ITC is making a massive acquisition. It's buying Century Pulp and Paper (CPP) from Aditya Birla Real Estate for ₹3,498 crore. The deal includes a large paper mill in Uttarakhand with a capacity of 4.8 lakh tonnes. But this isn’t just about scale — it’s a strategic move during a tough time for the industry. 🧵👇 Paper actually makes for a decent chunk of ITC’s business. Although it often gets overshadowed by the company’s dominant cigarettes or FMCG portfolio, the paper business is a quiet, cash-generating arm for the company. In fact, its Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division (PSPD) brought in around Rs. 8000 crore in revenue in FY23 — nearly 10% of the company’s top line.

And if you had any doubts about its importance, this acquisition makes it clear — ITC sees even more potential in this space.

The RBI just dropped major changes to Priority Sector Lending (PSL) rules that control where a large chunk of Indian banks’ loans can go. These quiet updates, effective April 2025, could be one of the most consequential financial tweaks of the year.

Here's why it matters for all of us:🧵👇 First, what is PSL? It's a clever policy tool where the RBI requires banks to direct a significant portion of their loans to underserved sectors - farmers, small businesses, affordable housing, etc. Most banks must allocate 40% of their lending to these sectors.

IRDAI may soon take action against Star Health Insurance over claim settlement practices, with 8-10 other insurers also under scrutiny.

Star Health has dismissed these reports as "speculative and motivated" - but it raises a crucial question: just how difficult is it for Indians to get their insurance claims paid?🧵👇 Insurance ultimately comes down to one thing: settling claims. Life insurance does this well, with 95%+ claims paid out.

India's official data shows 60% of workers are "self-employed" - but this statistic hides a crucial reality. Only 6% of these individuals actually employ others. For most, self-employment isn't entrepreneurship but a last resort when better jobs aren't available. 🧵👇 How do we know this? It starts with understanding India's employment data. The official Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) counts someone as "employed" if they worked just ONE HOUR in a week - lumping together vastly different economic realities.

The prices of rice across the world are falling dramatically. Thai white rice just fell to $405/ton from $669 in January. The reason? India lifted its export restrictions. As the world's largest rice exporter, India's policies directly impact food prices for billions.

Here's what happened:🧵👇 This isn't just about prices - it's about global food security. In many South/Southeast Asian and African countries, rice provides up to two-thirds of daily calories. When India restricts exports, millions face higher costs for their most essential food.

Wind power in India stagnated at 0% growth last year, while solar surged 22%. A random fluctuation? Maybe not. Zooming out, the data tells a deeper story.🧵👇 Solar power in India has been pulling ahead of wind for years. From 2019–2023, solar grew up to 28.2% annually, while wind managed just 2.8%–6.7%. By early 2025, solar capacity surpassed 100 GW—more than double wind’s ~49 GW. The gap keeps widening.

SEBI just wrapped up one of the most bizarre stock fraud cases in years. And at the centre of it? Not a stockbroker or a backroom operator, but Hemant Ghai, a former CNBC Awaaz anchor millions trusted for market advice. 🧵👇 SEBI’s final order in the Hemant Ghai case bans him, his wife, and his mother from the stock market for five years. It also orders them to return ₹6 crore in illegal profits and holds MAS Consultancy & Motilal Oswal responsible for lapses.

India launched Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes to become a manufacturing powerhouse. But four years later, a recent report shows they've missed almost two-thirds of their targets, with manufacturing's share in GDP declining instead of growing.

Let’s break it down 🧵👇 Manufacturing has a unique impact on the economy. Research shows that manufacturing jobs create 2.3 times more indirect employment than services. A 10% rise in manufacturing cuts poverty 2.1 times faster than a similar rise in services.

A 1% increase in manufacturing’s GDP share can boost economic growth by 0.5–0.7% in low and middle-income countries.

Weight loss medication Mounjaro has finally launched in India. At Rs. 3,500-4,375 per weekly dose, it's expensive - potentially Rs. 2 lakh annually. But this drug does far more than help with weight loss.

Here's what you need to know.🧵👇 Mounjaro is similar to Ozempic but reportedly even more effective for weight loss. While pricey now, competition will likely increase after 2026 when Novo Nordisk's patent on Semaglutide expires.

Here’s an interesting headline we came across recently: Audi to cut 7,500 jobs in Germany to become more efficient. Now, on the face of it, this might look like a normal restructuring that a company might do to improve their numbers. But it marks a broader trend: Germany’s famous automotive industry — famed for making cars that you dream of owning someday — is in deep trouble.

Let us start by giving you some context.🧵👇 You see, the world’s big three auto manufacturers — Volkswagen (which owns Audi), BMW, and Mercedes — all hail from Germany. This industry is extremely important for Germany’s economy. It accounts for a huge portion of Germany’s GDP — roughly 5% — and more than one-tenth of its exports.

China presents a fascinating economic paradox today: a nation simultaneously experiencing its worst growth slump in decades alongside a booming tech sector. This "tale of two Chinas" has major implications for global markets and geopolitics.🧵👇 On paper, China's economy looks concerning. Official figures show 5% real GDP growth in 2024, but nominal growth was just 4.2% – the lowest in decades outside the pandemic. Independent analysts like Rhodium Group suggest actual growth may be even lower at 2.4-2.8%.

There’s a huge piece of news from the insurance industry. After 24 years together, Bajaj and Allianz are parting ways.

Allianz is selling its 26% stake in Bajaj Allianz Life & General Insurance for ₹24,180 Cr (€2.6B), giving Bajaj full control.

But why now? And what does this mean for the industry?🧵👇 The partnership began in 2001 when India first opened its insurance sector to private players. Back then, India needed two things desperately: insurance know-how and capital. Foreign players like Allianz provided both but were limited to just 26% ownership.

A few days ago, economist Noah Smith claimed China is out to "kneecap Indian manufacturing." We had to dig into this—and the truth is more complicated.

Let’s break it down 🧵👇 As countries get richer, they invest abroad—seeking cheaper labour, new markets, and growth. This creates a ripple effect, lifting others up. It’s called the Flying Geese model.

India’s mutual fund industry has undergone a massive transformation in recent years. A new CRISIL-AMFI report highlights this shift and why it matters—not just for brokers like us at Zerodha, but for anyone focused on long-term wealth. Here’s what you need to know 🧵👇 India’s investing culture is maturing—more Indians are investing, and our markets are deeper and more resilient than ever. But here’s the catch: most data stops at March 2024, when markets were booming. Since then, sentiment has shifted.

Starlink is making headlines! In just a few hours, First, Airtel announced it was partnering with Starlink. A few hours later, just as everyone thought Airtel had pushed ahead of Reliance in this race, Jio made a similar announcement.

Suddenly, India’s two biggest telecom giants are on board. What’s going on? Details are scarce, but here’s everything we know (and the big questions we’re asking) 🧵👇 What are we even talking about?

Now, before we get into all these deals and agreements, let us explain what it is that Starlink does.

See, right now, you’re reading this on the internet. That tells us a few things about you. For one, you have internet access. That means someone has invested money into putting up a mobile tower or an optical fibre network somewhere around you. And if that’s the case, you probably aren’t the only customer they’ve made this investment for. You probably live in some reasonably well-populated area with hundreds of other internet users.

Hyundai India Under the Scanner 🚨

Corporate governance isn’t just a formality—it’s what separates great companies from disasters. Well-governed firms reward investors, while weak oversight can spell trouble.

So, what’s happening with Hyundai India? Let’s break it down. 🧵👇 India’s investing landscape has seen its share of corporate governance failures—from outright fraud to insider deals. Now, Hyundai is under scrutiny for ₹31,526 crore worth of Related Party Transactions (RPTs), proving why minority shareholders must stay alert.

See, in banking, or really anything that’s related to finance, trust is everything. You don’t deposit money because a bank stores it better—you do it because you trust it’s safe. Investors buy bank stocks for the same reason.

So when IndusInd Bank suddenly said, “Oops, accounting issue,” the market panicked. A misreported derivative loss wiped out ₹1,500–2,000 crore in shareholder value overnight—about 2.35% of its net worth. 🚨 The moment this news hit, IndusInd’s stock collapsed by ~25%.

What’s next for India’s economy in FY26? 🇮🇳

As we wrap up the year, it's time to look ahead. A new CRISIL report lays out India’s economic forecast—some insights are expected, some fresh, and a few truly surprising.

We’ve broken it down—no jargon, just the key takeaways. 🧵👇 India's GDP is estimated to continue its solid growth trajectory at 6.5% in FY 2026, per CRISIL. Not quite last year's 9.2% spike, but still solid relative to many other major economies.

We've always been fascinated by cool bits of economic research that explore unexpected ideas. So when we found this IMF article by Ruchir Agarwal & Patrick Gaule on the ‘economics of talent,’ we were hooked. Let’s dive in! 🧵👇 Intuitively, we know that different people have different abilities. Some people are particularly talented — at writing, drawing, playing the guitar, or some other random thing — that is, they just have a special knack for doing it well. This is the sense in which we’re talking about “talent,” here — not as a broad synonym for “human capital” but in terms of the special ability that some people have.

There’s a lot that’s wrong with India’s green transition.

We first came across this idea when we were looking at the corruption allegations against the Adani Group. Now, we don’t know enough to tell you whether those allegations hold water. But let’s assume they do. What American agencies were saying, basically, was this: The Adani group was bribing Indian state governments to make them buy solar power after winning tenders to do so. Only… why would anyone need to do that? Why weren’t state governments just buying that power? Let’s dive in🧵👇 Recently, we came across two reports from the Business Standard on the same lines. One hinted that 60 GW worth of renewable energy projects weren’t being connected to the grid. Another pointed to how there were no buyers for 40 GW of renewable energy.

These seem like terrible failures, at least if we’re serious about our climate goals. Hundreds of crores in investments are at risk — as is the future of India’s green transition. But the question is — why? What is holding us back? Where do the bottlenecks actually lie?

That’s what we’re trying to figure out today.

Airtel and Tata Group are in talks to merge their DTH businesses—a $1.6B deal that would control over half of India’s pay-TV market. But here’s the bigger story: TV’s best days may be behind it. Streaming platforms are taking over. Let’s dive in. 🧵👇 For decades, TV ruled Indian households. From Doordarshan in the ‘80s to the cable boom of the ‘90s and the rise of DTH, television became a must-have. By the 2010s, it wasn’t just entertainment—it was the king of advertising. 📺