Week 2 (Oct 08 – Oct 14) (2026/10/08 to 2026/10/14)
Kukna produced the decisive damage as Rajasthan seized the upper hand in their Ranji Trophy contest, turning a competitive match into one increasingly shaped by disciplined bowling and pressure. The spell handed Rajasthan a valuable lead and shifted momentum firmly in their favour at a crucial stage of the game.
Jammu & Kashmir survived a tense final-day examination to force a draw against Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy 2026-27 encounter, with rain ultimately denying the hosts a possible outright victory. Skipper Shubham Sharma’s commanding century and a declaration at 249 in the second innings had set J&K a stiff target of 326, but Madhya Pradesh’s chase unravelled to 12 for five before Wadhawan and Nabi steadied the innings enough to see out time.
S&P Global expects India’s financial sector lending to expand 12% to 14% this fiscal year, supported by resilient economic activity and steady investment demand. However, the agency warned that a weak monsoon could pressure rural incomes, slowing credit growth in agriculture-linked and rural lending segments even as broader loan demand remains firm.
India won the toss and chose to bowl against West Indies in the fourth T20I, keeping an unchanged lineup for the contest. West Indies made two personnel changes, bringing in Jewel Andrew for Kamil Pooran and restoring Romario Shepherd in place of Quentin Sampson. The selection calls underline India’s preference for continuity and West Indies’ search for greater balance as the series reaches a decisive stage.
The Election Commission of India has extended the deadline for the notice phase and the disposal of claims and objections in Andhra Pradesh’s Special Intensive Revision, pushing the process to October 22. The final electoral rolls will now be published on October 30, giving election officials additional time to complete voter list verification and correction work.
The Delhi High Court has asked the All India Tennis Association and the original petitioners to file their responses in a continuing legal challenge that could shape the governance framework of Indian tennis. The matter adds another layer of judicial scrutiny to the administration of the sport, with implications for selection, accountability, and institutional control.
Indian government bonds weakened on Wednesday as a jump in crude prices and hawkish commentary from the Reserve Bank of India pressured sentiment across the debt market. Traders also remained focused on the benchmark 6.94% 2036 bond, whose yield rose after the central bank’s recent rate increase, while inflation risks and global cues kept buyers cautious.
The Election Commission of India has extended the deadline for the notice phase and disposal of claims and objections in Andhra Pradesh’s Special Intensive Revision, pushing the process to October 22. Final electoral rolls will now be published on October 30, giving election officials additional time to complete verification and corrections before the rolls are frozen for use in future polls.
The International Monetary Fund has lifted India’s growth forecast for fiscal 2026-27 to 7%, citing resilient domestic demand and a still-firm investment backdrop even as the global economy remains subdued. The upgrade underscores India’s relative outperformance, but the Fund also warned that inflation pressures and geopolitical risks could complicate the outlook.
Canada’s foreign minister met the Indian prime minister in New Delhi on Friday evening, in a high-level engagement that underscores ongoing efforts to stabilize a strained bilateral relationship. The meeting comes at a sensitive moment for India-Canada ties, with both governments under pressure to restore functional diplomatic channels while managing deep political mistrust.
HSBC has hired Paras Jain from Cantor Fitzgerald to lead its global technology, media and telecom investment banking franchise, with Jain expected to start in November, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move underscores HSBC’s push to concentrate resources on businesses where it believes it can win market share, particularly in Asia and the Middle East’s fast-growing tech sectors.
Ahead of the release of his period drama 'Ranabaali', Vijay Deverakonda has spoken about the discipline required to inhabit the Madras Famine era, the linguistic demands of mastering a Rayalaseema dialect, and the different ways he and Rashmika Mandanna approach life off set. His remarks offer a revealing look at the pressure points of contemporary Indian stardom, where performance, preparation and personal boundaries increasingly overlap.
Eight years after Sohum Shah's 'Tumbbad' first reached Indian audiences, Danish composer Jesper Kyd is revisiting the film's singular sonic identity and the creative instincts that shaped it. In a wider reflection on his career, Kyd also points to the Ezio-era 'Assassin's Creed' scores as a defining chapter in video game music, one that helped set a new emotional standard for the medium.
At the Alpha Wealth Summit 2.0, market voices including Atul Suri and Ravi Dharamshi framed artificial intelligence as one of the most consequential forces shaping the next phase of global and Indian growth. The discussion underscored a central tension: AI could sharply lift productivity and corporate profits, but it may also disrupt jobs, valuations and the structure of future competition.
The International Cricket Council said it has received 1.5 crore ticket applications from fans in 142 countries just 12 days after opening the ballot for the 2027 World Cup. The surge underscores the tournament’s global pull ahead of its staging across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Bengaluru-based startup Whizzo is in discussions to raise about $26 million in a Series B round that could be co-led by Aavishkaar Capital and Bertelsmann, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposed financing would mark a significant step-up for the company as it seeks to deepen its operating footprint and strengthen its balance sheet in a competitive startup funding environment.
For households in their 40s, the central financial mistake is often not under-saving but misallocating capital across goals with very different time horizons. In Ajay and Supriya Pandey’s case, a ₹1.5 crore corpus is large enough to support both long-term retirement compounding and near-term obligations, but only if it is split into distinct portfolios with separate mandates.
Private credit is facing a sharper competitive squeeze as banks expand back into acquisition financing and regulatory changes broaden borrowers’ funding options. In the first half of 2026, a significant share of private credit deals were priced below 18%, underscoring how the asset class is being forced to compete harder on terms and structure. For lenders, the shift is pushing a search for higher-return niches just as the easiest opportunities thin out.
Punjab begin their Ranji Trophy campaign against Assam in a fixture that offers immediate clues about their red-ball temperament, squad balance and appetite for a sustained season. In the opening round, the home side will be expected to treat the contest not as a routine start but as a chance to establish authority in a competition where early momentum often shapes the longer arc of the campaign.
Goldman Sachs has raised its December 2026 Brent crude forecast to $90 a barrel, citing heightened supply risks tied to the Middle East. The bank still sees 2027 averages at $80, but warns that severe production cuts in the Gulf could propel prices as high as $125, keeping oil markets volatile amid uncertainty over Russian exports.
The Reserve Bank of India has moved to make the Account Aggregator framework interoperable, allowing customers to share financial data across platforms without being locked into a single provider. The change is designed to reduce friction in consent-based data transfer, improve user convenience, and strengthen the digital plumbing behind lending and financial services.
PSB Bank Chairman Petr Fradkov has described cross-border payments as one of the most closed and tightly controlled segments of the global economy, arguing that new alternative infrastructure is emerging to keep transactions moving where traditional channels are constrained. In an interview with RBC, he said the A7 international payment system operates in a market where conventional international payments are effectively absent, underscoring a broader shift in how financial connectivity is being rebuilt.
The central government-backed ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund has cleared its first cohort of 19 second-level fund managers, setting up a major capital pipeline for India’s deeptech ecosystem. The approved managers are expected to help deploy ₹7,131 crore into startups working on advanced technologies, with the initiative designed to deepen domestic innovation capacity and reduce reliance on imported strategic technologies.
Scarlett Johansson leads the first trailer for Mike Flanagan’s reimagining of the Exorcist franchise, titled The Exorcist: Martyrs, in a project that appears to lean into psychological dread as much as supernatural horror. The film also features Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Sasha Calle and Jacobi Jupe, underscoring a high-profile ensemble assembled for one of the genre’s most closely watched revivals.
Police have intensified surveillance along the airport corridor, including Athani Junction and Airport Junction, after a car-two-wheeler collision on October 11 killed three young men. The move signals a sharper enforcement posture on one of the city’s most sensitive traffic stretches, where speed, congestion and mixed vehicle movement have long raised safety concerns.
Czechia is seeking to deepen commercial engagement with India by positioning itself for investment, joint ventures and industrial cooperation across engineering, energy, transport and research. Officials and business leaders see the proposed India-EU free trade agreement as a potential catalyst that could lower barriers, improve market access and make cross-border projects more viable.
India’s information commissions were still carrying a heavy backlog of appeals and complaints as of June 30, 2026, with 3,85,716 cases pending across 28 commissions, according to a new report on their performance. While the figure marks a decline from 4,13,972 pending cases in 2025, the scale of the backlog continues to raise questions about access to information, administrative capacity and the effectiveness of transparency law enforcement.
A proposed merchant discount rate of 0.4% on high-value UPI transactions could generate as much as Rs 15,000 crore in the first year, according to the head of the National Payments Corporation of India. The estimate has reignited debate over how India should fund the digital payments ecosystem without slowing the rapid adoption of UPI among merchants and consumers.
The Karnataka High Court has invalidated a state law that sought to increase reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, holding that it violated the Constitution. The court reaffirmed that the 50% ceiling on total reservation remains a binding constitutional principle, sharpening the legal limits on affirmative action policy.
Indian American writer Ajon Singh has unpacked the creative logic behind Primetime, the film that turned Chris Hansen into both a dramatic subject and an internet object. In a conversation that bridges television history, Robert Pattinson’s hands-on transformation, and the cultural aftershocks of a Phoebe Bridgers T-shirt moment, Singh traced how the film fused Network-style media satire with Kerala-inflected mythology and online folklore.
The Indian rupee recovered nearly 1% on Monday to close at 95.77 per dollar after the Reserve Bank of India moved to restrain speculative trading in the foreign-exchange market. A special window for state-owned oil marketing companies helped ease immediate pressure on the spot market, although persistent dollar demand from importers and corporates limited the currency’s gains.
The National Housing Bank is preparing to sharply increase refinance and affordable housing funding for large housing finance companies this fiscal year, according to people familiar with the matter. The move is expected to give lenders such as LIC Housing Finance and Bajaj Housing Finance access to longer-tenor, lower-cost capital, easing their dependence on bank borrowing and supporting growth in housing loans.
Director Mary Lambert says Audible’s new audio adaptation of Dracula succeeds because the vampire count remains a mirror for contemporary anxieties, from desire and power to moral ambiguity. In her view, Jonathan Bailey brings a fresh, emotionally legible menace to the role, while the audio format both expands imagination and imposes strict limits on how horror can be staged.
India’s payments backbone is weighing a 0.4% merchant discount rate on some UPI transactions, a move that could help recover roughly ₹13,000-15,000 crore in annual costs while leaving most consumer payments free. NPCI chief executive Dilip Asbe said the proposal is aimed at restoring investment capacity after six years of zero MDR, with large merchants expected to bear most of the charge.
Long before his high-profile turn in Rajinikanth’s Kaala, Nana Patekar appeared in Bharathiraja’s Bommalattam, a Tamil film that remains one of the more overlooked cross-industry collaborations in Indian cinema. The project is a reminder of how major actors and auteurs have long moved across language industries, even when the results did not always become part of the mainstream memory.
Supreme Court judge Justice B.V. Nagarathna has flagged serious gaps in the implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act, warning that the system cannot be judged solely by how quickly it disposes of cases. Speaking at the National Annual Stakeholders Consultation, she stressed that children must receive education, counselling, medical care and legal assistance while proceedings are pending. Her remarks sharpen the debate over whether India’s child justice framework is delivering protection in practice, not just on paper.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chennai Metro’s Poonamallee-Vadapalani stretch late on Friday, marking a significant addition to the city’s expanding rapid transit network. The newly opened corridor spans about 15 km and includes 11 elevated stations, strengthening connectivity across one of Chennai’s busiest urban corridors. Modi also rode on the metro with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, in a high-visibility moment that highlighted the political and economic importance of urban transport investment. The project is expected to ease congestion, improve commuter mobility, and support the broader fiscal case for infrastructure-led growth in major Indian cities.
The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks to move beyond complaint disposal and identify the systemic, process and operational failures driving repeat grievances. The central bank also called for stronger capacity building and more effective grievance handling as customer complaints under the ombudsman framework crossed 1.33 million in FY25.
Kotak Mahindra Bank has appointed Anup Kumar Saha as its next Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2027. The move elevates a long-serving financial services executive who is currently an Executive Director at the lender and brings more than 32 years of industry experience.
India’s cleantech startups drew significantly more capital in the third quarter of 2026, with large electric mobility rounds doing most of the heavy lifting. The funding uptick signals that investors are again willing to back capital-intensive climate businesses, even as the market remains selective and concentrated in a handful of high-conviction themes.
Supreme Court judge Justice B.V. Nagarathna has warned that the Juvenile Justice Act cannot be judged by case disposal alone, urging a stronger welfare-first approach for children in conflict with the law. Speaking at the National Annual Stakeholders Consultation, she said pending cases must not deprive children of education, counselling, medical care and legal aid.
Indian golfer Pranavi Urs says her build-up for the Olympics will not require a major reset after the confidence gained from her performances in Hangzhou and Aichi-Nagoya. The 20-something professional, who won individual gold and team silver in Aichi-Nagoya, said competing on the Ladies European Tour has sharpened her game and helped her handle elite pressure more effectively.
US equities were little changed on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipping modestly as weakness in technology shares outweighed gains in energy and communication services. Investors are now turning to a heavy week of bank earnings and closely watched economic signals, while oil prices climbed to two-week highs after fresh geopolitical shocks in the Middle East.
Four people, including a three-year-old boy, were killed when an electric car struck a wall and burst into flames on the Vijayawada West bypass late on Sunday. Police said the victims were returning from a function when the vehicle lost control, underscoring fresh concerns over road safety and the risks posed by post-impact fires in electric vehicles.
Analysts have identified five stocks for Tuesday’s trade, including Astra Microwave, Manappuram Finance and Laurus Labs, on the back of bullish chart structures, improving momentum and breakout confirmations. The calls come as traders look for short-term opportunities in a market still driven by stock-specific action rather than broad directional conviction.
The central government-backed Research, Development and Innovation Fund has approved its first cohort of 19 second-level fund managers, marking a major step in India’s effort to channel long-duration capital into deeptech startups. The fund, anchored by a ₹1 lakh crore corpus, is expected to deploy ₹7,131 crore through these managers to support companies working in advanced technology domains.
Under the guidance of veteran Balinese scholar and choreographer I Wayan Dibia, Kecak turns dozens of human voices into a percussive, living orchestra that retells episodes from the Ramayana. The form remains one of Bali’s most recognisable cultural exports, blending ritual memory, theatrical discipline and communal performance into a singular soundscape.
Can Fin Homes shares climbed as much as 5% after the housing finance company reported a stronger-than-expected second quarter, with net profit rising 10% year on year to Rs 275 crore. Net interest income increased 7%, while the loan book expanded 10% to Rs 43,539 crore, signalling steady growth in a competitive lending environment.
The Ranji Trophy season begins with more than points on the line: for India’s hopefuls, every innings and spell is a case for higher honours. The opening round brings marquee names such as KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal into focus, underscoring how the domestic championship remains a decisive proving ground for national selection.
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has approved a procurement scheme designed to give startups easier access to state government departments, a move intended to widen market opportunities for young companies and deepen public-sector adoption of local innovation. The policy is expected to reduce one of the most persistent barriers for startups: the difficulty of securing their first institutional customers.