COST Financial News

I have been visiting India for more than 40 years and speaking publicly about climate change for more than 25. Over that time, India’s transformation has been extraordinary. Few nations have had such rapid economic growth, technological progress and social change in such a short period.

markets, by their nature, eventually begin to price the world beyond the conflict.Nations often enter wars even when they can scarcely afford them. They end wars for the same reason. When the economic and political costs become unsustainable, conflicts eventually wind down.The current war in West Asia will likely follow a similar pattern.

Rising tensions between the US and Iran have pushed global energy prices higher, bringing ceramic tile manufacturers under pressure.

Indian banks are losing ground among working-age savers, even as retirees return in growing numbers to park money in fixed deposits and savings accounts.Recent data from the Reserve Bank of India shows the share of deposits held by working Indians aged 25 to less than 60 has steadily declined over the past two years, highlighting how younger savers are no longer reliant on banks to grow their money.The working population held 55.46% of retail deposits in December 2025, down from 57.41% in March 2023, the earliest comparable data. That is a change of 195 basis points (bps).By contrast, the share of depositors aged 60 and above rose sharply to 40.6%, from 38.25% as of March 2023, up 235 bps.

These are sombre times for the world. The big conflict in West Asia is giving everyone the jitters. For readers of a business paper, the main questions would be related to its impact on markets.

₹18,500 per 100 kilograms in January, natural rubber price has risen to ₹21,600 in March so far. Soaring crude oil prices would add to this pain.

Mint explainsDSR refers to a cultivation method where seeds are sown directly into the field without transplanting seedlings, saving water, labour, and time compared to traditional methods.This eliminates several stages involved in conventional rice farming such as nursery preparation, ploughing, puddling and transplanting. In the traditional system, farmers grow seedlings in nurseries and later transplant them into flooded, puddled fields.Puddling is particularly concerning from an environmental perspective because it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas.Though not a new technique, DSR is increasingly seen as a transformative approach to rice cultivation as India faces growing concerns over groundwater depletion, labour shortages and climate sustainability.Experts say the technique can play an important role in addressing groundwater depletion, particularly in major rice-growing states where intensive irrigation for paddy has put pressure on water resources.Producing a kilogram of rice requires 3,000–5,000 litres of water under conventional methods.

National Aluminium Co. Ltd’s (Nalco) shares are up more than 8% since the West Asia conflict began as some aluminium producers in the region have been forced to suspend operations, creating a supply shortage.

₹36,800 crore) over the next four years.Once a diversified conglomerate spanning branded textiles, apparel, garmenting, real estate and specialised engineering businesses, Raymond has since restructured its portfolio to unlock shareholder value.The company spun off its textile business, which is now listed separately as Raymond Lifestyle, while consolidating its engineering and aerospace platform under Raymond.Today, the company operates through two segments:• Precision Technology & Auto Components (JK Maini Precision Technology)• Aerospace & Defence (JK Maini Global Aerospace)JK Maini Precision is the largest contributor, generating ₹1,225 crore and accounting for 72% of revenue, while Aerospace & Defence contributes 16%.Against this backdrop, Raymond’s strategy now hinges on how effectively it can capture the emerging opportunity.JK Maini Precision (JKMPTL) is the core growth engine within Raymond’s engineering platform.The segment integrates the company’s Tools & Hardware division, Ring Plus Aqua, and automotive operations. JKMPTL functions as a Tier-1 supplier of mission-critical precision components to both domestic and global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).The division manufactures over 2,000 auto components, operates across 18+ global customer locations, and serves more than 100 large global clients.JKMPTL holds strong and defensible positions across several legacy product categories.In steel files, it ranks No.1 globally in installed capacity, with a 25% global market share.

small finance banks, such as the requirement to lend 60% of loans to priority sectors, drops to 40% for universal banks, giving lenders greater flexibility in portfolio construction and improving return metrics. The transition would also allow AU to expand into larger-ticket lending, enabling greater cross-selling and higher fee income growth.The shift could also strengthen the bank’s credibility among depositors and help widen its funding base.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

NEW DELHI: The Centre’s second e-bus tender under the ₹10,900 crore PM E-Drive scheme, for 2,900 e-buses in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, and Mumbai, and 3,330 buses in Delhi has been deferred by one month.The tender for 6,230 e-buses opened for manufacturers and operators on 9 January this year, and was scheduled to close on 10 March. But a 6 March notification by Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), the government’s demand aggregation agency, showed the closing date was deferred to 9 April.

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.

Budget-friendly” isn’t typically a descriptor you find next to “MacBook.” But priced at $599—$499 with a student discount—Apple’s new MacBook Neo is the least expensive laptop it has ever offered. Expect its four colourful variants to start gracing college campuses and coffee shops very soon.Apple’s strategy seems straightforward: A cheaper laptop puts it in direct competition with Google’s Chromebook, now a mainstay of classrooms globally, plus a whole universe of Windows-powered laptops. It could lock in the next generation of Apple laptop users.Yet Apple could have justifiably made that kind of move at any point in the Chromebook’s almost 15 years on the market.

NEW DELHI: India builds some of the world’s fastest expanding highway networks but depends on imports for a large share of the bitumen used to bind asphalt.The country needs about 9 million tonnes of bitumen each year for road construction. In FY25, domestic production was 5.3 million tonnes, with the rest imported—largely from West Asia, a region currently facing conflict.Against this backdrop, bio-bitumen, an alternative derived from biomass, could replace up to a third of petroleum-based bitumen, potentially reducing India’s import dependence.

₹480–540 crore across eight new hotel and resort projects as it expands both owned and asset-light operations.The company will add about 600 rooms to its existing portfolio of 1,000-odd keys, Samir MC, chief executive officer (CEO) of Tamara Leisure Experiences, told Mint.Alongside owned developments, Tamara plans to expand by managing and franchising hotels through an asset-light model that enables pan-India expansion with lower capital investment and risk.This comes at a time when many Indian hotel ownership companies have been moving towards an asset-light or asset-right strategy over the last decade to balance out their portfolios amid strong travel demand.Founded about 15 years ago by billionaire co-founders of Infosys, SD Shibulal and S Gopalakrishnan, Tamara operates nine self-owned and managed properties across its three brands. These include The Tamara, a luxury leisure property which it owns and operates, O by Tamara, which are upscale city hotels, as well as Lilac by Tamara, a mid-scale hotel brand.