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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In prosperity, as in the hour of need, the thoughts of most Indians turn to gold. And with the steady drain on our foreign exchange reserves for over two years now, we have reached a stage as a nation when the question is being asked whether we could utilize the idle gold hoards of the people to see us through the critical years ahead. No less a person than the Prime Minister voiced this feeling at a recent meeting.” These words were written in 1958 by I.G.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In the new Netflix documentary series Should I Marry a Murderer?, Caroline Muirhead, a Scottish forensic pathologist, falls in love with Sandy McKellar, a man who, after proposing, reveals to her that he and his brother have committed a homicide. What follows is baffling: Even after Muirhead turns him in to the police, she returns to his side.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.PI Industries stock has fallen 11% over the past two trading sessions as pressure in its custom synthesis and manufacturing (CSM) business persisted. CSM revenues have now declined year-on-year for five consecutive quarters. The segment, which contributed about 75% of the agrochemicals maker’s FY26 revenue of ₹6,714 crore, saw revenue fall 16% year-on-year.Weak demand and customers’ shift to just-in-time procurement continued to weigh on the CSM business, where revenue declined 15% in the March quarter (Q4FY26), though that marked an improvement from the 32% drop in Q3FY26.Management said the global crop-protection market remains stuck in a prolonged multi-year downturn, resulting in an uneven recovery.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India is gearing up for one of its largest offshore oil and gas exploration campaigns in recent years.The government has planned extensive geological surveys across multiple eastern offshore basins.The timing is no coincidence. India still sources nearly 85% of its crude oil from overseas, along with a significant chunk of its natural gas needs.That dependence leaves the economy exposed; any spike in global crude prices, geopolitical flare-up, or supply disruption abroad quickly feeds into higher fuel costs and inflation at home.According to media reports, survey ships are expected to soon begin scanning vast stretches of the Bay of Bengal and nearby offshore regions to hunt for commercially viable hydrocarbon reserves buried beneath the seabed.The government has floated bids for a large-scale multi-basin exploration project covering the Bengal-Purnea, Mahanadi, Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery, and Andaman offshore basins—all using advanced 2D Broadband Marine Seismic and Gravity-Magnetic surveys.The scale is striking.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: The mutual fund industry may be closing in on a structural fix to a long-running cost problem that weighs on asset manager profitability and makes small investments less viable.The industry is working on creating its own KYC Registration Agency (KRA) through Mutual Fund Utility (MFU), a move that could cut know-your-customer (KYC) expenses by nearly half, according to four people aware of the discussions.If implemented, the shift would directly reduce fixed onboarding costs that AMCs must pay for every new investor, regardless of investment size, these people said.Currently, asset management companies (AMCs) pay around ₹35 to KRA agencies for every new investor onboarded. That cost applies even to very small investments.Take a ₹500 monthly systematic investment plan.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For all the noise around artificial intelligence—new models, new assistants, new tools—there’s a quieter shift underway. It’s not about which chatbot is smarter this month or which latest device has the most AI features. It’s about something far more fundamental: how people actually use these systems.Across workplaces, classrooms, and creative studios, the gap between people who get consistently good results from AI tools and those who don’t is widening.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For the last few years, Indian companies had a fairly predictable ally on their side: benign input costs. Crude prices stayed manageable, freight rates cooled after the pandemic spike, and commodity inflation largely remained under control.That cushion is beginning to disappear.Crude oil prices have surged sharply in recent months amid escalating tensions in West Asia, pushing India’s wholesale inflation to a 42-month high of 8.3% in April 2026. Fuel and power inflation alone jumped nearly 25%, while prices of crude petroleum, metals and manufactured products also moved up sharply.For India Inc, this creates a familiar problem.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: India’s top engineering and management institutes are no longer content with merely incubating startups. Increasingly, they also want to participate in the upside created by companies emerging from their own ecosystems.Institutions including Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, IIT Madras and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru are setting up venture funds to invest in campus-linked deeptech startups, as rising investor interest in sectors such as semiconductors, defence and spacetech pushes universities to play a larger role in the businesses they help build.But why are they doing this now? How are these funds structured? And what kind of startups are they backing? Mint explains.So far, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras have launched venture funds, while IISc Bengaluru is in the process of setting up one.The funds are being structured through affiliated entities, incubators and alumni-backed networks because IITs and IISc operate as Section 8 entities, or non-profit organisations.IIT Madras, through its research park, has partnered with venture firm Unicorn India Ventures to launch the IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund, a ₹600 crore vehicle with a ₹400 crore green-shoe option.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Amber Enterprises India Ltd exited FY26 with a healthy 22% year-on-year revenue growth at ₹12,186 crore, driven by its consumer durables and electronics segments.However, management has flagged margin pressure building in its core consumer durables business amid soaring input and labour costs.The consumer durables division — which contributes nearly 72% of total revenue and includes room air-conditioners (RAC) and related products — remains the backbone of the company.Despite Q4 being seasonally strong for AC companies, segment margins dropped to 7.5% in Q4FY26 from 8.4% in Q4FY25.For the full year, margins slid to 7.1% in FY26 from 7.7% last year.Copper-clad laminate and gold prices have risen over 60% in the past year, while minimum wages have increased sharply in key states such as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.Amber has implemented a cumulative RAC price hike of around 14%. However, in consumer durables, price pass-through typically takes one quarter, while in PCB manufacturing it can take nearly two quarters.As a result, management has guided for a temporary margin decline of 50–100 basis points over the next few quarters.Amber already operates at sub-10% Ebitda margins.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The polar regions fascinated Daniel Liss ever since he was a child.He would study maps and globes, picturing the people and animals who call the coldest reaches of the Earth home. As an adult, he crisscrossed the Alaskan frontier, lived in Sweden, and visited the Norwegian island town of Longyearbyen, one of the world’s northernmost settlements.In December, he crossed a big item off his bucket list, sailing on an Antarctic cruise with Oceanwide Expeditions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Youngsters riding bikes at high speed without hands on the handlebars and performing stunts have long been a common sight in India, raising serious safety concerns for both riders and other motorists and even pedestrians.This could soon change.The government is planning a three-layer “hands-free” safety system for two-wheelers, requiring manufacturers to install technology that can detect whether riders have both hands on the handlebars and step in if they do not, amid rising road accidents in the country.According to an internal draft of the proposal, reviewed by Mint, the planned safety standards would require bikes and scooters to prevent ignition without both hands on the grip, issue audio and visual alerts if hands are removed while riding, and gradually slow down the vehicle in such cases.The introduction of new standards will lead to additional costs for automakers, which are typically passed on to consumers, with the proposed measures expected to increase prices by ₹800-1,000 per unit for installing sensors on handlebars, at least two industry executives said. The move marks a fresh push by the Centre to tighten two-wheeler safety norms even as its attempt to mandate anti-lock braking systems (ABS) across all categories of two-wheelers irrespective of engine capacity remains stuck amid industry resistance and cost concerns.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Chemical fertilizers in India are heavily subsidized and import-dependent. Their use, over the years, has led to significant deterioration in soil health. To promote soil testing, provide farmers with crop-specific nutrient recommendations, improve soil fertility and optimize fertilizer use, the government launched the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme in 2015.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s social capital deficit registers as a factor in its current account deficit through the demand for gold. Our appetite for gold is not an irrational cultural quirk. It is, in part, a revealed preference and a tangible symptom of our collective distrust in one another, society and civic institutions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Through the dotcom bust, the 2008 crisis, demonetization, the Covid crash, the Ukraine war, and every oil shock in between, my answer in this column has been almost monotonously the same. Stay the course. Don’t react to the news.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.I knew hantavirus had reached a tipping point when my own 12-year-old called out to us after bedtime to ask: “What is hantavirus, and do we have to worry about it?”The virus that started with an outbreak on a cruise ship has infiltrated the public consciousness, and it feels like déjà vu: resurrecting painful memories of the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down the world.There are lots of questions, misinformation and, understandably, fears. But what do we actually know about the hantavirus that has infected at least 11 people, killed three of them and led to the quarantining of dozens more across the globe? How infectious—or not—is it, and how does it spread?U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The fiscal year 2026-27 has just begun, but several small-cap stocks are already attracting market attention for their momentum.Despite volatility in the broader market, a few fundamentally strong smallcaps are witnessing sharp investors interest backed by strong earnings growth, robust order book, improving margins, and expanding business opportunities.Historically, some of the biggest wealth creators in the Indian stock market have emerged from the smallcap space, especially during the early phase of a new financial cycle.And interestingly, a fresh set of small-cap companies is now rapidly moving into the spotlight as investors hunt for the next phase of high-growth opportunities.Here are some of the top-performing smallcap stocks of FY27 till 11 May 2026 that have caught strong market attention with impressive performance and business growth potential.We focus on companies with consistent positive sales and net profit growth over the last 3 years, debt-to-equity below 1, ROE above 15%, and market capitalisation below ₹100 billion (bn).A leading manufacturer of winding and conductivity products used across transformers, renewable energy, power transmission, EVs, railways, and industrial infrastructure.The company has a diversified portfolio of more than 8,500 SKUs across copper and aluminium-based electricals products.The stock has emerged as one of the top-performing small-cap stocks of FY27 so far, surging nearly 83% since April 2026.The sharp rally was primarily driven by the commencement of commercial production at its wholly owned subsidiary, ALCU industries, which significantly boosts the company’s manufacturing capacity and growth visibility.Vidya Wires is currently the

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.OAKLAND, Calif.—U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers opened the last day of testimony in the titanic trial between Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s OpenAI with a simple question: Should a trophy of a golden donkey’s backside be entered into evidence?The judge held the statue in her hands with a bemused look.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Climate Change & You is a fortnightly newsletter written by Bibek Bhattacharya and Sayantan Bera. Subscribe to Mint’s newsletters to get them directly in your inbox.How much nations consume, and how extravagantly, has a direct impact on the health of the planet, via what is known as the carbon footprint of consumption.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.There was once a time when software did as it was told. You used the keyboard to type in input, and the computer complied with an expected output—unless it was in the mood to crash. We’ve been used to this equation for decades.But AI systems are beginning to work differently.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: Telecom operator Reliance Jio has opened its low-cost 4G feature phone recharge plans to rival devices after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) flagged device-specific tariffs as “discriminatory”, according to people aware of the matter and changes seen on the company’s website.The move, analysts said, could widen Jio’s reach among feature phone users but dilute one of its key customer lock-in advantages.The change means users of 4G feature phones with physical keypads from brands such as Nokia, Lava and itel can now access Jio’s low-cost recharge plans that were earlier restricted to its own JioBharat and JioPhone devices.The move follows Trai’s March directive asking Jio to stop certain tariff practices that the regulator said violated transparency norms and disadvantaged consumers. “(D)evice-specific tariffs are treated as discriminatory and disadvantageous to the consumers as the offered tariff plans can be accessed only upon purchase of particular make/technology device,” Trai said.Jio communicated compliance with Trai’s March 24 directions to the regulator a few weeks ago, according to two people aware of the matter.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Realty developer DLF is bracing for yet another year of range-bound pre-sales. Instead of aggressively chasing bookings, the company is prioritizing margins and free cash flows.Pre-sales or bookings in the March quarter (Q4FY26) rose sharply, both sequentially and year-on-year, to ₹3,980 crore.The uptick was driven by sales at The Dahlias, Privana and Westpark projects.