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Mint.Jio, which has over 500 million subscribers, told the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) that it was in compliance with the regulator's guidelines, and the tariff plans offered are based on “intelligible criteria”, and cannot be treated as discriminatory.The service provider has been given time till 14 April to comply with two directions. First, Jio has to publish and make available all tariff offerings, including the three special tariff vouchers— ₹249, ₹199 and ₹209—at all its platforms such as retail stores, customer care centres, website and app.

India Inc. is increasingly turning to its own shareholders for capital.Companies sharply ramped up fundraising through rights issues in FY26, signalling a clear preference for funding from promoters and existing investors as volatile markets and cautious institutional investor flows made external capital harder to access.Qualified institutional placements continued to dominate fundraising by companies, although the gap with rights issues narrowed sharply from FY25.Companies raised ₹47,280 crore through rights issues in FY26, more than tripling from ₹13,797 crore in FY25 and marking the highest mobilization since FY21, according to Prime Database.

The Indian government has tasked the country’s top management institute, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), to find out why its flagship scheme to promote domestic manufacturing in various sectors has not delivered as expected, and suggest remedial measures.According to two government officials aware of the development, the study—to be conducted under the aegis of federal think tank NITI Aayog—will examine 14 production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes that have attracted around ₹2.16 trillion in investments since they were launched during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020.PLI schemes offer companies incentives linked to incremental domestic production, rewarding them for increasing output over a base year, rather than providing upfront subsidies.Despite a large outlay, the schemes have seen limited traction—of the nearly ₹1.91 trillion allocated for incentives, only about ₹28,748 crore or 15% had been disbursed by December 2025, according to a 20 February commerce ministry statement.“The study will undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of the scheme and focus on their impact on production growth, export expansion, job creation, and their role in enhancing India’s position in global supply chains,” the first official cited above said, requesting anonymity, adding that the study will also help understand whether the schemes need expansion or restructuring.Early indicators already point to uneven performance across sectors.Jaijit Bhattacharya, president of the Centre for Domestic Economy Policy (CDEP) Research, said that industries such as mobile phone manufacturing and food processing have done relatively well, largely because they require lower investments and are easier to scale.

New Delhi: India plans to float a fresh tender for over 3,000 electric buses by June, according to people aware of the development. This is set to be launched just six months after closing of the country's largest e-bus tender for over 10,000 units.The move aims to sharpen the country's push to electrify public transport and reduce fuel dependence, as oil supply risks from the West Asia war continue to weigh on costs.According to two executives in the know, the tender will be rolled out under the PM e-bus seva scheme, which aims to subsidize purchase of 10,000 e-buses across the country.

New Delhi: Telecom gear maker Nokia said that supply chain pressures due to the West Asia war, with component shortages such as memory chips, are increasing costs for devices, including wireless access equipment and network infrastructure.“We started seeing the cost creeps happening. As soon as the supply shortage starts, the first thing is the cost changes, and that is what is happening right now,” Vibha Mehra, country manager - designate for India at Nokia, told reporters on Tuesday.Mehra, who will take charge as Nokia’s country manager in India on 1 April, said discussions about the cost increases have also begun with telecom operators.To be sure, memory chip prices had already been increasing before the war, as manufacturing capacity shifted from consumer electronics toward high-margin memory solutions for AI.

Mint explains.From 1 April, all digital transactions must be verified using at least two independent authentication factors—such as a personal identification number (PIN), a one-time password (OTP) or biometric—with at least one factor being dynamic.The requirement applies across payment modes, including cards, UPI and wallets, standardizing security protocols across platforms. The tighter framework is aimed at reducing vulnerabilities and strengthening safeguards in digital payments.Many transactions today rely on a single authentication factor, typically a PIN or an OTP.

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.

New Delhi: India’s electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firms are in wait-and-watch mode as the West Asia war disrupts the tech component supply chain and pushes commodity prices upward. While Dixon Technologies and Syrma SGS aren’t factoring pricing and supply chain disruptions into account right away, top executives believe the next few quarters will be key for users, brands and shareholders alike.In an interview with Mint, Sunil Vachani, cofounder and executive chairman of Dixon, said that industry bodies are currently evaluating “at a broad industry level how long it will take for capacities of commodities and components, which are destroyed in the war, to come back up.”“The gas supply chain disruption wouldn’t be affecting us, but it will likely hit air conditioner manufacturers directly,” Vachani said.

The dominant progressive argument in India calls for dismantling of caste through radical redistribution by means of land reforms, state intervention or revolutionary social restructuring. The argument is that ­the entrenched inequality of India’s caste system must be annihilated through political and economic levelling.However, this framework misses a counter-intuitive argument.

Tejas Networks Ltd designs and manufactures high-performance wireline and wireless networking products for telecommunications service providers, internet service providers, utilities, defence, and government entities in over 75 countries.The company is a part of the Tata group, with Panatone Finvest (a subsidiary of Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd) being the majority shareholder.In the last month, the stock price has rallied from ₹317.5 on 24 February 2026 to ₹422.4 on 24 March.In the editorial, we examine some factors that would determine the direction of the stock.Read on…The company has been systematically diversifying.

Investors' rush to back electric commercial vehicle players has led to commitments worth $530 million in the last six months, backing new-age players at a time when the government's policy focus is shifting towards electrifying trucks and buses.Hero-backed Euler Motors became the latest to join the wave on Tuesday as it secured funding of $47 million from Lightrock, Hero MotoCorp and Blume Ventures, with additional debt funding of $27 million from BlackSoil, Trifecta, InnoVen and Alteria Capital.The latest funding round for the New Delhi-based electric light commercial vehicle maker brought the cumulative total of funding from investors for electric CV makers to $530 million since October, led by PMI Mobility, which secured a $310 million investment commitment from KKR.“The light commercial vehicle as a segment has continued to grow, because it makes fundamental sense,” Saurav Kumar, founder and chief executive at Euler Motors, told Mint. The superior long-term operational savings of electric commercial vehicles have made the sector's funding growth outpace all other transport categories, he added.Other fundraisers during this period include electric fleet operator Greencell Mobility’s $89 million, and electric bus and truck maker Eka Mobility’s $57 million fundraise.

New Delhi: Amid the West Asia war, ethanol makers have urged the petroleum ministry to accelerate higher fuel blending and utilize a massive surplus to safeguard national energy security, with India being one of the largest importers of crude oil, according to a letter seen by Mint.The All India Distillers Association (Aida) wrote to the petroleum and natural gas ministry on 3 March, days after the conflict broke out on 28 February, seeking incentives for flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), which run on very high ethanol blending, and higher procurement of ethanol by oil marketing companies (OMCs).Aida represents about 80% of India's total distillation capacity.The industry’s representation came after underutilisation of ethanol feedstocks in 2024-25 and 2025-26, according to a copy of the letter seen by Mint.Global oil volatility and supply chain disruptions make it imperative for India to strengthen domestic alternatives and accelerate indigenous biofuel production, the letter stated.“At a time when the country needs stronger domestic energy buffers against global oil shocks, idle biofuel capacity represents a missed strategic opportunity,” the letter said.Email queries sent to the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH), Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp.

Buyers can avail a discount of ₹2-9 lakh on the purchase of a medium or heavy electric truck under the PM E-Drive scheme by providing scrapping certificates for multiple diesel trucks, the ministry of heavy industries has clarified.The scheme mandates that scrapping certificates, also known as certificates of deposit (CDs), must be provided before claiming incentives. Mint explains this quid pro quo to reduce India’s reliance on carbon-heavy road freight, which makes up a third of the country’s total transport sector greenhouse gas emissions.What is the clarification for vehicle scrapping under the PM E-Drive scheme?On 27 February, a statement from the ministry of heavy industries clarified that incentives for new trucks can be granted against one or more valid scrapping certificates for diesel trucks, provided the gross vehicle weight (GVW) of the diesel trucks is higher.The ministry also explained with examples.

₹10,900-crore PM E-Drive scheme, to ease component shortages and support early EV deployments.This is the second time that rules for local manufacturing have been relaxed for these vehicle segments. Earlier in September 2025, the ministry of heavy industries (MHI) had deferred the deadline till March 2026 to stop imports of this component under the scheme's sourcing rules.In a 13 March notification, the government has allowed the use of imported traction motor sub-assemblies in electric trucks and buses till 1 September 2026.PM E-Drive, or Prime Minister Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement, scheme aims to promote electric mobility in the country by subsidising electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.While rare earth magnet-free motors are being used in electric two-wheelers and some electric three-wheelers, larger electric vehicles need to import sub-assemblies where the magnets are already fused with the motor.Mint reported on 29 December that e-bus and e-truck makers were seeking a one-year relaxation in localisation rules under the scheme.Analysts said that the government's move to extend relaxation was a pragmatic step to increase sales of zero-emission commercial electric vehicles (EVs).

Mint.The company trimmed or sold stakes in Indian portfolio companies including PB Fintech and Dream11 in recent years, amid India’s stringent foreign direct investment (FDI) rules.The Union cabinet on Tuesday relaxed restrictions under the Press Note-3 (PN-3), which mandated pre-approval for investments from countries that share a land border with India. According to an official statement, such investments will now be allowed through the automatic route up to 10% in a local firm, on the condition that the foreign investor must not exercise management control or hold a board seat.

Digital commerce in India has become a theatre of quiet deception. Sellers cheat by design, and in the rush of a 10-minute grocery delivery, hundreds of millions of consumers rarely notice they are being fleeced.In 1919, John Maynard Keynes marvelled at the Londoner who could order by phone “various products of the whole earth” from his bed while sipping his morning tea. A century later, India has democratized this convenience through cheap smartphones and a national system of instant mobile payments, overtaking the US to emerge as the second-largest e-retail market after China by number of shoppers.Yet, this innovation is being hijacked by ‘dark patterns’—design elements that trick users into overpaying or paying for things they never wanted.

Dixon will be able to manufacture display modules locally in India. Display modules account for roughly 10-12% of the bill of materials in smartphones.“This foray into display modules deepens Dixon’s presence in the component ecosystem, with the level of backward integration in smartphones expected to rise by about 10-12% from 16-17% now,” said Emkay Global Financial Services.Dixon is expected to produce around 24 million smartphone displays and 2 million laptop displays annually in the first phase.

As the dust settles on India’s recent AI summit—optimistic in tone, ambitious in scope—a harder question demands an honest answer. What does the next wave of artificial intelligence mean for a sector that has served as a key economic engine for three decades? Information technology (IT) services generate over $254 billion in annual exports, employ 5.4 million professionals and finance a merchandise trade deficit that has breached $300 billion. Software exports are a success story.

₹8.44 trillion) universe and, like several other MNCs, is its fastest-growing market.And now, after years of waiting, the one missing ingredient in India may finally be arriving for Siemens. The government's reductions in income tax and good and services tax (GST) rates are beginning to stir private consumption, and Mathur believes that by April the first real signs of a revival in private sector capital expenditure should be visible.The investment community has taken notice.

Escalating tensions in the Middle East have pushed crude prices into the spotlight, making it the single biggest trigger for the recent sell-off in Indian equities.Brent crude prices experienced a sharp spike and a violent reversal on Monday, skyrocketing to nearly $120 per barrel before settling under $100 amid rising tensions in West Asia, supply constraints, and fears of a prolonged conflict.A blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point that carries about a fifth of global oil, has reignited supply shock fears, lifting crude prices and heightening risks for import-dependent economies such as India’s. Oil and related energy stocks in India have therefore come into sharp focus.Today, we take a closer look at small cap companies in India’s oil industry.

New Delhi: For the first time, nearly a third of all laptops being sold in India are being shipped with the ‘Made in India’ tag. This rise, which has played out over the past two years, has happened as government incentives have pushed electronics manufacturers to focus on the segment and diversify from mobile-led revenue.In March 2024, less than 5% of all laptops being sold in India were being assembled locally, analysts and industry executives said.