Reports Financial News

₹2,010.44 crore at the end of October 2025 (when Amfi released SIF numbers after first launch in September) to ₹9,710.87 crore at the end of February.These will also give sophisticated investors a variety of options in the category, which was dominated by hybrid long-short strategies that use equities, debt, and derivatives to balance risk and returns during the initial phase.Unlike a mutual fund that takes only long positions—buying and holding stocks to benefit when prices rise—SIFs can employ both long and short strategies. In other words, SIFs are not dependent only on upward market movement and can also generate returns in a bearish market.

Cycle Pure Agarbatti is sharpening its push into digital channels and associated product categories as it looks to evolve beyond its traditional incense business. As part of this strategy, the company has acquired a majority stake in Satvik Spirituals Pvt Ltd, a company that built its business of spiritual and lifestyle offerings through e-commerce."E-commerce is still relatively new for us and Satvik is a digital-first brand and understands consumer behaviour online,” Arjun Ranga, managing director of N.

India’s first class action suit has hit an unexpected hurdle: Ankit Jain, the lead minority shareholder in the ₹2,500-crore siphoning case against Jindal Poly Films, is looking to walk away. Having sold his shares in the company, Jain, who previously represented a 4.99% minority stake alongside other petitioners, has now moved to exit the landmark legal battle.Jain’s legal team informed the Delhi principal bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday that he had divested his entire shareholding and no longer had the legal standing to appear as a petitioner leading the class action.

₹1,000-1,500 crore through an initial public offering (IPO), two people familiar with the matter said.The company has appointed Motilal Oswal Alternates Investment Advisors, Axis Capital and Nuvama Wealth Management as bankers for the process.If it goes as planned, the company will file its draft papers for a listing by the end of this financial year, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.Volatile equity markets and slowing capital flows due to the US-Iran war have forced several companies to defer or recalibrate their listing timelines this year.The companies did not respond to Mint’s requests for comments,sent on Wednesday, till the time of publishing.India’s home & furnishings market, valued at $34–36 billion in 2024, is witnessing a structural shift driven by rising disposable incomes, urbanization, and growing demand for branded, design-led offerings, according to a Redseer report. The market is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 11–13%, reaching $63 billion–$71 billion by 2030.As consumers move beyond functional needs toward aesthetics, comfort, and lifestyle expression, full-stack D2C players are well-positioned to lead this transition with end-to-end integration, multi-category expansion, and omnichannel reach becoming more prevalent, the report said.The report further highlighted that the market is gradually formalising, bringing greater standardisation, improved access to quality products, and a more curated experience for consumers across price tiers and city segments.In 2023, PAG-backed Nuvama bought a minority stake worth ₹250 crore in Ozone, helping the company expand its manufacturing capacity, reinforce brand presence, and explore potential synergistic acquisitions.

Has economic forecasting ever seemed so fraught with risk? A mix of almost imponderable new possibilities made possible by AI and the unpredictable state of the world makes people who trade contracts on so-called prediction markets seem foolhardy. Still, spare a kind thought for those of us in the commentariat who must hedge our prophesying.Put aside for a moment how long the truce between the US, Israel and Iran will last. And, if it does, how to estimate the huge backlog of ships and tankers waiting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz and how long this will take to clear.

At an Ikea store in India, a shopper’s journey often ends where it quietly begins again—with a tray of food.“Food is a major driver of traffic for us. It’s among the biggest reasons customers walk into our stores,” Adosh Sharma, country commercial manager at Ikea India, told Mint in an interview.What started as an in-store convenience has evolved into a core lever for footfall, repeat visits and customer engagement.

In a market where defence stocks have largely remained in favour despite severe geopolitical strain, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been a bit of an outlier. The stock is down around 11% so far in 2026, while the Nifty India Defence Index is up about 4%.HAL recently posted provisional FY26 revenue of ₹32,250 crore, only slightly higher than the ₹30,981 crore it reported in the previous fiscal year, because of delivery challenges in Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A and Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) due to supply-chain disruptions stemming from geopolitical and technical issues.This quickly shifted the focus to execution worries, with some analysts even trimming their estimates after delays in engine supplies from General Electric (GE).

₹2.5 trillion relief package, including credit guarantees for MSMEs amid feedback from banks indicating potential stress in their MSME portfolios starting Q1 FY27, the persons cited above said, requesting anonymity.The current environment, shaped by the West Asia crisis, is creating conditions similar to the covid-19 period, warranting a closer look at relief measures. This assumes significance given that the MSME sector contributes about 30.1% to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and accounts for 35.4% of manufacturing output and nearly 45% of India’s merchandise exports.MSME borrowers have increasingly approached lenders seeking relief measures, citing business disruptions from the West Asia war.

Ever found your mobile phone's signal to be patchy while waiting for a flight? That’s because telecom operators can’t provide stronger signals near airports, as these can interfere with a small cockpit tool—a radio altimeter.The electronic gauge, which measures the altitude of an airborne plane, feeds data to multiple automated systems on board. A wrong reading can be a safety risk, especially during poor visibility.

In a crucial ruling for the banking sector, the Supreme Court clarified that banks are not required to provide borrowers a personal or oral hearing before classifying their accounts as fraudulent. On Tuesday, the court held that a written process is enough to satisfy principles of natural justice.Mint explains the case, the ruling, and what it means for fraud detection by banks and for borrowers.The case before a two-person Supreme Court bench arose from appeals filed by banks, including State Bank of India and Bank of India, against orders of the Calcutta and Delhi High Courts.

TA Associates at an enterprise value of roughly $1.2 billion. However, the sale fell through.“The deal is in initial stages.

₹45 lakh to the tax department. Until the last financial year, only property sales, not gifts that did not involve a sale, were reported.“Registrars will now submit a SFT (Statement of Financial Transaction) with details of such transactions and it will reflect in the taxpayer’s AIS (Annual Information Statement).

₹10,900 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the food processing sector has delivered on several fronts, drawing investments and expanding capacity. But questions remain on whether it has actually delivered as expec­ted.With the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) now examining why several PLI schemes have underperformed expectations, Mint explains whether the needle has moved beyond headline investments to sustained value addition.The PLI scheme for the food processing sector is designed to support food manufacturing companies that meet minimum sales thresholds and commit to investments for expanding processing capacity and building global brands.The scheme, being implemented for six years till FY26-27, seeks to create globally competitive food manufacturing champions.

Shares of Asian Paints Ltd, Berger Paints India Ltd and Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd rallied 3-5% on Wednesday as crude oil prices eased. Following the news of a two-week ceasefire in the West Asia war, Brent crude slipped to around $93 a barrel from a closing high of $107.9 a barrel on 18 March.Crude derivatives such as solvents, resins and binders comprise around 40% of the raw material basket for paint companies, so higher oil prices weigh on gross margins.

Mint.The IPO bankers and the exchange started the drafting process for the offer document and chalked out a rough timeline for the listing, one of the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity."NSE met all 20 bankers together for the first time, where everyone agreed to a tentative timeline for the IPO," this person said, adding that the process will begin with the identification of risks and the preparation of required disclosures, work on which is likely to begin this week.The exchange will contact all retail shareholders who wish to participate in the share sale by the end of April, a second person aware of the discussions said, wishing not to be named discussing private deliberations.The exchange’s registrar had already asked retail shareholders late last month to express their interest in the IPO."The exact date of the filing of the DRHP with Sebi is currently unknown. Accordingly, only such equity shares which have been held continuously since June 15, 2025 (the cut-off date) will be eligible to be sold in the Offer for Sale," the registrar's letter to retail investors read, a copy of which has been reviewed by Mint."Once these retail investors express their interests, the bankers will have a three-week period to review the outreach.

After two years of strong expansion, the pace of new demat account additions slowed in FY26, signalling a shift in retail investor behaviour as volatile markets and weaker returns tempered their enthusiasm.Net demat account additions fell to about 32 million in FY26 from a record 41 million added in FY25, according to data collated from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. The total number of demat accounts crossed 225 million.The 22% year-on-year decline in additions of demat accounts—dematerialized or paperless accounts mandated for trading in securities—suggests that the surge in retail participation during the recent bull run is beginning to lose momentum amid a more uncertain global and market environment.The longer-term trend shows how growth is now normalizing after a sharp post-pandemic surge.

Mint and a person familiar with the matter.The companies have sought a meeting with Siddaramaiah, warning that the move could affect air pollution goals, oil imports, energy security and the investment outlook for India’s EV industry.Mint reported on 31 March that Karnataka had reversed its earlier EV road tax waiver, a step that risks slowing adoption in one of India’s key EV markets. In 2025, the state accounted for 12% of the country’s electric car sales, with more than 21,000 units sold and passenger vehicle penetration of 6.4%, compared with 4% nationally.“The objective of this engagement is to share industry perspectives on the recent revisions in Road Tax applicable to electric passenger vehicles in the Karnataka State.

Smartphone makers in India have raised prices by as much as 40%, according to a Mint report, as the war in West Asia and a chip scarcity push up costs. The increases appear to be industry-wide, with brands such as Vivo, Oppo and Samsung, among others, raising their price tags.Ordinarily, this should not attract the attention of policymakers. But these handsets are fast turning indispensable at every socio-economic level, needed as they are for internet access, UPI payments, Aadhaar identity verification and a whole lot more.

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes global tech spending, India’s IT services majors are responding with a leadership reset. New chief AI roles, dedicated business units, and AI-linked revenue disclosures point to a structural shift in how the sector is gearing up for growth in the automation era.This shift is already visible in the pace of leadership changes.

. is looking to capitalise on that shift, betting on city hotels and experiential resorts.“Travel is shifting, with Asia, including India, likely to benefit as some European and West Asia-bound tourists who may divert their travels from elsewhere,” said William E. Heinecke, founder and chairperson of Minor International, which runs hotel brands like Avani and Anantara.It’s the right time to focus on India, he told Mint. "There’s tremendous potential for both domestic and international travel here,” said Heinecke, who is in India to attend the Hotelivate hospitality conference in Mumbai this week.The Thailand-based hotel company is signing an Anantara at the World Trade Centre in Kolkata this month.

Advent-backed digital lender KreditBee has raised about $280 million in a Series E funding round, valuing the company at around $1.5 billion and marking its entry into the unicorn club.The round, which makes KreditBee the third unicorn of 2026 and the first in the new fiscal year, was led by Motilal Oswal Alternates, Hornbill Capital, and MUFG-backed Dragon Funds, with participation from WhiteOak Capital, A.P. Moller Holding, and existing investors including Premji Invest and Advent International.