Newsletter
Sugar stocks surge, JSW Steel gets mega investment & Spacetech funding boost.
🗓️ Morning, folks and congratulations on making it through the first quarter of 2026.
Markets started the week on a weak note, with benchmark indices falling over 2%.
But sugar stocks including Dhampur Sugar Mills Limited, Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Limited, Dwarikesh Sugar Industries Limited rallied between 6-14%, even as the rest of the market slipped.
Why the rally: a sharp rise in crude oil prices. When oil gets expensive, ethanol becomes a more attractive fuel alternative. That’s good news for sugar companies, many of which now make ethanol too.
Plus, tighter global supply and a weaker rupee could help boost exports, adding to the upside.
A weaker rupee further adds to the advantage by making Indian sugar more competitive in global markets, potentially boosting export realisations.
Let’s hit it! 💪🏻
1 Big thing: Vedanta takes Adani’s Jaypee deal to Supreme Court ⚔️
Vedanta has moved the Supreme Court, challenging Adani’s ₹14,543 crore takeover of Jaiprakash Associates (JAL).
What’s going on: this is part of the Jaypee insolvency case, where lenders were trying to sell JAL’s assets (land, cement, real estate) to recover dues. Both Vedanta and Adani were in the race, but lenders backed Adani’s bid, which got 93.8% approval from creditors.
Vedanta is now alleging that its higher offer (~₹12,500 crore NPV) was ignored unfairly. It claims the process lacked transparency and that it wasn’t given a proper chance to revise or explain its bid.
Lenders, however, say this isn’t just about the highest number. They chose Adani because it offered faster payouts (~₹6,000 crore upfront) and a quicker timeline (~2 years), compared to Vedanta’s longer payment plan of up to 5 years.
Why this is big: this is about how India’s bankruptcy system works. The case involves ₹60,000+ crore in claims and valuable assets like 4,000 acres of land near Noida airport, cement capacity, and real estate projects.
Supreme Court’s decision could set a major precedent. If Vedanta wins, it could challenge how lenders evaluate bids, especially the balance between highest value vs fastest recovery.
If Adani’s plan holds, it reinforces the current system where speed, certainty, and execution matter more than just the highest bid.
2. Why is Japan investing ₹7,875 crore in JSW Steel? 🇯🇵
Japan’s JFE Steel is investing ₹7,875 crore (and another ₹7,875 crore later) in JSW’s steel business.
The why: Japan’s domestic steel demand is stagnant, while India is one of the fastest-growing steel markets in the world.
By partnering with JSW, JFE gets direct access to this growth story without building from scratch. It also gets a foothold in a market where demand is driven by infrastructure, manufacturing, and urbanisation.
In return, JFE brings advanced steelmaking technology, especially for high-grade and specialised steel.
Background: the core of this partnership is the Bhushan Power & Steel (BPSL) steel business, which JSW acquired earlier as a stressed asset.
JSW has moved this steel business into a new company it runs together with JFE. This helps JSW grow production quickly using existing plants, while JFE helps improve quality and efficiency with better technology.
While we are on deals,
CMS Info Systems is acquiring the ATM managed services business of Financial Software and Systems Private Limited (FSS) for ₹115 crore.
Breaking it down: the deal will add around 8,000 ATMs to CMS’s network and bring in new private bank clients.
The why: CMS wants to strengthen its position as a one-stop partner for banks, handling everything from ATM operations to tech solutions.
Zoom out: despite the digital payments boom, ATMs are still critical in India, especially in cash-heavy regions.
CMS’s ATM business already generates around ₹1,300 crore in revenue, and is expected to grow steadily, showing that cash + digital will coexist for a long time.
3. Bellatrix Aerospace lands $20M 🚀
Spacetech startup Bellatrix Aerospace has raised $20 million in a pre-Series B round led by Cactus Partners.
Bellatrix Aerospace builds advanced propulsion systems that help satellites move, stay in orbit, and operate efficiently in space missions.
Big theme: India’s private space sector is starting to hit its stride. The ambition is to grow from an $8.4 billion market in 2022 to $44 billion by 2033, and capture 8% of the global space economy.
The government is clearly leaning in as well. Over the last decade, the space budget has nearly tripled, going from ₹5,615 crore to ₹13,416 crore.
While we’re on spacetech, we also spent some time with Agnikul Cosmos to see how this whole “private space” story in India is actually playing out on the ground. For the longest time, space was almost entirely ISRO’s domain.
But that’s starting to change. With policy opening up and satellite demand picking up, private companies are finally stepping in and building real capabilities.
Agnikul is a great example of that shift. They’re building small satellite launch vehicles, a fully 3D-printed rocket engine, and even their own mobile launchpad. Full story here 👇
While we are on fundraises 💸,
Furniture and appliances rental startup Rentomojo has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI, aiming to raise ₹150 crore through a fresh issue in its upcoming IPO.
Breaking it down: Rentomojo isn’t just another player in the space, it’s currently leading the organised online rental market, holding an estimated 42-47% share based on subscription revenue in FY25.
4. Who leads India’s broking race? 👀
India’s broking space is now clearly a scale game led by new-age platforms.
What’s interesting is the shift: discount brokers and app-first platforms are dominating, while traditional players like ICICI Direct, HDFC Securities, and Kotak trail behind in user scale.
This reflects a bigger trend - India’s investing boom is being driven by younger, mobile-first users, not legacy relationships.
5. How India moved away from Chinese CCTV? 📹
India has tightened the screws on CCTV cameras, and it’s pushing Chinese giants like Hikvision, Dahua and even some TP-Link products out of the market from April 1, 2026.
Breaking it down: every internet-connected camera now needs STQC certification to be sold in India.
That means disclosing where components come from, clearing cybersecurity checks, and passing deep testing. Many Chinese-linked products aren’t getting approved.
This didn’t happen overnight. The rules were introduced in April 2024 with a two-year transition window. That window has now closed, and non-compliant inventory is no longer allowed in the market.
Companies like CP Plus have been the biggest winners, with market share jumping from ~20-25% to nearly 45-50% in a short span as they adapted early to the new rules.
6. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
What went up ⬆️
🔩 Shares of aluminium companies gained up to 4% after the metal prices jumped to four-year highs on Monday after the Middle East’s two largest producers sustained damages from Iranian attacks.
🏠 Urban Company shares rose nearly 4% on Monday as InstaHelp crossed 1 million monthly bookings after exceeding 50,000 daily orders in February.
☀️ Solarworld Energy Solutions ended with gains in a weak market after the company bagged ₹314-cr BESS EPC order from NTPC
What went down ⬇️
🏦 Banking stocks fell up to 4.5% after RBI tightened exposure limits, raising concerns over forced unwinding and potential trading losses.
🍕 Jubilant Food fell 4% amid concerns over LPG supply disruptions linked to the ongoing geopolitical situation.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
📦 Packaging giant: Blackstone and Indorama Ventures agreed to merge their packaging businesses in India, creating a $2 billion player with about $1 billion in annual sales.
💊 AI deal: Insilico Medicine secured a $2.75 billion drug collaboration with Eli Lilly.
📄 IPO move: Zetwerk filed confidentially for an IPO, with top bankers including Kotak, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs onboard.
🛢️ Fuel access: the government allowed kerosene sales at petrol pumps to speed up supply to households amid the global energy crunch.
🏭 IIP rises: India’s IIP growth picked up to 5.2% in February, driven by capital goods and manufacturing, though consumption demand remained weak.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the Monday blues get to you.
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