Bullets

• India’s aviation regulator is questioning Air India Express over serious safety oversights.

• In March, the DGCA found the airline hadn't replaced faulty Airbus A320 engine parts flagged by EU safety authorities.

• Internal records may have been tampered with to falsely show compliance using AMOS software.

• Aircraft VT-ATD, which flies to Dubai and Muscat, was directly affected.

• Parent company Air India also received a warning for overdue escape slide checks on other planes.

The airline claims corrective steps are now in place, but is Air India moving too fast on safety?

Kotak Mahindra Bank's decade-old move is now one of its biggest wins.

• In 2014, Kotak bought a 15% stake in MCX for ₹459 Cr., paying ₹600/share.

• On 3 July 2025, MCX stock touched ₹9,002.50, turning that into ₹6,886 Cr.

• MCX posted ₹560 Cr. profit in FY25, with revenue up 59% year-on-year.

• It's now the world's largest commodity options exchange by volume.

• Crude Oil and Natural Gas options rank one globally; Gold and Silver at 2

This is why long-term investments are so important.

When you scan a UPI code at a shop, the money may go through your app. But it mostly lands in the same few banks.

• 60% of merchant UPI payments go to just 4 banks: Yes Bank, HDFC and ICICI, and Axis.

• Yes Bank gets the biggest share at 40%, mostly through PhonePe and ex-Paytm merchants.

• It now handles 31.8 Cr. payments every day.

• SBI leads on customer payments but gets far less on the merchant side.

• Banks charge fintechs small fees to manage these merchant accounts.

If just a few banks handle most UPI money, is that still a level playing field?

India’s logistics giant is steering away from its Meesho dependence and mapping new terrain in B2B and freight.

• Despite Meesho moving 50% of deliveries in-house, Delhivery posted ₹162 Cr. in profit.

• PTL (Part-Truck Load) business grew 25% to ₹1,889 Cr., flipping a ₹46 Cr. loss into ₹101 Cr. profit.

• Ecom Express buyout is expected to add scale and improve margins.

• Daily parcel growth is flat, but freight volumes and yields are rising steadily.

• Tech-backed truck loading and rate renegotiations are driving profits in freight.

Is Delhivery finally becoming less e-commerce and more economy?

Reliance has relaunched Campa Cola, pricing it at just ₹10 per bottle in some states.

• In response, both Pepsi and Coca-Cola were forced to cut prices.

• Campa is expanding fast in smaller towns, where low prices matter most.

• This puts pressure on Varun Beverages (Pepsi's biggest bottler in India), which still reported 25% revenue growth in 2024 but saw its stock fall 29%.

• Despite strong profits, investors worry about rising competition and thinner margins.

Is Reliance about to do to colas what Jio did to telecom?

Indian startups are swapping pitch decks for prospectuses as they turn to stock markets for growth capital.

• 12 new-age firms to raise over ₹18,000 Cr. via IPOs in 2025.

• Meesho tops the list with a ₹4,250 Cr. issue, followed by PhysicsWallah at ₹4,000 Cr.

• Groww, Pine Labs, Urban Company, and boAt, among others, line up smaller offers.

• Many are using SEBI's confidential route to test the waters quietly.

• The move reflects growing investor interest and a maturing startup ecosystem.

Are retail investors ready to back the next wave of tech-first businesses?

The bike-taxi app is quietly testing a food delivery service, "Ownly" in Bengaluru this July.

• Pilot starts in Koramangala, HSR, and Sarjapur; 10-city rollout planned by July 2025.

• Rapido wants restaurants to offer sub-₹150 dishes and avoid steep packaging fees.

• It may share customer data with eateries, something Zomato and Swiggy haven't done.

• Commission rates to stay low at 8–15% (vs 16–30% by rivals), but analysts warn the pricing may not be sustainable long-term

Can Rapido rewrite food delivery rules, or will it get eaten alive?

Tata Digital is reshuffling its deck after struggling to make a mark.

• CEOs Puneet Chhatwal (Indian Hotels) and Sunil D'Souza (Tata Consumer) join the board to add consumer expertise.

• Ex-CEO Naveen Tahilyani quit in May, just a year into the role, with no replacement in sight yet. 

• Tata Neu contributes <10% of BigBasket & 1mg sales despite 14 Cr. users

• FY24 GMV: ₹37,355 Cr.; 'Flash' 10-min delivery now being tested

Can Tata take on Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto with just a boardroom reboot?

Creators like Kusha Kapila (Underneat), Nitibha Kaul (AltK Beauty), and Sunny Chopra (Ksunch) are launching their own brands.

• They're tapping into tight-knit follower communities of 10 L to 1 Cr., competing with celebrity brands like Kay Beauty and Hyphen.

• Influencer marketing in India is projected to reach ₹3,375 Cr. by 2026 (EY).

• Global social media ad spend hit $247.3 billion in 2024, making it the top advertising channel.

Could creator brands evolve into a new breed of social startups built on trust, not just tech?

• Viral posts have exposed dirty dark stores, confusing bills, and hidden charges on Zepto.

• CEO Aadit Palicha says fixes are coming soon, but store hygiene issues have already led to a brief shutdown in Dharavi.

• App downloads dropped 75% since January, and user numbers are slipping (Sensor Tower).

• Zepto recently added just 22 new stores, far behind rivals Blinkit (98) and Instamart (118).

• It's now chasing $700 million in funding to stay competitive and raise its game.

Can Zepto win trust while juggling growth, profits, and public pressure?

• Meesho has secured shareholder nod to raise ₹4,250 Cr. via an IPO after shifting its base to India.

• The draft will be filed under SEBI's confidential route.

• Founder Vidit Aatrey will now serve as chairman, MD, and CEO.

• Top investors include Peak XV, Elevation Capital, and Prosus (13–15% each); SoftBank holds 10%.

• Meesho handled 180 Cr. orders in FY25, up 37% from FY24.

• Flipkart, meanwhile, is still in the process of shifting base from Singapore ahead of its own listing.

Want to stay ahead of every IPO move? Track them all on Finology Ticker.

• After a string of accidents and growing delays, Indian Railways is finally modernising its 100-year-old control systems.

• A new tech-driven command centre will manage train traffic, routes, and emergencies in real time.

• The upgrade takes cues from Japan, Germany, France, and more, but will be custom-built for India's complex network.

• The goal: fewer accidents, faster trains, and less pressure on overworked controllers

Will this overhaul finally put Indian Railways on the right track?

• The company plans to raise ₹2,000 to ₹2,500 Cr., with nearly half as fresh shares to expand its quick commerce services.

• Shadowfax was last valued at around ₹6,000 Cr. after a ₹140 Cr. funding round from Mirae Asset, Nokia Growth Partners and others.

• Quick deliveries already make up 25–30% of its business and may grow to 40% soon.

• Flipkart owns 16%, while Eight Roads Ventures holds the largest stake at 25%.

Keep up with all the upcoming IPOs with Finology Ticker.

• Nykaa aims to 3x its in-house brand sales to ₹6,000 Cr. by FY30, up from ₹2,100 Cr. in FY25.

• Its fashion arm, made ₹3,800 Cr. in FY25, is set to grow 3–4x in the next 5 years.

• Gen Z now makes up 44% of Nykaa's beauty shoppers, pushing trend-first strategies.

• ~40 AI projects are live (from product suggestions to customer support), with half of Nykaa's internal code soon to be AI-generated.

• Its B2B arm, Superstore, now reaches 3.7 lakh retailers in 1,100 cities.

As Nykaa evolves with AI, is it time to revisit the question, "Is it still worth investing in?"

ACME Solar just entered the battery energy storage race by winning NHPC's tender for 2 massive projects in Andhra Pradesh.

• The Ghani project (225 MW / 450 MWh): ₹2.22 lakh/MW/month.

• The Kuppam project (50 MW / 100 MWh): ₹2.1 lakh/MW/month.

The systems must run for 4 hours daily, and ACME will receive viability gap funding of up to ₹27 lakh/MWh.

This is ACME's first battery-only win, adding to its 6,970 MW renewable portfolio.

Can battery storage charge India's clean energy push beyond sunshine and wind?

• Once a major name in real estate and cement, Jaiprakash Associates is now in insolvency over loan defaults worth ₹57,185 Cr.

• In April, 25 firms showed interest, but only received 5 serious bids along with earnest money deposits.

• Likely bidders include:

  • Adani Enterprises

  • Vedanta

  • Jindal Power

  • Dalmia Bharat Cement

  • PNC Infratech

• NCLT Allahabad admitted the company into insolvency on 3 June 2024

Can legacy brands survive when debt outweighs ambition?

Reliance Brands is merging into Reliance Retail as part of a major clean-up before the retail giant's public listing.

• The luxury arm will now be a division under Reliance Retail, not a separate unit.

• It works with 85+ global labels, including Burberry, Tiffany & Co., and Pret A Manger.

• FY24 sales hit ₹2,684 Cr., up 12%, though losses also grew.

• 2,155 stores were shut in FY25 to cut costs and boost margins.

• Retail now brings in 15% of Reliance Industries' EBITDA.

Can one strategy really serve both luxury and mass retail?

After the deadly Air India crash on 12 June that killed 274 people, Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran has stepped in to run daily operations.

• The crash killed 241 on board, including 12 crew, and 33 on the ground.

• Chandrasekaran is leading safety checks, government talks, and morale efforts.

• He's based at Air India HQ and setting up a trust for victims' families.

• CEO Campbell Wilson, who rushed back from Paris, is handling regulators and safety plans.

Families will receive ₹1 Cr. in compensation each. 

In hindsight, was Tata’s bid for Air India a good call?

• Apple is shifting manufacturing to India, backed by the government's PLI scheme.

• Foxconn leads iPhone and AirPods assembly in Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

• Tata Electronics acquired Pegatron & Wistron units, boosting local output

• Target: 2.5–3 Cr. iPhones by year-end, more than 2x last year

• Tata’s Hosur plant to double its 50,000 iPhone body capacity

However, India only has 14 Apple suppliers, while China has 157. Will Apple's India push ever match China's scale?

• Vodafone Idea owes ₹83,400 Cr. in AGR dues to the government, with ₹18,064 Cr. due every year till FY31.

• With just ₹9,930 Cr.  in cash, the telco risks default by FY27

• The government, owning 49.99% after converting dues into shares, fears this would hurt its finances.

• To ease pressure, it may stretch payments to 20 years and replace 30% compound interest with 8–10% simple interest, saving Vi over ₹16,000 Cr.

Should Vi get another bailout?