Business & Economy

For the son of a farmer, rejecting a ₹1 crore annual job offer abroad is no easy decision. But Hyderabad's M. Venkata Narasimha Reddy had a bigger vision in mind. After working for 14 years at top companies like Volkswagen and Tech Mahindra, he realized that most of the automotive technology used in India was being imported. Motivated by this gap, he decided to invest his savings and launch a deep-tech startup, Narga Engineering, with the aim to make India self-reliant in aerospace hardware and intelligent automotive software. Narga Engineering is not just about creating gadgets; the company is developing cutting-edge technologies like 5G telematics, EV charging solutions, and future passenger drones. Venkata’s journey from a humble rural background to setting up a world-class engineeri...

The Indian stock market faced a decline on Tuesday, with both major indices closing lower. The Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) Sensex dropped by 376.28 points, closing at 85,063.34 points, while the National Stock Exchange's (NSE) Nifty fell by 71.60 points, settling at 26,178.70 points. This drop came amid growing concerns over global tensions and the possibility of increased US tariffs, which prompted heavy selling in blue-chip stocks like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. Despite the strong performance of Asian markets, investor sentiment in India was cautious due to the renewed warnings from US President Donald Trump regarding tariff hikes. At one point, the Sensex had fallen as much as 539.52 points, touching a low of 84,900.10 points during the trading session. Among the stocks ...

New Delhi: India is set to receive significantly less Russian crude oil in January, marking a sharp slowdown in imports after several years of strong supply. Reliance Industries, the country’s largest refiner and previously the top Indian buyer of Russian crude, confirmed that it does not expect any shipments from Russia this month. The reduction comes as Indian refiners either halt purchases or make major cuts in Russian oil imports. Analysts attribute this move partly to U.S. pressure, as former President Donald Trump had threatened higher taxes on Indian purchases of Russian crude. Reliance Industries UpdateReliance clarified on social media that no Russian crude shipments have arrived at its Jamnagar refinery in nearly three weeks, and none are expected in January. The company al...

New Delhi: The ongoing political upheaval in Venezuela has thrown China-Venezuela oil and finance deals into uncertainty, raising questions about the repayment of billions in loans. Following the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro, the future of the landmark oil-for-loan partnership between Beijing and Caracas has become increasingly precarious. China’s $10 Billion at RiskIn the early 2000s, as China’s economy surged, it sought secure oil supplies, while Venezuela under Hugo Chávez sought to reduce dependence on the U.S. This led to a historic deal in which China committed over $100 billion in loans in exchange for Venezuelan oil. These funds financed critical infrastructure projects, including railways and power plants, while Venezuela repaid China in oil shipments. Over the years, ...

New Delhi: The Indian real estate sector witnessed a historic surge in institutional investment in 2025, with inflows reaching $8.5 billion (approximately ₹76,000 crore)—a record high. According to a report by Colliers India, this marks a 29% increase over the previous year, fueled by large year-end deals and growing participation from domestic investors. The trend reflects investors’ confidence in India as a stable destination amid improving global economic conditions and a resilient domestic economy. Domestic Investors Take the LeadA key feature of 2025 was the dominance of domestic institutional investors, who contributed $4.8 billion, more than double their investment in 2024, accounting for 57% of total inflows. Colliers India CEO Badal Yagnik highlighted that this demonstrates inc...

New Delhi: Indian equity markets faced sharp declines for the second consecutive day amid geopolitical concerns. The BSE Sensex fell 376.28 points (0.42%), closing at 85,063.34, while the Nifty 50 dropped 71.60 points (0.27%) to settle at 26,178.70. Major losses were seen in Reliance Industries, Trent, HDFC Bank, and Infosys. Reliance shares plunged nearly 5% during the trading session, wiping ₹1 lakh crore off its market capitalization—the steepest intraday fall since June 24, 2024. Among Nifty constituents, Trent, Reliance, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle shares suffered the largest declines. Conversely, Apollo Hospitals, Bajaj Auto, and ICICI Bank were among the top gainers. Sector Performance: Decliners: Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Chemicals Gainers: Nifty Financial Servi...

New Delhi: The ongoing crisis in Venezuela is sending ripples through global cryptocurrency markets. On Tuesday, nearly all major cryptocurrencies saw significant gains, with Bitcoin soaring past $94,000, reaching levels not seen in almost a month. By 3 PM IST, Bitcoin was trading at $93,504, marking a gain of over 1% in the past 24 hours. Other cryptocurrencies also witnessed sharp movements: Ethereum rose over 2%, Ripple (XRP) surged nearly 10%, and Solana gained more than 2%. However, some tokens, like Canton, which delivered nearly 50% returns over the past week, faced a 4% decline in the 24-hour period. The overall crypto market capitalization climbed over 1.5%, reaching $3.20 trillion. Reasons Behind the RallyDelta Exchange research analyst Ria Sehgal attributed the surge to ye...

New Delhi: India’s Competition Commission (CCI) has accused Tata Steel, JSW Steel, state-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and 25 other companies of colluding to fix steel prices, violating competition law. The revelation, reported by Reuters citing a confidential document, could lead to hefty fines for the companies and their top executives. Executives ImplicatedAccording to the report, 56 senior officials—including JSW billionaire MD Sajjan Jindal, Tata Steel CEO T.V. Narendran, and four former presidents of SAIL—were found responsible for manipulating steel prices at different times between 2015 and 2023. The findings are part of a CCI order dated 6 October, which had not been made public until now. JSW Steel declined to comment, while Tata Steel, SAIL, and the executives ...

New Delhi: Investors snapped up Adani Enterprises’ non-convertible debenture (NCD) public issue within minutes, signaling strong demand for high-rated corporate debt at the start of 2026. The ₹1,000 crore NCD issue was fully subscribed in just 45 minutes, with the initial ₹500 crore base tranche taken up in only 10 minutes. Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of India’s third-largest industrial group, launched the NCD public issue on 6 January at 10:21 AM. Bids poured in immediately for the secured NCD offer, and total subscriptions reached ₹1,000 crore in under an hour. The issue, originally open until 19 January with a “first come, first served” allotment, was fully taken up far ahead of schedule. Subscription DetailsAccording to data released by the company, non-institutional ...

New Delhi: India is preparing for a major shift in how it measures its economic performance. Traditionally, the country has relied on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the primary indicator of economic health. Now, the government is considering giving greater importance to Net Domestic Product (NDP), a measure that accounts for depreciation of assets and depletion of natural resources, under the United Nations’ System of National Accounts (SNA) 2025 framework. Why NDP?According to the Economic Times, SNA 2025 regards NDP as “conceptually superior” to gross measures like GDP. Unlike GDP, which measures total production, NDP deducts the value lost due to wear and tear of fixed assets (depreciation) and the consumption of natural resources (resource depletion). This provides a more accurate ...