FY27 Q1

This quarter was about the energy shock from the West Asia crisis. The blockade began in late February and the fighting stopped in April, but Q1 was when the stress landed. India re-routed its oil; it could not re-route its gas. Ninety per cent of India’s LPG came through Hormuz, and companies across industries were affected: closing restaurants, pushing factories onto piped gas, sending migrant labour home for want of a refill. Also inside: the shortage economy arriving in the working capital line, where circuit boards now need payment in advance and six to eight months to book, and one manufacturer has stopped calling inventory working capital and started calling it a strategic asset; AI impacting pricing negotiations in the here and now; and a court decision that repriced motor insurance claims on policies already written, while the premium stays fixed by the regulator.