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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Since its merger-led transition into a bank in 2024, Slice has been moving away from an almost fully unsecured lending portfolio to a large, secured loan book, the bank’s top executive told Mint. Managing director and chief executive Rajan Bajaj said secured lending, which currently accounts for about 22% of the company’s portfolio, is expected to become the dominant segment over the next decade.“For us, secured business is growing faster than unsecured and will continue this way.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A new report suggests that India's budget and mid-scale hotels may be overbuilt by global standards, offering far more amenities than their international counterparts. Features such as multiple restaurants, banquet halls, and event spaces have become standard across categories, driven by strong demand for weddings and social gatherings.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A working group constituted by the Indian market regulator is discussing measures to improve the country's stock lending and borrowing framework through greater custodian participation and digitization of the Securities Lending and Borrowing Scheme (SLBS) processes, three people aware of the development said.The move is part of a push by chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey to deepen cash markets and offer investors alternatives to the risky derivatives segment.The key part of the discussions is a plan to push custodians to actively pitch the scheme to investors whose shares they safeguard. Currently, the process is hampered by ‘prohibitive’ 125% margin requirements and a manual trading system that relies on phone calls rather than digital screens.The regulator aims to link cash and derivatives markets better to improve price discovery systems.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: Earning ₹12 lakh and paying zero tax is no longer the ceiling under the new regime. With the right salary structure and employer-backed benefits, even professionals earning ₹15 lakh, or more, can reduce their taxable income to zero.That shift marks a break from the old regime, where tax planning revolved around deductions such as house rent allowance (HRA), leave travel allowance (LTA), home loan interest and Section 80C investments.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: India’s major ports are set to extend relief measures for exporters hit by disruptions from the ongoing West Asia conflict until the end of April, according to two people aware of the development, as shipping delays and logistics costs remain elevated.The extension will allow exporters to continue availing waivers on ground rent and dwell time charges, along with concessions on reefer plug-in fees and certain vessel-related charges for cargo stranded en route to West Asian markets.The measures, first rolled out in early March, initially covered cargo impacted until 15 March and were later extended to 31 March. With the conflict persisting and containers continuing to face delays and rerouting, authorities are considering a further extension through April.An extension would provide breathing room to exporters grappling with delayed shipments and working capital pressures due to longer transit times and supply chain disruptions, one of the people cited above said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Big investors are no longer content to just back funds, they increasingly want to invest directly in the deals those funds pursue.In India’s private markets, this push for co-investment rights is giving limited partners (LPs) more control over where their money goes and better economics, while encouraging fund managers to offer such access to secure commitments and execute larger deals. What was once optional is quickly becoming standard in fund negotiations.“Co-investment has become almost a common ask by investors in any new fund raise.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Centre is building a digital system to track the sale of its urea, in an effort to curb diversion and hoarding of its most-utilized fertilizer at a time of broken supply chains and concerns of food security.The new system, spearheaded by the Department of Fertilizers, will require Aadhaar-based biometric authentication through a mobile app currently under development, two people familiar with the plan said. At a later stage, the system will also integrate farmers' land records, crop details, and fertilizer requirements based on landholding.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The 10-year government securities yield climbed from 6.68% on 27 February 2026 — a day before the US-Iran conflict broke out — to 7.1% by 2 April, before easing slightly to 6.98% as of 13 April.The spike has pushed long-duration debt mutual funds into negative territory, with the category down an average 1.11% since the war began.Long-duration funds, classified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as those with a Macaulay duration of more than seven years, are among the most interest rate-sensitive debt fund categories. When rates fall, bond prices rise and investors gain; when rates rise, the reverse happens, leading to mark-to-market losses.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The government is revamping Ayurveda institutes, modernizing hospitals, upgrading research and globalizing traditional systems for medical tourism, as announced in Union Budget 2026.Morbidity codes for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems have now been incorporated into the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases, and an index for the International Classification of Health Interventions through traditional medicines has also been agreed upon.This could, in time, position India as a hub for Ayurvedic and traditional medicine treatments.But can treatments at AYUSH centres be claimed in a cashless manner like allopathic procedures?The answer lies in how insurers currently interpret such treatments.Health insurance policies state that “inpatient treatments under Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy are covered.”For cashless claims, treatments must be taken at network hospitals. Reimbursement claims — where patients pay first and submit bills later — can be more complicated.Given the early stage of such claims, insurers and third-party administrators (TPAs) are balancing two competing pressures: honouring AYUSH claims as mandated by the government and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), while protecting portfolios from treatments that are not medically mandatory but taken for rest, restoration or wellness — where billing limits may not be clearly defined.The ecosystem for cashless claims is still evolving.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: India plans to prepare an Approved List of Battery Manufacturers (ALBM) to be the exclusive equipment vendors for government-supported energy storage schemes and projects, following a similar mandate for the solar sector. The goal is to ensure the country’s energy security by encouraging local manufacturing and reducing reliance on imports.The government may announce its plans for ALBM and introduce draft norms for localization in the current fiscal year, two people familiar with the matter said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For salaried employees in the new tax regime, the list of meaningful tax-saving components has shrunk. Popular elements such as house rent allowance (HRA) and leave travel allowance (LTA) have lost relevance for those who have shifted to the simplified structure.

Mumbai: The Nuvama Group’s private equity arm has invested ₹200 crore for a minority stake in Val-Met Engineering, betting on a specialized supplier of aerospace and defence materials as global manufacturers move more of their high-end production to India.“Over the last couple of years, there has been a rising focus in India and globally to become more self-reliant. Sensitive sectors like aerospace, defence, industrial and advanced/value added manufacturing have been the biggest beneficiaries of this shift in mindset,” Pranav Parikh, managing partner and head of private equity at Nuvama Asset Management, told Mint in an interview.According to Parikh, global conflicts and geopolitical uncertainties have made domestic self-sufficiency a critical priority.

FPIs, amid a two-week shaky truce between Iran and the US announced last week, fuelled the market's first gain in six weeks through last Friday.A breakthrough in the Islamabad talks could have spurred further closure of bearish bets, while the failure to reach an agreement could result in initiation of fresh shorts, analysts said.Last week, the Nifty recovered almost 8.5% from its 52-week low of 22,182.55 on 2 April through Friday's close of 24,050.6, as oil plunged 13% to $95.2 a barrel following President Donald Trump's announcement of a two-week ceasefire to resolve the conflict in West Asia.With talks in Islamabad having failed, uncertainty rises again over volatile oil prices, although a collapse in Nifty to the 52-week low is unlikely unless the fighting resumes, per G Chokkalingam, founder of research firm Equinomics. “If the truce still holds we may see a tempered fall rather than an oversized one , followed by a period of consolidation.”While FPIs net sold shares worth ₹18,274.6 crore last week, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth ₹21,602.32 crore, according data from the National Securities Depository Ltd.However, in addition to the net institutional inflow of ₹3,328 crore, according to depository data, FPIs closed out or covered ₹9,775 crore of cumulative short index futures–Nifty and Bank Nifty–positions last week, which accounted for much of last week's rally."Last week's rally was led by FPI short-covering," said Rohit Srivastava, founder of analytics firm IndiaCharts.

With the introduction of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill of 2026 (JV2), India’s government has made one thing unmistakably clear: the decriminalization of various actions covered by the country’s statute book is not a one-time gesture, but a sustained and serious programme of reform. Covering 79 Central Acts in a single sweep, the JV2 Bill follows the Jan Vishwas Act of 2023 and picks up where the Select Committee-examined 2025 bill left off. The ambition behind this exercise deserves recognition on its own terms.

₹28,292.1 crore in the financial year ended March 2026 (FY26) was lower than the previous year’s ₹32,184.2 crore, marking the third decline in total shareholder returns - comprising dividends and buybacks - over the past six years, and the fourth such fall since the company went public in 2004.This 12.1% fall in total payouts in FY26 follows a 3.87% decline in FY24. At least twice before—in 2021 and 2016—Tata Sons’ income from TCS dropped over the previous year.As India’s largest IT services company continues to explore acquisition opportunities, analysts are questioning whether Tata Sons can continue to rely on cash from its crown jewel, TCS, which accounted for 83% of Tata Sons’ ₹38,835 crore revenue in the year ended March 2025 (FY25).Shares of TCS closed 2.45% lower at ₹2,524.35 apiece on the BSE on Friday, a day after the company reported its first annual revenue decline in dollar terms since listing.TCS’s lower payouts to its parent come at a time when Tata Sons, under chairman N.

Farmers have been forced to pause harvesting and the moisture content in the standing crop has increased, making it unsuitable for immediate procurement. The slowdown has led to lower-than-usual arrivals in the wholesale markets, affecting early procurement by government agencies.According to Food Corporation of India (FCI) data, the government’s wheat purchase from farmers in the 2026-27 rabi marketing season (April–June) was 324,065 tonnes as of 8 April, compared to 398,030 tonnes a year ago.

Mint spoke with, companies are increasingly hiring law firms and investigative agencies before closing deals to ensure that none of the parties involved, including subsidiaries, parents or suppliers, feature on sanctions lists.Clients are now required to sign sanctions standard operating procedures (SOPs) before finalising deals, which mandate disclosures such as ultimate beneficiaries, end-use certificates, and verification of licensed vendors.The purpose of such stringent due diligence is to ensure that companies do not deal with sanctioned entities, thus preventing frozen assets, blocked payments, or stalled deals amid geopolitical tensions.“With growing awareness, turbulent global environment and growing tariff and sanctions regime, sanction checks are carried out on large and key vendors at a pre-transaction stage. Further, post transactions, clients are asking us to implement third-party diligence programs in the acquired company and also have a real-time sanctions screening process,” said Tarun Bhatia, managing director and APAC co-head at financial risk and advisory firm Kroll.A sanctions control and ownership test determines whether an entity is “blocked” due to ownership by sanctioned individuals.

Strait of Hormuz."The war will be over only when Israel wants it to be over and so it will continue in some form or shape and keep crude elevated," said the UAE-based ace investor Shankar Sharma. "The Indian market is going to be in a troublesome situation and returns at the portfolio level will remain muted as they have been for the past couple of years."Brent crude has risen 33% since the outbreak of the war on 28 February, reaching $96.62 a barrel on Thursday.

₹2,055 crore, or about $245 million, marking a more than 90% drop from Unacademy’s 2021 peak valuation. The management churn is notable as upGrad works through integration planning, regulatory clearances and a broader internal restructuring while also preparing for a public listing.upGrad Enterprise sells skilling and training programmes to companies, helping them address gaps in their workforce through courses tailored to business needs, according to a senior former upGrad employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss internal matters.

₹1,000-1,500 crore through an initial public offering (IPO), two people familiar with the matter said.The company has appointed Motilal Oswal Alternates Investment Advisors, Axis Capital and Nuvama Wealth Management as bankers for the process.If it goes as planned, the company will file its draft papers for a listing by the end of this financial year, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.Volatile equity markets and slowing capital flows due to the US-Iran war have forced several companies to defer or recalibrate their listing timelines this year.The companies did not respond to Mint’s requests for comments,sent on Wednesday, till the time of publishing.India’s home & furnishings market, valued at $34–36 billion in 2024, is witnessing a structural shift driven by rising disposable incomes, urbanization, and growing demand for branded, design-led offerings, according to a Redseer report. The market is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 11–13%, reaching $63 billion–$71 billion by 2030.As consumers move beyond functional needs toward aesthetics, comfort, and lifestyle expression, full-stack D2C players are well-positioned to lead this transition with end-to-end integration, multi-category expansion, and omnichannel reach becoming more prevalent, the report said.The report further highlighted that the market is gradually formalising, bringing greater standardisation, improved access to quality products, and a more curated experience for consumers across price tiers and city segments.In 2023, PAG-backed Nuvama bought a minority stake worth ₹250 crore in Ozone, helping the company expand its manufacturing capacity, reinforce brand presence, and explore potential synergistic acquisitions.

Has economic forecasting ever seemed so fraught with risk? A mix of almost imponderable new possibilities made possible by AI and the unpredictable state of the world makes people who trade contracts on so-called prediction markets seem foolhardy. Still, spare a kind thought for those of us in the commentariat who must hedge our prophesying.Put aside for a moment how long the truce between the US, Israel and Iran will last. And, if it does, how to estimate the huge backlog of ships and tankers waiting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz and how long this will take to clear.