Week 4 (Sep 22 – Sep 28) (2026/09/22 to 2026/09/28)
Chennai’s 19-year-old woman grandmaster Savitha delivered a standout debut at the Chess Olympiad, earning praise for a performance described as “amazing” by observers tracking India’s rising depth in women’s chess. Her result adds fresh momentum to India’s growing reputation as a global chess powerhouse, especially in the women’s game.
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage produced a breakthrough performance to win the men’s javelin title at the Asian Games 2026, underlining the event’s growing South Asian dominance. India also left its mark with a double podium finish, reinforcing the region’s long-standing strength in a discipline that has become a signature medal event for the subcontinent.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan will open a literary festival on October 2 focused on Karnataka’s indigenous languages, placing linguistic preservation and cultural memory at the centre of a public forum. The event is expected to draw writers, scholars and language advocates into a broader conversation on how regional languages can be sustained amid rapid social and technological change.
Janus Metz Pedersen’s Unabomber film, led by Jacob Tremblay and Russell Crowe, arrives as a restrained but underpowered addition to the long-running fascination with Ted Kaczynski. Rather than deepening the psychological or political stakes of the case, the film leans on familiar cat-and-mouse mechanics and a villain-origin framework that never fully ignites.
Karthik Subbaraj’s Dorothy emerges as one of his most audacious works, transforming a story shaped by masculine violence into a searching meditation on repression, caste and identity. The film has also become a flashpoint online, drawing hostility that only sharpens the significance of its quiet, defiant politics.
Actor Fahadh Faasil says his upcoming film 'Don't Trouble The Trouble' is designed as a children’s story with adult appeal, blending humour, emotion and a distinctly local sensibility. In an interview ahead of release, he also reflected on shooting in real Hyderabad locations, the growing interdependence of Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil cinema, and his 24-year run in the industry.
India is preparing to introduce a merchant discount rate on UPI transactions from October 15, but officials say the charge will be tightly controlled to prevent merchants from passing the cost on to consumers. The finance ministry will monitor compliance daily as the government seeks to balance payment-system sustainability with continued expansion of digital payments, especially among small merchants.
A fund associated with the late investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has acquired a stake in Tourism Finance Corporation of India, drawing market attention to the lender’s growth prospects and asset quality trajectory. In a CNBC-TV18 interview, TFCI Managing Director Satpal Arora said the company remains focused on disciplined lending and sees a supportive demand environment as India’s tourism and hospitality cycle strengthens.
PB Fintech, the parent of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, has lost about Rs 37,000 crore in market value over four trading sessions after the insurance regulator proposed reforms that could reshape distribution economics and curb dark patterns. The selloff has been severe, but brokerages remain divided on the damage: Jefferies has cut its target, while Bernstein has kept an Outperform rating and sees as much as 100% upside from current levels.
Emiway Bantai is using his latest track, 'Safal,' to reinforce a career built outside the conventional music industry playbook. Reflecting on the arc from 'Aur Bantai' to 'Machayenge,' the rapper is positioning authenticity, audience trust and social awareness as the core pillars of his evolving public identity.
India used the 28th Session of the Committee on Forestry in Rome to present its forest and landscape restoration efforts as part of a broader climate, biodiversity, and land-use strategy. The presentation underscored New Delhi’s attempt to position restoration not only as an environmental priority, but also as a governance tool tied to resilience, livelihoods, and long-term ecological security.
A cluster of promising names — Eminent Gold, Magnus, Evolvita and Master Way — drew attention in the latest round of Indian sports action, signalling competitive depth and growing consistency across the field. While the immediate results may not yet define a season, the performances underline how quickly momentum can shift when form, preparation and execution align.
Real Gold and Bravo Zulu emerged as the headline performers in a notable day for Indian sports, drawing attention for their strong showings and the competitive depth on display. Their success underscores the growing quality and consistency in the domestic racing and sporting ecosystem, where form, preparation and execution are increasingly decisive.
India’s government bond market may be due for a temporary breather after a sharp rally, but the broader downtrend in yields remains intact, according to market experts. The benchmark 10-year government security, which spent much of 2015 and early 2016 trapped in the 7.5%-8% range, could extend its decline below 7% as the Reserve Bank of India works to ease the banking system’s liquidity deficit.
Indian mobile and FMCG retailers are preparing a nationwide protest on October 2 against the proposed return of merchant discount rates, or MDR, on UPI transactions. The campaign, framed as a ‘No UPI Day,’ signals growing resistance among small traders who say even a modest charge could erode thin margins and slow digital payments adoption.
Reliance Industries Ltd. remains a key barometer for Indian equities as investors assess the company’s earnings trajectory, capital allocation and exposure to the broader macroeconomic cycle. In early trade, the stock is drawing attention not only for its own fundamentals but also for what it signals about consumer demand, energy markets and institutional sentiment toward India’s largest listed company.
India’s payments infrastructure may be headed for its most significant pricing reset since UPI became the country’s dominant retail rail. The National Payments Corporation of India is considering a 0.4% merchant discount rate on certain UPI transactions, a move that could recover roughly ₹13,000-15,000 crore in annual costs while keeping most consumer payments free. NPCI chief executive Dilip Asbe says the proposal is aimed at restoring investment capacity after six years of zero MDR and would largely fall on large merchants already accepting credit cards.
The finance ministry has asked banks to share feedback on their use of artificial intelligence in loan collection, signalling a closer official review of how lenders are deploying automated tools and whether customer safeguards are keeping pace. Most banks are already using AI for borrower engagement and repayment tracking, while only a smaller number have moved to conversational AI for collections.
The Kannada relationship drama ‘Heggana Muddu’ begins with the promise of emotional realism, tracing an arranged marriage that feels grounded before slipping into complication. Its strongest asset is the performance of Poornachandra Mysore, supported by Aditi Sagar, but the film is ultimately weakened by tonal inconsistencies and a script that cannot reconcile its own ideas.
Agricultural machinery company Balwaan Krishi has raised Rs 100 crore in a Series B round led by First Bridge India Growth Fund Private Equity, with participation from other institutional investors. The financing underscores continued investor interest in India’s farm mechanisation market, where demand is being shaped by labour shortages, rising input costs and the push for higher productivity in smallholder agriculture.
Bharat Taxi’s much-touted promise of zero commissions and driver empowerment has come under pressure as allegations and rollout concerns cloud its early momentum. The controversy lands at a time when India’s startup funding environment is showing signs of recovery, creating a sharp contrast between sector-wide optimism and company-specific execution risk.
India’s startup market entered Monday with a familiar mix of capital discipline, product expansion and policy sensitivity, as founders and investors continued to navigate a slower but more selective funding environment. The day’s roundup underscores how the ecosystem is increasingly rewarding execution, unit economics and category leadership over growth at any cost.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated shooter Esha Singh after she secured the silver medal in the women’s 25-metre pistol individual event at the 2026 Asian Games, underscoring India’s continued strength in precision sports. The message adds to a familiar pattern of official recognition for medal-winning athletes, reflecting the government’s effort to frame sporting success as a matter of national pride and policy attention.
A fresh political flashpoint has emerged over the Election Commission of India after a former Home Secretary urged the Opposition to boycott elections until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns. The intervention comes as the Congress Working Committee is set to meet today, September 29, to discuss what it has described as internal differences within the poll body.
At the Global Fintech Festival 2026, PhonePe unveiled co-branded credit cards with HDFC Bank and SBI, alongside a new Wishcard designed for consumers with limited or no credit history. The launch is aimed at converting India’s UPI-first spending habits into formal credit access for Gen Z, homemakers, freelancers and semi-urban households that have historically remained outside the mainstream lending system.
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider whether students entering Class 6 should be exempted this year from the Central Board of Secondary Education’s three-language policy, signalling judicial concern over the timing and practical impact of the reform. The court’s intervention comes as CBSE has already clarified that current students in Classes 7, 8 and 9 will not be required to take a third-language board examination when they reach Class 10.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the Centre’s move to introduce merchant discount rate charges on select UPI transactions, keeping the policy in force for now while asking the government to file its response on the ₹2,000 threshold. The order adds a fresh layer of uncertainty for fintech firms, merchants and payment networks already navigating a sensitive debate over the economics of India’s digital payments system.
Ola Electric’s board has approved a rights issue of partly paid-up equity shares aggregating up to ₹1,000 crore, marking a fresh capital-raising step for the electric two-wheeler maker. The move comes as the company continues to navigate a demanding operating environment in India’s fast-evolving EV market, where scale, cash discipline and execution remain under close investor scrutiny.
The Kerala High Court’s Rules Committee has decided to drop the long-standing provision for using the 'tom-tom' and 'kinnam mutti vilambaram' to announce property attachment proceedings, following a campaign by a rights activist. The move marks a significant break from a custom rooted in princely-era administration and still seen in some courts, reflecting a broader shift toward more modern and rights-conscious public notice practices.
The National Stock Exchange is moving closer to a long-awaited initial public offering after filing its draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India on June 17, 2026, and clearing a series of long-running regulatory hurdles. The listing, expected around September 2026, could become one of India’s most closely watched market events, but investors will need to assess governance, valuation and regulatory overhangs before subscribing.
Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Rohit Jain said banks can no longer treat technology as a back-office enabler, arguing that it has become the core of their risk architecture. He urged lenders to elevate technology risk to a first-order enterprise concern, with tighter governance, stronger cybersecurity, deeper third-party oversight and disciplined controls around artificial intelligence.
India’s new merchant fee regime for Unified Payments Interface transactions could hand PhonePe and Google Pay a powerful revenue tailwind, with Bernstein estimating annual earnings of about $900 million by March 2028. The policy may deepen the lead of the two market leaders while nudging smaller rivals toward higher-value payments and broader rural expansion.
The Confederation of All India Traders has denied reports and social media posts claiming it endorsed a nationwide 'No UPI Day' on October 2. CAIT said the assertions are misleading and urged caution as debate intensifies over a proposed merchant discount rate levy on certain UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 from October 15.
Sakshi Gallery’s 40th anniversary exhibition at Travancore Palace in New Delhi brings together 46 artists in a wide-ranging survey of how Indian art has evolved alongside the country’s social and political transformations. The show reads less like a commemorative display than a historical map of changing visual vocabularies, from material experimentation to sharper engagements with identity, memory and public life.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president K. T. Rama Rao has expressed confidence that the party will ultimately prevail, framing the moment as one of resilience rather than retreat. His remarks come as BRS attempts to steady its political narrative and reassure supporters amid a competitive national and state-level environment.
SBI Life Insurance shares are showing steady performance in early trade, underscoring investor preference for resilient financial names amid a cautious macroeconomic backdrop. The stock’s consistency reflects confidence in the insurer’s earnings visibility, distribution strength, and the broader appeal of life insurance as a long-duration savings product in India.
The Kerala High Court’s Rules Committee has decided to remove provisions for the traditional 'tom-tom' and 'kinnam mutti vilambaram' methods used to announce property attachment proceedings to the public. The move follows a campaign by a rights activist and signals the formal winding down of a practice rooted in princely-era governance and still retained in some courts. The decision also comes against the backdrop of a 2016 fee revision that raised tom-tom charges from ₹15 to ₹100.
India and the United States are expected to intensify trade discussions when Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal visits Washington from September 29 to October 5 for the G20 Trade Ministers’ meeting, with bilateral talks likely to focus on a broader bilateral trade agreement and a possible interim arrangement. The outreach comes at a sensitive moment, as uncertainty persists over proposed U.S. legislation linked to Senator Lindsey Graham that could authorise steep tariffs, adding urgency to efforts to stabilise the trade relationship.
Lakshya’s unbeaten double century has placed India Under-19 in a commanding position, underlining both his temperament and the depth of the batting unit. The innings has shifted the contest decisively, leaving the opposition under sustained pressure as India look to convert a dominant batting effort into match-winning control.
Ramith Kunhimangalam’s documentary 'It Was Here Before Our Time,' produced by actor-director Rajesh Madhavan, is drawing attention at IDSFFK 2026 for its evocative portrayal of Maari Theyyam, one of Kerala’s most spiritually resonant ritual traditions. The film approaches the subject not as folklore alone, but as a living cultural inheritance shaped by memory, devotion, and performance.
HSBC Holdings Plc is preparing a significant expansion in India, planning to increase its branch network by 35% over the next two years as it sharpens its focus on affluent clients. The bank is targeting wealth management and transaction banking as core growth engines, with an ambition to rank among India’s top private banks by 2030.
OpenAI has entered a multi-year partnership with cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar to make artificial intelligence feel more practical, approachable, and relevant to Indian users. The collaboration is aimed at showing how ChatGPT can support everyday learning, idea generation, and personal interests rather than remain a tool reserved for technologists and early adopters.
‘Dhoomakethu’ takes a familiar time-loop premise and tries to refresh it with humour, but the result is uneven. For stretches, the film finds a lively rhythm; over time, however, weak background writing and an undercooked narrative framework dilute its impact.
PhonePe has unveiled a new suite of co-branded credit cards with HDFC Bank and SBI, alongside the Wishcard for consumers with limited or no credit history, at the Global Fintech Fest 2026. The move is designed to convert UPI-era spending habits into formal credit access, targeting Gen Z, homemakers, freelancers and semi-urban consumers who have historically remained outside mainstream card-led finance.
Manipur-based band Lo! Peninsula are set to make their Bengaluru debut this weekend, bringing a sound that blends shoegaze textures with raw, high-energy intensity. The appearance marks a notable moment for one of the Northeast’s emerging alternative acts as they expand beyond their home circuit into a major southern music market.
Palm oil is once again under scrutiny in India, but the nutritional case against it is more nuanced than popular debate suggests. Used in moderation and within a balanced diet, experts say it can fit into household consumption patterns without being inherently harmful.
Indian squash prospect Anahat said her individual campaign at the Asian Games has given her a clearer understanding of how to respond when matches turn against her. Reflecting on a recent outing, she said she is still learning to cope with the demands of facing more experienced opponents and the pressure that comes with elite international competition.
Borosil Glass Works has emerged as one of the sharper momentum stories in the Indian market, with its shares rising more than 200% over the past year. The rally has been underpinned by a sustained improvement in revenue and EBITDA growth across recent quarters, prompting investors to reassess the company’s operating trajectory and valuation prospects.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said investors are increasingly choosing the state because it combines one of India’s largest consumer markets with infrastructure capable of supporting large-scale industry. His remarks underscore how the state is trying to convert population size, logistics access and policy outreach into durable investment momentum. The comments come as Uttar Pradesh seeks to deepen its position in India’s manufacturing and services map, with the government framing infrastructure expansion as central to its pitch to domestic and global capital.
India added another significant medal haul on the track at the 2026 Asian Games, with Parul securing bronze in the women’s 5000m, Gulveer taking silver in the men’s 1500m and Ramraj claiming bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles. Ramraj’s 55.42-second performance also carried historical weight, as it bettered P. T. Usha’s long-standing mark from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, a milestone watched closely by the Indian Olympic Association chief who is present at the Games.