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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In a market crowded with occasionwear labels, standing out can be difficult, especially for brands working with traditional textiles and embroidery techniques.But in five years, ITRH has established itself through its use of crafts such as kalamkari, chikankari, Madhubani and gota weaving, combining traditional techniques with contemporary silhouettes and a more maximal aesthetic. Its embellished jaal dupatta worn by actor Kareena Kapoor Khan last year, for instance, has become one of the label's most recognisable signatures. Earlier this year, ITRH, which now has a sub-brand ITRH Two that offers more modern pieces, made its international debut at the Dubai Fashion Week.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Consumer-focused private equity firm L Catterton, among others, is in talks to acquire a stake in Bengaluru-based restaurant chain Nandhana Palace, three people familiar with the matter said.“The investment firm may likely acquire a minority stake in the business,” one person said.“The Andhra-cuisine restaurant chain is also in discussions with other funds, but L Catterton may likely have an edge, given its deep expertise in the consumer sector,” a second person said.Mint reported in December that Nandhana had sought a valuation of ₹2,000 crore when it was in talks with Dubai-based investment firm Pulsar Capital, but that did not materialize.That valuation was at the higher end and may evolve or change, depending on the buyer, two of the people said.“While the final terms are yet to be signed, the deal is still undergoing due diligence,” a third person said.L Catterton and Nandhana did not respond to Mint’s requests for comment till the time of publishing.L Catterton is 60% owned by private equity firm Catterton and the remaining 40% is jointly owned by French luxury brand LVMH and Groupe Arnault. The firm manages $40 billion of equity capital and has made over 300 investments in consumer brands globally and in India.Its portfolio companies include Drools, Sugar Cosmetics, Farmley, Haldiram’s, Healing Hands Clinic and Jio Platforms.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.“We are thinking of moving to Dubai. Know any good brokers?” That question used to pop up regularly in 2025 on cross-Arabian Sea phone calls to residents of the city-state from India.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.DUBAI—The United Arab Emirates has carried out military strikes on Iran, people familiar with the matter said, casting the Gulf monarchy as an active combatant in a war in which it has been Iran’s biggest target.Its military is well-equipped with Western-made jet fighters and surveillance networks. And the attacks suggest the country is now more willing to use them to protect its economic power and growing influence across the Middle East.The strikes, which the U.A.E.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Iran had just opened up e-visas for Indian travellers, but ours quickly got rejected. I read on forums that it was common to get an e-visa rejection, no reasons given. So we set about charting the archaic, long-winded route to get a physical visa at the embassy: get a visa code through an Iranian travel agency, file an application with travel documents at the Iranian consulate in Mumbai and submit medical test results for TB and HIV.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.DUBAI—President Trump chose to look the other way after Iran launched three salvos of missiles and drones into the United Arab Emirates, one of America’s main Middle Eastern partners, despite a cease-fire he negotiated nearly a month ago.The likely conclusion in Tehran, Gulf governments fear, is that further escalation pays off because Trump is so intent on extricating himself from the war that he will ignore renewed Iranian attacks on America’s regional allies.European and Asian nations—allies and strategic adversaries alike—are watching this closely, too.Ever since the war began on Feb. 28, Iranian leaders have frequently repeated a phrase, attributed to the deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, that “those who wrap themselves in America are naked.” The feeling in the U.A.E.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In the TCS New York City Marathon in November 2025, Vijayaraghavan Venugopal finished first among 332 Indians who participated in the run, a remarkable achievement for a 50-year-old. He was the only one among them to finish in under 3 hours, the timing of 2:47:57 being his best ever for the distance.At the Taj Santacruz in Mumbai a few months later when we meet, it’s not surprising that the athletic chief executive officer and co-founder of sports nutrition supplement brand Fast&Up looks much younger than his years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s international air travel fell to a four-year low in March as the West Asia conflict disrupted key routes, with Air India Express emerging as the worst-hit among local carriers.The low-cost carrier of Air India, which has a heavy exposure to the region, recorded the steepest decline. Its departures plunged 68% to 1,263 in March from 3,928 a year ago.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Travellers will have to wait a while longer to fly overseas from Navi Mumbai International Airport as the Adani Group-owned facility has postponed the start of its international operations due to the ongoing war in West Asia, a senior executive familiar with the development told Mint on the on the sidelines of the Airport360 Expo in Mumbai.International flights were originally meant to commence at the airport from 29 March, in line with the start of the 2026 summer flight schedule in India. However, the Iran conflict has forced a rethink, causing the launch to be pushed further into the season, said the executive, who requested anonymity to discuss business plans."It is difficult to specify an exact start date at this point, but we expect international departures to commence once the Gulf situation stabilizes,” the executive added.Airlines had lined up nearly 20 daily international departures from the airport for the summer schedule, reflecting strong anticipated demand for overseas travel, particularly to Gulf destinations that are key routes for Indian carriers, the executive said.However, Indian airlines have limited or no flights to the Middle East since the start of the Iran war, which has also led to higher fuel prices and longer flying hours for airlines.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: As Alpha, the Alia Bhatt-starrer female spin-off to Yash Raj Films’ Spy Universe, which includes hits like Pathaan, readies for release later this year, trade experts say Bollywood still lags Hollywood in building high-profile, female-led franchise extensions.Unlike the West, where films such as Wonder Woman and Black Widow have proven audience pull for women-led entries within larger cinematic universes, Indian studios have been slower to back big-budget action spectacles anchored by female stars—even when they sit inside established franchises.Malayalam cinema has taken early steps in this direction with Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, a female superhero film released last year. In Hindi cinema, comparable attempts have largely been limited to mid-budget spin-offs such as Taapsee Pannu’s Naam Shabana, a spin-off to Akshay Kumar’s spy film Baby, Kajol’s horror film Maa, a spin-off to Ajay Devgn’s Shaitaan, alongside Rani Mukerji’s ongoing Mardaani series.“The gap largely comes from how franchises have historically been built in Indian cinema.

The Indian rupee lost 10% against the US dollar in 2025-26, making it one of the worst performances in emerging markets. March alone saw a 4.24% drop, the steepest in any single month in six years, with the rupee briefly breaching the 95 level against the dollar. To defend the currency, the Reserve bank of India (RBI) sold dollars heavily from its reserves, which fell by $30.5 billion in March.

On 31 March, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened that it would target 18, mostly American, technology companies in retaliation to US-Israeli attacks on Iran. It declared that “since the main element in designing and tracking terror targets are American [Information and Communications Technology] and [artificial intelligence or AI] companies... the main institutions effective in terrorist operations [against Iran] will be our legitimate targets.” Employees were warned to vacate their workplaces and residents living within a kilometre’s radius of their premises were told to evacuate to safety.On Iran’s target list were Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Dell, Palantir, Nvidia, JPMorgan, Tesla, GE and Boeing.

Filmmakers are planning mega-budget big-screen spectacles across languages in the coming months despite a relatively volatile box office and uncertain business environment.The producers of the two-part mythological epic Ramayana (the first instalment of which is to be released in November) and SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi (scheduled for release in April next year) are banking on the ability of these stories to reach audiences beyond Indians, and south Asians in general. Both films are among the titles estimated to cost upwards of ₹1,000 crore each to make.They are also looking to create cinematic universes with spin-offs and merchandise offers, besides expectations of a smooth recovery from satellite and digital rights, even though broadcasters and streaming platforms have slowed down acquisitions.“The scale of these projects reflects a structural shift in how Indian cinema is positioning itself globally,” said Abishek S.

Dubai-based company runs the world’s largest hotel loyalty programme for independent hotels, bringing together over 50 brands and 950 hotels across 100 countries. Hartley said that while the war may weigh on short-term bookings, India’s outbound market remains largely untapped.Travel to West Asia is still disrupted and could shift flows in the near term, he said, but the broader trajectory of demand is unlikely to change. “The question now is really if it can be resolved in April.

Bengaluru: In the real estate boom cycle, the flight to quality and premiumization have been defining trends. In a panel discussion on ‘Premiumization in real estate: opportunities and risks,’ at the recent Mint India Investment Summit (MIIS), experts spoke about what homebuyers, investors and occupiers want when they are buying an apartment or renting an office space.“The premiumization that is being talked about is really a quality correction that is happening in real estate.

, traders say, can be chalked up to WTI’s location, far from where the oil is needed in Asia. Its lower price also reflects the higher shipping costs required to get it to Asian buyers, as well as angst that the U.S.

“Ordinary folks with no financial education can be wealthy if they have a handful of behavioral skills that have nothing to do with formal measures of intelligence,” wrote Morgan Housel in his book The Psychology of Money. He says a “genius who loses control of their emotions can be a financial disaster.”In other words, behavioural biases commonly affect how people make decisions, and they can have a significant impact on investment outcomes.“After having followed the markets for a considerable number of years, the one thing I can say with some certainty is that markets are driven not just by data and fundamentals—they are driven by human behavior,” says Krishan Rao, MD & co-head - Equity Broking Group, JM Financial Services.

Kalyan Jewellers, Joyalukkas and Jos Alukkas, are not buying fresh inventory and are feeling the heat of the crisis, according to the same people.Titan and Kalyan Jewellers declined to comment to Mint's queries. Queries mailed to Joyalukkas and Jos Alukkas did not elicit a response until press time.This setback amid the escalating war between the US-Israel and Iran comes at a crucial juncture, as Titan's Gulf business is in a turnaround phase.In the company's post-acquisition call, chief financial officer Ashok Sonthalia had said 2025 would be a “restructuring year”, with the business expected to remain earnings-dilutive until 2027, and turn positive only from 2028, making any delay more consequential.According to Titan's December earnings call, it has completed acquisition of a 67% stake in Dubai-based Damas Jewellery, marking the closure of the $283 million deal and indicating that all required regulatory approvals have been secured.

Mint explains.Indian nationals are the largest foreign real estate investor base in Dubai, accounting for over 20% of all foreign property purchases. In 2025, Indians and people of Indian origin invested up to ₹95,000 crore in residential properties, according to estimates by Anarock Property Consultants. This is a sharp rise from 2023, when they bought properties amounting to ₹37,000 crore.

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Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. US President Donald Trump warned that oil infrastructure on the island could be next if Iran disrupted shipping in the region.Facing adversaries that far outstrip it in firepower and military might, Iran appears to have chosen its targets carefully.The first is international fuel supplies.Iran has attacked at least 16 ships in the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on 28 February.