HAL bags a mega defence order

Pharma bets, tech tie-ups & India’s mustard revolution.

🗓 Morning, folks!

Indian markets slid for the fifth straight day on Thursday, with Nifty dipping below the key level of 24,900.

Barring metals and defence, every sector closed in the red. IT stocks continued their losing streak, sinking for the fifth session, while TCS hit a 52-week low.

Foreign investors have withdrawn $21.5 billion from Indian markets in the first nine months of the year, as domestic equities continue to lag global peers. In dollar terms, Indian markets have gained only 1-2% year-to-date, significantly underperforming US, Asian, and European benchmarks.

💡 Spotlight: Smartphone exports ring louder 📱

India’s smartphone exports jumped 39% YoY in August 2025, hitting $1.53B versus $1.09B last year. Shipments to the US more than doubled, up 148% to $965M.

Traditionally, August and September are slow months thanks to plant upgrades, new launches, and festive demand at home. Yet, in the first five months of FY26, exports have already hit a record ₹1 lakh crore, up 55% from last year.

1 Big thing: HAL lands ₹67,000 crore Tejas deal ✈️

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) gained on Thursday after the Defence Ministry signed a ₹67,000 crore contract for 97 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets. The stock ended more than 1% higher.

The numbers: this new deal builds on a ₹47,000 crore contract for 83 jets signed back in 2021. With the fresh order, HAL’s backlog could swell by 35%, adding heft to its already massive $22B order book.

Why it matters: Tejas is India’s homegrown fighter jet, a key pillar of the self-reliance drive in defence.

On the economic front, it’s a ₹67,000 crore injection into India’s aerospace ecosystem. For the Air Force, it adds a modern, combat-ready fleet that can hold its own against regional rivals.

Big theme: defence spending is ramping up as India modernises its air fleet. With global tensions rising and neighbours beefing up arsenals, the Tejas Mk-1A deal is about ensuring India has an indigenous fighter fleet ready to defend its skies.

Worth noting: on Wednesday, L&T and BEL teamed up to power the Indian Air Force’s advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) programme. This is India’s first fifth-generation fighter jet project.

2. Glenmark Pharma taps China’s Hengrui for cancer therapy 💊

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals’ arm, Glenmark Specialty S.A. (GSSA), has announced a licensing deal with Chinese drugmaker Hengrui Pharma. The deal is for GSSA’s lung and breast cancer drug, Trastuzumab Rezetecan which is still under development.

Trastuzumab Rezetecan is a cancer drug developed by Hengrui. The drug is not for all lung cancer patients. It’s approved only for those with a particular genetic marker and advanced disease, usually after other treatments haven’t worked.

Why it matters: this deal gives Glenmark access to cancer therapy in the fast-growing field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), a key area in oncology innovation. It strengthens Glenmark’s pipeline and supports its shift toward specialty medicines, while giving Hengrui a way to tap global markets without setting up its own infrastructure.

Big picture: the global Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) market is projected to grow from about $11.4 billion in 2024 to nearly $32 billion by 2034, at an annual rate of ~10.8%.

Just this week, Alkem had launched Pertuza, a homegrown biosimilar for HER2-positive breast cancer, proven in phase 3 trials to offer safe, affordable care.

While, we are on deals,

IPCA Labs has signed a definitive technology transfer and joint development agreement with US-based BioSimilar Sciences PR LLC (BSS) for a next-generation monoclonal antibody biosimilar aimed at treating cancer and autoimmune diseases.

A monoclonal antibody biosimilar is a near-copy of an original antibody drug, designed to treat diseases like cancer and autoimmune conditions affordably.

What’s happening: under the agreement, IPCA will hand over late-stage development, clinical manufacturing, and commercial supply of the biosimilar to BSS.

Why it matters: the partnership taps OcyonBio’s Puerto Rico facility, capable of producing 60 million sterile units annually under FDA oversight. For India’s IPCA, it strengthens global biotech presence and opens access to US markets.

3. Newgen signs $4.5 million deal with TCS in Belgium ☁️

Newgen Software gained more than 3% after its UK arm signed a $4.5 million, five-year Master Service Agreement with TCS N.V., Belgium.

Newgen is known for its workflow automation and content management platforms. This deal strengthens its overseas play through its fully owned UK subsidiary.

The deets: the agreement covers cloud hosting, software licences, and implementation services. The company will roll out a modern cloud-based enterprise records management platform for an end customer in Belgium.

Why it matters: this deal strengthens its positioning as a cloud-first enterprise tech player, moving beyond India into lucrative Western markets.

For the end customer in Belgium, it means access to a modern, secure, and compliant cloud-based records management platform. This comes at a time when EU regulations around data storage and governance are tightening.

Zoom out: enterprises are moving away from paper-heavy or on-premise systems to cloud-first platforms that are faster and regulation-ready. The larger game is about who controls this transition.

Together, they’re competing for a slice of the multi-billion-euro European enterprise cloud market, which is only getting hotter as compliance and data sovereignty become non-negotiable.

4. Emergent raises $23 million to power app creation 🚀

Emergent has raised $23 million in Series A funding led by Lightspeed, with participation from Together Fund, Y Combinator, Prosus Ventures.

Emergent’s no-code platform lets entrepreneurs build ready-to-use apps, with AI agents managing coding, testing, deployment, servers, payments, and scaling.

In just 90 days since launch, the platform claims to have achieved $15 million in annual recurring revenue, with over one million users building more than 1.5 million apps globally.

Big theme: India’s low-code/no-code market, valued at ~$400 million in FY21, could reach $4 billion by 2025, growing at ~28% annually.

With global projections hitting $207 billion by 2032, India is well-positioned. Startups like Replit, Lovable are driving this shift, making app creation accessible, localised, and powered by AI for millions.

5. AWL inks MoU to drive India’s mustard revolution 🚜

AWL Agri Business signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Solvent Extractors’ Association and Solidaridad Regional Expertise Centre to develop sustainable mustard farming in India. The stock gained more than 3% following the update.

AWL Agri Business is an FMCG company that offers varied kitchen staples from farm to consumer.

Solvent extraction is a pharmaceutical process of separating a substance from a mixture by dissolving it in a solvent. For instance, a solvent like hexane is used to extract vegetable oils from seeds. The SEA is the apex body that overlooks this industry at large.

The Solidaridad Regional Expertise Centre is an organisation that works to promote sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture.

The deets: the three organisations will come together to further the Regenerative Mustard Mission. Under the partnership 3,000 mustard farms will be established across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.

Zoom out: the move is aimed to boost mustard and mustard oil production in the country. It furthers India’s National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Seeds.

It will also help cut down import dependency for oil in the country and help India become more self-reliant in the seed/edible oil space.

IMARC

6. Stock that kept us interested

1. Maharashtra Seamless bags orders worth ₹265 crore 💰

Maharashtra Seamless secured an order worth ₹256 crore to supply seamless pipes in the oil and gas sector.

Maharashtra Seamless is a Raigad-based steel and pipe manufacturer that caters to power, oil, and infrastructure sectors.

The deets: the order has been placed by a domestic oil and gas player for high-grade seamless pipes used in drilling and transportation.

Why it matters: India’s seamless steel pipes market is anticipated to grow at a rate of 5.2% from 2025 to 2031.

The government’s push for industrialisation and rising demand for pipes due to increased oil and gas exploration makes the market lucrative for companies like Maharashtra Seamless to shine.