Wellness Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The shift towards passive investing is one of the defining trends of this decade. According to NSE Indices’ Nifty Passive Insight report, released in March, assets under management (AUM) in passive schemes stood at ₹14.84 trillion as of end of February, up ninefold from ₹1.63 trillion in 2020.The passive universe now spans 677 schemes and 54 million folios, with 67% of AUM in equity, and more than half of that benchmarked to the Nifty 50.The foundation traces back to Nobel laureate William Sharpe, who argued in his 1991 paper The Arithmetic of Active Management that, after costs, the average actively managed dollar must underperform its passive counterpart.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The promoters of Faridabad-based Norisys Technology Pvt Ltd, a premium electrical switches and accessories maker, have engaged Alvarez & Marsal to explore a potential stake sale, according to two people familiar with the matter.“The company is seeking an overall valuation of ₹5,000–6,000 crore. The exact deal structures are yet to be decided as it is still early days but it is likely to be a majority stake sale,” one of the people said.“It is an extremely profitable company even at a small scale and has grown well in the last few years, so several large private equity players will be tapped to test demand for the asset,” according to the second person.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s mid- and small-cap stocks are seeing a clear shift in ownership patterns, with retail investors and mutual funds stepping in as key buyers even as foreign investors continue to cut exposure.A Mint analysis of shareholding trends across BSE mid-cap and small-cap companies shows that while ownership churn remains widespread, the direction of flows differs sharply across investor groups.Data as of 31 March 2026 suggests that domestic flows are increasingly shaping these segments, cushioning the impact of foreign selling. However, the nature of participation also highlights a divergence in risk appetite, particularly between retail investors and institutional money.In the mid-cap universe, retail investors remained selective.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For parents, summer often brings a steady outflow of funds for their children—camps, hobby classes, and activities that quickly add up. But alongside this seasonal spending lies an opportunity many overlook.These short-term spends are a great time to ‘soft launch’ the money conversation in a language that kids easily understand.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), has raised satellite bandwidth prices by 20%, effective 1 April, marking its first revision in a decade and signalling a reset in how scarce orbital capacity is priced amid shifting demand.The increase, communicated to customers in a letter dated 18 September, reviewed by Mint, will affect broadcasters, direct-to-home (DTH) platforms and companies leasing capacity for TV distribution, connectivity for ATMs and remote areas, maritime and defence projects, and enterprise communications.The move comes as demand dynamics shift, with traditional DTH usage weakening even as aviation, maritime and defence applications seek capacity, prompting a long-delayed pricing correction.“NSIL management has decided to revise the pricing of Ku-band capacity in three satellites—Gsat-31, Gsat-10 and Gsat-16. This is the first price revision of government satellites after 2016.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Investors who timed the metal rally well seem to have made quick gains, especially in aluminium stocks. Shares of most aluminium producers are now trading just a notch below their lifetime highs, reflecting enthusiasm in the sector.National Aluminium Co is 0.6% shy of its all-time high.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Over the past three decades, Google has used its engineering hubs in cities like Bengaluru to develop technologies specifically for the Indian market—such as Google Pay and Google Maps features—which it then exported globally, the company’s global chief scientist Jeff Dean told Mint in an exclusive interview.Today, Google India remains vital to the $4.1-trillion tech giant and its frontier research unit Google DeepMind, Dean said, adding that the region continues to drive the development of AI applications that are marketed worldwide.He cited three key examples, including a global flood prediction model developed in collaboration with India's central government. By gathering data from flood-prone Indian states, Google trained AI models that are now used to predict and mitigate flood risks in other nations.A second major contribution from Google’s Bengaluru hub is the "long context window" for its AI app Gemini.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Hooghly/Durgapur/Murshidabad/Medinipur/Kolkata: On a sultry April afternoon in Singur, Hooghly, a group of men sit shirtless on the cool floor under a tin shed, taking turns drinking cold water from a jug to beat the heat as they chat about the upcoming elections.“We’ve seen the Trinamool Congress government for 15 years now and there really isn’t much work that has been done. Development and infrastructure are lacking, and unemployment is a big concern,” says Pranab Parui, a vegetable seller.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Ltd is falling behind its ambitious target of reaching 500 stores by 2026-27, as volatile gold prices weigh on its expansion plans.The Bengaluru-based jeweller had outlined in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) plans to add over 290 new stores between 2024-25 and 2026-27, but managed to add only 65 stores in 2025-26, taking its total to 340 outlets.It now expects a more measured pace of expansion of about 20% annually, well short of its original target.“We should look at how the external operating environment has been, specifically from a gold price perspective,” said Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, founder and chief executive of Bluestone, during the company’s March-quarter earnings call on Friday.“Gold prices have seen a significant increase, and we need to ensure enough conviction from a demand behaviour perspective before accelerating store additions,” he added.The company also indicated a gradual shift away from franchise-led expansion. Of the 340 stores, around 67 are franchise-owned.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—The U.S. has burned through so many munitions in Iran that some administration officials increasingly assess that America couldn’t fully execute contingency plans to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion if it occurred in the near term, U.S. officials said.The U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With the dollar’s early war premium largely faded, the trajectory of the conflict in Iran is now a bigger driver than underlying economic data.The U.S. dollar index—a gauge measuring the dollar’s value against its key rivals—rose 2.41% in March, when uncertainty about the war was at its peak.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India is planning a sweeping overhaul of its drug regulatory system by unifying central and state licensing, approvals, and compliance into a single digital platform, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.At the centre of the plan is a proposed interoperable Digital Drugs Regulatory System (DDRS) being developed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). The regulator is preparing to invite proposals from IT services firms to build and run the platform, the documents show.The DDRS is designed to streamline complex processes—from registration and clinical trial approvals to import-export licensing and supply chain traceability—by bringing central and state regulators, laboratories, and allied agencies onto a unified, real-time digital architecture.States have been asked to review the proposed framework and provide feedback, the first person cited above said, requesting anonymity.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For many Indians, trust in their bank is built over decades. But when that trust is leveraged to sell insurance products that may not suit a customer’s needs, the line between fiduciary advice and sales blurs.The bancassurance model—where banks act as agents for insurance companies—comes with a structural conflict of interest. Customers often walk away with policies that do not align with their financial goals.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its new draft rules, has called for significant structural changes to curb mis-selling.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Imagine a marketplace for domesticated animals. Over the decades, two dominant merchant groups have come to rule it. Call them X, those who grew up with these animals and understand their temperament and seasonal moods, and Y, a group of shrewd outsiders who spotted the market’s potential early, brought capital from distant lands and learnt the trade well enough to profit off it.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.On that ordinary Monday morning, nothing felt unusual. Nikhil finished his pranayama, walked Misha, his three-year-old Husky, and switched on the coffee machine to enjoy his morning brew. Then, he opened his laptop to check his mail.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.At his glass-walled office, Pirojsha Adi Godrej, 45, the chairman designate of Godrej Industries, sits with his back to the renowned mangroves of Vikhroli stretching into the horizon. Pirojsha, who collects manuscripts ranging from the Mughal era to contemporary times, is now dedicated to nurturing the storied Godrej legacy, which grew significantly during his father (Adi Godrej) and uncle’s (Nadir) eras. The succession comes two years after the 129-year-old Godrej group split into two—Godrej Industries Group and Godrej Enterprises Group.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.If I gave you a choice between something that is 60-70% true and something that is an outright lie, which one would you prefer? It is normal to think that having a reasonable amount of truth in what is being said would be better than a complete untruth, but you would be mistaken. Why?“Something that’s true but incomplete might be more dangerous than something that’s wrong, as a little truth is a fuel for a lot of overconfidence,” said Morgan Housel.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently updated its economic data for member countries, as part of the health check it conducts on the global economy twice every year. One number buried in the latest World Economic Outlook database is worth pulling out: India’s current account deficit.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Iraqi militias backed by Iran launched dozens of explosive drones at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states during more than five weeks of fighting, in what is becoming a shadowy war within a war pushing some of the world’s largest oil producers toward open conflict.According to at least one Saudi assessment described by a person familiar with it, up to half of the nearly 1,000 drone attacks on the kingdom came from inside Iraq. They included strikes on a Saudi refinery in the sensitive Yanbu oil hub on the Red Sea and oil fields in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, people familiar with the matter said.Drones launched from Iraq targeted Kuwait’s only civilian airport.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s chaotic public transportation system could be in for a major overhaul, with federal think tank NITI Aayog beginning work on a national framework for first- and last-mile mobility, according to two people aware of the development and a document reviewed by Mint.The move is significant given the scale of reliance on informal transit: an estimated 200–300 million Indians depend heavily on privately run rickshaws, tempos and minibuses for last-mile connectivity, with most tier-II, tier-III and smaller towns having limited public transport.The framework is to be finalized by a nominated committee of transportation sector experts, as well as officials from the ministries of road transport and highways, and housing and urban affairs, according to one of the two people cited above, who requested anonymity.“The target for this committee, headed by a NITI Aayog official, is to prepare a report in the next three months,” this person added.The second person cited above said that the move was prompted by the fact that there is currently no formal framework for a transport system widely used by the public. “The committee will try and figure out what can be done about establishing an oversight into this informal system of transport, which is growing rapidly,” the second person said.The document reviewed by Mint showed that government-run systems are available in just 66 of 496 Indian cities with populations above 100,000.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Jio Financial Services Ltd, the financial services arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, plans to use its newly-launched marketplace to sell products that are otherwise not within its risk appetite, managing director and chief executive officer Hitesh Sethia said on Monday.“For example, we offer personal loans through half a dozen lenders on our marketplace. We are not licensed to issue credit cards, and so we have over 50 credit cards (on the marketplace); business loans are something we are starting to offer,” Sethia said over phone.In February, Jio Financial Services launched its marketplace for financial products through the JioFinance app.