City Mumbai Financial News

This year’s summer holidays are not a simple beach-versus-mountains or Eiffel Tower versus Burj Khalifa decision. Instead, the West Asia war is likely to shape where you travel and how much you spend.

Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer is riding India’s growing middle class to bet that localized retail sales can offset a falling global appetite for high-end Swiss timepieces. The LVMH-owned brand plans to open boutique shops rather than rely on third-party distributors to shore up sales in a volatile luxury market.As parent LVMH struggles with a profit slide, India’s demand for Swiss watches has defied the downturn, surging more than 26% early this year.

Bengaluru/Mumbai: Former Tata Trusts trustee Mehli Mistry has filed an affidavit before the Maharashtra charity commissioner, seeking clarification on alleged irregularities at an affiliate of Tata Trusts.He has accused his former Tata Trustees colleagues—including chairman Noel Tata—of appointing two vice chairmen, Vijay Singh and Venu Srinivasan, who, being non-Parsis, he claims should not have served on a Trust run by a principal Tata Trust.Mistry, who resigned from Tata Trusts in October last year, has asked the regulatory body to probe the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution, one of the five trusts run by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust & Allied Trusts. Separately, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust & Allied Trusts run nine additional Trusts.Sir Dorabji Tata Trusts (SDTT) and Sir Ratan Tata Trusts (SRTT) own 27.98% and 23.56% of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.

The government has stripped India’s telecom regulator of oversight over television ratings, taking full control of the system that influences billions of dollars in advertising spending.The 2026 policy released last week hands complete oversight to the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB), showed the document reviewed by Mint. Until now, both the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and the ministry shared oversight, creating a dual system.Trai, however, continues to regulate other key aspects of the broadcasting and cable TV sector, including channel pricing, advertising limits, interconnection and distribution rules, service quality, and compliance standards.The policy has also issued guidelines to establish standards for the registration, operation, audit, and oversight of all entities engaged in providing television rating services in India.TV ratings track what millions of people watch every day and dictate where advertising money is spent.

MUMBAI: With just hours to spare on Tuesday evening, Avenue Supermarts Ltd, the parent company of value retailer D-Mart, announced a flurry of store openings across the country, ending the financial year with 500 stores.On Tuesday alone, the company added 12 stores across its stronghold of Maharashtra and Gujarat, and in newer regions where it is trying to build a stronger presence, including Tamil Nadu and Odisha. D-Mart opened 47 stores in March, a sharp increase from the 40-50 stores it typically has added annually over the past five years, according to its investor presentation.The company opened 85 stores in FY26, the highest number added in a financial year.

Mumbai/Bengaluru: Fast-food chains serving dosas and momos to pizzas across India have found out that switching away from cooking gas amid the ongoing supply squeeze is difficult. The piped gas network is confined to a few cities, and the transition to electric cooking is hampered by higher operating costs and a spike in upfront equipment prices.“Over the past three weeks, we have made conscious efforts to reduce our dependency on gas by increasing the adoption of electric equipment across locations,” said Ankur Sharma, co-founder of Rebel Foods, which operates cloud-kitchen brands such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani and Oven Story Pizza.“In some areas, we continue to face constraints due to limited availability of equipment from vendor partners,” he said.

Mumbai: Fresh capital in hand after a change in ownership, Sammaan Capital, the erstwhile Indiabulls Housing Finance, is looking beyond mortgages to diversify its loan book and build a multi-product non-bank entity, according to managing director and chief executive officer Gagan Banga.“This is growth capital, we have clearly charted out a very detailed business plan, where we are trying to make it a customer-centric franchise, targeting 5 crore borrowers in the next three years and making this from a mortgage-focused to a multi-product NBFC,” Banga told Mint. He expects the company's assets under management (AUM) to double in three years to around ₹1.3 trillion.Abu Dhabi-based IHC has infused ₹5,652 crore for a 41.5% stake in Sammaan Capital, through its affiliate Avenir Investment RSC.

Mint India Investment Summit held in Mumbai last week.Backed by Zerodha founders' investment vehicles Rainmatter and Gruhas, SuperYou is a modern Indian health and nutrition brand. Co-founded by actor Ranveer Singh and entrepreneur Biyani in late 2024, the brand is focused on fermented yeast-based, high-protein snacks and supplements.“The opportunity to start and find PMF (product-market-fit) with consumers is better than ever before.

Mint India Investment Summit 2026, held in Mumbai last week.Shaji Varghese, chief executive officer of Muthoot Fincorp, said that of India’s 60 million small businesses, only 20–30% have access to credit, underscoring the critical role NBFCs play in bridging the gap. “That relevance is only further pronounced now.

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.

Mumbai: The cement industry is bracing for a sharp price increase in April as the fallout from the war in West Asia drives up production costs. UltraTech Cement Ltd, India’s largest producer, is set to be the first to increase its price, according to an executive in the know.A price hike by the market leader is likely to trigger similar moves by other cement makers, who are under even greater pressure from higher costs, given their relatively smaller scale.“Nobody will increase cement prices now as they need to meet the year-end targets, but price increase will be seen in the month of April, and cost will be passed on to the consumers,” said the executive quoted above, requesting anonymity, discussing business strategy.Emails sent to UltraTech did not elicit a response till press time.The rise in cement prices is expected to marginally increase construction and infrastructure costs, as cement typically accounts for around 5% of total construction cost, according to Satyadeep Jain, lead analyst for cement, metals, mining and utilities at Ambit Capital.“Cement companies will need ₹20/bag price hike to fully offset cost Inflation vs typical ₹7-8/bag hike in April.

Mumbai: India is expected to sustain strong M&A momentum, including cross-border deals, as investors take a long-term view despite macro headwinds, top executives said at the Mint India Investment Summit.“It’s interesting how the last three quarters over 2025 have shown the ability of investors to digest any volatility, price it in if required and proceed with M&As as they see sense in it over a 5–10-year horizon,” Devarajan Nambakam, co-head of India investment banking for Goldman Sachs Group, said at the summit last week.“This is probably going to be tested more this year than last, but the ability of investors to see through these volatilities has been the biggest mindset shift.”With India being a robust growth economy, there is demand for capital to accelerate this pace and for shareholders looking to monetize their stake among others, he added.“From a supply perspective, it’s safe to say that almost no pool of capital is unavailable in India be it strategic capital, private equity, private credit or hybrid capital. Today, the quantum of the capital that is available is higher than we’ve seen.

Amid the US-Israel war with Iran, concerns are growing about the safety of subsea cables in West Asia—the hidden network that carries most of the world’s internet. A large part of India’s data travels through these cables, many of which pass through regions now at risk of conflict.

Amarjit Singh Batra refers to himself as a “big-time bathroom singer”. The general manager for South Asia, Middle East and Africa and managing director at the music streaming service Spotify India never trained as a singer as a child but had a naturally gifted voice, which meant he was always asked to sing at weddings and family gatherings.

Mint India Investment Summit & Awards in Mumbai on Friday.As credit expands, maintaining asset quality, strong capital buffers, rigorous underwriting, and robust governance will remain non-negotiable, he added.“Growth and financial stability must be pursued together, because they are mutually reinforcing. We operate in an environment of global uncertainty, with geopolitical tensions, shifting trade patterns, and evolving monetary policy dynamics across major economies,” he added.To be sure, Indian banks were burdened with a mountain of bad debt a decade ago, prompting the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to take several measures to revive the sector.

₹28,700 in monthly rent.Early-career professionals across cities told Mint how they navigate this balancing act—and what the cost of simply getting started looks like.For 23-year-old Khyati Sood, relocating from Delhi to Pune for her first job as a data engineer meant making a series of careful decisions. “There were a lot of trade-offs,” she said. “Whether I should stay with strangers, give up an attached bathroom, or skip having a balcony to reduce rent.”Pune, compared to other major metros, offered some relief.

Mint that their luxury brands, which also include home goods brand Jay Strongwater, have seen a clear uptick in the last one month."March emerged as the strongest it has been in the last seven years, and sales rose strongly after a brief dip in February, with overall conversion ratios improving," Kataria said. If the current geopolitical tensions persist and the West Asia war continues, more NRIs (non-resident Indians) could move back to India while residents defer overseas travel, boosting domestic luxury spending.

Mint.A second fund, still on the drawing board, is a blended finance fund of similar size, Rai said in an interview at the Mumbai headquarters of Nabfid, which was founded in 2021. The company was initially set up as a development finance institution to support long-term projects.“We are (also)likely to launch an alternative investment fund, mainly for the equity side, in the next six months,” Rai said.Nabfid’s new subsidiary will be like a holding company, under which there will be multiple alternative investment funds (AIF).

war in West Asia has brought to light the dependence on imported fuels.India imports most of its crude oil and a majority of its natural gas requirement. This has caused anxiety among consumers about disruptions in cooking fuel.

crude prices. That is primarily why ONGC shares have not rallied like their global peers since February-end when the ongoing West Asia conflict began.Of course, some don’t expect any new windfall tax. For instance, CLSA has raised ONGC stock’s target price to ₹415 apiece, almost 60% higher than current levels.

(DGCA), and the matter was later raised in Parliament.Laser strikes near Indian airports have jumped sharply, rising from 122 cases in 2023 to over 500 in 2025, data tabled in Parliament show. The incidents pose a direct safety risk to pilots and highlight weak enforcement of rules that strictly prohibit such activity that endangers life or safety.As per data, 502 laser-related disruptions were reported across 22 airports in 2025, slightly lower than the 528 incidents recorded in 2024.