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The Estée Lauder Companies has signed an agreement to acquire the stake it doesn’t already own in Indian luxury beauty company Forest Essentials, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2026, said Stéphane de La Faverie, president and chief executive officer of The Estée Lauder Companies.The deal completes an 18-year partnership with the luxury Ayurveda brand, which was founded by Mira Kulkarni.Forest Essentials sells Ayurvedic skincare and haircare products and competes with premium labels such as Kama Ayurveda. Estée Lauder had a 49% stake in the company in 2013, which it increased from a 20% stake it took in 2008.Speaking to Mint, La Faverie, said, “Today, this brand is the leader in prestige skincare in India, which is still a very small segment of the larger beauty business in India.

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: With a new duty slapped on solar module exports to the US, Africa may become an alternative destination for India-made solar power equipment, a government official said.To push solar module exports and project exports, Indian developers can also set up green energy projects through the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy, said in an interview."I believe Africa would emerge as a good destination for India. Not only module exports, but also for project exports, where people are able to go and set up projects as RESCO developers," the secretary said.Under RESCO, a company installs, operates and maintains a solar energy system on a consumer’s property.

After reaching a framework for a trade deal with India that raised the hope of bilateral ties settling down, Washington has thrown a fresh curve ball. On Tuesday, the US commerce department announced varying import duties on solar panels from three Asian countries, including a whopping 126% on those from India. The other two, Indonesia and Laos, also face similarly high tariffs.

renewable energy. "So, our companies will have to challenge that in the appellate forum; but until then, this will continue, this 126% which has been imposed," he said.

India has recently joined a growing list of countries weighing restrictions on children’s access to social media.Speaking on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit last week, information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government is discussing age-based restrictions on social media platforms. The remarks follow closely after the Economic Survey flagged the need to address “digital addiction” among the young.At the state level, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala are also examining similar restrictions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Henry Kissinger famously called Bangladesh a “basket case." As the nation goes to the polls Thursday—the first election since then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country in 2024 for India amid student protests—a question mark hangs over its future. Will Bangladesh become a basket case again? The country’s fate matters beyond its borders.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. RANGPUR, Bangladesh—In July 2024, when young Bangladeshis frustrated with their job prospects were taking to the streets, Faruk Ahmed Shipon joined them each day. To the amazement of the 25-year-old, the demonstrations grew into a revolution that toppled Bangladesh’s authoritarian leader, Sheikh Hasina, who had ruled the country for most of Shipon life.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Is Tehran moving towards ‘zero day’? Don’t get alarmed. I am not suggesting a possible US attack, but an unprecedented water stress that has gripped the Iranian capital.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Making passenger planes is an exceptionally daunting task. There are safety requirements and complex systems, not to mention sky-high costs.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Back in the day, when a country’s currency was under pressure, the worst thing it could do was impose capital controls. Stopping money from leaving might work temporarily, but it would cause investors to lose faith and shut the country out of financial markets in the long run.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. After a rocky ride, an India-US trade deal has finally been announced. It follows what was called the “mother of all deals" between India and the EU and Sunday’s long-horizon outline of growth policies as part of India’s budget for 2026-27.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump touts his Board of Peace as an organization of accomplished leaders that will displace the United Nations, with him as permanent chairman. But so far it is a group of countries more interested in currying favor with him than in solving pressing conflicts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Editor’s note (January 15th 2025): This article has been updated to take in developments. FROM DRUG use to libel suits, Elon Musk has long been able to shrug off problems that would have imperilled most bosses.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. FOR SEVEN decades Tokyo was considered the world’s most populous city. That was 15 years too long, according to data released last month by the UN.

₹8,000 crore, with assets surpassing ₹9,000 crore across 55 plants across India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Egypt.Often seen in impeccably tailored suits, he possessed a quiet, scholarly gravitas, though his interests spanned flying and painting. In his definitive biography of Birla, author Minhaz Merchant captures the essence of a man who managed to be both a “soft-spoken, sensitive individual” and a “hard-driving, visionary industrialist”.This refinement was anchored by a fierce sense of national pride.

Dear reader, as 2025, a year of global tumult and volatility, rolls by, Mint's reporters and columnists look around the corner on what is coming in 2026—to help you know what to expect and prepare for it. Tell us what you think at [email protected] a year marked by punishing US tariffs, climate-linked disruptions, and global uncertainty, India may finally be approaching a payoff phase.

China’s new economic model is putting the future of Asia’s Gen-Z at risk. The continent is home to some of the world’s most trade-oriented economies that rode globalization to lift the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions. But it’s now being hit by a double whammy: an export base that has come under pressure from a flood of cheap goods from China, unquestionably the region’s dominant power, and US President Donald Trump’s trade war.It is frustrating a generation already struggling with stagnant wages and soaring living costs.

Mint breaks down how Beijing managed this feat and what it means for India and the world economy.China’s outbound shipments have proved remarkably resilient. In the first 11 months of 2025, exports grew 5.7% even with average US tariffs at 47.5%. Sales to the US slumped 18%, but Chinese manufacturers more than made up for it elsewhere: exports to Europe climbed 9%, while shipments to Southeast Asia and Africa surged 15% and 27%, respectively.Largely, yes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. After a tepid FY24 and FY25, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is on the cusp of a recovery, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. High single-digit consolidated revenue growth is expected in FY26, with momentum improving to double digits in FY27.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The rupee breached 90 to the US dollar on Wednesday, marking a new low for India’s currency, which has steadily weakened over the year and is now the worst performer among major emerging- and advanced-market currencies. The rupee's slide (it has fallen more than 5.5% this year as of 2 December) has been driven largely by a trade impasse with the US and continuing foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows from Indian markets.