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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.U.S. cities are facing huge liabilities that remain invisible on their books: dilapidated roads, bridges and buildings.A new study aims to put a dollar figure on the total wear and tear on the country’s urban infrastructure, and arrives at $1.03 trillion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Dennis Robertson was not only one of the finest economic minds of the 20th century, but also an elegant writer who was known for his witticisms. In an essay written in 1956, Robertson quipped: “High-brow opinion is like a hunted hare; if you stand in the same place, or nearly the same place, it can be relied upon to come round to you in a circle.” Those words resonate while reading a new report by the World Bank on industrial policy, or targeted government intervention to shape the economic structure of a country by promoting, protecting or developing specific industries deemed vital to economic growth, export competitiveness, import substitution or geopolitical strategy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For a little over two months now, the world has speculated on the impact of the Israel-US-Iran war on the world economy. As the war’s disruption stretched on, concern began turning into panic over energy and food security. India is in a particularly vulnerable position—both directly, given its high energy dependence on West Asia, and indirectly due to the ripple effects of various impacts across the world.India’s large import dependence makes adaptive responses to economic and social impacts of the war enormously challenging, especially in the immediate time-frame of two years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bank loans under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) fell by half to ₹6,148 crore in 2025-26 from ₹12,315 crore a year earlier, marking the third consecutive decline, according to data from the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ministry and its PMEGP portal.The lower disbursements coincide with FY26 recording the lowest number of loan applications in a decade, signalling weakening momentum in credit support for small enterprises and job creation under the scheme.The trend raises questions about the creditworthiness of MSMEs and banks’ risk perception of small business loans amid external uncertainties, even as the Centre has increased the budgetary allocation for subsidized loans to start small non-farm business ventures to ₹4,500 crore (BE) for FY27 from ₹2,548 crore (RE) in FY26.The fall in bank loan sanctions is likely due to FY26 being the last year of the fifteenth finance commission cycle that began in FY21, with banks facing uncertainty about whether the scheme will continue, said an official directly aware of the development.The sixteenth finance commission, in its report submitted to the central government in November 2025, noted certain inconsistencies in the reporting of the PMEGP as a subsidy scheme.“Now that the budget for the PMEGP has been allocated for FY27, we expect bank loan sanctions as well as job creation under the scheme to rebound,” the official said on condition of anonymity.A senior bank official said the fall also needs to be seen in the context of tighter credit filters and a shift towards improving asset quality.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Interest rate margins may remain under pressure in the first half of the current financial year, as lenders continue raising funds at high costs to match soaring loan growth. In the March quarter, margins for most banks, especially the mid-sized lenders, were flat to slightly lower.Margins compress when banks cut loan rates in line with benchmarks, but continue paying deposit interest at assured rates until they mature.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Godrej Properties Ltd (GPL), India's best-selling residential developer, has set an ambitious sales target of ₹39,000 crore for 2026-27 even though home prices are likely to remain stable, executive chairperson Pirojsha Godrej told Mint in an interviewIn FY26, GPL's sales bookings rose 16% year-on-year to ₹34,171 crore. That was achieved through the sale of 17,513 units spanning 27 million sq ft, the highest ever by an Indian real estate firm.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Crude oil, the undistilled kind right out of the ground, was known to the Mesopotamians, Persians and Babylonians. The Chinese were the first to dig shallow wells and transport flammable oil through bamboo pipelines. Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner was the pioneer who began to distil oil and coined the term ‘kerosene’ in the mid-1850s.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.There is a discomforting paradox at the heart of India’s current macroeconomic situation. By almost every conventional measure of sovereign economic health—growth, inflation, fiscal trajectory, external vulnerability and investor confidence in the real economy—India’s fundamentals are among the strongest of any large emerging market. Yet the rupee has depreciated by over 13% against the dollar in the past two years and by more than 15% since January 2023.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted not just oil and gas supplies, but caused a global fertilizer shock as well. Of the world’s traded fertilizers, more than 40% of urea and 20-30% of potassic and phosphatic fertilizers—as well as 45% of the sulphur that goes into fertilizer manufacture—are shipped from Gulf countries via that vital waterway.The blocked region also accounted for a fifth of all traded liquefied natural gas (LNG), some of which was feedstock for urea, before traffic through the strait came to halt. A shortage of all these products threatens food production and signals higher food prices globally, with hunger a distinct likelihood in countries that rely on imports for nutrition.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.At the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026, which took place in Cyprus from March 28 to April 15, eight of the sharpest minds in chess matched wits and will over 14 rounds in 19 days, hoping to survive and eventually surpass the field. For Indian star Vaishali Rameshbabu, it was a defeat deep in the tournament that brought some respite.Having started the Candidates with four draws and a loss, Vaishali, the lowest rated player in the field, found herself one full point ahead of the rest after beating Aleksandra Goryachkina in round 11.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Being a new parent transforms one’s relationship with their city. The park is central to this change as it becomes an essential third space. These outings are not merely recreational, but also require active engagement with everything, from the grass to the play area and even the security guards.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Around two decades after exiting India, UK cosmetics brand Lush has re-entered the market, looking to tap into the country’s growing luxury beauty segment.The maker of bath bombs, shower jellies and solid shampoo bars has partnered with Bengaluru-based Bilberry Brands under a licensing agreement, beginning with an online launch and a physical store in Delhi. A second Delhi outlet, along with stores in Gurugram and Mumbai, is expected to open soon. It plans to open seven stores by the end of 2026.In a video interview, Lush co-founder Rowena Bird discusses the brand’s return to India.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The first thing my grandmother did when she entered the kitchen each morning was say a quick prayer and soak a ball of tamarind. Be it sambar, rasam, kuzhambu, kootu or thogayal, tamarind extract was a must, and starting the soak early meant the tamarind extract was ready by the time cooking began. True to that lineage, tamarind features in almost every south Indian inspired recipe I have shared in this column over the years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Aster DM Healthcare is charting an aggressive expansion and growth roadmap, as it nears completion of its merger with Blackstone-backed Quality Care. With a strong financial and operational outlook for FY27, the combined entity targets over 4,400 additional beds in the next three to four years, managing director Alisha Moopen told Mint in an interview.The merger is expected to be complete in the current quarter ending June, well over a year after the deal was announced in November 2024.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.I’ve questioned before whether Wall Street has the temperament for the artificial-intelligence (AI) era. It’s hard to argue it does when just one report from the Wall Street Journal, which suggested OpenAI had missed some internal growth targets, was enough to wipe billions of dollars of value off related stocks. For a moment on Tuesday, you’d have thought the sky was falling on the AI boom.It wasn’t, of course, and some of the initial shock losses were pared once OpenAI had struck a reassuring tone in a statement that said it was still “firing on all cylinders.”Still, the knee-jerk reaction was an indication of how closely the fate of OpenAI is tied to perception of the AI industry’s future.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For years, the only way to get workstation-class performance in a portable form factor was to buy a gaming laptop. You put up with the aggressive "gamer" aesthetics—the neon RGB lighting and the bulky, tank-like chassis—because that was the only way to get the necessary horsepower.Today, that category is being quietly rewritten as hardware makers recognise that a growing share of their most demanding users aren’t gamers at all—they’re creators.And this isn’t just a marketing pivot.During a recent conversation with Paramjeet Singh Mehta, Product and Marketing Head for Consumer PC & Gaming at ASUS India, the scale of this transition became clear.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The House of Rare aims to evolve beyond apparel into a broader lifestyle-led retail powerhouse as it expands into categories such as fragrances, luggage and women’s footwear, while also betting on faster delivery timelines and quick-commerce-led fashion discovery.Founded over a decade ago, Bengaluru-based The House of Rare owns a portfolio of premium fashion brands, including men’s label Rare Rabbit, women’s line Rareism, kidswear brand Rare Ones, and footwear venture Rare’Z.“The idea is to expand into different categories which fit the brand ecosystem and target the lifestyle of the urban consumer,” Akshika Poddar, founder of Rareism from The House of Rare, said in an interview with Mint.The expansion comes at a time when premium fashion retailers in India are increasingly looking beyond core apparel to build wider lifestyle ecosystems around consumers, while also adapting to shopping habits shaped by quick commerce and faster delivery expectations. As competition intensifies in the premium westernwear segment, brands are also pushing deeper into tier-2 and tier-3 markets to tap rising aspirational demand.The company is set to launch women’s sneakers in June, and plans to introduce girlswear under its kidswear brand Rare Ones by January next year, while also scaling categories such as luggage and fragrances.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Lose weight quickly, and it often shows up on the face first. As fat disappears, the skin can sag, accentuating signs of ageing.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India is planning to build a six-month strategic reserve of critical minerals to shield its green energy and manufacturing sectors from supply shocks and price swings, two people aware of the matter said. The Union ministries of mines and heavy industries are working on a plan to stockpile imported and locally sourced critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earth elements, a segment dominated by China.The strategic reserve will act as a long-term safeguard for sectors such as electric mobility, energy storage and electronics manufacturing, which are increasingly dependent on imports, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India currently levies a 5% basic customs duty on raw cotton imports. The government had temporarily waived this duty between 19 August and 30 September 2025, and later extended this exemption to 31 December 2025.Addressing the media on the supply-chain scenario amid the war in West Asia, Bipin Menon, trade advisor in the textiles ministry, said on Tuesday that discussions were ongoing with the ministry of agriculture and the department of revenue on reducing or eliminating customs duty on cotton.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Maruti Suzuki India’s stock rose 5% to ₹13,512 on Wednesday as investors prioritised the company's strong operating performance in the March quarter (Q4FY26) over a 7% year-on-year drop in net profit to ₹3,591 crore.It should be noted that Maruti’s Q4FY26 profitability per vehicle held up well despite the pressure from higher raw material costs, particularly steel. Ebitda per vehicle fell just 1.4% sequentially to ₹91,050 as the average selling price (ASP) rose 4% quarter-on-quarter to ₹7.76 lakh per unit.On the other hand, Q4FY26 domestic sales volumes announced at the start of April were disappointing.