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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Embassy Office Parks Reit met its FY26 leasing guidance of 6.4 million square feet (msf), aided by organic expansions and acquisitions. Healthy leasing momentum across Bengaluru, Noida and Chennai assets helped portfolio occupancy rise 300 basis points (bps) year-on-year to 90% as of March.Global capability centres (GCCs) contributed about 60% to Embassy's total leasing, driven by technology, healthcare and BFSI sectors. With seven new GCC entrants in FY26, Embassy has 102 GCCs in its occupier portfolio of 280 corporates.The prospects for Grade A office spaces would be upbeat in FY27 given favourable demand-supply dynamics.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The promoters of Faridabad-based Norisys Technology Pvt Ltd, a premium electrical switches and accessories maker, have engaged Alvarez & Marsal to explore a potential stake sale, according to two people familiar with the matter.“The company is seeking an overall valuation of ₹5,000–6,000 crore. The exact deal structures are yet to be decided as it is still early days but it is likely to be a majority stake sale,” one of the people said.“It is an extremely profitable company even at a small scale and has grown well in the last few years, so several large private equity players will be tapped to test demand for the asset,” according to the second person.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With global energy dependency rapidly shifting from conventional sources to nuclear power, it is natural to fear a Chernobyl or Fukushima-like incident anywhere in the world today. Human exposure to nuclear risks is also rising through genetic research in agriculture, radiation use in healthcare, and the increasing possibility of nuclear conflict.In such circumstances, a natural question arises: do our everyday insurance policies cover nuclear risks?As on date, none of the insurers in India provide coverage for nuclear exposure or related nuclear incidents.Whether personal, institutional, or commercial, almost all insurance policies exclude coverage for risks arising out of nuclear exposure or similar events.Apart from underwriting challenges due to lack of data, the core reason is structural: nuclear exposure is rarely individualistic.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.After recovering nearly 7.5% between the March and April derivatives series amid the Iran war, options traders are baking in a near 900-point range for Nifty from Tuesday's closing of 23,995.70 over the next one week, per exchange data.Traders expect the Nifty to trade in a 23,558–24,442 range until next Tuesday, based on the volume weighted average price per share (65 shares make one contract) of the 24,000 call and put options expiring on 5 May."The price of the 24,000 straddle (call and put) indicates a rangebound market after the smart rally from the March to April derivatives expiry," said Kruti Shah, quant analyst at Equirus.Shah expects upside pressure to set in around 24,550–24,600, which coincides with the market high of 21 April — 24,601.7 — after which the index corrected 2.5% to Tuesday's close of 23,995.7.A Nifty derivatives series expires on the last Tuesday of every month. During the course of an expiry month, the NSE offers a weekly index options expiry every Tuesday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Broking firm Sahi has raised about $33 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Accel Global, more than tripling its valuation to about $200 million, the company’s top executives told Mint.Less than a year ago, it had raised funds at a valuation of $60 million.“It has come on the back of the trajectory of the business in terms of how fast we have been able to grow, but more importantly, it's the quality of the business,” said Dale Vaz, founder and chief executive, Sahi.Accel Global led the round with a $20 million investment, with the rest coming from existing investors Elevation Capital and Accel Partners India. This takes the company’s total funding to over $43 million in under 18 months of operations.Founded in December 2024 by former Swiggy chief technology officer Dale Vaz and ex-Kotak Securities executive Manish Jain, Sahi offers a chart-first interface with features like real-time Greeks, open-interest tracking, technical indicators and one-click execution.“Since launch, we’ve been able to onboard about 400,000 demat accounts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.When NV Group launched Smoke Lab, it aimed to do vodka differently—ditching familiar citrus and berry profiles for local flavours.“When we started doing flavours, nobody was thinking about Indian flavours. Everybody was doing orange, lime, lemon and raspberry.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.On Monday, shares of One97 Communications Ltd, which operates Paytm, fell more than 8% intraday before trimming losses to close 1% lower at ₹1,137.80 apiece on the National Stock Exchange. The decline followed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) cancellation of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd’s (PPBL) licence.But what triggered the action, and what does it mean for India’s fintech major? Mint breaks it down.PPBL, launched in May 2017, had long been under regulatory scrutiny over its operational structure and dependence on its parent’s technology systems and data-sharing arrangements.Over time, RBI flagged concerns including breaches of deposit limits and weak know-your-customer (KYC) controls, which it said weakened safeguards against money laundering risks.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Venture capital and growth investing firm Peak XV Partners has fully exited One MobiKwik Systems Ltd through an over ₹130-crore block deal, selling its remaining stake shortly after the fintech secured the non-banking financial services (NBFC) licence.The investor sold around 6.08 million shares, or about 7.7% of MobiKwik’s equity, at an average price of ₹214 apiece in a transaction executed at 9:15am on 28 April, according to two people aware of the matter.Buyers included private equity firm Florintree, hedge fund Viridian Asset Management, alternative investment firm Dymon Asia Capital and equity investment management firm Karma Capital, the people said.The ₹130-crore deal delivered about 3x returns for Peak XV on its investment in the company.Peak XV’s exit marks the departure of the last major PE fund from MobiKwik’s cap table. In September 2025, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) sold its 2.1% stake in a block deal, after which MobiKwik shares rallied as much as 14%.Peak XV, formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA, had been an early backer of MobiKwik and remained invested through the company’s public listing.The block sale came a day after MobiKwik announced that the Reserve Bank of India had approved its application for the NBFC licence.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Kolkata-based WishCare, known for its range of serums, sunscreens, and hair growth products, is exploring a majority stake sale that will value the brand at about ₹3,000-3,500 crore, three people familiar with the matter said.The company has appointed O3 Capital to help with the sale and several strategics and private equity funds will be tapped as part of the process, the people said on the condition of anonymity.“The deal is likely to attract a strategic buyer and feelers are expected to be sent to the likes of Marico, ITC and L'Oréal,” one of the people cited above said.India’s beauty and personal care (BPC) market, valued at $23 billion in FY25, is projected to touch $40 billion over the next four years, according to consultancy firm Redseer. Riding this surge in premium, science-led skincare demand, WishCare competes with fast-scaling brands such as Minimalist, Pilgrim, Dot & Key, The Derma Co, Arata, True Frog, Lotus Herbals and Auli Lifestyle across categories.Emails sent to WishCare, O3 Capital, Marico, ITC and L'Oréal did not elicit a response till the time of publishing.“The company clocked about ₹350 crore in revenue and ₹100 crore in Ebitda in the last financial year (FY26),” according to the second person.WishCare clocked about ₹200 crore in revenue in FY25 and has been profitable.At the upper end of the indicated valuation range, the deal would value the company at roughly 8–10x FY26 revenue and about 30–35x Ebitda, indicating strong investor appetite for profitable new-age beauty brands.Interestingly, L'Oréal is also evaluating the acquisition of personal care brand Innovist at a valuation of $350-400 million, Moneycontrol reported last month.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Quick home services startup Snabbit has raised $56 million as part of its Series D round, co-led by Susquehanna Venture Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investments' (MAVI), Unicorn Growth Fund, and Bertelsmann India Investments (BII).New investors on the company’s captable include MAVI, global marketplace investor FJ Labs and Susquehanna VC.“This round is really a mandate to build for the long-term,” said company founder and chief executive Aayush Agarwal in an interview with Mint. “It's about deepening our presence in existing markets, launching in new micro markets in cities we're live in and experimenting and launching new categories that increase the customer's wallet share.”India’s home services market was estimated at around $60 billion in FY25 and is projected to grow to nearly $100 billion, according to Redseer Strategy Consultants.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The India-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA) signed on Monday is the latest in a series of bilateral pacts India has struck. Once operationalized, it will allow India zero-duty access for all goods along with easier mobility for professionals to work in New Zealand, which has also committed to invest $20 billion in India over many years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In a shift from the ‘growth at any cost’ era, IT services industry leaders like Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, and Tech Mahindra Ltd are increasingly avoiding low-margin contracts, preferring to sacrifice top-line revenue to protect their bottom lines from the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).The change comes as generative AI begins to affect the traditional outsourcing model. By automating tasks that previously required thousands of engineers, AI is compressing deal values and forcing firms to choose between hyper-competitive, low-yield work and more lucrative, automated services.The impact of this selectivity is already showing up in the books.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For those who have faced a shortage of small-value notes and coins in their wallets, the next three months could bring a change.India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), is looking to install dozens of cash and coin dispensers by the end of June, as it leads an initiative by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ease access to low-denomination paper money and coins.The state-owned lender plans to install 60 such machines in markets and other high-traffic areas where demand for change is high, according to four people familiar with the development and a document seen by Mint.The rollout will cover branches with currency chests in cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, Amravati, Chandigarh, Vellore, and Shimla, among others. The idea is to cover 13-14 states, the person said.“If the bank sees usage pickup at these machines, it will gradually increase the number.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A nationwide shortage of Diet Coke is creating an opportunity for India’s direct-to-consumer zero-sugar beverage brands to win new customers as supply disruptions leave multinational soda makers short on shelves this summer.With demand for low-calorie drinks rising during the peak summer months of April and May, newer beverage companies are using the disruption to attract consumers who may not find their usual diet cola, betting that temporary shortages could translate into repeat purchases, industry executives told Mint.For many of these startups, including Paper Boat Zero, Chinni Kum, Zyro, and Jimmy's, the disruption has been less severe because a large part of their portfolio is sold in PET bottles rather than aluminium cans.Ankur Bhatia, founder of Jimmy’s, said the company’s bottle-based packaging has given it a ‘tactical edge’ because shortages in aluminium cans have worsened as beer and soft drink makers compete for the same production capacity. “The can-making lines are the same.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) plans to scale up its corporate finance team in India and expand into new sectors, as the New York-based consulting firm positions itself to capture a rise in dealmaking and sustained capital inflows into the country, senior executives said.The expansion comes amid a shift in global investor strategy towards long-term capital deployment in India, driven by strong underlying fundamentals, high-growth prospects and elevated public market valuations that are pushing deal activity, including cross-border transactions.“We are building a highly sector-specialized corporate finance team, that integrates seamlessly with the firm’s other offerings,” said Mohit Khullar, managing director and head of corporate finance at Alvarez & Marsal India.The firm’s corporate finance practice currently spans consumer, industrials, healthcare and pharma, with the recent addition of Nitin Lath as managing director for the sector.“We will specialize within pharma, with a strong focus on Indian branded formulations, niche generics and speciality pharma, as well as CDMOs (contract development and manufacturing organization) and APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients),” Lath said. “The pharma industry is undergoing a period of transformation, with several players re evaluating their business models and actively pursuing large M&A opportunities, including cross border transactions across the US and Europe.”Khullar said the firm will also expand into additional sectors such as financial services and technology in the coming months.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.One MobiKwik Systems Ltd expects to see margins improve after the Reserve Bank of India approved its application for a non-banking financial company (NBFC) licence, the company’s top executive told Mint.This marks a key regulatory milestone for the listed fintech as it looks to deepen its lending business. The licence will sit under wholly owned subsidiary MobiKwik Financial Services Pvt Ltd.“We have got this NBFC license to make our business more efficient and improve on margins,” said Bipin Preet Singh, chief executive officer of MobiKwik.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The impossible trinity, or trilemma, holds that a country cannot simultaneously maintain a fixed exchange rate, free capital movement, and an independent monetary policy; policymakers must prioritise two at the expense of the third.A strikingly similar trilemma sits at the heart of health insurance: the insurer’s duty to settle claims sustainably, the hospital’s duty to deliver effective, patient-centred care while earning a fair return, and the customer’s demand for affordability. Like the economic trilemma, this cannot be resolved by decree.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Acko General Insurance Ltd has appointed investment banks for an initial public offering in India that could value the startup at up to $2 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.The Bengaluru-based company has selected ICICI Securities Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, and the India unit of Morgan Stanley to manage the share sale, one of the persons said, asking not to be identified because the information is not yet public.Mint had reported on 14 December 2025 that the General Atlantic- and Multiples-backed insurtech firm was preparing for an offer that could raise $300–400 million.The offering is expected to include a mix of a fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale by existing investors, the second person confirmed.Mint has reached out to Acko, ICICI Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, and Morgan Stanley India for comment.Acko intends to file its draft prospectus through the confidential pre-filing route before the end of this calendar year, the third person said.Under regulations introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the confidential filing mechanism allows companies to undergo regulatory review without immediately disclosing detailed financials and business strategies. It also gives issuers the flexibility to withdraw the offering without public disclosure if market conditions deteriorate.The IPO push comes as Acko reports improving financial metrics.For the fiscal year ended March 2025, the company posted revenue of ₹2,837 crore, up 35% year-on-year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India is working on an overhaul of its firefighting vehicles—from identifying challenges in dense urban landscapes to building domestic testing capacity—as the government seeks to address critical gaps in fire safety infrastructure, according to two people aware of the development. The effort comes amid acute shortages of fire stations, equipment and personnel, raising concerns over response readiness as urban fire risks rise.As part of the plan to ensure adequate fire safety preparedness, the heavy industries ministry has started consultations to identify challenges faced by firefighting vehicle makers—lack of indigenous testing, import dependence for high-tech components, varied regulatory requirements across states, etc.—the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.To be sure, after the 15th Finance Commission had noted deficiencies in fire safety resources and recommended a ₹5,000-crore scheme to upgrade infrastructure and availability of trained manpower, the Centre launched a scheme for expansion and modernization of fire services with the recommended corpus in July 2023.India currently lacks any formal testing of firefighting vehicles and is considering setting up new facilities and upgrading existing testing agencies such as the Automotive Research Association of India (Arai) for the same, said the first person cited above.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The steep hike in securities transaction tax (STT) effective 1 April is beginning to eat into index futures and options volumes, analysts said. In 16 trading sessions on NSE through 24 April, the average daily turnover (ADT) of Nifty and Bank Nifty futures plunged 33% from a similar period in March to ₹24,860 crore, a development analysts attribute primarily to the tax increase.The Union budget for 2026-27 raised STT on equity futures by 150% to 0.05% on notional turnover, and on equity options by 50% to 0.15% on premium turnover.The other factor seen to have a smaller impact is the uncertainty whipped up by the West Asia war.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A little more than three years after the launch of ChatGPT, the chief executives of India's top information technology (IT) services companies are beginning to acknowledge concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) is eroding revenue.Over the last two weeks, bosses of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd, and Tech Mahindra Ltd have all pointed to AI squeezing revenues, and addressed concerns around higher productivity benefits. More AI tools mean lower human involvement, leading to lower billing rates and, ultimately, lower business.