Exclusive Financial News

A new wave of affluent buyers in their twenties and early thirties is driving growth in India’s luxury watch market, forcing global brands to reposition for a more aspirational consumer.The shift comes at a time when rising disposable incomes, a swelling base of high-net-worth individuals and easing import duties under India’s trade pact with the European Union are reshaping the premium timepiece landscape. Lower tariffs on Swiss watches are expected to narrow price gaps, intensify competition and accelerate premiumisation in a market that executives say is expanding rapidly.The luxury watch market is poised for strong expansion, with annual growth estimated at 11-12%, supported by the country's rising affluent base and growing wealth among high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), according to an October 2025 report by SOIC Research.The share of luxury and high-end watch sales has jumped from 48% in FY20 to 70% in FY25, indicating that Indian buyers are gravitating toward more exclusive, higher-value brands.

With Netflix backing away from its proposal to buy Warner Bros Discovery, paving the way for Paramount Skydance to take over the legacy studio, the merged Hollywood giant may be set to dominate the Indian theatrical space and reshape distribution strategies. In the English-language streaming ecosystem in India, there will be less disruption but heightened competition.“The merged entity would command considerable distribution clout in India, given their significantly enlarged slate, enabling it to command a larger share of the Hollywood box office pie,” said Rahul Puri, managing director of Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas.Warner Bros owns franchises such as The Conjuring, Harry Potter and Godzilla, which, coupled with Paramount titles Mission: Impossible and Transformers, give the merged entity better bargaining power with exhibitors.However, according to Raheel Patel, a partner at Gandhi Law Associates, if Paramount Global takes over Warner Bros.

Mint at the Air Cargo India 2026 being held in Mumbai.“So, we will have a total of five freighters weekly into India once we add the new freighter frequencies,” he said. When asked about shifting operations as Mumbai airport will close its freighters operations, Abbas said, “Yes, we will adapt as needed”, and will consider moving to the new airport in the state, Navi Mumbai.Currently, Emirates carries around 600 tonnes of pharmaceuticals and 500 tonnes of perishables from India each week, out of a total weekly uplift of 3,000 tonnes.Mint earlier reported that five foreign freighters, including FedEx and a DHL-Lufthansa joint venture, are expected to start operations at Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) from May.

₹6,818 is what it cost me to increase our family health cover from ₹20 lakh to ₹5 crore using a top-up policy. We are in our mid-50s with two children in their 20s.This is, by a large margin, the most cost-effective way to increase your health cover.

Kati Patang Lifestyle, the maker of Saffron Lager and Bareilly Bold, is sharpening its focus on premium beers and preparing to enter the spirits business.Co-founder, Shantanu Upadhyay, speaking to Mint exclusively, said it is in advanced discussions to acquire a controlling stake in premium spirits brands and distribution networks, which could expand its addressable market from roughly $1-10 billion while improving margins.The company is also scaling up its UK presence as the BSE-listed brewer seeks to reposition itself as a lifestyle-led alcoholic beverage platform rather than a niche craft label. Kati Patang is also planning a real estate project under its name, which will house some hospitality projects.The decade-old New Delhi-based company, which listed last year through a share-swap with VirtualSoft Systems Ltd, has increased its stake in CHADKP Holdings Ltd, owner of Chadlington Brewery and The Tite Inn in Oxford, from 23% to 51%, gaining majority control within a year of its initial £300,000, or about ₹3.67 crore, investment.The company is also in advanced talks to enter the spirits business, given that a large share of alcohol consumption in India is in brown spirits such as whisky.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. THE BOMBARDMENT began just after 4am on February 24th 2022. For the half-dozen border guards at the Vilcha checkpoint, 150km north of Kyiv, the odds of surviving were not good.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Weighed down by continued outflows—amounting to a record $18.9 billion in 2025—the ownership of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) shrank to a 15.5-year low of 16.7% in the quarter ended December, according to data from the exchange. Within key indices, the share of FPIs in the Nifty 50 fell by 25 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to a more than 13-year low of 23.8%, while remaining broadly stable at 18.1% in the Nifty 500.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI: The viability of businesses entering bankruptcy proceedings should be tested in the first month before they’re allowed to operate as going concerns, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has proposed in a set of new draft regulations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI: India plans to centralize testing and quality control of 42 essential veterinary vaccines at a single national laboratory, replacing a fragmented system that allows self-certification and state-level testing, according to two government officials and a document reviewed by Mint.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Five foreign freighters, including FedEx and a DHL joint venture, are expected to begin operations at Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), from May, two cargo officials familiar with the matter told Mint. This comes nearly three months before cargo-carrying planes temporarily cease operations at Mumbai International Airport from 1 August.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Having built a distinct mark as one of India's prominent diversified financial services groups, Motilal Oswal Group is now stepping up its focus on physical infrastructure. At a time when co-working spaces are booming and companies are pursuing asset-light, flexible office models, the group is investing heavily in owned office towers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Emcure Pharmaceuticals is tapping influencers and celebrities on social media, in addition to raising awareness among doctors, for its semaglutide brand, Poviztra, as it seeks to capitalise on its head start in the lucrative weight-loss market. The company launched Poviztra in an exclusive partnership with innovator Novo Nordisk in December.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : Even as a two-decade-old welfare employment scheme is set to be replaced by a new one, the upcoming Union budget may carve out separate allocations for both schemes to ensure there are no gaps in jobs during the transition period, according to the minister in charge of rural development. The new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G) scheme, to be notified by the Centre, will give states six months’ transition time.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As India’s pharmaceutical sector kicks off its earnings season for the quarter ended December on Friday, analysts expect muted margins. A key reason for this is the loss of patent exclusivity for the blood cancer drug Revlimid in the US.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents major telecom companies, has approached the telecom regulator, seeking a cap on charges for in-building mobile network infrastructure at public places such as airports.

₹3,500–4,000 crore with existing investor Lighthouse Funds and the promoters set to offload a total of about 60% of their holding,” one of the people cited above said. A second person confirmed the details, adding that this will largely be a secondary transaction.This assumes significance as fast-growing, consumer-facing healthcare companies are attracting strong investor interest, backed by rising insurance penetration, improving affordability and a widening patient base in India’s medical devices sector.In August, Mint first reported that the company had reopened talks and appointed O3 Capital to help with the mandate after discussions with Temasek for a significant minority stake were put on hold in 2024.Tynor’s founder Pushvinder Jit Singh, Lighthouse Funds, Kedaara and O3 Capital did not respond to emails sent on Tuesday.In 2024, Mint had exclusively reported that Singapore-based Temasek was the front-runner to acquire a significant minority stake in the company, outpacing other global private equity firms such as Warburg Pincus and Norwest Venture Partners.The new development comes nearly eight years after Tynor raised $21 million at a post-money valuation of $103.3 million from investors including Lighthouse, Thuasne and Vihome B.V.

First, trade pacts serve as instruments of political signalling, allowing India to deepen strategic partnerships while preserving strategic autonomy.Second, they function as tools for hedging risks in an uncertain global trade environment, helping diversify economic relationships and reduce over-dependence on China.Third, deeper engagements provide greater protection for investors by clarifying rules on investment, dispute settlement and regulation.Finally, bilateral agreements help pre-empt exclusion amid the formation of trade blocs that increasingly mirror geopolitical alignments.Our agreements with Oman and New Zealand illustrate this shift. Neither is a major merchandise trade partner.

The growing popularity of obesity drugs is expected to spur Indian pharma companies to sign licensing partnerships and distribution deals as they eye the lucrative segment. Indian companies started signing big-ticket deals with innovators for novel GLP-1s, as well as generic versions, last year.

Mint has reviewed a copy of the letter.Many travellers at the Navi Mumbai airport also took to the social media platform X to complain about the lack of cellular connectivity at the airport over the last few days. The airport, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 October, began operations on 25 December, with the arrival of its first commercial flight.A NMIAL spokesperson, in response to Mint’s queries, said that it has not denied permission to the telecom services providers (TSPs) and is discussing the matter with them.“Owing to the delay by other TSPs, NMIA is providing free, high-speed Wi-Fi services reiterating its commitment to provide high-speed connectivity to all the passengers,” the spokesperson said.Queries emailed to operators’ lobby the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Tuesday evening did not elicit any response until press time.S.P.

₹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.

₹325 crore, allows Bhansali Productions Pvt. Ltd to retain full intellectual property rights over its films while giving Saregama exclusive music rights to all its future films.Experts see this development paving the way for more institutional funding in Indian cinema at a time when OTT platforms are tightening content spends and global capital is looking for disciplined exposure to Indian storytelling.This model also aligns India closer to global studio-platform economics—separating high-margin IP ownership from high-risk production, and accelerating the sector’s institutional maturity.“For Saregama, the transaction is fundamentally a music play rather than a film bet.