India Financial News

Stock market recap: Indian equities witnessed a significant sell-off on Monday, 2 March, as escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia triggered a global "risk-off" sentiment. The Nifty 50 plummeted 312.95 points (1.24%) to settle at 24,865.70, while Sensex shed 1,048.34 points (1.29%) to close at 80,238.85 in a volatile session. India VIX, or the fear gauge, surged more than 20% to cross the 17 level.

New Delhi: India’s top carmakers are seeking alternative sources for lithium-ion cells that go into electric vehicle batteries as they seek to secure supply to counter China’s unpredictable curbs.Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, the country’s second-largest carmaker, has begun talks with Germany’s Volkswagen Group, which has a lithium-ion cell subsidiary PowerCo, for future supply, the company said at Kotak Institutional Equities’ Annual Investor Conference last week.While Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd will depend on its group firm Agratas, Hyundai Motor India Ltd has inked a partnership with Exide Industries Ltd to procure locally made cells from the gigafactory under construction in Bengaluru.Lithium-ion batteries account for more than a third of an EV’s cost. Diversifying cell supply is important after China imposed restrictions on the export of rare-earth magnets, another critical component used in building motors.

BENGALURU: Reliance Retail is reshaping its fashion business around faster-moving private labels as it looks to win over India’s young shoppers, betting speed and control over its own brands will be critical as competition intensifies across apparel and lifestyle retail.The shift is visible across its brands, such as Azorte and Zivame, where the retailer is speeding up product cycles, adding more trend-focused styles, and investing in tech-enabled store experiences for consumers who increasingly discover fashion through digital content and influencers.The push reflects how Reliance Retail is adapting to a market where younger consumers are increasingly setting the pace of competition.“India’s median age is 26. If you are in an aspirational category like fashion, lifestyle or beauty and you are not targeting this segment, then you are missing the obvious,” said Ankur Bisen, senior partner at The Knowledge Company.

Domestic equities tumbled under relentless selling pressure on Monday as the US-Israel and Iran conflict stoked fears of elevated crude oil prices and clouded India Inc’s earnings outlook for the coming quarters.India’s benchmark Nifty 50 fell 1.2% to 24,865.7, tracking weakness across Asian markets, though it fared marginally better than most emerging peers. Thailand led the declines, plunging nearly 4%, followed by Indonesia and Hong Kong, where benchmark indices slipped 2-3%.

New Delhi: Basmati rice exporters will meet officials of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) this week to assess the fallout of escalating tensions in West Asia, as shipping disruptions and rising freight and insurance costs threaten India’s nearly $6 billion basmati trade in FY25, as per people in the know.The move comes amid growing uncertainty over consignments bound for the Gulf region, which accounts for nearly 60-70% of India’s basmati exports. Exporters said that while the immediate damage is still being assessed, several shipments are either stuck in transit or held up at ports, raising concerns over delayed payments and contractual risks if the conflict is prolonged.“Exports have come to a standstill in some corridors.

aviation and maritime corridors that connect India with key West Asian markets, complicating travel planning for patients and increasing freight expenses for exporters.While companies have yet to report a sustained demand shock, hospitals and drugmakers say the disruption to mobility and logistics systems underpinning cross-border healthcare and medicine trade raises the risk of softer medical travel volumes and higher export costs if tensions persist.The aviation disruption is particularly significant for India’s medical tourism sector, which recorded approximately 644,387 foreign tourist arrivals in 2024. It is particularly exposed to West Asia, a region that accounts for nearly 18% of inbound patients, or about 115,000 travellers, seeking treatment ranging from complex surgeries to advanced clinical care.As regional airspace comes under heightened security scrutiny, industry leaders say travel uncertainty is beginning to influence patient decision-making.

MSMEs, accounting for about 45% of India’s total exports, any prolonged instability threatens not just margins but order continuity.“We are fortunate that our goods are not stuck in transit,” said Sushma Morthania, director at Shezar Technologies, which exports electronic components worth around ₹50 lakh each month. Nearly 40% of her shipments go to West Asia, Europe, and parts of Latin America via Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port.

drive up natural gas prices and freight costs, industry officials and analysts said.Although the government makes a provisional estimate of the fertilizer subsidy at the start of the financial year—based on sowing patterns, irrigated area and historical demand—it carries an implicit obligation to enhance the allocation if unforeseen developments arise.Currently, the fertilizer subsidy is projected at ₹1.71 trillion for the next financial year, slightly lower compared to the revised estimate of ₹1.86 trillion for the ongoing 2025-26 fiscal (FY26)."If the crisis persists for long, the fertilizer prices are expected to go up which might require higher subsidies," said an industry official on the condition of anonymity. In the past, the government has been making special financial provisions for additional subsidies in case of a spike in global prices.Natural gas, the primary feedstock and energy source for urea production, accounts for a bulk of fertilizer manufacturing costs, making the sector highly sensitive to price spikes.Research firm Zero Carbon Analytics has said that of the top countries that import oil and gas via the Strait of Hormuz, Japan faces the most direct risk of disruption, due to its high share of oil and gas trade through the shipping route and its reliance on imported oil and gas.

Mint.Today, Milky Mist is one of India’s fastest growing milk product brands with a 30% compounded annual growth rate between FY23 and FY25. Last fiscal year, the company clocked revenue of ₹2,350 crore with a product range that spans the entire milk spectrum—paneer, ghee, butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, chocolate and more.It is this exercise that has also emboldened him to try something few private sector dairy players have attempted so far—become a pan-Indian brand.The milk sector in India is dominated by strong regional players, almost all of them backed by state governments. They include Mother Dairy (Delhi), Nandini (Karnataka), Saras (Rajasthan), Aavin (Tamil Nadu), Milkfed (Punjab), Milma (Kerala) and Parag (Uttar Pradesh), to name a few.

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crude flows, has emerged as a flashpoint after US and Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory actions by Tehran. While there has been no formal closure, heightened uncertainty has been enough for carriers to alter schedules and pause sailings.Shipping majors including Mediterranean Shipping Company and A.P.

AI-focused data centre can consume as much electricity as 100,000 households, while the largest facilities under construction could consume 20 times as much.In 2024, data centres accounted for 1.5% of global electricity consumption, largely concentrated in the US, China and Europe. Global data-centre electricity consumption is expected to more than double to 945 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030, equivalent to more than half of India’s electricity consumption in 2023-24 (1,622 TWh).The IEA estimates data centres will account for about half of electricity demand growth in the US between 2025 and 2030.

In Indian boardrooms, ‘AI-enabled’ could overtake ‘digital transformation’ in its buzz quotient. If it’s new, app-based and comes with a valuation expressible in unicorns, it must be good, right? Well, India has always had a muscular pro-innovation bias. From UPI to ONDC, from Aadhaar to account aggregators, it has shown the world that technology can leapfrog infrastructure.

India is fast becoming one of the world’s biggest AI user bases. The question now is how it can turn that scale into superpower status rather than just training Silicon Valley for free.That will be a tall order for a country largely caught flat-footed by the boom. But let’s start with the basics: The three main building blocks of AI are talent, compute (including high-end chips and infrastructure) and data.

₹366/bag, said a Jefferies India report dated 1 March. One cement bag weighs 50 kilograms.“Dealers in Ahmedabad said that hike attempts are being made slowly by companies to revert to stronger pre-September levels,” added Jefferies.Infrastructure momentum is aiding demand.

Automobile sales in February were good for almost all sub-segments and companies, but the performance of Tata group companies stood out. Domestic sales of Tata Motors’ commercial vehicles (CV) grew 32.8% year-on-year to 40,893 vehicles, whereas rival Ashok Leyland Ltd’s growth was 28% to 20,314 units.The robust data vindicates statements from CV makers that replacement cycle demand is kicking in. The average fleet age needing a replacement is now 9-10 years versus 7-7.5 years before covid.

Climate litigation often feels like a distant Western concern, unfolding in American federal courts or European tribunals. Yet, the legal foundations that make such cases possible are now firmly in place in India. The shift has been gradual, almost quiet, but is unmistakable.

India’s economy is growing fast. The speedometer looks impressive. The engine, however, is increasingly running on debt.

streaming business is unsold inventory and falling acquisition prices, as studios are sitting on hundreds of crores of ready‑to‑release films and 40‑45 web series that no buyer wants.OTT revenues in India are estimated to be around ₹37,000 crore, in a mix of advertising and subscriptions.Meanwhile, the overall content spend has been halved and per‑episode costs are now benchmarked against TV rates, forcing producers to do more with less. Plus, the number of Indian originals has gone down, with many creators switching back to feature films, because a premium series can take over a year to develop.The rapid commissioning spree also created a shortage of experienced writers, directors and crew, hurting quality and making it difficult to scale new projects.Still, 2025 has witnessed intense licensing wars for theatrical releases.

₹9,200 crore, in annual revenue by 2030, by which time it aims to build 350 megawatts (MW) of operational capacity. The strategy contrasts with peers announcing gigawatt-scale investments, even as demand for AI infrastructure accelerates across the country.“We of course hope that in the next five years, we can scale our business up to $1 billion in annual revenue.

Mint analysis of vehicle registration data from the Vahan dashboard shows the share of overall EV sales has risen from under 1% until 2020 to 8% in 2025. Adoption accelerated after 2021 amid a stronger policy push.Compare this with the government’s ambitious target of 30% EV penetration by 2030—it’s an unachievable goal.“Realistically, the aim looks extremely difficult to achieve; even with strong growth, crossing the 10–12% threshold by 2030 itself would be challenging under current conditions,” said Rajat Mahajan, partner and auto sector leader at Deloitte.The concern is not just about missing a numerical target.