Mint Bangalore

Musicians match their style to beat the

From stage to street, Indian musicians are turning up the volume on style. As concert culture booms, fashion is no longer an afterthought—it is a crucial part of an artist’s identity, persona and performance.

What is Trump’s gripe with Nato?

4 Why does Greenland matter for Nato? At Davos, Trump clarified he would not annex Greenland by force and avoided referring to the 10% punitive levies he had threatened on countries defending the island. Yet his warning was unmistakable: “You can say...

Tiger verdict cloud over M&A tax cover

Insurers may not readily offer tax liability insurance for merger and acquisition (M&A) deals and will subject them to stricter scrutiny given the risks of retrospective taxes, consulting and law firms cautioned, days after the Supreme Court ruled that...

Glide path for new job scheme likely

Even as a two-decade-old welfare employment scheme is set to be replaced by a new one, the upcoming Union budget may carve out separate allocations for both schemes to ensure there are no gaps in jobs during the transition period, according to the...

Discoms swing to profit. Why there is more to worry

1 What is the current condition of discoms? After over 10 years of losses, discoms reported a cumulative net profit of ₹2,701 crore for FY25 compared with losses of ₹25,553 crore in FY24, shows power ministry data. The sector, however, continues to be...

Solar sector woes rise as module prices warm up

Aspike in prices of solar modules is expected to raise costs and tariffs for projects under construction, even as multiple solar ventures languish for want of power purchase contracts. Solar module prices have surged by roughly a third since late...

YOUR FAVOURITE WEEKEND READ NOW THROUGH THE WEEK

TRAVEL Chasing northern lights in Yukon The winter light falls differently in Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon, soft and gentle, exuding a warmth that has nothing to do with temperature. Despite a thick blanket of snow all around, the low angle of the...

Why has this issue come up now?

The issue sits within India’s expanding telecom and device security framework. The Indian Telecom Security Assurance Requirements, or ITSAR, which apply to network equipment, are being extended to smartphones, which the government increasingly sees as...

Google blasts past $4 tn: How is it beating rivals?

On Monday, Alphabet became the fourth company to reach a $4 tn market cap after a deal with Apple to power Siri. Last week, Google’s parent also overtook Apple as the world’s second-largest firm. Its surge comes despite warnings of an AI crash. Mint...

Why Mumbai’s new airport is signal-starved

Step into the new Navi Mumbai airport or ride the Aqua Line and it’s all world-class until your phone drops to zero bars. This is no glitch but a commercial standoff between infrastructure owners and telecom operators. Mint explains what’s going on and...

HOW WE’LL TRAVEL IN 2026

Mid-sized startups ditch unicorn chase to go public

Agrowing cohort of mid-sized companies is considering a much earlier entry into public markets, unlike the post-pandemic boom of 2021 when Indian startups stayed private as long as possible in pursuit of unicorn valuations. This shift reflects a...

M&M, Tata emulate Chinese pace to win

To win market share from rivals in the domestic market, homegrown carmakers Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have borrowed from the Chinese playbook: churn out new models at an accelerated pace. Indian carmakers have reached parity with European,...

Why Elon Musk’s Grok made the IT ministry fret Views | Gig work: This model is fine but must pay more

Ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) ordered Elon Musk’s X to remove sexually explicit Grok-generated AI images in 72 hours, mentioning regulatory tension on AI safety, public safety, and platform accountability. Here’s what...

STORIED OBJECTS

TWO SHORT STORIES BY SUJIT SARAF AND KAVERY NAMBISAN THAT CELEBRATE MODERN INDIA IN EVERYDAY OBJECTS

Will India sustain its world-beating growth in 2026?

In 2025, India’s economic growth stayed strong and inflation low amid geopolitical tensions and trade headwinds. The government also unveiled reforms and targeted stimulus, including tax cuts. Mint examines how the economy fared, and what lies ahead in...

Will next year be a turning point for AI in India?

In 2025, a dozen government-backed startups began building foundational artificial intelligence models, with one raising more than $100 million in funding. Data centres saw a massive boom as Big Tech swooped in. Mint examines what lies ahead for AI in...

Budget may pitch ₹25,000 cr infra risk guarantee fund

The Centre is working on a ₹25,000-crore safety net for infrastructure projects to ease financing bottlenecks and revive stalled projects, two people familiar with the plans said. The fund, proposed on the lines of credit guarantee schemes for small...

Why are countries offering visas to digital nomads?

Last week, Bulgaria joined a growing list of nations offering digital nomad residence permits, underscoring how remote work is being integrated into immigration policy. The pandemic-era experiment has gone mainstream. Mint breaks down how it...

The year gone by

A year-end issue is all about looking back, and while most of us want to move ahead, it is often reflection that helps us make better choices. To look back is to notice the high notes, the signposts and the milestones that marked turning points even as...

What airline NOCs signal for Indian aviation

Civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu tweeted that three proposed airlines—Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress— have received no-objection certificates (NOCs). Mint explains what the government’s NOC actually signifies. Is this the end...

Centre mulls plan to energize India’s wind power engine

The Union government is working on a blueprint to revive the once-buoyant wind power sector by addressing key concerns, including land acquisition hurdles and lack of grid connectivity, said three people with knowledge of the development. The Centre...

Decoding asset tokenization and why it matters

Asset tokenization has come under policy spotlight after lawmaker Raghav Chadha last week called for a dedicated law to govern it. As global markets experiment with putting assets such as stocks, gold and real estate on blockchains, Mint explains how...

Why India’s trade deal with Oman is significant

The bilateral trade between the two nations is just $10 billion. Yet, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that India signed with Oman last week during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Gulf nation is important. Why is it...

THE SPORTING HIGHS OF 2025

At the end of it all they stood huddled together. Laughing and crying and hugging and reassuring each other, holding the trophy, kissing it, passing it along. Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami and Anjum Chopra. Three...

Rupee at record lows: What could arrest the slide?

The Indian rupee continued to languish near record lows against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching an intraday low of 91.06, before recovering after a likely Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervention that helped it to close at 90.37. It has lost over...

How India aims to rewrite rules for higher education

The Centre is preparing a sweeping reset of India’s higher education regulatory structure through the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, which aims to replace the current regulator-centric model. As a parliamentary panel vets the bill, Mint...

Will water, power trip data centre growth in India?

In 2025, up to $70 billion has been pledged to develop 6 gigawatts (GW) of data centre capacity in India. While this could power India’s AI ambitions, experts warn that limited freshwater supplies and the need for uninterrupted energy may hurt the...

GST cuts spark SUV sales boom, small cars struggle

Is it karma? Coincidence? Either way, the ghost of the dot-com bubble is back 25 years later. Shares in Cisco Systems , the dot-com-era champion that became the world’s most valuable company at its peak in March 2000, this week reached that level...

ON A LUCKNOW FOOD TRAIL

Doodh ki barfi, rabri, malai ki gilori, kulfi, malai makkhan —each sweet is

Mexican tariff wave set to hit $2 bn India auto exports

India Inc. faces another external shock to its automotive export engine, with Mexico imposing steep tariffs of up to 50% on passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and auto components from several Asian nations, including India. The move directly threatens...

Dirty air trick: How farmers outsmart vigil

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are burning paddy stubble late in the day after monitoring satellites pass over, says a study by the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iForest), released on 8 December. Mint brings the...

Govt asks IndiGo to slash flights by 10%

In a rare intervention, India’s civil aviation regulator and the aviation ministry have moved to rein in IndiGo after a week-long operational meltdown that disrupted travel for thousands of passengers. On Tuesday, the directorate general of civil...

IndiGo crisis: Government vows tough action

The Union government on Monday vowed stringent action against India's largest airline IndiGo, after mass flight cancellations over the past week stranded travellers across the country. However, while the Centre claimed IndiGo had never raised any...

Capex to get more IPO cash, but firms keep powder dry

Behind the blockbuster exits by early investors and promoters this year, a quiet trend is emerging in initial public offerings: Nearly 20% of the money raised from fresh issuances in 2025 was earmarked for new projects, plant, and machinery, up...

When cities lend themselves to art

With the cohort of writers, thinkers and artists being more or less the same at the many art and literature events across India, location becomes all the more important and the real differentiator. Last weekend, Kochi’s Subhash Park, with its view of...

IndiGo cancellations spark airport chaos

IndiGo has admitted to the aviation regulator that it “misjudged” the operational impact of India’s new flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms, after close to 200 of its flights were cancelled daily over the past few days due to acute pilot and crew...

Sanchar Saathi: The flip-flop over a tracking app

India’s communications ministry on Wednesday rolled back its move to make Sanchar Saathi, a lost phone tracking app, mandatory for all mobile devices. The move came after pushback over concerns of surveillance even as the government said it will curb...

PSU banks flag deposit rate woes on policy eve

State-owned lenders have alerted the banking regulator that their inability to cut deposit rates as fast as loan rates is taking a toll on interest margins, three people familiar with the development said. Since many floating-interest rate loans are...

Govt’s smartphone app push may trigger pushback

Apush by the Centre to curb phone-based scams by mandating a government app on every smartphone in circulation is likely to be opposed by the world’s largest handset makers—including Apple, Google, Samsung—and even industry bodies, according to...

Is Big Tech’s AGI fixation inflating the AI bubble?

Big Tech is pouring billions into artificial intelligence (AI) in the belief that some form of artificial general intelligence (AGI) or artificial superintelligence (ASI) could emerge by the end of the decade. But critics warn this may be further...

THE DHARAMS WE LOVE

He was the first person to give me an autograph. I was eight. I had handed Dharmendra a notebook with a novelty cover that made it look like a sandwich, and in his massive hand, this looked like a crouton. He smiled as he signed it, and I stared. This...

Why Apple is fighting the fines India’s imposing

Apple has challenged a 2023 amendment to the Competition Act in Delhi High Court. This law allows the competition regulator to impose fines based on a firm’s global turnover, and may lead to a $38 billion fine for Apple. The case is a test for...

Market nears peak on dollar tailwind

Markets rallied towards their lifetime highs on Wednesday, taking cues from global markets that surged on a weaker dollar and hopes of a US rate cut. However, signals from the derivatives market indicate a lack of conviction, as traders eye the US...

Sterling Biotech: Can SC ruling aid other fugitives?

The Supreme Court’s decision to close all cases against the Sandesara brothers of Sterling Biotech Ltd, after they agreed to pay ₹5,100 crore, triggered a debate on whether other fugitives could use this ruling. Mint looks at whether Vijay Mallya and...

Diwali is past but shopping season is roaring ahead

India’s consumption engine appears to be humming well past the Diwali rush, with digital payments showing none of the usual post-festival fatigue. Daily spends through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), cards and wallets in November have edged above...

How new labour codes impact your gratuity, PF

The new labour codes have overhauled how wages, gratuity, provident fund (PF), pension and other social security benefits are calculated. These changes impact employees and employers alike. Mint explains who benefits and what happens to take-home...

Major tariff cut for India, says Trump, as trade deal nears

US president Donald Trump said tariffs on India will be lowered “very substantially”, signalling an easing of tensions over New Delhi's Russian oil purchases as the two countries near a trade deal. Mint first reported on 22 September that US tariffs...

As rivals rise, Hyundai India eyes homegrown play

Korea's Hyundai Motor that made an aggressive India bet late last century is looking to reinvent itself as a homegrown carmaker, at a time when its coveted market position is under challenge from fierce local rivals. Hyundai Motor India Ltd won early...

READY TO RALLY

Close on the heels of the Indian women’s cricket team’s watershed World Cup triumph, the Indian women’s tennis team is chasing a defining moment of its own. On 14 November, India begins its quest for a place in the qualifiers of the Billie Jean King...

Tata Electronics beats Titan’s revenue; Tata Sons bets big

Tata Sons Ltd has ploughed over a billion dollars into its iPhone assembly business since inception, helping it cross watch-and-jewellery brand Titan Ltd in revenue in just four years. The Tata Group holding company last month invested ₹1,499 crore in...

Wall Street must work with a mayor it couldn’t stop

Wall Street heavyweights failed to stop New York City voters from electing a democratic socialist mayor. Now what? There was an air of defeat on Tuesday evening in New York’s upper echelons as it became clear that Zohran Mamdani had won the mayor’s...

Has Kerala really cut out extreme poverty fully?

The Kerala government’s claim that it has eradicated extreme poverty has been met with scepticism among economists and other experts. They have questioned the empirical basis of this declaration and the process that was followed to achieve it. Mint...

What’s sobering the spirit of the alcohol business?

Alcohol sales have been subdued for a while amid slowing consumer spending, and higher taxes in key states. July-September was a mixed bag. Heavy rains and weak spending hurt wine, and beer sales. Mint looks at how sales fared in the past quarter and...

Small options traders thin out as reforms take effect

The crackdown on India's options frenzy is showing results, with the participation of small investors who have borne the brunt of derivatives losses falling by half. Data from the country's largest stock exchange NSE shows that the number of investors...

THE YEAR OF BENICIO

One Battle After Another has an almost wall-to-wall score. The sonic environment is so heady that all the action seems to vibrate to some unheard music in the character’s heads. Late in the film, two cops chase and pull over Sensei Sergio (Benicio Del...

Indian refiners set for surge in exports

Crippled refineries in Russia and the advancing winter in Europe are expected to pump up demand for Indian petroproducts till the end of March. The Indian refineries may be in prime position to tap the demand, given that they have expanded their crude...

Air India matches IndiGo’s growth momentum

Alittle more than two years since it placed the first of two megaorders of passenger jets on Airbus SE and Boeing Co., India’s second largest carrier Air India has started taking deliveries at the rate of one aircraft a week—catching up with market...

Union Bank, BoI merger to create a new No. 2 lender

The government is drawing up a fresh blueprint to merge select public sector banks, said three people aware of the matter, as it aims to scale up such lenders and streamline overlapping operations under banking sector reforms planned over the next few...

Can the world break China’s rare earth grip?

In recent weeks, the US has signed multiple deals to source rare earth minerals. India, too, has been active and so have many other nations. Mint explores the chances the world has to end China’s absolute dominance in this space. 1 Is the US hunting...

Why India’s draft AI norms have sparked worries

The information technology (IT) ministry has proposed amendments to social media intermediary guidelines to crack down on the rising menace of deepfakes. But creators and other industry stakeholders have called for alterations in the draft rules. Mint...

Folk tales and everyday horror

If you have any association with hill towns, you’re likely to have grown up with stories that send shivers down the spine. In my hometown of Coonoor, there’s a large bungalow on the edge of the sharply curving Orange Grove Road that’s been falling to...

A $50-bn puzzle: How to sell more smartphones

Eight retailers’ estimates show a 15% rise in India’s smartphone sales this festive season, the month before Diwali that sees over a third of yearly sales. Yet, analysts say 2025 volumes will remain below the 2021 peak in India, once world’s...

US deal may cut tariff to 15%, trim Russian crude

India and the US are closing in on a much-awaited trade deal that could slash the current tariffs for Indian exports to 15-16% from a punishing 50%, according to three people aware of the matter. With energy and agriculture emerging as key cards at...

Do green crackers really cause less air pollution?

Diwali firecrackers spark a debate every year due to rising air pollution, especially in the Delhi-National Capital Region. The Supreme Court has this year conditionally allowed ‘green crackers’. But are these a genuine solution or mere ‘greenwashing’?...

Gift with intention

Communication isn’t just about exchanging information; it’s about exchanging information that makes us understand, comprehend and feel for one another. Expressing this understanding requires a love language, and there are many, just as there are many...

Divided carmakers miss CAFE deadline

India’s top carmakers have missed the deadline to submit feedback on a fresh set of emission norms proposed by the government. Industry comments were sought by 16 October (Thursday), but automobile lobby Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers...

Why does AI need dedicated data centres?

AI is by far the biggest data user, primarily because it consumes and processes vast amounts of information to produce results. Companies require massive, at-scale data centre infrastructure to train AI models, the largest of which are based on...

Why were sugar exports not so sweet this year?

In January, the central government allowed sugar exports totalling 1 million tonnes for the 2024-25 season (October-September). However, their shipments fell short of the allotted quota. What went wrong? Mint explains. 1 Why did the mills fail to use...

HCL Tech has best Q2 in 5 yrs, calls out AI revenue

Defying market uncertainties, HCL Technologies Ltd recorded its strongest second-quarter performance in July-September 2025 in five years. The Noidaheadquartered company also became the first of India’s Big Five IT firms to spell out revenue from...

Dissent aside, Tata Trusts keen to keep Tata Sons private

Tata Trusts remains committed to its decision to keep Tata Sons private, two Tata executives told Mint, hours after the Shapoorji Pallonji Group issued a public statement seeking a public share sale of the Tata Group holding company. An initial public...

MAPPING THE PAST, AND HISTORY

Deepti Anand and Sanghamitra Chatterjee’s large-format new book, India Through Iconic Maps, rekindles the magic of the days of yore by reproducing rare and priceless cartographic documents, sourced from public archives and private collections

Will Navi Mumbai’s real estate market finally take off?

Navi Mumbai’s real estate market never matched Mumbai’s stature. The Navi Mumbai International Airport may change that. Developers are buying land for residential projects. Office market may take longer to grow, but the area is emerging as a data...

Gold hits a new high

Gold seems to be on an unstoppable uprun. The yellow metal is crossing one milestone after another. It smashed past the $4,000 per ounce level globally and touched ₹1,22,000 per 10gm in India on Wednesday. Since Donald Trump entered the White House for...

BP, partners to spend up to $4 bn in India energy hunt

Global energy giant BP Plc plans to invest $3-4 billion in India’s oil and gas exploration & production (E&P) over the next three to four years, along with partners Reliance Industries and state-run ONGC, the company’s India head said in an...