Category: Business

New Delhi, May 6 (BNP): India’s real estate sector witnessed a shift toward cautious sentiment in the first quarter of 2026, influenced by global economic uncertainty and rising cost pressures, according to a joint report by Knight Frank and NAREDCO.

The report noted a decline in stakeholder confidence, with the Current Sentiment Score dropping to 49 from 60, while the Future Sentiment Score eased to a neutral level of 50 from 61. The index reflects the outlook of developers, investors, and financial institutions on economic conditions and funding availability.

The moderation in sentiment has been largely attributed to global macroeconomic volatility, including rising crude oil prices, which have increased construction, logistics, and financing costs—impacting overall project viability.

Despite stable domestic economic fundamentals, geopolitical factors are beginning to influence both demand and supply dynamics in the sector.

The residential segment showed signs of slowing after a sustained growth phase, with moderation in both housing sales and new project launches during the quarter. Around 52 per cent of stakeholders expect housing sales to decline in the near term. However, 73 per cent believe property prices will either remain stable or continue to rise, driven by higher input and borrowing costs.

This divergence between softening demand and firm pricing underscores the structural cost pressures shaping the housing market.

Meanwhile, nearly half of respondents anticipate a slowdown in new project launches. In contrast, the office segment remains relatively resilient, with 41 per cent of stakeholders expecting improved leasing demand.

Industry experts described the current phase as a short-term recalibration rather than a fundamental slowdown, noting that end-user demand and steady price trends continue to support the sector’s long-term outlook.

May 6 (BNP): Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held discussions with the India head of Airbus, focusing on strengthening aerospace manufacturing and expanding Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) capabilities in the country.

The meeting centered on enhancing India’s role in the global aviation supply chain, with emphasis on boosting domestic manufacturing capacity, skill development, and investment opportunities in the aerospace sector.

Both sides discussed ways to deepen collaboration in aircraft production ecosystems and improve India’s MRO infrastructure, which is seen as a key growth area for the aviation industry.

Officials said the engagement reflects India’s ongoing efforts to position itself as a major hub for aerospace manufacturing and services, supported by policy reforms and growing industrial capacity.

Bengaluru, May 6: Leading commercial property insurer FM today announced the wider launch of FM Essential, an insurance product to support a broader group of manufacturing companies seeking to strengthen their resilience and more proactively embrace a culture of loss prevention.

Unveiled at RISKWORLD in Philadelphia, USA, the new product comes at a time when manufacturing companies are facing an increasingly challenging global risk landscape. FM Essential offers manufacturers a flexible path to navigate those challenges.

“Resilience has evolved from a ‘nice to have’ to an essential priority for businesses around the globe,” said Alex Tadmoury, executive vice president, International, at FM. “FM Essential brings together engineering insight, data analytics and competitive risk transfer capabilities to help manufacturers navigate complexity and focus investment where it has the greatest impact.”

“Manufacturers in India are scaling rapidly ranging from relatively simple manufacturing operations with critical bottlenecks to highly complex sites with interconnected supply chains and operational dependencies,” said Sumit Khanna, CEO, FMIC India – Reinsurance Branch. “FM Essential is designed to meet organizations at an earlier stage of their resilience journey, combining engineering insight from a loss‑prevention standpoint with data‑led intelligence and a more flexible (re)insurance pathway. In India, with our cedants, the reinsurance offering reflects the realities of growth in this market and provides manufacturers with an option to a long‑term, risk‑to‑resilience strategy and towards continual stability.”

A new insurance option for manufacturers

Offered through FM’s broker partners, FM Essential is initially designed to serve manufacturing companies with a medium risk complexity profile. The solution features a more streamlined quote process and supports both 100% capacity placements as well as insurance programs shared by multiple insurers.

FM Essential goes beyond a traditional insurance product by combining core engineering solutions and claims expertise with intelligence built on FM’s unique understanding of property risk. FM’s artificial intelligence capability is grounded in data from more than 40,000 client location evaluations conducted each year by 1,100 engineers and validated through real loss experience.

Through FM Essential, brokers can offer an additional placement option for their manufacturing clients, helping to strengthen client relationships by supporting their long‑term resilience journeys, not just renewal‑to‑renewal transactions.

In addition, FM Essential is designed to support manufacturers at earlier stages of their resilience journey, complementing FM’s broader suite of property insurance solutions.

After a successful pilot last year in New York, France and India, FM Essential is now expanding into further hubs in Chicago and Cleveland, with Atlanta and Dallas to follow shortly in the United States. On the international stage, Australia, South Korea, Italy, Spain and Switzerland launched the offering in the first quarter of 2026. Germany and the United Kingdom are slated for the second quarter. Additional countries will continue to be added in the future.

The new offering complements FM’s existing products—with FM Affiliated dedicated to middle-market non-manufacturing occupancies and specific verticals; and the FM flagship mutual with market-leading coverage and risk management solutions for large, highly protected businesses, including specialty industries.

FM unveils ‘Protect Your Purpose’ brand campaign

FM this week also launched a new brand campaign to bring these new initiatives to light. Called “Protect Your Purpose,” the campaign—debuting at RISKWORLD 2026—will highlight how FM’s engineers, data-driven insights and proactive partnerships help clients mitigate risk, strengthen resilience and pursue progress with confidence.

The campaign will feature an integrated mix of digital and social media, events and sponsorships, and content on FM.com, reinforcing FM’s belief that a company’s purpose is its most vital asset—and worth protecting.

 

New Delhi, May 6 (BNP): India’s manufacturing sector continued to show a positive growth outlook in the fourth quarter of FY26, even as businesses faced rising raw material costs and global economic uncertainties, according to a latest FICCI survey.

The survey indicates that overall industry sentiment remains steady across key manufacturing segments, despite cost pressures impacting input expenses. Capacity utilisation witnessed a marginal decline to around 72%, compared to the previous quarter.

However, manufacturers continue to remain optimistic about the next six months, with a stable investment outlook reflecting confidence in demand conditions and long-term business prospects.

The survey covered major industries including automobiles, capital goods, chemicals, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, electronics and electricals, machine tools, metals, and textiles.

Overall, the findings highlight the resilience of India’s manufacturing sector, with sustained optimism expected to support production growth, investment activity, and broader industrial expansion in the coming months.

May 6 (BNP): Indian equity markets continued their upward momentum on Wednesday, with benchmark indices closing strongly in positive territory amid broad-based buying across sectors.

The BSE Sensex surged by 941 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced by 298 points, reflecting strong investor sentiment.

The rally was supported by positive global cues and sustained domestic inflows, with financials, energy, and IT stocks leading the gains. Market participants noted improved risk appetite and continued optimism in key sectors.

Overall, the trading session highlighted strong bullish momentum, with benchmarks extending their gains on broad market participation.

New Delhi, May 6 (BNP): India and the European Union have announced a joint initiative worth ₹169 crore aimed at accelerating the development of advanced technologies for recycling electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

The collaboration is designed to support sustainable mobility by improving the way used EV batteries are processed, recovered, and reused. The focus will be on developing innovative recycling methods that can help recover critical materials, reduce environmental waste, and strengthen the circular economy in the clean energy sector.

Officials noted that the partnership reflects a shared commitment between India and the EU to promote greener transportation solutions and reduce dependency on raw material extraction through more efficient resource recovery systems.

The initiative is expected to encourage research and innovation in battery recycling technologies while also supporting long-term environmental and economic sustainability goals in the EV ecosystem.

May 6 (BNP): India’s external trade has reached a historic milestone, with total exports of goods and services touching an all-time high of $863.11 billion in FY 2025–26.

The sharp rise was primarily driven by the robust performance of the services sector, which continued to outperform merchandise exports. Strong global demand for India’s IT services, business process outsourcing, consulting, and professional services played a major role in boosting overall export earnings.

 Merchandise exports also contributed to the growth, though at a more moderate pace compared to services. At the same time, imports increased due to higher demand for crude oil, raw materials, and other industrial inputs, reflecting continued domestic consumption and manufacturing activity.

Despite global economic uncertainties, India’s export sector remained resilient and diversified. The strong services-led growth highlights the country’s increasing integration into global value chains and its rising importance as a global services hub.

Overall, the record export performance underscores the structural strength of India’s external sector, with services emerging as the key driver of growth in FY 2025–26.

New Delhi, May 6 (BNP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Vietnamese President To Lam at Hyderabad House, focusing on strengthening the India–Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The discussions covered key areas of cooperation including trade and investment, defence and security, digital technology, energy, and connectivity. Both leaders also exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest.

The meeting emphasized enhancing economic engagement, improving supply chain resilience, and exploring new opportunities in emerging sectors such as infrastructure, critical minerals, and innovation-led growth.

The visit comes at a significant milestone as both countries mark 10 years of their upgraded strategic partnership. The engagement is expected to further deepen bilateral ties and open new avenues for cooperation between India and Vietnam.

New Delhi, May 06: BC Jindal Group, India’s leading conglomerate with over Rs. 18,000 crore turnover, has announced the appointment of Sanjay Bhargava as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its power business, Jindal India Power Limited.

In his new role, Sanjay Bhargava will be responsible for further enhancing operational efficiency and strengthening performance at the group’s 1,200 MW thermal power generation facility in the state of Odisha, which comprises two 600 MW units. The BC Jindal Group, led by Shyam Sunder Jindal, Promoter BC Jindal Group, commissioned the state-of-the-art facility in 2015, which has been running successfully with an increasing Plant Load Factor (PLF) year after year.

We are pleased to welcome Sanjay Bhargava as the Chief Executive Officer of Jindal India Power Limited. He brings a wealth of experience with him to the company alongside expertise of India’s power sector. We believe his leadership and experience will support and contribute to the company’s continued growth, “said a spokesperson of the BC Jindal Group.

With over 35 years of experience, Sanjay Bhargava is a thermal power plant professional who has worked in different domains of the power industry including, power sales strategy, plant operations and maintenance, commercial and regulatory, advocacy and business development, to name a few. In the past, he has been associated with reputed companies like Tata Power. 

Speaking on the appointment, Mr. Sanjay Bhargava, CEO, Jindal India Power Limited said, “I am delighted to join Jindal India Power Limited as the Chief Executive Officer. Along with the talented team at the plant, I look forward to continue driving operational excellence and sustainable growth at the facility. I am thankful to the leadership at BC Jindal Group for entrusting me with this opportunity.”

Since its inception, Jindal India Power has signed multiple Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with state DISCOMs and other consumers across Bihar, Haryana, Delhi, and Noida, to name a few. These agreements encompass short-term, medium-term, and long-term power supply arrangements, showcasing the company’s expertise in the sector.

Founded in 1952 by Shri BC Jindal, the BC Jindal Group, led by Shyam Sunder Jindal, Promoter, BC Jindal Group, is one of India’s leading conglomerates and is engaged in a diverse portfolio of businesses that includes packaging films, energy and steel products.