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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank will kick off the banking sector’s March-quarter earnings season on Saturday, with brokerages expecting a stable performance but watching closely for management commentary on margins, growth and macroeconomic risks from the West Asia war.For HDFC Bank, the spotlight will be on leadership developments following the exit of former part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty on 18 March. Chakraborty had resigned with immediate effect from the board, citing “certain happenings and practices within the bank” that were “not in congruence” with his personal values and ethics, prompting questions on oversight and internal controls at trhe country's largest private bank.Following his resignation, HDFC Bank, in a late-night announcement, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had approved the appointment of board member and HDFC Group veteran Keki Mistry as an interim part-time chairman for three months from 19 March.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India will continue to buy crude oil and cooking gas (liquefied petroleum gas or LPG) from Russia, even after the US’s one-month waiver of sanctions on such imports has expired, according to two people aware of the development.In early March, the US briefly waived sanctions on Russian oil and petroleum products that were already in transit, amid concerns over global supply disruptions linked to the West Asia war. The waiver will not be extended, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.The first person cited above said waiver on sanctions is the US’s prerogative, and India’s imports would not depend on it.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Centre is exploring plans to sharply raise the national daily minimum wage to ₹350-450, at a time workers’ protests have prompted wage hikes in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.The Union labour ministry is working on fixing minimum wages for all workers in skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled categories, two people aware of the development said. Once a national floor is set, states will be compelled to revise their minimum wages accordingly, as wages cannot be set below the national floor.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Washington has been trying to free up more of the resources of big banks. Banks have wasted no time putting them to work, but on Wall Street rather than Main Street.Big banks’ lending to consumers and midsize companies is moving modestly ahead.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India has three good reasons to engage with one of the biggest open questions in economics today: the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs.First, the country has the world’s largest youth population. Second, its growth model has been dominated by software services, and AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude Opus are getting exceedingly good at writing code and finding bugs. But the third and possibly the most crucial point is this threat to entry-level positions comes amid an alarming oversupply of college graduates.The wage bump that graduates enjoy over school-leavers is shrinking and AI could further narrow the gap.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Last spring, Yale University President Maurie McInnis asked a group of faculty to examine why Americans were losing confidence in higher education—and to propose remedies to restore it.Their much-anticipated findings, released Wednesday, call for changes to address everything from perceived political bias among faculty, to opaque admission standards and crushing student debt.“In its report, the committee calls on Yale to reflect on and take responsibility for our role in the erosion of public trust,” McInnis wrote. “I accept this judgment fully.”The report comes as colleges and universities seek to placate a presidential administration that has filed lawsuits, frozen federal research funds and generally made life uncomfortable for institutions accustomed to more autonomy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A 34-year-old Pune woman, diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as a teenager, saw her first natural menstrual cycle in February—six months after starting Mounjaro for weight management. This spotlights a broader shift, as more women with the condition turn to GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) drugs for metabolic relief and, in some cases, improved fertility.The trend is accelerating across India, doctors said, even though these drugs are not officially approved for treating PCOS and are prescribed primarily for type-2 diabetes and obesity.“I’ve had PCOS since I can remember, and with that comes infertility,” she told Mint, requesting her name be withheld to protect her privacy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Wall Street’s ambivalence toward retail investors was summed up by Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., explaining what convinced him to get out of the stock market before the Crash of 1929.It was, he said, unsolicited investing advice from the guy polishing his wingtips.“When the shoeshine boys have tips, the stock market is too popular for its own good,” said Kennedy, who sold short and made a fortune, giving rise to an American political dynasty.The story seems too perfect to be true, but it underscores the basic tension between Wall Street and individual investors.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Since its merger-led transition into a bank in 2024, Slice has been moving away from an almost fully unsecured lending portfolio to a large, secured loan book, the bank’s top executive told Mint. Managing director and chief executive Rajan Bajaj said secured lending, which currently accounts for about 22% of the company’s portfolio, is expected to become the dominant segment over the next decade.“For us, secured business is growing faster than unsecured and will continue this way.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A new report suggests that India's budget and mid-scale hotels may be overbuilt by global standards, offering far more amenities than their international counterparts. Features such as multiple restaurants, banquet halls, and event spaces have become standard across categories, driven by strong demand for weddings and social gatherings.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mehli Mistry, a close associate of late tycoon Ratan Tata, has challenged his ouster from Sir Dorabji Tata Trusts (SDTT), the largest among Tata Trusts, and requested the appointment of an administrator to run the philanthropic entities behind the sprawling Tata Group of companies.In an affidavit filed before the Maharashtra charity commissioner on Wednesday, Mistry challenged the votes cast by Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh that led to his ouster in October; questioned Tata Trusts chair Noel Tata's objection to reappointing N. Chandrasekaran as chair of Tata Sons; and highlighted what he claims is a procedural flaw in the appointment of Noel as the Trusts chair.On 24 February, the Tata Sons board deferred a decision on reappointing Chandrasekaran, after Noel sought a roadmap to revive loss-making Tata businesses.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Amid diesel supply constraints triggered by the ongoing West Asia war, the government’s review of telecom operators and tower firms’ complaints has laid bare a crucial gap: the sector’s “critical infrastructure” tag is not ensuring priority fuel access on the ground. This threatens network continuity, especially in areas reliant on diesel-fuelled power backups, putting essential services—from hospitals to law enforcement—at risk of disruption.Despite its formal classification under national critical frameworks, telecom infrastructure continues to face uneven state-level curbs on diesel sales and movement.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Tata Motors Ltd is prioritizing flexible production over a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) bus line, as it looks to stay agile in a tender-driven market where demand can quickly shift between diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG)and electric buses.The stance underscores a cost-conscious approach to an uncertain order pipeline, with the company betting that multi-powertrain lines will help it respond faster to government tenders, rather than lock capital into specialized EV capacity amid stiff competition.On the sidelines of an event at the company's Lucknow plant, Tata Motors managing director and chief executive Girish Wagh told reporters that a dedicated EV production line is not needed even as the company increases its participation in tenders for electric buses, where it lost leadership in FY26.“All our manufacturing facilities are flexible. You can either produce a diesel or a CNG or an electric.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Indian equities caught a strong bid on Wednesday, with both the Nifty 50 and the S&P BSE Sensex rallying nearly 2%, as easing tensions in West Asia lifted investor sentiment. The mood turned distinctly risk-on amid growing signs that the conflict may be approaching a resolution.As per reports, US President Donald Trump suggested the war is “close to over,” even hinting at a second round of face-to-face talks with Iran in Pakistan in the coming days.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Driven by soaring global prices and across-the-table lending, the gold loan market has exploded, expanding almost 4 times in just four years. This surge has made gold loans the second-largest retail credit category in India, according to the Gold Loan Landscape Report by TransUnion Cibil in April 2026.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: Earning ₹12 lakh and paying zero tax is no longer the ceiling under the new regime. With the right salary structure and employer-backed benefits, even professionals earning ₹15 lakh, or more, can reduce their taxable income to zero.That shift marks a break from the old regime, where tax planning revolved around deductions such as house rent allowance (HRA), leave travel allowance (LTA), home loan interest and Section 80C investments.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Many informal migrants who had returned to their villages during the covid lockdowns stayed back after the pandemic ended, which led to an increased share of India’s employed population working on farms. Disrupted supplies of affordable cooking gas in wake of the Iran conflict have restarted a slow but worrying reverse migration of informal workers to villages.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.As investors gauge the full impact of the West Asia war on crude oil-led inflation, another problem seems to be emerging. The India Meteorological Department and private forecaster Skymet Weather Services predict rainfall in the June-September monsoon season may fall short of the long-term average.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India is considering creating a financial buffer for petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to manage supply disruptions and global price volatility, according to two people aware of the development.The buffer would be similar in concept to the price stabilization fund (PSF) that exists to help manage inflation in select critical agricultural commodities, which was set up in fiscal year 2015 (FY15).The plan for a dedicated price stabilization fund for energy—being explored by the Union ministries of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, and petroleum and natural gas—was mooted during a recent meeting of the empowered group of secretaries, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity, and follows the uncertainty over energy supply and price rise due to the West Asia war.“Drawing from the success of the PSF in containing inflation and cooling soaring prices of essential commodities such as pulses, onions, potatoes and tomatoes, the government is now looking to replicate a similar framework for key energy commodities like petrol, diesel and LPG,” said the first person, while adding that talks are in initial stages.The second person said discussions in the government are centred around how such a fund would be financed, the triggers for intervention, and the mechanism for deployment without distorting market signals.“The petroleum ministry is examining whether a dedicated buffer could provide a more predictable and transparent tool for price management,” the second person added.The fund would operate like the PSF for agri commodities, which allows the government to procure goods from farmers, farmer producer organisations and,

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.On warm evenings in Delhi, bartenders are swapping vodka and gin for jamun (java plum), kaccha aam (raw mango) and chilli mango, signalling India's palate is expanding beyond plain white spirits.This shift is beginning to reshape how alcohol producers such as Diageo Plc, Allied Blenders and Distillers Ltd, Radico Khaitan Ltd and NV Group approach their white spirits portfolios, as the country now stands as the fourth-largest flavoured spirits market globally by value, according to industry estimates.Driven by younger consumers, at-home drinking and cocktail culture, India is catching on to a global trend in which flavoured spirits account for a significant share of consumption, but with a twist: it is instead drawing from local kitchens, street snacks and seasonal fruits rather than traditional profiles such as citrus or berry.Kunal Madan, chief marketing officer of Radico Khaitan, which makes Magic Moments vodka, told Mint that its flavoured spirits portfolio is driving 60% of vodka volume growth. Magic Moments also reported around 18% volume growth in the third quarter and sales of ₹1,050 crore for the nine months ended 31 December, driven by flavour-led innovations.In September 2025, it launched Magic Moments vodka in the ‘Jamun SpicyMint’ flavour.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has returned Ujjivan Small Finance Bank’s application to upgrade to a universal bank, sending a clear signal to the industry: meeting financial criteria is not enough. The regulator is placing heavy emphasis on the diversification of loan books, a move that will force other hopefuls to reassess their transition timelines.Ujjivan was among the three small finance banks (SFBs) that had applied to the central bank to transition to a universal bank.