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For many urban women, egg freezing is increasingly becoming part of long-term life planning, much like buying insurance or investing for retirement. But unlike most financial goals, this one comes with a biological deadline, and it isn’t cheap.The procedure typically costs ₹1.35- ₹3 lakh per cycle, with annual storage fees of ₹10,000–30,000 and potential IVF expenses later.

Mint.India’s hotel industry is entering a an expansion cycle which is fuelled by domestic travel and the increasing shift of independent hotels to branded operators. "Domestic travel will remain the main driver of demand as India has 100 million people travelling and international inflow will only be a bonus," Baljee said.The company has 120 operational hotels, and 48 are in the pipeline.

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Zerodha and Upstox hold mutual fund units in demat form. Groww, one of India’s largest investing apps, made demat the default for all new mutual fund purchases from June 2025, unless users opt out.

To see how this plays out in Indian equities, we analysed 18 flexi cap funds with over a decade of history. The findings show where investors should focus.Fund selection created enormous variance. The best performer delivered nearly 5% annual alpha over the benchmark.

Mint.Other action points listed in the minutes include: trimming state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)'s workforce, securing national networks, a roadmap for component localisation, and resolving issues in the undersea cable industry. SIM cards should be issued only on the basis of Aadhaar cards after biometric verification, it noted.Most countries tax income of companies that have data at the core of their business or some try to reduce screen usage in other ways with restrictions on timings of gaming services or age of consumers."Any kind of taxes on data usage would be impossible to implement.

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After nine days of denial, the hard reality of an oil shock seems to have hit home. In the second week of joint US-Israel attacks on Iran, crude oil prices have leapt into three digits, with Brent within sniffing distance of $120 per barrel at one point. The oil spike battered stocks across Asia as plumes of smoke began to look like clouds of stagflation on the not-so-distant horizon.

Looking for companies with strong moats and pricing power is crucial because these businesses can protect profits and grow consistently over long periods.A moat refers to a durable competitive advantage—such as strong brands, high switching costs, or dominant distribution—that keeps competitors from easily taking market share.Companies with moats can maintain high margins and steady returns on capital, even during economic downturns.Here are three stocks with strong moats and pricing power. This editorial is not a stock recommendation.Titan Company is one of India’s leading consumer brands, known primarily for watches, jewellery, and eyewear.

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China is just managing to keep retail deflation at bay. Official data for February released on Monday showed that its consumer price index rose 1.3% from a year earlier. In January, it had recorded a rise of just 0.2%.

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Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

As the conflict in West Asia has nearly frozen all trade movement through the Strait of Hormuz, Indian law firms have seen a surge in queries from companies seeking clarity on whether they can invoke a rare clause to mitigate risk—force majeure.It is a contractual provision that allows a party to suspend or avoid its obligations if an unforeseen event outside its control makes performance impossible. These may include war, government restrictions or major disruptions to shipping routes, if specifically covered in the contract.“The energy sector is reaching out the most, especially companies importing LNG (liquefied natural gas) and crude who now face stranded cargoes and unreliable shipping schedules,” said Charanya Lakshmikumaran, executive partner at Laxmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS).“The shipping and logistics sector is next, dealing with mounting delays, higher war-risk premiums and rerouted vessels,” she said.

Stock market recap: The Indian equity markets witnessed a significant sell-off on Monday, as Nifty 50 plummeted 422.40 points (1.73%) to close at 24,028.05, while Sensex crashed 1,352.74 points (1.71%) to finish at 77,566.16.The downturn was primarily triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran, which sent Brent crude prices soaring above $114 per barrel. This energy shock, coupled with the Indian rupee hitting a record low of 92.35, sparked broad-based risk aversion.The advance-decline ratio was heavily skewed toward the bears, with over four stocks declining for every one that advanced, reflecting deep-seated weakness across the broader market.On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Auto were the worst laggards, with heavyweights like SBI and Tata Motors facing intense pressure.

New Delhi: The Centre has issued an order that updates norms for piston rings – a key component of internal combustion engines (ICE) – to help reduce carbon emissions, replacing standards that had been in place since 1977. The new standards came into effect on 10 February, said the order dated 12 February.Experts said the cost impact for most automakers was likely to be limited, as many already follow similar global specifications.

Ather unveiled its new EL platform last year in August on which its future scooters will be built.The EL platform allows the company to a suite of products, ranging from family oriented scooters to sporty performance models, over five years.Ola Electric, dealing with losses and slowing sales, is shrinking its network from about 4,000 stores to around 700, it informed investors in February after the release of its December quarter earnings.Ather is set to double store count to 700 this financial year from 350 in fiscal 2025. A target of at least 1,100 by the end of March 2027 suggests that it would have added 750 stores or more in two years.The latest move by Tarun Mehta-led Ather comes after the Bengaluru company overtook crosstown rival Ola Electric in quarterly revenue, volume sales, and market valuation in the last six months.For two consecutive quarters, Q2 and Q3 FY26, Ather’s total revenue of ₹941 crore and ₹996 crore surpassed Ola Electric’s ₹756 crore and ₹504 crore.Since Ather’s listing in May 2025, the company’s shares have surged by 118% while Ola Electric’ shares have fallen by 51%.

NEW DELHI: The Centre’s second e-bus tender under the ₹10,900 crore PM E-Drive scheme, for 2,900 e-buses in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, and Mumbai, and 3,330 buses in Delhi has been deferred by one month.The tender for 6,230 e-buses opened for manufacturers and operators on 9 January this year, and was scheduled to close on 10 March. But a 6 March notification by Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), the government’s demand aggregation agency, showed the closing date was deferred to 9 April.

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₹60 per 14.2 kg cylinder, taking them to the highest level since 29 August 2023.According to Nomura, every $10 per barrel increase in oil prices could shave 15 basis points off India’s growth and add 50 basis points to retail inflation. With oil prices already up nearly $50 per barrel since the start of the year, the impact on India’s growth-inflation dynamics could be significant.The Iran conflict could prove more disruptive to oil markets beyond the initial price spike than the Russia-Ukraine war.