DayStarter

Market snapshot

Equities: Tuesday close

The Nifty opened 64 points lower at 24,224. Global markets were weak, oil prices remained high, and concerns about inflation pushed bond yields higher. Weak sentiment in the Indian market also continued.

Selling became stronger after 10:30 am. The Nifty fell below 24,200 and moved towards an intraday low of around 24,175 near 11:30 am.

During most of the second half, the index stayed in a narrow range between around 24,185 and 24,215. It briefly moved towards 24,220 at around 3 pm, but selling returned near the close.

The Nifty ended at the day’s low of 24,154.90, around 70 points below its opening level. This was its sixth consecutive losing session. The Sensex has now fallen in five of the last six sessions.

Twelve of the 16 major sectors declined.

Sector performance

Media was the strongest sector, rising 0.40%. Auto gained 0.30%, while Pharma rose 0.08%.

IT was the weakest sector, falling 1.93%. Realty declined 1.42%, while PSU Bank fell 1.01%.

F&O winners and losers

TIINDIA was the strongest F&O stock, rising 7.94%. Bosch gained 3.75%, while MCX rose 3.64%.

SBI Card was the biggest loser, falling 4.17%. Inox Wind declined 4.07%, while Oberoi Realty fell 3.78%.

Commodities

Crude oil futures rose 0.81%, while natural gas gained 0.39%.

Gold fell 0.45%. Silver declined 1.18%, while zinc, copper and aluminium also moved lower.

In physical bullion, 99.9% pure gold rose ₹2,000 to ₹1,58,800 per 10 grams in Delhi.

Silver increased ₹730 to ₹2,40,730 per kilogram.

Globally, spot gold traded 0.5% lower at $4,394.57 per ounce.

Currency and bond yields

USDINR was almost unchanged at 95.64.

India’s 10-year government bond yield rose to 6.83 from 6.80. The US 10-year Treasury yield increased to 4.72 from 4.69.

Institutional flows

Foreign institutional investors sold Indian equities worth a net ₹2,535 crore on 17 August.

Domestic institutional investors bought a net ₹5,101 crore.

Over the five sessions shown below, FIIs were net sellers of ₹3,282 crore, while DIIs were net buyers of ₹15,677 crore.

Foreign portfolio investors returned to Indian equities more strongly in July after the recovery that began in June.

Consumption-related sectors received the strongest inflows, while capital goods and telecom saw withdrawals.

Macro view

Growth outlook

India Ratings and Research expects India’s GDP growth to slow to 6.8% in 2026-27.

The main pressures are higher fuel and food inflation because of the West Asia war, a weaker rupee and the possible impact of El Niño on agriculture.

The 6.8% forecast is slightly above Ind-Ra’s May estimate of 6.7%, but below the National Statistical Office’s provisional estimate of 7.6% growth for FY26.

The RBI recently raised its own FY27 growth forecast to 6.7% from 6.6%.

Ind-Ra assumes oil will average around $85 per barrel in FY27. Its May assumption had been $95.

The Indian crude basket averaged $101.31 per barrel during the June quarter and $96.49 during April to July 2026.

Ind-Ra identified several downside risks:

• The unresolved West Asia war.
• High headline inflation.
• A weakening currency.
• Lower-than-expected capital expenditure.
• The recent US announcement of a 100% tariff on India for buying Russian crude.

Agriculture spending and the monsoon

The government spent ₹29,593 crore on agriculture and farmers’ welfare during April to June FY27.

This was 21% of the full-year allocation of ₹1.41 trillion.

During the same period last year, spending was ₹12,297 crore, or 9% of the annual allocation.

The faster spending is intended to help rural incomes as El Niño and a weak monsoon create risks for agriculture.

Agriculture and allied sectors contribute around 16% of India’s GDP, while nearly 46% of the workforce depends on agriculture.

Monsoon forecast

Private weather forecaster Skymet reduced its 2026 south-west monsoon forecast to 85% of the Long Period Average.

It now sees a 70% probability of drought.

The main reasons are a strengthening El Niño and uncertainty around the Indian Ocean Dipole.

As of 16 August, south-west monsoon rainfall was 13% below the long-period average.

The deficit had been 39.8% at the end of June.

Across Indian states:

• 58% had received normal rainfall.
• 35% had a rainfall deficit.
• The remaining states had excess or large excess rainfall.

Sugar supply

The government is considering measures to increase domestic sugar supply and reduce pressure from record-high prices ahead of the August to November festival season.

Possible measures include:

• Limited duty-free imports.
• Stockholding limits for bulk traders.

Piped natural gas

India plans to triple the pace of adding households to piped natural gas.

The target is to add around 4 million new users during the current financial year.

As of 30 June, India had 17.4 million PNG connections.

Of these, 11.5 million were receiving gas.

The plan is to increase new gasified connections to 40 lakh this year from around 13.40 lakh last year.

From 1 September, eligible city gas distributors will receive an additional 200 standard cubic metres of domestically produced gas for each additional billed domestic PNG connection above a set threshold.

Vehicle permit age limits

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways proposed giving battery, hydrogen and natural-gas vehicles five additional years under the age limits for national permits.

The proposal is part of a draft amendment to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.

Rare-earth and titanium technologies

State-owned IREL (India) invited entrepreneurs, startups and industries to commercialise seven Indian technologies related to rare earths and titanium.

This is the first time the company has opened such technologies for commercialisation.

Stem-cell therapy rules

India issued guidelines restricting the use of stem-cell therapy for microvascular conditions.

Routine clinical use is not allowed.

Stem-cell therapy can be used only within authorised research trials.

India’s regenerative-medicine market, which includes stem-cell treatments, was valued at ₹7,641 crore in 2024.

It is projected to reach ₹4.33 trillion by 2033.

Foreign remittance verification

The Income Tax Department started a nationwide verification exercise covering entities suspected of making large and possibly unexplained foreign remittances.

The exercise began on 18 August.

It covers:

• 394 entities.
• 117 entities located in land-border states.
• 36 professionals who issued certificates for the foreign remittances.

WTO consultations with the US

India asked for consultations with the US at the World Trade Organization over American tariffs on some quartz products.

India proposed virtual consultations in a WTO notification dated 14 August.

Steel exports to Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is interested in importing steel from India to reduce logistics costs.

The landlocked Central Asian country currently imports around 1 million tonnes of steel, including TMT bars, from China.

Private money in Olympic sport

Olympic Gold Quest, officially called the Foundation for Promotion of Sports and Games, increased its financial support from ₹19 crore in 2018-19 to ₹77 crore in 2024-25.

This represents compound annual growth of 26.2%.

OGQ’s budget is now larger than the ₹34.8 crore spent by the government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme.

OGQ raised ₹92.1 crore in donations during 2024-25, up from ₹68.9 crore.

Its number of donors increased from 172 to 390 over five years.

Of India’s 21 medal winners across the last four Olympic Games, 13 received support from OGQ.

Mint; India Ratings and Research; Department of Expenditure; Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board; Brand India Equity Foundation; Central Board of Direct Taxes; Bloomberg via Mint; PTI via Mint; Mint Plain Facts; howindialives.com

Corporate action and earnings

Deals and M&A

BluPine sale process

Actis is exploring a sale of renewable-energy platform BluPine at a valuation of $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

Several private-equity firms and strategic investors have shown interest.

The interested parties include:

• KKR.
• NIIF.
• Blackstone.
• ISquared Capital through clean-energy platform Hexa.
• Inox Clean Energy.
• Macquarie.
• RPSG Group.
• Torrent Power.
• Apraava Energy.

Binding bids are due in the next 10 to 12 days.

Inox Clean Energy

Inox Clean Energy completed the acquisition of GIP’s Vena Energy India renewable-energy platform for around ₹6,000 crore.

GIP is owned by BlackRock.

Wipro Consumer Care and Dermatouch

Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting acquired a 60% stake in skincare brand Dermatouch.

The enterprise value is ₹387.5 crore.

Wipro will acquire the remaining 40% over the next three years.

Dermatouch’s FY25 revenue rose 314% to ₹63 crore.

Its net loss widened 59% to ₹6.2 crore.

The transaction is Wipro Consumer Care’s 18th global deal and its third strategic deal in one month.

Investcorp and 20Cube

Investcorp invested ₹500 crore in 20Cube 3PL Solutions.

The global private-equity firm plans to invest $1 billion in India over the next five years.

Investcorp and 20Cube also plan to invest another ₹500 crore to ₹750 crore in acquisitions to build a contract-logistics platform.

20Cube’s India business operates more than 7 million square feet of warehouse space.

HELM and Parijat Industries

German chemical company HELM AG and Parijat Industries announced a strategic partnership.

The collaboration covers:

• Digital commerce.
• Branded crop-protection products.
• Technical manufacturing.
• International distribution.

Godrej private-credit fund

Godrej Industries Group launched a ₹2,000 crore private-credit fund through its asset-management arm.

The fund includes a green-shoe option of ₹1,000 crore.

Earnings

ReNew Energy Global

ReNew Energy Global reported June-quarter net profit of ₹595.3 crore.

This was 16% higher than ₹513.1 crore a year earlier.

Total income rose around 16% to ₹4,786.4 crore from ₹4,118.2 crore.

As of 30 June 2026, ReNew’s portfolio included 20.5 GW of renewable capacity.

This included 1.7 GW and 6.2 GWh of battery-energy-storage systems.

Voltas

Voltas reported Q1FY27 operating revenue of ₹4,765 crore, up 19% year-on-year.

The result benefited from a low base.

Revenue was 9% below Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities’ estimate.

EBITDA margin improved by 115 basis points to 5.7%.

This was still below management’s long-term target of 7% to 8%.

Unitary cooling products revenue rose 32% to ₹3,794 crore, helped by 45% growth in air-conditioner volumes.

Voltas’ market share improved to 17.3% from 15.9% in FY26.

Electro-mechanical projects and services revenue fell 27% to ₹672 crore.

The stock trades at 38 times estimated FY28 earnings based on Bloomberg consensus.

GIC Re

General Insurance Corporation of India reported Q1FY27 standalone net earned premium of ₹11,081 crore, almost unchanged from a year earlier.

Domestic gross premium rose 12% year-on-year.

Overall premium growth was 9%.

Underwriting losses fell 20% to ₹724 crore.

This was despite ₹440 crore of claims related to the recent Gujarat floods.

Obligatory business accounted for 33% of domestic gross premium income, down from 39% a year earlier.

Sony Pictures Networks India

Sony Pictures Networks India reported consolidated net profit of ₹556.1 crore in 2025-26.

This was 15.6% higher than a year earlier.

Revenue rose 9% to ₹6,830.04 crore.

IPOs and issuance

NSE IPO

The National Stock Exchange of India is reported to have completed its IPO roadshows.

Institutional demand is expected to value the shares at around ₹2,500 to ₹2,800 each.

NSE executives met 120 global investors out of a target of 150.

The exchange secured around $1 billion, or ₹10,000 crore, in commitments from qualified institutional buyers.

NSE plans to launch the IPO by mid-September and is targeting a listing by 25 September.

The draft red herring prospectus filed in June allows existing shareholders to sell 148.9 million shares, equal to a 6% stake.

NSE also reached a ₹1,300 crore settlement with SEBI in January 2026.

RSB Transmissions IPO

Bain Capital has invited banker pitches for an IPO of portfolio company RSB Transmissions.

The automotive-components company may raise around ₹3,000 crore.

Bain Capital holds a 64.3% stake.

RSB reported FY25 consolidated revenue of ₹2,853 crore, down from ₹3,058 crore a year earlier.

Net profit fell to ₹37.38 crore.

Milky Mist listing

Milky Mist Dairy Food shares closed at ₹181.45 on the BSE.

This was 29.60% above the IPO price of ₹140.

The company ended the day with a market value of ₹13,968.81 crore.

Its ₹1,553 crore IPO had a price band of ₹133 to ₹140.

The issue was subscribed 56.12 times on the final day.

It is the largest IPO by an Indian dairy company.

Torrent Gas IPO

Torrent Gas plans to file updated draft papers for an IPO of up to ₹4,000 crore, or around $418.09 million.

The filing could happen as early as this week.

India’s first blue bond

Sagarmala Finance Corporation is preparing what could become India’s first blue-bond sale.

The company may raise up to ₹1,000 crore, or around $104.5 million.

The tentative target is the last week of September.

Funding and other corporate news

NeoGeo funding

Geospatial-intelligence startup NeoGeo raised $20 million in a Series A round.

The round was co-led by Aavishkaar Capital and Neev Fund II.

Aavishkaar invested around ₹75 crore.

RapteeHV funding

Electric-motorcycle company RapteeHV started the process of raising $15 million to $20 million.

This equals approximately ₹140 crore to ₹190 crore.

The funding will be a Series A round.

OnePlus price increases

OnePlus informed retail distributors on 17 August about its fifth round of smartphone price increases since December 2025.

Some models are now up to 26% more expensive.

The Nord CE6 Lite increased to ₹28,999 from ₹22,999 in early June.

Sony LIV

Sony LIV is slowing production of original web series.

Parent Sony Pictures Networks India is placing more focus on linear television and regional-language content.

Paytm stake sale

Resilient Asset Management, which is fully owned by Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, plans to sell up to a 4.98% stake in One97 Communications.

Paytm shares had touched a 54-month high last week.

Automobile PLI payouts

The Ministry of Heavy Industries expects to disburse around ₹4,700 crore during FY27 under the ₹25,938 crore production-linked incentive programme for automobiles and auto components.

Around ₹800 crore has already been paid.

PLI Auto disbursements were:

• ₹246 crore in FY25.
• ₹2,000 crore in FY26.

The Centre’s FY27 Outcome Budget has a target of ₹5,922 crore against an allocation of ₹5,939 crore.

Hindustan Copper investment

Hindustan Copper plans to invest more than ₹7,000 crore over the next five to six years.

The company has added 135.52 million tonnes of copper-ore reserves and resources during the past three years.

Swiggy foreign ownership

Swiggy shareholders approved a cap on total foreign ownership at 49.5%.

The change could allow Swiggy to qualify as an Indian-owned and controlled company.

As of 6 July, foreign investment stood at 49.76% on a fully diluted basis.

Tata Sons AGM

Tata Sons’ annual general meeting was adjourned because there was no quorum.

Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust could not nominate a representative.

The two trusts own:

• Sir Ratan Tata Trust: 23.56%.
• Sir Dorabji Tata Trust: 27.98%.

Article 86 of Tata Sons’ Articles of Association requires at least five members to be personally present at the AGM.

This must include a representative jointly nominated by the two trusts.

RBI closes FCNR(B) scheme early

The RBI’s decision to close its FCNR(B) facility earlier than planned surprised banks and market participants.

Banks had arranged funding and leverage transactions based on the original deadline.

Banks had raised $52.3 billion through FCNR(B) deposits up to 13 August.

This represented 92% of the total $56.85 billion raised through the special facility.

The RBI will now accept deposits only until 31 August instead of 30 September.

SBI Research said the RBI may already have achieved its target with inflows near $57 billion.

It expects another $25 billion to $30 billion during the rest of August.

Byju’s

The Karnataka High Court admitted a fresh petition from Qatar Holding LLC against Byju’s.

Qatar Holding is seeking to enforce an arbitration award of SGD 7.2 million, or ₹53 crore.

The claim is against founder Byju Raveendran and Byju’s Investments Pvt. Ltd.

Sammaan Capital

Sammaan Capital said it is a victim and not an accused in alleged financial irregularities involving former promoter Sameer Gehlaut.

The clarification came after the Supreme Court asked the CBI to examine the allegations.

Sammaan Capital shares fell more than 5% to a near three-month low of ₹145 on the NSE.

The stock later recovered part of the loss and closed 2.2% lower at ₹150.23.

Air India AI-171 investigation

The Federation of Indian Pilots asked the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau for a formal technical hearing before the investigation into the Air India AI-171 crash of June 2025 is closed.

The request was made in a letter dated 17 August.

Mint; PTI via Mint; Reuters via Mint; Zerodha AfterMarket Report; India Ratings; Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities; Bloomberg; Mint Mark to Market; Godrej Capital; SBI Research

Upcoming events

Economic calendar

No dividend, bonus, stock-split or earnings-calendar actions were scheduled for 18 August. Scheduled corporate actions and board meetings are listed on the NSE and BSE corporate-announcement portals.

Global pulse

Global markets

Most major global markets ended lower.

The Nikkei 225 fell 2.54%.

The Nasdaq 100 declined 1.26%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones both fell around 0.5%.

The Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng and FTSE 100 ended slightly higher.

West Asia, oil and the Strait of Hormuz

WTI crude moved above $85 per barrel.

This was its third consecutive session of gains.

The chances of a long-term US-Iran agreement weakened after the 60-day memorandum of understanding signed in June expired on Monday.

US President Donald Trump said he would not try to revive the expired ceasefire agreement.

The conflict in West Asia and the dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz therefore remain unresolved.

Brent crude rose as much as 1.1% to $91.85 a barrel on Tuesday.

This was its highest level in more than three weeks.

It later gave up most of those gains and traded around $91.

Iranian lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Hormuz would not reopen until the US:

• Ends its port blockade.
• Releases frozen Iranian assets.
• Removes oil sanctions.
• Stops military operations.

Trump also threatened to bomb Oman, saying the country might be preventing an agreement.

Oman is holding talks with Iran to allow more commercial traffic through the waterway.

Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz carried around 20% of global oil and gas trade.

Global bond yields

The US 30-year Treasury yield rose to 5.33%.

This was its highest level since 2007.

Oil prices above $90 per barrel increased inflation concerns.

Higher government spending and debt issuance also added pressure, even though some US economic data was weaker.

The bond sell-off spread to other markets.

Japan’s 10-year government bond yield reached a 30-year high.

French borrowing costs rose to their highest level since 2008.

German yields moved to levels last seen in 2011.

The average yield on a Bloomberg benchmark portfolio of investment-grade government bonds rose to almost 4.5%.

This was the highest level in Bloomberg data going back to 2015.

Nvidia, OpenAI and SB Energy

Nvidia agreed to provide a guarantee of up to $105 billion to help OpenAI lease a large data centre in Ohio.

The facility is being developed by SoftBank-owned SB Energy.

Nvidia will also invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy.

Google and Spirit Airlines data

Google is buying internal business data from bankrupt Spirit Airlines for $10 million.

It plans to use the data for product development and AI model training.

China markets

Chinese equities were mixed.

The Shanghai Composite rose 0.19% to 3,990.3, its highest level in more than one month.

The Shenzhen Component fell 0.56% to 14,622.5.

The moves came after Premier Li Qiang called for stronger measures to meet China’s economic targets.

Apple

Apple shares have fallen 10% since reaching a record close on 28 July.

The stock is among the 25 worst performers in the S&P 500 over the past three weeks.

Apple’s 40-day correlation with the S&P 500 is close to zero.

This is the lowest level since 2013.

Memory chips are estimated to account for 10% to 20% of the cost of building a smartphone.

Women in AI leadership

Women with AI backgrounds hold only 13% of executive positions in the AI industry.

The comparable figure in non-AI sectors is around 19%.

The analysis covered around 15,000 companies in 27 countries.

Disney and the FCC

Disney and its ABC unit sued the US Federal Communications Commission.

The companies are trying to stop an early review of licences for eight ABC stations.

They argue that the Trump administration is trying to punish the network for its broadcast content.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 18 August 2026; Bloomberg via Mint; The Wall Street Journal via Mint; Reuters via Mint; LinkedIn

Management commentary

Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint, 19 August 2026

Feature: Private equity in Indian education

Recent deals

Private-equity interest in Indian education has increased again.

Vitruvian Partners invested around ₹1,159 crore to acquire Peak XV Partners’ stake in K12 Techno Services.

The deal valued the operator of Orchids International Schools at around ₹7,200 crore.

Around the same time, KKR-backed Lighthouse Learning agreed to acquire Pathways School Gurgaon for around ₹1,500 crore.

These deals increased interest in a sector that was earlier seen as too fragmented and too tightly regulated for institutional investors.

India’s education market

India has around 508 million people between the ages of 3 and 23.

This is the world’s largest education-seeking population.

More than 248 million students are enrolled in almost 1.47 million schools.

Private unaided schools account for 36.3% of total enrolment.

Around 28.2 million Indian households can afford annual school fees above ₹1 lakh.

However, only around 7.9 million students are currently enrolled in premium schools.

India’s overall education market is projected to reach ₹26,94,617 crore, or $313 billion, by FY30.

As of February 2026, India had:

• 1,409 universities.
• More than 53,461 colleges.

Why school cash flows attract investors

Schools can offer predictable revenue.

Once students are admitted, they often remain with the same school for 12 to 15 years.

This creates recurring annual fee income and gives school operators visibility over future cash flows.

Karthik Balakrishnan, professor of accounting at the Indian School of Business, described the combination of inelastic demand, urbanisation, rising private-school enrolment and more premium parental preferences as:

He said this can make large school platforms look more like consumer franchises than traditional education institutions.

The investment strategy behind these deals is to apply scale to a historically fragmented sector.

That can include:

• Standardised curriculum.
• Centralised procurement.
• Common teacher training.
• Shared operating systems.

Salome Agarwal, partner in investment banking at EY, said the sector remains in the early stages of capital inflows.

She expects active fundraising and M&A over the next 12 to 18 months.

Regulation and exit challenges

India does not allow for-profit education in the same way as many other industries.

This creates concerns for investors, particularly around exits.

Some structures allow private capital to participate through management companies that provide services to nonprofit school entities.

Tutoring and edtech remain unregulated.

These are also the education segments that have reached public markets.

Physicswallah, which completed its IPO in 2025, is one example.

Laad said clearer guidelines on which education businesses can eventually list through an IPO would make the sector more attractive.

Education deal activity fell in Asia-Pacific

Despite recent Indian deals, private-equity and venture-capital activity in education fell sharply across Asia-Pacific during 2025.

Deal value declined 87% year-on-year to $240 million.

The number of transactions fell from 57 to 35.

Median deal value declined 20.7% to $2.3 million.

India accounted for four of the 10 largest education-services deals in the region during 2025.

Industry participants linked the decline in regional deal activity to stricter deal selection and uncertainty over the possible effect of AI on education businesses.

Aldric How, executive director for deal advisory at BDO Singapore, said investors are increasingly focusing on proven business models with stronger:

• Profitability.
• Customer retention.
• Unit economics.

Where capital has already gone

India’s edtech sector attracted more than ₹1,23,883 crore, or $14.4 billion, of private-equity and venture-capital investment between 2015 and 2025.

Cumulative FDI equity investment in India’s education sector reached ₹83,605.29 crore, or $11,290.86 million, between January 2000 and March 2026.

This represented 1.42% of total FDI inflows.

The Union Budget 2026-27 also allocated ₹100 crore, or $11.11 million, for a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Education.

Risks investors are watching

Private-equity funds normally invest with a defined time horizon of around five to seven years.

During that period, they aim to expand the business, improve profitability and eventually exit.

The exit could happen through:

• A strategic sale.
• A sale to another financial investor.
• An IPO.

Balakrishnan said capital can expand a school campus in around 18 months.

Developing a strong supply of high-quality teachers can take much longer.

He warned that better infrastructure by itself cannot improve educational outcomes.

Fee increases are also limited by competition and government regulation in many states.

Investors therefore say they are focusing less on raising fees and more on:

• Expanding school networks.
• Improving occupancy.
• Building stronger brands.

Laad expects higher education to follow K-12 education in platform building.

He said higher-education businesses can operate with profit margins of 35% to 40%, which makes them attractive to investors.

Business Standard; S&P Global Market Intelligence; India Brand Equity Foundation; CBRE

Closing note

DayStarter by Devraj, 19 August 2026. Market data is from the Zerodha AfterMarket Report for the 18 August 2026 close. Macro, corporate and global sections are based on the Mint Mumbai print edition dated 19 August 2026 and the Zerodha AfterMarket Report. The feature section uses Business Standard, S&P Global Market Intelligence and the India Brand Equity Foundation. Compiled for information only. Not investment advice.