India Financial News

With under-recoveries of fuel retailers exceeding last week’s cut in special excise duty and the war in West Asia still in escalation mode, pressure on their margins is likely to continue. By the government’s estimates, oil companies are suffering losses of about ₹24 per litre on petrol and ₹30 per litre on diesel.

Mint India Investment Summit, Ravishankar said India’s AI opportunity lies less in outspending global leaders and more in building useful products quickly and cost-effectively at scale, leveraging the country’s deep engineering talent.He outlined two broader areas where Indian startups can still create large businesses, even if the country is not yet at the cutting edge of global AI development.The first opportunity, he said, is that India will be a quick adopter of AI across large, everyday use cases. As AI tools improve, many familiar consumer and service categories could be reimagined from the ground up, he said.“India will be a fast follower and a quick consumer of AI in areas such as customer support, citizen services, travel and jobs, where new companies are beginning to rebuild internet products with AI at the centre,” Ravishankar said.The second opportunity lies in the layers around AI itself: infrastructure, software and tools that help other companies build and use AI products.Ravishankar said Indian teams are well-placed because of the country’s large developer base and growing technical talent pool.

New Delhi: International Finance Corp. (IFC) aims to scale up its India investments by about 30% to $7 billion this fiscal year ending 30 June, said Sarvesh Suri, regional vice-president for Asia and the Pacific at World Bank Group’s private sector-focused development finance arm, in an interview to Mint.

NSE), typically happens on the last Tuesday of every month. With markets shut on Tuesday for Mahavir Jayanti, the rollover will take place a day earlier, on Monday.“Investors or traders opting to exercise or physically settle their stock options and futures upon monthly expiry could provide an element of support to the market,” said Kruti Shah, quant analyst at Equirus Securities.If, instead, traders close out positions or roll them over to the next month, it would signal more short aggression, Shah said.

Why it’s recommended: Strong presence in the US generics market, diversified product portfolio, robust R&D capabilities, improving margins and cost control, growth in the speciality and injectables segment, healthy balance sheet, consistent revenue growth, backward integration benefits, expanding global footprint, and regulatory compliance improvements.Key metrics: P/E: 21.34 | 52-week high: ₹1,330.00 | Volume: ₹245.07 croreTechnical analysis: Cup-base breakoutRisk factors: The USFDA regulatory risks, pricing pressure in generics, high dependence on the US market, currency fluctuation impact, litigation and compliance risks, API business volatility, intense industry competition, delay in product approvals, margin pressure risk, and geopolitical and export risks.Buy: ₹1,300-1,320Target price: ₹1,450 in two to three monthsStop loss: ₹1,240Why it’s recommended: Government-owned status with strong backing, integrated power and mining business, consistent profitability track record, expansion into renewable energy, large capex growth plans, stable cash flows due to utility nature, diversification into EV and storage, improving revenue growth trend, decent margins over cycles, and strategic importance in the energy sector.Key metrics: P/E:13.46 | 52-week high: ₹292.20 | Volume: ₹67.59 croreTechnical analysis: Reclaimed its 21-DMARisk factors: High capex leading to cash flow pressure, dependence on lignite and thermal power, regulatory and environmental risks, long gestation project risks, possibility of increased debt, power tariff regulation risk, execution risk in expansion plans, uncertainty in renewable transition, commodity and fuel price risk, and PSU-related governance constraints.Buy at: ₹268-271Target price: ₹298 in

CCL Products (India) Ltd: Buy above ₹1,070 | Stop ₹995 | Target ₹1,220 (multiday)Tata Consumer Products Ltd: Buy above ₹1,060 | Stop ₹995 | Target ₹1,180 (multiday)India's coffee and tea sectors have demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth momentum in FY26. The coffee export milestone of $1.86 billion by February FY26 represents a significant achievement, with the sector consistently recording over $1 billion in annual exports for the fifth consecutive year.

Four Indian state-run oil and gas companies are in talks to source cooking and natural gas from Angola's public-sector major Sonangol as the country faces a supply shortage following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war, said two people aware of the developments.Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp. (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp.

West Asia have already come to a halt due to the ongoing war, and the rising freight cost is acting as a stumbling block in exporting to other nations."We had a meeting with officials of DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade), commerce ministry, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India, and Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and highlighted the plight of basmati rice exporters,” said Ajay Bhalothia, general secretary, All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA).“We were assured by government stakeholders that the Ministry of Shipping would shortly meet major shipping line operators to address the escalating logistical challenges including high freight rates," Bhalothia added.Shipping disruptions, along with rising freight and insurance costs, are posing a significant threat to India’s nearly $6 billion basmati rice trade. The concern comes amid mounting uncertainty over consignments headed to the Gulf region, which accounts for about 60–70% of India’s total basmati exports.Another exporter, who was also in the meeting, confirmed the development.

Vetic, to name just three. These clinics epitomize a big shift that is playing out across urban India: the corporatization of veterinary services.Until a few years ago, India’s petcare market was a highly fragmented affair, dominated by neighbourhood pet stores, standalone vets and a handful of product brands.

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.

Mint.GMR's appeal, through its airport joint venture Delhi International Airport Ltd (Dial), came just ahead of the launch of the National Capital Region’s second major airport in Jewar, sharpening competition for traffic. With jet fuel accounting for about a third of airline costs, the tax gap risks higher fares and a significant traffic shift, the company said. GMR had made a similar appeal last year too.The company has simultaneously sought the Union civil aviation ministry's backing on the matter.The Jewar airport, 90 km from the IGI airport, the country’s busiest one, was inaugurated on 28 March by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The dominant progressive argument in India calls for dismantling of caste through radical redistribution by means of land reforms, state intervention or revolutionary social restructuring. The argument is that ­the entrenched inequality of India’s caste system must be annihilated through political and economic levelling.However, this framework misses a counter-intuitive argument.

Sebi has proposed two pathways for scheme selection, recognising that many recipients will be first-time investors.In the first pathway, the card purchaser — the person gifting the card — may suggest a mutual fund scheme at the time of purchase. However, this suggestion is not binding.

₹15,000, convinced it’s fair because it served you well. Then the offers arrive: ₹5,000, ₹6,000. You feel insulted.

On 19 March, SBI Funds Management Ltd, the company that runs SBI Mutual Fund, filed papers with the capital markets regulator to offer its shares to the public for the first time. If it follows through with that plan, as expected in the second half of 2026, all the top four mutual funds in India by assets under management (AUM) will be listed on the stock market. SBI Mutual Fund is the largest of the lot, a position it has achieved over the past decade.

State of Working India (SoW) report says India’s demographic bulge will stop expanding in four years. The share of its working-age population will begin declining in 2030.

the New York Times. This is to give Trump additional military options even as he weighs a new diplomatic initiative with the Islamic republic, according to the report.“About 2,300 Marines from the 31st Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to arrive in the Middle East later this week, and U.S.

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.

₹5 crore from savings, friends, and family. Its philosophy was announced through the one-rupee ticket (a base fare of ₹1, with taxes bringing the total to around ₹222). It was both a marketing stunt and a statement that air travel belonged to everyone.By 2006, Air Deccan operated from seven base airports, with a fleet of 43 aircraft making 350 flights daily, and connected more than 60 destinations at roughly half the price of rivals.

BPCL) signed a long-term contract to procure 12 million barrels of crude in 2026-27 from Petrobras in January this year, renewing a previous contract signed in 2025.While Brazil is largely self-sufficient in crude oil production, it has one “vulnerability”, according to Nóbrega. “One vulnerability is that we are self-sufficient in crude oil production, but we are not self-sufficient in refined oil,” he said, adding that diesel is required for a bulk of the freight transport in the country by road and rail.“India also could install refineries in Brazil because you are one of the largest countries in terms of oil refining,” he said, noting that one of India’s biggest exports to the largest country in South America is refined oils, including diesel.India has a refining capacity of 258 million tonnes per year and has helped countries such as Nigeria and Mongolia develop refineries.

India’s petroleum reserves have come under scrutiny since the outbreak of the West Asia war, with concerns intensifying as government data showed India’s current capacity in strategic reserves can only cover roughly five-six days of total consumption.Now, this is not as alarming as it seems, as India’s overall capacity is much higher. However, the current crisis has put a spotlight on India’s limited ability in the face of severe shocks to oil, gas and petroleum product supply.India currently has three strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs)—buried in underground caverns—in Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru, and Padur.