India Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. United Breweries Ltd., one of India’s largest beer makers, is betting on its premium brands like Kingfisher Ultra to drive growth even as rising taxes in key states, including Telangana, Karnataka, and Rajasthan, threaten to offset a potential boost from a prolonged summer. After disruptions during the general elections last fiscal impacted production and shipments across the sector, an early and longer summer this year is “going to be more helpful as it will lead to more consumption from a macro standpoint", said Vivek Gupta, managing director and CEO of Dutch parent Heineken-controlled United Breweries.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Even as Indian stock markets go through a rough patch, Chinese equities have rebounded after lagging for around a decade. Global investors are looking to ride this rally.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In the turbulent waters of the Indian stock market not all ships are built to sail smoothly. The next six months call for a vigilant approach as certain stocks could spell trouble for investors.

Donald Trump to create a “strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital assets stockpile” has sent the crypto enthusiasts in India into a tizzy. Hoping to cash in on what they believe could be the next big rally, they have led a surge in trading volumes, with CoinDCX reporting a 36% hike and Mudrex registering a 30% spike. While the reserve will only include Bitcoin, already owned by the US government, not acquired or actively bought, the digital asset stockpile will consist of tokens other than the Bitcoin—Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and Cardano (ADA), which will also not be acquired. The announcement is significant because it’s the first time that Bitcoin has been recognised as a reserve asset of the US government. “This sends a powerful message to the world about how blockchain and digital assets are becoming mainstream,” says Sumit Gupta, co-founder of CoinDCX. Agrees Edul Patel, Co-founder of Mudrex: “There is a strong future for crypto and Bitcoin globally, not just in the US.”

In Noida’s Sector 18 market, the answer is playing out in real time. Outside a nondescript ‘Cash for Gold’ outlet, Rekha Verma (name changed on request), a middle-aged homemaker from Ghaziabad, clutches a tiny velvet pouch. Inside: a pair of 16-gram, 22-karat earrings. She planned to exchange them for a trendier necklace but, after crunching the numbers, opted to sell instead. “I thought I could swap them, but after all the deductions, cash made more sense,” she laughs. “I’ll buy some jewellery but invest the rest elsewhere.” Rekha isn’t alone. The man behind the counter, quick with his calculator, sees six to seven such customers daily. “People are rethinking gold,” he says. His outlet charges a 3-10% commission, far less than the 4-5% market price cut and 20-25% making charge loss at brand stores.

insurance costs — probably even double what they paid in 2024 — after adverse weather that either washed out or severely curtailed three matches through the last season that coincides with a dry summer in most parts of the country. Last season, a single cancelled match led to claims of around ₹16 crore to ₹17 crore, forcing insurers to revise the pricing of risk. Event cancellation policies, once priced at approximately ₹40 lakh to ₹45 lakh, are now being re-priced to factor in the losses. Franchises, which previously took cover for around ₹2 crore premiums, now face costs of ₹4 crore to ₹5 crore. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which organises the IPL, faces costs of roughly ₹5 crore to ₹6 crore per match.

Blackstone Group is foraying into India’s rapidly growing housing property market, marking a strategic shift after leading the country’s commercial property space, with clear focus on the mid-income and premium segment of the market to begin with, said persons familiar with the plan. While the global alternative asset management firm has already established itself as India’s largest office and logistics landlord, and expanded aggressively into data centers, the proposed acquisition of listed company Kolte Patil Developers, marks its first big bet on housing market. «The plan goes beyond investment to building execution and development capabilities, with no capital constraints for growth. Previously, assets were acquired and consolidated, as seen with Nucleus Office Parks, Horizon Industrial Parks, and Nexus Select. In contrast, the strategy for housing focuses on establishing the platform first and then adding assets,» said one of the persons mentioned above.

Technip Energies, a French provider of engineering and technology services to the energy industry, is opening a research and development centre in India besides expanding its workforce in the country which it sees at the forefront of the global shift towards green hydrogen. «India is the country where we are signing the largest projects around green hydrogen and green ammonia. It is the geography and the country where, for us, green ammonia and green hydrogen are taking off,» said Arnaud Pieton, chief executive officer, Technip Energies. «So, we see India clearly as being on the forefront of the green hydrogen economy.» Technip Energies, which has been operational in India for about five decades, said it has accelerated investments in the country in the past four years. He declined to elaborate. During the period, the company doubled its workforce. It is now considering adding 500-1,000 employees to the current 4,600-strong employee base in India in the next year.

Navi Mumbai International Airport. In December, the Adani Group-which is building the airport-had announced an April 17 inauguration, with domestic and international operations starting in May and June respectively. Meanwhile, the Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, is also delayed, running six months behind schedule. Zurich Airport International, tasked with building and operating the airport, now expects to inaugurate the facility in the June quarter. These two airports would be among the two largest greenfield airports to open in recent years in India.

Columbia urban planning student Ranjani Srinivasan shows how it's done — 'it' being reacting to her student visa being revoked by the US government. Instead of waiting for a (military?) Trumplane, she checked herself out of Fort MAGA.

free trade agreement, after it was stalled in 2015 following their failure to narrow differences in sensitive areas including dairy and agriculture. India and New Zealand began negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in April 2010 to boost trade in goods, services, and investment but the talks stalled after nine rounds of discussions. The ninth round of negotiation was held in 2013. The two nations announced the launch of negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on the eve of the bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand. Luxon is here on a four-day visit from March 16.

Competition Commission of India (CCI) chairperson Ravneet Kaur. «We are seeing rapid adoption of AI; it has become a driving force in modern markets and through the use of AI there could also be potential ways of collusion… therefore regulators need to take a forward-looking approach,» she said. Speaking at the National Conference on Economics of Competition Law, Kaur said market studies were among the tools that enabled «comprehensive analysis of market structure, the way the business models are operating, the various arrangements among players and potential competition issues». She pointed out that the amendments to the competition law introduced in 2023 aimed to balance enforcement with market friendly regulations. The government had introduced amendments to the law which brought in concepts such as commitment and settlement and a shift from turnover-focused identification of transactions to deal-value focused. «Deal value thresholds have been introduced» to identify transactions in combination, Kaur said. Even after the completion of the investigation by the director general, the amendments incentivise stakeholders to offer settlement through «discount settlements», she said.

«The idea is that CKYCR should become a single source of truth for KYC and serve as a dynamic single repository under a universal KYC framework,» said an official requesting anonymity, adding that besides integration for all public sector banks, the common video KYC hub will enhance convenience for customers as well. The government wants regulated entities, including insurers and pension funds, to ensure that their systems are integrated to access CKYCR, which acts as a golden record, rather than uploading new documents and getting fresh verifications.

inflation expectations and easing interest rates. But it's being driven principally by central bank purchases to reduce exposure of reserves to dollar volatility. Investment and institutional demand for gold will remain strong till financial markets stabilise.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: India's electrification push in public transportation is slowing, with electric bus sales in FY25 set to show only a nominal increase compared with the year before. Electric bus sales have failed to make significant inroads into the tradition diesel-powered bus market over the past few years.

Gold Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) investors will continue to be the key drivers of gold demand in 2025, as per a report. Geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties are expected to push gold prices higher, while central banks' actions will play a significant role in shaping the precious metal market, IANS reported. According to the Motilal Oswal Private Wealth report, gold emerged as one of the top-performing asset classes in India in 2024, with a remarkable 21 per cent return year-on-year (YoY). While high prices affected jewellery demand, the investment demand for physical gold, especially bars and coins, remained strong. Motilal Oswal reports that although the demand was subdued in 2024 due to high prices, it was expected to recover gradually in mid-January, driven by wedding season purchases. However, price stability will remain a key factor in this recovery.

Zydus Pharmaceuticals are recalling products in the US market due to manufacturing issues, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The New Jersey-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc is recalling 9,840 bottles of Morphine Sulfate extended-release tablets for «Failed Dissolution Specifications», the US health regulator stated in its latest Enforcement Report. The company initiated the Class II nationwide (US) recall on February 6, 2025. USFDA stated that Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc is recalling a lot of Nelarabine Injection, used in the treatment of certain cancers, in the US.

«Production of Airpods is going to start in India at Foxconn's Hyderabad facility. It will begin from April but it will be only for exports as of now,» an industry source told PTI. Foxconn had approved USD 400 million, about Rs 3,500 crore, to set up the factory in August 2023.

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani announced on Sunday. Initially planned for an April 17 launch, the airport's inauguration has been rescheduled. The greenfield airport, the second major aviation facility in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, is being developed by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL). The project is a 74:26 joint venture between Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) and City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO).

India and New Zealand on Sunday announced resumption of negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement to boost economic ties. India and New Zealand began negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in April 2010 to boost trade in goods, services, and investment. However, after nine rounds of discussions, the talks stalled in 2015. «The two nations are pleased to announce the launch of negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations,» the commerce ministry said. The announcement was made after the meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Todd McClay, New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Investment. Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon is here on a four-day visit from March 16. «The India-New Zealand FTA negotiations aim to achieve balanced outcomes that enhance supply chain integration and improve market access,» it said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Sunday began a five-day visit to India with a focus on deepening the bilateral trade and economic ties. On Monday, Luxon will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will attend the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue as the chief guest. Days ahead of the trip, the New Zealand prime minister said he will push for a comprehensive economic partnership with India and explore ways to strengthen bilateral security ties. Luxon is visiting India from March 16 to 20 in his first trip to the country as the prime minister. He is accompanied by one of the largest delegations a New Zealand prime minister has ever travelled with. The visiting leader was received at the Delhi airport by Union Minister SP Singh Baghel. «What I'm looking for is just a much more comprehensive economic partnership and how we'd move that forward, Luxon said last week, adding, „I am determined that we are going to change the trading relationships with India big time.“