Global Rates Stay Put, Sunita Williams Returns, Modi's Rare Podcast, Trump Calls Putin—The Week That Was

Monetary policy in major economies, a return of astronauts from space after nine months and significant efforts to push for a halt in the Russia-Ukraine crisis – this was another eventful week.

The US Federal Reserve made its rate call along expected lines but flagged the increasingly uncertain outlook for the economy. Sunita Williams, the most searched individual on Indian Google this week, finally came back to Earth thanks to Elon Musk.

Speaking of Musk, his GrokAI gave social media and the Indian government some soup.

Here are the key developments from this week.

The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and signalled only two rate cuts this year, in line with their December projections, while acknowledging increased uncertainty in the economic outlook. 

Chairman Jerome Powell said Donald Trump's trade agenda would likely drive up prices, even amid considerable uncertainty about exactly how much — and whether the price changes would be 'transitory.'

Across the Pacific, the Bank of Japan kept its key policy rate unchanged and signalled growing unease over the potential impact on the global economy from escalating trade tensions.

The Bank of England also kept rates steady.

Sunita Williams and three other astronauts, seated inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule, returned to Earth on Wednesday after spending nine months at the International Space Station. The splashdown happened off the Florida coast.

Their trip marks the sixth-longest continuous stay at the ISS among NASA astronauts, according to the agency’s website. Williams has now logged the second-most time in space by a US astronaut, with 608 days total, a launch commentator said earlier, reported Bloomberg.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed her arrival, saying their unwavering determination will forever inspire millions.

Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. hit a rough road this week.

NDTV Profit reported four Ola Electric stores in Madhya Pradesh were inspected on March 12 and March 18. All the so-called "experience centres" were found to be retailing electric scooters without trade certificates.

News of the MP raids came close on the heels of the crackdown in Maharashtra, where officials from five regional transport offices conducted inspections at as many as 26 Ola Electric stores in Mumbai and Pune for alleged violation of trade certification norms.

Besides, the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries wrote to Ola Electric to explain the mismatch in February sales figures.

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a lengthy telephone call on Wednesday, in which they discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The two leaders agreed on a 30-day pause on attacks on energy infrastructure targets in Russia and Ukraine. However, Putin stopped short of agreeing to cease missile, drone and bomb attacks in the Black Sea and across the front line.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had agreed to the 30-day ceasefire proposal from Trump on March 11.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sat down with Lex Fridman for his second podcast after the one with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. The leader spoke to the popular American podcaster for over three hours.

Modi shared his views on a host of issues concerning India, while highlighting his bonding with Donald Trump.  

During the interview, PM Modi praised President Trump as a man of “courage” adding that the US President has a "clear roadmap in his mind with well-defined steps, each leading him towards his goals".

He also touched upon India’s relationship with China, his political journey, spirituality and football.

X Corp., the social media platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk, recently filed a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court, flagging concerns over alleged censorship.

In its plea, X has called out the “Sahyog” portal, a government platform conveying content take-down orders from agencies to social media platforms.

This came after the government contacted X over its AI chatbot Grok using Hindi slang and abuses in responses. Users also shared content put out by Grok that is critical of the current political dispensation.

• Vodafone Idea asks government to convert more dues to equity.

• Bain Capital set to buy controlling stake in Manappuram Finance.

• China's BYD unveils EV battery system that charges in five minutes.

• 'Great time to buy indian stocks,' says analyst who foresaw 2008 crash.