UPS Financial News

15 years.Rajan Mehta and Sanjiv Shah, former co-founders of the mutual fund which started India's first ETF, Benchmark Asset Management Co., have received final approval from the market regulator to launch Lakshya AMC.“Our underlying philosophy will remain passive, and we are not going for the active route,” Mehta told Mint. "Doing stock picking based on research.

India’s ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) recently suggested to a parliamentary panel that it needs a greater role in policy formulation for the electricity sector. No doubt, its remit warrants deeper consultation with the sector’s anchor, the ministry of power (MoP). Solar projects have come up but are unable to despatch electricity on account of inadequate evacuation facilities, a subject that is squarely within the MoP’s ambit.

India has reset its closer-term climate goals on its way to net-zero emissions by 2070. It now plans to raise the share of non-fossil fuel energy to 60% by 2035, as against 50% by 2030 planned earlier. The country also plans to increase its carbon sink, or its capacity to absorb emissions, to 3.5-4 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035, a target upped from 2.5-3 billion tonnes by 2030.

. Also under consideration: unusual lockup times that limit share sales by early investors, preferential treatment for investors in his other companies and allocating an outsize portion of shares to individual investors, people familiar with the matter said.The company is considering hosting events at SpaceX locations including its sprawling complex near the Los Angeles airport and its rocket launch site in Florida’s Cape Canaveral area, people familiar with the matter said.

shaky five-day truce in West Asia looms, leaving investors caught between hopes of de-escalation and the reality of a US military deployment."While the sellers are relatively more bullish after the two-day rally, they aren't taking any chances lest last-minute nasty surprises crop up on Friday," said Sudhir Joshi, consultant at Khambatta Securities.The bullishness of sellers or writers is reflected in the relative number of puts to calls sold as of Wednesday. For every 100 calls sold, the writers sold 124 puts, underscoring their belief that they would retain premiums on the puts sold as markets would rise by 30 March.The put-call ratio typically ranges from a very bearish 0.70 to an extremely bullish 1.30.A put seller gains when the market rises or remains flat, while a call seller gains when the market falls or remains flat at the level sold.

rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and global volatility has kept hiring sentiment largely muted, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) campuses saw their median compensation rising 25-40% from that of the 2020 pandemic-era batch, as the 2026 cohort got picked up for specialized roles.As per its press release, IIM Calcutta’s median pay package was ₹35 lakh in 2026, up nearly 3% from ₹34 lakh last year and more than 37% higher that the 2020 level of ₹25.5 lakh. IIM Lucknow matched the momentum at ₹32.9 lakh, over 6% higher than ₹31 lakh a year ago and a massive 43% up from the ₹23 lakh annual package of 2020, its press statement said.

West Asia conflict, which is expected to tighten global ammunition supplies and push up defence spending.The company’s defence business has scaled rapidly, with revenue growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 82% between FY21 and FY25, according to an Elara Securities report dated 24 March. Its share of total sales rose from just 5% in FY21 to 18% in FY25.“We see this segment driving the next phase of superior growth,” the report said, citing India’s ₹2.2 trillion defence capex (FY27 BE), rising geopolitical tensions and a global uptick in military spending.

disrupted trade routes and spiked freight and insurance costs.India's annual edible oil demand is around 26 million tonnes (mt), with domestic production meeting only up to 40% of this.According to latest trade data, India imported 14,963 tonnes of palm oil and 175,502 tonnes crude soybean oil from China between November 2025 and February 2026, as against a total of 36,000 tonnes of edible oils in the entire year ended October 2025.This is still a modest figure, given India’s total edible oil imports of around 16 mt. However, the sharp rise in shipments shows a growing willingness among importers to explore non-traditional sources amid tightening global supply conditions.Industry experts see Chinese edible oil imports rising further, as competitive pricing and lower logistics costs will give them an edge over the country's traditional exporters.According to traders, on an average, retail prices have risen by ₹15-20 per litre across edible oils including soybean, rice-bran, cottonseed, palm, groundnut and sunflower over the past one month.

Mint reported on 19 March.Pure play companies in businesses such as solar module manufacturing and renewable power production are looking to enter adjacencies to not only capture a larger share of the renewable energy value chain, but also to achieve better costs, and thus margins, through backward integration, they said. This also helps them attract customers by offering turnkey solutions, eliminating the need for the client to engage with multiple vendors.Investors have also pushed companies to diversify to achieve better valuations over their pure-play peers that focus on one business, experts said.Companies such as Waaree Energies, Vikram Solar, Premier Energies, ACME Group, and Suzlon Energy are some of the players who have diversified after scaling their core business.

₹28,700 in monthly rent.Early-career professionals across cities told Mint how they navigate this balancing act—and what the cost of simply getting started looks like.For 23-year-old Khyati Sood, relocating from Delhi to Pune for her first job as a data engineer meant making a series of careful decisions. “There were a lot of trade-offs,” she said. “Whether I should stay with strangers, give up an attached bathroom, or skip having a balcony to reduce rent.”Pune, compared to other major metros, offered some relief.

Mint.While the immediate impact of the ongoing conflict remains limited, non-bank lenders believe the real risk lies in a prolonged conflict, which could trigger second-order effects across inflation, demand and credit cycles.“...we have started becoming very cautious but the war situation is also evolving. It's unfair for us to also pull down and stop the supply but we have to be very cautious in terms of lending and leverage,” the head of a non-banking financial company said on the condition of anonymity.According to lenders, the first signs of stress are emerging in small businesses, especially those dependent on gas for production, exports and global trade routes for sales.

The Finance Commission is a key pillar of India’s federal fiscal architecture. A constitutional body appointed every five years, it is expected to arbitrate impartially between the central and state governments and among the latter themselves in allocating tax revenues collected by the Central government on behalf of all administrations. Though FCs are not widely known, their awards have far reaching implications for fiscal federalism and macroeconomic fiscal outcomes.

Mint's requests for a comment till the time of publishing.Everstone owns a majority stake in Subway India, which also counts Norwest Venture Partners and Playbook Partners among its investors.Nearly a year ago, Mint reported that Everstone was exploring a partial stake sale in the fast-food chain’s local operations as part of a $100 million private fundraising round. Those plans have since evolved, with the company now preparing for a public market listing.Everstone operates the master franchise of Subway restaurants in India through Eversub India, giving it the right to open and operate Subway restaurants in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

Mint explores.While addressing Parliament on the West Asia war on 23 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted that ethanol blending in petrol went up from just 1-1.5% a decade back to 20% currently.Ethanol, a biofuel made from agricultural crops, is now replacing about 45 million barrels of imported crude oil every year (total imports in FY25 were about 1803 million barrels).As per the petroleum ministry, ethanol blending in petrol has saved India ₹1.44 trillion (in cost of imported fuel) between November 2014 and July 2025. The ministry also estimates that the programme has led to CO2 emission reductions, equivalent to planting 300 million trees.

Infosys Ltd’s announcement late Wednesday to buy two US-based tech services firms for $560 million takes its acquisition spend in a fiscal to an all-time high, reflecting the pressing need for new capabilities as automation tools upend India’s tech sector.The country’s second-largest information technology (IT) services company said it will spend up to $465 million to buy Optimum Healthcare IT, a Florida IT services and consulting firm.On the same day, it announced the acquisition of Stratus, a New Jersey-based tech services provider to the insurance sector, for up to $95 million.Both deals are in cash and are expected to close by June. The payment includes upfront amounts and earn-outs but excludes management incentives and retention bonuses.The acquisitions will add $319 million in incremental revenue to Infosys, including $276 million from Optimum Healthcare and $43 million from Stratus, making up almost 45% of Infosys’ incremental revenue last year.Infosys ended last year with $19.28 billion in revenue, up 3.85% on a yearly basis.

Mint.A second fund, still on the drawing board, is a blended finance fund of similar size, Rai said in an interview at the Mumbai headquarters of Nabfid, which was founded in 2021. The company was initially set up as a development finance institution to support long-term projects.“We are (also)likely to launch an alternative investment fund, mainly for the equity side, in the next six months,” Rai said.Nabfid’s new subsidiary will be like a holding company, under which there will be multiple alternative investment funds (AIF).

₹29,000-crore liability for unsettled cases.A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan reaffirmed that landowners whose land was acquired for highway projects between 1997 and 2015 are entitled to extra compensation, known as solatium, and interest, even for past acquisitions.The apex court maintained that financial implications of the judgment, estimated at around ₹29,000-crore by the NHAI—cannot be a ground to deny fair compensation to landowners.“The grant of solatium and interest cannot be made contingent upon the magnitude of the financial burden. The Constitutional guarantee of just compensation cannot be diluted on that basis.

marriage or in common law relationships for financial reasons.”In addition, 80 per cent of Canadians say life is more affordable in a relationship versus being single.Nearly one in four (23 per cent) of surveyed Canadians also said they like the idea of a “five-year renewable relationship contract” instead of getting married.The survey states that four in 10 Canadians (40 per cent) say marriage is “mainly about practicalities for those planning or already have children.”This view is higher among Canadians who identify as male (at 45 per cent) versus female (36 per cent).In addition, 83 per cent believe that couples often stay together for the sake of their children.Clay Jarvis, a financial expert at NerdWallet Canada, said marriage is a “major financial decision” that should encourage couples to evaluate their financial situations.“I think if the conversation is about determining whether to have kids because you can afford them now, I think that’s because your reality now is what you’re basing all of your decisions on,” he said.

HCLTech, India's third largest IT services firm after Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd, will reorganize its software products arm HCLSoftware into three core sub-groups: Xperience, Data and Operations, each with its own head and a specialized sales team, according to at least three people familiar with the matter.HCLSoftware had ended FY25 with a revenue of $1.43 billion, comprising a little more than a tenth of the company’s $13.84 billion topline last year. The software business grew 3.3% on a yearly basis last fiscal and the company aspires to triple this growth by FY27.According to the three people in the know, the Xperience division will include software focusing on app interfaces and marketing functions, while the Data sub-group will handle data analytics and data management software.

Mint explains what cold-water fisheries are, why they matter, and what challenges remain.Cold-water fisheries refer to aquatic systems with low temperatures and high dissolved oxygen, making them ideal for species such as Trout and Mahseer.In India, this segment is concentrated in the Himalayan belt, parts of the Northeast, and select peninsular highlands. It spans Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and parts of the Western Ghats and Northeast, covering over 5.33 lakh sq.

For decades, the Indian youth dream followed a clear path: move out of farming, get a degree, and secure a stable job. The reality now is far different.More women did farm jobs in 2023-24 compared to six years ago, even though they have made great strides in securing non-agriculture jobs over the decades.