Newsletter
Make-In-India mobile push, US debt hits $40 trillion, and Deep pockets for Welspun.
šļø Morning, folks and Happy Mondayyyy! āļø
Want a job at SpaceX? You might want to skip the aerospace degree.
Elon Muskās SpaceX is hiring a natural gas trader to manage the companyās growing energy needs as it expands its rocket and chipmaking ambitions.
The company plans to build its own gas-fired power plants and pipelines, and could even drill for its own gas.
The reason? Its massive Starship rockets run on methane, while its planned Texas chipmaking facility will need huge amounts of electricity. Safe to say, SpaceX is getting into the energy business too.
Speaking of business, letās talk about the market.
After two weeks of declines, Dalal Street could see some consolidation this week, with crude oil prices and the US-Iran conflict likely to remain key drivers.
Whatās happening: tensions remain high as Washington prepares fresh sanctions against Tehran. Iranās top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, warned that countries joining the US economic campaign could be treated as āenemies.ā
Rezaei also said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless the US fulfills its commitments under a June peace memorandum.
Global watch: investors will closely track the Jackson Hole symposium, an annual gathering of central bankers and policymakers in Wyoming, for clues from the Fed chair on where US interest rates could head next.
Back home: investors will watch Indiaās July industrial production data and foreign exchange reserves for the week ended August 21.
š” Spotlight: America owes HOW much? š
Do you know how many zeroes there are in a trillion? Twelve. Thatās 1,000,000,000,000.
Why are we talking about zeroes? Because total U.S. debt has crossed $40 trillion for the first time, according to the U.S. Treasury.
The how: the debt has continued to rise despite President Donald Trump making government cost-cutting a key part of his second term.
Why does it matter to us: U.S. government debt sits at the heart of the global financial system. The Treasury market is the worldās largest and most liquid bond market, while the U.S. dollar remains the worldās primary reserve currency.
If investors begin losing confidence in Americaās ability to manage its debt, U.S. borrowing costs could rise and volatility could spill into stock, bond and currency markets worldwide.
Letās hit it! šŖš»
1 Big Thing: āMake-in-Indiaā comes for the phonesš±
India is rolling out a ā¹62,500 crore mobile manufacturing scheme to boost production and encourage companies to make more phones and components locally.
Breaking it down: the scheme will run for five years, from FY27 to FY31. Companies can receive incentives ranging from 2.25% to 5% of eligible sales, depending on the category they fall under.
The scheme has two main segments. The first targets mobile phone manufacturers, which can receive incentives of 2.25-5%.
The second focuses on Indian mobile brands, which can get incentives of 5%, plus an additional 3% for Indian product design and R&D.
Both categories can also receive an extra 1.5% incentive for sourcing specified components and sub-assemblies domestically.
Why does India need this: India is already the worldās second-largest mobile phone manufacturer by volume, and around 99% of the phones sold domestically are now made in the country. Mobile phones also emerged as Indiaās single-largest product export category in 2025.
But while India makes a huge number of phones, many of the components that go inside them still come from overseas. That is what the government now wants to change.
The bigger goal: the government expects the scheme to generate around ā¹39 lakh crore worth of mobile phone production.
There is also a push to create stronger homegrown smartphone brands. IT and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India could see three new domestic companies capable of developing smartphones within the next 10-14 months.
2. All about Welspunās biggest order šø
Welspun Corp had a very good Friday. The steel pipe maker has bagged the largest single order in its history, worth around ā¹17,200 crore ($1.8 billion), to supply pipes from its manufacturing facility in the US.
The announcement sent the stock to a record high, with shares eventually closing about 15% higher.
Before we get into why a pipe order has the market this excited, a little context.
The company makes large steel pipes used to move things such as oil, natural gas and water over long distances.
About the order: now, Welspun hasnāt disclosed the customer or the exact project. But the timeline here is important. The company will manufacture and deliver the pipes over the next couple of years.
The value of this one contract was roughly one-third of Welspunās market capitalisation when it was announced.
Zoom out: the US is spending heavily on new energy infrastructure. More LNG export capacity means more pipelines are needed to move natural gas. New oil and gas infrastructure needs pipes too.
Then AI unexpectedly enters the pipe chat.
During its Q1 earnings call, Welspun described US demand as very buoyant, pointing not only to LNG export infrastructure but also to rising electricity demand from AI-powered data centres.
Yes, somewhere down the AI supply chain, apparently even giant steel pipes get invited to the party.
3. Atomberg gets D-street ready šŖ
Appliance maker Atomberg Technologies has filed its DRHP with market regulator SEBI for an IPO.
For context, Atomberg is a deep-tech, R&D-led consumer appliance company best known for its fans.
The deets: the company plans to raise up to ā¹450 crore by issuing new shares, while existing shareholders will also sell up to 7.65 crore shares as part of the IPO.
Fans remain Atombergās stronghold. The company held a 46% share of Indiaās premium fan segment by cumulative sales value in FY26, according to a Redseer report cited in its DRHP.
Zoom out: Atomberg is preparing to go public as Indiaās consumer appliances market continues to grow, with the industry estimated at $4.69 billion in FY26, according to the draft papers.
While we are on IPOs šø,
Online stockbroking platform Upstox is reportedly in talks with investment banks for a potential IPO that could raise around $350-400 million.
If it goes ahead, Upstox could become the second major Indian online broking platform to hit Dalal Street within a year.
In November, Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent company of Groww, raised ā¹6,630 crore ($693 million) through its IPO.
4. How Indiaās expenses stack up š¤
Food prices donāt hit every Indian household the same way.
In rural India, food and beverages make up more than half of the CPI basket, compared with just over a third in urban India. Meanwhile, housing accounts for over a fifth of urban CPI but doesnāt feature separately in the rural basket.
That means the same price shock can produce very different inflation experiences.
A spike in vegetables or cereals has an outsized impact on rural inflation, while urban households are relatively more exposed to housing and services.
5. Stocks that kept us interested š
What went up ā¬ļø
š Pace Digitek rose 3% after its subsidiary Lineage Power secured a ā¹92.9 crore battery energy storage system order.
šŖš» Urban Company jumped 9% after UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating, pointing to strong growth potential in online home services.
šø JBM Auto jumped 8% after reports said Bain Capital may invest around ā¹3,000 crore in the company.
ā¬ļø Shanthi Gears hit the upper circuit, rising nearly 20% after Tube Investments of India acquired a stake in the gear and gearbox maker.
āļø Zodiac Energy gained 2% after it secured an order to build a 2,500 kWp ground-mounted solar plant in Uttar Pradesh.
What went down ā¬ļø
š InterGlobe Aviation slipped after Indiaās domestic air passenger traffic fell 4.8% YoY to 1.20 crore in July.
š»Infosys fell after Kotak downgraded the stock to Add from Buy following a sharp rebound in Indian IT shares.
What else are we snackinā šæ
š«” D-street debut: Gemini Edibles & Fats India filed for an IPO comprising an offer for sale of up to 4.12 crore shares.
ā” Power deal: Power Grid won a Gujarat electricity transmission project that will earn it an annual payment of ā¹823 crore for operating the network.
šš» Bittersweet Friday: shares of sugar companies, including Balrampur Chini and Dhampur Sugar tumbled after India allowed duty-free imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar until October 31.
Thatās a wrap! Donāt let the Monday blues get to you.
And if youād like to place your brand on this newsletter, let us know.
Hit that š if you liked this issue.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational and research purposes only. Nothing here should be considered financial, investment, legal, or professional advice.
