India Financial News

India's retail inflation under the new series is expected to rise to 3.1% in February from 2.8% in January, driven by increases in prices of some food items from a year ago, according to a Mint poll of 18 economists.India’s statistics ministry had released a ‘back series' for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) using the new base year of 2024. Economists in the poll expect the second print of the CPI under the new rebased series to land in the range of 2.8-3.4%.

For many urban women, egg freezing is increasingly becoming part of long-term life planning, much like buying insurance or investing for retirement. But unlike most financial goals, this one comes with a biological deadline, and it isn’t cheap.The procedure typically costs ₹1.35- ₹3 lakh per cycle, with annual storage fees of ₹10,000–30,000 and potential IVF expenses later.

In 123 BCE, Gaius Gracchus passed the lex frumentaria, a law mandating that the Roman state sell grain to citizens at a fixed below-market price. The aim was modest: stabilize food prices, protect the poor. Within two generations, it had become free distribution.

Mint.India’s hotel industry is entering a an expansion cycle which is fuelled by domestic travel and the increasing shift of independent hotels to branded operators. "Domestic travel will remain the main driver of demand as India has 100 million people travelling and international inflow will only be a bonus," Baljee said.The company has 120 operational hotels, and 48 are in the pipeline.

India’s courts are keeping up with the times in their efforts to curb online piracy of films and television shows by issuing dynamic plus injunctions that are effective even for content that hasn’t been released yet.“We are witnessing a pivotal transition toward the dynamic plus injunction, where the Indian judiciary is providing ex-ante protection for content that hasn't even been expressed yet,” said Yash Vardhan Singh, counsel at Sarvaank Associates. “By moving away from static, URL-based orders, the courts are addressing the intractable reality of digital piracy, ensuring marquee properties like Stranger Things and Friends are protected from the moment of creation.”Experts said recent anti-piracy orders, particularly the dynamic plus injunction, expand the scope of dealing with emerging cyberspace issues.

Zerodha and Upstox hold mutual fund units in demat form. Groww, one of India’s largest investing apps, made demat the default for all new mutual fund purchases from June 2025, unless users opt out.

To see how this plays out in Indian equities, we analysed 18 flexi cap funds with over a decade of history. The findings show where investors should focus.Fund selection created enormous variance. The best performer delivered nearly 5% annual alpha over the benchmark.

Mint.Other action points listed in the minutes include: trimming state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)'s workforce, securing national networks, a roadmap for component localisation, and resolving issues in the undersea cable industry. SIM cards should be issued only on the basis of Aadhaar cards after biometric verification, it noted.Most countries tax income of companies that have data at the core of their business or some try to reduce screen usage in other ways with restrictions on timings of gaming services or age of consumers."Any kind of taxes on data usage would be impossible to implement.

After nine days of denial, the hard reality of an oil shock seems to have hit home. In the second week of joint US-Israel attacks on Iran, crude oil prices have leapt into three digits, with Brent within sniffing distance of $120 per barrel at one point. The oil spike battered stocks across Asia as plumes of smoke began to look like clouds of stagflation on the not-so-distant horizon.

Looking for companies with strong moats and pricing power is crucial because these businesses can protect profits and grow consistently over long periods.A moat refers to a durable competitive advantage—such as strong brands, high switching costs, or dominant distribution—that keeps competitors from easily taking market share.Companies with moats can maintain high margins and steady returns on capital, even during economic downturns.Here are three stocks with strong moats and pricing power. This editorial is not a stock recommendation.Titan Company is one of India’s leading consumer brands, known primarily for watches, jewellery, and eyewear.

Indian rupee slid to a record low of ₹92.33 against the US dollar.While oil-marketing companies and air carriers will bear a direct brunt of the higher energy prices, others will face an indirect impact as oil prices feed into their input expenses. The Indian economy could take a hit if the inflationary effect of the conflict dents consumer demand.“India Inc will likely see a partial impact in the March quarter earnings for companies still operating on existing inventories, while the full effect could become more visible in the first quarter of the next fiscal year,” said Pramod Gubbi, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers, a portfolio management firm.If the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the global oil trade passes, remains closed for 2-6 weeks, it can push the three-month average Brent prices to $80-90, as per analysts at Nomura.

As the conflict in West Asia has nearly frozen all trade movement through the Strait of Hormuz, Indian law firms have seen a surge in queries from companies seeking clarity on whether they can invoke a rare clause to mitigate risk—force majeure.It is a contractual provision that allows a party to suspend or avoid its obligations if an unforeseen event outside its control makes performance impossible. These may include war, government restrictions or major disruptions to shipping routes, if specifically covered in the contract.“The energy sector is reaching out the most, especially companies importing LNG (liquefied natural gas) and crude who now face stranded cargoes and unreliable shipping schedules,” said Charanya Lakshmikumaran, executive partner at Laxmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS).“The shipping and logistics sector is next, dealing with mounting delays, higher war-risk premiums and rerouted vessels,” she said.

Fintech Moneyview is hunkering down on a lending model just as digital lending peers such as Paytm and KreditBee are either moving away from it or focusing on growth in other models.In its draft IPO prospectus, the Bengaluru-based startup revealed plans to substantially expand default loss guarantee (DLG) arrangements with lending partners as part of its credit distribution strategy. A default loss guarantee allows a partner, such as a fintech, to compensate a regulated entity, such as a bank or NBFC, for loan defaults.The move comes even as financial institutions have been reassessing such guarantees after the Reserve Bank of India introduced guidelines in mid-2023 that capped DLG exposure at 5% of a loan portfolio and required board approval.Paytm, a listed fintech platform that began DLG-backed loans in 2024, began retreating from the arrangement due to high costs by mid-2025.

Stock market recap: The Indian equity markets witnessed a significant sell-off on Monday, as Nifty 50 plummeted 422.40 points (1.73%) to close at 24,028.05, while Sensex crashed 1,352.74 points (1.71%) to finish at 77,566.16.The downturn was primarily triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran, which sent Brent crude prices soaring above $114 per barrel. This energy shock, coupled with the Indian rupee hitting a record low of 92.35, sparked broad-based risk aversion.The advance-decline ratio was heavily skewed toward the bears, with over four stocks declining for every one that advanced, reflecting deep-seated weakness across the broader market.On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Auto were the worst laggards, with heavyweights like SBI and Tata Motors facing intense pressure.

New Delhi: The Centre has issued an order that updates norms for piston rings – a key component of internal combustion engines (ICE) – to help reduce carbon emissions, replacing standards that had been in place since 1977. The new standards came into effect on 10 February, said the order dated 12 February.Experts said the cost impact for most automakers was likely to be limited, as many already follow similar global specifications.

Two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, a chemical manufacturer, and an auto giant have established internal artificial intelligence (AI) teams and opened centres to increase automation across their businesses, as the technology’s rapid pace continues to upend business operations worldwide.Over the last 18 months, Swiss life sciences major Novartis International AG and Texas-based chemical manufacturer Celanese Corporation started AI councils to identify segments that can be automated. Indiana-based Eli Lilly and Co.

New Delhi: India has tightened access to domestic cooking gas as the escalating conflict in West Asia threatens fuel supplies and drives volatility in global energy markets.The Centre has prioritized household LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) consumption, and introduced a lock-in period between cylinder bookings, two people aware of the matter said.“The priority for LPG supply in this situation is domestic consumers. Further, in order to curb hoarding of cooking gas, a 25-day lock-in period has been implemented,” one of the two people mentioned above said on condition of anonymity.

Indian equities endured a punishing, volatile start to the week. While the Sensex initially plummeted more than 2,400 points and Nifty 50 broke below the 23,800 support level on Monday, a late tug-of-war saw the Nifty fight back to reclaim the psychologically important 24,000 mark.This bruising session comes as the geopolitical landscape undergoes a dramatic shift.

T20 World Cup victory on Sunday night - its second in a row after the 2024 triumph - is already shaping conversations around endorsements for cricketers, with top performers attracting early queries.Companies and industry analysts said the top players are going to see a 30-35% increase in their valuations, with speedster Jasprit Bumrah and skipper Suryakumar Yadav leading the pack. The two cricketers are now said to be charging around ₹6 crore and ₹4 crore per endorsement, respectively, confirmed two experts who did not want to be named.

"Khamenei Out.” That was the title of an event wager on the prediction market Kalshi. On the website of its rival, Polymarket, wagers were being made on “the timing of the Iran war” just before it began. Posts by Bubblemaps, a blockchain analytics tool, on X indicate that six accounts collectively pocketed $1.2 million in profit from Polymarket bets.

₹60 per 14.2 kg cylinder, taking them to the highest level since 29 August 2023.According to Nomura, every $10 per barrel increase in oil prices could shave 15 basis points off India’s growth and add 50 basis points to retail inflation. With oil prices already up nearly $50 per barrel since the start of the year, the impact on India’s growth-inflation dynamics could be significant.The Iran conflict could prove more disruptive to oil markets beyond the initial price spike than the Russia-Ukraine war.