'We believe the truth is in the middle, and that India is at an important crossroads.'
The Union Budget for 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, which was a first, had an excellent domestic macro backdrop. According to the first advance estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices is projected to grow 7.4 per cent in the current financial year, against 6.5 per cent in 2024-25.
'We expect modest returns in 2026 versus the steep gains seen over the past few years.'
New investors should avoid short-term, tactical entries and instead go for staggered buying via ETFs to manage volatility.
The country's largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Saturday said it will grow its loan book slower than the industry in the current financial year (FY25). The move comes as the lender looks to bring down its elevated credit - deposit (CD) ratio to pre-merger levels. "We will bring down the CD ratio faster than what we had anticipated.
'First-time investors, busy professionals, NRIs and those with modest sums looking for curated strategies may find FoFs especially appealing.'
'They are positioned as defensive products and can potentially give marginally higher returns than liquid funds.'
'As the team builds, each of them will bring in a different perspective, new thinking.'
As deposit growth lags credit expansion, Indian banks face shrinking low-cost Casa inflows, rising funding costs, and structural shifts driven by UPI, e-Kuber, and digital savings trends, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
For every 100 rupees, households invested Rs 45.2 in mutual funds and equities in 2024-2025.
Younger customers should opt for increasing cover as their financial commitments are likely to rise in the future.
'In the last one year, we have added more than Rs 1.7 trillion, and we are on track.'
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
Sanjay Malhotra has made structural changes to banking regulation to bring down costs and increase efficiency. Plus, he kicked off a benign interest regime. But there are challenges ahead.
The ratio of MF assets under management to total bank deposits has more than doubled in 10 years.
'Investing in these funds makes sense if their net yield over better-quality funds -- corporate bond funds or banking and PSU funds -- is meaningful.'
The Adani group, which operates across multiple infrastructure sectors, with 12 listed entities in India and a combined market capitalisation of about $200 billion, remains "anchored by strong assets and robust cash flows", according to a Bank of America (BofA) report.
Batting for further consolidation in public sector banking, the executives of top public sector banks (PSBs) said there should be at least two Indian banking entities among the top 20 global banks.
A Rs 525-crore contingency provision during the July-September period led to a 19 per cent fall in IndusInd Bank's share price on Friday (October 25). Contingency provisions are generally made when a lender expects more bad loans in the coming quarters. Shares of the bank on Tuesday (October 29) declined 1.53 per cent to settle at Rs 1,038.2 apiece on the BSE.
Inflows into equity mutual fund (MF) schemes declined in May, logging their lowest tally in 13 months at Rs 19,013 crore. It came even as the gross systematic investment plan (SIP) inflows surged to a record high of Rs 26,688 crore.
India's largest PSU bank, State Bank of India, delivered excellent results, once the impact of a big jump in employee expenses was adjusted for. The net interest income (NII) beat the Street due to a better net interest margin (NIM) and good loan growth. The credit growth at 5.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) (15 per cent year on year) was excellent for a large bank.
When we talk about Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), a few of their features that strike our mind are their low cost, easy-to-understand composition, and simple trading. While Index ETFs have always been popular among investors, Gold ETFs have garnered interest in recent years due to gold prices fluctuating near their all-time highs. But from a long-term investing context, do these ETFs really deliver?
Mutual funds (MFs) have significantly increased their ownership across market segments, but the midcap space stands out with comparatively higher growth. Data reveals that the number of midcap companies with over a fifth of MF ownership has doubled from nine in March 2022 to 18 by March 2025. In contrast, largecap stocks saw only a marginal rise, from three to four such companies during the same period.
The new asset class (NAC) proposed by the market regulator could see diverse product offerings with high-risk strategies across equity and debt if the mutual fund (MF) industry's recommendations are incorporated into the final regulations. While the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has suggested relaxations in investment norms for NAC compared to traditional MFs, some fund houses are advocating for further relaxations in concentration norms, greater flexibility in leverage, and the ability to invest in securities currently outside the MF domain, such as unlisted debt papers and debentures, sources reveal.
'A staggered investment approach (using SIP or STP) can help investors benefit from this opportunity while reducing timing risk.'
'Investors' decisions should reflect their financial goals, risk tolerance, and the amount of gold already present in their portfolio.'
Eight of the top 10 employers showed a double-digit growth in fixed capital. Only one out of 10 showed a double-digit addition in employment.
Investors should match their investment horizon with the fund's portfolio duration.
Non-banking financial company (NBFC) Tata Capital is set to launch its much-anticipated $2 billion (Rs 17,200 crore) initial public offering (IPO) in the week beginning September 22, market sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The issue is expected to value the company around $11 billion, they added. Tata Capital is likely to make its stock market debut by September 30.
India's thriving mutual fund (MF) industry is drawing interest from several firms, with multiple applications submitted to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for asset management company (AMC) licences.
Bad loans in the agriculture sector remain elevated, with several public-sector banks (PSBs) reporting higher slippages in the April-June quarter of FY26. For many banks, non-performing assets (NPAs) in farm lending were 5 per cent or more, with some nearing double digits.'
'Increasingly, they treat gold as a financial asset in their portfolio rather than just as jewellery.'
A lot depends upon the crucial decision-making skills of the management. If you have any doubts about the management then you always have the choice of selling your shares or not buying stocks of those companies at all.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) poured in Rs 94,829 crore of fresh money into Indian equities in August, the second-highest monthly inflow after record Rs 1.07 trillion influx in October 2024.
'He has been one of the clearest thinkers in the history of business.'
Total market funds are ideal for long-term investors who prefer a simple, hands-off approach, making them suitable for those unwilling to manage multiple funds.
"We currently manage collections for over 98 million retail and small-business loan accounts, covering a loan book of about $250 billion," says Rishabh Goel, cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Credgenics, a software-as-a-service platform for debt collection. With more than 700 million smartphone users and over 450 million UPI users, digital access is everywhere.
Invest with a 5 to 7 year horizon so that you are able to ride out price volatility and benefit from the long-term trends of demand and macroeconomic shifts.
Many high-profile IPOs in India since 2021 have destroyed investor wealth due to overvaluation, weak business models, and post-listing disinterest, turning 1 lakh investments into as little as 3,500.
CPGRAMS -- an online platform available to citizens 24x7 to lodge their grievances to public authorities on service delivery -- has existed for close to two decades. But it has never been this active, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
