World Updates

World Updates

Cigarette Stores Ride India’s UPI Wave: Eightfold Growth in Digital Payments

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UPI Autopay recurring payments preferred by retailers despite lower success rate than credit cards

Cigarette stores have become one of the most unexpected winners of India’s digital payments growth, which is changing daily spending. Tobacco Kiosks Ride the UPI Wave Tobacco kiosks are controlling an increasing portion of digital money flows as the usage of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) spreads across regular, low-value transactions. Both size and structure … Read more

₹2,434 Cr Loan Fraud Shakes PNB, Shares Slide 3% in Early Trade

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Grover Jewells' shares surpass gray market predictions by listing at a 9% premium to the SME IPO price. On February 11, Grover Jewells' shares made a modest debut on the stock market, going up to Rs 96 per on the NSE Emerge platform. This is a premium of almost 9% above the Rs 88 IPO price per share. With a market valuation of Rs 139.27 crore, the company made its debut on the stock exchanges. Grey market estimates versus listing premium: The listing premium has greatly exceeded grey market expectations, even with the market's lackluster beginning. The company's unlisted shares were trading flat at the IPO price of Rs 88 with no grey market premium (GMP) prior to listing. When the IPO was up for public bidding from February 4 to February 6, the site's quoted GMP was close to 3 percent. The company's unlisted shares were trading at 0 GMP over the IPO price, according to IPO Watch as well. Grover Jewells IPO: Grover Jewells, a gold jewelry manufacturer situated in Delhi, went public in order to generate Rs 33.83 crore by issuing 38.44 lakh shares at a price range of Rs 83–88 each. With a minimum investment of Rs 1.41 lakh, investors could bid for 1,600 shares, and then in multiples. The IPO received over 19 subscriptions between February 4 and February 6, indicating that investors were quite interested in it throughout its three days of public bidding. With approximately 38 bookings of their allotted allocation, non-institutional investors (NII) shown the highest level of interest in the IPO. Qualified institutional buyers (QIB) and retail sections were reserved 11 times and 16 times, respectively. Working capital will be the primary use of the IPO proceeds, with the remaining sum going toward general business needs.

Following the bank’s disclosure of loan fraud, the price of Punjab National Bank’s (PNB) shares fell 3% to an intraday low of ₹116.60 during Monday’s opening session on December 29. Nevertheless, the shares recovered their initial losses and were trading at ₹120.75 a share, a little gain of 0.36%. PNB Loan Fraud Disclosure and RBI … Read more

“Where Is Our Luggage?” IndiGo Faces Fresh Backlash as Passengers Report Missing Bags

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IndiGo Q3 profit report and growth forecast update

Online complaints from IndiGo travelers about bags and missing luggage suggest that the luggage problem is still unresolved. Passengers’ problems were made worse on Monday morning as dense fog interfered with aircraft operations at a number of Indian airports. On social media site X, a number of travelers reported the problem and tagged the airlines … Read more

India Targets Debt-to-GDP Ratio of 55% in FY27: What It Means for the Economy

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Yogi Government’s 10th Budget: Big Welfare Push, Pension Hike & Student Benefits

According to a government source who spoke to Business Standard, the Center is aiming to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio from the predicted 56.1% for FY26 to about 54.5–55% in FY27. The action would indicate that budgetary consolidation would continue in the next fiscal year, albeit with a calibrated approach. Debt-to-GDP Ratio: FY27 Targets The source … Read more

10-Minute Delivery in India: How Fast Commerce is Changing Retail in 2026

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Sanjeev Bikhchandani backs Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal’s statements on gig workers and the gig economy in India

The “delivery day” period came to an end in 2025 when India’s retail scene saw a radical change, with the lines between scheduled purchasing and rapid satisfaction being blurred by the massive convergence of conventional e-commerce and fast commerce. 10 minute delivery: Transforming Retail What started out as a test run to deliver groceries in … Read more