Mint Mumbai
Free UPI era ends; 0.4% fee to pay over ₹2k to merchants
The finance ministry on Tuesday said that a 0.4% merchant discount rate (MDR) will apply to person-tomerchant (P2M) UPI transactions above ₹2,000, while person-to-person (P2P) transactions will remain free irrespective of value. For transactions of...
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Brics: role elevation
The shape of Brics and its pursuits have been evolving over the two decades of its existence as a group of countries. Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi has outlined an ambitious agenda for the next two decades. Modi not only proposed the setting up of a...
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A GRAND TOUR MINUS CLARKSON
The Grand Tour has rebooted itself with a new generation of three enthused young men. It feels fresher, younger and features very little non-car conversation—looks like we may finally be ready for Clarksonlessness.
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Can organized student housing fix the PG crisis?
The recent collapse of a paying-guest (PG) building in Delhi’s Satya Niketan has laid bare the urgency of creating organized student housing across the country. For decades, a severe demand-supply mismatch in university hubs has forced millions of...
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Volkswagen’s yet another shot at an India partner
The Volkswagen Group (VW) has signed a non-binding agreement with the JSW Group for a potential joint venture (JV) in India. After years of searching for a local partner, the German auto giant has turned to the Sajjan Jindal-led conglomerate. Mint...
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THE PATHOS OF PARTITION
Gurvinder Singh’s feature films have been long-form dissections of the political turmoil Punjab has been subjected to. In ‘Rehmat’, he traces its turbulent past and its enduring capacity for compassion through three stories.
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How RBI’s draft loan rules could impact fintechs
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently floated two draft rules that could change how fintech firms offer small loans. One sets a common loan-pricing framework, while the other would restrict lending of nonbanking financial companies (NBFCs) to term...
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Rising inflation builds case for MPC rate hike
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) held its policy rate steady even as retail inflation has risen steadily in recent months, with governor Sanjay Malhotra signalling that the central bank has left open the direction of its next rate move, depending on how...
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Air India’s flight takes a plunge: what happened?
The Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi on 4 August suddenly lost altitude, injuring 20 passengers and four crew members. What caused the incident is unclear—pilot error or a mechanical failure, or both. Mint looks at the issue closely based on the...
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Microsoft, others eye buyout of HR firm Darwinbox
KKR-backed human resource and payroll services provider Darwinbox is drawing buyout interest even as it prepares for a potential public listing over the next couple of years. Existing investors Salesforce and Microsoft, along with US-based HR and...
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Cargo transport may get ₹10,000-cr waterway lift
India is stepping up its inland waterways push after cargo traffic surged nearly eightfold in just over a decade. The government now plans to develop more than a dozen new national waterways (NWs) over next five to 10 years, with investments of over...
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An artist of the broken world
Tyeb Mehta drew from the world around him to make sense of violence, loss and labour. A new book brings together essays and images that trace the ideas, influences and experiences behind his work.
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Aditya Birla Group charts royalty map
In a departure from past practice, the Aditya Birla Group has introduced a royalty fee for its operating companies using its brand name, the top bosses of Hindalco Industries Ltd and Grasim Industries Ltd said in their latest investor calls. The move...
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Why the Centre is against states taxing minerals
On Monday, the Union government introduced a Bill in Parliament that seeks to bar states from taxing minerals. If passed, the law will provide a welcome relief to the mining sector. Mint explains how minerals have been historically taxed and the...
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Regulators bolster cyber shield for financial sector
Cybersecurity is becoming core to financial regulation in India, as regulators step up efforts to guard regulated entities against cyberattacks and fraud. For the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the...
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How will new RBI measures change loan recovery?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6 August announced its final loan recovery guidelines. The measures, aimed at preventing harassment in the pursuit of defaulters, will take effect from January 2027, three months later than the original deadline. Mint...
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Zee’s copyright cases raise red flags for brands
Zee Entertainment has sued Blinkit and Nykaa, alleging the brands used copyrighted content in social media campaigns without permission. The cases may force marketers to review the line between cultural references and copyrights. Mint explains why it...
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THE QUIET RADICAL
As Reba Hore enters her centennial year, her artistic vision is receiving wider recognition. Rooted in everyday life, her works reveal a deep humanity, shaped by politics, love, solitude, and a lifelong commitment to art.
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Tata Sons IPO cloud stays; RBI vets plea
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday retained Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd in the upper layer of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs-UL) for FY27, leaving the Tata Group holding company subject to enhanced regulatory requirements while the central bank...
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Ethiopia solar cell imports under lens
Ethiopia, long known for its coffee, has found a new calling card in solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, one under scrutiny for possible Chinese links. India's renewable energy ministry has asked the finance and commerce ministries to look into an...
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Bain Capital leads talks to pick major stake in Cello World
Global private equity firm Bain Capital is leading discussions to acquire a controlling stake in Cello World from its promoters, who currently own 75% of the listed consumerware company, two people familiar with the matter said. "Kotak's investment...
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Why the IBC ruling is a win for homebuyers
Promoters of insolvent real estate firms can no longer use the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to fend off homebuyers’ legal action. The Supreme Court has ruled that the IBC moratorium protects only the company, not promoters or directors. Mint...
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Can India catch up in sodium-ion battery race?
China’s battery makers are commercializing economical sodium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and battery energy storage systems (BESS). India backs it too, but commercial progress has been limited. What does China’s leap mean for India’s EV...
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PORTRAITS OF INDIA
Emily Eden’s portraits and lithographs, on view in Delhi, offer a female perspective on 19th-century India. The exhibition examines royal courts and everyday communities, serving as a visual record shaped by her travel.
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Robot war ahead?
The income tax department uses AI and machine learning to process ITRs, identify anomalies, detect non-filers and automate compliance checks, reducing manual intervention while improving the accuracy of risk assessment. For taxpayers, the biggest...
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
El Niño usually leads to less rain in South Asia. Since 1951, 12 out of 17 El Niño years have coincided with below-normal rain in India. Global models predict that the ongoing El Niño could be the strongest in at least 150 years. Combined with...
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Sandip Chatterjee
CSO Aditya Birla Fashion CSO TVS Motor Company CBO Premier Energies CSO Eternal CEO WRI India Global Head of Sustainability & EHS Piramal Pharma Senior Advisor SERI
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Can drugmakers weather Trump’s generics tariff?
Trump’s proposed phased tariffs on generic drugs aim to reshore manufacturing, but the plan faces scepticism over its viability. If implemented, Indian drugmakers face huge losses. Mint unpacks the stakes, the market’s importance, and mitigation...
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MYTHS ABOUT MASCULINITY
As powerful men obsess over testosterone levels or what “real” masculinity entails, women and fandoms celebrate male beauty in all its varied forms—with joy, admiration and no desire to police anyone.
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Infosys picks Dash for CEO, logs weak Q1
Infosys has bet on a tried-andtested veteran to steer the company through turbulent times, even as it reported its weakest June quarter in six years. India’s second-largest IT services firm on Thursday named Ashiss Kumar Dash as CEO-designate,...
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Pay ceiling catches up with IT firms’ stock-rich CEOs
Information technology (IT) services firms have long used shares to reward chief executives. Now, as the CEOs cash in stock awards accumulated over the years, companies are seeking shareholder nod to raise the statutory remuneration cap, drawing...
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Behemoths eye foreign funds prior to building assets
India’s biggest conglomerates are changing how they finance mega projects, with a series of recent deals showing they are increasingly bringing in foreign equity partners before assets are built and de-risked, instead of relying largely on debt and...
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
Yes, but not drastically. Given that norms tighten progressively over five years and auto firms have tactical options to meet targets even without aggressive cleanfuel model launches, they will have space for gradual hikes. Moreover, as EVs, hybrids...
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Why IT giants are betting big on data centres
IT services majors are tapping the asset-heavy data centre business, betting on artificial intelligence-driven demand and data localization rules. Tata Consultancy Services and HCLTech see it as the new frontier, aiming to be full-stack players in...
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STIRRING UP THE HOT CHOCOLATE
Unlike coffee, which is largely for grown-ups, everyone loves hot chocolate. New cacao cafés have turned bean-to-bar chocolate into a craft beverage, adding new flavours and even spices to tap into nostalgia while creating something new.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
While India is way behind major countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, China and US in semiconductors, the plan to localize the value chain focusing on all the key pillars is the right strategy, experts said. A May Niti Aayog report said, by 2035,...
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Hormuz jinx forces refiners to dock at UAE’s ports
The war in West Asia is reshaping India's energy supply routes. To avert risks, Indian refiners and importers are increasingly relying on the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Fujairah and Khor Fakkan ports along the Gulf of Oman to skip the Strait of...
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Monsoon deficit shrinks, but dark clouds linger
Heavy showers in early July have narrowed India’s monsoon rain deficit, easing fears triggered by one of the weakest starts to the season in years. But with rains still patchy and the kharif sowing window far from over, policymakers and farmers aren’t...
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Birla co to buy Sprng Energy from Shell in $1.8 bn deal
Billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla has made his biggest bet yet on India’s clean energy sector, acquiring Sprng Energy from Shell at an enterprise value of $1.8 billion. The deal will more than double the renewable power capacity of the Aditya Birla...
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TCS rejigs top deck, big business units
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has undertaken its biggest leadership rejig in three years, shuffling about a dozen top executives across service lines, industry groups and country operations, even as it also reorganized key businesses, two...
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KING JACK
LOUNGE TRAVELS TO PANRUTI, FAMOUS FOR ITS GI-TAGGED JACKFRUIT THAT’S NOW ON FINE-DINING MENUS. THE TASTE OF THIS VERSATILE FRUIT CHANGES DRAMATICALLY AS IT MATURES—EACH STAGE HAS ITS OWN CULINARY USE
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TCS sees tepid Q1, spots clients staying cautious
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) rang in the information technology (IT) industry’s earnings season on Thursday with a report card that barely moved from the preceding quarter. Muted growth, weaker profitability, a shrinking order book, and an...
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Why delivering fashion instantly hasn’t worked
While the promise of delivering trendy fashion in under an hour has attracted investors, turning that into a sustainable business has proved to be far more difficult. Is quick fashion facing structural challenges, or is the category simply too early in...
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Why India is doubling down on regional air
Jodhpur’s new Rajputana-style airport terminal went viral after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it on Saturday. But the event also saw the formal launch of UDAN’s next phase—the ₹28,840-crore Viksit UDAN. Why expand a scheme with a mixed...
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Tractor dumping puts India-China trade ties to test
The Indian government has launched an investigation into the alleged dumping of electric tractors from China. Mint explains why the probe matters—and why it could become a broader test of India-China business ties, with implications beyond electric...
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India mulls cash boost for fuel-efficient auto firms
The government is weighing a proposal to reward carmakers that have exceeded India’s fuel-efficiency requirements since financial year 2023 by allowing them to sell surplus compliance credits to peers who missed their targets. This could create a new...
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HOW ‘AJRAKH’ IS TIMELESS
An exhibition on ‘ajrakh’—a craft that has travelled across geographies and generations —highlights how fashion designers and artists are experimenting with the textile without losing sight of the craft’s roots.
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Why Indian IT is betting big on European assets
Recent acquisitions by Indian IT services companies signal a shift from their earlier reluctance to buy European assets to viewing the region as a key growth market. Several factors are driving this growing appetite for Europe. Mint takes a look. Why...
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TPG team, I Squared edge closer to Re Sustainability
ISquared Capital and a consortium of TPG and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have emerged as the final contenders to acquire a controlling stake in KKR-backed Re Sustainability Ltd, according to four people familiar with the matter. The...
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WhatsApp security
While Zerodha hasn’t disclosed its plans, the move could open up a new, higher-margin revenue stream. This comes at a time when the economics of the broking business are under pressure due to regulatory changes affecting derivatives trading, client...
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Improved IIP data
India’s index of industrial production (IIP) data didn’t always square with other readings that reflect the activity it covers, thus lending it an air of unreliability. Its out-of-date composition and other flaws meant it steadily lost value as a...
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Why is quantum computing the new global race?
Quantum computing was long seen as a technology stuck in the future with unstable qubits and high error rates. Leaps by Google, Microsoft, IBM, etc. now challenge the view and governments see it as a strategic capability with economic and security...
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A HEADY MIX IN MUMBAI
Mumbai’s drinks landscape has always been varied, with dives being as plentiful as high-end hotel bars, and over the last few years, standalone craft cocktail bars have been on the rise. traces the evolution of its bar scene.
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Trippy creativity
Hyperscale centres need millions of litres daily for cooling, making water availability critical . Without sustainable sourcing, data centres risk competing with local communities and agriculture for limited supplies, raising environmental and social...
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Chinese chains
Even without a data theft, cyber attacks can be extremely expensive because the damage extends far beyond the initial breach. Companies may have to shut down systems, pause production lines, and restrict access to internal networks while investigating...
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What US waiver on Iran oil sales means for India
The US has waived sanctions on Iran’s petroleum sales for 60 days as talks continue on a final peace deal, a move seen boosting global energy supplies. Given Iran’s proximity to India and its importance to major buyers such as China, Mint assesses what...
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Monsoon is tardy. So, how bad is it going to get?
The south-west monsoon has seen an unusually sluggish start. Its India journey started with a three-day lag in Kerala, only to further drag. In this El Niño year, over 450 districts have seen deficient rains. Why this delay, how unusual is it and what...
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SBI to package, sell retail home loans as deposits lag credit
India's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), is "seriously considering" securitizing part of its home loan portfolio, chairman C.S. Setty said, as the bank prepares to diversify its funding sources beyond deposits to boost lending. Setty did not...
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THE CREATOR TAKEOVER
The breakout success of horror films like Backrooms and Obsession at the box office signals a shift in Hollywood, as a new generation of YouTube creators brings digitalnative storytelling instincts to the big screen.
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What will it take for India to build its own SpaceX?
SpaceX completed its record public listing in the US on 12 June, and became the fifth-largest company in the world. In many ways, SpaceX remains an outlier—its reusable rocket technology is unmatched at its scale. Can India become just as big one day?...
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Nvidia pitches India AI at friendly prices
As artificial intelligence (AI) advances at a rapid pace, making the technology accessible to everyone without limitations will be key to unlocking its benefits. To achieve that, chipmaker Nvidia believes reducing the “cost per intelligence” can have a...
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E-bikes likely to get energy star ratings
India plans to introduce standardized energy-efficiency labelling for electric two-wheelers (e2Ws) to help lower charging costs and enable consumers to make informed choices, according to four people aware of the development. The labelling is expected...
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