Good morning. It's Wednesday, and markets closed lower for a second day running as oil kept creeping toward the $100 mark, a reminder that global energy prices are still doing a lot of the driving for Indian equities and the rupee this month.
Away from the markets, it was a busier day than usual in New Delhi, with some genuinely large numbers moving through policy circles. Here is what is worth your time today.
In today's newsletter: a ₹1.10 lakh crore defence shopping list, almost entirely Made in India.
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Nifty 50 23,635.10 ▼ 0.61% |
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Brent Crude $97.41 ▲ 0.26% |
Oil's climb toward the $100 mark is doing the real damage this week, weighing on both equities and the rupee as investors price in higher import costs.
India clears ₹1.10 lakh crore in new defence deals, 98% of it to be built at home
The Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh, cleared capital acquisition proposals worth roughly ₹1.10 lakh crore for the Army, Navy and Air Force, with close to 98 per cent of the equipment to be sourced from Indian industry.
The list spans CBRN reconnaissance vehicles, advanced light helicopters and mine-laying systems for the Army, Arudhra radars and marine gas turbines for the Navy, and jammers and secure access systems for the Air Force. It is one of the largest single-day indigenisation pushes the council has cleared this year.
Markets noticed immediately: the Nifty India Defence index closed 2.5 per cent higher on the news, even as the broader Sensex and Nifty slipped for the day on rising oil prices.
This is the latest in a string of big-ticket approvals as India leans harder into Atmanirbharata in defence, both to cut a long-standing reliance on imported hardware and to build a domestic base that can eventually export. Nearly everything cleared today is meant to be built at home.
What got cleared on Monday is an Acceptance of Necessity, the council's in-principle nod, not a signed contract. Actual tendering, negotiation and delivery for programmes like this routinely take years, so the stock rally is pricing in a process that has really just begun.
Breaking.exe
Apple's new era. Tim Cook will watch Wednesday's Apple launch from the audience: he will not appear in the September 9 event video, as new chief executive John Ternus fronts Apple's keynote for the first time since taking over on September 1. |
Six IPOs, one day. India's primary market saw six mainboard IPOs open for subscription on the same day, the first time that many have launched together since 1996, looking to raise about ₹4,386 crore combined. |
ChatGPT joins the pitch. The BCCI named OpenAI's ChatGPT alongside Campa and SBI Life as associate partners for India's home cricket season, a deal worth more than ₹130 crore across two years. |
Pangaea Revisited
West Bank trade ban. Britain, France and Canada said they will ban trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with Britain's foreign secretary accusing settlers of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. Israel responded by ordering the closure of Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem. |
Russia strikes Kyiv. Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least two people and wounded ten others, coming just after US peace envoys had left the region. |
Typhoon hits the Philippines. Typhoon Fung-wong killed at least 18 people in the Philippines before weakening into a tropical storm and moving on toward Taiwan. |
Also, Also, Also
Delhi building collapse. A three-storey house undergoing renovation collapsed in south Delhi's Satya Niketan, killing two labourers and trapping three others who were later rescued. |
Heavy rain alert. The IMD issued a heavy rain and thunderstorm alert for 15 states, including a red warning for eastern Madhya Pradesh, with landslides and localised flooding possible in the hills. |
New drug courts ordered. The Supreme Court directed the Centre and states to set up 449 exclusive courts to clear a backlog of narcotics cases, with the work to be completed within six weeks. |