Newsletter
Rare earth power rides, Big bets underwater, and Shakeup in Nifty 50.
🗓️ Morning, folks! ☀️
The world might have pressing issues to solve like malnutrition and poverty, but across 7 oceans, people are having a meltdown over a “burrito”.
A single tweet about how “a burrito shouldn’t cost $20” by a conservative student has somehow become America’s latest affordability battleground.
Some conservatives joked: skip the $20 burrito, eat ramen and get a job. Others argued that’s missing the point: if everyday food feels unaffordable, young voters will notice.
With LA’s minimum wage at $18.4, a $20 meal costs more than an hour’s work. So young people are meal-prepping, buying in bulk and finding cheaper alternatives.
Because beneath all that guac is a real problem: even a casual meal is becoming a financial decision.
Back to business. 💸
The markets tried. They really did.
But the Sensex and Nifty still closed lower on Tuesday, ending the day down 0.49% and 0.46%, respectively.
Pharma and IT outperformed, while realty and metal stocks had a rough session.
Healthcare stocks including Max Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals also came under pressure after a Parliamentary panel proposed capping hospital room rents at three-star hotel rates and fixing surgery package prices.
💡 Spotlight: A big Nifty shake-up 🙂↔️
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is set to replace IT major Wipro in the Nifty 50 index, effective September 30.
The why: BSE earned its place in the Nifty 50 because its average market value over the past six months grew to more than 1.5 times that of Wipro, the index’s smallest member.
What does it mean: reportedly, BSE’s inclusion could attract around $691 million in passive inflows, while Wipro’s exclusion may lead to nearly $240 million in outflows.
The bigger picture: as part of the rejig, Vedanta Aluminium, Polycab, Hitachi Energy India and Vodafone Idea will join the Nifty Next 50, replacing Indian Hotels, United Spirits, REC, Shree Cement and Lodha.
Let’s hit it! 💪🏻
1 Big Thing: L&T wants that magnet money 🧲
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is reportedly planning to enter rare-earth permanent magnet manufacturing in India, as the engineering giant looks to reduce dependence on imported Chinese components.
What’s going on: the company is said to be preparing to bid for the government’s ₹7,280 crore incentive scheme for rare-earth magnets.
The programme aims to create 6,000 tonnes of annual manufacturing capacity in India.
The why: rare-earth magnets are critical components inside electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, industrial robots, defence equipment and electronics.
Adding to that, the company recently partnered with Israel-based EVR Motors to develop next-generation electric vehicle traction motors in India.
The timing also matters: China dominates global rare-earth magnet production, and recent export restrictions have highlighted how quickly supply disruptions can affect manufacturers elsewhere.
2. ONGC, Shell join forces for India’s deepwater hunt 🌊
ONGC has signed an MoU with Shell Energy India to explore oil and gas opportunities deep beneath India’s seas and jointly look at sourcing LNG for the country.
The why: drilling kilometres below the sea isn’t cheap or easy. A single exploration well can cost $125-150 million and take 5-10 years before producing oil or gas.
The partnership also comes as India's existing oil and gas fields naturally decline by around 6-7% every year, making new discoveries increasingly important.
Zoom out: earlier this month, the government approved Samudra Manthan, officially called the National Offshore Exploration Scheme, with a massive ₹84,084 crore outlay through FY31.
While we are on deals 💸,
Texmaco Rail has signed an deal with Belgium-based The Signalling Company (TSC) to explore building advanced railway safety and signalling technology, including the possible development of Kavach for India.
Kavach is Indian Railways’ safety system that automatically applies the brakes if a train is speeding or at risk of crossing a signal or colliding with another train.
The deets: the two companies want to work together on European Train Control System (ETCS) solutions.
ETCS is technology that constantly checks where a train is, how fast it is moving and whether it is following signals. If something goes wrong, the system can automatically intervene.
Kavach does something similar in India.
3. OYO vs Zostel: What’s going on? 👀
Zostel is back in the news after withdrawing its latest plea in the Delhi High Court in its long-running dispute with OYO, while keeping the option to approach the court again.
The feud dates back to 2015, when OYO proposed acquiring ZO Rooms in exchange for a 7% stake in the company.
Meanwhile, Zostel says it fulfilled its part of the deal, but OYO argues the acquisition never closed because only a non-binding term sheet was signed.
4. India’s private space race is flying high 🚀
IIT Madras is emerging as a launchpad for India’s private space race. Its alumni have founded 11 space-tech startups, ahead of BITS Pilani’s 10 and IIT Kharagpur’s 7.
India’s space economy was worth about $8.4 billion in 2023, but the government wants it to reach $44 billion by 2033, more than 5x from there.
5. Ironhill is buying a bankrupt American brewery 🍻
Ironhill India is acquiring bankrupt US-based Iron Hill Brewery, creating a combined business with around ₹450 crore in revenue.
The bet comes at an unusual time. US craft beer production fell 4% in 2025 and another estimated 4% in the first half of 2026.
But Ironhill sees an opportunity in the slowdown.
But can Ironhill revive an American brewery in a market where beer itself is losing fizz?
6. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
What went up ⬆️
🛢️Oil India rose over 5% after strong Q1 results led brokerage Emkay to upgrade the stock, triggering fresh buying.
🚗 Lumax Auto Technologies jumped 20% after Q1 profit surged 83% and revenue grew 33%, pointing to stronger growth and efficiency.
🚆 Jupiter Wagons rose nearly 2% after winning ₹211 crore in new orders and securing a ₹400 crore battery storage project, strengthening its growth outlook.
💼 Info Edge shares jumped 6% after Q1 revenue grew 11% and profit rose 43% year-on-year, signalling a solid quarter.
💎 PC Jeweller jumped nearly 2% after Q1 profit surged 37% and revenue grew 21%, reflecting strong business momentum.
💊 Gland Pharma rallied 10% after Q1 profit jumped 47% and revenue grew 20%, marking a strong quarter.
⚡ Ather Energy jumped around 4% after the government extended PM E-DRIVE incentives for electric two-wheelers until March 2028, potentially supporting EV demand.
What went down ⬇️
📉 ideaForge Technology shares fell 5% after its gross profit margin dropped sharply to 49%, overshadowing a strong jump in revenue and a narrower Q1 loss.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
⚖️ Court relief: Adani Group stocks jumped up to 3% intraday after a US judge dismissed charges against Gautam Adani and others.
🇮🇳 Rating affirmed: Fitch affirmed India’s BBB- sovereign rating with a stable outlook, citing macroeconomic stability and improving policy credibility despite geopolitical risks.
🤖 Gemini center: TCS and Google Cloud will set up a Gemini Experience Center in Mexico City, featuring over 3,000 AI agents to accelerate enterprise AI adoption across Latin America.
📈 SIP inflows: Mutual fund SIP inflows rose marginally to ₹31,961 crore in July from ₹31,781 crore in June, while increasing 12% year-on-year.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational and research purposes only. Nothing here should be considered financial, investment, legal, or professional advice.
