India gets a solid rating

Mission exports, Diagnostics IPO, and Domestic investments surge.

🗓 Morning, folks!

Markets kicked off the week on a high as Nifty and Sensex closed in the green.

Strong buying in IT stocks and rising hopes of a US Fed rate cut in September powered the gains. The broader market, however, stayed muted, signalling cautious optimism among investors.

💡 Spotlight: Fitch just gave India a vote of confidence, reaffirming its long-term credit rating at BBB- with a stable outlook.

The agency highlighted India’s solid growth story, projecting GDP to rise 6.5% in FY26, plus strong external finances. It said steady growth and better fiscal discipline could gradually push debt down and lift per-capita income.

But there’s a catch: Trump’s proposed 50% tariff on Indian imports could cloud the outlook, though Fitch thinks talks will likely tone it down.

Bottom line: India’s growth story still has rating agencies in its corner, even as trade risks loom.

1 Big Thing: Government unveils ₹25,000 crore mission for exporters 💰

The Indian government is working on a support package of nearly ₹25,000 crore for exporters as part of the newly announced Export Promotion Mission - EPM.

The Export Promotion Mission aims to boost India’s exports by removing hurdles for exporters, especially MSMEs, and ensuring growth is broad-based, inclusive, and sustainable.

What’s happening: the package is aimed to boost outbound shipments over the next six years.

The EPM will have two sub-schemes designed to make credit more accessible and affordable for exporters.

The plan will run for six years and has two parts:

Niryat Protsahan (₹10,000+ crore): gives exporters easier access to credit, offers interest support, and even credit cards for e-commerce exporters.
Niryat Disha (₹14,500+ crore): focuses on improving export quality, branding, logistics, and helping Indian firms reach global value chains.

Worth noting: the move comes at a time when Indian exporters are facing fresh headwinds, including the US decision to hike tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 50%, effective August 27.

2. 360 ONE buys 50% stake in Bluegrass Business Park for ₹2400 cr 🏢

360 ONE Asset has bought a 50% stake in Bluegrass Business Park from Brookfield’s real estate fund for ₹2,400 crore.

Brookfield, a global asset manager with $900 billion in assets under management, invests across real estate, renewables, infrastructure, and private equity in more than 30 countries.

The deets: Bluegrass Business Park in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar spans 2 million square feet of premium office space. It includes a fully operational one-million-square-foot tower leased to Mastercard, along with another office tower currently under construction.

The deal marks a first-of-its-kind partnership between a global institutional investor and an India-focused alternatives fund, with Brookfield continuing to manage, develop, and lease the property.

Why it matters: The acquisition strengthens Brookfield’s India real estate portfolio, which includes both office and retail assets. In offices alone, it owns and operates about 55 million square feet nationwide, underscoring its position as one of India’s largest institutional landlords.

3. OYO to file DRHP in November, eyes $7-8 bn IPO valuation 🚀

OYO is expected to file its DRHP in November at a valuation of $7-8 billion.

The deets: the SoftBank-backed budget hotel unicorn has ramped up its discussion with key banking partners in the last few weeks. The company was eyeing a market debut by October 2025, but the listing plan has now been delayed. This was attributed to market volatility in the wake of tariff policies.

Will OYO be third time lucky?

OYO first attempted to go public in 2021, targeting a valuation of up to $12 billion. However, the plan was shelved due to the pandemic's impact.

In March 2023, the company made a second attempt, filing its IPO papers confidentially with SEBI. Despite this, the listing was later postponed until May, and has since been delayed further.

By the numbers: OYO reported a 54% increase in gross booking value to ₹16,436 crore and its revenue grew to ₹6,463 crore in FY25. This has renewed investor confidence in OYO’s business model, promoting the fresh attempt at going public.

Analysts believe the revised $7-8 billion valuation reflects a more cautious, realistic pitch compared to its earlier $12 billion ambition, making this attempt its strongest yet.

While we are on IPOs,

Molbio Diagnostics is gearing up for their IPO, looking to raise ₹200 crore from the markets. It will also issue an offer-for-sale of 1.25 crore equity shares.

The Goa-based company provides point-of-care molecular diagnostics which provides speedy diagnoses for diseases like tuberculosis, COVID-19, influenza, dengue etc.

The deets: in FY25, the company reported revenues of ₹1,020 crore, up 22% from FY24 and profit of ₹138.57 crore, up 65% from FY24.

Zoom out: the market for rapid molecular testing is in its nascent stage in India. Molbio’s subsidiary, Truenat, is the only one platform for testing TB in India and hence there is a lack of strong competition.

India’s diagnostic industry is also poised to grow at a CAGR of 12-14% reaching a valuation of $25 billion by 2028. This places Molbio Diagnostics in a unique position to capture a dominant share of the market and become a key player.

4. WinZO and Dream11 pivot after RMG ban 🎮

India’s blanket ban on real-money gaming this week has pushed sector heavyweights to redraw their playbooks, with WinZO and Dream11 already testing fresh pivots.

Who’s pivoting?

WinZO: branching into micro dramas and subscription services. The platform has also expanded to the US (its third international market after Brazil) and launched WinZO TV, offering short drama videos to its 250 million users. Its new content play pits it against Flick TV, Kuku TV, QuickTV, Reel Saga, Reelies, Chai Shots, and Eloelo.
Dream11 parent Dream Sports: piloting Dream Money, a personal finance app. Users can invest in gold, set up SIPs starting at ₹10, and park money in fixed deposits from ₹1,000. Built with Augmont, the app allows instant withdrawals without a bank account.

The bigger picture: Multiple gaming firms are preparing to challenge the new RMG law, which bans any online game involving monetary deposits with the promise of winnings. Petitions are expected in several high courts.

Banks and payment firms, meanwhile, have already tightened checks on RMG-linked transactions. The law threatens penalties of up to three years in jail and fines of ₹1 crore for institutions processing such payments.

5. Kiwi lands $24 million to fuel India’s digital credit boom 💳

Kiwi has raised $24 million in Series B funding round, led by Vertex Ventures South East and India.

Kiwi lets people use RuPay credit cards directly on UPI, so they can pay anywhere UPI is accepted while still enjoying the benefits of credit.

The deets: since inception, the startup claims to have issued over 2 lakh RuPay Credit Cards and currently facilitates more than 5 million monthly merchant transactions across 600 cities. The firm has set a target of issuing 1 million RuPay credit cards by 2027.

Why it matters: India has over 350 million unique UPI users which is around eight to ten times the number of credit card users. The funding comes as fintech rivals such as LazyPay, OneCard, Uni and Slice step up efforts to expand credit through UPI. The acceptance network for credit on UPI is estimated to be 35 times larger than that of traditional credit cards, highlighting the vast growth potential.

6. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀

1. Mazagon Dock rallies on submarine deal buzz 🚢

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders rose 4% after reports that the Ministry of Defence has cleared the company to begin cost negotiations with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems for building six submarines under the ₹70,000 crore Project 75 (I).

The deets: Thyssenkrupp is expected to bring engineering and design expertise, while Mazagon Dock will handle the construction. If the contract materialises, it will be one of the largest defence deals in India’s naval history, boosting domestic shipbuilding capacity.

Zoom out: India has been pushing hard to modernise its submarine fleet as security concerns rise in the Indian Ocean region, where China has expanded its presence. For Mazagon Dock, this deal could cement its role as the Navy’s key shipbuilder.

2. NBCC bags ₹3,700 cr Rajasthan project 💸

NBCC (India) shares inched up after the company was picked as the lead agency for a major development project in Jaipur.

What’s happening: the ₹3,700 crore project will be built over 95 acres of land owned by the Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation (RIICO) along the Tonk Road B2 Bypass. The plan includes the Rajasthan Mandapam Convention Centre, a Global Capability Centre tower, IT tower, luxury hotels, and commercial and residential facilities. The convention centre itself will spread over 25 acres, with a seating capacity of 7,000–7,500, aimed at positioning Rajasthan as a hub for global events.

Why it matters: for NBCC, this adds another marquee project to its portfolio across project management, EPC, and real estate. For Rajasthan, it marks a big push in positioning Jaipur as a convention and IT hub, while boosting jobs, tourism, and investments into the state’s infrastructure ecosystem.

3. Ola Electric stock rides on motorcycle EV push ⚡

Shares of Ola Electric rose nearly 3% on Monday after reports that NITI Aayog has called a meeting with major two-wheeler makers to fast-track motorcycle electrification.

Fast-tracking motorcycle electrification cuts fuel costs, lowers pollution, boosts clean mobility, reduces oil dependence, and drives EV jobs and innovation.

Executives from Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, Ola Electric, Ather Energy and Revolt are expected to join the deliberations.

Why it matters: government estimates say electric scooters could make up 80% of sales by 2030, but motorcycles may only reach 10%, pulling overall two-wheeler electrification to about 36%, far below policy goals.

Officials are likely to consider steps such as boosting production, lowering upfront prices, battery-swapping systems and flexible financing options to make electric motorcycles cheaper and more competitive.

What else are we snackin’ 🍿

🎨 AI collab: Meta is teaming up with Midjourney to bring its AI image and video tech into future Meta products, as Big Tech races to dominate creative AI.

💰 DII surge: Domestic institutional investors poured in a record $80 billion over the past year, more than double the $40 billion foreign outflows, cushioning Indian markets from global shocks.

⚖️ Byju’s showdown: Qatar’s wealth fund is dragging Byju Raveendran to Indian courts to recover $235 million from a defaulted loan.