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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.

Jungle Ventures, a venture capital firm targeting India and Southeast Asia, expects to exit 8–10 portfolio companies over the next 12-18 months, with half of those deals anticipated in India, according to a company executive.“The next 18 months are going to be big in terms of exits for us. The companies have matured, founders have done well,” Arpit Beri managing partner, India at Jungle Ventures, told Mint in an interview.

₹24,000. They installed it in my flat the same day, and I have been using it regularly.”Since then, a friend bought the same gear on her recommendation and Dua has picked up other Lifelong products, including a duffel bag, a power bank and a pressure cooker.A few months before Dua’s purchase, Delhi-based advertising executive Kritika Sharda bought a ₹1,599 Lifelong power bank on quick commerce platform Blinkit on the eve of a trip to Manali. “I am very impulsive, both in travel and in buying,” said the 28-year-old.

Mint India Investment Summit held in Mumbai last week.Backed by Zerodha founders' investment vehicles Rainmatter and Gruhas, SuperYou is a modern Indian health and nutrition brand. Co-founded by actor Ranveer Singh and entrepreneur Biyani in late 2024, the brand is focused on fermented yeast-based, high-protein snacks and supplements.“The opportunity to start and find PMF (product-market-fit) with consumers is better than ever before.

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.

Filmmakers are planning mega-budget big-screen spectacles across languages in the coming months despite a relatively volatile box office and uncertain business environment.The producers of the two-part mythological epic Ramayana (the first instalment of which is to be released in November) and SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi (scheduled for release in April next year) are banking on the ability of these stories to reach audiences beyond Indians, and south Asians in general. Both films are among the titles estimated to cost upwards of ₹1,000 crore each to make.They are also looking to create cinematic universes with spin-offs and merchandise offers, besides expectations of a smooth recovery from satellite and digital rights, even though broadcasters and streaming platforms have slowed down acquisitions.“The scale of these projects reflects a structural shift in how Indian cinema is positioning itself globally,” said Abishek S.

Mint explains how significant AI’s impact really is on investment banking.A 2023 Deloitte report noted that global investment banks have invested billions of dollars in machine learning and natural language processing to transform trading and risk management. However, the deal-making lifecycle remains heavily dependent on human expertise.

India’s technology market has often served as a proving ground where global platforms compete both for users and influence over the digital set-ups of industries. The rise of GenAI models is setting the stage for a similar contest. Winning revenue from Indian enterprises will soon become one of their most consequential battlegrounds.

the New York Times. This is to give Trump additional military options even as he weighs a new diplomatic initiative with the Islamic republic, according to the report.“About 2,300 Marines from the 31st Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to arrive in the Middle East later this week, and U.S.

Mint explains.On Wednesday, the California Superior Court held that Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and Google, which owns YouTube, deliberately built features that foster prolonged, compulsive use among children, contributing to mental distress and long-term harm.The court flagged infinite scroll and algorithmic recommendations as core drivers of “addiction by design,” drawing parallels with tobacco companies. Both firms have disputed the verdict.Unlikely.

₹28,700 in monthly rent.Early-career professionals across cities told Mint how they navigate this balancing act—and what the cost of simply getting started looks like.For 23-year-old Khyati Sood, relocating from Delhi to Pune for her first job as a data engineer meant making a series of careful decisions. “There were a lot of trade-offs,” she said. “Whether I should stay with strangers, give up an attached bathroom, or skip having a balcony to reduce rent.”Pune, compared to other major metros, offered some relief.

₹60 per cylinder hike has added to household stress and squeezed small businesses.The primary driver, experts say, is global instability.According to Adhil Shetty, CEO of BankBazaar, the increase reflects continued pressure from international markets where crude oil and natural gas prices remain elevated due to geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions."India imports a large share of its LPG needs, so any rise in international prices or freight costs tends to flow through to domestic cylinder rates," Shetty noted. He added that the latest global escalation has made cooking fuel more expensive, and with deliveries taking longer in some areas, households must prepare for higher and less predictable expenses.For several years, LPG prices in regulated markets remained relatively steady, with only minor fluctuations.

Mint in an interview.“It’s not either-or, it’s both,” Kumar said, referring to the company’s approach of building for emerging AI-driven discovery channels while continuing to strengthen its core in-app shopping experience.On Wednesday, Meesho rolled out a conversational voice assistant, “Vaani” (Hindi for voice), aimed at making online shopping more intuitive for users who prefer conversational, offline-style interactions.The move reflects a broader shift in how the company is thinking about growth – not just in terms of adding new users, but also in how quickly those users become comfortable shopping online.“For us, this goes beyond accessibility. There’s an opportunity to reimagine the shopping experience itself," Kumar said."Such AI-led tools could act as an early enabler, especially for users in tier-II and tier-III markets who may need assistance with language, price comparison and navigation, helping expand the overall addressable market for e-commerce,” said Ankur Bisen, senior partner at The Knowledge Company, a consultant.However, he said that adoption is still at an exploratory stage, with even tech-savvy users continuing to discover use cases.The push comes at a time when e-commerce growth is becoming harder to sustain.

JioStar and Pocket FM have recently expanded their AI capabilities, focusing on streamlining story development, production workflows, and localisation, while improving content discovery and retention.Pocket FM said the focus is on building a differentiated, technology-led entertainment ecosystem rooted in strong storytelling and deep consumer insight."Over the past couple of years, we have strengthened our AI-powered recommendation systems to improve content discovery and retention, while also deploying our in-house AI Creator Suite to streamline story development, production workflows, and localisation,” said Prateek Dixit, co-founder - product, tech and AI, Pocket FM.The company has recently strengthened its AI leadership with the appointment of Vasu Sharma as head of AI, whose mandate includes advancing narrative intelligence, long-context reasoning, and scalable localisation capabilities, while ensuring that AI systems remain creator-first and ethically governed, Dixit said.“These investments enable us to accelerate content production, enhance personalisation, optimise cost structures, and scale global IP more efficiently, all while preserving the primacy of human creativity,” Dixit added.For long, Indian media companies focused on content while global players focused on product, data, and technology infrastructure alongside content, said Vijay Subramaniam, founder and group CEO of Collective Artists Network.“Our latest product is a cinema-native production technology platform, that brings together generative systems, LoRA (low rank adaptation)-driven character architecture, controlled shot pipelines, 3D/VFX integration, lip-sync, upscaling, quality control, and delivery into a single production environment,”

Mint.Through 2025, the technology investor deployed $675 million in companies such as Urban Company, PayU, Rapido, Ixigo, Wiom, Deccan AI, CodeKarma and Arivihan.While these companies have reached some size and scale, they are still risky bets. “They're not mature businesses in that while their core offerings might be mature, they continue to add new verticals, so they're not mature in that sense,” said Sharma.The firm’s conviction in long-term bets comes as India’s tech ecosystem enters a more mature phase, marked by a wave of listings.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-controlled Jio Platforms Ltd is targeting a valuation of $120 billion to $140 billion in its public offer, which will see some of its existing investors, including TPG, KKR, General Atlantic, and Silver Lake, sell shares, according to two bankers familiar with discussions.Parent Reliance Industries Ltd is not expected to offload any shares, and the company is also not looking to issue new stock to raise capital, as it will be a standalone offer for sale by some of its shareholders, said the bankers, who didn’t want to be identified as discussions were private.Jio Platforms executives met with representatives of 17-19 investment banks this week before filing its draft papers with the regulator for the initial public offering (IPO).“Some of the selling shareholders were also part of this meeting,” said one of the senior bankers present. The meeting was held to outline the role of individual bankers in the book-building process, said another.A General Atlantic spokesperson and TPG declined to comment.

₹18,000 crore in planned fund-raising at risk. Thirteen mainboard companies are nearing their 12-month deadlines by June to launch their issues or lose regulatory approval.The impending expiry of these clearances, given by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) between April and June 2025, underscores how volatile market conditions are prompting firms to defer listings, raising the prospect of higher costs, delayed timelines and a near-term squeeze on fresh market liquidity.Per PRIME Database, these include the Munjal family's ₹3,600-crore Hero Fincorp Ltd offer, Morgan Stanley-backed Continuum Green Energy Ltd's ₹3,650 crore plan, and Norwest Venture Partners-backed Veritas Finance Ltd's proposed IPO worth ₹2,800 crore.Following Sebi approval, companies typically file a red herring prospectus with the Registrar of Companies within four to six weeks.Sebi regulations mandate that companies must launch their IPOs within 12 months of receiving the final observation letter.

The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) begins this weekend, where all eyes will be on the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who clinched their first ever win last year. Meanwhile, there are big-name investors, including Temasek, EQT, Premji Invest, Adar Poonawalla and a couple of US-based sports investors, vying for stake in the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers teams.

Mint.Ford Blue focuses on internal combustion vehicles, Ford Model e develops electric vehicles and Ford Pro builds commercial vehicle and fleet solutions.The EPEO organisation operates across roughly 32 locations globally, including in Chennai and Bengaluru, and supports technology systems across about 600 operational sites worldwide, including around 70 manufacturing plants.AI is being embedded across Ford’s technology stack—from engineering simulations to enterprise workflows and productivity tools.According to Walimbe, the company is pursuing AI across three broad areas: large strategic initiatives overseen by senior leadership, organisation-wide adoption of AI tools by employees, and targeted applications designed to improve specific business processes.Ford has already begun deploying AI in engineering workflows. Internal high-performance computing clusters powered by graphics processing units are dramatically accelerating simulations used in vehicle design.

plastic waste, here the responsibility shifts partly to companies that bring plastic.The registration module was launched in February, and the platform is expected to become fully operational within the next four months.The initiative comes amid growing concerns over the management of plastic waste, electronic waste, and used batteries, wherein enforcement gaps and fragmented systems have posed challenges to effective implementation."The existing system was not effective in managing the full EPR lifecycle or tracking compliance digitally, as it is more manually. The new portal will enable end-to-end management of obligations, including registration, target setting, monitoring and reporting,” one of the officials said.The portal will require all obligated entities as well as intermediaries such as recyclers and processors to register digitally.An email query sent to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Central Pollution Control Board remains unanswered."The portal will initially cover five to six waste streams, where EPR compliance is mandatory, including plastic waste, e-waste, battery waste, used oil, and waste tyres.

₹1.5 crore ground-floor apartment in central Delhi, listed at ₹1.2 crore, looked like a steal. Sanyam Jain thought so too and contacted the bank for details. The paperwork was clean and showed no dispute.