This year's Economic Survey and the Union Budget were more closely followed for more reasons than one.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty dived sharply by nearly 2 per cent on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives. Reversing the early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged sharply by 2,370.36 points or 2.88 per cent to slide below the 80,000-mark at 79,899.42 in afternoon trade as the finance minister announced a hike in STT on futures contracts to 0.05 per cent from the current 0.02 per cent.
Ambareesh Baliga's quick take on the markets after the increase in STT on futures and options trading...
Both countries commit to provide each other preferential market access in sectors of respective interest on a sustained basis
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Wednesday posted a 2.56 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 3,118 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, aided by robust sales in India and emerging markets. The Mumbai-based drug major reported a net profit of Rs 3,040 crore for the July-September quarter of the last fiscal.
S Ranganathan, the owner of the Tamil Nadu-based pharmaceuticals company that manufactured the Coldrif cough syrup linked to 20 children's deaths, has been arrested.
The government on Sunday gave a strong push to upgradation and expansion of healthcare infrastructure, medical education and pharma sector with the Union Budget 2026-27 announcing a slew of steps, including those aimed at making India a global hub for allied healthcare professionals and biopharma manufacturing.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics surged nearly 9 per cent post its December quarter earnings. Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were the other major gainers. Maruti, Sun Pharma, Infosys and Bharti Airtel were among the other laggards.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies eroded by Rs 9,40,581.75 crore to Rs 4,50,61,658.60 crore (USD 4.90 trillion) in a single day.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) will conduct testing, inspection and auditing of cough syrup manufacturers.
The imposition of a 100 per cent tariff by the US on imports of branded and patented pharmaceutical products starting October 1 may not significantly hurt Indian drug makers, with Sun Pharma being exposed to some headline risk but with limited earnings impact, according to analysts. Among Indian companies, only Sun Pharma has sizeable sales from patented drugs in the US (about 17 per cent of 2024-25 revenue), HSBC Global Investment Research said in a report.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints, Maruti, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the biggest laggards. On the other hand, Tata Steel, NTPC, Axis Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
After two years of strong gains, smallcap stocks fell sharply in 2025, but the correction may be setting up opportunities for long-term investors.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Eternal declined by 4.02 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance (3.88 per cent), Sun Pharma, InterGlobe Aviation, Trent, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Finserv. HDFC Bank emerged as the only gainer from the pack.
Reiterating Sitharaman's statement that this is a youth power budget, Modi emphasised that the provisions made in the budget will prepare leaders, innovators and creators across different sectors.
The Union health ministry has issued draft rules to mandate a blue vertical strip on all antimicrobial drug labels, aiming to rein in over-the-counter misuse and tackle India's growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problem.
Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) on Friday said US President Donald Trump's move to impose 100 per cent import tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs from October 1 will impact only patented and branded products, not generic medicines.
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
Restoring weighted tax deductions and adopting a petty patents regime can foster firm-level innovative activity critical for competitiveness, points out Nagesh Kumar.
Amid controversy over USPresident Donald Trump's comments linking the use of Tylenol and other related paracetamol products by pregnant women to autism in children, experts and industry executives say that since India's export of the drug to the US is less, it will hardly affect the country's pharma exports to America.
Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers. In contrast, Eternal, Asian Paints, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma and Maruti were among the laggards.
Most pharma shares dropped, dragging the BSE Healthcare index down by 2.14 per cent after Trump's move to impose 100 per cent import tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs from October 1. Wockhardt shares tanked 9.4 per cent.
As the potential threat of a steep 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceutical imports hangs in the air, analysts and industry insiders feel that focus on exports to non-US regions as well as domestic market will increase as a long-term trend. US President Donald Trump told CNBC's Squawk Box in the first week of August that planned tariffs on import of pharmaceutical products to the US could eventually reach up to 250 per cent.
Among the Sensex firms, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, NTPC, BEL, Adani Ports, Eternal, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Power Grid, ITC, UltraTech Cement, Trent, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, and HDFC Bank were the major gainers. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
Pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) reported a 14 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,210 crore in the December quarter of FY 2025-26 (Q3FY26) on low sales of cancer drug Lenalidomide in the North American market. The firm's revenue from operations grew to Rs 8,727 crore in Q3FY26, a 4.4 per cent Y-o-Y increase from Rs 8,357 crore recorded for the same quarter last year.
India and the European Union are set to announce on January 27 the conclusion of negotiations and finalisation of a free trade agreement, which is aimed at boosting economic ties between the two regions amid disruptions in global trade due to US tariffs, an official said.
From the 30-Sensex firms, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Finance were among the biggest laggards. However, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Bharat Electronics and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.
Among Sensex firms, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Eternal, Axis Bank and Maruti were the major laggards. However, ITC, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel and HDFC Bank were among the gainers.
Prices for Indian consumers are expected to come down significantly from the current Rs 17,000-Rs 26,000 monthly.
The Venezuelan President and his wife Cilia Flores were earlier captured from Caracas after US President Donald Trump unilaterally sanctioned a military operation on Venezuelan soil.
An Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe has revealed that the manufacturer of Coldrif syrup, linked to the deaths of at least 20 children in Madhya Pradesh, used industrial-grade raw materials without quality checks. The investigation also found that Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department officials were in frequent contact with the company but failed to conduct mandated inspections.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Titan and Trent were among the biggest gainers. However, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Bajaj Finance and Sun Pharma, were the laggards.
Reliance Industries cracked 4.42 per cent, while ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, InterGlobe Aviation, and HDFC Bank were also among the laggards. However, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are set to appear before a federal judge on Monday, after United States authorities confirmed that the case will be heard in the Southern District of New York on Sunday, CBS News reported.
A top executive of Sigachi Industries has been arrested in connection with the explosion at its pharma plant in Telangana in June, which resulted in 54 deaths.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Eternal and Sun Pharma were among the biggest laggards. However, Titan, NTPC, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries and Hindustan Unilever were the gainers.
Any potential tariffs on pharmaceutical imports into the US are unlikely to impact the credit profiles of Indian firms except for a short-term pricing blip, according to a report by India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). The report stated that the US generics market contributes around 35 per cent to the total revenue of the leading Indian pharma firms.
If pharmaceutical exports from India to the US come under a 25 per cent tariff bracket, the impact on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) could be around 5 per cent, felt analysts. This is after assuming that about 75 per cent of the tariff would be passed on.
The rationalisation of goods and services tax (GST), announced on Wednesday, directly lowers the cost of everyday medical consumables, and also high-end therapies in oncology and rare diseases, helping reduce out-of-pocket patient expenditure and better adherence to medication.
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