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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: The Indian rupee is sliding from one record low to another, but economists say assigning a precise trajectory to the currency has become increasingly difficult amid the US-Iran war and the resultant crude oil shock.On Wednesday, the Indian currency hit another all-time low of 95.80 per US dollar before closing at 95.66 against its previous close of 95.68, according to data provided by Bloomberg. While the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) intervention trimmed some losses on Tuesday, traders believe the central bank is not intervening as much in the currency market.A Mint poll of 10 banks, brokerages and economists showed the Indian rupee is expected to weaken further through the year, with most forecasts for end-2026 clustering in the 96-98 per dollar range.Amid heightened volatility, only five respondents were willing to offer a near-term forecast, projecting the currency in a broad range of 94.5-96.5 against the US dollar over the next two weeks to one month.Most economists expect the rupee to depreciate 3-4% in the current financial year if crude prices remain elevated.“Currently, it seems that the rupee is trying to head towards 96.5 levels.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a clarion call for austerity, the Centre sharply raised import duty on precious metals to save dollars, at a time when the Gulf crisis boosts energy prices, weakens the rupee, and eats into the nation's current account. While economists said the decision could dampen demand and arrest the rupee's fall, others said it may fuel smuggling and impact jobs in the jewellery sector.The finance ministry increased the total import duty on gold, silver and platinum from 9.18% to 18.45%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The government's push for flex-fuel vehicle rollout is facing a classic chicken-and-egg stalemate.Automakers aren't ready to commit to producing vehicles that run on high ethanol blends until the fuel is widely available. Oil marketing companies, on the other hand, are unwilling to invest in storing and supplying blends such as E85 and E100 until there are enough such vehicles on the road, according to three people aware of the development.The government is in talks with automakers and oil marketing companies to resolve the deadlock, the people cited above said, requesting anonymity.Unlike standard vehicles, flex-fuel vehicles can run on petrol or any petrol-ethanol blend.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Tata Motors Ltd, India’s largest commercial vehicle maker, expressed caution about the industry’s growth in FY27, saying the true impact of the West Asia war on fuel prices and consumer sentiment is yet to be seen.The Mumbai company said it expects single-digit growth for the industry this fiscal year after retail sales grew 12% in FY26, crossing a million units for the first time as the goods and services tax (GST) cuts in September 2025 boosted consumer sentiment.Management’s comments came after the company reported a 5% dip in consolidated net profit in FY26 to ₹3,030 crore on Wednesday evening. Without a ₹1,428-crore loss on investments due to its equity stake in Tata Capital, which was listed during the fiscal year, the company’s profit grew by 9% to ₹4,458 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The Centre is considering a nationwide ban on crop-protection chemicals paraquat and carbosulfan after Telangana and Odisha imposed restrictions on their use, two people familiar with the matter told Mint.Paraquat is extensively used for weed control and conservation tillage, while carbosulfan is considered one of the few effective options against gall midge attacks in paddy-growing regions.However, as the kharif sowing season advances, the agrochemical industry has approached the Centre, contending that restricting the two widely used chemicals at the start of the cultivation season could disrupt weed and pest management practices and pose risks to the production of key cereal crops, particularly rice.It is lobbying for a scientific reassessment rather than an outright ban, warning that removing the two molecules could reduce farmers’ choices, increase cultivation costs, and aggravate pesticide resistance.The two chemicals have a market size of around ₹2,100 crore and are widely used in crops such as rice, cotton, fruits, and vegetables.“A meeting was recently held in the agriculture ministry, where the industry has urged the government not to rely on the decisions taken by the two states before arriving at any final decision,” said the first of the two people cited above.The ministry has taken a tough stand and sought additional details backed by scientific evidence. “Once the submissions are received, they will be reviewed and reassessed by the concerned government body before any final decision is taken,” this person added.“The ministry is also taking inputs from its scientists and collecting data related to the chemicals' health impact.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI/BENGALURU: Indian jewellery retailers and industry bodies are recalibrating their strategies as gold becomes more expensive following the government’s latest import duty hike. Companies are focusing on gold exchange schemes and lower-karat products to prevent a drop in sales volume.On Tuesday, India raised the effective import tax on gold and silver to 15%, reversing the duty cuts announced two years ago.The move comes as the government attempts to rein in surging precious metal imports and protect India’s foreign exchange reserves amid elevated crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India has launched the ₹12,980-crore sovereign-backed Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMIP) at a time when tensions in West Asia and sanctions-related disruptions are increasing risks to global shipping and energy trade.The domestic insurance pool, with a total underwriting capacity of $1.5 billion and a sovereign guarantee of $1.4 billion, aims to ensure uninterrupted maritime insurance cover for Indian-linked vessels and cargo.Mint explains:India launched the BMIP to reduce heavy dependence on foreign insurers and reinsurers amid rising geopolitical tensions, sanctions, and war-related disruptions affecting global shipping. The immediate trigger is instability in West Asia, a region vital for India’s crude oil and energy imports.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: The ministry of railways is planning to dilute 5-10% stakes in six listed railway public sector undertakings and another 2-3% in another listed company through offer-for-sale transactions inFY27, as part of a broader push to meet a ₹2.62 trillion monetization target under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP 2.0), two people aware of the matter said.The seven listed railway PSUs are Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. (IRCTC), Indian Railway Finance Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Sugar Cosmetics, once among India’s fastest-growing beauty startups, is seeking a sharply discounted funding round after an aggressive offline expansion and slowing sales growth strained its finances, according to four people familiar with the matter.The Mumbai-based beauty brand has begun a process to raise ₹100-150 crore after grappling with a severe cash crunch over the past six months amid declining revenue, a shrinking offline footprint and rising employee attrition, the people said.The fresh fundraise is likely to happen at a valuation of ₹1,400-1,500 crore, sharply lower from its peak valuation of about ₹3,000 crore in 2022, two of the people said. While typical growth investors are unlikely to invest in the current state, the company will tap family offices and high net-worth individuals (HNIs) alongside some existing investors to facilitate the capital raise even as its revenue declined further to about ₹380 crore in FY26, the person added.The need for fresh capital has intensified as the company struggles to manage working capital and employee payouts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Ahead of its initial public offering (IPO), Jio Platforms Limited has appointed Akash M. Ambani as its managing director for five years, effective 9 April, according to disclosures seen by Mint.The leadership reshuffle comes as the company prepares to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to seek approval for listing.“...subject to the approval of the members of the company, Mr Akash M.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Beneath the gloom gripping Indian equities, a quiet rally is reshaping parts of the market. Even as foreign investors pull money out, crude prices climb and benchmark indices struggle for direction, a narrow band of companies tied to infrastructure, industrials and commodities is emerging as a standout winner.A Mint analysis of 1,431 BSE-listed stocks with a market capitalization of more than ₹1,000 crore shows that while nearly 47% of companies remain in the red so far in 2026, 64 stocks—or nearly 5% of the universe—have posted outsized gains of more than 50%.Additionally, around 150 stocks gained between 25% and 50%, 245 rose by 10% to 25%, and another 294 recorded modest gains of up to 10%.Notably, one-third of these high-performers are concentrated within the capital goods, industrials, and commodity-linked sectors, prompting a closer look at their drivers.According to Gurmeet Singh Chawla, managing director at Master Portfolio Services, this sharp outperformance in a narrow set of stocks reflects a market that is rewarding earnings clarity over everything else.“Capital goods, industrials, and commodity-linked sectors have been the clearest winners due to the government’s sustained infrastructure push, a revival in private capex, and order inflows that give companies genuine multi-year revenue visibility,” he said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Ventive Hospitality is positioning itself at the centre of India's luxury travel boom with a ₹2,000 crore expansion pipeline spread over five years, which includes a new Soho House in Delhi’s Qutub area and the potential addition of The Ritz-Carlton Bangalore to its portfolio.Backed by American investment management company Blackstone and Pune-based Panchshil Realty, the hospitality platform is betting that demand for luxury travel will continue to outpace supply across India and foreign leisure markets such as the Maldives and Sri Lanka.The company, which also owns global membership platform Soho House, plans to develop 2,000 rooms, both through greenfield expansion and acquisitions, over five years. “We have made 2,000 rooms in the last five years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.General Atlantic-owned infrastructure investor Actis LLPis looking to cash out, fully or partly, from its listed Indian roads platform Nxt-Infra Trust, two people aware of the matter told Mint.“Actis is prepared to remain a co-investor or exit entirely depending on the valuation and the profile of the incoming investor,” one of the persons said on condition of anonymity.The mandate had been languishing for about six months, the second person said, on the condition of anonymity. “A Big Four adviser was originally onboarded to take the company through the mandate, but Ambit was later hired following a period of inactivity and execution hurdles.”The earlier outreach was focused largely on a small set of large private equity firms, this person added.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd wants to position itself as an influencer, using wellness incentives to boost customer engagement, cost efficiencies and claims ratios.“Our thesis is very clear that we are building a long-term relationship with our consumers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bengaluru and Mumbai: A 37-year-old transfer of shares of Tata Sons from a trust to the late Naval Tata—later inherited by his sons, Tata Trusts chair Noel Tata, the late Ratan Tata and his brother Jimmy Tata—has surfaced as an issue for the philanthropic entities that control the group.On Tuesday, Sunil Tulsiram Patilkhede, through his lawyer, Katyayani Agrawal, sent a legal notice to the six trustees of Sir Ratan Tata Trust, or SRTT, which owns 23.56% of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.This is the third such legal notice against SRTT in the last month. First, lawyer Agrawal had complained to the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner that three among its six trustees—Noel Tata, Pune philanthropist Jehangir HC Jehnagir, and Jimmy Tata—were permanent trustees.This, she alleged, violated rules that capped the number of lifetime trustees at a fourth of the total number of trustees.Last week, Suresh Patilkhede, a Mumbai resident, had sought an adjournment of a Tata Trust meeting before the Bombay High Court.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s retail investors turned selective in the March quarter, funnelling money into a narrow set of large-cap banking, metals, energy and technology stocks even as broader market participation weakened amid persistent volatility.A Mint analysis of shareholding data for 4,489 BSE-listed companies showed that only about a quarter of listed firms witnessed a rise in retail investor participation during Q4FY26, while nearly 70% saw a decline in retail ownership.Among the biggest beneficiaries were private sector lender HDFC Bank Ltd and state-run miner Hindustan Copper Ltd, which together added nearly 1.1 million new retail investors between December and March quarters.Individuals holding nominal share capital up to ₹2 lakh are categorized as retail investors.“The rise in retail holdings in large-cap stocks such as HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Hindustan Copper reflects that retail investors have become more selective and defensive, with a clear preference for fundamentally strong companies offering stable earnings growth and healthy balance sheets,” said Naveen Vyas, senior vice president, Anand Rathi Global Finance.“This shift suggests a safety-first approach, as many retail investors have seen wealth erosion over the last 12-18 months through exposure to high-beta small-cap and micro-cap stocks.”HDFC Bank emerged as the biggest retail favourite during the quarter, adding 570,540 individual investors and taking its retail shareholder base to 4.1 million.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: In a bid to tame recurring onion price shocks and improve farmer incomes, the Centre is working on a plan to help states locally procure and scientifically store the politically-sensitive crop in the producing regions, two people aware of the matter said. The strategy aims to cut wastage, reduce transport dependence on key producing states such as Maharashtra and create buffer stocks closer to demand centres to avert price spikes that stoke food inflation.Under the proposed framework for the world's second-largest onion producer, states would be encouraged to procure onions directly from local farmers and maintain buffer stocks through state warehousing corporations and other storage agencies, the people said.According to them, the government believes that improving storage infrastructure closer to cultivation clusters could help reduce wastage and stabilize supplies during tight availability periods.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Syrma SGS Technology Ltd. expects revenue to grow 30% in the ongoing fiscal, driven by strong demand in automotive and healthcare electronics, even as weakness in consumer electronics and geopolitical uncertainty weigh on the wider electronics manufacturing sector,“We’re expecting our automotive and med-tech verticals to do very well this fiscal, just like what we saw last fiscal,” Managing Director Jasbir Singh Gujral told Mint in an interview on Tuesday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is rolling out an artificial-intelligence-powered system to predict the arrival of the southwest monsoon at the sub-district level, an upgrade from the national and state-level forecasting that has kept farmers unsure about when to plant their crops.Meanwhile, IMD will make the all-important announcement about the onset of the southwest monsoon on Thursday.IMD will provide block-level monsoon onset forecasts at least 10 days in advance, covering more than 3,000 sub-districts across 16 states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. The system draws on AI-based models, extended-range prediction tools, and statistical techniques to generate probabilistic forecasts and will disseminate alerts through mobile applications, SMS, and local agricultural extension networks."The AI-enabled monsoon advance forecasting system will provide probabilistic forecasts of monsoon progression," said Jitendra Singh, minister of Earth Sciences.Singh said the system combines AI-based forecasting models, extended-range prediction systems, and statistical techniques to provide operationally useful forecasts for agricultural planning and preparedness.IMD, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) have jointly developed the systems.IMD has already forecast a below-normal monsoon this year, about 92% of the long-period average, raising concerns for the farm sector, which remains mostly rain-dependent.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.At first, the legal battle between Nayara Energy Ltd—the Indian refiner backed by Russia’s Rosneft—and SAP India appeared to be a conventional contract dispute.However, it quickly raised larger questions around foreign sanctions, India’s technological dependence on multinational software providers, and whether global geopolitical developments could disrupt critical infrastructure operations within the country.After Justice Vikas Mahajan heard both parties, the court recorded its judgement on 30 April.Mint explains the case and why it matters.The dispute started in July 2025, when SAP India Pvt Ltd suspended all critical software support services including SAP ECC support (maintenance for its legacy core business suite), marketplace access, SSCR keys (developer credentials required to modify SAP source code), and expert services.SAP said this was done after the European Union imposed sanctions on Rosneft, the Russian oil refinery that has a 49.13% stake in Nayara.Nayara approached the Delhi High Court in September, saying the suspension blocked access to software critical for refinery operations and regulatory compliance. The company noted it was unable to implement GST 2.0 updates and argued that the disruption "poses a serious risk to India’s sovereignty and public interest", given that its refinery accounts for 8.5% of the nation’s energy production.Nayara argued that SAP was using the European Union trade curbs to not provide services to the energy firm despite its contractual obligations in India.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The promoters of Bengaluru-based Truffles Hospitality Pvt Ltd, known for its continental cuisine, premium burgers and desserts, are exploring options to raise capital from private equity firms and have engaged Spark Capital to find buyers for the asset, three people familiar with the matter said.“The deal has been in the market for quite sometime now and several PE firms have been tapped,” one of the people cited above said.The transaction could see Truffles’ promoters sell anywhere between a significant minority and a majority stake, depending on the incoming investor and deal structure, the second person said.“The deal will likely value the overall company at about 3-4x revenue multiple which translates to nearly ₹800 crore,” a third person said, confirming the above details.India’s $80-billion food services market is projected to grow at a 10–11% CAGR through 2030, driven by the rapid expansion of organised players. The rise of online food delivery and branded dine-in formats is accelerating this shift.