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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd wants to position itself as an influencer, using wellness incentives to boost customer engagement, cost efficiencies and claims ratios.“Our thesis is very clear that we are building a long-term relationship with our consumers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A nationwide pharmacy strike planned for 20 May has been severely weakened after retailer associations in 12 major states, including West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, withdrew their support. The pullout followed a decision by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the national drug regulator, to review retail and online pharmacy operations, according to two officials familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity.The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), representing over 1.2 million retailers, had called for the shutdown to protest the unregulated growth of e-pharmacies.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Vedanta Ltd is set to overhaul its dividend policy, moving away from a structure that guarantees a fixed minimum payout to a more flexible, board-driven approach, which may impact the sentiments of investors who have long relied on the company’s predictable returns.Earlier, the mining giant was committed to paying at least 30% of profits as dividends, and now the board will have the flexibility to pay 30% or the amount they deem fit, chief financial officer Ajay Goel disclosed the move during a post-earnings call with analysts last week.Speaking on the change, Goel said the company’s dividend framework will transition from a “prescriptive” model to a more “principle-based” one. Vedanta's FY26 dividend payout was the lowest level since FY21.The timing is significant as Vedanta is in the midst of splitting into five separately listed entities, and the demerged entities will have a similar but separate dividend policy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.An industry body has asked the government to scrap a proposal to ban audit firms from offering non-audit services to clients for three years after their term ends.It said the move will lead to operational inefficiencies, increased costs and hurdles for large corporate groups, and force companies to depend on smaller auditors, which could compromise service quality in complex areas.Companies including EY, PwC, KPMG, Deloitte, BDO and Grant Thornton Bharat, among other audit firms, will be severely impacted if amendments proposed to the Companies Act of 2013 are implemented. These companies offer other advisory services besides audits for clients.The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), a body representing companies across sectors, submitted its comments and suggestions on the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, last week, Mint has learnt.According to the proposed clause in the bill, an auditor or audit firm shall not provide, directly or indirectly, any non-audit services to a company or its holding company or subsidiary.

Banks rushed to settle their foreign exchange positions ahead of Friday’s deadline set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), five treasury officials told Mint. Despite the new net open position (NOP) restrictions being framed as temporary, bankers expect these curbs to remain in place for several months.On 27 March, the RBI capped banks’ NOPs in the domestic market at $100 million at the end of each business day, and mandated that banks comply with this rule by 10 April.

India’s mutual fund body has asked the market regulator to allow fund houses to use intraday borrowings from banks to purchase securities after it deferred implementation of the new norms to July, according to two people aware of the development.On 13 March, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) tightened regulations and allowed fund houses to borrow funds from banks on an intraday basis only for repurchase or redemption of units, payment of interest, or income distribution-cum-capital withdrawal payouts to unitholders. The new rules were to have become effective on 1 April, Sebi said in a circular.“The circular will tie up mutual funds’ hands.

India’s defence exports surged to a record ₹38,424 crore in 2025-26, marking a 63% increase over the previous year, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday. The ballast was provided by defence public sector undertakings, whose outbound shipments saw an impressive 151% increase to ₹21,071 crore. Defence exports by the private sector recorded a relatively modest 14% rise to ₹17,353 crore.

The government’s ₹20,000 crore credit guarantee support for the microfinance sector, announced on 21 March, comes at a crucial time for smaller non-banking finance company-microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFIs), which are grappling with tight liquidity and risk-averse lenders.In an interview, Sadaf Sayeed, chief executive officer of Muthoot Microfin in New Delhi, told Mint the move could unlock lending, revive financial inclusion and support sectoral growth. Edited excerpts:This is a very welcome step and something the industry has been requesting for a long time.

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.

India’s fertilizer industry enters 2026 at a critical inflexion point: inventories are at record highs, yet the sector faces volatile global gas prices, West Asia risks, and a structurally subsidy-dependent business model. For investors, that means strong tailwinds on volume visibility but real caveats on margins and policy risk.The immediate backdrop is a whiplash from scarcity in 2025 to abundance going into kharif 2026.

HDFC group veteran Mistry seemingly borrowed words from Chakraborty’s statement to refute it. Mistry said he would not take on the responsibility of chairing the lender “if the systems, processes, governance practices in the bank did not align with my principles and my level of integrity.”Mistry, 71, told reporters on a separate call that the bank management will speak to all major shareholders over the next one or two days to address their concerns.

Bluechip stocks are shares of large, well-established companies with strong financial performance and a long history of stable earnings. These companies are usually industry leaders, have strong balance sheets, and often pay regular dividends to investors.Because of their size and reputation, bluechip stocks are considered relatively safer and less volatile than smaller or newer companies.

Strait of Hormuz. Of these, six are carrying LPG, four are transporting crude oil, and one vessel is transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). West Asia and the Strait of Hormuz are key for India's energy security, with about 90% of India's LPG imports and 50% of India's crude imports dependent on this region."The talks have been positive so far.

West Asia conflict has evolved in public perception—from a regional crisis, to a global disruption, and now to a household concern.Data suggests that search interest has gradually moved from general curiosity about the war to practical concerns about energy and cooking alternatives.Here’s a look at how India is exploring the unfolding situation through search trends.While the impact of conflict in West Asia wasn’t immediate for common Indians, it is now being felt in Indian kitchens. Despite the government’s assurances, images of long queues to get LPG cylinders are emerging from many parts of the country.In the virtual world, the panic is evident in Google searches, with interest in terms like LPG shortage, LPG prices, induction cooktop, and induction stove surging dramatically over the past few days.In the case of induction stoves and cooktops, the trend is not restricted to just Google searches.

Fertilizer is the largest commodity, the global price of which has a direct bearing on subsidy bills. In the case of petroleum, central subsidy is limited to cooking gas and kerosene, and often, state-owned auto-fuel retailers absorb the volatility in global prices by spreading out retail fuel price adjustments.On Friday, the government assured adequate fertilizer availability for the upcoming kharif season starting June.

healthcare access, and household finances months after their exit from the company.However, employees noted that the CEO, Ankur Jain, was not at his residence during the demonstration.The group has also launched an Instagram page documenting employee grievances and the protest.The protest underscores the severity of the financial and governance crisis at B9 Beverages, once among India’s fastest-growing craft brewers. What began as delayed salary payments in late 2024 escalated into halted production, large-scale exits and mounting statutory disputes—raising broader questions around startup governance, employee protections, and accountability in venture-backed firms.Employees said repeated attempts to seek clarity on repayment timelines failed to yield firm commitments, prompting the decision to protest outside the promoter’s residence.“There is no other place for us to protest, except outside his house,” one employee said.Jain expressed regret over unpaid salaries.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Lightspeed-backed Exponent Energy, a maker of batteries and equipment that allow rapid charging of electric three-wheelers, is setting up a subsidiary that will offer an innovative pay-as-you-go financing model to help expand its business across the country, according to top company executives. The finance subsidiary, Exponent One, will allow operators of autorickshaws to repay loans based on vehicle usage and their daily earnings instead of fixed equated monthly instalments.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : India’s top two-wheeler makers, Bajaj Auto Ltd, TVS Motor Company Ltd and Hero MotoCorp Ltd, say deeper localization and flexible manufacturing will help them blunt the impact of higher tariffs in Mexico, India’s largest two-wheeler export market by value. Senior management at the three listed companies assured investors that exports to Mexico would not face material disruption, citing local assembly arrangements and the ability to shift production across geographies if required.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to chartered accountants (CAs) in July 2017, shared his vision of “Big Eight" audit firms in India, of which he said four should be of Indian origin with a global footprint. The idea was not to displace the existing global Big Four, but to complement them with domestic champions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Is India’s civil aviation crunch a thing of the past? Signals from IndiGo, the airline around which last month’s crisis of flight cancellations swirled, suggest it will soon be. As do public assurances of a return to normalcy from this sector’s regulator.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Supreme Court’s ruling in the Tiger Global-Flipkart stake-sale case has been framed as a blow against tax-treaty abuse. In reality, it does something far more consequential: it rewrites the operating assumptions under which foreign capital has been invested in India for decades.