India signs its biggest gas deal yet

Credit card boom, Nvidia’s $1B 6G play, and Varun Bev’s beer debut.

🗓 Morning, folks!

Markets closed higher on Wednesday, powered by metal and financial stocks and a comeback from the Adani Group. Both Sensex and Nifty ended in the green as investors piled into heavyweights after a strong earnings show.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap index hit a one-year high before cooling off to end slightly lower.

Broader sentiment stayed positive, with Adani Group stocks rallying up to 11%, keeping the market buzz alive through the week.

💡 Spotlight: Swipe season hits a new high 💳

India just logged its highest-ever credit card spends at a whopping ₹2.17 trillion in September 2025, up 14% month-on-month.

The surge came on the back of festive shopping, cashback offers, and a little nudge from recent GST cuts that made big-ticket buys lighter on the wallet.

For context, spends had last peaked at ₹2.02 trillion in October 2024, showing how consumption is roaring back. With cards buzzing and wallets wide open, India’s festive season is clearly off to a flying start.

Let’s hit it!

1. Big thing: India seals long-term LNG deal with Qatar 🔥

India’s Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) signed a 17-year Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply deal with QatarEnergy. Under the agreement, Qatar will supply up to 1 million tonnes of LNG per year starting 2026, delivered directly to Indian terminals.

This is GSPC’s second long-term deal with QatarEnergy after their first pact in 2019.

For India, the deal ensures steady gas supply as demand rises and global prices stay unpredictable.

Operational flow: QatarEnergy will supply the LNG from its liquefaction and export infrastructure.

GSPC will receive cargoes at Indian LNG terminals, unload the LNG, regasify it, and then distribute the gas through its pipelines, industrial connections and commercial network.

Why it matters: India is leaning on natural gas as a bridge fuel in its clean energy journey. The goal is to increase gas share in the energy mix to 15% by 2030, up from around 6% now.

Zoom out: India already ranks as the fourth-largest LNG importer in the world, accounting for about 7% of global imports.

The country currently operates eight LNG terminals with a combined capacity of 52.7 million tonnes and plans to scale that up to 66.7 million tonnes by 2030, a 27% jump.

2. Will Nvidia’s $1 billion bet in Nokia fulfill its 6G dreams? 📱

Nokia just announced that the chipmaking giant Nvidia is buying a 2.9% stake for $1 billion in the company. Nokia’s shares soared 22%, highest in a decade, on the back of this news.

Breaking it down: under the deal, Nokia will issue 166 million new shares to Nvidia. While Nvidia will supply a new programmable computer that will undertake wireless communication, direct mobile traffic, and run AI processes at the same time.

Apart from its ultra high-speed, 6G technology is more sustainable, easier to integrate into everyday devices, and compatible with artificial intelligence than previous generations. And unlike other generations, 6G technology requires AI at multiple levels to be developed at scale.

Why Nokia: the company brings in an established network that could be easily scaled and decades-old telecommunication expertise. Besides, it is also shifting its focus to develop data centres to power AI-related smartphones making it a suitable partner for Nvidia’s 6G goals.

Where India stands: India has already achieved self-reliance in semiconductors. Now 6G is the country’s next foray. The government is already boosting the space with policies like the National Telecom Policy 2025 where international-quality spectrum bands are being developed.

While we are on deals,

OpenAI finalised its capital structure giving long-time backer Microsoft a 27% stake in the business.

The deets: OpenAI is converting its core business into a for-profit entity called OpenAI Group PBC. It will still remain under the control of its non-profit arm, OpenAI Foundation.

The move basically gives both Microsoft and OpenAI more flexibility to pursue their diverging ambitions.

What will change: after the restructure, Microsoft will get a

27% stake in OpenAI worth $135 million.
Access to OpenAi’s advanced services till 2032.
20% of Open AI’s revenues till the company achieves AGI.

3. BPCL & Oil India to build a ₹1 lakh crore refinery in Andhra Pradesh 🛢️

Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Oil India (OIL) have agreed to work together on setting up a new oil refinery and petrochemical plant near Ramayapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh.

The project, still in the planning stage, will be one of India’s biggest, with a capacity to process 9–12 million tonnes of crude oil every year and an estimated cost of ₹1 lakh crore.

The deets: the complex will house a 1.5 MMTPA ethylene cracker unit, the first of its kind in South India.

Ethylene is a key raw material used to make plastics, packaging, paints, and everyday household products. This is where crude oil is turned into the building blocks for things we use daily.

Why it matters: once completed, the new refinery will produce petrol, diesel, and key petrochemical products used in plastics, packaging, and everyday goods.

This will also help India meet its energy and industrial demand, especially in the southern region. Partnering with Oil India brings in upstream expertise, meaning OIL can help with sourcing and managing crude oil supply.

Not stopping there, BPCL, OIL, and Numaligarh Refinery have signed a deal to build a 700-km fuel pipeline from Siliguri (West Bengal) to Mughalsarai (Uttar Pradesh).

4. Blue Cloud & US-based Byte Eclipse team up for AI chips in oil & gas 🤝

Blue Cloud Softech Solutions has signed a $15 million deal with US-based Byte Eclipse to co-develop Edge AI chips for the oil & gas (O&G) sector.

Blue Cloud Softech Solutions is an Indian tech firm that builds AI, IoT, and automation solutions for several industries. Byte Eclipse is an IoT technology company that designs hardware and software systems for connecting and managing industrial devices in real time.

The deets: the chips will let machines process data right where it’s generated, helping spot problems early and fix equipment before it breaks down.

Why it matters: the O&G industry is racing to automate field operations, and these chips could cut downtime and improve safety. With Byte Eclipse’s IoT expertise and Blue Cloud’s engineering capabilities, the partnership aims to deliver autonomous industrial AI solutions.

Zoom out: globally, energy giants like Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil have been using AI for years to detect equipment failures, reduce downtime, and boost output.

5. Foreign funds dip as Indian investors fuel real estate boom 🏙️

Institutional investments in Indian real estate hit $1.76 billion in Q3 2025, rising 83% year-on-year. However, global uncertainty dragged foreign inflows down to just 8%, their lowest level in four years.

Meanwhile, India-focused investors stepped up, contributing over half of all new investments.

The takeaway: this shift signals a changing power dynamic where local investors now trust the long-term strength of India’s property market more than foreign funds do.

With co-investments (foreign + domestic partnerships) also soaring, the trend shows confidence is high, even if global money is cautious.

Where the money’s flowing: the commercial real estate sector grabbed nearly 80% of total inflows, followed by residential and warehousing.

6. Stock that kept us interested

1. Varun Beverages taps Carlsberg for Africa brew 🍺

Varun Beverages is teaming up with Danish beer giant Carlsberg to distribute its brews across Africa. The stock gained more than 9% following the update.

Note: the move marks VBL’s first big step into the alcoholic beverages space and comes as the company continues to expand beyond its soft drink stronghold.

The deets: the company has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Carlsberg Breweries A/S to test market the Carlsberg brand in their territories.

“In response to the growing popularity of Ready To Drink (RTD) and variety of Alcoholic Beverages, VBL sees an opportunity for expansion into the business of RTD & Alcoholic Beverages of any type or description, including beer, wine, liquor, brandy, whisky, gin, rum, vodka in India & abroad,” the company said in its statement.

Why it matters: while soft drink volumes fluctuate with seasons and inflation, beer consumption has remained resilient across emerging markets. For Carlsberg, this is a strategic way to widen its distribution reach without heavy capital investment.