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Polish and allied aircraft were deployed in a "preventive" operation in Poland's airspace Saturday because of a threat of drone strikes in neighboring areas of Ukraine, and the airport in the eastern Polish city of Lublin was closed, authorities said.The alert lasted around two hours. It came after multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday, prompting NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down and underlining long-held concerns about the expansion of Russia's more than three-year war in Ukraine.The Polish military's operational command posted on X on Saturday afternoon that ground-based air defense and reconnaissance systems were on high alert. It stressed that "these actions are preventive in nature," and were aimed at securing Poland's airspace and protecting the country's citizens. It cited a threat of drone strikes in regions of Ukraine bordering Poland, but didn't give further details.Prime Minister Donald Tusk also posted that "preventive air operations" had begun in Polish airspace because of the threat posed by Russian drones operating over nearby areas of Ukraine. The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency said that Lublin Airport was closed to air traffic "due to military aviation activities," and the government security center warned of a threat of air attack for several border counties in the region.Later Saturday, the military's operational command wrote on X that the operation "has been completed" and that ground-based defense and reconnaissance systems had returned to normal.Russia has said it didn't target Poland on Wednesday, and Moscow's ally, Belarus, said that the drones went astray because they were jammed. But European leaders have expressed certainty that the incursions were a deliberate provocation by Russia.Polish aircraft have been scrambled repeatedly in recent months to patrol the country's airspace in connection with Russian airstrikes in Ukraine, but those strikes have usually occurred overnight or in the early morning.Separately, Romania said it deployed two F-16 jets to intercept a drone that briefly entered its airspace on Saturday afternoon."The drone did not fly over inhabited areas and did not represent an imminent danger to the security of the population," the NATO member's defense ministry said in a statement.The ministry said that teams of specialists would conduct searches for potential debris. Romanian authorities didn't specify where they thought the drone originated from.

China's Ministry of Commerce on Saturday initiated an anti-discrimination investigation into US measures against China in the integrated circuit sector, one day ahead of a new round of US-China trade talks in Spain. In recent years, the US has imposed a series of restrictions on China in the field of integrated circuits, including Section 301 investigations and export control measures, the ministry said. Such "protectionist" practices are suspected of discriminating against China and are intended to curb and suppress China's development of high-tech industries such as advanced computing chips and AI, it added.

The government has proposed an approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM) for wafers that are used for manufacturing solar panels, in a move to create a domestic supply chain for solar equipment.ALMM acts as a non-tariff barrier for import, by mandating to purchase the equipment from the manufacturers that are on the list.So far, the ministry of new and renewable energy has brought out two such lists, one for solar modules and the other for cells. The solar cells list will come into effect from June 2026.It has now brought in a proposal for issuing a third list for wafers effective June 2028, a draft proposal showed. Views and comments on the draft are to be submitted by October 11.The ALMM list-III for wafers will not be issued unless it contains at least three wafer manufacturing units, which must operate independently, shall not be under a common ownership or control and have aggregate manufacturing capacity of at least 15 GW a year.To list on the ALMM for wafers, the manufacturer should also have an equivalent ingot manufacturing capacity. As per the proposal, the wafer manufacturing capacity enlisted on ALMM list-III will reflect the manufacturing capacity of both ingots and wafers.The government had launched a production-linked incentive scheme for high efficiency solar modules with an outlay of ₹24,000 crore in 2022. In the scheme, there were provisions to make wafer-ingots and polysilicon as well.The extra push comes amid the idea to slowly backward integrate the solar equipment supply chain and build energy security.India now has 100 GW of module manufacturing capacity and around 25 GW cells capacity.All projects falling under the purview of ALMM will have to mandatorily source their modules from list-I and such modules in turn will have to use cells from list-II and this applies in the proposed rules for wafers as well.

Delhi Police on Saturday registered an FIR on a BJP worker's complaint over an AI-generated "deepfake" video posted by the Bihar Congress unit on its X handle that allegedly tarnished the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother, an official said. The complaint was filed on Friday by Sanket Gupta, convenor of the BJP Delhi Election Cell, at the North Avenue Police Station, who alleged the video "maligned the Prime Minister's image, grossly violating law, morality and women's dignity". The clip was posted on the official X handle of the Indian National Congress, Bihar unit, on September 10, the complaint said. The case has been registered against unnamed persons under sections 336 (Forgery), 340(2) (Forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine), 352 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 356(2) (Defamation) and 61(2) (Criminal conspiracy) of the BNS, they added. The AI-generated purported video of Modi's late mother was shared in the post in which "the PM is seen dreaming about his late mother who is criticising him over his politics in poll-bound Bihar." The BJP and its allies had lashed out at the Congress over the video, calling it "shameful" and wondering how low the opposition party would stoop to target Modi. The Congress has maintained that there has been no disrespect shown towards the prime minister or his mother. "What is their objection? Just because a mother is trying to educate her son to do something right, where is the disrespect? This is neither disrespectful to the mother, whom we respect dearly, nor to the son," Pawan Khera, head of the Congress' media and publicity department, had said.

The Indian markets wrapped up a fantastic week, with all major sectoral indices closing in the green, reflecting renewed optimism and strong investor sentiment. According to market expert Ajay Bagga, three crucial triggers have been driving this momentum. First, the brief handshake and exchange between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump have sparked hopes of potential tariff concessions, which could ease trade tensions. Second, the recent GST cut has boosted consumption-related sectors and banking stocks, fueling market confidence. “Third is the earnings bottoming out. So, we have seen downgrades to earnings bottoming out in the June quarter and we are expecting that from here on, from the September quarter earnings season onwards we will see better earnings,” Bagga said.Globally, liquidity conditions remain highly supportive, with nearly $184 trillion in financial liquidity circulating—an all-time high—benefiting risk assets across asset classes from equities to gold and crypto. Additionally, the US Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates in a non-recessionary backdrop. Bagga noted that historically, such cuts during growth phases have supported US equities for the following year, which in turn bolsters global markets. He emphasized that this is not a rescue measure for a weak economy but rather an adjustment within strong economic growth, making it a very constructive move. The IT sector staged its strongest weekly rally since May 2025, signalling a revival of investor confidence after a prolonged period of underperformance. Bagga believes the sector remains underappreciated and underinvested, despite being poised for a significant role in the next phase of the artificial intelligence revolution.“So, it has been the infrastructure creators of AI which has benefited more. We have seen the AI software providers getting huge valuations,” he said.However, the third critical leg, end-user adoption, has yet to fully take shape. This is where Indian IT companies are expected to shine, by acting as service providers that customise AI solutions for businesses across industries.Markets, being forward-looking, are already beginning to price in this opportunity. The groundwork for AI deployment is in place, and the next stage involves tailoring solutions to improve revenue, productivity, and profitability at the enterprise level. “It can be as big as the Y2K opportunity that has not come to fruition so far, so that has been a disappointment over the last one year. We were expecting it to hit earlier, but now we are quite confident that it is coming. We are at the incipient zone for it and it should do well from here on,” Bagga said.The defence sector in India is shaping up as a strong long-term growth story, backed by rising domestic demand, import substitution, and expanding export opportunities. According to Bagga, this is a “multi-decade story” with India possessing the technical expertise and cost advantage to build competitive weaponry. Recent order announcements have triggered sharp rallies, with some frontline defence stocks gaining up to 8% in a single session.However, valuations remain a challenge. The sector often witnesses sharp run-ups followed by phases of profit-booking, leading to short-term volatility. Despite this, the fundamental runway is robust, supported by continuous government focus, rising self-reliance in defence manufacturing, and global opportunities. Bagga compares India’s trajectory to China’s rise in defence capabilities since 2000, highlighting the potential scale of growth. Investors, therefore, need patience—holding through cycles of rallies and corrections—as long-term prospects remain highly attractive for wealth creation.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have continued to pare their exposure to Indian equities in September, offloading shares worth Rs 10,782 crore so far.Nifty has remained unbeaten for eight successive sessions despite this sell-off. On Friday, FIIs were net buyers at Rs 129.6 crore while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers at Rs 1,556 crore.Commenting on the current trends, VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, attributes higher valuations in India to the current FII exodus vis-a-vis other markets like China, Hong Kong and South Korea. "This has nudged FIIs to sell in India and buy in cheaper markets. This strategy has worked so far this year since these cheaper markets have hugely outperformed India in 2025 till date," he said.In his view, FIIs may reduce their selling and may even turn buyers amid indications of a turnaround in the Indian market. "India’s GDP growth has rebounded strongly in Q1, and the reforms - budget tax cuts, rate cuts by the MPC and GST rationalisation have the potential to sustain the growth momentum. Even though earnings growth will be modest in the 8-10% range in FY26, there is a high likelihood of above 15% earnings growth in FY27," he opined."The market will soon start discounting this, paving the way for a rally taking the Nifty to a new record this year itself. In such a scenario, FIIs are likely to turn buyers in India," Vijayakumar added.Meanwhile, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) move to ease FPI norms is expected to give a fresh impetus. Capital markets regulator Sebi on Friday approved a single-window clearance system to make it easier for foreign investors to access Indian markets.Also Read: Sebi eases FPIs entry into Indian markets through single-window clearanceThe FII action going ahead could also hinge on the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday. There are strong expectations of a 25 bps rate cut. Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said that the index has managed to stay in the green as PUT writers provided support around the 25,000 mark. In his view, the index appears to be consolidating its recent gains and gradually forming a base. "As long as it sustains above 24,850, the undertone remains constructive. A decisive move beyond 25,150 may set the stage for a rally towards 25,500 in the near term," De said. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

India's retail inflation edged up modestly in August, but economists and industry leaders believe the rise is temporary and unlikely to upset the country's broader price stability, partly due to recent GST reforms.Official data released on Friday showed that retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), climbed to 2.07% year-on-year in August 2025, compared with 1.61% in July. The increase of 46 basis points, though notable, still kept inflation well within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 2-6% comfort zone. Food prices, which had remained moderate for several months, began to firm up.Inflation has been a concern for many countries, including advanced economies, but India has largely managed to steer its inflation trajectory well. The RBI held its benchmark repo rate steady at 6.5 per cent for the eleventh consecutive time, before cutting it for the first time in about five years in February 2025.After the recent RBI MPC meeting, the inflation outlook for the year 2025-26 was revised downwards from the earlier forecast of 4 per cent to 3.7 per cent.Hanna Luchnikava-Schorsch, Head of Asia-Pacific Economics at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the August print was in line with their expectations."India's headline CPI inflation edged up to 2.1% year on year in August from 1.6% year on year in July, aligning with our projections. As we anticipated, inflation bottomed in July, with consumer prices rising at a faster clip in August on the back of fading base effects, solid demand, and weakening rupee," she noted.From now on, she expects inflation to accelerate but remain under control."The effects of GST rate cuts should lower the pace of acceleration from October onwards, keeping the headline inflation rate within or near the central bank's 4% target range midpoint through the end of 2025," she added.S&P Global now projects CPI inflation to average 3.3% in FY26, down from an earlier forecast of 3.5%.The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) welcomed the inflation data, linking the modest rise in inflation to easing pressures across key categories. "Looking ahead, we anticipate a further decline in CPI inflation, aided by the GST 2.0 reforms package. The proposed simplified two-tier structure will reduce production costs, translate into lower prices, and, in turn, stimulate consumption," said Hemant Jain, President of PHDCCI.RajSinha, chief economist at CareEdge, called the August print "comfortable" despite the slight uptick. "Headline inflation inched up to 2.1% in August as the favourable base effect waned and food prices moved out of deflation. However, it remained at comfortable levels owing to muted food inflation," Rajani Sinha said.Rajani Sinha further noted that looking ahead, food inflation is likely to stay moderate, supported by healthy agricultural activity and a favourable base."A good monsoon progress, adequate reservoir levels, and strong kharif sowing bode well for food price stability," Sinha said.Sinha sees GST rationalisation as an additional cushion. "We estimate that it could lower CPI inflation by 70-90 bps annually under the current basket, assuming effective pass-through to consumers. With food inflation subdued and demand-side pressures contained, we now lower our inflation projection for FY26 to 2.7% from 3.1% earlier," the CareEdge chief economist added.Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist at Crisil, said, "Given the lower-than-expected food inflation and the expected easing of core inflation in the coming months due to the reduction in the goods and services tax, we have revised our inflation forecast down to 3.2% from 3.5% for this fiscal."This adjustment, according to Joshi, allows for potential changes in monetary policy. "...we expect the RBI to cut the repo rate by another 25 basis points later this fiscal."Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief cconomic adviser at State Bank of India, was a bit cautious. "With August inflation print a tad higher than the 2% mark, a rate cut in October looks onerous. Even a rate cut in December looks a little difficult if growth numbers for Q1 and Q2 are taken into consideration," Ghosh said.The CPI inflation data for September 2025 will be released on October 13, 2025 (Monday) or the next working day if the 13th happens to be a holiday.