UPS Financial News

Mumbai: In an effort to improve policyholder experience and penetration of health insurance in the country, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has constituted a sub-committee of the Insurance Advisory Committee. The insurance regulator notified the establishment of the committee and its members on 2 April, and then its role and scope, as well as the issues it will address.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday reported a 1.6% net-profit fall in the January-March quarter from the preceding quarter to $1.5 billion on a revenue rise of 1.5% to $7.6 billion. India’s largest software services company also reported three large deal wins worth $12 billion in contract value.

₹500/tonne and ₹450/tonne to ₹5,300 and ₹4,500, respectively, barely a month after increases ₹100 and ₹50 implemented on 6 March.Markets cheered the move, interpreting it as a signal that pricing power may be returning to the ferrous cycle amid strong domestic steel demand and firm global prices.Morgan Stanley also flagged restocking activity amid rising prices. Seaborne iron-ore prices have risen about 8% since the end of February, partly aided by the West Asia war.Interestingly, brokers are divided over how profitability turned out for NMDC during Q4FY26, with Nuvama Institutional Equities estimating a 5% reduction in Ebitda per tonne, while Kotak Institutional Equities expects an 11% year-on-year increase in the metric.Against this backdrop, the latest price hike is a welcome relief, sending shares soaring this week.

₹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.

₹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.

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).

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.

Over the past three days, 6-8 April 2026, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that is responsible for setting the policy interest rate (repo) has, doubtless, burnt the proverbial midnight oil deliberating on the growth-inflation trade-off. As expected, it has concluded, like most central banks, that it is best to mark time.The ceasefire in the West Asia conflict, announced just a little over an hour before US President Donald Trump’s deadline to “wipe out an entire civilisation” was to end (and, coincidently, just hours before RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra’s statement), brings only a temporary reprieve (of a fortnight).It is far from clear whether the ceasefire will hold.

₹3.3 trillion and more will come if LDF returns to power,” he said. As many as 15 lakh jobs have been created so far and more will be created if the policies continue, he added.Apart from need for change, LDF is also battling perception issues. UDF has been accusing LDF of having a tacit understanding with the BJP.

SMS Integrated Facility Services from private equity firm Samara Capital for an enterprise value of about ₹270 crore in February.The acquisition marked SILA’s push to deepen its presence in integrated facility management.Founded by brothers Rushabh and Sahil Vora in 2009, SILA operates in more than 125 cities across India, managing over 450 million square feet of real estate with a workforce exceeding 60,000.The company delivers integrated, tech-enabled services spanning facility management, material handling equipment leasing, food catering, and real estate advisory—serving large corporates, funds, and developers across the full asset lifecycle.“Our focus is on leveraging technology to drive efficiency, transparency, and service quality at scale across India’s built environment,” the Vora brothers said in the statement on Wednesday.Its real estate development arm, SILA Estates, is currently developing over 1 million square feet of premium residential and commercial projects across Mumbai.In FY25, the company reported operating revenue of about ₹913.9 crore, up from ₹713 crore a year earlier. Profits widened to ₹11.5 crore compared to ₹9.1 crore in FY24, according to an Icra report.Norwest Venture Partners first acquired a stake in SILA in August 2019 and has invested around ₹110–120 crore in the company over the years.

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.

If I ask which is the most volatile investment option among fixed deposits, Public Provident Fund, equity and liquid mutual funds, everyone will get the answer right: equity. Of course, there are assets like cryptocurrency that are even more volatile, but we are not going there now.When we look back on index charts for various stock markets globally over the decades, it all looks so simple: the market went down here, then went up, and obviously you would have either remained invested through the ups and downs or bought more at the bottom. Of course.

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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.

Good morning!India’s AI and data centre boom is gathering pace, but can the power grid keep up? As billions flow into digital infrastructure, the Central Electricity Authority is rethinking electricity demand forecasts to avoid future disruptions.Reason for the urgency: data centres are energy guzzlers, running 24X7. With capacity expected to jump from about 1.2 GW today to nearly 10 GW by 2030, power consumption could soar to 40–45 TWh by then.

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.

. Some dusted off old camping stoves and refilled oil canisters. “When the pain becomes deep enough, the fear fades,” a 42-year-old Iranian woman said, citing five weeks of war and years of repression and economic crisis in the country.Less than 30 minutes after Trump’s post, Iranian officials told Egypt that Tehran had cut off direct communications with U.S. negotiators, according to officials from an Arab government.

Mint from hotel chains and hospitality consultancies, at least three companies—including Radisson and Marriott—have already signed up with over a dozen hotels this calendar year, growing on the back of a big domestic tourism boom and a greater demand for branded experiences.Last week, Hyatt signed two new hotels with the Brigade group in Chennai and Bengaluru, while IHG Hotels signed a hotel in Delhi's Nehru Place while ITC Hotels signed a Storii branded hotel in Mukundgarh Fort Hotel in Rajasthan."In 2026 so far, we have already added nine new hotels signed across markets. Our development strategy remains focused on a balanced mix of tier-1, -2, and -3 markets," said Nikhil Sharma, managing director and chief operating officer, South Asia, for the Radisson Hotel Group.That is the appeal of the asset-light model that now dominates much of the branded hotel business.