India Financial News

You know what will happen if you drive looking at the road that is already behind you? Ignoring both the dangers and opportunities ahead? That is what I thought of when I saw that inflows into Indian gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) exceeded flows into equity funds in January 2026.For context, in March and April 2025, gold inflows were hugging the zero line even as equity mutual fund flows were at pretty much the same level as in January—around ₹24,000-25,000 crore. Now the dollar price of gold is down 20-25% from its January peak. But this is not a column about gold.

HCLTech, India's third largest IT services firm after Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd, will reorganize its software products arm HCLSoftware into three core sub-groups: Xperience, Data and Operations, each with its own head and a specialized sales team, according to at least three people familiar with the matter.HCLSoftware had ended FY25 with a revenue of $1.43 billion, comprising a little more than a tenth of the company’s $13.84 billion topline last year. The software business grew 3.3% on a yearly basis last fiscal and the company aspires to triple this growth by FY27.According to the three people in the know, the Xperience division will include software focusing on app interfaces and marketing functions, while the Data sub-group will handle data analytics and data management software.

Mint explains what cold-water fisheries are, why they matter, and what challenges remain.Cold-water fisheries refer to aquatic systems with low temperatures and high dissolved oxygen, making them ideal for species such as Trout and Mahseer.In India, this segment is concentrated in the Himalayan belt, parts of the Northeast, and select peninsular highlands. It spans Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and parts of the Western Ghats and Northeast, covering over 5.33 lakh sq.

JioStar and Pocket FM have recently expanded their AI capabilities, focusing on streamlining story development, production workflows, and localisation, while improving content discovery and retention.Pocket FM said the focus is on building a differentiated, technology-led entertainment ecosystem rooted in strong storytelling and deep consumer insight."Over the past couple of years, we have strengthened our AI-powered recommendation systems to improve content discovery and retention, while also deploying our in-house AI Creator Suite to streamline story development, production workflows, and localisation,” said Prateek Dixit, co-founder - product, tech and AI, Pocket FM.The company has recently strengthened its AI leadership with the appointment of Vasu Sharma as head of AI, whose mandate includes advancing narrative intelligence, long-context reasoning, and scalable localisation capabilities, while ensuring that AI systems remain creator-first and ethically governed, Dixit said.“These investments enable us to accelerate content production, enhance personalisation, optimise cost structures, and scale global IP more efficiently, all while preserving the primacy of human creativity,” Dixit added.For long, Indian media companies focused on content while global players focused on product, data, and technology infrastructure alongside content, said Vijay Subramaniam, founder and group CEO of Collective Artists Network.“Our latest product is a cinema-native production technology platform, that brings together generative systems, LoRA (low rank adaptation)-driven character architecture, controlled shot pipelines, 3D/VFX integration, lip-sync, upscaling, quality control, and delivery into a single production environment,”

Mint’s emails till the time of publishing.Broadly, India is seeing renewed investor appetite for preventive nutrition brands as the country’s wellness market scales rapidly. With deal activity accelerating across supplements and nutraceuticals, several mid-size deals have been announced recently as companies look to capture the growing demand for protein, hydration and clean-label products.Fullife Healthcare, which operates Fast&Up and Chicnutrix, on Wednesday said it concluded a ₹300 crore fundraise led by Elev8 Venture Partners, while USV Private Ltd acquired around a 79% stake in nutraceutical firm Wellbeing Nutrition in an all-cash deal valuing the company at ₹1,583 crore in February.Founded in 1971 by Kartar Lalvani, Vitabiotics is one of the largest nutraceutical firms in the UK and owns brands such as Pregnacare, Osteocare, Perfectil, Immunace and Menopace.

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.

For decades, the Indian youth dream followed a clear path: move out of farming, get a degree, and secure a stable job. The reality now is far different.More women did farm jobs in 2023-24 compared to six years ago, even though they have made great strides in securing non-agriculture jobs over the decades.

Mint in an interview, pointing to how consumer attention is now split across streaming, social, short-form video, and commerce platforms.For Amazon Ads, this shift has transformed a marketplace-focused product into a broader ecosystem spanning shopping, streaming, and third-party publishers—helping it emerge as a third major player after Google and Meta.Amazon stood in the third place in terms of monthly active user base of 325 million in December 2025, following Google in the first position at 501 million and Facebook (Meta) at 447 million, according to a Ficci-EY report released Tuesday.Over the past decade, Amazon Ads has linked advertising more closely to shopping behaviour, a strategy it is now doubling down on amid intensifying competition. On Wednesday, the firm rolled out two agentic AI tools: Creative Agent, to help advertisers easily create professional-quality ads, and Ads Agent, to assist sellers in planning, launching, and optimising campaigns.India’s advertising market continues to grow alongside the media and entertainment sector.

In every crisis lies an opportunity, it is said. At the very least, today’s hydrocarbon crisis should re-open India’s forlorn debate on pushing oil and gas into a closer market embrace as a sector. Ever since we ran into supply snarls that began with yet another war in West Asia, shock-absorbers have been in focus, along with our import dependence.To be sure, this is no ordinary shock.

Brent crude oil, which is trading around $98, and FII outflows are playing a decisive role in the sharp market correction. Elevated crude prices are keeping inflation concerns alive, while the rupee is trading near a record low at 93 per dollar, adding to macroeconomic pressures.

With the war in West Asia stretching on, estimates of its economic damage have begun to emerge. On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs slashed its outlook on India’s economic growth to 5.9% in 2026 from 7% before the war started. This is substantial, especially given the uncertainty over how long global hydrocarbon markets will stay roiled; the longer they do, the greater the hit.

Stock market recap: The Indian stock market saw strong buying interest on Tuesday, 24 March, with the benchmarks — Sensex and Nifty 50 — rising about 2% each.BSE barometer Sensex jumped 1,372 points, or 1.89%, to close at 74,068, while the Nifty 50 rose by 440 points, or 1.78%, to settle at 22,912. The BSE 150 Midcap index and the BSE 250 Smallcap index added 2.5% and 2.2%, respectively.Investors earned ₹8 trillion in a single session as the cumulative market capitalization of BSE-listed firms rose to nearly ₹423 trillion from ₹415 trillion in the previous session.Buy: Sai Life Sciences Ltd (current price: ₹1,005)Buy: Tech Mahindra Ltd (current price: ₹1,433)Nifty 50 performance on 24 MarchNifty 50 opened on a positive note at 22,878.45 and maintained strength through the session, reflecting sustained buying interest at lower levels.

Best stocks to buy today (all buy trades are rates of equity and sell rates are based on F&O)INDIGO: Buy above ₹4155, stop ₹4020 target ₹4400 (Multiday)GRANULES: Buy above ₹615, stop ₹590 target ₹670 (Multiday)LUPIN: Buy above ₹2340, stop ₹2250 target ₹2525 (Multiday)On 24 March 2026, Indian equity markets staged a sharp rebound, supported by positive global cues and reports of potential US–Iran negotiations. The Sensex surged 1,372 points, or 1.89%, to close at 74,068.45, while the Nifty advanced 399.75 points, or 1.78%, to settle at 22,912.40.

Mint.Through 2025, the technology investor deployed $675 million in companies such as Urban Company, PayU, Rapido, Ixigo, Wiom, Deccan AI, CodeKarma and Arivihan.While these companies have reached some size and scale, they are still risky bets. “They're not mature businesses in that while their core offerings might be mature, they continue to add new verticals, so they're not mature in that sense,” said Sharma.The firm’s conviction in long-term bets comes as India’s tech ecosystem enters a more mature phase, marked by a wave of listings.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-controlled Jio Platforms Ltd is targeting a valuation of $120 billion to $140 billion in its public offer, which will see some of its existing investors, including TPG, KKR, General Atlantic, and Silver Lake, sell shares, according to two bankers familiar with discussions.Parent Reliance Industries Ltd is not expected to offload any shares, and the company is also not looking to issue new stock to raise capital, as it will be a standalone offer for sale by some of its shareholders, said the bankers, who didn’t want to be identified as discussions were private.Jio Platforms executives met with representatives of 17-19 investment banks this week before filing its draft papers with the regulator for the initial public offering (IPO).“Some of the selling shareholders were also part of this meeting,” said one of the senior bankers present. The meeting was held to outline the role of individual bankers in the book-building process, said another.A General Atlantic spokesperson and TPG declined to comment.

₹18,000 crore in planned fund-raising at risk. Thirteen mainboard companies are nearing their 12-month deadlines by June to launch their issues or lose regulatory approval.The impending expiry of these clearances, given by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) between April and June 2025, underscores how volatile market conditions are prompting firms to defer listings, raising the prospect of higher costs, delayed timelines and a near-term squeeze on fresh market liquidity.Per PRIME Database, these include the Munjal family's ₹3,600-crore Hero Fincorp Ltd offer, Morgan Stanley-backed Continuum Green Energy Ltd's ₹3,650 crore plan, and Norwest Venture Partners-backed Veritas Finance Ltd's proposed IPO worth ₹2,800 crore.Following Sebi approval, companies typically file a red herring prospectus with the Registrar of Companies within four to six weeks.Sebi regulations mandate that companies must launch their IPOs within 12 months of receiving the final observation letter.

small-cap schemes has risen sharply over the past year, reflecting thinning volumes and weaker market depth.The largest fund in the category, Nippon India Small Cap Fund, required 44 days—up 13 days from a year ago—to sell half its portfolio if faced with redemption pressure. The Quant Small Cap Fund saw the steepest increase, with liquidation time rising by 31 days to 87 days, while the HDFC Small Cap Fund and the SBI Small Cap Fund took 71 and 66 days, up 9 and 4 days, respectively.This is when the benchmark BSE Smallcap 250 Index has declined only moderately—6.2% in January, compared with a 10.3% fall in January 2025—suggesting the underlying stress is more structural: lower participation and waning risk appetite are making exits harder, particularly in a downtrend when small caps tend to underperform broader markets.The BSE Sensex declined 3.5% in January, compared with a 1% fall in the same month last year.Exchange data showed India’s overall market capitalization shrank by ₹21.35 trillion from an all-time high of ₹482 trillion at the start of January.

West Asia conflict, even as it looks to turn the disruption into an opportunity to gain market share.“In order to fully neutralize the impact of raw material price increase, we have to increase the prices of our products,” said Abhijit Roy, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), in an interview with Mint. “The price increases have happened in the mass premium and luxury segment… the economy segment has been left untouched so far.”The hikes follow a sharp rise in crude oil prices, a key driver of paint raw material costs.

NEW DELHI: The Centre has called a high-level meeting of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Financial Services and public sector banks on Wednesday to devise ways to curb high-value bank frauds amid the growing use of mule accounts, according to two people aware of the issue.Officials at the meeting will also help devise strategies to fill critical gaps in investigation and enforcement and zero in on procedural bottlenecks, especially delays in securing prosecution sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act, one person said on condition of anonymity. This issue has increasingly become a sticking point in fraud cases involving bank officials.“With probes often slowed by approval requirements and coordination challenges between lenders and investigators, the high-level meeting signals a push to streamline processes, tighten accountability and strengthen the system’s response to complex, network-driven financial frauds,” the second person said, asking not to be identified.According to Reserve Bank of India data, fraud cases in banks and financial institutions involving amounts of ₹1 lakh and above tripled to ₹34,771 crore in FY25 from ₹11,261 crore in FY24.

Global private equity investor LeapFrog Investments, which has backed InsuranceDekho and Healthify, has shelved plans to explore continuation vehicles as an exit option and will instead focus on traditional routes such as block deals, mergers and acquisitions, and public listings, the firm’s top executive told Mint.The firm is pursuing exits from its second and third funds as it deploys capital from its fourth fund and a climate-focused investment vehicle. Last week, LeapFrog led investment rounds in Shubham Housing Finance and clean energy company ReNew Energy Global Plc.“It (continuation vehicle) is not a focus area as of now for us.

₹96,200 crore, growing over 26% year-on-year, while traditional advertising contracted by about 4%. Digital advertising is now 63% of India’s total advertising industry by revenue.The industry’s centre of gravity has shifted since the late 1990s.