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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] goods companies are heading into 2026 expecting a pickup in volume-led growth, supported by stable commodity costs, easing inflation and revised goods and services tax (GST) rates, even as a weakening rupee continues to pose risks to margin guidance.Senior executives across fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and consumer durables companies said demand conditions are improving after a prolonged period of sluggish growth, aided by easing food inflation, GST changes and a more supportive macroeconomic environment.“If I had to look ahead to 2026, a large part of growth is likely to be volume-led.

₹6,049 crore, chief executive officer Akhilesh Kumar Dixit said in an interview on Monday.The enterprise and equity values of the deal are estimated at $723 million and $500 million, respectively, said another person in the know of the developments.The proposed transaction would rank among the largest deals in India’s fast-growing smart metering sector and highlights the financial stress at EESL, even as IntelliSmart plays a key role in the country’s $30-billion programme to replace 250 million conventional electricity meters with smart ones.Set up in 2019, IntelliSmart was awarded 22 million smart meter orders in the backdrop of India running the world’s largest electricity smart metering programme that aims to replace 250 million conventional meters with smart ones at a $30 billion investment. This will not just help reduce power theft but also ensure reliable electricity supply.IntelliSmart has installed 5 million smart meters and has presence across Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Bihar.

₹200– ₹350 per month delivers over 100 channels across multiple languages, making it the most economical and reliable shared-screen option. OTT, by contrast, requires multiple paid subscriptions and dependable broadband connectivity, both of which increase household costs.This, he added, explains why OTT growth remains urban-skewed and individual-first, while television continues to be family-first.The living-room television continues to function as a cultural anchor for Indian households, agreed Anil Suryavamshi, vice-president – digital (south & west) at media agency Carat India.“OTT fulfils the need for personalised, mobile-first viewing, but communal content still lives on TV,” Suryavamshi said.

Will and Ariel DurantIn the day-to-day intensity of building and running a business, it’s easy to get consumed by immediate decisions, metrics and crises. The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant reminded me of the importance of occasionally stepping back and zooming out. The Durants distil centuries into recurring themes: ambition, cooperation, conflict, resilience, and show how little human nature truly changes.

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]: After decades of calm, India’s paints industry has seen its equilibrium disrupted over the past year, as deep-pocketed conglomerates moved in—first with Aditya Birla Group’s Birla Opus, followed by JSW Paints’ acquisition of Dutch major Akzo Nobel’s India business.As competition surged, the industry’s largest players prioritised growth, often at the expense of near-term profitability.

processing, packaging, food-safety systems, branding and value-addition across all categories.Organized processors and brands are increasingly investing in modern facilities that meet food safety, traceability and quality standards, in line with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations.“Nowadays consumers are far more conscious about quality, hygiene, origin and nutritional information. This is pushing the demand and companies to adopt better processing practices and introduce new products,” said Yash Gawdi, founder & CEO, Candor Foods Pvt Ltd.According to doctors, the rising consumption of dry fruits and nuts reflects a broader shift.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. PNB Housing Finance Ltd has come full circle. Ajai Kumar Shukla took charge as managing director and chief executive officer on 18 December, bringing closure to the leadership vacuum created by the sudden resignation of Girish Kousgi on 31 July, an episode that had rattled investors.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Disney’s public image has taken a beating this year. It got dragged into the woke wars with its “Snow White" remake and angered both conservatives and liberals when the company briefly benched Jimmy Kimmel.

₹2,000 crore over the next three years to expand its battery recycling and critical minerals refining capacity, said co-founder and CEO Nitin Gupta.The company aims to scale up its rare earth recovery and recycling capacity in India to 100 tonne per day, from the current 1 tonne."Our (lithium ion) battery recycling capacity will increase to almost 300,000 tonne per annum from the current 17,000 tonne, almost 15 times the expansion," he said.Attero currently recovers rare earth elements from used permanent magnets and exports its recycled rare earth products. It recovers minerals such as neodymium and seramium that find end use in the permanent magnets in automotive and defence sectors.At a time when India is exploring ways to become self-reliant in critical minerals used in batteries, renewable energy components, defence and IT equipment, recycling of e-waste is increasingly seen as a major way to source these materials.India generates over 3.8 million tonne of e-waste annually.

HCL Technologies Ltd announced acquisitions for $400 million in the past week, the most spent on such transactions in three years, to strengthen its AI and data offerings for customers increasingly adopting automation.India’s third-largest IT services company said on Monday that it would spend more than $240 million to buy Jaspersoft, a US data analytics company. That day, HCL also said it would buy Wobby BV, a Belgian startup that provides AI agents for data analysis purposes.The company’s acquisition spree started on 18 December, when it said it would purchase the Telco Solutions business of Hewlett Packard Enterprise for $160 million.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. 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]. The year 2025 marked a shift in how small taxpayers approach investments and tax planning.

Gopal (Vittal) is one of those rare leaders who is equally left and right brained. I once barged into Gopal's office and found him listening to Kumar Gandharva while deep in his Excel sheets. — Sudhir Sitapati, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Godrej Consumer Products.Over the last nine-ten years, India's telecom sector has been buffeted into submission by the entry of the country's richest and most powerful businessman into phone services.

canceled more than 4,500 flights due to a pilot shortage, failing to meet new DGCA regulations capping pilots' flying hours from midnight to 6AM. A nationwide uproar prompted the aviation ministry and DGCA to launch an investigation, slash IndiGo's daily flights by 10%, and demand explanations from IndiGo chief executive officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers and the airline's chief operating officer Isidre Porqueras.While the Indigo cancellations seems to have been a case of mismanagement by the airline, the role of ministry of civil aviation and DGCA came under the lens for lapses.“They did not spot the craters in time, they did not prune the expanded schedules in time nor they did not verify if they had the pilots for the schedule, even when they saw the troubles brewing in November,” said Sanjay Lazar, aviation safety specialist and CEO of Avialaz Consulting.Six months ago, Air India's Flight 171 crashed seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad, with at least 260 fatalities.

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Anupamaa have defined households and behaviour patterns in India,” Mani says, adding that while IPL is a big story to be talked about, the company’s bread and butter is general entertainment.Other than reality programming dominated by the likes of Bigg Boss and web originals such as Criminal Justice and Special Ops 2.0, he points to the firm’s large library of Hollywood content, including slates from Peacock and HBO.“Cricket has been a very important propeller to build big viewership, but we are a 400 million monthly active user platform clocking a billion hours of watch time. That doesn’t happen just because of cricket,” he insists. One of the things with the Indian audience, Mani points out, is that you cannot have a one-size-fits-all approach.

prompts may be obsolete. Here today, gone tomorrow. An ‘agentic’ style AI will make prompts almost obsolete as they plan, decide and take action autonomously—a far cry from just Google answering questions.

Mining in India remains heavily shaped by environmental clearances, social expectations, and regulatory scrutiny. Projects move through multiple layers of approvals—from forest and wildlife permissions to geological assessment, land acquisition, and community consultations. Delays can stretch into years.

Write to Matthew Dalton at [email protected] and Jenny Strasburg at [email protected] all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint.

Mint in an interview that the company, which currently holds nearly 10% market share in the Indian smart metering space, aims to double its share in the next three to five years.Khaitan did not give a timeline for its public listing plans, but emphasized that the company is well-capitalized for expansion. “We are certainly looking at hitting the public markets.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: Foreign banks might have "lost the plot" about two decades ago to make it big in India, losing ground to local private banks, but HSBC India's chief executive, Hitendra Dave, now wants to use a recent approval to open new branches to regain some of that ground. In January, the bank got a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) go-ahead to open 20 branches across cities such as Lucknow, Amritsar, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, and Dehradun among others.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Inside a closed Los Angeles courtroom, something wasn’t right. Clerks working for family court Judge Amy Pellman were reviewing routine surrogacy petitions when they spotted an unusual pattern: the same name, again and again.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—In one of the first big political tests of AI, Big Tech won. But the fight has given new signals of populist opposition to technology that holds the promise of eliminating lots of jobs.