Issue #152
August 25, 2026
Today in India
India lifts years-long ban on wheat exports
Tamil Nadu abandons USD 2.86 billion airport project
Also in the news: MoHFW eases medical device rules, recognises EU approvals
1 / Bread winner
The world's second-biggest wheat grower is back in the export market. India scrapped a years-long ban on wheat exports on Monday, clearing shipments of wheat, the durum variety, flour, and related products through notifications from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
The backdrop: The Centre banned wheat exports in May 2022 and extended the curbs to flour that August. A price spike after Russia's invasion of Ukraine had pulled record volumes of Indian wheat abroad just as a March heatwave cut the domestic harvest.
Bumper harvest: India's last harvest hit an all-time high of 120.6 million tonnes, rebuilding the buffer the 2022 crop had drained. Escalating Russia-Ukraine attacks on commercial vessels and ports in the Black Sea have disrupted grain flows from some of the world's top exporters and pushed Chicago wheat futures to a two-year high. India's shipments could ease pressure in import-dependent countries across Asia, Africa, and West Asia.
💡 Sound smarter
New Delhi earns real diplomatic credit by stepping up now, boosted by a record harvest and surging global prices. But rising heat driven by climate change threatens future surplus yields, creating a very real risk that India could ban wheat exports once again.
2 / Runway reset
Chennai's second airport is back to the drawing board. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay told the Assembly on Monday that the state is scrapping the INR 274 billion (USD 2.86 billion) Parandur project, a site he had opposed on the campaign trail before becoming Chief Minister in May.
Why it collapsed: Parandur drew sustained protests from farmers facing displacement. Nearly half the site was irrigated farmland and about a quarter water bodies. Vijay said the alternative locations would take far less agricultural land.
The gap it leaves: Parandur was designed for 100 million passengers a year, with central clearance secured, land acquisition underway, and a dedicated metro line drawn to reach it. The existing Chennai airport handles 30 million and will now stretch to 55 million through a terminal upgrade and a new build, still short of Parandur's plan. The state has named alternative areas but no final site or timetable.
The other signal: Investor interest has held regardless. Vijay's first conclave since taking office landed 97 agreements worth INR 674.52 billion (USD 7.05 billion), most of it from firms already operating in the state (we covered it here).
💡 Sound smarter
Watch for how fast the replacement site lands. Move too slowly and Vijay looks anti-industry to the investors funding his state; move too fast and he betrays the farmers who just won a reprieve. The site he picks, and when, is the signal that he can hold both, because the factories bankroll the welfare that keeps his base loyal, and the base is what keeps him in office to court the factories.
3 / Also in the news
MoHFW eases medical device rules, recognises EU approvals: India has amended its Medical Devices Rules, 2017 to cut compliance costs for manufacturers and speed up market access, in changes the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) notified on Monday. Manufacturers that outsource product sterilisation will no longer need a separate licence, a step the ministry says reduces duplication and paperwork. A second change adds the European Union (EU) to the list of regulatory jurisdictions whose approvals qualify a device for a waiver of local clinical investigation, joining the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Japan.
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