The day at a glance
| Indicator | Reading |
|---|---|
| Nifty 50 | 23,779.15, down 0.50% |
| Sensex | 76,132.81, down 0.50% |
| Nifty Pharma | 26,675.50, up 0.75% (top sector) |
| Nifty Media | 1,520.65, down 2.86% (weakest sector) |
| Crude Oil, MCX | ₹8,631 per barrel, up 0.62% |
| Brent crude | Six-week high of $97.5 per barrel, nearly 40% above pre-war levels |
| USDINR | 94.52, unchanged |
| FII-DII combined net flow, 7 September | +₹847 crore (FII +₹280 crore, DII +₹567 crore) |
| Defence procurement cleared | An estimated ₹1.10 trillion, around 98% from domestic companies |
Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 7 September 2026 close; Mint, 8 September 2026
Market snapshot
Equities and sectors
The Nifty opened almost flat at 23,883, a 15-point gap down. Domestic markets remained weak and quiet.
Selling began soon after the open. The index fell below 23,850 within the first few minutes, moved below 23,800 around 10:30 AM, and reached the 23,770 to 23,780 range by 11 AM.
The weakness continued through the first half of the day. The Nifty touched an intraday low near 23,740 around 12:45 PM.
The index recovered somewhat in the afternoon. It moved back towards 23,775 to 23,780 around 2 PM and briefly reached around 23,785 at 2:30 PM. Selling returned in the final hour and pulled the index back towards 23,740.
A late recovery, helped by the closing auction session, took the Nifty to 23,779.15 at the close. This was around 104 points below its opening level.
| Benchmark | Day’s close | Day’s change | Previous close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty 50 | 23,779.15 | -0.50% | 23,897.70 |
| Sensex | 76,132.81 | -0.50% | 76,515.43 |
| Nifty Next 50 | 72,575.75 | -0.42% | 72,880.90 |
| Nifty Midcap 150 | 23,062.25 | -0.46% | 23,168.35 |
| Nifty Smallcap 250 | 18,484.15 | 0.01% | 18,481.40 |
| Nifty Microcap 250 | 26,576.60 | 0.42% | 26,466.20 |
Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 7 September 2026
Zerodha AfterMarket Report
Sectoral indices
Pharma was the strongest sector, rising 0.75%. Auto was almost flat, down 0.04%.
Most other sectors ended lower. Media fell the most at 2.86%, followed by IT at 2.28%, Realty at 1.70% and Metal at 1.24%.
| Sectoral index | Day’s close | Day’s change | Previous close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Pharma | 26,675.50 | 0.75% | 26,478.10 |
| Nifty Auto | 27,698.75 | -0.04% | 27,710.90 |
| Nifty Energy | 37,973.35 | -0.25% | 38,067.85 |
| Nifty Consumer Durables | 39,318.80 | -0.42% | 39,483.80 |
| Nifty Bank | 57,088.30 | -0.49% | 57,369.65 |
| Nifty Service | 30,422.70 | -0.50% | 30,575.55 |
| Nifty FMCG | 45,592.15 | -0.66% | 45,892.75 |
| Nifty PSU Bank | 8,424.65 | -1.06% | 8,514.85 |
| Nifty Metal | 13,152.90 | -1.24% | 13,317.45 |
| Nifty Realty | 892.50 | -1.70% | 907.90 |
| Nifty IT | 29,995.20 | -2.28% | 30,695.15 |
| Nifty Media | 1,520.65 | -2.86% | 1,565.45 |
Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 7 September 2026
Zerodha AfterMarket Report
Winners and losers: F&O stocks
IDEA was the strongest F&O stock among the listed gainers, rising 3.86%. ICICIPRULI was the biggest loser, falling 4.83%.
Zerodha Technicals
Commodities
MCX crude oil rose 0.62%. Aluminium, copper and zinc also moved up. Gold fell 0.27%, silver fell 0.40%, and natural gas declined 0.75%.
Zerodha AfterMarket Report
Currency and bond yields
USDINR was unchanged at 94.52. The US 10-year government bond yield rose to 4.78 from 4.76. India’s 10-year government bond yield fell to 6.95 from 6.96.
| Currency and bonds | Level | Day’s change | Previous close |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDINR | 94.52 | 0.00% | 94.52 |
| US 10-year bond yield | 4.78 | 0.42% | 4.76 |
| India 10-year bond yield | 6.95 | -0.14% | 6.96 |
Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 7 September 2026
Institutional flows
Foreign institutional investors, or FIIs, were net buyers of ₹280 crore on 7 September. Domestic institutional investors, or DIIs, bought a net ₹567 crore.
Over the last five sessions shown below, FIIs were net buyers of ₹2,653 crore. DII net buying was much larger at ₹19,134 crore.
NSE; Zerodha AfterMarket Report
Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Zerodha Technicals; NSE, 7 September 2026
The macro view
Policy and government
- The defence ministry approved military purchases worth an estimated ₹1.10 trillion for the Army, Navy and Air Force. The planned purchases include radars, advanced light helicopters and mechanical mine layers. The Defence Acquisition Council, headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh, cleared the proposals. Around 98% of the procurement is expected to come from domestic companies.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has proposed creating a common digital platform to connect road, rail and shipping networks. The aim is to improve coordination across India’s logistics system. The CAG has also proposed creating a dedicated regulator for the multimodal logistics ecosystem. Logistics accounts for around 17% of total costs for Indian MSMEs. MSMEs, in turn, contribute around 45% of India’s exports.
- Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India should aim to attract 10 million medical-value tourists every year. He presented a five-point action plan at the opening of Sanjeevani 2026 during the Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 in New Delhi.
- The Centre is preparing to tighten the conditions under which women can receive financial help to open Jan Aushadhi Kendras. Under the proposed rules, a woman seeking the ₹2 lakh incentive must be a registered pharmacist and operate the store in her own name. A circular dated 1 September has set a cut-off date of 30 September 2026. More than 8,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras are currently managed by women. The government aims to have 25,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras by 2027, and more than 20,000 have already opened.
- The Centre has asked oil marketing companies to apply the revised LPG refill booking interval of 25 days uniformly in urban and rural areas with immediate effect. The refill interval had previously been 45 days in rural areas.
- The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has introduced an Open Application Programming Interface, or API, for issuing and verifying Certificates of Origin through the Trade Connect e-Platform. Eligible exporters can now connect their enterprise resource planning and accounting systems directly with the DGFT platform.
- Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman met IMF deputy managing director Nigel Clarke on Monday. The discussion covered bilateral engagement and the outlook for the Indian and global economies.
Mint, 8 September 2026; PTI
Growth, confidence and liquidity
- The CII Business Confidence Index rose to 66.0 in Q2FY27, covering July to September, from 60.8 in Q1. This brought the index back to its level from a year earlier. The Expectation Index rose more sharply, from 60.6 to 67.7. The Current Situation Index increased from 61.2 to 62.6. CII linked the improvement mainly to reduced disruption from the West Asia war.
- India’s GDP grew 7.8% in Q1FY27, compared with 6.9% a year earlier.
- Bank of America economists led by Rahul Bajoria estimate that Indian manufacturing must grow by at least 10% a year for the next 15 years if its share of the economy is to rise to 25%. The estimate assumes overall GDP growth of around 7% a year.
- The RBI absorbed more than ₹6 trillion of surplus funds from the banking system through two auctions on Monday. In the 30-day variable rate reverse repo, or VRRR, auction, banks submitted bids of just over ₹2.59 trillion against a notified amount of ₹7 trillion. The RBI accepted the bids at a cut-off and weighted average rate of 5.24%. The RBI later announced an overnight VRRR auction with a notified amount of ₹5 trillion.
Mint
Mint; Government data
Mint, 8 September 2026; Government data; Bloomberg; PTI
Energy, trade and climate
- The Solar Energy Corporation of India is working on a plan to map and combine the energy needs of small and medium factories that currently use gas for industrial heat. The aim is to help these factories shift to electric furnaces. SECI plans to combine demand across industries and issue tenders for renewable electricity that can be supplied at lower prices. Electricity accounts for 16% of India’s total manufacturing costs. At the same time, around 40 GW of power purchase agreements and power sale agreements for green energy remain unsigned.
- The UK has recognised India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme as a qualifying system for carbon-price relief under its carbon border adjustment mechanism. The UK Treasury confirmed this to India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency. This means UK importers of eligible Indian goods will be able to claim carbon-price relief based on the effective carbon price already paid on those goods under India’s CCTS.
- Heavy buying of vegetable oil by India has caused congestion at major ports. Ships are facing unloading delays of up to 10 days. The congestion may cause Indian refiners to reduce purchases of soyoil and palm oil for October shipments.
- Argentina is positioning itself as a supplier of lithium, copper, oil and gas to India. India’s crude petroleum imports from Argentina rose almost 92% to $110 million in 2025-26. India also imported lithium oxides and hydroxides worth $8.36 million from Argentina in 2025-26, compared with $1.1 million in 2024-25. India was Argentina’s fifth-largest trading partner in 2025-26. Bilateral trade rose 25% to $5.96 billion in 2024-25.
Mint, 8 September 2026; Government data; Reuters; PTI
Apple’s India build-out
- Apple India’s revenue has grown at an average annual rate of 27.1% since 2017. By 2025, India was producing 55 million iPhones each year, around one-quarter of Apple’s global output.
- The factory-gate value of iPhones produced in India reached $25 billion in FY26. This was up from $22 billion in FY25 and just $2 billion in FY22.
- Around one in ten smartphones sold in India is an iPhone. Counterpoint Research estimates that Apple accounts for 28% of India’s smartphone market by value.
- However, Apple’s supply chain remains heavily connected to China. Of Apple’s 187 disclosed suppliers, 157 have production facilities in China.
- Even for iPhones assembled in India, around 70% of components are sourced from China.
Mint; howindialives.com; Tofler; International Data Corporation; Counterpoint Research
Mint Plain Facts; howindialives.com; Tofler; International Data Corporation; Counterpoint Research
Corporate action and earnings
Domestic headlines
Blue Tokai
Singapore’s Temasek has become the only remaining contender to acquire a $100 million stake in Gurugram-based Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters. Temasek has moved ahead of TPG and ChrysCapital and is carrying out due diligence. Blue Tokai was valued at ₹2,280 crore as of June 2026. The new funding round is expected to value the company more highly. TPG, ChrysCapital and Temasek declined to comment. Blue Tokai did not respond to requests for comment before press time.
Government securities and FPIs
SEBI has removed the requirement for foreign portfolio investors investing only in Indian government securities to submit investor-group details. The exemption had earlier applied only to investments through the Fully Accessible Route. It now applies across all government-security investment routes. The circular was issued on Monday and took effect immediately. It follows the RBI’s removal of concentration limits for these investments under the General Route.
Automobile sales
India’s automobile retail sales rose 17.5% year-on-year to 24.23 lakh units in August. Two-wheeler sales increased 19.7%, passenger vehicle sales rose 16.1%, and commercial vehicle sales increased 14.5%. Total automobile retail sales were down 6.5% from the previous month. Alternative-fuel passenger vehicles, including EVs, hybrids and CNG vehicles, reached 168,805 units in August. Their market share reached a record 41.95%, moving above petrol vehicles at 40.85%. EV retail sales rose 53% to 298,448 units.
Mint; Federation of Automobile Dealers Association
Mint; Federation of Automobile Dealers Association
Novartis India
Novartis India approved the purchase of the ‘Minipress’ and ‘Minipres’ trademarks and related intellectual property from Pfizer for around ₹1,250 crore.
Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki will increase prices of selected models by up to ₹20,000 from September because of higher input costs and inflation. This will be the company’s third price increase since May. The latest increase will not apply to every model.
TCS
TCS opened a 4,500-square-foot AI-native Creative Engineering Studio in London. The studio brings together creative, industry and engineering teams.
Asian Paints
Asian Paints appointed Leo Puri as chairman-designate. Puri will replace R. Seshasayee as chairman on 23 January 2027. His board term runs until September 2031. He is currently India advisory chair at Apax and chairman of Fortis Healthcare.
Swiggy and Udaan
Swiggy is selling its stake in B2B distribution company Lynk Logistics to Trustroot Internet, the parent company of Udaan, for ₹500 crore. The deal will give Swiggy a 2.8% stake in Udaan. A separate primary investment of ₹75 crore will increase Swiggy’s holding to around 3.2%. The transaction is expected to close by 22 October. Lynk generated ₹668 crore in revenue in FY26, equal to 2.9% of Swiggy’s consolidated revenue.
Pixxel
Indian space-tech company Pixxel has raised $100 million in a Series C round. Temasek and UK-based Seraphim co-led the round. 360 ONE Asset and Seoul-based IMM Investment also participated. Existing investors Radical Ventures and growX ventures joined the round as well. Pixxel has now raised a total of $195 million.
Nua
Digital-first women’s wellness brand Nua raised $50 million in a Series C round led by Peak XV and Filter Capital. Existing investors Mirabilis Investment Trust and Footpath Ventures also participated. The round included a secondary component.
W Health Ventures
W Health Ventures completed the final close of its oversubscribed Fund II at ₹700 crore, above its original target of ₹630 crore. The fund will focus on oncology, preventive health, geriatrics and pain management. It plans to build 8 to 10 companies over the next four years, investing around ₹30 crore to ₹50 crore in each.
Tata Capital Healthcare Fund
Tata Capital Healthcare Fund is raising its third fund with a corpus of ₹2,500 crore, or around $260 million, including a greenshoe option. The fund has already completed its first close this year. Managing partner Visalakshi Chandramouli expects more than 50% of liquidity in the third fund to come through public listings. Average cheque sizes have increased to $20 million to $22 million from $10 million to $15 million.
REC tokenised bond
Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd raised ₹500 crore through its first tokenised bond issue on Monday. It became the first Indian issuer to raise money through corporate bonds using blockchain-based infrastructure. The bonds mature on 31 May 2028 and carry a coupon of 7.30%. The issue had a base size of ₹100 crore and a greenshoe option of ₹400 crore. Larsen & Toubro is likely to raise up to ₹500 crore through a similar three-year bond, expected to carry a coupon of around 7.40%.
RBL Bank
RBL Bank’s board approved plans to raise up to $1 billion from overseas investors through bonds under a Euro Medium Term Note Programme.
IIFL Finance and Blackstone
Blackstone is among the global investment firms considering the purchase of a stake in IIFL Finance. Fairfax Financial Holdings is considering selling its entire holding in IIFL Finance to comply with regulatory requirements as it moves towards acquiring IDBI Bank.
SBM Bank India
SBM Bank India, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBM Bank Mauritius, is considering selling a 26% stake. The bank is targeting credit growth of 32% to 35% in FY27.
Shiprocket
Shiprocket’s consolidated net loss narrowed to ₹13.71 crore in the quarter ended 30 June, from ₹18.03 crore a year earlier. On a standalone basis, the company reported a profit of ₹20.16 crore compared with a loss of ₹8.99 crore a year earlier. Pre-tax profit from its core business rose almost 28% to ₹52.69 crore.
Purple Style Labs
Purple Style Labs shares began trading at ₹539 on the BSE, 6.26% below the issue price of ₹575. The stock ended at ₹568.05, down 1.20%. On the NSE, it debuted at ₹535 and closed at ₹568.55, down 1.12%. The company’s market value stood at ₹4,547.87 crore. The IPO received 1.29 times subscription on the final day.
Hindustan Unilever
Hindustan Unilever widened its medium-term EBITDA margin guidance to 22% to 24% from 22.5% to 23.5%. The company expects 40% of incremental revenue growth to come from consumption and premiumisation, another 40% from market-making, and the remainder from entering new areas. Capital expenditure is expected to rise to around 3% of sales from around 2% historically. Underlying sales growth increased to 10% in Q1FY27 from 7% in Q4FY26.
United Breweries
United Breweries shares touched a new 52-week low of ₹1,275.30 on Monday. The company plans to increase its EBITDA margin to the low teens from 9.2% in Q1FY27 under its EverGreen 2030 strategy. It also aims to deliver double-digit organic net sales growth.
CaratLane
CaratLane reported FY26 revenue of ₹4,702 crore, up 34% from ₹3,501 crore in FY25. EBIT rose 60% year-on-year to ₹466 crore. Titan wants CaratLane’s revenue to reach 2.3 times its current level by FY30 and EBIT to reach 2.5 times its current level.
Bangalore International Airport
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority approved ₹13,742 crore of Bangalore International Airport Ltd’s proposed capital expenditure of ₹20,920 crore. AERA approved a baseline yield of ₹390.42 per passenger. The airport had proposed ₹1,129.23 per passenger.
Vodafone Idea GST case
The Supreme Court dismissed the Centre’s challenge to a Bombay High Court order that had cancelled a ₹363 crore GST demand against Vodafone Idea. The demand related to its former entity, Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd. A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran held that the issue had already been covered by the Supreme Court’s 2019 judgment in the Maruti Suzuki case.
Corporate criminal proceedings
The Supreme Court held that criminal proceedings against a company cannot be cancelled only because the investigating agency has not identified or charged a particular director or employee. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra dismissed an appeal filed by Sanofi India.
Mint, 8 September 2026; Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Tracxn; Federation of Automobile Dealers Association; Reuters; Bloomberg; PTI; Titan investor day presentation, 4 June
Upcoming economic events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 8 September 2026 | Real GDP, South Africa |
| 9 September 2026 | Inflation, Mexico |
| 9 September 2026 | Central Bank Policy Rate, Poland |
| 9 September 2026 | Inflation, China |
| 9 September 2026 | Broad Money Supply, M3 |
| 10 September 2026 | Life Insurance Premium |
| 10 September 2026 | Mutual Fund Equity Inflows |
| 10 September 2026 | Corporate Bond Issuance |
| 10 September 2026 | Cargo Traffic at Major Ports |
| 10 September 2026 | General Insurance Premium |
| 10 September 2026 | Tenders Awarded, FY cumulative |
Zerodha Economic Calendar; Zerodha AfterMarket Report
Corporate actions and earnings calendar
The 7 September 2026 Zerodha AfterMarket Report did not include corporate actions, dividend or earnings calendar data. No substitute figures have been generated for this edition. For scheduled corporate actions and results dates, the original report directs readers to the NSE and BSE corporate announcements portals or the Tijori App.
Global pulse
Global index performance
Global markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the strongest major index in the table, rising 2.12%. The Nasdaq 100, Shanghai Composite and FTSE 100 also moved up. The S&P 500, Dow Jones and Hang Seng ended lower.
| Global index | Day’s close | Day’s change | Previous close |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,738.81 | -0.38% | 7,768.71 |
| Dow Jones | 53,435.25 | -0.51% | 53,707.11 |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,618.00 | 0.18% | 29,565.25 |
| Nikkei 225 | 66,399.84 | 2.12% | 65,020.94 |
| Shanghai Composite Index | 3,932.69 | 0.07% | 3,930.11 |
| Hang Seng | 25,413.12 | -0.93% | 25,650.87 |
| FTSE 100 | 10,846.31 | 0.14% | 10,831.09 |
Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 7 September 2026
Zerodha AfterMarket Report
Energy and geopolitics
- Brent crude rose to a six-week high of $97.5 per barrel. This was nearly 40% above pre-war levels. Long-running US-Iran tensions continued to keep oil-supply risks high. Iran said it was close to an agreement with Oman on a tanker route through the Strait of Hormuz. However, continued strikes and the US naval blockade kept the situation uncertain. More than six months after the US-Iran conflict began, Brent crude is again close to $100 per barrel. It approached $98 at one point on Monday. Goldman Sachs sees a possible rise to as high as $120 per barrel, although this is not its base-case forecast.
- The US is increasing diplomatic pressure on Iran. A proposed resolution would refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council because of its lack of cooperation with nuclear inspectors. The International Atomic Energy Agency has been unable to verify Iran’s uranium inventory for 15 months, since Israeli airstrikes began in June 2025.
- Iraq’s state oil-marketing company SOMO reduced discounts for Basrah Medium and Heavy crude loading this month by $9 to $10 per barrel compared with August. Basrah Medium for September was offered at a discount of $15 to $18 per barrel to the benchmark. In August, the discount had been $25 to $27 per barrel.
- Shipping costs have also risen sharply. Daily earnings for a supertanker travelling from the Persian Gulf to China reached $704,025 on Friday, the highest level since at least February 2017.
Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint, 8 September 2026; Bloomberg; Baltic Exchange
Corporate and macro developments
- Jaguar Land Rover plans to cut around 4,000 jobs globally over the next two years as it targets GBP 1.7 billion in savings. The company is facing pressure from Chinese competition, tariffs and other industry challenges. JLR wants to reduce its break-even point towards 300,000 vehicles. The planned job cuts represent around 10% of JLR’s global workforce. The company employs around 33,000 people in the UK and around 40,000 globally. Chief executive P B Balaji said the savings target is GBP 1.7 billion, or $2.3 billion. Revenue fell almost 10% in the latest quarter, while pre-tax profit fell 69% to GBP 109 million.
- The Eurozone economy grew 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2026. The figure was revised up from 0.4% and marked the region’s strongest growth since Q2 2022. Ireland’s GDP rose 10.2%, which was a major reason for the upward revision. Germany grew 0.3%, Spain 0.7% and Italy 0.2%.
- The Japanese yen strengthened to a seven-month high, briefly reaching 154.05 per US dollar. The move was helped by expectations of faster Bank of Japan monetary tightening, capital moving back into Japan and the unwinding of carry trades. The yen strengthened around 1% on Monday.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a EUR 200 million, or $232.5 million, partnership with Greenland.
- Novartis AG’s heart drug pelacarsen failed in a final-stage clinical trial. The drug reduced levels of lipoprotein(a), but this did not lead to fewer deaths, heart attacks or strokes compared with placebo. Novartis shares fell as much as 3.9% in early Zurich trading. Amgen shares fell almost 7% in post-market trading on Friday.
- Huawei introduced the latest version of its ultra-premium trifold smartphone, the Mate XT 2. The device is priced at 19,999 yuan, or $2,980, around 10% more than its predecessor. Xiaomi also introduced the Xiaomi 18 Fold, starting at 10,999 yuan for the 256GB version. Smartphone shipments are expected to fall 14% this year.
- Russia has not ruled out another round of three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv about the war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to discuss the location or exact dates.
- The death toll from flash floods in Nepal rose to 1,355 on Monday. Rescue teams were still searching for 4,996 people, including at least 589 foreign nationals. So far, 13,396 people have been rescued.
Zerodha AfterMarket Report
Zerodha AfterMarket Report; Mint, 8 September 2026; Bloomberg; Counterpoint; AFP; PTI; Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority
Management chatter
Verbatim remarks from named executives and policymakers.
“The most important thing Air India should aspire to have is trust in the minds of people… Our safety record should not just match the best airlines in the world - it should be better than the best.”N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons
“Operational excellence is about getting basics right every day: on-time departures and arrivals, baggage delivery and clean aircraft.”Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO-designate, Air India
“For Maruti, every day is a festive season now… For the first time in Maruti’s history, our van market share in Kerala reached 60%… we are expecting that during the festive season, there will be a further surge in sales.”Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki
“For decades, GCCs were measured by headcount. Increasingly, they will be measured by the innovation they lead, products they build and business outcomes they deliver.”Murali Krishna, Chief Global Officer and Country Head, Providence India
Feature: A $100 Million Pour: Sovereign Money Meets India’s Coffee Build-Out
Why a Singapore sovereign fund is carrying out due diligence on a Gurugram coffee roaster, and what the numbers behind India’s cafe chains show.
The deal on the table
Temasek has moved ahead of TPG and ChrysCapital and is now the only contender for an approximately $100 million stake in Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters.
The proposed transaction includes both primary capital and a secondary component. Primary capital would go into the company, while the secondary portion would allow existing investors to sell some of their holdings.
The possible investment has been estimated at ₹1,000 crore to ₹1,200 crore.
The deal would be one of the largest funding rounds in India’s organised cafe sector. The money would help Blue Tokai expand beyond the largest metro cities.
Blue Tokai completed a ₹175 crore Series D extension in May 2026. The round was led by Anicut Capital, with participation from A91 Emerging Fund, Verlinvest and 12 Flags.
The company was valued at around $235 million in that round. Since it was founded in 2013, Blue Tokai has raised around $130 million in total.
The new round is expected to value the company above its May valuation, although the final details are still being discussed.
Blue Tokai financials
Blue Tokai is operated by Muhavra Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. It was founded in 2013 by Matt Chitharanjan, Namrata Asthana and Shivam Shahi.
Operating revenue rose around 1.5 times to ₹325.4 crore in FY25 from ₹215.8 crore in FY24. Other income was ₹7.3 crore. This took total income to ₹332.7 crore, up 50.5% year-on-year. For comparison, operating revenue was only ₹41 crore in FY21.
The company remained loss-making, but losses narrowed. Net loss fell 20.2% to ₹50.2 crore in FY25 from ₹62.9 crore in FY24. Loss before tax fell almost 40% to ₹39.1 crore from ₹64.2 crore. Blue Tokai had a tax expense of ₹11.1 crore in FY25, compared with a tax gain of more than ₹1 crore in the previous year.
Total expenditure rose 35.3% to ₹385 crore from ₹284.5 crore. The main cost increases were:
- Rent expense rose 67% to ₹55.2 crore from ₹33 crore.
- Cost of materials consumed rose 20% to ₹104.6 crore.
- Employee benefit expense rose 12.6% to ₹94.5 crore.
After the May funding round, A91 Partners held around 23.5% of the company and Verlinvest held 14.6%.
Blue Tokai currently has around 240 cafes and is targeting 800 cafes by FY30. International expansion has already started. The company has a roastery and cafes in Tokyo. It also has a Gulf Cooperation Council master-franchise agreement with Ambrosia Gulf, which has opened the first UAE outlet.
Muhavra Enterprises Pvt. Ltd filings with the Registrar of Companies
India’s out-of-home coffee market
Redseer Strategy Consultants estimates India’s out-of-home coffee market at around $1.8 billion in CY25. It expects the market to double to around $3.5 billion to $4 billion by 2030. This implies a compound annual growth rate of 15% to 18%.
An earlier Redseer estimate had put the market at $2.6 billion to $3.2 billion by 2028, with growth of 15% to 20% a year.
Mrigank Gutgutia, partner at Redseer, has said the market is becoming more premium. For more mature customers, demand is moving away from only access and convenience towards personalisation, provenance and craft. He links this shift directly to the growth of specialty coffee.
Customers in smaller cities are at an earlier stage of the market. They are still becoming familiar with coffee and are more likely to visit cafes as an occasion or social activity.
Redseer has described India’s out-of-home coffee market as one that was once overshadowed by the country’s strong tea culture. Coffee is now becoming more of a lifestyle and experiential product, particularly among urban consumers.
Redseer Strategy Consultants
Competition among cafe chains
The market is becoming increasingly crowded and well funded.
Tata Starbucks, the 50:50 joint venture between Tata Consumer Products and Starbucks, began operations in 2012. It now operates 502 stores and added a net 23 stores in FY26. Management plans to add 50 to 100 stores a year. Tata Starbucks estimates that it has around 30% market share and has stated a long-term ambition of reaching 8,000 outlets in India.
The broader branded coffee-shop market grew 12.7% year-on-year to 5,339 outlets.
Third Wave Coffee raised ₹408 crore, around $43 million, in August 2026. Existing investor WestBridge Capital led the round, with participation from Creaegis. The funding took Third Wave’s total capital raised to more than $105 million. The Bengaluru-based chain was valued at around ₹2,000 crore, up from around ₹1,200 crore in 2023. It currently operates more than 240 cafes and is targeting 320 by the end of the current financial year. The company aims to add around 100 cafes each year and is also expanding its dessert business, Third Rush Desserts, under chief executive Rajat Luthra.
Blue Tokai also competes with Subko, Tim Hortons, Pret A Manger and the chai-focused Chaayos.
Redseer Strategy Consultants; Tracxn; company reports
Costs, channels and future plans
Across organised cafe chains, revenue is rising as companies open more stores and consumer demand increases.
However, fixed and operating costs are also rising. Employee costs, raw materials and rent are among the largest expenses for cafe-led businesses.
Blue Tokai earns revenue through both direct-to-consumer channels and B2B partnerships with hotels, offices and co-working spaces.
The company has been reported to be working towards a public listing in 2027. Blue Tokai had 2,872 employees as of August 2025.
Sources for the feature
Entrackr; Inc42; Restaurant India; Redseer Strategy Consultants; Deccan Herald; YourStory; Indian Startup Times; Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance; Indian Retailer; Tracxn; retailintel.in. Financial figures for Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters are based on filings by Muhavra Enterprises Pvt. Ltd with the Registrar of Companies, as reported by the sources above.
Closing note
Market data: Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 7 September 2026 close. Macro, corporate and global: Mint Mumbai print edition, 8 September 2026. Feature: externally sourced material as credited in the section. This is a news aggregation brief. It carries no analysis, opinion or investment advice.