The expansion in RBI’s balance sheet has coincided with a sharp increase in currency demand
| Photo Credit:
PTI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stood out among major central banks in FY26, recording a sharp expansion in its balance sheet even as several developed-market central banks continued to moderate or shrink their assets. RBI assets grew 20.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in FY26, the fastest pace in six years (since FY20) and significantly higher than the 8.2 per cent growth in FY25. This increase comes at a time when central banks in advanced economies are still unwinding the extraordinary liquidity measures introduced during the pandemic years.

Asset growth and money supply diverge across economies

Data from central bank reports show a widening contrast between emerging and developed economies. RBI’s assets expansion is much higher than the 4 per cent growth in Indonesia’s central bank assets till December 2025.

According to Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist at Bank of Baroda, there are three operational reasons behind the RBI’s balance sheet growth. “First, the RBI maintains a prudential contingency buffer, typically in the range of 4.5 to 7.5 per cent, which requires it to hold adequate reserves on its balance sheet at all times. Second, the RBI regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market by purchasing foreign currency to manage rupee volatility, and every such purchase automatically expands the balance sheet. Third, Open Market Operations where the RBI buys government securities from the market to inject liquidity, similarly adding to the asset side of the balance sheet.”

In contrast, the balance sheets of the European Central Bank, the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan either contracted or recorded only marginal changes in recent years as policymakers focused on normalising monetary conditions.

The divergence is also visible in money supply growth. RBI’s broad money supply expanded by 13 per cent in FY26, accelerating from 9.6 per cent in FY25. Bank Indonesia recorded 9.7 per cent growth in money supply till March, of 2026. Among developed economies, money supply growth remained much lower, ranging between 2 per cent and 4.6 per cent in 2026.

Currency in circulation sees strongest rise in years

The expansion in RBI’s balance sheet has coincided with a sharp increase in currency demand. The volume of banknotes in circulation grew by 10.5 per cent in FY26, the highest growth rate since FY21 and almost double the 5.6 per cent increase recorded in FY25.

Sabnavis explained, “creating adequate liquidity in the market is a primary mandate of any central bank, and RBI’s expansion simply reflects that duty being fulfilled.”

Currency circulation growth had moderated steadily after the pandemic, falling from 7.2 per cent in FY21 to 4.4 per cent in FY23 before recovering to 7.8 per cent in FY24. The latest acceleration suggests a renewed increase in cash usage alongside overall economic expansion.

According to Anindya Banerjee, Head of Research, Kotak Securities, “the distinction between the expansion in 2020 and 2026 was apparent. In 2020, the RBI expanded its balance sheet deliberately to prevent financial collapse; that was emergency liquidity with direct inflationary risk. In 2026, the expansion is the natural output of apex body functions, forex management, and liquidity offsetting.”

The writer is an intern with businessline

Published on June 18, 2026