A tightly contested racing programme delivered standout performances from Brave Heart, Mandalay, Hold Your Breath and Renoir, underlining the depth and unpredictability of the current Indian turf season. The results offered a useful read on form, stamina and finishing power, with several runners strengthening their claims for stronger assignments ahead.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is set to elevate veteran banker Sidharatha Mishra as its Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant leadership transition at one of India’s largest private life insurers. Mishra’s nearly three-decade career at ICICI Bank, spanning branch leadership, retail banking and digital operations, positions him as a continuity candidate with deep institutional knowledge and a strong operating background.
A court in Kalaburagi district has sentenced four people to life imprisonment for the murder of a man, delivering a significant verdict in a case that underscores the judiciary’s continued reliance on witness testimony and forensic evidence in violent crime trials. The ruling closes a criminal proceeding that had drawn attention for its implications on local law and order and the prosecution of serious offences in northern Karnataka.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles shares are back in focus as investors weigh the stock’s price history against a shifting macro backdrop for India’s auto sector. The move comes amid broader scrutiny of consumer demand, interest-rate sensitivity, and the market’s appetite for cyclical names in a volatile trading environment.
The GST Council is set to examine whether an 18% goods and services tax should apply to merchant discount rates on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, according to a report. The discussion comes as the government has proposed a 0.4% MDR, capped at Rs 300, from October 15, a move that could affect payment economics for merchants and digital commerce operators.
Filmmaker Bharat Bala’s short documentary on the Ramnami community has won a National Award, bringing renewed attention to a centuries-old devotional sect in Chhattisgarh known for inscribing the name of Ram across their bodies. A week after the honour, Bala reflected on a career spanning more than 1,000 films and on reuniting with composer A.R. Rahman after their landmark collaboration on Vande Maataram.
‘Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You’ turns an ordinary cigarette break into a finely tuned study of longing, restraint, and the quiet negotiations that define modern intimacy. In a year crowded with louder, faster streaming fare, the series stands out for its patience, its emotional precision, and its ability to make the unsaid feel consequential.
Axis Bank is preparing to expand its lending to India’s data centre sector, with exposure expected to double from Rs 8,688 crore over the next three years as artificial intelligence and cloud computing drive demand for large-scale digital infrastructure. The move underscores how banks are increasingly treating data centres as a strategic financing opportunity, even as the sector brings long-duration risks, execution complexity and policy dependence.
Private credit is facing a sharper competitive squeeze as banks re-enter acquisition financing and regulatory changes broaden borrowers’ funding options. In the first half of 2026, a substantial share of private credit deals reportedly priced below 18%, underscoring how quickly the market’s return profile is being compressed.
The Department of Science and Technology has reviewed preparations for Special Campaign 6, signaling a renewed push to improve administrative cleanliness, accelerate e-waste disposal, and strengthen public-facing communication across the system. The initiative reflects a broader governance drive to convert routine compliance exercises into measurable institutional reform.
As new foundation models keep arriving, product teams are no longer asking which model is best in the abstract. They are asking which model performs best for a specific task, under real-world constraints, and that shift is putting evaluation frameworks at the center of startup strategy. In a market defined by rapid model churn, evals are emerging as the practical tool for deciding what to ship, what to trust, and where to spend scarce engineering time.
The Fenesta Open produced a sharp early upset as Prabodh stunned Balsekar in singles, underlining the depth and volatility of the draw. In doubles, top seeds Manish Sureshkumar and Nitin Sinha opened their campaign with a composed 7-5, 6-2 win over Raghav Jaisinghani and Lakshit Sood to move into the quarterfinals.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched Fleet Support Ship-1 at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd in Visakhapatnam, underscoring the government’s intent to deepen India’s maritime manufacturing base. The upgraded Slipway-4, paired with a goliath crane, is now positioned to support the construction and launch of vessels of up to 45,000 DWT, a capacity expansion with implications for naval logistics, shipbuilding productivity and industrial scale.
Wealthtech startup Zomint has raised ₹36 crore in a seed funding round led by Lightspeed and Prime Venture Partners, marking an early vote of confidence in its bid to modernise wealth management for India’s mass affluent investors. The capital will be used to scale product development, strengthen distribution, and deepen the company’s technology stack as competition intensifies across India’s fast-growing financial services startup market.
Apple is preparing to launch Apple Pay in India next month, beginning with integration for Axis Bank credit cards, according to a report. The rollout would mark a significant step into one of the world’s most competitive digital payments markets, with discussions also under way with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank to broaden support.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has lifted its oil price forecasts, warning that tight inventories, weak diesel availability and persistent Middle East disruption risks are keeping global markets on edge. Brent crude is now projected to average $105 a barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026 and $84 in 2027, even as recovering Gulf exports and record U.S. output may ease some pressure next year.
A daily quiz framed around Singeetham Srinivasa Rao arrives as Indian cinema continues to mark the loss of one of its most inventive filmmakers, who died on October 3. The format underscores how his work remains culturally resonant, inviting audiences to revisit a career that crossed languages, genres and generations.
A vigilant Travelling Ticket Examiner on a train to Mysuru helped authorities recover a passenger’s stolen laptop and other valuables, underscoring the role frontline railway staff can play in passenger security. The incident highlights both the persistent risk of theft on rail journeys and the importance of quick reporting, coordination, and on-board awareness.
The India Meteorological Department has indicated that heavy rain is likely over Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Mahe, Puducherry and Karnataka in the coming days as atmospheric conditions begin to shift over the Bay of Bengal. Models suggest the northeast monsoon could arrive within the next 10 days, broadly around its normal schedule, after a transition to easterly winds sets in.
India will present its 2036 Olympic bid to the International Olympic Committee next month under the theme “Rising Together,” a message officials say is meant to project national unity, ambition and scale. Indian Olympic Association president P.T. Usha said the concept is intended to show how the country’s sporting push can be anchored in inclusion, public participation and long-term institutional commitment.
India’s Cabinet has approved the creation of an Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority aimed at improving efficiency across planning, research, appraisal and monitoring in the transport ecosystem. The move is designed to address long-standing coordination gaps that have slowed decision-making and weakened logistics performance across sectors.
The Maharashtra government has reportedly told bike taxi aggregators, including Rapido, Uber and Ola, to convert their fleets to all-electric vehicles by July 2027, marking one of the most aggressive clean-mobility timelines yet imposed on the sector. The directive raises major operational and capital questions for app-based two-wheeler operators, which now face a compressed transition window in a market still dependent on internal-combustion vehicles.
Indian equities traded unevenly in afternoon trade on Friday, with benchmark indices struggling for direction as investors rotated between defensives and cyclicals. Asian Paints, SBI, Tata Motors, HUL and Maruti Suzuki led the Sensex gainers, while ONGC, Axis Bank, M&M, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp were among the major laggards.
Zoe Kazan’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s ‘East of Eden’ arrives as a visually sumptuous and performance-driven series that often lives up to the scale of its source material. Yet despite standout work from Florence Pugh and Hoon Lee, the production also inherits the novel’s structural excesses, leaving the drama emotionally powerful in stretches but frustratingly uneven overall.
A new exhibition at Artiform in Mylapore is reframing familiar materials as vessels of personal and collective memory, bringing together six Chennai-based artists whose practices span sculpture, drawing and assemblage. By transforming wood, metal, graphite and paper into narrative forms, the show positions material experimentation as a serious language of contemporary Indian art.
Meesho shares advanced sharply in late trade on Monday after Jefferies reiterated its bullish stance on the e-commerce platform, helping extend investor interest in one of India’s most closely watched startup listings. The stock closed 5.2% higher at ₹238.40, after touching intraday gains of more than 6% following the brokerage’s unchanged Buy rating.
The Supreme Court has ruled that tax classification must be determined by a product’s physical form at the point of sale, not by how it may ultimately be used. In a significant setback for the revenue department, the court dismissed appeals seeking to tax Cadila Healthcare’s GRD Powder and GRD Mix as non-alcoholic beverages at 10%.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday shared an article that underscored the value of continuous learning, collective effort and disciplined hard work in public life and governance. The intervention comes as the government continues to project administrative efficiency, institutional coordination and performance-driven leadership as central to its governing style.
India’s services sector expanded at its fastest pace in three months in September, with the HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rising to 55.2 from 54.1 in August. The reading points to sustained momentum in the economy’s largest segment, supported by firm domestic demand and resilient business conditions.
Australia A seized the early advantage in the series with a disciplined all-round performance, dismissing India A for 149 while defending 275. Jack McSweeney, Will Sutherland and Callum Beardman delivered the decisive contributions as the visitors controlled the key phases of the contest. The result underlined Australia A’s depth and exposed India A’s batting fragility under scoreboard pressure.
England produced one of the most emphatic results of the Nations League campaign, routing Croatia 7-0 to strengthen their position in League A, Group Three. Spain remained flawless with a victory over the Czech Republic, keeping the group race firmly in their control as England stayed second on six points from three matches.
Paramount Syntex’s Rs 82-crore initial public offering continued to attract institutional interest on the second day of bidding, with the issue subscribed 1.35 times on the BSE SME platform. The qualified institutional buyer portion led demand by a wide margin, while retail and non-institutional participation remained subdued ahead of the October 6 close.
Indian metal and steel shares advanced in afternoon trade after the government extended the minimum import price regime on 66 steel products, reinforcing expectations of tighter protection for domestic producers. Hindustan Zinc, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, JSW Steel and Tata Steel each rose more than 1% from the previous close as investors priced in improved pricing power and a more supportive policy backdrop.
India’s finance ministry has asked banks for feedback on their use of artificial intelligence in loan collection, signalling a closer review of how lenders are adopting the technology and protecting borrowers. The exercise is aimed at mapping current deployment, with most banks using AI for borrower engagement and repayment reminders, while only a limited number have moved to conversational AI for collections.
The deepfake controversy involving actor Rashmika Mandanna has intensified scrutiny of how artificial intelligence can be weaponised against public figures, especially in India’s fast-moving entertainment sector. The episode has sharpened calls for stronger legal safeguards, faster platform response mechanisms, and AI-based detection tools to curb synthetic media abuse before it spreads further.
Google Cloud has appointed Amit Kumar, previously Managing Director for Digital Natives at Google Cloud India, to lead its India operations on an interim basis after Sashikumar Sreedharan stepped down. The leadership change comes at a pivotal moment for the cloud market in India, where hyperscalers are competing aggressively for enterprise, startup and public-sector workloads.
Kotak Mahindra Bank has appointed Executive Director Anup Kumar Saha as its next Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2027. The move signals continuity at one of India’s most closely watched private-sector lenders, with Saha bringing more than 32 years of experience in financial services and a recent operating role inside the bank.
A proposed 0.4% merchant discount rate on UPI transactions could generate as much as Rs 15,000 crore in the first year, according to the NPCI chief, reviving debate over how India should fund its fast-growing digital payments infrastructure. The proposal comes as policymakers weigh the economics of instant payments against the need to keep UPI affordable for merchants and consumers.
India’s Monetary Policy Committee has begun a tightening cycle, lifting the repo rate by 25 basis points and shifting its stance from neutral to calibrated tightening. The move signals a clear pivot toward containing inflation risks even as policymakers weigh the durability of growth and the transmission of earlier policy support.
The North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFI) delivered a solid financial performance in FY 2025–26, with gross income rising 4.40% to Rs. 270.82 crore and interest income climbing 9.73% to Rs. 214.94 crore. The lender reported profit before tax of Rs. 127.77 crore and net profit of Rs. 92.23 crore, underscoring steady earnings momentum in a challenging credit environment.
India’s payments stack, led by UPI, has already transformed retail transactions at scale. Now, with the Reserve Bank exploring tokenised money through the e-rupee and wholesale central bank digital currency applications, the country is edging toward a more programmable financial architecture that could reshape settlement, asset transfer and market plumbing.
India has formally begun the induction of fleet support vessels, a move that strengthens the Navy’s ability to sustain operations at sea for longer periods and across wider distances. The development underscores New Delhi’s broader effort to expand maritime readiness, reduce dependence on foreign logistics, and reinforce its strategic presence in the Indian Ocean.
A disciplined bowling effort led by Baloda’s six-wicket haul dismissed Australia for 174 and gave the hosts early control on the opening day. In reply, the home side finished at 38 for 2, leaving the contest finely poised after a day dominated by seam, patience and pressure.
India’s Textiles Ministry has concluded the nationwide Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 campaign with a coordinated cleanliness and public-awareness drive spanning offices and field locations across the country. The closing phase underscored the government’s attempt to link sanitation with civic responsibility, institutional discipline, and broader public participation in the national cleanliness agenda.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve arrives with the series’ signature blend of explosive aerial combat and unapologetically theatrical military drama. Early reaction points to a game that leans hard into blockbuster spectacle while delivering the fast, precise dogfights long-time fans expect.
A retired Indian Air Force officer died after a boulder rolled down a hillside and hit his moving car on the Ooty Road in Coimbatore district, underscoring the persistent landslide and rockfall risks on hill routes in the Nilgiris region. The accident occurred about 500 metres downhill from the Barliar check post, where the vehicle was travelling when the stone fell from the slope above.
A growing number of cyber fraud victims in India say banks are failing to act quickly enough after complaints, leaving unauthorised transactions unrecovered and customers trapped in prolonged disputes. A recent survey found that 13% of respondents experienced cybercrime in the past two to three years, with digital financial fraud accounting for 54% of those cases, underscoring the scale of the problem and the gap in frontline redress.
Hamsadhwani’s latest Parampara Concert marked a significant moment in Carnatic music appreciation as Malladi Suribabu received the Sathguru Thyagaraja Hamsadhwani Award. The evening then unfolded into a family-led performance featuring three generations of the Malladi musical lineage, underscoring the continuity and discipline that sustain classical traditions in India.
The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of an Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority, a move aimed at improving coordination across India’s transport ecosystem and reducing long-standing inefficiencies in planning and execution. The new framework is expected to strengthen research, appraisal, monitoring and policy alignment across road, rail, ports and other logistics-linked systems.
H.K. Venkatram and B.U. Ganesh Prasad marked the Lalgudi G. Jayaraman memorial endowment at The Music Academy with a violin duet that underscored the maestro’s lasting influence on Carnatic music. The performance served both as homage and as a reminder of how Lalgudi’s stylistic discipline continues to shape contemporary concert practice.
