🎧 On today’s episode: Steel stocks rally as India’s demand and tariffs shape the sector, Budget 2026 sets the stage for a major reset in agriculture, Indian cotton textiles push for zero-duty access in the EU, and Canada urges citizens to “Buy Canadian” amid US-China trade tensions.

🎧On today’s episode: India braces for EU tariff shocks as exports take a hit, IndiGo reels from a 78% profit drop, Apple fights India’s antitrust probe, and PhonePe’s backers cash out ahead of its mega IPO.

🎧On today’s episode: The EU signals readiness to retaliate over Trump’s Greenland tariff proposal, Eternal announces a change at the top, Rashtrapati Bhavan turns the spotlight on the North East this Republic Day, and L’Oréal unveils a major technology investment in Hyderabad.

🎧 On today’s episode: From PhonePe’s highly anticipated IPO set to redefine India’s digital payments sector, to Tamil Nadu’s financial strain over the new VB-G-RAM-G scheme and industrial growth, IndiGo’s plan to stabilise operations after December disruptions, and the steepest single-day fall in benchmark indices amid global tariff fears.

🎧 On today’s episode: From Air India’s major fleet and service reset to SEZ reforms aimed at boosting manufacturing and exports, India’s proposed Electricity Amendment Bill 2025 for power sector efficiency, and SEBI’s new framework for Significant Indices.

Get today’s top business news, market headlines about the Stock Market, Sensex & Nifty trends, key market insights, economic highlights, and the latest updates from India and global markets.

Supreme Court rules in tax department’s favour in Tiger Global case

The Supreme Court has held that Tiger Global’s capital gains arising from its 2018 stake sale in Flipkart to Walmart Inc. are taxable under domestic law in a setback for the US investment firm. 

The Apex court overturned a Delhi High Court ruling that allowed Tiger Global to claim exemptions under the India-Mauritius tax treaty. The decision is a win for local tax authorities, who argued that Tiger Global used its Mauritius entities to avoid paying taxes.

The ruling can set a precedent for how India applies tax treaties to offshore exits, potentially increasing uncertainty for global investors seeking clarity on capital gains.

Tiger Global first invested in Flipkart in 2009 with an initial $9 million. Over the following years, it steadily increased its exposure to about $1 billion, building a stake of roughly 20% in the company. In 2017, Tiger began monetising the investment by selling part of its holding to SoftBank Group Corp.

December trade deficit widens as imports surge 8.8%, export growth modest at 1.86%

India’s goods trade deficit widened significantly in December 2025 to $25.04 billion from $20.63 billion in previous December as exports increased 1.86 per cent (year-on-year) to $38.51 billion while imports grew at a higher 8.8 per cent to $63.55 billion, per data released by the Commerce Department.

Exports to the US declined a marginal 1.83 per cent in December 2025 to $6.89 billion amid the 50 per cent tariffs applied by Washington on most Indian exports in August-end. “In the US we are still holding on as there is more focus on areas where tariffs are low. Where tariffs are more, exporters are showing more resilience and holding on to the supply chains,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said at a media briefing on Thursday.

On the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA), the Secretary said the negotiations were on in a virtual mode and efforts were on to close gaps in the “remaining issues”.

SEBI weighs oversight of unlisted share market as focus shifts to disclosure gaps

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is examining whether it should step in to regulate the fast-growing unlisted share market, which currently operates largely outside its direct oversight, Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Association of Investment Bankers of India’s (AIBI) annual convention, Pandey said SEBI is discussing the issue with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to assess whether the regulator has the legal authority to oversee companies that are not listed on stock exchanges, and if so, how far such regulation can extend. “SEBI first needs to examine whether it has the legal authority to regulate companies that are not listed on stock exchanges and how far such regulation can extend,” he said.

Mumbai civic polls heat up as Fadnavis, Thackeray brothers trade barbs

As polling took place in Mumbai on January 15, the political temperature rose sharply, with a fierce exchange of words between Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Thackeray brothers amid a tightly fought election to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray appealed to Mumbai’s voters to turn out in large numbers, calling the civic polls an opportunity to unseat what he described as a corrupt BJP regime.Uddhav’s party, along with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), also deployed so-called “Bhagwa Guards” in several constituencies to keep a watch on alleged dual voting.

State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said that after voting ended at 5:30pm, that the turnout so far is 46-50 per cent, which is higher than the figure for the 2017 civic polls.

The results of the Mumbai civic polls will be out on Friday, January 16.

Infosys Q3 results: Revenue jumps 8.9% to ₹45,479 crore; beats expectations

Infosys reported a decline in profit for the December-ended quarter of FY26, with PAT falling 9.6% sequentially and 2.2% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 6,654 crore. Despite the dip, the IT major raised its constant currency revenue growth guidance for FY26 to 3–3.5%, up from the 2–3% forecast issued in the previous quarter.

Revenue rose 8.9% YoY and 2.2% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 45,479 crore. In constant currency (CC) terms, revenue grew 1.7% YoY and 0.6% QoQ. Large deal momentum improved, with total contract value (TCV) reaching $4.8 billion during the quarter, including 57% net new deals, up from $3.1 billion in the September quarter.

PM Internship scheme falters as funds go unused

Data from Controller General of Accounts (CGA) showed as against the budget allocation of over Rs 11500 crore, the Ministry spent little over Rs 500 crore. The allocation for the full year has a 94 per cent share, or over Rs 10,800 crore, for the PM Internship Scheme. During FY25, budget allocation was revised to around Rs 1,078 crore from Rs 2,667 crore. The ministry had admitted before the Standing Committee that it was largely because the funds were surrendered under the PM Internship Scheme. CGA data showed actual expenditure was around Rs 680 crore only.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu top performers in Niti Aayog’s export preparedness index 2024

Maharashtra has topped the Niti Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index (2024) in the large States category followed by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat in the second and third places respectively. 

Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Nagaland bagged the top three spots among small States, North East and Union Territories. The report was released by Niti Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam on Wednesday.

EPI 2024 assesses the export capabilities (performance and readiness) and potential of Indian States and Union Territories covering the period FY2022-FY2024 and has been prepared with the support of Deloitte.

India steps up bunker construction along LoC after Operation Sindoor

 Following Operation Sindoor, the central government has intensified its focus on strengthening border infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir.

In north Kashmir’s Uri sector, the government is constructing at least 500 new bunkers to protect civilians living along the Line of Control (LoC), officials said, as part of broader measures aimed at enhancing safety in border areas vulnerable to cross-border shelling.

The lack of adequate bunkers in border areas across Jammu and Kashmir during the Operation Sindoor operation laid bare the risks faced by residents during periods of heightened tension along the 740-km-long LoC.

Amidst changing business environment, Tata Consultancy Services has embarked on a transformation journey with AI at its centre. In conversation with businessline, TCS CEO K Krithivasan and CFO Samir Seksaria, talk about how enterprise clients are accelerating AI decisions despite global uncertainty, how deal cycles are shortening, and why the long-held American dream is no longer the primary aspiration for India’s IT talent.

Read the full interview by Vallari Sanzgiri and Thomas K Thomas in the Hindu Businessline.

‘No more 10-minute delivery’: Quick commerce players do away with deadline after labour minister intervenes

Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has persuaded major delivery aggregators to remove the mandatory 10-minute delivery deadline, following a series of sustained interventions, sources said Tuesday. A meeting was held with leading platforms including Blinkit, Zepto, Zomato and Swiggy among others to address concerns related to delivery timelines.

According to sources, Blinkit has already acted on the directive and removed the 10-minute delivery promise from its branding. Other aggregators are expected to follow suit in the coming days. The move is aimed at ensuring greater safety, security and improved working conditions for gig workers.

World Bank estimates 7.2% growth for FY26, 6.5% for FY27

World Bank on Tuesday pegged FY26 growth rate at 7.2 per cent which is lower than government’s projection of 7.4 per cent. For the next fiscal, the growth rate could be 6.5 per cent.

“Growth in India is projected to slow to 6.5 percent in FY2026/27, assuming that the 50 percent import tariffs by the United States remain in place throughout the forecast horizon,” the Bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report.

Securities transaction tax collection likely to miss Budget target

The regulatory tightening of Futures and Options (F&O) trading, among other factors, led to a decline in securities transaction tax (STT) collections. Should current trends persist, revenue is expected to fall short of underperform against Budget estimates, a scenario not seen since FY20.

Data made public by the Income Tax Department show that STT collection was around ₹44,500 crore as on January 11. Meeting Budget estimates will require a collection of over ₹33,400 crore in the remaining 79 days, a target that appears increasingly challenging.

Retail inflation rises to 1.33% in December

Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 1.33 per cent in December as against 0.71 per cent of November, Statistics Ministry reported on Monday. some of the data points are as follows Rural Inflation: An increase in headline and food inflation in rural sector was observed in December, 2025. The headline inflation in December was at 0.76 per cent while it was 0.1 per cent in November. Urban Inflation: An increase from 1.4 per cent to 2.03 per cent was observed in headline inflation of urban sector. Increase is also observed in urban food inflation from (-)3.6 per cent in to (-) 2.09 per cent.

Social security. Govt mulls raising EPFO, ESIC wage ceiling to ₹30,000

Following a recent directive from the Supreme Court of India and a long-standing demand from labour unions, the Ministry of Labour and Employment is actively examining a proposal to revise and standardise the wage ceilings for both the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

At present, the EPFO wage ceiling stands at ₹15,000 per month, while the ESIC threshold is ₹21,000. It is proposed that both ceilings be revised and capped at a uniform monthly level of ₹25,000 to ₹30,000, sources familiar with the matter said.

TCS profit falls nearly 14%at ₹10,657 crore for Q3

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) net profit declined 13.9 per cent to ₹10,657 crore for the third quarter of the financial year 2025-26, compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, owing to exceptional items like restructuring expenses, new labour code impact, legal claim.

Net profit declined by 11.7 per cent on a sequential basis compared to ₹12,075 crore reported in Q2 of FY26.

Exceptional items including cost of restructuring cost of ₹253 crore, impact of new Labour Code amounting to ₹2,128 crore, and provision towards legal claim of Rs 1,010 crore.

Setback for ISRO: PSLV-C62 mission faces anomaly at the end of third stage

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) encountered an anomaly at the end of the third stage of the PSLV-C62 mission, which was carrying the EOS-N1 Earth Observation satellite along with 15 co-passenger satellites from domestic & international customers on Monday.

The mission saw successful takeoff at 10:18 AM from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

After completion of the first two stages, the mission saw anomalies towards the end of the third stage. As a result, the payload, which included domestic and international satellites along with a special DRDO spy satellite, was not deployed into the intended orbit.