Newsletter
Silver shines, Bharti Airtel-Adobe deal, and Balu Forge joins NATO supply chain.
🗓️ Morning, folks and Happy Fridayyy! ☀️
Markets ended Thursday on a positive note, with the Sensex and Nifty inching up 0.3% each.
Heavyweights like L&T, Tata Steel and Coal India did the early lifting, setting the tone for the day. The Nifty Bank index outperformed with 0.6% gains led by Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, AU Small Finance Bank and Federal Bank.
💡 Spotlight: Silver literally took the spotlight ⚡️
Silver finally did what it’s been hinting at for weeks. Prices pushed to record highs in India as global bullion markets stayed hot and demand refused to cool off.
Silver futures on MCX jumped 5.7% to a lifetime high of ₹4.07 lakh per kg, crossing the ₹4 lakh mark for the first time.
Let’s hit it!
1 Big thing: Economic Survey sets the budget mood 🫡
Just three days before the 2026 Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey in the Lok Sabha, setting the tone for what’s coming next.
Breaking it down: the Survey expects the economy to grow 6.8% to 7.2% in FY27, riding on strong fundamentals and steady reforms.
That comes after the government’s estimate of 7.4% growth this year. Even global agencies are on the same page, the IMF sees 7.3%, and the World Bank expects 7.2% growth for the current year.
The rupee took a hit as foreign money slowed down, making it one of the weaker-performing currencies in 2025.
What about inflation: the Survey says inflation is still under control, thanks to better supply and GST tweaks.
It may creep up a bit next year, but should stay within the RBI’s target range. Gold, silver, and copper prices are staying high, which could keep everyday inflation a little sticky.
Over the next two years, the RBI and IMF expect inflation to move closer to the 4% comfort level.
The survey has a direct message for companies to invest more and create jobs, especially as generative AI and new tech shake up the job market. It also hints that next year could be a transition year, as businesses and households adjust while demand and investment gradually pick up pace.
2. India-Japan shift gears on car parts 🚗
Sansera Engineering has teamed up with Japan’s Nichidai Corporation to make advanced, high-quality car parts in India.
Quick context: Sansera is a key auto and industrial component maker, while Nichidai brings Japanese expertise in precision forging and tooling.
What’s happening: the JV will make aluminium and steel parts used inside cars, like parts for engines and power systems, that Sansera does not make right now.
A new private limited company will be set up in Bengaluru, with Sansera holding 60% and Nichidai 40%.
How it works: Nichidai will exclusively supply tooling and provide technical know-how, designs, and process support. The JV board will have 7 directors, with Sansera nominating the managing director.
Why it matters: precision auto parts are a big focus area for India right now, as global carmakers look for reliable suppliers outside China. These are high-accuracy parts used in engines, transmissions, and power systems, where even small errors can cause big problems.
3. Fresh money for EarthSync 💸
Renewable energy startup EarthSync has raised $1 million in a pre-seed funding round.
What it solves: EarthSync’s technology solves the confusion and inefficiency in renewable energy decision-making.
Today, companies rely on slow consultants, scattered data, and multiple tools to understand regulations, costs, and returns. This leads to delays, guesswork, and costly mistakes.
EarthSync fixes this by bringing regulations, financial modelling, and forecasting into one platform. This helps users evaluate projects faster, cut risk, and make confident investment decisions before spending capital.
With this fundraise: the company aims to build its AI-driven clean energy modelling and forecasting tools. This is to strengthen policy-based cost and return analysis, and expand its project marketplace.
While we are on fundraises, 💰
Deeptech startup Vimag Labs has raised $5 million in a funding round led by Accel along with participation from Chakra Growth Fund and Thinkuvate.
Vimag Labs makes electric motors without rare earth metals. Instead of using expensive magnets, their motors create magnetic fields electronically using software and advanced electronics.
The why: the funds will be used to speed up the commercial launch of Vimag Labs’ patented virtual magnet motor.
For automakers, the motor is a plug-and-play system that can be added to vehicles without major changes to existing production lines.
4. UPI leads global payments race 🌍
UPI has pulled off a big win. It is now processing over 700 million transactions a day, beating Visa (639 million) and Mastercard (436 million) on daily volumes.
The system is going global, with Japan piloting UPI this week for QR payments by Indian tourists using their bank accounts.
Why it matters: UPI shows how infrastructure-first design can leapfrog legacy systems. While card networks still dominate globally, India has built a system that works at population scale, fast, cheap, and real-time.
From street vendors to large businesses, UPI has become the default way India pays, and its growth curve suggests this story is far from done.
5. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
1. RVNL bags big North Railway project 🚃
Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) was in the spotlight after its joint venture emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) for a Northern Railway project.
In simple terms, RVNL’s team quoted the lowest price, which usually means it’s most likely to win the contract.
Here’s the deal: RVNL holds a 60% stake in the JV, while GPT Infraprojects owns 40%. The project is worth ₹1,201.3 crore and involves building a major bridge 50 metres downstream of the old Malviya Bridge, near Kashi Railway Station in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Why it matters: Kashi is a busy rail hub, and a new bridge here can ease congestion, cut delays, and help more trains move smoothly, making an important rail link stronger as traffic grows.
Quick context: India has the fourth-largest railway network in the world, spanning 65,554 km, and projects like these keep that lifeline running better every year.
2. Balu Forge enters NATO supply chain 🛡️
Balu Forge Industries hit the 10% upper circuit on Thursday.
The rally came after the company was inducted into the NATO supply chain to supply critical artillery shell bodies and forged defence components.
In simple terms, it means the company will make the metal bodies and heavy-duty parts used inside artillery shells and other military weapons.
For context, NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, a military alliance of 31 countries including the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and several others across Europe and North America.
Balu Forge specialises in closed-die forging, which allows ultra-precise, high-strength components.
It uses highly advanced machines to shape and strengthen metal parts and carries out all testing in-house. This allows the company to make complex defence components in large numbers without depending on outside vendors.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
🎨 Free creative: Bharti Airtel is offering one-year free access to Adobe Express Premium, worth ₹4,000, to its 360 million mobile and broadband users.
🧪 EU nod: Cupid got official EU approval for its HIV and Hepatitis B test kits, which means it can now sell them across Europe and other countries that accept the same certification.
🤝 Agent push: Wipro partnered with agent-native platform Factory, to help enterprises roll out agent-native development across engineering teams.
And that’s a wrap for now. We’ll be back on Sunday for the much-awaited Union Budget 2026, breaking it down in our ‘no spam, no bs’ style.
So buckle up for D-day. See you then!
Hit that 💚 if you liked this issue.
