Wednesday, March 11
Retail liquor prices in Uttar Pradesh are set to rise by around 7.5% from April after the state government approved its new excise policy for 2026–27. The increase will largely stem from higher licence fees for shop owners and revised pricing rules, which are expected to make most categories of liquor costlier in the coming financial year.Also Read | Tariff cuts on US booze may barely dent India’s dominant spirits marketThe state cabinet has cleared the policy along with a separate export framework aimed at promoting liquor manufactured in Uttar Pradesh in overseas markets.Higher fees, revised pricing Under the new policy, the minimum guaranteed revenue (MGR), the fixed amount retail vendors must pay to the government, has been increased by 7.5%. Licence fees for bhang shops will rise
BSE has received approval from capital markets regulator Sebi to launch derivative contracts on the "BSE Focused Midcap Index," expanding its index derivatives basket at a time when exchanges have moved to a single weekly expiry structure.The new index measures the performance of the top 20 mid-cap companies selected based on free-float market capitalisation. It is designed to offer concentrated exposure to leading mid-sized firms rather than the broader midcap universe.According to the exchange, BSE will introduce cash-settled monthly index futures and monthly index options on the new benchmark. Contracts will expire on the last Thursday of the expiry month, in line with the standard monthly derivatives cycle.The approval comes amid recent regulatory changes that have streamlined the deri
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday stated that banks would be allowed to provide acquisition financing only in cases where the acquiring company already holds control in the target and seeks finance to raise its stake to cross material thresholds from 26% onward to 90%The regulator said banks are allowed refinance a target company’s existing debt where such refinancing is “integral to the acquisition finance.” Borrowers must meet stringent financial criteria, including minimum net worth of Rs 500 crore, three consecutive years of net profit, and—where the acquirer is unlisted—an investment grade credit rating prior to disbursement.The banking regulator also eased the portfolio limit for such lending, raising the bank level cap on acquisition finance to 20% of eligible capital,
Shares of FMCG bellwether Hindustan Unilever slipped 2.5% to Rs 2,351.40 on Friday after it reported a 30% decline in consolidated net profit from continuing operations for the third quarter of FY26, to Rs 2,188 crore. In the same quarter last year, the company’s net profit was Rs 3,027 crore.The company’s net profit for the period, however, came in at Rs. 6,603 crore, up 121% year on year, primarily driven by one off impacts from its portfolio transformation actions, HUL said.The company’s revenue from continuing operations came in at Rs. 16,441 crore, marking a 5.6% year on year jump from Rs. 15,556 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, HUL said in a regulatory filing.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for continuing o
