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India Business · Monday, 24 August 2026 · Issue 82 · 11 stories

SEBI revives Adani probe; FDI hits $1B

SEBI just reopened a years-old proxy probe into Adani-linked funds, and India's net FDI cratered to $1 billion. Two signals that capital is moving differently now.

Markets & Indices

SEBI nixes 13 Adani-linked funds' settlements, reviving 2020 proxy probe

India's markets regulator has rejected settlement applications from 13 overseas funds caught in a years-old probe into whether they were genuine public shareholders or proxy owners for Adani Group founders. The funds balked at SEBI's terms, refusing to hand over required information or resist demands to disgorge money. The rejection reopens a case that dates to October 2020, when surveillance first flagged their concentrated Adani stock holdings.

thehindubusinessline.com ↗2 min read at source

India's biggest share sale pays its four bankers just ₹4 lakh total

India's biggest-ever secondary share sale, LIC's ₹31,500 crore OFS, pays its four manager banks just ₹4 lakh to split: around 0.0001% of deal value. That's the zero-fee mandate back with force, as desks accept nominal compensation for prestige, league-table rank and future flow. Rivals counter that ₹100,000 a bank barely covers due-diligence and compliance. The bet is reputation now, pay later.

livemint.com ↗5 min read at source

Companies & Earnings

Welspun's share euphoria ignores the catch: its historic US order is a one-off

Welspun Corp shares jumped 18% after landing the biggest order in its history: a $1.8 billion deal to supply pipes from its US plant. Market cap rose by nearly half the order value, yet the revenue only lands in FY28-29. The kicker: this isn't recurring, so sustained growth depends on repeating such wins and on US politics and energy prices cooperating. At 21x EV/Ebitda, the stock is priced for everything to go right.

livemint.com ↗3 min read at source

Economy & Policy

India's net FDI collapses to $1B, from $28B two years ago

India's net FDI collapsed to $1 billion in FY25, down from $10.2 billion the year before and $28 billion in FY23. The government blames Indian firms going global, ODI outflows rising, plus foreign investors cashing out via repatriation. The counterintuitive twist: gross inflows just hit a record $94.8 billion. The widening gap between gross and net tells you where the money is actually flowing.

cnbctv18.com ↗2 min read at source

India's ₹62,500 crore MPMS scheme: Dixon and Amber first in line for the cellphone windfall

India's ₹62,500 crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme replaces the expiring PLI regime, and the early applicants read like a who's who of Indian electronics. Dixon, assembler of Pixel, Motorola and Xiaomi handsets, is expected to apply at scale. Amber Enterprises is weighing it too after a maiden Oppo, Realme and OnePlus tie-up. Lava and NxtQST are chasing the Indian-brand bucket as the government demands genuine IP and 51% local ownership.

business-standard.com ↗3 min read at source

India lifts wheat flour export ban, ending 2022 curbs

India has dropped the export ban on wheat flour and related products with immediate effect, fully reversing the July 2022 halt. New Delhi had only partly reopened shipments earlier, capping them near 5 million tonnes a year. The loosening suggests domestic grain prices have cooled enough for the world's second-biggest wheat exporter to fill what it left of the Black Sea gap.

economictimes.indiatimes.com ↗1 min read at source

Banking & Finance

Credit-Line-on-UPI hands small banks a key to the big lenders' credit-card fortress

Credit-Line-on-UPI was pitched as a financial-inclusion win, but the inclusion has flipped, it's democratised lending for small banks, not the credit-starved. Suryoday Small Finance Bank alone sanctioned ₹362 crore to over 5 lakh customers via Paytm in eight months, compounding 63% month-on-month. Incumbents HDFC, SBI, ICICI and Axis still pocket three-quarters of every card rupee, yet now face the cannibalisation dilemma the new rails hand their rivals.

the-ken.com ↗12 min read at source

India's bank unions strike Sept 11, threaten indefinite walkout over 5-day banking

India's bank unions, under the UFBU, will go on a nationwide strike September 11 to force a five-day banking week they say the government has sat on for over two years. A separate PLI-scheme fight is already before the labour commissioner and Delhi High Court. Further strikes follow Sept 28 and an indefinite action from October 26 if demands stay unmet. The walkout could hit public-sector bank services for four days.

economictimes.indiatimes.com ↗3 min read at source

Global Cues & Commodities

Forget the Hormuz crude fight: Asia's refined-fuel imports are down 21%

The dispute over how much crude clears Hormuz is a false debate, refined fuels show where the shortage actually bites. Asia's imports of diesel, jet fuel and gasoline have fallen 21% (about 1.5 million bpd) from pre-conflict levels, with refining margins stuck near record highs. The pain is uneven: Indonesia's arrivals hit a 13-month low while richer Australia holds its own.

economictimes.indiatimes.com ↗4 min read at source

You’re caught up.

That was all 11 stories in the 24 August issue.