FIVE Financial News

Under mounting global scrutiny, India has cracked down on paediatric cough syrups, with the health ministry proposing to bar prescription of cough and cold medications for babies below two years of age and also discouraging them for children below five, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.The move, part of the draft National Formulary of India (NFI) 2026 published by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), under the health ministry, marks a sharp regulatory tightening after contamination-linked deaths, with implications for prescribing practices and a fast-growing market.The NFI draft has standardized information on drug dosages, indications, contra-indications and side-effects for doctors and pharmacists.The development assumes importance for India’s cough syrup market, that was valued at $262.5 million in 2024 and is projected to grow to $743 million by 2035.This regulatory tightening follows alarm over discovery of toxic industrial solvents, including diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG), in liquid oral formulations, which could lead to acute kidney failure and even death, thereby denting India’s image as the ‘pharmacy of the world’.The draft highlights the life-threatening risks of DEG and EG contamination and follows a Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) October advisory to states to address the public health crisis following deaths in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.“As we look back at the historical precedents, the tragic deaths linked to cough syrups were primarily caused by poisonous ingredients like diethylene glycol (DEG), which induces severe poisoning symptoms.

Banks rushed to settle their foreign exchange positions ahead of Friday’s deadline set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), five treasury officials told Mint. Despite the new net open position (NOP) restrictions being framed as temporary, bankers expect these curbs to remain in place for several months.On 27 March, the RBI capped banks’ NOPs in the domestic market at $100 million at the end of each business day, and mandated that banks comply with this rule by 10 April.

Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes global tech spending, India’s IT services majors are responding with a leadership reset. New chief AI roles, dedicated business units, and AI-linked revenue disclosures point to a structural shift in how the sector is gearing up for growth in the automation era.This shift is already visible in the pace of leadership changes.

India's pharmaceutical reputation, however, was harder to contain.This wasn't an anomaly. It was a pattern.

rare earth magnets critical for automobile, defence, electronics and wind energy sectors, among others.The scheme received the Union Cabinet's assent on 26 November last year, following which interested parties have begun consultations with the government. The scheme’s target is to create a magnet making capacity of 6,000 tonnes per annum in India."The government's benchmark is that ₹1,000 crore investment will be needed for 1,200 tonnes of magnet making capacity.

India’s banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector may have had a muted year on the surface, but a closer look tells a very different story. FY26, marked by global uncertainty, earnings downgrades and foreign investor outflows, did not reward broad sector bets—but it strongly rewarded stock-pickers.A Mint analysis of 724 BFSI stocks shows that nearly one in five companies delivered strong gains despite weak benchmark performance. As many as 131 stocks, or over 18% of the universe, generated returns of more than 25% during the year.

Growth has been slow but steady, exactly opposite of the steady decline in the US market.Subway, like other fast-food joints, is a part of the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry, which is riding on the tailwinds of India’s growth story.India’s QSR industry is complex and varied, with entities ranging from small independent eating places (neighbourhood Udipi type hotels) to home-grown chains (Haldiram’s, Saravanaa Bhavan) to multinational franchises (Subway, McDonald’s). However, the organized QSR market is dominated by a few firms, which control global food brands and generate about ₹20,000 crore in revenue (2024-25 estimate).The top five companies are publicly listed, and recent press reports suggest that Subway may also be preparing for an initial public offering.

Wipro Ltd has bagged a contract worth $1 billion over eight years from Singapore-based food processing company Olam Group, ending a nearly six-year lull of mega deals for the country's fourth-largest information technology (IT) services firm.As part of a broader engagement, Wipro will also acquire Mindsprint, Olam’s IT arm, for $375 million in an all-cash deal, the company said in a release to the stock exchanges on Monday.Following the announcement, Wipro's shares opened 3.6% higher at ₹198.4 on the BSE in a largely weak market.The Bengaluru-based IT services company will manage the food processing company’s end‑to‑end IT transformation services. Olam has committed to spending at least $800 million over eight years in modernising its IT systems with an option to spend more than $1 billion in total.Mindsprint ended last year with $136 million in revenue and the acquisition is expected to close by June, subject to regulatory approvals.

standing out in a falling market, and what’s driving their strength.Lupin is trading at ₹2,335, just shy of its 52-week high of ₹2,376, and is up 11% so far in 2026.An integrated pharmaceutical company, Lupin operates across formulations and APIs, with formulations contributing about 95% of revenue. Geographically, the US remains its largest market, followed by India and other developed and emerging markets.It ranks as the third-largest pharmaceutical player in the US by prescriptions and eighth in the Indian market.Financially, Lupin has delivered steady growth.

Mint. “There is no need for a manager to fold up a fund.

Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer is riding India’s growing middle class to bet that localized retail sales can offset a falling global appetite for high-end Swiss timepieces. The LVMH-owned brand plans to open boutique shops rather than rely on third-party distributors to shore up sales in a volatile luxury market.As parent LVMH struggles with a profit slide, India’s demand for Swiss watches has defied the downturn, surging more than 26% early this year.

Bengaluru/Mumbai: Former Tata Trusts trustee Mehli Mistry has filed an affidavit before the Maharashtra charity commissioner, seeking clarification on alleged irregularities at an affiliate of Tata Trusts.He has accused his former Tata Trustees colleagues—including chairman Noel Tata—of appointing two vice chairmen, Vijay Singh and Venu Srinivasan, who, being non-Parsis, he claims should not have served on a Trust run by a principal Tata Trust.Mistry, who resigned from Tata Trusts in October last year, has asked the regulatory body to probe the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution, one of the five trusts run by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust & Allied Trusts. Separately, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust & Allied Trusts run nine additional Trusts.Sir Dorabji Tata Trusts (SDTT) and Sir Ratan Tata Trusts (SRTT) own 27.98% and 23.56% of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.

On 12 March, when February inflation printed at 3.2%, the war in West Asia had been raging for 13 days. Oil company retail agencies, which sell cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at an administered price to registered users, shuttered their doors, anticipating supply cuts. Consumers were forced to turn to the informal market, where the price had risen five-fold by 12 March, relative to the regulated price even without the Ujjwala price subsidy.

GDP growth in the December quarter and strong manufacturing activity. This placed India among the better-performing economies on domestic indicators and pushed it closer to the top of the table.Currency and equity markets showed some recovery in February compared with the previous few months, but remained among the weaker performers compared to peers.

American technology major Oracle Corporation’s decision to part ways with 30,000 employees globally—almost 19% of its total workforce—has sent shockwaves through the organization. It has also deepened concerns about the sustainability of software product companies in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.Employees across sales, human resources, engineering and developer roles faced the axe after receiving an email from the company’s leadership at 6 am (in all time zones) on Wednesday, citing “broader organisational change”.

MUMBAI: With just hours to spare on Tuesday evening, Avenue Supermarts Ltd, the parent company of value retailer D-Mart, announced a flurry of store openings across the country, ending the financial year with 500 stores.On Tuesday alone, the company added 12 stores across its stronghold of Maharashtra and Gujarat, and in newer regions where it is trying to build a stronger presence, including Tamil Nadu and Odisha. D-Mart opened 47 stores in March, a sharp increase from the 40-50 stores it typically has added annually over the past five years, according to its investor presentation.The company opened 85 stores in FY26, the highest number added in a financial year.

NEW DELHI: Patients may no longer be forced to buy an entire strip of tablets or capsules when they need only one or a few of them.India’s apex drugs regulator plans to introduce a rule mandating pharmacies to dispense the exact number of tablets and capsules prescribed by allowing the sale of cut strips, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.Many drugs, including antibiotics, are typically sold in strips of 10 or 15 tablets or capsules when patients may require only five tabs. A proposal on dispensing exact prescription quantities of strip-packed medicines was discussed at a meeting chaired by the Drugs Controller General of India on 20 March.This regulatory shift is significant for India's $50 billion pharmaceutical industry and perhaps even more so for the retail pharmacy market, which was valued at $20 billion-27 billion in 2024.

The Centre’s decision to renew the Indian central bank’s Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) framework for another five years till March 2031 is no surprise. Given today’s climate of uncertainty, with no clarity on when the war in West Asia will end, any change at this juncture would have risked rocking the boat. Needlessly.

Future wealth will be driven by active stock-picking, identifying newer growth segments currently outside the major indices and holding them through their growth phase, said Viraj Gandhi, chief executive officer (CEO) of Samco Mutual Fund.“In this volatile environment, shifting from a passive mindset to an active, selective strategy is the only way to navigate the new investment horizon.”Even as current market conditions offer a strong buying opportunity, he believes the old passive-playbook approach of sticking to large-cap indices is unlikely to work.Edited excerpts:The outlook depends on key leading indicators. If crude stays elevated for the next three to twelve months, fuelling global inflation, this could be the start of a deeper fall.

On 19 March, SBI Funds Management Ltd, the company that runs SBI Mutual Fund, filed papers with the capital markets regulator to offer its shares to the public for the first time. If it follows through with that plan, as expected in the second half of 2026, all the top four mutual funds in India by assets under management (AUM) will be listed on the stock market. SBI Mutual Fund is the largest of the lot, a position it has achieved over the past decade.