Shritama Bose

The buyout group is paying $700 mln for 10% of Federal Bank, betting it can help the mid-tier Indian institution break into the country's top five private lenders. That’s a bold call—even if rules shift to let it take control, the leap to big-league banking looks ambitious.

The country is open to cutting Russian oil purchases to reduce a 50% US import tariff but Donald Trump’s attacks will, in the long run, only make it double down on its multipolar foreign policy. Narendra Modi’s first visit to China in seven years is a step in this direction.

The Indian conglomerate's truck unit will buy the Italian group's faster growing vehicle business for $4.3 bln. It gains access to Europe without stretching its balance sheet, and returns look reasonable, too. That's an improvement on its patchy cross-border dealmaking record.

Rough weather awaits Mukesh Ambani's next big fundraising plan. On Friday, his $230 billion conglomerate outlined a goal to bring external investors into its clean power unit, which it tips as the next growth engine. Securing a valuation for the business that lives up to the hype may be challenging, however.

The world’s largest money managers led by BlackRock are vying to cater to the country’s rising rich. Though the market is crowded and expensive to serve, the rapid growth of households’ $3 trln net assets is too big to ignore. The prize also may be easier to grasp than in China.

India's money-losing Zepto, which specialises in 10-minute grocery deliveries, has deferred IPO plans as it struggles to cut costs. Rival services from Zomato and Swiggy are bleeding cash as well. With profitability elusive for all, prospects for the $10 bln market look grim.

The central bank led by Sanjay Malhotra surprised by slashing its key policy rate by 50 basis points. Under the new governor, the RBI is prioritising supporting GDP more than in the past. That's fine, so long as it can fulfil its inflation targeting mandate when the need arises.

Investors including BlackRock and Ares will be paid no interest on struggling conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji's $3.5 bln bond. And their layers of protection include collateral they might not be able to get their hands on. It's a result of capital burning holes in their pockets.

Skirmishes between India and Pakistan are not new. But the rich world's stake in South Asia is rapidly increasing. That makes the risk of a conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours harder to ignore for countries, executives and investors betting on the world's fifth-largest economy emerging from the global trade war as some kind of safe haven.

One of India's top private banks is setting a fresh test for the sector. On Monday IndusInd Bank reported it had discovered an accounting discrepancy in the way it booked currency derivatives stretching back at least six years. The resulting estimated $175 million impact roughly equates to an entire quarter's earnings. It's the latest in a series of slip-ups by the firm run by Sumant Kathpalia, and the ensuing 27% drop in its shares shows its credibility is tanking. It's also likely to bring tighter scrutiny of its peers.