📰 India Business Brief: Top Headlines for October 16, 2026

Business Standard

• Government Revises Fuel Windfall Taxes: Effective October 16, the Indian government increased the export levy on petrol to ₹2.5 per litre from ₹0.5 per litre, while reducing the duty on diesel exports to ₹8.5 per litre from ₹16 per litre.
• Fairfax's IDBI Bank Acquisition Advances: Following the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs' nod for Fairfax Financial Holdings to acquire a 60.72% stake for ₹52,878 crore in the largest financial sector FDI deal, reports indicate plans to explore consolidating Digit and IIFL Capital operations with the lender.
• SC Decision Clouds Yes Bank's Capital Buffer: Banking analysts highlight potential balance sheet and capital adequacy pressure on Yes Bank following the Supreme Court's final decision overturning the ₹8,415 crore Additional Tier-1 (AT-1) bond write-off.
• GIFT Nifty Points to Market Extension: Domestic bourses continued their rally at open, supported by easing crude oil benchmarks and upbeat sentiment following a 1,500-point surge in the Sensex during the previous session.

The Economic Times

• India–US Trade Pact in Final Drafting Stage: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the bilateral trade framework with the United States has entered the final legal drafting phase, aimed at expanding market access and setting clear tariff parameters.
• September Trade Deficit Narrows: India's merchandise exports climbed 23% year-on-year in September as imports hit a six-month low, significantly reining in the country's trade deficit.
• Fairfax Granted 15-Year Glide Path for IDBI Bank: Banking regulators have provided Fairfax Financial a 15-year window to gradually taper its equity stake in IDBI Bank down to the regulatory cap of 26%.
• Wipro Q2 Financials: Wipro posted a net profit of ₹3,201 crore with a 9% rise in revenue; however, large deal total contract value (TCV) fell 23% sequentially to $2.6 billion due to closure deferrals.
• Mutual Funds Pause Gold ETF FoF Inflows: Ahead of the Dhanteras and Diwali rush, top fund houses including HDFC, ICICI Prudential, and Tata Mutual Fund temporarily halted fresh subscriptions in Gold ETF Fund-of-Funds to navigate underlying market volatility.

Mint

• Tech Mahindra Surges on Q2 PAT and Bonus Issue: Tech Mahindra announced a 32.7% rise in net profit to ₹1,586 crore for the second quarter, greenlighting a 1:1 bonus share issue alongside an interim dividend of ₹15 per share.
• SEBI Restores 30-Minute VWAP for Derivatives Settlement: The market watchdog decided to reinstate the 30-minute Volume-Weighted Average Price mechanism for F&O expiries following volatility observed during call auction trials.
• Sundaram Finance Hikes Deposit Rates up to 8%: Reflecting higher funding costs following the central bank's repo rate adjustment, Sundaram Finance raised fixed deposit interest rates by 25 to 30 basis points across key tenures starting October 16.
• Q2 Earnings Radar: Shares of Punjab National Bank, Urban Company, Bajaj Housing Finance, and Federal Bank are set to see heavy trading action as they line up their Q2 FY27 results.

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