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The AI scare has come knocking on the doors of Indian IT sooner than expected. Spooked by rapid advances in agentic AI, the Nifty IT has erased 20% of investor wealth this month, even as the broader market has remained flat.But as doomsday theories proliferate, the other side of the story is being ignored – that AI’s impact will be multi-layered and will depend on how India Inc adapts. Let’s discuss.

I recently asked Claude to help me think through the structure of my next book. I already knew where the weak point was—I just wanted to see what Claude would come up with. I was amazed by its response: Claude didn’t just correctly identify the problem.

value investing. One key measure of profitability is Return on Equity (ROE), which shows how efficiently a company uses shareholders’ money to generate profits.In 2026, with valuations stretched in many sectors, looking for stocks with strong ROE and attractive prices can help investors target both growth and safety.We screened for companies with ROE around 20% or more and price-to-earnings ratios near 10. Here are three that stand out.

mismanaging these trade-offs. Officials seem to deem almost any expense to be an acceptable price for security. Money is being spread wastefully thin, not focused where China’s grip is tightest, in refineries and smelters.

A NITI Aayog report seeking to promote small cars and hybrids to reduce vehicular pollution has again brought the spotlight on India’s divided automobile industry.Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd has objected to the report prepared by a government panel under NITI Aayog to promote small cars under the upcoming fuel efficiency norms, and increase the adoption of multiple-fuel vehicles and hybrids, alongside electric vehicles (EVs).However, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd, the Indian joint venture of Japan’s Toyota Corp., praised the plan for a phased electrification approach and the inclusion of biofuel powertrains as zero-emission vehicles, according to a letter reviewed by Mint.The contrasting views mirror differences within the industry over whether to offer other cleaner or lower-emission vehicles parity with EVs, and if small cars should receive concessions under the corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE 3) norms. While Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Toyota seek support for a wider range of vehicles, including small cars, Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, which have invested heavily in EVs, have opposed it.The panel, set up by think tank Niti Aayog, comprised representatives from the ministries of road transport and highways, heavy industries, petroleum and natural gas, power, railways, and shipping, along with think tanks and industry representation from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).

Stock market recap: Benchmark domestic indices, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, ended lacklustre on Thursday, 26 February, due to profit booking in select heavyweights, including HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, amid mixed global cues.The Sensex ended 27 points, or 0.03%, lower at 82,248.61, while the Nifty 50 inched up by 14 points, or 0.06%, to settle at 25,496.55.The mid and small-cap segments ended with gains; the BSE 150 MidCap Index clocked a decent gain of 0.55%, while the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose by 0.07%.The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms increased to ₹468 trillion from ₹467 trillion n the previous session.Two stock recommendations by MarketSmith India:Buy: Fortis Healthcare Ltd(current price: ₹963.65)Buy: Mankind Pharma Ltd (current price: ₹2,280)Nifty 50 performance | 26 FebruaryIndian equities ended on a subdued note on February 26th, with Nifty 50 closing at 25,496.55, up 14.05 points or 0.06%, after oscillating between 25,400.95 and 25,572.95 during the session. The index witnessed intraday volatility but staged a late recovery, indicating buying interest near 25,400, while 25,600 continues to act as an immediate resistance.

Sebi eight years, but it got there.The portfolio overlap restriction on sectoral and thematic funds is equally welcome. No sectoral or thematic fund can now have more than 50% overlap with other equity schemes, computed quarterly from daily values. Existing schemes get three years to comply or merge.This addresses a growing problem: thematic funds barely distinguishable from diversified ones.

New Delhi: India is shifting its strategy for solar component manufacturing from sales-based production-linked incentives (PLI) to an upfront capex-based subsidy for wafers, ingots and polysilicon, according to Santosh Kumar Sarangi, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE). The ministry is developing financial-support schemes for agri-photovoltaics, floating solar and bioenergy, Sarangi said in an interview.To address 43 GW of unsigned power agreements, representing a ₹2.1 trillion investment, implementation agencies such as Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) are negotiating project cancellations for unviable sites and securing state commitments for others.

NEW DELHI: With a new duty slapped on solar module exports to the US, Africa may become an alternative destination for India-made solar power equipment, a government official said.To push solar module exports and project exports, Indian developers can also set up green energy projects through the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy, said in an interview."I believe Africa would emerge as a good destination for India. Not only module exports, but also for project exports, where people are able to go and set up projects as RESCO developers," the secretary said.Under RESCO, a company installs, operates and maintains a solar energy system on a consumer’s property.

Mint in an interview. “India may not be a Top 6 market for us by revenue today, but we believe it will be a Top 6 market for us long-term.

In the past few days, nearly every alternate day has brought news of bomb-threat emails sent to one or more schools in Delhi. The script is wearyingly familiar. An email lands in multiple school inboxes—often routed through encrypted servers, sometimes crudely drafted with digital trails left behind.

Last week’s AI Impact Summit ended the way these gatherings routinely do. This time with a ‘New Delhi Declaration,’ a non-binding hymn to cooperation and the hope that “AI could be made to serve humanity.” It’s the sort of empty language that dozens of countries and international organizations can sign up to without changing a thing.The most revealing statement came from the industry. Hours before the declaration, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman offered a bit of moral arithmetic in an interview with the Indian Express.

The news that US authorities had slapped countervailing duties on solar imports from India, citing unfair government subsidies, left investors jittery. For Waaree Energies Ltd, given 30-35% revenue-share from exports and US manufacturing, fears around export viability and margin erosion took centre stage.

retirement savings with immediate healthcare liquidity.The NPS Swasthya Equity Plus scheme follows a high-growth investment mandate to counter medical inflation.Subscribers can withdraw up to 25% of their own contributions for medical expenses, including OPD, diagnostics and pharmacy purchases. However, the first withdrawal is permitted only after the account accumulates at least ₹50,000.

Lynch is also the author of the classic investing book One Up on Wall Street. A value investor at heart, he is credited with developing the GARP (Growth at a Reasonable Price) strategy and popularising the term “multibagger.”Here are his six rules for spotting multi-bagger stocks, and how they can be applied in India.Lynch was famous as a growth investor, but he never overpaid for growth. A PE of 40 was often too high for him.

Mint. “That cross-sector perspective informed the design of the BOM campus from the outset.”The BOM campus is NIIF's initial investment in the data centre segment, which was through a joint venture with data centre platform company Digital Edge and global asset development company AGP Sustainable Real Assets back in 2023.

renewable energy. "So, our companies will have to challenge that in the appellate forum; but until then, this will continue, this 126% which has been imposed," he said.

₹3,100 crore initial public offering (IPO) of CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions Ltd to break the deadlock. Investor demand for the public market share sale of Clean Max is expected to help set a pricing benchmark for private market transactions in the sector, including platform sales, stake deals, and upcoming listings.While the first half of 2025 saw some strategic platform acquisitions, these were largely private, with deal structures and valuation rationales not made public, leaving buyers and sellers without a transparent reference point.“Over the last year, the bid-ask spread between project developers and buyers has widened due to global interest rate environments and capital expenditure requirements,” an investment banker who specializes in renewables deals told Mint, requesting anonymity.Several high-profile transactions in India's renewable energy sector have remained stuck in negotiations for a while now.

The battle for market share in India’s ride hailing industry between American giant Uber and homegrown Rapido has intensified, even as the once-dominant position of the country’s first major ride-hailing service—Ola Cabs—steadily erodes.In a bid to bulk up its financial firepower, Uber has pumped nearly ₹3,000 crore into its India unit in recent months to take on the challenge from Bengaluru-based Rapido, which entered the current fiscal year with a stronger cash position and has rapidly gained market share.The Indian unit of US-based Uber Technologies Inc got ₹2,721 crore in January from Uber BV, the Dutch arm of Uber, following a ₹200-crore investment made in November, according to a Mint review of the financials filed with the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA).On the other hand, Rapido received ₹125 crore funding in FY26 from Nexus Ventures. Its last significant capital round was a $200-million series E raise in 2024 led by WestBridge Capital, which made it a unicorn (startup with a billion-dollar valuation).However, Rapido ended last fiscal (FY25) with ₹345 crore free cash in hand, while Uber had ₹292 crore, MCA data showed.Experts note that in the ride hailing business, higher cash in hand of companies can help in incentivising drivers and customers, which in turn will help in defending market share.The buildup of cash reserves by the two rivals signals that the ride-hailing war between Rapido and Uber is entering a new phase, a fact underscored by Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi last year.

Mumbai: At 3:50 am on a quiet Kolkata morning, 35-year-old numerologist Vivek Baid woke up to a string of notifications that would upend his day. One message became two, then three. By 4 am, he had received eight transaction alerts for his forex card.

backed by the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme—where the Indian government provides financial incentives based on incremental sales—and a minimum import price, Aurobindo is reversing that arc.In an exclusive interview with Mint, Madan Mohan Reddy, a whole-time director of Aurobindo Pharma, said the decision was far from impulsive. “It wasn’t a tough call to make,” he said.