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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: HCL Technologies Ltd’s (HCLTech) weak growth outlook and client-specific challenges triggered a sharp investor selloff a day after its earnings announcement.Shares of the country’s third-largest IT services company fell nearly 9.5% to ₹1,304 on Wednesday, marking their steepest intra-day decline in over a decade, according to a Mint analysis.The reaction puts HCLTech alongside Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Wipro Ltd, whose shares also declined after recent earnings, as all three companies flagged growth pressures with two of them ending the last fiscal year with a revenue decline.HCLTech clocked a 5.95% year-on-year rise in revenue to $14.66 billion for FY26, beating Bloomberg estimates, but net profit fell 4.05% to $1.96 billion. TCS and Wipro, meanwhile, reported revenue declines of 0.54% and 0.32%, underscoring the broader slowdown across large IT services firms.Despite the topline growth, investors focused on HCLTech’s miss on its full-year guidance and a weaker outlook for FY27, which drove the selloff.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Akasa Air, India’s third largest airline, is tapping into the month-long demand for Hajj travel to deploy its aircraft capacity left underutilized after services to parts of West Asia were scaled back due to the ongoing war in the region, according to a person aware of the development.Approximately five to six airplanes were used on the West Asia route, which are now being used majorly for Hajj travel," said the person quoted above, requesting anonymity as this plan is part of business strategy.Flights to and from Doha, Riyadh and Kuwait have been suspended until 30 April, according to the airline’s 21 April post on X. While it continues to operate flights to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia—the main gateway for pilgrims going to Mecca—from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kochi and Kozhikode, Akasa is evaluating resumption of flights to Abu Dhabi, the post said.Akasa Air did not respond to Mint’s queries on aircraft utilization, Hajj travel and the impact of the West Asia crisis.The airline has inducted eight new aircraft in 2026, taking the fleet size to 38.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Among several distressing data points in the recently published The State of Working India 2026, a detailed vivisection of India’s demographic bulge by scholars at Azim Premji University (APU), a few vividly stand out. While India now produces 5 million graduates every year, salaried employment is only a fraction of that at 1.7 million annually. “This has also contributed to a slowdown in graduate earnings,” the report notes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Chennai-based M2P Fintech has appointed former Hitachi Payment Services finance executive Vivek Seshadri as group CFO, as it begins laying the groundwork for a potential IPO over the next few years, co-founder and CEO Madhusudanan R told Mint.The move marks a formal step toward institutionalizing the fintech’s finance function as it scales globally and prepares for eventual public markets scrutiny. While the company says a listing is still “at least a couple of years away”, the hire signals that IPO preparation has begun internally.“We are at least a couple of years away,” said Madhu.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: The financial year ended on March was expected to be another record-breaking year for India's corporate bond fundraising. However, the debt market lost momentum following a sharp rise in yields, and a shift in supply and demand dynamics.Funds raised through private placement of listed corporate bonds fell 9% year-on-year to ₹8.99 trillion in FY26, according to data by the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: India’s trustee services industry has long operated in the background. At Axis Trustee Services Ltd, an arm of private sector lender Axis Bank, the new chief executive is pushing to change that.After over two decades at Axis Bank, Rahul Choudhary moved to Axis Trustee Services as the chief executive in February 2025, bringing with him experience across wholesale banking, including credit, trade finance, and treasury.With this experience in mind, Choudhary now wants Axis Trustee to play a more active role in pre-empting defaults, instead of playing a passive role.Regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), a trustee acts as an intermediary between the issuer of securities and investors.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India’s foodgrain stocks have surged well above its buffer norms, strengthening the country’s cushion against supply shocks and global price swings. Government data shows central pool reserves were at 60.48 million tonnes (mt) as on 1 April—nearly three times the mandate—fanning a debate over how best to manage surplus stocks to benefit both farmers and consumers.The latest data marks a strong recovery from 33.2 mt stock in 2023 and 37.65 mt in 2024, when food grain inventories had tightened.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s plan to use artificial intelligence to reduce a tide of spam is drawing the ire of the nation’s lenders and digital platforms, who warn the effort risks affecting the digital backbone of the economy. Banks and fintech giants claim the automated system could hinder essential customer alerts, from fraud warnings to one-time passwords (OTPs).The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is seeking to keep a crisis at bay, which saw spam complaints triple to 2.5 million last year from 2021, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha in February by the Department of Telecommunications.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Ace Turtle, the company behind denim brands Lee, Wrangler and G-Star Raw, is stepping away from India’s crowded value denim segment, sharpening its focus on premium brands as it looks to rebuild margins and define a clearer market position.Its chief executive, Nitin Chhabra, told Mint that the shift has meant it now has a tighter strategy centred on fashion, sourcing and distribution.“We are on track to achieve Ebitda positivity in the September quarter. For the full fiscal year, we are targeting a strong growth trajectory, with revenues expected to rise by approximately 25% compared to the previous year,” he said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: Apple on Monday named John Ternus, its vice-president of hardware engineering, as its next chief executive, succeeding Tim Cook. The transition was expected for later this year, but its timing—and Apple’s choice of a hardware leader—comes as artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping Big Tech.The move signals Apple’s bet that tightly integrated devices will remain central to its strategy, even as rivals push ahead in AI.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Companies are resorting to staggered price hikes to combat rising input cost inflation and protect margins. The impact of these increases is likely to reflect in June quarter (Q1FY27) earnings, but further hikes cannot be ruled out—especially if crude oil prices remain elevated.The West Asia war has triggered a spike in crude oil prices and LPG shortages.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: A clutch of private equity firms including Multiples Private Equity, Warburg Pincus, KKR and Kedaara Capital are evaluating a stake in jewellery brand Giva in an $80-100 million deal, three people familiar with the matter told Mint.“The company is expected to see an uptick in its valuation and is seeking a little over ₹6,000 crore for this round,” the first of the three persons cited earlier said, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity. The second person said the round is largely primary (about 75%) with a small secondary component that is likely to see early investors like A91 Partners and Sixth Sense Ventures exit their stake in part or full as the structures are still being decided.“The company plans to use the funds towards expansion plans including opening new stores, expanding inventory lines and manufacturing capabilities.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is again fighting for his political life this week, thanks to a scandal that’s becoming emblematic of Britain’s national dysfunction. Mr. Starmer’s woes boil down to a crisis of incompetence.Ostensibly the scandal concerns the vetting of a high-profile appointee—the long tail of the release in the U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Tiger Global-backed Infra.Market’s founders are taking on personal debt through their promoter entity, Silverline Homes Pvt Ltd, to inject fresh capital into the company, as market volatility clouds its valuation and delays its planned initial public offering (IPO), three people aware of the matter told Mint.“As things stand, the promoters are injecting more cash into Infra.Market through Silverline by taking on personal debt,” one of the persons said on the condition of anonymity. “They are also asking existing investors to participate in this equity raise as the much-needed IPO liquidity is still quite far away.”The promoter-backed infusion underscores the pressure building across India’s pre-IPO cohort.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Tea cafe chain Chaayos, backed by investors including Tiger Global and Elevation Capital, has appointed Avendus as an advisor to raise $50-70 million in a fresh funding round, two people familiar with the matter told Mint.“The company mandated Avendus a few months ago and the deal has been formally launched. While the exact structures are yet to be decided, several private equity and growth stage funds have been tapped as part of the process,” said one of the people cited above, adding that the company plans to use the funds for expansion.The round is expected to be a mix of primary and secondary.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: South Korean tech companies Krafton Inc. and Naver Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Zero sugar is no longer a differentiator for India’s soft-drinks industry – it’s a way of ensuring a stake in the market. After a year in which zero sugar dominated advertising and shelf space, beverage makers are offering functional drinks – reduced or no-sugar products with zero calories and ingredients like vitamins, minerals, probiotics and prebiotics.Chini Kum has entered the market with zero-sugar, low-calorie drinks fortified with prebiotic fibre.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.KKR & Co-backed Kota-based test preparation company Resonance Eduventures Ltd. is nearing an asset reconstruction company (ARC)-led debt resolution that may see lenders taking about 80% haircut on principal claims, according to two people aware of the matter.“Only one ARC has bid for the debt and the deal is nearing completion where it will acquire a majority of the debt. Though the final negotiations on the terms of the deal will decide closure timelines,” said the first person cited above.The proposed transaction comes amid stress in India’s once-booming offline coaching sector.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Low rainfall may hit India’s water reservoir replenishment, raising concerns among farmers and policymakers. Water reservoir levels stand at 44.7% of total capacity as of 9 April, better than last year, but experts warn that weak rainfall could hurt irrigation, fuelling worries over farm output and inflation in Asia’s third-largest economy. Mint explores.As per the Central Water Commission(CWC), water level in 166 key reservoirs stands at 44.7% of total live capacity, higher than last year (38%) and above the normal benchmark of 35%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Pocket FM, an audio storytelling platform, said its users in India and the US are getting increasingly comfortable with microtransactions— paying per episode or series—giving it a monetization engine that differs from the classic subscription business.The company’s recent growth reflects how microtransactions and the deeper use of AI across content creation, editing and creator tools have started to scale up together, chief operating officer Lalit Gangwar said.“Pocket FM is best understood as a microtransaction-led audio storytelling business rather than a pure subscription model,” Gangwar said. “Listeners typically start free, get hooked on serialized stories or series, and then keep returning to unlock the next episode or story arc.”The company doubled its annualized revenue run-rate (ARR) to over $400 million ( ₹3,725 crore) in the past year, after taking six years to reach its first $200 million.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s equity market is undergoing a quiet but meaningful structural shift, where market leadership is steadily widening beyond traditional heavyweight conglomerates. While large business groups continue to dominate in absolute terms, their grip on overall market capitalization is loosening as gains spread across sectors, mid-sized firms and new-age businesses.A Mint analysis of 10 leading business groups by market capitalization shows their combined share in India’s total market value has steadily declined over the past few years—from 31.4% in FY22 to 25.3% in FY25 and further to 24% in FY26.