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Karnataka’s move to impose a tax on electric cars, a year after waiving levies, could slow down adoption in one of India’s key electric vehicle (EV) markets by eroding their price competitiveness with petrol and diesel vehicles, industry experts said. The shift comes even as other states continue to offer tax breaks to push EV uptake.According to a bill passed in the Karnataka assembly last week, a tax in the range of 5-10% of a vehicle’s price will be imposed on all EV cars based on their price at the time of registration in the state, which is expected to widen the price gap with less expensive internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.The move partly negates the state's own clean mobility policy released in 2025, under which road and registration taxes were waived off for all electric vehicles, except those priced above ₹25 lakh.This comes at a time when other large EV car markets such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi are moving to waive off all such state taxes on EVs to promote their adoption.“At a time when EV adoption is crucial to cutting vehicular pollution and improving urban air quality, this decision risks undermining the state’s stated ambition of promoting zero emission mobility,” Sharif Qamar, associate director at The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri), said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.From its early days mailing DVDs to becoming a major feature film studio, Netflix isn’t done disrupting the entertainment industry.Speaking at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee announced the company is expanding into new family-oriented business segments, with “major moves” into toys and candy.Netflix in a press release cited the popularity of its “kids and families” content as one of the reasons for moving further into consumer products.The streaming company said it is working with Ferrero Group to bring Charlie and the Chocolate Factory offerings to market, beginning with 10 seasonal and limited-edition chocolates, plus sugar confectionery, ice cream, and cereals. These products will launch this fall in the U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Electric mobility in India has moved from being an environmental statement to an economic necessity.An expected yet sudden ₹3-per-litre fuel hike, along with government austerity measures such as remote-work mandates to conserve foreign reserves, has intensified the pressure on internal combustion engines. Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer futuristic alternatives — they are increasingly financial hedges against fuel volatility.But unlocking their full value requires new habits.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.There was once a time when software did as it was told. You used the keyboard to type in input, and the computer complied with an expected output—unless it was in the mood to crash. We’ve been used to this equation for decades.But AI systems are beginning to work differently.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s automotive sector is navigating what can only be described as a “perfect storm” — geopolitical instability, rising crude prices, currency weakness and tightening emission norms.With 90% crude oil import dependence, Brent crude crossing $110 per barrel, and the rupee at a record low of ₹95.40/USD (as on 5 May), the economics of internal combustion engine (ICE) ownership are under strain.At the same time, regulatory shifts — E20 ethanol blending and BS6 Stage 2 norms — are reshaping the cost structure of conventional vehicles.In this environment, electric vehicles (EVs) are transitioning from being a green alternative to a fiscal hedge. For Indian consumers, electric mobility is increasingly looking like a viable long-term solution.India’s 90% crude import dependency makes it acutely exposed to the West Asia war.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Milky Mist has raised about ₹482 crore in a pre-IPO round led by Singapore-based Temasek’s subsidiary Jongsong Investments Pte. Ltd, the dairy product maker said in a statement on Monday.The fundraise comprises a primary capital infusion of about ₹357 crore and a secondary share sale of about ₹125 crore ahead of the company’s proposed initial public offering (IPO) later this year.As part of the primary issuance, Milky Mist allotted 5,43,789 equity shares at ₹139.76 per share, aggregating about ₹7.6 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Situated 33 kilometers from the busy streets of Pune is Chakan, home to automobile manufacturers and their suppliers. One company in this area is electric bus maker Eka Mobility.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Kongara Ramesh is a man of many obsessions. A self taught homeopath, like scores of practitioners in India, he has treated tens of thousands, free of cost. A school dropout, he is also the creator of a handful of unique varieties of mangoes, India’s most beloved fruit.Ramesh is, what you may call, a seasoned plant breeder.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Dinshaw’s Dairy Pvt Ltd, founded in 1932, is trying to look and think younger. The 94-year-old Nagpur-based ice cream maker is recasting its identity to appeal to a new generation of consumers, while making investments to expand its footprint beyond Maharashtra into markets across India, Zervin Rana, director at the company, told Mint in an interview.The push comes months after a comprehensive rebranding exercise that refreshed the company’s logo and positioning.

war drags on, reducing the availability of fuel for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and forcing the government to allow oil marketing companies (OMCs) to raise fuel prices.The running cost of EVs is relatively cheaper than ICE vehicles. The only two pure-play EV companies in India – Ola Electric Mobility Ltd and Ather Energy Ltd – present a contrast.

ICE vehicles due to the higher weight of lithium-ion battery packs. “If the battery is heavier than the engine, then what the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) expect is for the chassis and other large BIW (Body in White) components to drive the lightweighting,” Swastid Badve, general manager at Belrise Industries, told Mint in an interview.“And that's why we want to, kind of, focus on high tensile technology to drive lightweighting in all of the other components that we make like a chassis, BIW part and so on and so forth,” he added.BIW parts refer to those components that make up the structure of a vehicle including body side, floor, and roof panels, among others.To drive lightweighting, the company is investing in high tensile technology, which reduces the thickness of steel used to make components.

New Delhi: India’s top two-wheeler makers are bracing for pressure on margins and demand, as a surge in commodity costs linked to the ongoing West Asia war coincides with the impending withdrawal of electric vehicle (EV) subsidies. The twin blow has led to concerns that the companies, including TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp, may be forced to raise prices, absorb cost pressures, or risk slowing adoption of EVs.Analysts and industry executives note that the removal of subsidies under the government's PM E-Drive scheme from April can lead to price hikes of up to ₹5,000 for electric two wheelers.

, born as Robert Prevost in Chicago and known for most of his life as “Bob,” has had a quiet start to his pontificate. But with the world facing crisis after crisis, the first-ever American pope is stepping up his efforts at moral suasion in defense of a fading international order that the American president, among other leaders, is rapidly dismantling.The papacy has always been political.

VinFast and homegrown Ola Electric have offered discounts to wean consumers away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles that run on diesel and petrol, with analysts saying the energy crisis could push fence-sitters towards EVs.The crisis has also renewed focus on the Centre’s plans to go beyond the 20% ethanol blending in petrol, with executives indicating that higher blends and flex-fuel vehicles may see faster rollouts as they can cut the country's imports of crude oil.According to analysts at Nomura, crude oil price rise due to the current crisis can make the total cost of ownership equation even more attractive for electric vehicles, which can boost EV sales in the short term.“One beneficiary of higher oil prices could be a quicker shift in consumer sentiment towards EVs. Thus, EV [players] are likely to benefit,” Kapil Singh and Siddhartha Bera of Nomura wrote in a 9 March note.Retail fuel prices have remained steady so far, but risks of an increase persist if the conflict drags on, according to experts.EV sales in the country rose 77% year-on-year in calendar 2025 to nearly 177,000 units, with their share in total sales reaching 4%.

Renault S. A.

Mint in an earlier interaction. LG Electronics, the largest consumer electronics brand in India, makes around 28% of its annual revenues in the January-March quarter.Awry predictions, then, can lead to a production-demand mismatch.

New Delhi: The Centre has issued an order that updates norms for piston rings – a key component of internal combustion engines (ICE) – to help reduce carbon emissions, replacing standards that had been in place since 1977. The new standards came into effect on 10 February, said the order dated 12 February.Experts said the cost impact for most automakers was likely to be limited, as many already follow similar global specifications.

crude oil was trading at a $6.86 per barrel discount to the May contract of $104.53 at the time of writing. On 27 February, a day before the war began, it was just the opposite: the June contract was at a slight premium of 39 cents to the May contract, which quoted at $72.48, as per Bloomberg.Such flipping of discounts between near and far months—backwardation or inversion in technical parlance—points to supply disruptions due to the West Asia war.

Greaves Cotton, known for engine manufacturing and engineering.“As an auto component company, in some ways, it's easier for us to do that. We are dealing in components; so, there's not a huge difference in the components when it comes between, let's say a CNG or a diesel or a petrol.

Mint.Today, Milky Mist is one of India’s fastest growing milk product brands with a 30% compounded annual growth rate between FY23 and FY25. Last fiscal year, the company clocked revenue of ₹2,350 crore with a product range that spans the entire milk spectrum—paneer, ghee, butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, chocolate and more.It is this exercise that has also emboldened him to try something few private sector dairy players have attempted so far—become a pan-Indian brand.The milk sector in India is dominated by strong regional players, almost all of them backed by state governments. They include Mother Dairy (Delhi), Nandini (Karnataka), Saras (Rajasthan), Aavin (Tamil Nadu), Milkfed (Punjab), Milma (Kerala) and Parag (Uttar Pradesh), to name a few.

Automobile sales in February were good for almost all sub-segments and companies, but the performance of Tata group companies stood out. Domestic sales of Tata Motors’ commercial vehicles (CV) grew 32.8% year-on-year to 40,893 vehicles, whereas rival Ashok Leyland Ltd’s growth was 28% to 20,314 units.The robust data vindicates statements from CV makers that replacement cycle demand is kicking in. The average fleet age needing a replacement is now 9-10 years versus 7-7.5 years before covid.