The headline "Adults Only" serves as the title for the cover feature of the April 11, 2026, edition of the sources. This feature examines the current struggle of children's cinema in India and is anchored by the lead article on page 8, "Where has all the children’s cinema gone?" by Prathyush Parasuraman.
Below is the reproduction of that article:
Where has all the children’s cinema gone?
By Prathyush Parasuraman
At the BAFTAs in February, Lakshmipriya Devi’s Boong, a small Manipuri film about a young, mischievous boy’s search for his father, inched past studio behemoths Zootopia 2 and Lilo & Stitch and bagged the award for Best Children’s and Family Film—the first ever Indian film to win in the category. While Devi clarifies that her film is not strictly a “children’s film” but rather one with a child protagonist, she concedes there is a glaring lack of films for children in India—a gap Boong unintentionally plugged.
This lack is particularly stark given that minors make up more than a third of the country’s population, with roughly 25% under the age of 14. While animation grew into a cottage industry catering to children post-liberalisation, live-action films for younger viewers have dwindled to a drip.
The CFSI Years
In 1955, Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI), driven by the mandate that a nation taking its future seriously must take its children seriously too. CFSI produced over 250 features, shorts, and animations in 10 languages, roping in stalwart filmmakers like Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, and Rituparno Ghosh. These films foregrounded children’s curiosity without infantilising them.
By the early 2010s, CFSI films reached approximately 7 million students annually through school screenings. However, they were rarely aimed at profitability and struggled with distribution. Most distributors preferred "family entertainers" over films made specifically for children. While 1970s commercial hits like Haathi Mere Saathi were popular with kids, they were mass-audience films focused on pleasure rather than the moral fibre intended by CFSI.
Importing Animation
India's domestic animation never reached the commercial soft power of the US or Japan, leading to a "chokehold" of foreign content. With the advent of cable TV, channels like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon introduced dubbed foreign shows, cementing the impression that animation was merely an infantilised genre for kids.
Theatrical experiments like the Hanuman films initially showed promise but were followed by commercial failures like Roadside Romeo. Even the popular Chhota Bheem struggled to translate television success into theatrical footfalls. This space was instead occupied by international giants like Disney, Dreamworks, and Pixar, with The Lion King (2019) earning over ₹180 crore in India. By 2025, even domestic animation began pivoting away from children; the hit Mahavatar Narsimha announced its adult intentions with violent and erotic scenes, earning ₹300 crore by targeting a broader audience.
Beyond Bollywood and the Disappearing "Family Film"
In the 2000s, Hindi cinema experimented with live-action children’s horror (Makdee) and fantasy (Raju Chacha), which found an afterlife on TV despite theatrical failure. Regional cinema, particularly Marathi and Tamil, saw more success with films like Shwaas and Kaaka Muttai, which tackled complicated socioeconomic themes through the eyes of children.
However, the industry has since swerved. The rise of ticket prices (up 47% between 2020-25) and a focus on violent spectacles have killed the "family film". In 2009, 50% of Hindi films were U-rated; by 2025, only 12% were unrestricted for all ages. This void is now largely filled by video games, YouTube, and foreign animation. As Nandita Das observes, the gulf between the belief that budget-friendly, value-driven children's films can be made and their actual realization is only widening.
The "Adults Only" feature also includes a companion piece on page 9, "Adults get in line to watch kids’ films" by Avantika Bhuyan. This report explores why more adults are turning to animated films like Inside Out and Bluey for emotional safety and "self-soothing" in an increasingly fast-paced and overstimulating world.
Based on the sources, the article titled "Bringing that retreat feeling back home" is a featured blurb on page 3 of the Mint Chennai edition,. It discusses the Ayurvedic concept of dinacharya as a method for maintaining wellness outside of a formal retreat setting.
Below is the reproduction of the text as it appears in the source:
Bringing that retreat feeling back home
Life at a wellness retreat is clockwork perfect. Days start early, meals arrive on time and sleep comes easily. This dinacharya or routine, however, is hard to practise once you return to normal life where mornings begin with alarms and emails and “routine” feels dreary. Calm and peace feel like something that belongs to someone else’s life. Dinacharya, Ayurveda’s concept of daily rhythm, is the idea that the body works best when it moves in rhythm with light and dark, hunger and rest, activity and recovery. Practise a routine for 3-5 days and the body automatically begins healing. Replicating this routine at home isn’t an impossible.
Based on the sources, here is the reproduction of the article titled "Kim Gordon takes aim at tech cults" by Bhanuj Kappal, found in the Culture section on page 11.
Kim Gordon takes aim at tech cults
By Bhanuj Kappal
When I came of age in the late 2000s, the world was caught in the grips of a techno-utopian fever dream. The internet was going to usher us into a brave new future, one of full data transparency, empowered citizens and flattened hierarchies. Twenty years later, that dream has curdled into a dystopian nightmare. The digital economy turned out to be the ultimate panopticon, trapping us in a spider-web of pervasive surveillance.
Listening to Play Me, the latest album by 72-year-old American musician, actor, artist and indie icon Kim Gordon, I wonder if she’s been reading r/technology lately. The record is savage in its evisceration of American technocracy—its shallow consumerism, its devaluation of humanity, its irredeemable stupidity. Over 12 short, sharp tracks, Gordon takes aim at surveillance capitalism, tech cults and the Trump administration’s war on DEI. Most of all, she pokes fun at just how many of the leading lights of contemporary tech are such total losers. “You wanna go to Mars and then what? Then what? Then what?” she sneers on Subcon, taunting Elon Musk.
That last indictment hits doubly hard when it comes from an artist who has been the epitome of cool for the last four decades. Gordon, a co-founder of the hugely influential band Sonic Youth, has explored new, more experimental creative territory since the band and her marriage to Thurston Moore broke up in 2011.
Working with producer Justin Raisen, her music has become even more avant-garde, incorporating hip-hop, trap, and rage-rap. Play Me leans even further into these rhythms than her previous 2024 album, The Collective.
- On the title track, she drawls out a list of Spotify-generated playlists, taking digs at the platform's ambition to turn complex human emotions into AI-assisted metadata.
- Black Out features caustic takedowns of the AI bubble and the environmental cost of cheap tech.
- Dirty Tech imagines having an AI as a boss or lover, while the paranoid Nail Biter captures the futility of filling late-capitalist existentialism with consumer goods.
- The album's high water mark includes Not Today, a shoegaze-y throwback to early Sonic Youth, and the gnarly, industrial Busy Bee.
The album ends with ***BYEBYE25!***, a political manifesto where the lyrics consist almost entirely of words or phrases that the Trump administration has banned from official websites and documents.
Based on the sources, here is the reproduction of the article titled "India Inc. ramps up checks to avoid sanctioned entity deals" by Yash Tiwari and Devina Sengupta, which appears in the news section on pages 15 and 16.
India Inc. ramps up checks to avoid sanctioned entity deals
By Yash Tiwari & Devina Sengupta
MUMBAI: A tightening global sanctions and tariff regime, primarily led by the US, is compelling Indian firms to intensify background checks before finalizing transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, supply contracts, and trade deals. Legal experts indicate that companies are increasingly hiring law firms and investigative agencies to implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) before closing deals. These SOPs mandate extensive disclosures, including the identification of ultimate beneficiaries, end-use certificates, and the verification of licensed vendors.
Risk Mitigation and SOPs
The primary objective of this due diligence is to ensure that Indian businesses do not inadvertently deal with sanctioned entities, which could lead to frozen assets, blocked payments, or stalled deals amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions. Consequently, sanction checks are now standard for large and key partners. Indian firms with operations or transactions in the US and other countries enforcing sanctions must "ringfence themselves" to avoid legal and financial repercussions.
Manavendra Mishra, a partner at Khaitan & Co, noted a rise in the use of disclosures and warranties where parties confirm they have no dealings with sanctioned entities. Modern contracts also include specific clauses to determine who bears the cost if a vendor is found to be on a sanctioned list.
Sectoral Impact
Charanya Lakshmikumaran, executive partner at Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS), described sanctioned entities as a "contagion" that must be avoided, noting that her firm has seen a significant uptick in clients—8 to 10 in the last six months—seeking to ensure their contracts are free of such parties. The impact of these sanctions is most pronounced in sectors such as:
- Chemicals and Petrochemicals
- Energy and Electronics
- Defense
- Maritime Logistics (vessels and ports)
Lakshmikumaran pointed out that India Inc. often struggles with maintaining robust procurement contracts, prompting the establishment of systems to improve these processes and ascertain risks associated with certain customers or countries. In some instances, banks have stopped payments due to a subsidiary’s business links appearing on a sanctions list.
Deep Diligence
To navigate these complexities, law firms are utilizing specialist compliance platforms and reviewing global sanctions databases maintained by the UN, the EU, and the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This has led to a growing demand for professionals who can decipher intricate corporate structures and ownership patterns.
While sanctions are not new, recent geopolitical strife—including the Russia-Ukraine war and the US-Israel-Iran conflict—has led to more expansive measures targeting specific leaders, companies, and executives. Sara Sundaram, partner at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, warned against the "misconception" that only direct subsidiaries of sanctioned entities are at risk; in many jurisdictions, sanctions can apply even if the sanctioned entity's ownership is below 50%. Due diligence now involves examining holding structures, associate companies, and key management personnel (KMP) to determine the full spread of risk.
Asset size to classify NBFC Upper Layer; RBI proposes ₹1 lakh crore threshold
In a major overhaul of the methodology for the identification of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in the Upper Layer (UL), the RBI plans to move away from the current parametric scoring methodology to one based on asset size.
Under the proposed overhaul, Upper Layer NBFCs, which are tightly regulated and supervised by the RBI, will comprise those with assets of ₹1 lakh crore and above as per the latest audited balance sheet for the financial year. Further, government-owned NBFCs will be brought under the Framework for Scale-based Regulation of NBFCs, removing the arbitrage they enjoyed vis-à-vis private sector NBFCs. Consequently, state-owned NBFCs such as PFC, REC, and IRFC could be classified as NBFC-UL.
Parametric Scoring
Currently, Upper Layer NBFCs are identified using a parametric scoring methodology that includes quantitative and qualitative parameters as well as supervisory judgment. This current list includes entities with an asset size of less than ₹1 lakh crore. In 2024-25, there were 15 NBFCs in the Upper Layer, including LIC Housing Finance, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Tata Sons, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, Tata Capital, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Aditya Birla Finance, and Muthoot Finance.
Regarding Tata Sons, its balance sheet size is already well above the new threshold, and it will be up to the RBI to decide on its classification as an NBFC-UL. Sanjay Agarwal, Senior Director at CareEdge Ratings, noted that the RBI intends to make the identification process non-discretionary and "in black and white" based on asset size. He stated that the ₹1 lakh crore threshold is a clear signal for companies to begin preparing for an enhanced regulatory framework.
Agarwal assessed that while two or three private sector NBFCs might be removed from the Upper Layer list, large government-owned NBFCs will be added. He observed that for NBFCs in this layer, the level of regulatory compliance increases, requiring organizational structures to be molded to these new requirements. However, he pointed out that the draft directions do not yet clarify if consolidated assets of an NBFC with subsidiaries will be used for this classification.
Govt-Owned NBFCs
The inclusion of government-owned entities based on size indicates a more harmonized identification process. Based on the current position, the total number of NBFC-UL entities is expected to increase beyond the 15 previously identified. According to the draft directions, the criteria for identifying NBFC-UL will be reviewed periodically, and the specific asset size threshold will be reviewed every five years.
Coal India absorbs price shock despite rising expenses on account of diesel, explosives costs
Our Bureau, Kolkata
Despite spiralling operational costs on account of increased prices of industrial diesel and explosives, State-run coal behemoth Coal India (CIL) on Friday said it is absorbing the price shock, insulating coal users from the escalating cost burden.
“Any pass through of the mounting prices would lead to a cascading effect. The company is also compensating the increased price of the industrial diesel to the contractors, operating in CIL’s mines, who purchase it in bulk quantities,” Coal India stated in a stock exchange filing.
Explosives Costs
The cost of ammonium nitrate, which constitutes approximately 60 per cent of the material composition in the manufacturing of explosives used in opencast mines, has increased by 44 per cent. Prices rose from a pre-war level of ₹50,500 per tonne to ₹72,750 per tonne as of April 1, 2026. Before the West Asian crisis, prices had held steady from August 2025 through January 2026.
This sharp increase has had a direct impact on the cost of explosives used in large quantities for blasting operations to uncover overburden and expose coal seams. Consequently, the average cost of explosives jumped roughly 26 per cent, from ₹39,588 per tonne in February 2026 to ₹49,783 per tonne by the end of March. Annually, CIL’s producing subsidiaries consume about 9 lakh tonnes of explosives.
Diesel Effect
Diesel is another critical component seeing a significant price surge. In most CIL subsidiaries, the price of industrial diesel increased by approximately 54 per cent, rising from ₹92 per litre in mid-March 2026 to ₹142 per litre as of April 1, 2026. During the 2025-26 financial year, CIL consumed roughly 4.19 lakh kilo litres of diesel.
Supply and E-Auctions
While energy prices surge, some CIL subsidiaries have actually reduced the reserve price of coal in the Single Window Mode Agnostic e-auction. The company has also increased both the frequency of auctions and the quantum of coal offered.
“CIL intends to supply the dry fuel at an affordable price to the country’s citizens to cap the consequent costs,” the company added.
Political heat is on in Madurai
R Balaji, Chennai
Going hammer and tongs at each other in the heart of the city are the arch-rivals in the high-profile Madurai Central constituency — the ruling DMK and the AIADMK. At the core is the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, a hub of religious tourism and a trading hub. Despite its status, the area remains congested and poorly maintained, with civic amenities stretched to their limits.
The Face-off
The DMK candidate and incumbent MLA is Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR), an overseas-educated former investment banker and current Minister for IT in Tamil Nadu. PTR, a three-time MLA, builds on his corporate background by going by numbers and has published updates on constituency work every six months since 2016.
PTR’s rival is Sundar C, a movie director and actor making his debut in politics. Sundar is part of the Puthiya Needhi Katchi (PNK), which is part of the AIADMK-led alliance along with the BJP. He is contesting under the AIADMK’s well-known "two-leaves" symbol.
Unique Style
PTR started his campaign trail on South Masi Street amid home-bound traffic. He began by garlanding a statue of the legendary Thevar community leader, Pon Muthuramalinga Thevar. Local support for the DMK appears widespread; a taxi driver named Selvam expressed confidence in a DMK win, and tea shop talk suggests the incumbent MLA has a clear edge.
PTR has framed the Assembly election as a "Tamil Nadu versus Delhi" fight. He criticized the BJP-led Central government for failing to clear a metro rail project for Madurai on population and technical grounds, while simultaneously promising to clear it only if a BJP candidate wins. He accused the BJP of "weaponising public funds" and maintaining a "step-motherly attitude" toward the State regarding infrastructure and education.
The Challenger
Sundar C adopts a more aggressive stance, directly targeting the DMK for inaction. He highlighted survey results dubbing Madurai the "third waste-ridden city" and vowed to address basic issues like waste management, road infrastructure, and drainage. His wife, actor and BJP State Vice-President Khushbu Sundar, is also campaigning for him in Madurai.
On the campaign trail in Mehboobpalayam, a Muslim-dominated area, large crowds gathered to see the movie star. However, one resident noted that while people gather for a glimpse of a celebrity, the minority community's support for the DMK remains a "given."
ADB forecasts 6.9% growth for India in FY27
Shishir Sinha, New Delhi
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday projected India’s growth at 6.9 per cent for the fiscal year 2026-27, compared to 7.6 per cent for FY26. ADB’s projection is higher than the World Bank’s 6.6 per cent and aligns with the Reserve Bank of India’s forecast of 6.9 per cent.
The bank noted that these forecasts were based on assumptions finalized on March 10 under "exceptionally high uncertainty," initially envisaging an early stabilization of the Middle East conflict. However, recent evidence suggests a higher likelihood of more persistent disruptions. ADB expects the Indian economy to accelerate to 7.3 per cent in FY28.
Global Uncertainty
The moderation in growth for the current fiscal year is attributed to heightened global uncertainty stemming from the West Asia conflict, higher energy prices, and volatile trade and financial conditions. These external pressures are expected to weigh on exports, inflation, and capital flows in the near term.
ADB Country Director for India, Mio Oka, stated that despite these challenges, India’s outlook remains resilient. This resilience is supported by fiscal and monetary policies, as well as regulatory reforms aimed at improving labor flexibility and integration with global value chains. She added that medium-term growth would be sustained by investments in clean energy, power sector reforms, and measures to boost manufacturing competitiveness.
Inflation Forecast
Inflation is projected to rise to 4.5 per cent during the current fiscal year due to higher food and energy prices, before moderating to 4 per cent in the next fiscal year as supply conditions improve.
The current account deficit is expected to widen this fiscal year because of higher imports, especially crude oil. It is projected to narrow next year as global energy markets normalize and exports strengthen, aided by recent trade agreements with partners like the European Union, the United States, and New Zealand.
Robust Investment
Investment is expected to remain strong, with the Central government’s capital expenditure budgeted to rise by 11.5 per cent this fiscal year. This reinforces India’s investment-led growth strategy. Private investment momentum is also anticipated to grow, supported by favorable monetary policy, regulatory reforms, improved logistics, and healthier balance sheets in the corporate and banking sectors.
Crop switch in US weighs on soybean
Subramani Ra Mancombu, Chennai
The outlook for soybean, which has gained 12 per cent since the beginning of 2026, is bearish from the second half of the year as US farmers are set to shift from corn to soybeans, according to analysts. Research agency BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, has raised its average annual price forecast for second-month CBOT-listed soybean futures to 1,130 US cents a bushel, a 7.7 per cent year-on-year increase. This upward revision was driven by better-than-expected US-China trade volumes in late 2025 and early 2026, along with price appreciation due to the US-Iran conflict.
Loose Fundamentals
BMI noted that market optimism from trade dynamics and geopolitical conflict will eventually be tempered by a loose fundamental outlook. This is supported by the USDA’s prospective plantings report, which confirmed that US plantings will shift toward soybeans at the expense of corn, reinforcing a bearish supply picture. According to the International Grains Council (IGC), global soybean production for the 2026-27 season is expected to reach 442.3 million tonnes (mt), up from 425.9 mt in 2025-26.
4% Higher Area?
The USDA reported that growers intend to plant 84.7 million acres in 2026, a 4 per cent increase from last year, with acreage up or unchanged in 20 of the 29 estimating states. Meanwhile, the upbeat sentiment regarding US-China trade is fading, as BMI long noted that such trade is often contingent on goodwill rather than necessity. While rising crude oil prices have provided a near-term price floor, this support is expected to diminish as regional conflicts resolve.
BMI forecasts that soybean prices will average 1,155 cents/bushel in Q2, 1,130 cents in Q3, and 1,105 cents in Q4. While the Q2 uptick reflects currently elevated levels and hopes for a US-China meeting, prices are expected to ease in the second half of 2026 as focus shifts to the 2026-27 US crop. This bearish trend will be further underpinned by expectations of a second successive record Brazilian harvest and the increased US acreage.
Induction cooking may consume 13-27 GW power
Rishi Ranjan Kala & Meenakshi Verma Ambwani, New Delhi
As the sale of electricity-based cooking equipment, such as induction cooktops, gains traction with consumers looking for alternatives to LPG, the government estimates that the cumulative electricity consumption from this shift could range between 13 and 27 gigawatts (GW).
Sales of induction cooktops have surged dramatically over the past four weeks in metros and tier-II cities such as Kanpur, Indore, Pune, Nagpur, and Hyderabad. Before the current hostilities began in West Asia on February 28, demand was largely concentrated in tier-II and tier-III towns.
Power Consumption
Piyush Singh, Additional Secretary at the Power Ministry, noted that the transition to induction-based cooking is expected to introduce an additional layer of demand at the distribution level, potentially influencing overall load patterns, especially during morning and evening peak hours. He explained that variations in usage patterns due to climate, socio-economic conditions, and cooking habits add complexity to these demand estimations.
“Considering assumptions on diversity factors at both state and national levels, the additional demand attributable to induction cooking is broadly estimated to lie in the range of around 13 GW to 27 GW under low and high induction cooking adoption scenarios, respectively," Singh said, though he added that a significant impact on overall demand has not yet been seen.
Market Growth
The induction cooktop market in India is currently estimated to be in the range of ₹7,600–₹8,000 crore. Anil Dua, Chief Operating Officer at Usha International, told businessline that while demand was previously driven by tier-2 and tier-3 towns due to LPG shortages, the past two months have seen a significant shift with demand surging in metros as well.
Higher Demand
Ravi Saxena, Founder & CEO of Wonderchef, reported witnessing nearly 10 times higher demand for induction cooktops across the country.
“Given the long-term impact of the disruptions due to the West Asia crisis, we believe this demand is not for the short-term but will continue in the long-term. Potentially, every LPG connection household is today looking at buying an induction cooktop as an alternative especially since the price barrier is low," Saxena pointed out, noting that demand has occasionally outpaced supply, leading to stock-out situations.
In response to these trends and concerns over LPG availability, the government is exploring measures to encourage companies to ramp up production of induction heaters, cooktops, and compatible utensils.
