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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India is planning a sweeping overhaul of its drug regulatory system by unifying central and state licensing, approvals, and compliance into a single digital platform, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.At the centre of the plan is a proposed interoperable Digital Drugs Regulatory System (DDRS) being developed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). The regulator is preparing to invite proposals from IT services firms to build and run the platform, the documents show.The DDRS is designed to streamline complex processes—from registration and clinical trial approvals to import-export licensing and supply chain traceability—by bringing central and state regulators, laboratories, and allied agencies onto a unified, real-time digital architecture.States have been asked to review the proposed framework and provide feedback, the first person cited above said, requesting anonymity.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Law firms are closely watching a potentially precedent-setting case before India’s bankruptcy courts that could have far-reaching implications for companies dealing with entities facing international sanctions.At the heart of the dispute lies a key question: can companies legitimately withhold payments to a sanctioned supplier, or can the supplier initiate insolvency proceedings over non-payment? Whichever way this question is ultimately settled is likely to reshape bankruptcy disputes in India.The issue has surfaced after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Ahmedabad, in a 26 March order, held that foreign sanctions cannot be used as a defence to avoid payment of dues to operational creditors such as suppliers and vendors.The case involves an insolvency plea by Mumbai-based petrochemical supplier CJ Shah & Co. against Flint Group India Pvt.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Axis Bank is expected to report a steady performance in its March quarter earnings, marked by resilient loan growth, modest margin pressure and improving asset quality trends, six brokerages said. While headline growth remains healthy, the focus of analysts and investors will be on liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and management commentary on the outlook for growth and profitability.Net profit at India’s third-largest private sector lender is expected to fall more than 2% to ₹6,942 crore from a year earlier, according to a poll by Bloomberg.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: Telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm is expected to post steady subscriber additions for the March quarter (Q4FY26), but the absence of tariff hikes and a shorter quarter are likely to cap growth, a trend analysts expect across the sector.Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Jio Platforms, will report its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on 24 April alongside parent Reliance Industries Ltd.“Reliance Jio is expected to add 5 million subscribers q-o-q (quarter-on-quarter) to 520 million, with Arpu (average revenue per user) likely to grow by 1% q-o-q to ₹216/month, led by 5G FWA (fixed wireless access) addition,” brokerage house Centrum said in a note dated 5 April.Arpu, a key industry metric that tracks average revenue earned per user, is seen inching up modestly as operators lean on premiumization rather than price hikes.On a standalone basis, Centrum estimates Jio will report ₹33,529 crore revenue from operations, up 2.4% sequentially and 11.7% year-on-year. Net profit is projected to rise 2.8% quarter-on-quarter and 11% annually to ₹7,371 crore.Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom operator by market share, accounts for the bulk of Jio Platforms’ business.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The clean energy story is evolving fast, and battery energy storage systems (BESS) are becoming a crucial part of that shift.As renewable energy capacity grows, the need to store power efficiently and use it when demand rises is only getting more important. But the BESS theme has not been like many other fast-emerging themes in the market.Due to supply constraints and operational challenges, many stocks within the sector or involved in the ecosystem have corrected from their peaks.In some cases, stocks have fallen simply due to the broader market weakness.As India continues to push aggressively towards renewable energy, the need for efficient energy storage is only expected to grow.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi/Mumbai: Regulatory approvals in Europe for Tata Motors Ltd’s $4.4 billion acquisition of Iveco are running behind schedule, potentially pushing the closure of its largest-ever buyout past the April-June target, according to two persons in the know.Pending clearances from the European Central Bank and the European Commission could delay revenue recognition and integration plans, adding near-term uncertainty even as the company continues to engage with regulators for an early closure.“Approvals from European Central Bank and European Competition Commission are still pending, which should have come a couple of months back. The deal is running behind schedule,” one of the persons mentioned above said on the condition of anonymity.In a 12 February presentation to investors, Iveco had noted that the timeline proposed by Tata Motors suggested all regulatory approvals should be in place by the end of the March quarter.After all regulatory approvals come through, Tata’s offer will be submitted to Italy’s securities market regulator Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob), following which the offer will be formally launched.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Iran, China and an array of middlemen have evaded U.S. sanctions for years by shipping oil on aging tankers with opaque records and transferring cargoes between ships at sea, all to avoid scrutiny and legal liability.U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Fed chair, faced pointed questions Tuesday at his Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing, with lawmakers zeroing in on his lack of investment disclosures, his stance on Fed independence and, of course, inflation.While the public watches the consumer price index (CPI) to follow inflation, the Federal Reserve spends its time tracking a different set of initials: PCE.The personal consumption expenditures price index, a monthly measure of the prices Americans pay for goods and services, is the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation and a key input in its interest-rate decisions.Damjan Pfajfar, vice president in the research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said the central bank prefers the PCE because it provides a “broader measure of inflation.” Speaking with Barron’s on April 17, he said PCE is a “more accurate reflection of what consumers are actually spending.”Compared with the CPI, which only includes urban consumers, the PCE also measures rural households and spending done on behalf of consumers, including employer-provided health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. With monthly updating of its weightings—the relative importance of different sectors—the index also better reflects shifts in consumer behavior, such as substituting pricier options for lower-cost alternatives.

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.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.Jio Financial Services Ltd, the financial services arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, plans to use its newly-launched marketplace to sell products that are otherwise not within its risk appetite, managing director and chief executive officer Hitesh Sethia said on Monday.“For example, we offer personal loans through half a dozen lenders on our marketplace. We are not licensed to issue credit cards, and so we have over 50 credit cards (on the marketplace); business loans are something we are starting to offer,” Sethia said over phone.In February, Jio Financial Services launched its marketplace for financial products through the JioFinance app.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India is emerging as a key growth market for champagne as the country's appetite for premium spirits grows. And, if the duty cuts planned under the proposed trade deal with the European Union (EU) kick in, the spirit would get more affordable and usher in new growth in a hugely underpenetrated market.Senior representatives of the Comité Champagne, which represents growers and manufacturing houses in France’s Champagne region, said India’s champagne market has climbed back to pre-pandemic levels, with shipments at about 60,000 bottles in 2025, close to a peak of around 65,000 bottles recorded in 2016.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bengaluru: Real estate investment firm Certus Capital plans to invest around ₹2000 crore in residential, office and mixed-use development projects in 2026-27, said a top executive.The Mumbai-headquartered firm will deploy the capital through a combination of proprietary balance sheet and its recently launched alternative investment fund (AIF).Certus Capital is currently raising its second Category-2 AIF—Certus TFCI Real Estate Fund—of ₹500 crore plus a green-shoe option of ₹500 crore. Tourism Finance Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.If Vedanta’s challenge to lenders’ approval of Adani Enterprises’ ₹15,000-crore resolution plan for Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) succeeds, it could redefine lenders’ wide powers under the “commercial wisdom” doctrine in the country’s bankruptcy regulation, lawyers said.Lawyers say the Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta's challenge is serious and, if successful, could force lenders to better explain their decisions, especially when choosing a lower-value plan based on factors like upfront cash and faster payments.“If Vedanta succeeds, the case would represent a reconsideration of the commercial wisdom doctrine,” said V. Aneesh, partner at CMS IndusLaw.Vedanta is challenging the committee of creditors' (CoC) approval for Adani’s plan before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), saying its higher bid was unfairly rejected."Commercial wisdom” is a court-developed legal principle, not expressly defined in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.April presents a familiar, if uncomfortable, market backdrop. Equity indices are swinging sharply, crude oil prices are hovering at $90- $100 a barrel, the rupee is under pressure, and global markets continue to grapple with uncertainty. For many investors, this mix fuels unease, amplified by constant exposure to headlines and real-time market moves.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It’s a long shot, but asset management companies (AMCs) are trying everything to lure fund managers into swapping their Bandra Kurla Complex offices for a new life in an upcoming financial hub about 500 km away.AMCs are offering pay hikes, relocation perks and faster career tracks to coax fund managers into moving to GIFT City, where talent remains hesitant to move.The push comes as regulators tighten norms on keeping an on-ground presence in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), forcing fund houses to ensure that key personnel are physically based in GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City). But attracting experienced fund managers has proved to be difficult, with AMCs competing for a limited talent pool."Fund managers, if they have to move to GIFT City, are likely to ask for a salary hike.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: Indian equity markets ended the week on a firm note, with the Nifty 50 rising 156.8 points, or 0.65%, to close at 24,353.55. Easing tensions in West Asia and a cooling India VIX, down about 5% to 17.21, lifted sentiment, pushing investors into a risk-on mode.Market breadth was strong, with an advance-decline ratio of 2.6:1 as 2,364 stocks rose against 894 declines on the NSE.Among sectors, the Nifty FMCG index led gains, climbing 2.65% on the back of a nearly 5% jump in Hindustan Unilever, driven by upbeat volume growth expectations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Earlier this year, the government issued a much-awaited update to the methods by which it measures national income and gross domestic product (GDP).According to the government, key reforms to the way GDP is calculated “include revising the base years of GDP and price indices, strengthening the measurement of the informal and services sectors, improving labour market statistics, adopting advanced survey methods and technology, and enhancing transparency…”Based on the new methodology, India’s GDP grew 7.2%, 7.1% and 7.6% in real (inflation-adjusted) terms in FY24, FY25, and FY26, respectively, compared to the 9.2%, 6.5% and 7.4% growth rates last estimated using the old methodology. In absolute terms, GDP is now lower than previously pegged: at current prices (not adjusted for inflation), India added ₹345.47 trillion in economic output in 2025-26, not ₹357.14 trillion as believed using the old technique.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A body representing alternative investment funds (AIFs) at GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) asked the government to intervene after the RBI mandated in late March that such funds must be treated as ‘resident Indians’ when reporting foreign assets.In a letter dated 10 April, which Mint has seen, the AIF Chief Financial Officers Association flagged a “critical regulatory overlap” triggered by the RBI's mandate for filing foreign liabilities and assets (FLA) returns, saying it conflicts with the specialized status usually granted to funds in the international zone. GIFT IFSC is a specialized regulatory zone within GIFT City that’s treated as a foreign jurisdiction for financial transactions.The association asked the union government to start a dialogue with the central bank and issue a joint clarification circular exempting IFSCA-registered entities from the FLA return rule.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Writing on technology in the early 2000s, the creepy thought occurred to me that we would eventually have a generation of users who didn’t even recognize the concept of privacy in the digital world. It was when cookies and website tracking were going mainstream. They started out innocently, because if a website didn’t find a way to remember you, even a shopping cart wouldn’t work.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The AI feature we unlock today: Claude for Word.A lawyer receives a heavily redlined contract at 5 pm. The partner wants a clear summary of changes, key risks, and proposed counter-edits by 9 am.This isn’t a fringe scenario.