UPS Financial News

As the U.S. and China move from a battle over economic principles to managing the status quo, who is winning? Write to me at [email protected].

₹2,000 crore stake sale in its battery arm, Ola Cell Technologies Private Ltd, after its board earlier approved a ₹1,500 crore fundraise through share or securities issuance.The push comes as falling scooter sales and a weakening balance sheet tighten liquidity, even as the company doubles down on its capital-intensive cell business.Mint looks at what is driving the company’s fundraising push.The urgency stems from a sharp deterioration in its core business.In 2025, Ola Electric’s sales more than halved to nearly 200,000 electric scooters, while rivals such as TVS Motor Co., Bajaj Auto and Ather Energy gained ground.In the October-December quarter, revenue fell to a record low of ₹504 crore, while losses stood at ₹487 crore, compared with ₹564 crore a year earlier.Analysts say the pressure is now visible on its balance sheet.“(A) turnaround would necessitate Ola to have a strong cash balance to survive this phase. However, as per our calculations, Ola has turned net debt as of 9MFY26 ( ₹670 crore) from net cash of ₹160 crore in H1FY26.

We have been here before. In the 1970s, US President Gerald Ford urged Americans to combat escalating energy costs in response to the Arab-Israeli war. His Whip Inflation Now (Win) initiative encouraged people to grow vegetables in their yards, car pool and use cold water in the laundry.

investors undertake thorough research and build conviction in a company’s prospects, they must behave like its owners.Market volatility, relentless news flow and short-term noise should not dictate decisions. Instead, investors should stay focused on the long-term trajectory of the business.

Buyers can avail a discount of ₹2-9 lakh on the purchase of a medium or heavy electric truck under the PM E-Drive scheme by providing scrapping certificates for multiple diesel trucks, the ministry of heavy industries has clarified.The scheme mandates that scrapping certificates, also known as certificates of deposit (CDs), must be provided before claiming incentives. Mint explains this quid pro quo to reduce India’s reliance on carbon-heavy road freight, which makes up a third of the country’s total transport sector greenhouse gas emissions.What is the clarification for vehicle scrapping under the PM E-Drive scheme?On 27 February, a statement from the ministry of heavy industries clarified that incentives for new trucks can be granted against one or more valid scrapping certificates for diesel trucks, provided the gross vehicle weight (GVW) of the diesel trucks is higher.The ministry also explained with examples.

NEW DELHI: The civil aviation ministry proposes to offer as much as ₹1,800 crore as incentives to manufacture drones in India, increase adoption across defence and civilian sectors and reduce reliance on component imports from China.The tentatively titled Mission Drone Shakti is expected to set aside ₹1,600 crore-1,800 crore over five years to fund and support research and development and local manufacturing of components including critical parts and incentivize drone sales and adoption, an official aware of the discussions said.The plan is to introduce the scheme in FY27, targeting private Indian companies. The details are being finalized and after the finance ministry’s approval, it will be presented for the consideration of the Cabinet.The proposed Mission Drone Shakti mirrors India’s production-linked incentive schemes across 14 sectors such as electronics, textiles, pharmaceuticals and automobiles, which had a cumulative outlay of ₹1.97 trillion.

India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision requires a massive expansion of infrastructure and manufacturing, highlighted by the $1.3 trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline. However, achieving this alongside India’s net-zero 2070 target poses a financing challenge: investment must jump from $14.7 trillion to $22.7 trillion for a full green transition. To remain globally competitive amid tightening carbon border rules, key sectors such as steel and cement must decarbonize rapidly.

trade deficit of nearly $100 billion with China. Local production funded by FDI could substitute a part of these imports.Second, net FDI inflows have fallen significantly in recent years, making new sources of capital increasingly valuable.Third, the Israel–Iran war has once again exposed India’s energy vulnerabilities.

The nationwide shortage of cooking gas over the past week should abate soon, given that import supplies are on their way to Indian shores even as domestic refiners have been asked to bump up production.The crippling shortage of this item of mass consumption that has proven to be the Achilles heel of our energy security calculus partly owes its origin to well-intentioned policy efforts to shift households from kerosene to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a cleaner fuel. While only half of India’s population had access to LPG in 2010, its coverage is nearly complete today.

about 20% of all engineers, or about 300,000 of them, graduating in India have core IT skills to get employment each year. With recruitment in IT firms slowing, the rise of data-driven engineering jobs across data centres could plug some of this gap.Analysts largely concur with this assessment.“India’s data centres are significantly adding value-added cloud services, which is the core area for them to generate additional revenue.

Stock market recap: Indian equity markets saw a cautious recovery on Monday, after a bruising sell-off last week. Nifty 50 managed to close marginally higher, settling at 23,178.65, up by 27.55 points (0.12%), while Sensex edged 35 points (0.05%) higher to finish at 74,598.92.

auto parts imports from India to about 25%, from roughly 2%.Mint reported in December that stress among European auto part makers has created opportunities for Indian component manufacturers such as Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar) and Samvardhana Motherson.“Per companies’ management commentary, step-up in closure of EU foundries on labour shortage, rising energy cost, worsening financial stress is creating opportunity for Indian suppliers offering huge benefits on the inherent low manufacturing cost,” Emkay said in its 9 March note based on takeaways from management interactions.“The trend is intensifying, as EU OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are aggressively seeking alternative sourcing options. In North America, Indian players offer 20-30% benefit despite tariff headwinds; this helps gain share with existing clients, catering to new clients,” they added.Chennai-based MM Forgings makes steel forgings for commercial and passenger vehicles, while Noida-based Uniparts India manufactures driveshafts and precision machine parts.

stock market has maintained a negative trend in 2026.The BSE Sensex has delivered a negative return of 9% in the last one month.However, the stock of PG Electroplast has been down 16% over the same period. Is this the end of the fall for PG Electroplast, or is there more downside left?Let’s examine the fundamental factors that can influence the stock price.Due to the war in West Asia, gas production and supply have been impacted.Qatar, which is one of the largest LNG suppliers, has faced production disruption and has informed its clients about the shortage of gas supply.PG Electroplast uses the gas across its manufacturing process, and it's one of the most important raw materials for the company.In an exchange filing, the company has mentioned that LPG allocation to PG Electroplast has been reduced by its supplier.

₹16 crore. So, what difference has the FPO made to the life of a small farmer like Karma? A lot, she said.Karma’s cultivation costs have halved as the FPO helped farmers switch from expensive chemical inputs to bio-nutrients and organic pest repellents. The farmer-run company now supplies staples like wheat, maize and pulses to a host of corporate buyers like ITC, AWL Agri Ltd (formerly Adani Wilmar) and Safe Harvest, among others.

mutual funds (MFs) up to ₹1.25 lakh in a financial year without paying tax. Capital losses can also be used to offset gains and reduce tax liability.

Foreign investors appear to be finding comfort in India’s power sector amid heightened geopolitical tensions and energy market disruptions, drawn by rising demand for electricity and growing data centre capacity.They bought power stocks worth $497 million in February, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd. That marked the strongest inflow by foreign investors since they pumped in $517 million in April 2024.Several power stocks delivered solid gains in February, when the benchmark Nifty 50 index slipped 0.6%.

SaaS players that are rapidly adding AI-powered products. Startups must build technology that can’t easily be replaced by large language models while also generating revenue and scaling.“There’s the SaaS and software companies that are building on top of AI models and launching agentic solutions to their customers.

The government’s ₹57,300 crore economic stabilization fund has come at the right time, allowing its fiscal math to adjust to sudden geopolitical headwinds and supply chain disruptions. This is a textbook policy response, as the fund is designed to act as a shock absorber.

fertilizer industry is coordinating with the Centre and states on increasing supply from more countries, the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) said. “Production planning, imports and logistics are being actively coordinated to maintain adequate availability during the upcoming cropping season.

Mint.On Friday, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) raised about ₹6,000 crore through one-year CDs at 7.35%, around 25 basis points (bps) higher than interest rates seen a week ago.“For a three-year paper, Nabard was willing to pay 7.50%, but the demand was at 7.60-7.70%, so they did not raise funds through three-month maturity but raised one-year paper, and if rates are high, they will borrow short-term,” a senior treasury official said on the condition of anonymity.Treasury officials expect more companies to tap the money market after Nabard, but warn that even short-term borrowing will be challenging.Since the beginning of the month, interest rates on three-month CDs, issued by scheduled commercial banks and select all-India financial institutions (AIFIs), have risen by 25-50bps to 7.30-7.80% as of 13 March, while one-year CD rates have increased by about 25bps to 7.15%, according to data from Derivium Tradition Securities India Pvt. Ltd.Rates on three-month CPs issued by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have jumped by 45bps to 7.55-8.05%, while those with one-year maturities have risen by 25-30bps to 7.50-7.60%.Typically, short-term interest rates rise in March due to seasonal fiscal-year-end factors, as banks and financial institutions step up funding activity to maintain liquidity amid tax outflows.“Because of advance tax outflows and goods and services tax (GST) outflows, it was expected that short-term rates would go up, but signs are visible that, despite RBI’s liquidity injection through open market operations, short-term rates have spiked,” the treasury official added.So far, the central bank has conducted two auctions of ₹50,000 crore each.

conflict and disruptions to flows.IEA projects global oil supply to plunge by 8 mbpd in March. With that, an old nemesis of central banks may return: elevated inflation and muted economic growth. Every 10% rise in oil prices that persists for a year leads to 40 basis point growth in global headline inflation and a 0.1–0.2% decline in global output, estimates the IMF.Higher energy prices feed into transport and food costs, pressurizing household budgets.