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Can the U.S. pivot from a military deterrent to a more integrated strategy? Write to me at [email protected]. Include your full name and location, and I might publish your response in a coming issue (if you’re reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply).This is an edition of the WSJ China newsletter, a weekly dispatch of exclusive insights on the contest between the U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A college senior called recently with a practical problem. He had suffered a cardiac episode some years ago and was finding it difficult to now increase his health cover. Every insurer he approached either declined or imposed permanent exclusions on cardiac conditions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.US-based FMC Corporation, a global agricultural sciences company, on Thursday said it has signed an agreement to sell its India commercial business to IPO-bound Crystal Crop Protection Ltd, a crop solutions company in New Delhi, for about $252 million.“FMC’s innovative portfolio, blockbuster brands and future pipeline give us an opportunity to provide Indian farmers access to innovative products,” Crystal’s chairman and managing director, Ankur Aggarwal, said in a statement. He added that the deal is aimed at accelerating innovation across both chemical and biological domains of crop protection.FMC will continue to receive all cash generated from the ongoing operation of the India business until closing, primarily through monetization of working capital.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Luxury home decor and furnishing brands are seeing a rise in demand in India as wealthy consumers splurge on larger homes, renovations and design-led interiors.From dinnerware costing several lakh rupees to collectable decor and contemporary furniture, affluent buyers are increasingly spending on their homes with luxury malls dedicating floors to what retailers describe as the "sleeper category".In New Delhi’s The Chanakya mall, an entire floor is now dedicated to luxury home and decor brands, including Jay Strongwater, Baccarat, Diptyque and Lladró, alongside Indian labels such as Janavi Home and Ravissant.The luxury home segment in India has seen a post-pandemic acceleration, with a fresh wave of global brand entries and expansions. Reliance Brands brought Pottery Barn to India in 2022, marking one of the early large-format bets on organised luxury home retail.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Emcure Pharmaceuticals plans to expand its biosimilars pipeline to ride a slew of patent expiries as well as favourable tailwinds on global demand, the company’s top executive told Mint in an interview.“We have identified biosimilars as a growth driver. In the next three to five years, a lot of our R&D spend as well as portfolio contribution would be skewed towards biosimilars as well as some of the larger peptides and the ADC (antibody drug conjugates) program,” managing director and chief executive Satish Mehta said.Pune-headquartered Emcure is largely a generics drug manufacturer, but is ramping up focus on specialty products like complex injectables, biologics and antibody drug conjugates.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The House of Rare aims to evolve beyond apparel into a broader lifestyle-led retail powerhouse as it expands into categories such as fragrances, luggage and women’s footwear, while also betting on faster delivery timelines and quick-commerce-led fashion discovery.Founded over a decade ago, Bengaluru-based The House of Rare owns a portfolio of premium fashion brands, including men’s label Rare Rabbit, women’s line Rareism, kidswear brand Rare Ones, and footwear venture Rare’Z.“The idea is to expand into different categories which fit the brand ecosystem and target the lifestyle of the urban consumer,” Akshika Poddar, founder of Rareism from The House of Rare, said in an interview with Mint.The expansion comes at a time when premium fashion retailers in India are increasingly looking beyond core apparel to build wider lifestyle ecosystems around consumers, while also adapting to shopping habits shaped by quick commerce and faster delivery expectations. As competition intensifies in the premium westernwear segment, brands are also pushing deeper into tier-2 and tier-3 markets to tap rising aspirational demand.The company is set to launch women’s sneakers in June, and plans to introduce girlswear under its kidswear brand Rare Ones by January next year, while also scaling categories such as luggage and fragrances.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.JSW MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd, the joint venture between China’s SAIC Motor Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The biggest motorcycle makers are doubling down on the affluent rider instead of the traditional interest in the budget-conscious commuter. Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, and TVS Motor Co.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s newly unveiled CGSMFI 2.0, a ₹20,000 crore credit guarantee scheme for microfinance, aims to revive credit flows to the stressed sector. Yet, in its current form, it only partially addresses the symptoms and largely ignores the causes. India’s microfinance sector is in downturn.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Quick commerce is evolving beyond a distribution channel into a testing ground for product innovation, enabling brands—from new-age to legacy players, across categories from milk to makeup—to launch, refine and scale offerings.The appeal lies in the cost advantage over traditional rollouts, particularly for smaller brands that can test in small batches, track repeat purchases and tweak products in real time.“Rather than spending ₹10 crore on a big-bang launch, brands can test with ₹20-30 lakh and see what works,” said Sashi Kumar of organic dairy enterprise Akshayakalpa Organic.The Bengaluru-based firm launched its high-protein milk exclusively on Swiggy to validate demand. “The expectation was not volumes, but whether consumers come back and buy again,” Kumar said, adding that the channel removes hurdles like listing fees and in-store promotions, while offering sharper targeting and faster feedback.Strong repeat rates helped Akshayakalpa, whose quick-commerce business is growing about 40% year-on-year, to scale the product offline.Beyond staples, the model is also gaining traction in seasonal and impulse-driven categories.

Indian pharmaceutical companies are expected to report muted performance for the March quarter (Q4FY26), weighed down by a decline in sales in the US market, while the domestic market is expected to have remained robust.The end of exclusivity for the high-margin Revlimid in the US in January has led to significant price revisions and lower volumes, impacting companies that depend on the product, despite some support from rupee depreciation.An ICICI Securities report projects companies in its coverage to post revenue growth of about 7% year-on-year, lower than about 10% in the first nine months of FY26. While domestic sales growth is expected to be strong at 13.6%, US revenue in dollar terms is projected to drop by about 7%, partly compensated by the rupee’s fall.

Mint independently could not ascertain when Wilson’s notice ends, or whether the Tata Group has found a successor to steer the airline. An email sent to Air India seeking comment went unanswered.The Tata Group had hired Wilson from Singapore Airlines’ low-cost unit Scoot in May 2022, less than four months after the conglomerate acquired the government-run airline for ₹18,000 crore.

WSJ China is a weekly newsletter with exclusive insights on the contest between the U.S. and China, brought to you by WSJ Chief China Correspondent Lingling Wei, with help from Zhao Yueling. Reach Lingling at [email protected] or at @Lingling_Wei on X (if you’re reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply). Sign up to get an alert every time she publishes an article. Got a tip for us? Here’s how to submit.Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint.

total annual income and liquid net worth as on the date of application.Liquid net worth is calculated by adding capital and free reserves and subtracting fixed assets such as pledged securities, unlisted securities, doubtful debts and advances, prepaid expenses and losses, intangible assets, and 30% of the value of marketable securities.Additional documents such as demat statements may also be required.The process involves a fee of ₹5,000, along with a certificate fee of ₹5,000 for two years or ₹9,500 for three years, according to CDSL Ventures Ltd.Once accredited, you enjoy various flexibilities and exclusive investment opportunities.The GIFT City AIFs with a minimum ticket size of $150,000 are available at $10,000 to accredited investors, investment in Portfolio Management Services (PMS) and AIFs which have minimum ticket size of ₹50 lakh and ₹1 crore for non-accredited investors are also offered at a lower ticket size to AIs.They are also exempted from the ₹10 lakh minimum limit of investing in Specialised Investment Funds.

taxpayers are opting for the new tax regime, which offers few exemptions for allowances. Companies don’t want to keep bearing the administrative burden of giving an allowance that no one uses.

A faraway war may squeeze margins for one of India’s biggest beer makers just as the summer season begins.After two tepid quarters, demand is finally recovering but profitability could be under pressure amid rising input costs due to the ongoing war in West Asia, Vivek Gupta, managing director and chief executive officer of Bengaluru-based United Breweries, which makes Kingfisher and Heineken, said in an exclusive interview.“The growth of the beer category is dependent on not just favourable weather but also on affordability, local policies and raw material supplies,” Gupta told Mint. “Our margins will surely be under pressure as there will be some impact from the war.

airlines must also provide monetary compensation when the cancellation is not communicated appropriately well in advance. However, in the case of cancellations caused by a war, airlines are not liable to provide monetary compensation.The exclusion extends beyond just ticket cancellations. Claims for trip interruption, delays, missed connections and even additional accommodation costs may be denied if it is linked to a conflict.Baggage-related claims may also be denied if the delay or loss is directly attributable to airport shutdowns or conflict conditions.

As the U.S. and China move from a battle over economic principles to managing the status quo, who is winning? Write to me at [email protected].

India’s goods and services tax (GST) still struggles with a basic design problem: the integrity of its input tax credit (ITC) chain. The recent rate rationalization simplified slabs, but its merger of the 12% category with the 5% slab largely applies to supplies where ITC is restricted or unavailable. In such cases, the system resembles cascading turnover-style taxation and weakens the value-added tax (VAT) principle of seamless credit and tax neutrality.

In normal times, being Porsche’s boss would rank as one of the world’ s most desirable jobs. But I do not envy new Chief Executive Officer Michael Leiters one bit.Barely two months after taking the helm, he made a decent fist on Wednesday of outlining what ails the German sportscar manufacturer and providing the first hints of how he plans to put things right. He’s committed to restoring the company’s “former glory” and insists Porsche “represents a compelling recovery story.” But investors hoping his arrival marks an immediate start of better times for the storied brand could be disappointed.

₹290 crore in a Series B funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments, as the company looks to deepen its presence and expand its rural storefront network, Ankur Dahiya, co-founder and chief executive told Mint.“We started in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and we feel its the right time to expand our footprint in the same Ganges belt,” said Dahiya. “Secondly, we want to increase our penetration in the areas we're present.”The fundraise comes as Rozana scales its hybrid rural commerce model—combining neighbourhood storefronts and centralized warehouses with a network of women-led last-mile partners—at a time when relatively few startups are focused exclusively on India’s rural e-commerce opportunity.The fundraise was led by German conglomerate Bertelsmann's local venture capital arm, Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) with participation from Fireside Ventures, US-based Spark Growth Ventures, FE Securities and a few family offices.The deal was majorly a primary investment with a small component of secondaries to give early angel investors an exit.