India's total fertility rate just hit 1.9, below the replacement level, putting it on China's ageing path but at a fraction of the income. The working-age share peaks in 2041, the next two decades decide whether this is a dividend or a crisis.
Fresh AMFI-Crisil data shows mid-cap funds have overtaken large-caps as India's largest SIP category, with small-cap, sectoral and multi-cap funds also picking up share. Performance tracks the rotation: Nifty Midcap 150 compounded about 17% annually over five years versus 9.1% for the Nifty 50. But the small-cap index now trades 22% above its five-year median P/E, a caution flag for late entrants.
Sensex has gone 697 days without a new high, the weakest two-year return stretch since 2012, with 37% of trading days in 2026 ending in negative two-year returns. The backdrop is harsh: roughly $60bn of FII outflows since September 2024, an oil shock, and a brewing Super El Niño. Yet July's $2.5bn foreign inflow, the biggest in 13 months, hints the pressure is finally easing.
Sebi's latest F&O study stops counting losses and starts explaining them. Among traders active five straight years, only 0.5% were profitable every year, and options buyers posted a median return on capital of minus 114% in FY26. The culprit is behaviour: only 15.4% of trader-quarters were profitable, yet big losers kept trading as often as big winners. Chasing losses keeps 95% of returning traders losing again.
India's markets regulator has dropped proceedings against Max Financial Services, Max Life and Axis entities over an alleged ₹3,911 crore shareholder loss, clearing seven individuals including Max Group founder Analjit Singh. The case hinged on disclosure lapses and a claimed fraudulent scheme, but SEBI found neither established under the rules that applied at the time. The regulator said disclosures could have been more comprehensive, yet no evidence of concealment, price manipulation, or an artificial market emerged.
TCS is buying Porsche's German consulting unit MHP for $373 million and, in exchange, landing its second European mega-deal in eight months: a $1.45 billion, five-year contract to run an AI layer across Porsche's engineering, manufacturing and customer-experience operations. The pickup prices MHP below half its annual revenue, and the roughly $290 million-a-year contract lends a sorely needed revenue boost as TCS tries to snap a 21-year first ever annual sales decline. Europe, a third of its top line, now hosts four of its recent big wins.
After years of leaning on private labels and discounts, Nykaa Fashion switched tack and courted third-party brands, and it finally worked. GMV jumped 30% to over Rs 4,900 crore, and the vertical turned EBITDA-positive (0.1%) for the first time in Q1 FY27, sending the stock to its highest level since January 2022. Myntra, which doesn't even track Nykaa's fashion numbers in its competitor sheet, says it's not worried.
The world's top coal producer has quietly launched CIL Global Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned Singapore subsidiary built to buy and run critical-mineral assets overseas. It's the state miner's boldest step beyond fossil fuels, with South America in its sights. The move tracks New Delhi's push to cut dependence on China for lithium, cobalt and nickel.
India's total fertility rate has dropped to 1.9, below the 2.1 replacement level, per the Registrar General's SRS report. That puts it squarely on China's ageing path, but at a far lower per capita income, meaning pension, care and healthcare costs could bite before the wealth arrives. Economists say the window is finite: the working-age share keeps rising only until about 2041, so the next two decades decide whether jobs and skills convert the dividend into growth.
Wholesale sugar prices have jumped 31% in a month, from ₹48.18 to ₹63.05 a kg, ahead of the festival season. New Delhi is responding by replacing a rigid processing deadline on its 1-million-tonne duty-free import quota with a two-month window from bill-of-entry filing, so traders get flexibility without letting stockpile. Stockholding limits for bulk buyers have also been halved to 15 days to squeeze out hoarders.
India's flash composite PMI edged up to 54.6 in August, climbing off July's four-year low and beating the Reuters forecast. But the rebound was lopsided: services re-accelerated while manufacturing hit its weakest reading since 2021. Input-cost inflation eased to a seven-month low, yet firms pushed through higher selling prices at the fastest clip since April.
Nearly half of the world's oil now flows from conflict-affected countries. Iran, Russia, Ukraine, Libya and Venezuela produced about 45 million barrels a day in 2025, more than 43% of global supply. That concentration means a single flashpoint can swing prices everywhere, and the IEA now calls the Middle East disruption the largest supply shock in oil market history.
You’re caught up.
That was all 11 stories in the 25 August issue.