Repo on hold; RBI view on economy brightens

Pilots of polymer currency notes from April; no clarity on Tata Sons listing By Shayan Ghosh, Mumbai

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% for a fourth straight policy review on Wednesday, in line with expectations, as policymakers weighed geopolitical risks, volatile crude oil prices, an uneven monsoon, a weakening rupee, and imported inflation. A Mint poll of 10 economists had predicted the extended pause.

While maintaining its neutral stance, the central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) also struck a more optimistic note on the economy, raising its FY27 GDP growth forecast to 6.7% from 6.6% in the June review, and lowering its retail inflation projection to 5% from 5.1%. Beyond monetary policy, to a query at the post-policy press meet, governor Sanjay Malhotra said there was no change in the composition of the upper-layer non-bank financier list, but offered little clarity on Tata Sons’ proposed listing requirement. He also said the RBI plans pilot-testing polymer banknotes next fiscal year.

At the media briefing, Malhotra refrained from offering guidance on the future rate path, saying any change in the policy’s neutral stance would depend on how growth and inflation evolved. “There is a need for greater clarity to emerge, especially regarding inflation, its path and composition before taking any policy action,” he said. Economists described the policy as broadly dovish, though several said the RBI could still raise rates later this year if inflationary pressures re-emerge. In a note on Wednesday, HSBC economists said they expect cumulative rate hikes of 50 basis points across the October and December policy meetings. Malhotra said the central bank was neither dovish nor hawkish. “We feel that this is the right policy rate for the given growth, inflation dynamics that we are in today. There is a lot of uncertainty which will, of course, play out,” he said.

The RBI said stronger services activity, the continuing impact of GST cuts, and broadly stable employment conditions were expected to support urban demand despite an uncertain global environment. The MPC said headline CPI inflation edged up above the target, as expected, but was mostly due to fuel and food. “Our target is headline inflation. It is our endeavour to bring headline inflation in line with the target over the medium term,” said Malhotra. The RBI targets headline consumer inflation at 4%, with a tolerance band of 2-6%.

Malhotra said the RBI plans to introduce polymer notes by the start of FY28, adding that it would be a pilot project to check how the notes perform in Indian conditions and climate. In July, RBI’s currency management arm—Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran—sought bids from manufacturers to supply polymer substrate sheets embedded with security features that may be used to print Indian banknotes. Malhotra said the polymer material helps enhance the durability and life of the currency notes, and is more relevant for lower denomination notes such as ₹10 and ₹20 where the “velocity” of circulation is higher, leading to lower lifespans.

The central bank had planned a similar pilot earlier, too, but that was dropped. In March 2010, then RBI governor D. Subbarao had said in a speech that RBI would introduce one billion pieces of ₹10 banknotes on polymer substrate on a field trial basis in a limited launch in five cities.

On the Tata Sons issue, RBI offered no clarity on whether the holding company of the Tata Group will have to go public. “The status is what it was earlier,” said Malhotra. The last list of upper-layer NBFCs was released in January 2025, which also had Tata Sons in it. Malhotra said the classification is now principle-based, so as per those principles, everyone knows who is there on the list. Deputy governor Shirish Chandra Murmu said the latest list will be released very soon, but also commented whether there was a need for it at all. RBI regulations classify NBFCs into four layers based on their size, activity and perceived risks, with those in the top slot mandated to go public, facing greater regulatory scrutiny than the others.

Big 4 tap startups for one-stop AI moves

The Big Four consulting firms are teaming up with tech startups to offer clients bundled packages for their AI transition paths. By Devina Sengupta & Sneha Shah, Mumbai

As Indian companies accelerate their ambitions to embrace artificial intelligence (AI), the ease of execution, speedy implementation and the credibility of trusted partners are becoming as important as the technology itself. The Big Four consulting firms—KPMG, PwC, EY and Deloitte—are teaming up with technology startups and niche service providers to pitch clients a bundled offering of agentic AI, technology overhauls and workplace transformation.

This arrangement allows advisory firms to deepen their technology capabilities without building a trusted one-stop solution from scratch. “The rationale is straightforward. No single firm, however large, can build deep, cutting-edge capability across every emerging technology," and partnering with "focussed, specialist startups lets us plug proven innovation into enterprise-grade delivery, governance and scale." These alliances come at a time when firms across various sectors, both in metros and beyond, are seeking reliable partners who can offer a suite of services and vouch for young tech firms.

Take the case of 18-month-old RVAI Global Pvt. Ltd, an agentic AI firm offering business solutions. About five months ago, it began working with some of the Big Four. "A dedicated partner from the Big Four is assigned to the startup, and together they approach clients with their solutions. So far, 10 large enterprises have signed on in less than two quarters with [us]," Vijay Sivaram, co-founder of the startup, told Mint. The advisory firms are in fierce competition to offer such enterprise-ready solutions.

In the AI space alone, firms engage with ecosystems of over 100 startups. Some of these startups offer "differentiated expertise in solving highly specific business challenges,” according to Mahesh Makhija, partner and technology consulting leader at EY India. Makhija added that beyond partnerships, the firm is exploring selective acquisitions and "acqui-hires" in strategically important areas. Similarly, KPMG's tie-ups include specialists in AI innovation, deep-tech, and cybersecurity. Akhilesh Tuteja, partner at KPMG in India, noted that clients increasingly seek end-to-end outcomes rather than standalone tech deployments.

Before these startups are pitched to clients, the Big Four conduct rigorous checks, including assessments of technology maturity, security, scalability, and compliance. For the startups, these partnerships offer significant growth and recognition, providing a "powerful route to global enterprise customers." Pranav Pai, managing partner for VC fund 3one4 Capital, noted that it is often easier for tech startups to approach the Big Four than to go directly to hesitant prospective clients who often require years of balance sheets.

Under these partnerships, the consulting firm typically owns the contract. Compensation structures vary, sometimes involving a portion of the service fee being passed to the startup, or tripartite agreements between the firm, the specialist, and the client. "Our alliance and partnership models are designed such that the value delivered to the client determines how compensation is structured," said Veerapaneni of Deloitte.

For some, these pacts have been long-standing and symbiotic. For instance, the HR platform Darwinbox signed with three of the Big Four several years ago in what Rudraditya Bhattacharya, vice-president at the firm, describes as a "very symbiotic relationship."

Yen at 40-year low shows policy limits

BoJ's oversized balance sheet makes rapid monetary tightening a challenging proposition By Puneet Kumar Arora & Jaydeep Mukherjee

The Japanese yen has fallen to its weakest level in nearly four decades, breaching the 160-per-dollar mark for the first time since 1986. As the world’s second-most traded currency pair, sharp dollar-yen swings have huge implications for global trade and financial markets. While the yen’s latest slide is a result of a higher energy import bill and wide US-Japan interest-rate differential, the currency is likely to remain under pressure unless Japan addresses deeper structural challenges, including persistent fiscal expansion and weak long-term growth. Decades of unconventional monetary easing have also constrained Tokyo’s ability to raise interest rates aggressively to defend the yen without unsettling financial markets.

Steep Slide

Over the past five years, the average yen exchange rate in Tokyo has weakened from around 104 per dollar in January 2021 to around 163 in July 2026, a fall of over 50%. The exchange rate last traded near the 160 level in 1986, during Japan’s asset-price boom that preceded the country’s “lost decades” of weak growth and deflation.

Yen’s weakness is not confined to the dollar; against the British pound, the yen touched a record low of around 219.6 in July, while it has also underperformed the euro, Swiss franc, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar. Japanese authorities have repeatedly intervened in the forex market, but these measures have provided only temporary relief. The yen has long been regarded as one of the world’s premier safe-haven currencies, but that reputation is now under test.

Dollar Drift

Despite the Bank of Japan (BoJ) raising its benchmark interest rate to 1% in June—its highest level since the 1990s—the yen has continued to weaken. The key reason is the persistent interest-rate disparity between Japan and the US, which continues to draw capital into higher-yielding dollar assets. The US Federal Reserve has kept its policy rate at 3.5-3.75%, and bets that rates will stay elevated have further strengthened the dollar.

Japan’s 10-year government bond yield rose to 2.6% by the second quarter of 2026, but stayed well below the US 10-year yield of 4.4%. This has sustained the yen carry trade, where investors borrow cheaply in yen to invest in higher-yielding overseas assets, keeping downward pressure on the currency.

Trade Troubles

Japan’s dependence on imported energy has emerged as another source of pressure. Japan imports nearly all its crude oil and natural gas, leaving its trade balance particularly vulnerable to swings in global energy prices. Roughly 90% of Japan’s crude oil imports come from West Asia, and the recent crisis there raised Japan’s energy import bill significantly.

The country recorded a trade deficit of ¥391.8 billion in May, widening to ¥406.9 billion in June. Since energy imports are largely priced in dollars, the higher import bill increased demand for the US currency. This could become self-reinforcing: a weaker yen makes dollar-priced energy imports more expensive, further raising the import bill and dragging the yen lower.

Legacy Trap

A key reason Japan cannot raise interest rates aggressively is that decades of easing have left the BoJ with an exceptionally large balance sheet. By December 2025, the BoJ’s total assets had reached 102.2% of GDP, compared with 40% for the European Central Bank and 21.6% for the US Federal Reserve.

If interest rates were to rise sharply, the market value of the BoJ's vast holdings of low-yielding bonds would decline. Higher rates would also increase the interest the BoJ pays on enormous commercial bank reserves, squeezing its earnings and reducing the surplus it transfers to the government.

Debt Dilemma

In 2024, Japan’s general government gross debt was 214.5% of GDP, the highest among major advanced economies. The government aims for $2.3 trillion in public and private investment through fiscal 2040 to support long-term growth, leaving little room for aggressive monetary tightening. As rates rise, maturing debt must be refinanced at higher yields, pushing up debt-servicing costs.

The BoJ faces a delicate balancing act between supporting the yen and curbing imported inflation, while ensuring that higher interest rates don’t hurt fiscal sustainability and government finances.

Moderating business activity drags services growth to multi-year low

The HSBC India Services PMI fell to 53.3 in July from 57.4 in June, the lowest since February 2022.

By Subhash Narayan, New Delhi

India’s service economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly 4.5 years in July as challenging market conditions, moderate new business inflows, and order postponements slowed business activity, according to a private survey released on Wednesday. The HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, dropped to 53.3 in July from 57.4 in June, marking its lowest point since February 2022. While the reading remained above the neutral 50.0 threshold that separates expansion from decline, it fell below the long-run average of 54.4.

The survey noted that slowing sales and output impacted employment, with hiring activity remaining broadly stagnant as business confidence faded. Although there was a modest improvement in job creation compared to the six-month low seen in June, only 6% of firms reported higher payroll numbers, while 92% indicated no change.

Despite the overall slowdown, new export business remained a bright spot, with orders rising at a solid rate that outpaced total sales growth. Survey participants highlighted improved demand specifically from clients in the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the US. Within the service economy, only the finance and insurance sectors recorded quicker rates of expansion in output and sales during July. Service providers also cleared backlogs at the quickest pace in nearly five years due to limited new bookings and weak sales performance.

"India’s services sector continued to expand in July, albeit at a slightly slower pace, as new business growth eased in both domestic and export markets after several months of strong performance," said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC. Bhandari added that profit margins improved as input costs softened and firms increased their selling prices.

The July data showed another increase in input costs across the service economy, driven by higher fuel, labour, material, technology, and transportation expenses. However, the overall rate of cost inflation was the weakest in six months and remained below its long-run average. While consumer services faced the strongest rate of cost inflation, they were at the bottom of the rankings for price hikes; real estate and business services saw the highest charge inflation. Across the service economy as a whole, output prices rose at their fastest pace since April.

Hybrid long-short SIFs eat rivals’ lunch

Hybrid SIFs now make up 71% of the total SIF assets of ₹17,858 crore as of June end, according to Amfi. By Srushti Vaidya, Mumbai

Hybrid long-short strategies under the newly launched Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) are beginning to challenge popular mutual fund categories such as arbitrage funds and balanced advantage funds (BAFs). Fund houses are increasingly marketing these products as "arbitrage-plus" or "balanced advantage-plus" offerings, giving more flexibility and higher returns than the traditional mutual fund categories. If the trend gathers pace, hybrid SIFs may challenge the ₹3.44 trillion arbitrage mutual fund category and the ₹2.54 trillion BAF category, say experts.

A section of corporates and retail investors is already moving their money from arbitrage and BAF funds into hybrid SIFs, according to multiple distributors. Hybrid SIFs now make up 71% of the total SIF assets of ₹17,858 crore as of June end, per the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). “We have seen interest for hybrid SIFs coming from institutions as well as retail investors,” said Sandeep Seth, founder and CEO at SIF 360. “Our average ticket size in SIFs is ₹33 lakh, which shows that even retail investors are interested,” Seth added.

Flexibility and Positioning

The key differentiator is flexibility. While arbitrage funds make returns based on the differences between cash and futures markets, hybrid SIFs (positioned as arbitrage plus) can take directional equity exposure and other tactical moves.

Several funds have positioned themselves within these new brackets:

BAF Plus Category: ICICI Prudential’s ISIF hybrid long-short fund, Tata’s Titanium hybrid long-short fund, and Quant’s QSIF hybrid long-short fund.
Arbitrage Plus Category: Bandhan’s Arudha hybrid long-short fund and Edelweiss’ Altiva hybrid long-short fund.

Performance Comparison

While experts say hybrid SIFs are not directly comparable with traditional funds due to their wider mandate, they have delivered stronger returns over a limited tracking period.

Arbitrage Comparison: The biggest arbitrage fund, Kotak Arbitrage Fund, returned 3.75% in the last six months. In contrast, Altiva hybrid long-short SIF returned 6.19% and Arudha hybrid long-short fund gave 3.33% over the same period.
BAF Comparison: In the last six months, QSIF hybrid long-short fund has given 9.87%, ISIF has given 5.85%, and Titanium has given 1.45%.

Taxation and Risk

Taxation is another factor attracting investors. Arbitrage funds and BAFs are taxed as equity funds, with long-term capital gains at 12.5% after one year. Many hybrid SIFs encourage investors to stay for at least a year to qualify for similar treatment. However, investors exiting a hybrid SIF before one year are taxed at their applicable marginal income-tax rate rather than the 20% short-term capital gains tax applicable to equity funds.

Despite the shift in money, Vaibhav Shah, head of products at Mirae Asset Mutual Fund, notes the products serve different purposes: "Investors typically use arbitrage funds for short-term parking of money with minimal volatility. Hybrid long-short SIFs, on the other hand, are meant for investors with a longer investment horizon who are willing to take slightly higher risk for potentially better returns".

Why India’s talent pipeline falls short in sustainability

A growing disconnect between what universities teach and what businesses need is creating a talent gap in India's sustainability sector.

By Krishna Yadav, New Delhi

A growing disconnect between what universities teach and what businesses need is creating a talent gap in India's sustainability sector, Anushree Poddar, programme director of the PGP in Sustainability & Business Management at Masters' Union, said at the fifth edition of the Mint Sustainability Impact Summit held in Mumbai recently. Delivering a special address on Bridging Academia and Industry: Rethinking Higher Education for Sustainability, Poddar said companies are increasingly struggling to find professionals who understand sustainability as well as business.

"There exists a great gap between how businesses work and integrate sustainability, and how sustainability is being taught," she said. She added that the first challenge lies in “the curriculum and what is being taught in the classes”. According to Poddar, employers are often forced to choose between business graduates with little sustainability knowledge and sustainability graduates with limited business understanding. “Either you find a business graduate whom you can recruit or somebody who understands sustainability, but not really a bridge between both of that," she said.

Recruiters often have to train new hires because “either there is a missing skill in the CV or they just know about business”, she said. Drawing from her own career, Poddar said she journeyed from studying commerce at Delhi University to pursuing a PhD at TERI University, followed by roles in academia and Samsung Electronics’ CSR division. This progression helped her in recognising the widening gap between sustainability education and what the industry needs.

“There has to be a complete integration of ESG, climate finance and carbon markets, renewable energy, circular economy and waste management, agri-tech and supply chain, merged with business models, AI in business, then communications and storytelling,” she said. Poddar’s remarks come as demand for sustainability professionals continues to rise. According to LinkedIn’s Green Skills Report 2025, India’s hiring rate for green talent is 59.7% higher than that of the overall workforce.

Jenny Yang uses comedy to uplift immigrants

Touring grocery stores is Yang’s response to crackdowns by the state By Agencies

Stand-up comedians are used to tuning out the din of clinking glasses and patrons walking in and out during sets. But what about rolling shopping carts or the smell of fried fish?

That kind of ambience is what you’ll find on comic Jenny Yang’s unique nationwide summer comedy tour, where she has been turning cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for a night. And she’s been leaning into her unconventional venue choice. “I got to buy a bunch of small snacks and shrimp chips and throw it into the audience every time I felt like a joke didn’t land,” Yang said. “I mean this is my dream.”

A stand-up and sketch comedy veteran whose acting credits include the Netflix show The Brothers Sun, Yang is living a dream of “the most politically and creatively fulfilling project” she’s ever done. The Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour is partly her reaction to the immigration crackdowns by President Donald Trump’s administration impacting Asian, Latino and Black communities. She wanted to entertain in cities with immigrant enclaves where she could give back. So, Yang and her team chose grocery store stops and nonprofits to donate to based on recommendations from local organisations.

The unorthodox tour has grown from five performances to nearly 20, far beyond her expectations. It started in June in Los Angeles, where Yang lives, and has taken her to Minneapolis, Phoenix and other cities. After stops in New York and San Francisco, the tour will wrap in September back in L.A. with Yang filming a performance for a proposed comedy special.

She touches on topics ranging from infertility to awareness of immigrant experiences in the U.S. While comedians are divided on whether stand-up should stand down on politics, Yang has always spoken on it. “People come into this art form as a stand-up comedian for different reasons. I am of the mind that my stand-up comedy is just an extension of my values and I believe in punching up, not down,” Yang said.

Last December, Yang, who immigrated from Taiwan, was back there to receive what was a failed round of in vitro fertilization treatment. Heartbroken and sitting in front of an omelet breakfast, she lamented not having “one good egg” to start a family. As she mulled a new endeavour to focus on, her mind drifted toward the “non-stop barrage” of headlines about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. That’s when the idea for a tour weaving her past as a labour organiser with her passion for stand-up sparked. ”The ability to do and bring a show together, and bring people together inside of the immigrant grocery store, to me, reaffirms our ability to take up space and to own the space that matters to us,” Yang said. She hopes bringing a dose of humor will momentarily distract from the angst so many of these communities continue to feel.

Dozens of idling Iranian oil tankers show US blockade is working

The US action to stop activity at Iranian ports is impeding export of oil, but it also prevents return of empty vessels By Bloomberg

A growing flotilla of Iranian oil tankers is gathering off the country’s coast, a sign the renewed US naval blockade is disrupting Tehran’s energy exports and depriving it of much-needed revenue. Some 50 laden vessels—mostly carrying crude, but also fuels and liquefied petroleum gas—were idling along Iran’s coastline in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman as of Tuesday, according to non-profit group United Against Nuclear Iran (Uani). That’s up from 45 a week earlier and 36 when the blockade was renewed on 14 July.

The US action, intended to stop activity at Iranian ports, is impeding the export of oil but also prevents the return of empty vessels needed for fresh loadings. “The blockade seems effective,” given the increase in the number of ships along the coast, said Charlie Brown, an adviser to Uani. Tankers are continuing to load LPG and other petroleum products from Iranian ports, suggesting smaller vessels may still attempt to get past the blockade, he said.

The buildup comes as hopes rise for a potential interim deal between Washington and Tehran to free up shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Qatar said a proposal had been drafted, and both US and Iranian officials sounded optimistic about reopening the critical waterway. Uani said it hasn’t tracked any laden Iranian crude tanker successfully leaving the Gulf of Oman without encountering US enforcement since the blockade was reinstated. However, it’s possible some ships have gotten out undetected by turning their transponders off.

Fresh offers of Iranian crude have been scarce since the US threatened strikes on the country last week, according to traders familiar with the matter. Sellers are holding back cargoes and seeking higher prices due to the blockade, they said. Iranian Light for delivery next month was offered at discounts of about $4 a barrel to ICE Brent this week, narrowing from about $5 a week earlier, the traders said.

For Iranian oil that’s already in Asian waters, demand remains weak in China, which takes the lion’s share of the country’s shipments. Independent refiners there, historically Tehran’s biggest customers, are operating well below normal as margins remain negative. Plants in Shandong province, where most of the so-called “teapots” are located, were running at just over 48% of capacity as of July 31, compared with a five-year seasonal average of nearly 60%, according to Mysteel OilChem.

Tepid consumption and the ongoing blockade means the amount of Iranian oil on the water worldwide is growing. The country’s crude in floating storage—meaning ships that have been idle for at least seven days—has climbed 14% to 135 million barrels in the month through Tuesday, according to Vortexa Ltd. Most of the increase occurred in the Yellow Sea, between China and the Korean peninsula, and near the teapot hub of Shandong.

Bloomberg has also observed a growing cluster of Iranian crude tankers off the southeastern coast of peninsular Malaysia, while Uani said it had identified at least seven laden vessels idling near Sri Lanka. The finite pool of Iranian crude already outside the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman becomes increasingly important should the US blockade continue. “This round of US blockade threatens to throttle Iranian oil floaters in the months to come,” said Emma Li, lead China market analyst at Vortexa.

Airtel backs fibre again as wireless 5G proves pricey

The pivot back comes even as rival Reliance Jio continues to expand its AirFiber plan By Jatin Grover, New Delhi

Bharti Airtel Ltd is slowing down on its fixed wireless access (FWA) expansion, pivoting back to fibre broadband as rising hardware costs and weak customer retention weigh on the economics of 5G-based home broadband. This shift comes even as rival Reliance Jio continues to expand its AirFiber plan. Airtel executives said higher memory and chipset costs have hurt FWA economics, while low entry-level pricing attracted users who were less likely to stay with the service, prompting the operator to tighten customer acquisition and deploy FWA only where fibre was not viable.

“While low entry-level pricing helped attract customers, the outcomes were not consistent with the quality of customers…with a higher churn and weaker continuity in certain cohorts,” said Shashwat Sharma, managing director and CEO of Airtel India, at an earnings call on Wednesday. Sharma also noted that rising global memory and chipset prices have hurt FWA economics. “We have responded with discipline. We’ve tightened acquisition quality, doubled down on improving our churn and driving towards a healthier business outcome,” he added.

FWA delivers home broadband over 5G networks instead of fibre-optic cables and has been widely viewed as one of the industry's key avenues to monetize heavy 5G investments. Airtel has maintained fibre is its preferred broadband technology even as it built an FWA base. Gopal Vittal, executive vice-chairman of Bharti Airtel, said execution challenges reinforced that preference. “On the fixed wireless access, there are two challenges: one is installing it in the wrong place actually leads to problems, so you will have poor experience,” Vittal said. “Installing it with poor quality of acquisition leads to a double whammy as now you have to run around collecting that box back rather than actually putting it in the right place and sustaining the business”. He added that Airtel will deploy FWA only where fibre is unavailable.

Airtel added 473,000 home broadband subscribers in the June quarter, sharply lower than the 1.1 million added in the preceding quarter, taking its total base to 14.7 million at June-end. In comparison, Reliance Jio had 28.6 million fixed broadband users at the end of June, including over 14 million on AirFiber. Vittal stated that about 95% of India's home broadband market is concentrated in 400 cities, where Airtel is accelerating fibre expansion to gain market share.

The broadband strategy shift came alongside a strong June quarter performance, driven by growth in its premium mobile user base and business in Africa, enterprise, and home. Despite no tariff hike, average revenue per user (ARPU) rose 2.7% sequentially to ₹264 a month from ₹257. Sharma said there is room to sustain the ARPU rise in the medium term, driven by data consumption moving to unlimited plans and acceleration on postpaid with differentiation brought by "fastlane" technology.

Over the longer term, Airtel reiterated that the tariff architecture needs to be reworked through differentiated pricing tiers based on data consumption. According to Vittal, such changes could support sustained ARPU growth of 4-5% annually over the next five to seven years without raising entry-level tariffs.

For the June quarter, Airtel's consolidated revenue from operations rose 18.4% year-on-year to ₹58,539 crore, exceeding Bloomberg's estimate of ₹56,896 crore. Net profit increased 37.3% to ₹8,167 crore, though it missed the consensus estimate of ₹8,699 crore. Africa contributed 30% to total revenue during the quarter, with Vittal noting that Airtel Money is preparing for a listing on the London Stock Exchange in the second half of 2026.

Fibre diet

Rising hardware costs and weak customer retention are weighing on the economics of Airtel.
Airtel executives said higher memory and chipset costs have hurt FWA economics.
They said that low entry-level pricing attracted users who were less likely to stay with the service.
This prompted the operator to deploy FWA only where fibre was not viable, the executives added.

Famous quotes

Wednesday, August 05, 2026

Newspaper Summary 060826

Repo on hold; RBI view on economy brightens

Big 4 tap startups for one-stop AI moves

Yen at 40-year low shows policy limits

Steep Slide

Dollar Drift

Trade Troubles

Legacy Trap

Debt Dilemma

Top developers ready launch blitz for FY27

Lodha Developers

Godrej Properties

Prestige Estates

DLF Ltd

Market Outlook