Tag: Economy

Finance

IDBI Bank Posts ₹1,935 Crore Net Profit in Q3 FY2026, Strengthens Asset Quality and Capital Position

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

IDBI Bank Limited reported a steady financial performance for the third quarter ended December 31, 2025, with improved profitability, robust business growth, enhanced asset quality and a strengthened capital position, reflecting sustained momentum in Q3 FY2026.

The Bank posted a net profit of ₹1,935 crore for the quarter, compared to ₹1,908 crore in the corresponding period last year. Return on Assets stood at 1.83%, while Return on Equity was recorded at 14.49%, supported by a healthy Net Interest Margin of 3.52% and a Cost-to-Income Ratio of 56.61%.

Deposits grew by 9 per cent year-on-year to ₹3,07,858 crore as on December 31, 2025, driven by stable CASA deposits of ₹1,35,632 crore, with a CASA ratio of 44.06%. Net advances rose 15 per cent to ₹2,38,786 crore, reflecting strong credit growth across corporate and retail segments, with a diversified portfolio mix of 29:71.

Asset quality continued to improve, with the Gross NPA ratio declining to 2.57% from 3.57% a year earlier, and Net NPA remaining low at 0.18%. The Provision Coverage Ratio stood at a healthy 99.33%, underlining the Bank’s prudent risk management practices.

IDBI Bank further strengthened its capital position during the quarter, with Tier-I Capital rising to 23.53% and the Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio improving to 24.63%. Risk Weighted Assets stood at ₹2,11,567 crore, reflecting the Bank’s expanding balance sheet and strong capital buffers.

The results underline IDBI Bank’s focus on sustainable growth, operational efficiency and financial resilience as it continues to build momentum in India’s evolving banking landscape.

Business

How 9K Gold Became India’s Smartest Jewellery Shift in 2025

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral Business Desk

Indian jewellery buyers didn’t intend to change long-standing preferences in 2025; escalating gold prices forced a rethink. As rates climbed sharply, consumers began gravitating toward lighter, design-forward pieces that delivered the look and emotional value of gold without the steep cost of 22k. This quiet change in mindset transformed 9kt gold from a niche experiment into one of the fastest-growing jewellery categories of the year.

The shift gained real momentum when the Bureau of Indian Standards formally brought 9kt gold under mandatory hallmarking in July 2025. Regulatory clarity removed lingering trust concerns and gave jewellers the confidence to innovate. Consumers responded immediately, seeing hallmarking as reassurance that affordability no longer meant compromise.

Retail experiences reflected this change clearly. At Mahendra Jewellers in Kolhapur, a teaser campaign around 9k jewellery led to a 10 percent increase in diamond jewellery sales during Navratri. Customers walked in specifically asking for 9k pieces and often purchased instantly once they realised they could achieve the same diamond-heavy look at nearly half the gold rate of 18k. This value proposition resonated strongly in a year when gold prices surged from ₹96,000 to over ₹1,22,000 per 10 grams.

Manufacturers and large retailers moved quickly to capture this emerging price band. Sky Gold’s collaboration with Senco Gold & Diamonds, CaratLane’s 9kt collections starting at ₹3,999, and Mia by Tanishq’s 9kt trials across select markets—including quick-commerce pilots—demonstrated how seriously the industry was investing in this shift. The focus was clear: attract Gen-Z buyers and young professionals who want style, flexibility, and entry-level pricing without abandoning gold altogether.

For jewellers, 9kt gold has opened a practical and strategic middle ground. It keeps gold relevant as an everyday luxury, protects diamond jewellery sales from price fatigue, and introduces younger consumers to trusted gold buying early in their journey. Most importantly, it achieves all this without diluting purity standards or consumer trust—proving that adaptation, not abandonment, is what keeps traditions alive.

Business

Amazon to Invest Over $XX Billion in India by 2030, Strengthening Atmanirbhar Bharat Vision: Keystone Report

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral Business Desk

Amazon is reinforcing its long-term commitment to India’s growth journey, with plans to invest more than $XX billion across its businesses in the country through 2030, aligned with the vision of an Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat. An Economic Impact Report by Keystone Strategy, released at the sixth edition of the Amazon Smbhav Summit in New Delhi, highlights Amazon as the largest foreign investor in India, the largest enabler of ecommerce exports, and among the top job creators in the country.

According to the report, Amazon has invested nearly $XX billion in India since 2010, including employee compensation and infrastructure development. These investments have supported the digitisation of over 12 million small businesses, enabled more than $20 billion in cumulative ecommerce exports, and supported approximately 2.8 million direct, indirect, induced and seasonal jobs across India in 2024. Amazon’s investments span physical and digital infrastructure, including fulfilment centres, logistics networks, data centres, digital payments infrastructure and technology development.

At the summit, Amazon reiterated its intent to deepen its engagement in India by increasing investments by more than $XX billion by 2030, focusing on three strategic pillars: AI-driven digitisation, export growth and job creation. The company aims to create an additional one million job opportunities over the next five years, taking its cumulative job impact even further across sectors such as technology, logistics, retail, manufacturing and creative services.

Amazon’s export enablement efforts continue to play a key role in taking Made-in-India products to global markets. As Amazon Global Selling completes ten years of operations, cumulative ecommerce exports enabled from India have crossed $20 billion. The company has now set a target of enabling $80 billion in cumulative ecommerce exports by 2030. As part of this effort, Amazon has launched the “Accelerate Exports” initiative to connect digital entrepreneurs with trusted manufacturers and enable manufacturers to scale as global sellers, supported by on-ground onboarding drives across major manufacturing clusters and partnerships with industry bodies.

In line with the government’s vision of “AI for All,” Amazon also outlined plans to democratise access to artificial intelligence across India. By 2030, the company aims to deliver AI-powered benefits to 15 million small businesses, enhance shopping experiences for hundreds of millions of customers through AI-driven innovations, and empower four million government school students with AI education and career exploration opportunities through curriculum support, teacher training and hands-on learning experiences.

Through sustained investments, infrastructure expansion and technology-led initiatives, Amazon continues to position itself as a key partner in India’s digital transformation, export growth and employment generation, contributing meaningfully to the nation’s economic and innovation-driven future.

Business

Kotak Securities’ 2026 Market Outlook Signals Strong Equities and Shining Gold Amid Global Volatility

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral Business Desk

Kotak Securities Ltd (“Kotak Neo”) has released its Market Outlook 2026, presenting a confident view of India’s financial landscape for the coming year. Despite global volatility, the firm expects Indian equities and key commodities to maintain strong momentum driven by favourable macro conditions, robust earnings expectations and rising investor participation. Shripal Shah, MD & CEO of Kotak Securities, said that India continues to stand out as a beacon of growth amid global turbulence. According to him, equity markets are well-positioned to deliver strong performance in 2026, supported by healthy corporate earnings and policy initiatives. Shah also highlighted the increasing role of young investors in shaping the future of India’s capital markets, adding that the industry must work towards making investing more inclusive and accessible.

Citing recent SEBI findings, Shah noted a significant gap between market awareness and actual participation: while 63% of households are aware of at least one market product, only 9.5% actively invest. This, he said, indicates substantial untapped potential for the Indian equity ecosystem and a major opportunity for brokerage firms to drive greater financial inclusion. The report points out that Indian equities overcame a sharp 17% drawdown from the September 2024 highs, with the Nifty 50 rebounding to a new all-time high by the end of 2025. Large-cap stocks led the recovery, while mid- and small-cap segments trailed. Sectors such as automobiles, banks and metals outperformed during the year, whereas IT and FMCG remained under pressure. Persistent foreign portfolio investor outflows were absorbed by strong domestic investor activity, further reinforcing confidence in India’s market resilience. A buoyant primary market through 2025 demonstrated sustained investor interest and optimism.

Looking ahead, Kotak Securities expects Nifty earnings to remain healthy, projecting profit growth of 17.6% for FY27 and 14.8% for FY28. Based on these expectations, the report lays out three potential scenarios for December 2026: a base case target of 29,120 assuming a 20x PE on FY28 expected EPS of ₹1,456, a bull case of 32,032 at a 22x PE, and a bear case scenario of 26,208 at an 18x multiple. On the commodities front, 2025 saw exceptional movements. Gold surged over 55%, crossing the $4,000 per ounce mark, driven by geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic uncertainty and strong central bank buying. Indian gold prices rose even more sharply—approximately 60%—due to rupee depreciation. Silver proved an even stronger performer with gains of nearly 100%, supported by safe-haven demand and persistent structural supply deficits despite industrial headwinds from tariffs. Crude oil, however, ended 2025 with a 19% decline as excess supply outweighed geopolitical concerns. Base metals like copper and aluminium remained firm, supported by tight supply conditions, electrification demand and structural constraints even as volatility persisted.

Overall, Kotak Securities’ Market Outlook 2026 emphasizes a year of opportunity for investors willing to navigate global uncertainty with a focus on India’s strong fundamentals, expanding investor base and commodity trends that continue to offer both stability and growth potential.

Business

India’s Gold Demand Drops 16% in Q3 2025 Amid Record Prices, Investment Buys Surge

Tanisha Cardozo

India’s gold demand declined by 16% year-on-year in the July-September quarter of 2025, as record-high prices curtailed jewellery purchases even as investment buying showed remarkable growth, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). Total gold demand dropped to 209.4 tonnes in Q3 2025, compared with 248.3 tonnes during the same period last year. Despite the lower volume, the value of gold demand rose sharply by 23% to Rs 2,03,240 crore from Rs 1,65,380 crore, reflecting a surge in gold prices.

Gold jewellery, which forms the bulk of India’s consumption, fell 31% to 117.7 tonnes from 171.6 tonnes a year ago. However, consumers continued to adjust to high prices, keeping the total value of jewellery purchases steady at around Rs 1,14,270 crore. In contrast, investment demand grew 20% by volume to 91.6 tonnes and surged 74% in value to Rs 88,970 crore, highlighting Indian consumers’ growing commitment to gold as a long-term store of wealth.

The average gold price in India during the quarter climbed to Rs 97,074.9 per 10 grams, up 46% from Rs 66,614.1 a year earlier, excluding import duty and GST. Internationally, gold prices averaged $3,456.5 per ounce, compared with $2,474.3 in the same period last year.

Sachin Jain, Regional CEO (India) of the WGC, noted that despite the drop in overall demand, early signs of recovery were visible in October, driven by the festive and wedding seasons. Many consumers advanced wedding-related purchases in anticipation of further price increases, which could support strong fourth-quarter demand.

Gold imports fell 37% to 194.6 tonnes from 308.2 tonnes a year earlier, while recycling declined 7% to 21.8 tonnes. The WGC noted that the lower import volume reflected the exceptionally high base in the previous year, following a duty cut announced in the July 2024 budget that triggered a surge in purchases.

For the full year 2025, the WGC expects India’s gold demand to total between 600 and 700 tonnes, likely near the higher end of that range, after cumulative demand of 462.4 tonnes in the first nine months. Globally, gold demand hit a record 1,313 tonnes in Q3, driven mainly by central bank buying and investment inflows, with Poland’s National Bank as the largest central bank buyer.

Jain emphasized that India’s demand profile differs from global trends, where central bank purchases and investment flows dominate, as jewellery demand remains predominantly an Indian phenomenon. Geopolitical uncertainties, trade tensions, and diversification of dollar reserves into gold are expected to keep prices and demand momentum firm in the months ahead.