Digital payments firm PhonePe has launched PulsePro, an enterprise intelligence platform providing businesses with aggregated and anonymised transaction data. This platform offers near real-time market insights at granular levels, helping companies track consumer spending, identify growth opportunities, and make informed expansion decisions across India.
15 states have rolled out unconditional cash transfer schemes for women, with an estimated annual outlay of around Rs 1.7 trillion covering nearly 120 million beneficiaries.
The findings of the report showed consumer spending falling for the first time in over four decades in 2017-18.
State Bank of India's latest report highlights a 'chalk and cheese' divide in the Reserve Bank of India's recent policy communications, with the Monetary Policy Committee minutes showing a hawkish tone while the Governor's statements are more data-dependent, leading to market uncertainty regarding future interest rate hikes.
Travel is now the dominant spending category for India's affluent consumers, who are prioritising experiences and luxury goods over retail buying, according to a new report.
Women's sports garnered 28.6 billion minutes of views in the U.S. in the first half of 2026, an 18% increase year-over-year, with advertising spend up 120% since 2022, according to a Nielsen report.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) significantly increased their buying in Indian equities during the first half of August, with financial services attracting the largest inflows, reversing previous outflows. The IT sector also continued to see strong interest from overseas investors, driven by a reassessment of valuations and the role of Indian IT firms in AI deployment.
The biggest challenge to widespread deployment is no longer AI. It is the financial and commerce infrastructure that was built decades ago for deterministic software and human interactions -- not autonomous AI agents.
Moody's Analytics predicts India will remain the fastest-growing major economy in 2026 and 2027, but its pace will moderate due to a global slowdown, geopolitical risks, and financial market volatility, despite the boost from AI demand.
Shiprocket plans to allocate a significant portion of its IPO proceeds towards artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to evolve its e-commerce enablement platform into a comprehensive operating system for merchants, enabling conversational commands and reducing manual tasks.
At what age should society stop regulating life choices and allow people to make their own?
It's not about how much you earn -- it's about how you borrow and repay.
Why the industry's public position changed is difficult to say. What the developments did establish, though, is that ethanol-blended petrol has become one of the country's most politically and commercially sensitive policy issues.
Global oil prices fell on Thursday to their lowest levels since before the outbreak of the Iran conflict, offering a significant economic tailwind for India, the world's third-largest crude importer, by easing inflation risks, reducing the import bill and improving the government's fiscal position.
India Ratings and Research predicts the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will maintain the repo rate at 5.25 per cent throughout FY27, despite potential inflationary pressures from higher fuel prices, with inflation expected to remain within the central bank's tolerance band.
UPI transactions in India reached record highs in May, driven by summer travel and the IPL, with transaction value hitting Rs 29.90 lakh crore and volume reaching 23.2 billion.
Wipro's net profit in the first quarter saw minimal growth, rising less than one per cent to 3,352 crore, while revenue increased by 10.6 per cent to 24,480 crore. The IT services segment, a key metric, grew by only one per cent year-on-year, falling short of analyst estimates amidst a challenging demand environment and longer decision cycles from clients.
US economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter.
Early data from the World Cup indicates that sportswear giant Adidas is currently gaining a significant advantage over rival Nike in brand visibility and sales. Adidas, an official sponsor, is seeing a substantial surge in apparel spending and foot traffic, particularly driven by jersey sales. While Nike's business is also growing, it is being outpaced by Adidas, which appears to have a more resonant product offering. Nike, facing declining market share and intense competition, is relying on the World Cup for a boost, though its footwear presence remains strong.
The Karnataka government is reviewing its data centre policy to prioritise sustainability due to concerns about the significant water and energy consumption of data centres. The government is exploring coastal locations like Mangaluru for future data centre development and focusing on smaller-scale data centres.
The K-shaped economic recovery in India from the pandemic slowdown shows in corporate results as well. The automobile sector, which represents big-ticket consumption, continues to do well and has increased its share in corporate revenues and profits while fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies that sell low-ticket consumer goods are struggling with poor sales and earnings growth. The share of the automobile sector, including makers of auto ancillaries, in corporate net sales rose to a 10-quarter high of 10.05 per cent during July-September 2023 (Q2FY24) from 8.94 per cent a year earlier and 9.75 per cent in Q1FY24.
Credit card adoption is rapidly expanding beyond India's major metropolitan areas into Tier-II and Tier-III cities, driven by increasing incomes, digital awareness, and the integration of RuPay credit cards with UPI, according to a new report by SBI Card.
Experts said a dip in consumption expenditure indicated an increasing prevalence of poverty in the country.
India's electric vehicle market is experiencing an unprecedented boom with a 37 per cent increase in new entrants, driven by supportive policies and infrastructure.
'When I look at India's relative valuations, these are by far the lowest I have seen in my 35-year career.' 'The relative 12-month trailing performance is among the weakest I have seen, and foreign investor positioning is at a 16-17 year low.'
The Indian government is set to accelerate reforms, including measures to enhance foreign direct investment, speed up divestment, and boost asset monetisation, to maintain economic growth despite rising fuel and fertiliser import costs driven by the West Asia crisis.
Over the past year, the sale of injectable GLP-1 agonists (used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity) such as Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic have surged a whopping 218 per cent.
The Indian central government has reduced its total expenditure by approximately 60,000 crore in FY26, below its revised estimate, to successfully achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the latest data from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
India's information technology (IT) spend is projected to touch $176.3 billion in 2026, rising 10.6 per cent from 2025, and outpacing the 9.8 per cent growth expected globally, according to the latest forecast by Gartner Inc., a business and technology insights company.
'If the war continue for a longer period of time, it is just a matter of time before the government will pass on some of the price increases.'
'Healthcare costs in India rise by 10 to 14% annually, causing treatment costs to double roughly every 5-7 years.'
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, retail firms, and producers of consumer durables are witnessing stable urban demand. However, people in the trade are waiting for clearer signs of revival closer to the festival season, starting in September.
'Every year we import approximately $70 billion worth of gold -- closer to $72 billion in 2025-2026, an all-time record.' 'There is no parallel for this anywhere in the world. And this love for gold will not disappear overnight.'
Declining interest rates, a near-normal monsoon leading to higher rural incomes and pay hikes for central government employees are key triggers, says Dev Chatterjee.
Fitch Ratings on Friday said persistently higher oil prices could cause India's retail inflation to rise faster than the expected gradual pace, and lead to a slowdown in economic growth in the first half of financial year 2026-27 (FY27).
The ministries of Road Transport & Highways and Railways have exceeded the national average capital expenditure (capex) by spending 63 per cent and 57 per cent of Budget estimates (BE), respectively, in the first half of 2025-26 (FY26). The total capital expenditure for April-September of FY26 stood at 52 per cent of the BE, according to the latest data by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
Brokerage Bernstein has warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India risks squandering recent economic gains unless it accelerates structural reforms, particularly in jobs, manufacturing and innovation.
India's leading passenger vehicle manufacturers are significantly increasing investments and factory capacities, alongside planning major product launches for FY27, driven by strong confidence in sustained domestic demand growth despite global geopolitical tensions and supply chain risks.
'What exactly is on the prime minister's mind, we do not know. But it feels like the government wants the country to be prepared for unseen challenges ahead.'
Wipro, India's fourth-largest IT services company, has secured an eight-year deal with Singapore-based Olam group, valued at over $1 billion, and will also acquire Olam's IT and digital services arm, Mindsprint, for $375 million, marking one of its largest contracts to date.
