Good morning, friends. We have a packed issue dominated by energy, IPO, and electronics manufacturing news leading the way on this midweek morning.

India’s energy sector in India is bustling, with headlines including a new long-term LPG supply agreement with the US and Jackson’s investment of INR 80 bn (USD 903 mn) in a solar manufacturing facility in central India. Pundits are looking at the IPO boom with a critical eye even as PhysicsWallah made a strong debut. And 17 projects in India have secured approvals under the subsidy scheme for electronics manufacturing.

Also making headlines this morning: SBI is forecasting 7.5% growth in 2Q with flattening employment numbers despite a widening trade deficit. There are more Indian firms in Abu Dhabi. And Iran is eyeing cryptocurrencies to settle trade deals with BRICS partners, including India.

^^ We have the rundown on all of this below.

HAPPENING THIS MORNING- Tenneco Clean Air India shares will make their debut on the Mumbai stock exchanges and the ET Global Capability Centers and Bengaluru Tech summits also kick off today.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- State Bank of India, the nation’s largest lender, sees real GDP growth in India hitting 7.5% in 2Q FY2026 (July to September), Hindu Businessline reports. The bank’s call is underlined by a pick-up in investment activity, the ongoing recovery in rural consumption, and sustained growth in the services and manufacturing sectors. Reforms to the “indirect taxation system” also bolstered consumption.

IN CONTEXT- India already notched a very strong 1Q, with the economy expanding at a 7.8% clip compared to 6.5% the same period a year ago

#2- Merchandise trade deficit surges thanks to gold imports, US tariffs: India’s merchandise trade deficit ballooned to a record USD 41.6 bn in October from USD 32.1 bn in September, driven by a jump in gold imports and a sharp fall in US-bound exports during the second month of 50% US tariffs imposed on Indian goods, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said. Merchandise exports slipped to USD 34.3 bn while imports rose to USD 76 bn.

Oil, gold imports up: Gold imports climbed to USD 14.7 bn in October from USD 9.6 bn in September, while crude imports rose to USD 14.8 bn from USD 14 bn in September, Reuters reports.

#3- India’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.2% in October for those aged 15 and above, unchanged from September according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey. Labour force participation increased for the fourth straight month to 55.4% in October. Rural unemployment rate saw a marginal dip to 4.4% in October from 4.6% the month before, while the rate in urban rates inched up to 7.0% from 6.8%.

IN CONTEXT: The unemployment rate has hovered in a relatively narrow 5.1-5.6% band since April despite uneven hiring momentum across sectors.

#4- India to rich nations: You first. New Delhi wants developed economies to hit net zero “far earlier” than current timelines and scale up climate finance from “bns to tns” to help the Global South catch up, Bloomberg reports. Speaking at the COP30 summit in Brazil, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav argued that deeper cuts by wealthy nations are essential to preserve “carbon space” for developing economies.

Where India stands: The world’s third-largest emitter — which has a 2070 net-zero target — intends to publish its revised climate targets (NDCs) for the 2031-2035 period by next month. The government estimates it needs over USD 10 tn to meet its long-term climate goals. Hindu Businessline also has the story.

#5- Iran is making headlines in India with a pitch to use crypto to settle trade with BRICS partners, getting pickup in The Hindu and Business Standard, among others. File this under “wishful thinking”: Tehran is looking for a sanctions workaround, but New Delhi has been clear that de-dollarization is not on its agenda.

Speaking of Iran: Tehran has suspended visa-free entry for ordinary Indian passport holders from November 22 after what Business Today writes was a spike in cases of Indians being duped with fake job offers or onward-travel assurances. Indians must now obtain a visa for entry or transit.

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SIGN OF THE TIMES-

Reliance Industries pivots to Kuwait as US sanctions squeeze Russian flows. India’s largest private refiner has secured 1 mn bbl of heavy crude from Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) as it scrambles to replace Russian barrels ahead of a looming US sanctions deadline, Reuters reports. The rare spot deal includes 500k bbl of Kuwait Heavy and 500k bbl of Eocene crude, which became available after unplanned maintenance at KPC’s Al Zour refinery.

Why it matters: The US pressure campaign is working. Reliance has effectively hit pause on Russian orders to comply with US Treasury sanctions on Moscow’s oil majors (Rosneft and Lukoil) before a 21 November wind-down deadline. 

  • The leverage: Unlike state-owned peers, Reliance has significant exposure to the US financial system and cannot risk secondary sanctions.
  • The pivot: The refiner has aggressively ramped-up purchases from the Middle East to fill the gap, snapping up orders from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, and the UAE in recent weeks.

Market churn: Reliance is now so long on Middle Eastern crude that it was reportedly offering cargoes for resale to domestic and international buyers last month to balance its books.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Indian firms are flocking to Abu Dhabi. The number of Indian companies registered with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce has surged at a 38.4% CAGR since 2019, making them the capital’s second-largest business community, the Chamber reports.

By the numbers: The Chamber logged nearly 3.3k new Indian registrations in 2024 alone — a 31.1% y-o-y jump — bringing the total active count to some 17k as of September 2025.

Where they’re working: It is mostly about trade and building. Wholesale and retail account for 45% of Indian firms, followed by construction at 14%, with the remainder spread across professional services, IT, manufacturing, and logistics.

Why it matters:Dubai has long been the central hub for Indian businesses in the UAE. We see the Abu Dhabi Chamber report in context of the always-on rivalry between the Emirates’ two power centers as Abu Dhabi looks to widen its non-oil business footprint.

#2- India’s FX reserves declined by USD 2.6 bn to USD 687 bn in the week ending November 7, per Reserve Bank of India data. This drop was primarily due to a USD 2.4 bn fall in foreign currency assets to USD 562 bn and a USD 195 mn dip in gold holdings to USD 101 bn. Reserves, which have inched down over the last month, remain robust: They’re enough to cover >11 months of imports.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

A tech-led slump in US markets and the Epstein files are dominating headlines in the international press this morning.

Anthropic will receive up to USD 15 bn in new funding from Microsoft and Nvidia, the latest wager on the fast-growing Claude developer. It’s part of a broader funding round expected to value Anthropic at more than USD 300–350 bn. (Reuters | The Financial Times | Semafor | CNBC)

Markets are not buying it: US tech stocks fell sharply on Tuesday as mounting concerns over “frothy” AI valuations triggered a broad sell-off across global markets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed 1.2% lower, with major AI-linked names leading the declines as Nvidia slid 2.8%, while Microsoft shed 2.7% and Amazon declined 4.4%.

What to watch for today: The pullback comes ahead of Nvidia’s earnings due out today. Investors are watching closely for signs the AI boom is durable. (The Financial Times | Semafor | CNBC | Reuters)

IN OTHER AI NEWS: Google made waves with the release of its advanced Gemini 3.0 model, which tops the industry benchmarks.

ALSO- President Donald Trump received Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in the White House. Trump cleared future F-35 deliveries to Saudi and designated the Kingdom as a major non-Nato ally, while the Crown Prince pledged to increase Saudi’s investment package in the US to a whopping USD 1 tn.

AND- The US Congress voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to release the Justice Department’s files on the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a move enabled by Trump’s abrupt reversal after months of resisting the measure. The legislation is now awaiting Trump’s signature. (Reuters | CNN | The Financial Times | New York Times | Bloomberg)

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