DayStarter

Market snapshot

Equities and sectors

Indian equities moved up on Monday and ended a five-day losing streak. The Nifty 50 closed at 23,995.95, up 0.96% from the previous close of 23,767.45. The Sensex closed at 76,835.78, up 1.02% from 76,059.77.

The Nifty opened with a 161-point gap up. It traded between 23,910 and 23,960 during the first half of the session. Around 2:30 PM, it crossed the 24,000 mark and touched an intraday high near 24,011 before settling slightly lower.

The move was helped by easing geopolitical concerns, softer crude oil prices and buying across heavyweight stocks.

Mint recorded the Nifty 50 opening at 23,928.40, with an intraday high of 24,011.60 and a low of 23,891.55. The Sensex opened at 76,608.98, touched a high of 76,901.51 and a low of 76,517.85. Mint also recorded the Sensex gaining 776.01 points and the Nifty 50 gaining 228.50 points.

Mint also recorded broader market gains. The Nifty 500 closed at 23,153.10, up 1.05%. The Nifty 100 closed at 25,088.60, up 1.00%. The BSE 150 MidCap closed at 16,872.40, up 1.13%. The BSE 250 SmallCap closed at 7,017.03, up 1.34%.

Sectoral indices

All twelve sectoral indices listed in the Zerodha report closed higher. Media, IT and Realty were the strongest sectors. Energy was almost flat but still ended slightly positive.

Top gainers and losers among F&O stocks

KFINTECH was the top gainer among F&O stocks, rising 10.53%. ONGC was the top loser, falling 4.17%.

Commodities and currency

Crude oil and natural gas fell sharply on MCX. Crude oil futures fell 6.81% to 8,018.00, while natural gas fell 4.80% to 264.00. Gold and silver moved higher.

USD/INR closed at 95.87, down 0.68% from the previous close of 96.25. The rupee strengthened 0.7% against the US dollar, its best single-day gain in more than six weeks. The move was linked to likely RBI intervention, a sharp fall in crude oil prices and the unwinding of stop-loss orders on long dollar positions.

Mint recorded the euro at ₹109.97, up ₹0.64, and the pound at ₹128.60, up ₹0.76. Forex traders reported the dollar index trading 0.20% lower at 101.09.

Bond yields

Bond yields fell in both the US and India. The US 10-year bond yield closed at 4.67, down 0.64%. The India 10-year bond yield closed at 6.77, down 0.82%.

Institutional flows

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of ₹1,688 crore on 27 July. Domestic institutional investors were net buyers of ₹2,329 crore.

Across the five sessions to 27 July, FIIs sold a net ₹7,749 crore, while DIIs bought a net ₹9,655 crore.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 27 July 2026; Zerodha Technicals; Mint, 28 July 2026; NSE

The macro view

External sector and capital flows

SBI Research expects foreign currency non-resident bank deposits, or FCNR(B) deposits, to reach $65 billion to $70 billion by the time the RBI’s special window closes at the end of September. Total foreign currency inflows, including overseas foreign currency borrowings and external commercial borrowings, could reach $80 billion to $85 billion.

FCNR(B) deposits are foreign currency deposits made by non-resident Indians with Indian banks. They help bring foreign currency into the banking system.

FCNR(B) deposits had reached $26 billion to $28 billion by 23 July, about 45 days into the plan. During the 2013 special FCNR(B) window, around $26 billion was mobilised in about three months.

The RBI introduced the temporary dollar-rupee swap facility for fresh FCNR(B) deposits on 5 June and made it operational from 8 June. Special measures are available for FCNR(B) deposits until 30 September 2026. OFCBs and ECBs remain eligible until 31 December 2026.

SBI Research now expects India’s balance of payments to show a surplus of over $50 billion in FY27. Earlier, it had expected a deficit of $65 billion to $70 billion. The current account deficit is projected at 1.0% to 1.2% of GDP.

The balance of payments tracks all money flowing into and out of a country. A surplus means foreign currency inflows are higher than outflows.

India’s engineering goods exports rose 21% year-on-year in June to $11.48 billion. Growth was led by demand from China, the US, Germany and Oman. Shipments to China rose 74% from a year earlier to $361.47 million. India’s overall exports to China rose nearly 37% in the fiscal year ended March to about $20 billion.

Agriculture and monsoon

Kharif sowing covered 78.7 million hectares as of 24 July, compared with 82.6 million hectares during the same period last year.

Paddy acreage stood at 23.4 million hectares, down by 619,000 hectares from a year ago. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Haryana, Gujarat, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana were behind last year’s sowing area. Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh reported higher acreage.

Oilseeds covered 16.3 million hectares, down 345,000 hectares from last year. Soybean acreage was lower by 359,000 hectares, while groundnut acreage was lower by 58,000 hectares.

Policy and regulation

The government tabled the Public Examinations, Prevention of Unfair Means, Amendment Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Bill was moved by minister of state in the department of atomic energy Jitendra Singh. The move followed nationwide student protests over alleged examination irregularities, which culminated in the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday.

The Bill proposes a fine of up to ₹10 crore for offences linked to paper leaks and organised examination malpractice. Under the current law, the maximum penalty for organised crimes is ₹1 crore. The Bill also expands coverage to all public examinations, including those conducted by state governments.

The Bill proposes stricter punishment for individuals found guilty of unfair means:

• Imprisonment would rise to five to ten years, from three to five years under the existing law.
• The fine would rise to up to ₹50 lakh, from up to ₹10 lakh.
• Service providers can be fined up to ₹5 crore.
• Examination costs can be recovered from service providers.
• Service providers can be barred from conducting public examinations for eight years.
• The offences are cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.

The Bill also sets timelines for investigation and trial. An investigation must be completed within two months from the date the information was recorded. Every state government and Union territory administration, in consultation with the chief justice of the concerned high court, must designate a sessions court as a special fast-track court. The trial must be completed within three months of filing the chargesheet.

The Reserve Bank of India released draft amendments on Monday for securitization notes issued by commercial banks. The proposal says these notes should be issued, held and transferred only in dematerialized form. The existing ₹1 crore minimum investment requirement would also apply to every later transfer, not only the original issue. Comments are invited by 27 August. If adopted, the changes will take effect from 1 October.

The finance ministry has asked regional rural banks to focus on improving digital banking services under Viability Plan 2.0. The department of financial services revised the three-year performance monitoring framework in May, extending it by three years to FY28 after the first FY22 to FY25 cycle.

This follows the regional rural bank consolidation of May 2025, which reduced their number from 43 to 28 banks sponsored by 10 commercial banks under the One State, One RRB policy.

Less than 2% of rural households reported borrowing from fintechs.

The government plans to develop an AI-powered Labour Market Information System. The system will be led by the labour and employment ministry and will combine labour market, higher education and skilling databases. The proposal is still at the concept stage. No rollout timeline has been fixed, and stakeholder consultations are planned.

India has ordered makers of high-caffeine beverages sold as “energy drinks” to stop using that description. The market is expected to be worth $1.6 billion by 2028.

The Gujarat government launched the Gujarat Shipbuilding and Repair Policy 2026 on Monday. The policy aims to create two integrated mega shipbuilding parks, shipbuilding capacity of more than 5 million deadweight tonnage and investments worth over ₹27,000 crore.

Infrastructure and energy

India needs to add 86,440 MW of thermal power generation capacity by 2035-36. Of this, 63,545 MW is at different stages of implementation.

The required thermal capacity based on coal and lignite is estimated at around 315,000 MW to meet projected electricity demand by 2035-36.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd is seeking to import oil through a spot tender. For the first time, it has asked suppliers to avoid using the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.

Delhi-based transport bodies have announced a protest march to Parliament on 4 August. They are demanding the withdrawal of ethanol-blended petrol.

Fiscal and household

Income tax returns filed for assessment year 2026-27 crossed 40 million on 26 July. More than 2 million returns were filed in the past five days. More than 73 million ITRs were filed in assessment year 2025-26.

The 31 July deadline mainly applies to individual taxpayers filing ITR-1 and ITR-2. Several business taxpayers have later deadlines.

India’s Gen Z population, people born from 1997 to 2011, is nearly 368 million. This means around one in four Indians belongs to this cohort.

Mint published the following generational shares of India’s 2026 population:

Mint, Mumbai edition, 28 July 2026, Economy and Policy, Plain Facts and News Wrap; SBI Research; EEPC India; Agriculture ministry data; Nabard’s Rural Credit Market Conditions in India, June; Minister of state for power Shripad Naik, written reply to the Rajya Sabha; Census of India and Mint calculations, via Mint Data Bites

Corporate developments and earnings

Banking and financials

Public sector banks accounted for ₹50,000 crore of the nearly ₹60,000 crore of stressed assets offered for sale in the April-June quarter. Private sector banks put up ₹8,000 crore of bad debts for sale. The remaining ₹2,000 crore came from non-banks and mortgage lenders.

This is the first time data on bad loans offered for sale has been compiled by lender category.

In the corresponding quarter of FY26, asset reconstruction companies acquired bad loans worth ₹16,876 crore, compared with ₹13,852 crore a year earlier. Data on how much of the ₹60,000 crore offered in April-June was eventually acquired will be available only in August.

The RBI’s expected credit loss framework takes effect from April 2027.

Banks sold loans worth ₹2 trillion to ARCs in FY26, compared with ₹5.9 trillion in FY25 and ₹1.7 trillion in FY24. The FY25 figure includes ₹4.2 trillion of assets acquired from The Stressed Assets Stabilisation Fund.

HDFC Bank’s board issued warning letters and levied a ₹1 lakh penalty on three top officials after completing an internal review of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation matter. The officials are managing director and chief executive officer Sashidhar Jagdishan, chief financial officer Srinivasan Vaidyanathan, and group head for retail assets Arvind Vohra.

The board concluded that the employees involved were guilty of “business overreach” rather than any mala fide conduct. HDFC Bank shares ended 0.4% lower at ₹739.55 on the NSE.

Bank of Baroda suffered a cyber breach that reportedly exposed about 1 TB of customer and internal data after an employee’s email account was compromised. The bank said its core banking systems were not accessed and that it had started a forensic investigation.

In an exchange filing, the bank described the incident as a “potential business email compromise” that is “not expected to have any material impact on the its operations, financial performance or business continuity”.

The breach came to light on 25 July. Bank of Baroda has a customer base of 183 million.

AU Small Finance Bank reported a 37% year-on-year rise in Q1FY27 net profit to ₹796 crore. Net interest income rose 32% to ₹2,695 crore. Loans grew 23%, and net interest margin expanded by 47 basis points to 5.9%. The stock rose 5% after the results.

Canara Bank reported net profit of ₹4,856 crore for the April-June quarter, up 2% from ₹4,752 crore in the same period last year.

Home First Finance Company India reported Q1FY27 assets under management of ₹16,938 crore, up 25.7%. Disbursements were ₹1,628 crore, up 6.7%. Gross NPA was unchanged at 1.8%. Profit after tax was ₹160 crore, up 34.5%.

Tourism Finance Corporation of India is targeting loan sanctions of around ₹3,000 crore in FY27, up from more than ₹2,000 crore in FY26. Around ₹500 crore is expected from smaller cities.

The NBFC expects assets under management to rise to around ₹2,800 crore by the end of FY27, from around ₹2,200 crore at the end of FY26. Tourism accounts for around 50% of its loan book.

Earnings reported

Bharat Electronics Limited reported an 8.2% year-on-year rise in Q1FY27 net profit to ₹1,048 crore. Revenue rose 25.3% to ₹5,533 crore. EBITDA rose 12% to ₹1,389 crore. EBITDA margin contracted to 25.1% from 28.1% a year earlier.

EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. It is often used to measure operating performance before financing and accounting costs.

Coal India reported a 0.6% year-on-year rise in Q1FY27 net profit to ₹8,852 crore. Revenue rose 7.8% to ₹46,255 crore. EBITDA fell 4.1% to ₹12,069 crore. EBITDA margin contracted to 26.1% from 29.3% a year earlier.

The average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg had expected profit of ₹8,640 crore.

Tata Power reported an 11% year-on-year rise in Q1FY27 consolidated net profit to ₹1,176 crore. Revenue from operations rose 6% to ₹19,051 crore during the April-June quarter.

Hindustan Zinc’s operating revenue rose 77% year-on-year to ₹13,747 crore in Q1FY27. EBITDA more than doubled to ₹8,074 crore. The company recorded $851 per tonne as its cost of zinc production excluding royalty. Silver contributed 46% of Q1FY27 EBITDA.

The stock declined slightly after the results, taking its loss to 12% so far in 2026. It trades at 9 times EV/EBITDA based on FY28 Bloomberg consensus.

Tata Consumer Products’ growth businesses recorded 47% year-on-year revenue growth to ₹1,314 crore in Q1FY27. These businesses now form 36% of its India business, up from 31% in FY26.

Within the portfolio, Tata Sampann grew 58%, ready-to-drink grew 41%, Capital Foods grew 40% and Organic India grew 27%. India tea and coffee volumes grew 2%, while revenue fell 4%. Coffee revenue grew 24%. India salt revenue rose 7%.

Consolidated revenue rose 12%. EBITDA margin rose 70 basis points to 13.5%. Underlying India volume growth was 13%. Tata Starbucks revenue grew 11%.

Lodha Developers posted a two-fold rise in net profit to ₹1,373 crore for the June quarter.

PayU’s credit business, which includes LazyPay, consumer lending and merchant lending, recorded revenue of $204 million in FY26. This was up 19% from $171 million a year earlier. The credit business posted EBITDA of $6 million, compared with a loss of $28 million in FY25.

The payments business reported revenue of $577 million in FY26, up 10%. Payments EBITDA improved to $12 million from $3 million.

Tata group disclosures

Aggregate losses at Tata Sons’ 16 privately held businesses nearly doubled in FY26. Losses rose to ₹27,854 crore from ₹15,311 crore in FY25.

Air India and low-cost subsidiary Air India Express posted a combined net loss of ₹22,238 crore in FY26, more than double the previous year’s ₹10,859 crore. Combined revenue fell nearly 9% to ₹71,870 crore.

Air India reported revenue of ₹51,452 crore and a loss of ₹15,368 crore. Air India Express reported revenue of ₹19,088 crore and a loss of ₹6,767 crore.

IndiGo reported FY26 revenue of ₹84,962 crore, up from ₹80,802 crore. It swung to a net loss of ₹2,394 crore, largely because of foreign exchange losses.

Tata Digital lost ₹4,974 crore during the year on revenue of ₹35,990 crore.

Tata Electronics was the group’s highest-grossing private business in FY26. Revenue doubled year-on-year to ₹1.3 trillion. The company reported a loss of ₹1,611 crore, compared with ₹70 crore a year earlier. Tata Sons invested ₹3,000 crore into the company.

Agratas reported a loss of ₹1,101 crore, compared with ₹741 crore earlier. Tata Sons invested ₹1,465 crore in Agratas during FY26.

The other twelve unlisted companies made a cumulative profit of ₹2,070 crore, compared with ₹969 crore earlier.

Trent’s revenue rose to ₹20,189 crore in FY26 from ₹3,635 crore in FY20. This raised its share of the Tata group’s four major listed consumer businesses to 14.1% from 8.6% six years ago, compared with Tata Consumer Products’ 14.3%.

Tata UniStore Ltd, which owns and operates Tata CLiQ and Tata CLiQ Luxury, reported revenue of ₹354.40 crore in FY26. This was up 20.4% from ₹294.43 crore. Net loss narrowed to ₹252 crore from ₹314.32 crore. The business remains below its FY22 revenue peak of ₹844.6 crore.

N. Chandrasekaran was paid ₹159 crore in compensation in FY26, including commission of ₹141 crore. His total compensation was ₹156 crore in FY25.

The Tata Sons annual general meeting is scheduled for 18 August. Mint reported that it is under a cloud after a Maharashtra charity commissioner order prohibited Sir Ratan Tata Trust from holding board meetings or taking decisions affecting its composition.

Deals, technology and startups

Quadria Capital is accelerating exits and aims to return nearly 1.5 times distributed paid-in capital from its third fund by early next year. Its $1.1 billion Fund III closed last year. For its second fund, from which it began investing in 2021, Quadria reported a DPI of 1.1 times.

DPI, or distributed paid-in capital, measures how much cash a fund has returned to investors compared with the capital they paid in.

Quadria manages more than $4.3 billion of assets across 29 investments. Its latest $1.1 billion healthcare fund, closed in October 2025, is about 50% to 60% deployed.

KKR & Co. and Energy Capital Partners agreed to acquire DCC Energy Plc for more than £5.7 billion, or $7.6 billion. The deal values DCC at £66.72 a share including a dividend. DCC shareholders may also receive up to £1.25 per share if the company earns at least $800 million from selling its technology distribution business Nexora.

Shares of South Korean internet and cloud service company Naver rose more than 10% on Monday after it said Nvidia would acquire $1 billion of its new shares to finance an AI data centre expansion project.

Tablespace Technologies Ltd is preparing to file for an IPO that could raise as much as $350 million. Draft papers are expected by early August. The proposed issue is likely to include a fresh issue of shares worth up to ₹10 billion and an offer for sale by existing investors. Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services, BofA Securities and CLSA are advising.

Lodha Developers plans to raise ₹9,000 crore by selling 150 acres of the 660 acres marked for data centres at Palava. Managing director Abhishek Lodha said this on an analyst call on Monday.

Lodha sold around 132 acres at its Green Data Centre Park to Amazon Web Services and STT Data Centres over the last two years. It also sold 30 acres to Digital Edge India at over ₹42 crore per acre during the June quarter.

UltraTech Cement is in talks to raise a total of ₹5,000 crore through bonds maturing in two-and-a-half years, three-and-a-half years and five years. The company is targeting ₹1,500 crore each in the two shorter tranches at annual coupons of 7.22% and 7.23%. It is targeting ₹2,000 crore in the five-year tranche at 7.25%.

The company aimed to complete the sale before the RBI’s monetary policy decision on 5 August.

HCLTech has created a new business called Neo.AI. The unit will manage software development, maintenance and data analytics for mid-market clients. Around 90 accounts have been transferred to the unit. It plans to target at least 500 more small accounts and has at least 300 executives.

Dreamfly Innovations said on Monday that it will set up a 40,000 sq. ft aviation battery manufacturing facility in North Bengaluru. The investment will be ₹40 crore. Initial annual production capacity will be 100 MWh, scalable to 200 MWh.

The Exploration Company Gmbh is in talks to raise at least $300 million. Part of the funding may come from the European Union’s Scaleup Europe Fund. The round would raise its valuation to more than $2 billion.

The Bombay High Court on Monday allowed Union minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil suit against Meta Platforms, X Corp, Google LLC and other unknown persons over “defamatory” deepfakes and AI-generated posts.

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Centre to clarify whether broader policy considerations were behind its rejection of Vedanta Ltd’s bid for a 10-year extension of its production-sharing contract for the offshore block in Gujarat’s Cambay Basin. The matter is listed for further hearing on Wednesday.

IndiGo redesignated chief financial officer Gaurav Negi as adviser to the managing director effective after business hours on Monday. Deputy CFO Kiran Thadimarri took over as CFO on Tuesday.

Radisson Hotel Group announced 10 new hotel signings in the second week of July across seven states and six brands. The group currently has over 225 hotels in operation and development in India.

Upcoming economic events

These are scheduled releases, not confirmed outcomes.

Earnings calendar: 28 July 2026

The Zerodha AfterMarket Report dated 27 July 2026 did not include a corporate actions table. No ex-dates, dividends, bonus issues or stock splits are listed in this edition.

Mint separately reported that UltraTech Cement aimed to complete its bond sale before the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision on 5 August.

Mint, 28 July 2026, Corporate, Deals, Tech and Startups, Mark to Market; Zerodha Top Stories in India; Association of ARCs in India; Mint News in Numbers; Tata Sons annual report, via Mint; Mint interview with managing director and chief financial officer Anoop Bali; Financial Times, via Mint; Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Zerodha Economic Calendar

Global pulse

Global indices

Global markets mostly closed higher. The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.65%, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.15%, and the Hang Seng rose 0.98%.

West Asia and energy

Brent crude fell towards $89 per barrel, giving up part of last week’s gains. The fall came after the US and Iran paused military strikes over the weekend. Easing tensions and talks involving Oman on the Strait of Hormuz reduced immediate concerns about disruptions to global oil supplies.

The US and Iran held off on attacks for a third straight night. US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Sunday that President Donald Trump, who had earlier threatened to intensify strikes, was giving diplomacy “some space”. He said talks were “ongoing” between the sides on a technical basis and at the leadership level.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that mediators may share messages from the US side, but no negotiations are currently taking place.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump in Washington on Tuesday. Iran said there is no change to the status of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state TV said on Monday that Tehran forced six ships travelling through the southern corridor near the Omani coast to turn around.

Traffic through the waterway is negligible. Before the war, one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flowed through the Strait of Hormuz.

India’s crude oil import bill for April-June reached $49.8 billion, up 61% year-on-year. This was 40% of the FY26 oil bill. India imports nearly 90% of its crude oil requirement.

Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday that curbs on diesel sales from Russia would be lifted.

Since the start of 2025, nearly 1 million barrels of crude capacity have been lost to the market because of plant closures in the US and Europe. Russia and China’s export quotas since the Iran war began removed 2.5 million to 3 million barrels of product exports from the market.

The US crack spread in mid-July came close to $70. Mint described this as the highest level in history and more than double the level before the start of the Iran war in late February. A crack spread is the difference between the price of crude oil and the value of refined products made from it. A high crack spread can indicate strong margins for refiners.

Global corporate and markets

ChangXin Memory Technologies shares rose nearly 466% on their STAR Market debut. The move gave the chipmaker a market capitalisation of about 3.3 trillion yuan, making it the most valuable China-listed company.

The company raised 57.92 billion yuan, or $8.6 billion, in Asia’s biggest IPO of the year. It held a 7.67% share of the global DRAM market in 2025.

CXMT’s revenue rose to $7.5 billion in the first quarter of this year, from less than $1 billion a year earlier. Profit rose to $3.66 billion.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook and other top executives have pitched President Trump and other US officials on a plan to use CXMT and other Chinese chips in Apple products sold outside the US. Micron is clashing with Apple over this.

Hong Kong’s exports rose 53.4% year-on-year to a record $641.1 billion in June 2026. This was faster than the 40.8% growth recorded in May and marked the fastest annual expansion since March 1984.

The growth was driven by shipments of electrical machinery and components, office and data processing machines, telecommunications equipment, power generation equipment and scientific instruments.

China’s industrial profits grew 15.1% year-on-year in June, slower than the 21.1% growth recorded in May. For the first half of 2026, industrial profits were up 18.7% year-on-year.

The most recent week of US jobless claims was the lowest on record since 1969. Booz Allen Hamilton’s total headcount stood at around 30,900 as of June 30, down 7.5% from a year earlier.

Online fast-fashion retailer Shein posted a net loss of $99 million in the January-March quarter, compared with a profit of $395 million a year earlier. The loss was linked to US trade policy changes.

The estimated cost of a new 1.5-mile bridge over the Detroit river between the US and Canada is C$6.4 billion. The bridge is being paid for entirely by Canada.

Australia plans to invest A$4.6 billion in the Osborne Naval Shipyard under the Aukus deal.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal prosecution filed formal charges on Monday against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 40 others. The charges relate to a crimes against humanity case linked to a police crackdown on a rally in Dhaka in 2013. Chief prosecutor Aminul Islam said the tribunal has taken the charges into cognisance.

India summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk in New Delhi on Monday to convey “serious concern” over the July 18 attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Black Sea. The vessel had three Indian nationals on board, one of whom was killed.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 27 July 2026; Zerodha Global Markets and Top Stories Globally; Mint Global and News Wrap, 28 July 2026; CXMT IPO prospectus; Energy Aspects; The Wall Street Journal; Mint News in Numbers

Management commentary

All quotes below are reproduced as published by the cited source.

Mint also reported him writing in the Tata Sons FY26 annual report that Air India’s transformation “must be seen as a five- to ten-year journey” and that the group’s commitment “is to give India a carrier that connects it to the world with pride”.

Zerodha AfterMarket Report, Management Chatter, 27 July 2026; Mint, Quote of the Day, 28 July 2026; The Wall Street Journal, carried in Mint Global, 28 July 2026; Mint Corporate, 28 July 2026

Feature: The new US tariffs on India

Sourced from Mint Plain Facts, 28 July 2026; Business Standard and Press Trust of India, 24 July 2026; India TV News, 24 July 2026.

What was announced

The US announced new tariffs on 60 countries, including India, after a probe into forced labour practices. The argument behind the tariffs is that weak labour enforcement allows countries to produce goods at artificially low costs, which undercuts American businesses.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the tariffs on 60 economies under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, at President Donald Trump’s direction. The reason given was failure to impose and effectively enforce a ban on importing goods produced with forced labour.

The Trump administration imposed a two-tier tariff structure under Section 301. Nineteen countries face 10% tariffs, while the remaining 41 face 12.5% tariffs. India is in the lower 10% bracket. Competitors such as China and Vietnam face higher duties.

India had earlier been bracketed among countries attracting 12.5% levies when the tariffs were proposed on 3 June. Washington later took note of the amendment India made to its foreign trade policy, which prohibits the import of goods produced using forced labour.

Trump’s memorandum said: “As a result of these actions, the Trade Representative has advised me that the goods of these economies should be tariffed at the 10 per cent rate to further encourage these economies to effectively enforce such prohibitions.”

The latest tariffs took effect at 12.01 AM on Friday. This happened as a temporary 10% import tax expired. That temporary tax had been introduced after a February Supreme Court decision invalidated the “Liberation Day” tariffs introduced in April 2025. The temporary 10% tariff applied to all countries for 150 days from 24 February.

The forced labour tariffs will not apply to raw materials if tariffs would lead to a lack of domestic supply. They will also not apply to products where tariffs would cause economy-wide disruptions.

India’s tariff position and export exposure

India’s effective tariff rate rose from only 1% to 2% to 11% by June 2025. It then increased further to 35% to 36% by August 2025. After tariffs were struck down, the rate fell to around 12%. This is lower than Bangladesh at 25%, China at 22% and Vietnam at 14%.

The effective tariff rate takes into account import values and exemptions. It gives a more realistic picture of the tariff burden than the headline tariff alone.

After tariffs briefly rose to 50%, India received relief through an interim trade deal that brought them down to 18%. The Supreme Court ruling then scrapped last year’s tariffs.

Textiles accounted for 13% to 14% of India’s exports to the US before the Liberation Day tariffs. That share has since fallen to 8% to 9%.

The US remains India’s largest export market. It accounts for about 20% of India’s shipments. This is well ahead of the United Arab Emirates, which accounts for 6% to 8%.

India’s export growth to the US, measured on a three-month moving average, had fallen deep into negative territory in October 2025. This happened after the 50% tariff took effect the previous month. After the tariff was struck down, the growth rate began improving and is now moving towards positive territory. The brokerage does not expect a significant jump in exports.

The textile caveat

A report by Emkay stated that “the devil lies in the details”. India’s textile and apparel industry did not receive tariff-rate quota exemptions, unlike Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Because of this, the report said, “there will be a relative loss of competitiveness for Indian textile exporters vs key competitors.”

A tariff-rate quota exemption allows importers to bring in a specified quantity of goods at a lower or zero duty rate during a defined period.

What is still pending

The US is yet to conclude another Section 301 investigation into structural excess manufacturing capacity and overproduction. This probe covers 16 economies, including India, China and Japan. It covers sectors such as steel, aluminium, chemicals, electronics, pharmaceuticals and auto components.

For India, the inquiry will examine whether domestic production subsidies and trade barriers unfairly distort trade with the US. The excess capacity probe may result in a tariff rate of 10% to 12.5% for India. This would be added on top of the current tariffs. Overall tariffs could rise to at least 20%.

Many of India’s competitors are also on the list, so India may not face a disproportionate disadvantage.

The Trump administration last week announced tariffs of 100% on generic medicines from August 2028. These would rise to 200% a year later. The aim is to encourage manufacturers to shift production to the US.

The exemption protects India from any immediate impact for now. Still, it has created uncertainty and led generic drugmakers to reassess their strategies.

After the announcement, the Nifty Pharma index fell 1.3%, compared with a 0.8% decline in the Nifty 50. The US share in India’s pharmaceutical exports has already fallen from about 35% in FY25 to around 30% in FY26-FY27.

India TV News reported that the announcement came days after Trump said his administration was considering 100% tariffs on imported generic medicines from 2028, with the possibility of raising them to 200% later. The proposal has raised concerns among Indian pharmaceutical companies because India is the largest supplier of generic medicines to the US.

Mint’s summary points

The following points are from the “At a Glance” box published with Mint’s Plain Facts feature on 28 July 2026.

• At 10%, the new tariff imposed by the US on India offers the country a competitive advantage over peers, but future headwinds remain.
• After the US Supreme Court struck down the 50% tariffs, India’s export growth began to improve and is now close to making a meaningful recovery.
• The US is yet to announce its decision on a probe into 16 major economies, including India, on structural excess production capacity and overproduction.
• The US probe may result in a tariff rate of 10% to 12.5% for India, which will be stacked on top of the current ones. Overall tariffs could increase to at least 20%.

Mint reported that she added that a successful conclusion of the India-US deal, expected in the next three to four months, could protect India from fresh actions.

A lot depends on the finalisation of the India-US trade deal and what happens after Donald Trump’s tenure ends in January 2029.

Feature credit

Feature credit: Mint, Mumbai edition, 28 July 2026, Plain Facts, “New US tariffs: will India keep its gains?” by Pragya Srivastava. Chart sources cited by Mint: Bloomberg, Emkay Research and CEIC/Emkay Global. External reporting: Business Standard, Press Trust of India and India TV News, 24 July 2026.

Day at a glance

Closing

Primary sources: Zerodha AfterMarket Report, market close on 27 July 2026; Mint, Mumbai edition, 28 July 2026; Business Standard and Press Trust of India, 24 July 2026; India TV News, 24 July 2026. DayStarter is compiled from the named sources. This briefing is a factual news aggregation and is not investment or tax advice.