(1) Indian vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz
As the war between Iran and U.S. continued, Indian-flagged vessels carrying crucial fuels were stranded near the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit chokepoint now effectively closed. To the Strait’s West, in the Persian Gulf, 22 vessels were stranded, while on the East near the Gulf of Oman, two vessels were stranded. Of these, 10 vessels were Indian-flagged.
Around 90% of LNG imports to India pass through this Strait. Among the stranded vessels, 20 carried some 2.15 lakh metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), 3.21 lakh tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and 16.76 lakh tonnes of crude oil bound for India.
While India did not have a blanket arrangement in place with Iran yet to facilitate vessel movement through the Strait, negotiations were made based on a case-by-case basis for individual vessels. As per Bloomberg, an approximate route has been estimated from transponder data that takes the vessels along the Iranian coastline past the Strait.
Earlier, two vessels were authorised by Iran to pass the Strait, both along the same route passing between Lavan island and Qeshm island.
(2) Semaglutide patent expires
The patent for Semaglutide, used in Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster diabetic drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, expired on Friday last week (March 20, 2026), opening the doors for cheaper generics using the same formula to enter the market. Costs for the lowest dose were estimated to drop from ₹11,000 to around ₹3,000 to ₹5,000 and then further to around ₹1,500 as more players enter the market, a Reuters report said. Some of India’s biggest pharma companies released their own version of the drug just a day after the patent expired, on March 21. While the drug’s purpose was for diabetic treatment, their use in weight loss programs has gained popularity.
In India, patients shoulder a significant portion of their medical expenditure out of their own pocket. Of this expenditure, expenses on pharmaceuticals (prescribed and over-the-counter), make up around 30% of total current out-of-pocket expenditure.
In such a scenario, cost decreases can expand user base for the GLP-1 drug. Moreover, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lily, another player in the GLP-1 drug market, have announced investments to ramp up supply of oral pills that do not require cold storage, making it easier to expand reach. On the other hand, large capital expenditure requirements may restrict expanding supply, a JP Morgan report said. Besides this, weight loss treatments using the drug need careful monitoring to prevent patient abuse.
(3) At least 400 killed and 250 injured due to a Pakistani airstrike on a rehab centre in Kabul
Afghanistan’s Deputy Government spokesman said early Tuesday (March 17, 2026) the death toll from an airstrike by Pakistan on Monday (March 16, 2026) that hit a hospital treating drug users in the Afghan capital Kabul has increased to 400.
Afghanistan accused Pakistan’s military of targeting the Omid Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital that treats drug users. Pakistan dismissed the accusation, saying the strikes — which were also conducted in eastern Afghanistan — did not hit any civilian sites.
The alleged attack came hours after Afghan officials said the two sides exchanged fire along their common border, killing four people in Afghanistan, as the deadliest fighting between the neighbours in years entered the third week. A mass funeral of the victims was held on Wednesday (March 18, 2026), as bulldozers dug pits in a cemetery in the Afghan capital.
(4) Israeli airstrike kills Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani
Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was assassinated in an overnight air strike by Israel on Tuesday (March 17, 2026). Soon after, Iran confirmed Larijani’s death.
The death of Ali Larijani represents a major blow to Iran, whose long-serving leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other top spiritual, military, and political officials have been killed over the past few weeks in US-Israeli strikes that ignited the war in West Asia.
IRGC’s Basij force Commander Gholamreza Soleimani was also assassinated in the overnight airstrikes in Tehran. Mocking again with a “I am alive” video, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to continue to kill more Iranian leaders named on his “punch card”.
(5) Rupee down to a new all-time low against U.S.-dollar
The rupee crashed 60 paise to a fresh intra-day low of 93.49 against the U.S. dollar on Friday (March 20, 2026) as the greenback strengthened further and FII outflows continued unabated amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. It finally closed on 93.3483 on Friday.
Elevated global crude oil prices put further pressure on the local unit, forex traders said, adding that even positive sentiments at the domestic equity markets could not prevent the crash.
Published – March 24, 2026 07:04 pm IST