India Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With its $11.75 billion acquisition of Organon, a Merck spinoff, Sun Pharmaceutical has officially embarked on one of the most ambitious overseas expansions ever by an Indian pharmaceutical company. Markets cheered the announcement on 27 April, sending the stock soaring almost 7%.This reflects optimism around scale expansion and strategic repositioning.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The rise of artificial intelligence-powered self-learning tools is forcing India’s upskilling companies to redesign their programmes to attract a broader, non-technical learner base.Upskilling firms such as Great Learning, Temasek-backed upGrad and Prosus-backed Eruditus, among others, have introduced no-code tracks within existing skilling programmes and launched targeted courses for non-technical learners in areas that previously required coding knowledge, the firms told Mint.This comes amid rapid improvements in generative AI models, which are increasingly capable of performing tasks that once required months of technical training.Learners are now wary of sitting through three to six-month-long courses for something that can be done in minutes using AI, said Arjun Nair, co-founder of Great Learning, which was formerly a Byju’s group company.“The models have become dramatically better. Whether it is Claude, Gemini, or OpenAI models, their capabilities have improved sharply in the last three to six months,” Nair said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Geography may place India and New Zealand at distant points on the world map, but that distance has never defined their relationship. They have common democratic values, strong people-to-people ties and a deep cultural affinity, which includes their shared love for cricket. Much like their encounters on the pitch, India-New Zealand trade has traditionally resembled a Test match: steady and patient but often lacking in tempo, and has only picked up pace in recent years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Acko General Insurance Ltd has appointed investment banks for an initial public offering in India that could value the startup at up to $2 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.The Bengaluru-based company has selected ICICI Securities Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, and the India unit of Morgan Stanley to manage the share sale, one of the persons said, asking not to be identified because the information is not yet public.Mint had reported on 14 December 2025 that the General Atlantic- and Multiples-backed insurtech firm was preparing for an offer that could raise $300–400 million.The offering is expected to include a mix of a fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale by existing investors, the second person confirmed.Mint has reached out to Acko, ICICI Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, and Morgan Stanley India for comment.Acko intends to file its draft prospectus through the confidential pre-filing route before the end of this calendar year, the third person said.Under regulations introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the confidential filing mechanism allows companies to undergo regulatory review without immediately disclosing detailed financials and business strategies. It also gives issuers the flexibility to withdraw the offering without public disclosure if market conditions deteriorate.The IPO push comes as Acko reports improving financial metrics.For the fiscal year ended March 2025, the company posted revenue of ₹2,837 crore, up 35% year-on-year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With Dhurandhar: The Revenge crossing the ₹1,000 crore mark at the domestic box office—becoming the first Hindi film to do so—industry watchers believe India’s theatrical potential could stretch to ₹1,200–1,500 crore for the right film.But unlocking that ceiling is far from easy.Films remain constrained by limited and uneven screen penetration across smaller towns, high ticket pricing that curbs footfalls, and intense competition that shortens exclusive theatrical runs. Add to that the shortage of consistently mass-appealing commercial entertainers, and record-breaking numbers become rare events rather than the norm.“The success of the Dhurandhar franchise clearly highlights the headroom in India’s theatrical market and demonstrates how scale-driven content can unlock exceptional outcomes,” said said Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, managing director, Miraj Entertainment Ltd.The opportunity is significant, but structural challenges persist.Screen penetration remains the biggest constraint.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Two months into the West Asia war, a conflict that triggered the world's greatest energy crisis, second- and third-order effects are surfacing everywhere, from falling fertilizer output and shortage of Coke cans to rising condom prices. This is a grim reminder of how deeply economic activity is tethered to crude oil and its derivatives.Beyond its role as a fuel source, crude oil serves as a vital feedstock for manufacturing over 6,000 products.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The jagged path of India’s stock market attests to how shaky the mood of investors is. Although the Sensex is up 6.6% in April (while the Nifty-50 index rose 7%) after its 12% tumble in war-stricken March (the Nifty-50 slid more than 11%), last week ended on a glum note.A tentative truce in West Asia may have mostly silenced the blasts of war, but the lifting smoke revealed a double choke of Hormuz, with even Iran’s oil trapped, like the exports of other Gulf countries. As this US-Iran deadlock is proving harder to break than a level-headed analysis of it would suggest, the war’s impact on India’s economy might still be gaining in intensity.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Gender parity in India Inc.’s boardrooms remains distant, and the gap is widest among younger women entering the director pipeline, official data show.A Mint analysis of ministry of corporate affairs data up to January 2026 shows women accounted for 32.5% of more than a million director identification numbers (DINs) issued over the past two years. But in the 18-30 age group, their share dropped to 26%, or roughly one in four of the 339,000 DINs issued, compared with 73.92% for men.DIN—an eight-digit identifier required to serve on company boards—helps track an individual’s involvement across multiple companies, though it does not guarantee a board seat.Representation improved with age.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: Indian equity benchmark indices ended the week on a sombre note, with the Nifty 50 falling 275.10 points, or 1.14%, to close at 23,897.95, while the BSE Sensex dropped nearly 983 points to settle at 76,681.29.Friday's session was marked by a clear risk-off tone as escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, pushed Brent crude back above $105 a barrel.Sector-wise, IT stocks led the decline, with the Nifty IT index tumbling 5.29% after disappointing Q4 guidance from heavyweights such as Infosys triggered a broad-based sell-off in technology names.Market breadth remained sharply negative, with an advance-decline ratio of 863:2429, indicating nearly three stocks fell for every one that gained.Volatility also picked up, with India VIX rising 6.3%, suggesting markets may remain in a consolidation phase as investors contend with persistent global headwinds and the ongoing earnings season.Buy: Vardhman Textiles Ltd (current price: ₹590)Buy: RBL Bank Ltd (current price: ₹321)Nifty 50 performance on 24 AprilIndian equities ended lower on 24 April, with the Nifty 50 declining 275 points, or 1.14%, to close at 23,897.95, reflecting sustained selling pressure through the session after an early dip. Market breadth remained decisively weak, with 863 stocks advancing against 2,429 declines, signalling broad-based risk aversion.Sectorally, the sell-off was led by IT, which dropped about 5.3%, likely on global growth concerns and currency moves.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Over the past three decades, Google has used its engineering hubs in cities like Bengaluru to develop technologies specifically for the Indian market—such as Google Pay and Google Maps features—which it then exported globally, the company’s global chief scientist Jeff Dean told Mint in an exclusive interview.Today, Google India remains vital to the $4.1-trillion tech giant and its frontier research unit Google DeepMind, Dean said, adding that the region continues to drive the development of AI applications that are marketed worldwide.He cited three key examples, including a global flood prediction model developed in collaboration with India's central government. By gathering data from flood-prone Indian states, Google trained AI models that are now used to predict and mitigate flood risks in other nations.A second major contribution from Google’s Bengaluru hub is the "long context window" for its AI app Gemini.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India is working on an overhaul of its firefighting vehicles—from identifying challenges in dense urban landscapes to building domestic testing capacity—as the government seeks to address critical gaps in fire safety infrastructure, according to two people aware of the development. The effort comes amid acute shortages of fire stations, equipment and personnel, raising concerns over response readiness as urban fire risks rise.As part of the plan to ensure adequate fire safety preparedness, the heavy industries ministry has started consultations to identify challenges faced by firefighting vehicle makers—lack of indigenous testing, import dependence for high-tech components, varied regulatory requirements across states, etc.—the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.To be sure, after the 15th Finance Commission had noted deficiencies in fire safety resources and recommended a ₹5,000-crore scheme to upgrade infrastructure and availability of trained manpower, the Centre launched a scheme for expansion and modernization of fire services with the recommended corpus in July 2023.India currently lacks any formal testing of firefighting vehicles and is considering setting up new facilities and upgrading existing testing agencies such as the Automotive Research Association of India (Arai) for the same, said the first person cited above.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: The Indian stock market selloff extended to the third straight session on Friday, 24 April, with the benchmarks — the Sensex and the Nifty 50 — crashing by over 1% each.The 30-share pack tumbled 1,000 points, or 1.29%, to end at 76,664, while the Nifty 50 plunged by 275 points, or 1.14%, to close at 23,898. The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.96%, while the Smallcap 100 index dropped 0.87%.VTL (Cmp ₹590.05) POLYPLEX (Cmp ₹889.65) On 24 April 2026, Indian equity markets witnessed a sharp sell-off, with benchmarks tumbling under heavy pressure from global and domestic headwinds.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) is likely to begin groundwork next month on India’s first greenfield shipyard by a global shipbuilder, entailing an investment of ₹40,000 crore, according to two people aware of the development.The company, part of South Korea’s HD Hyundai Group, is expected to sign a definitive investment agreement with the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government after the ongoing state elections to set up a mega manufacturing facility at the Thoothukudi shipbuilding cluster, the people cited earlier said on condition of anonymity. The investment pact follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on 7 December 2025 by HD Hyundai with the Tamil Nadu government for the shipyard.HD KSOE is likely to invest about ₹40,000 crore in the project in phases, which is expected to have an annual production capacity of 3.5 million gross tonnage (GT).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In the attention economy, where user time is the scarcest commodity, platforms such as content sites, OTT services and social networks are competing for every second of engagement. Several studies peg Gen Z attention spans at just around eight seconds, less than that of a goldfish.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Kenneth Andrade, chief investment officer (CIO) of Old Bridge Mutual Fund and founder director of Old Bridge Capital Management, who views investing as a journey where one pays ‘tuition fees’ through market cycles, believes that opportunities never really dry up.“There’s always a stock or sector to be found,” he said.He notes opportunities have become easier to spot recently, though that wasn’t the case in 2024 and early 2025. With valuations now normalised, he expects more modest returns, likely in the low teens over a longer cycle.“I think most of the worst is already priced in. If a shock occurs, the opportunity will be much larger.”He said this is a phase where it makes sense to put about 50% of capital to work upfront and stagger the rest over the year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A little more than three years after the launch of ChatGPT, the chief executives of India's top information technology (IT) services companies are beginning to acknowledge concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) is eroding revenue.Over the last two weeks, bosses of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd, and Tech Mahindra Ltd have all pointed to AI squeezing revenues, and addressed concerns around higher productivity benefits. More AI tools mean lower human involvement, leading to lower billing rates and, ultimately, lower business.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The biggest motorcycle makers are doubling down on the affluent rider instead of the traditional interest in the budget-conscious commuter. Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, and TVS Motor Co.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Real estate bankruptcies may be resolved project by project, and healthy projects of stressed builders spared the bankruptcy court, if a top committee's suggestions bear fruit. The two suggestions are among the committee's 155 recommendations aimed to make real estate rescues more efficient, consistent, predictable and effective, two people aware of the matter said.The committee, set up by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), recommended that the ministry of corporate affairs, department of financial services and real estate regulatory bodies jointly lay down the framework for project-wise real estate debt resolution.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Early-stage fintech investors in India are shifting away from consumer-facing models that are heavily regulated and pivoting to software and infrastructure businesses that promise steady growth with minimal policy risk.Funds are increasingly backing software, infrastructure and B2B fintech models with AI that are less exposed to regulatory shocks, experts said.The shift follows a reset between 2021 and 2025, when tighter rules on digital lending, first-loss default guarantees and data governance curbed growth and raised compliance costs, pushing investors to favour B2B models over balance-sheet lenders.Data from Tracxn over the last 24 months showed that investors are becoming more selective within fintech, with capital moving toward software and infrastructure layers rather than large consumer-facing models.Funding picked up in areas such as payments infrastructure, which more than doubled, wealth-tech management platforms, which rose sharply by up to four times, and software tools for fund managers, where investments increased nearly eight-fold.In contrast, investor interest cooled in consumer payments, which fell about 60%, online lending, down roughly 16%, and online trading platforms, where funding more than halved over the same period.“Consumer fintech is crowded and heavily regulated and as a fund we don’t see too many white spaces,” said Sahil Anand, founder and managing partner at Cedar Hill Capital, a new fintech fund.While private equity and venture capital investors are not abandoning lending or regulated fintech in the growth to late stages, those bets have become selective, favouring scaled, profitable firms.Investors have become selective towards firms that have adapted

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s top private-sector banks reported a marked improvement in asset quality in the March quarter, with no visible stress in their loan portfolios despite the US-Israel-Iran war.The gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio either declined sequentially or remained stable, highlighting resilient credit performance across segments, largely due to lower slippages and stabilization in microfinance portfolios.While HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, RBL Bank and Yes Bank continued to report sub-1.5% GNPA levels, others, such as IndusInd Bank and IDFC FIRST Bank, saw a moderation in stress over the previous quarter.However, the improvement hides a cautious undertone, with lenders increasingly building buffers and stress-testing their portfolios against adverse global scenarios.Axis Bank has taken the most explicit stance, frontloading provisions to prepare for potential shocks. During the fourth quarter, it created a one-time additional provision of ₹2,001 crore as part of a voluntary enhancement of its provisioning framework.“Based on an assessment of evolving and unpredictable macro and geopolitical uncertainties, the bank created an additional one-time provision…This action is prudent and precautionary in nature and does not reflect deterioration in asset quality,” chief financial officer Puneet Sharma said in the earnings call on 25 April.The bank’s internal stress scenarios assume extreme conditions, including crude oil prices exceeding $150 per barrel, inflation at 7.4%, and a 20% currency depreciation in 2026-27.“Based on some of these test scenarios, we look at which accounts could go into NPL…and based on that, this number is right.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The government has set up an inter-ministerial advisory body, the AI Governance and Economic Group (Aigeg), to act as a central node for shaping and coordinating policy on artificial intelligence. But what rules are startups currently operating under, and will this new body change anything for innovation in the space? Mint breaks it down.For startups operating in AI in India today, the legal landscape is a combination of multiple laws.