📰 India Business Brief: Top Headlines for October 28, 2026

Business Standard

• L&T Q2 Net Profit Soars 33% to ₹5,202 Crore: Engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro posted a 33% year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit, powered by ₹1.47 trillion in quarterly order inflows that lifted its total order book to an all-time peak of ₹8.53 trillion.
• Mixed Auto Earnings as Bajaj Auto Rallies, Maruti Suzuki Slumps: Bajaj Auto registered a 62% surge in Q2 net profit to ₹3,436 crore on robust electric vehicle sales and export demand. Conversely, Maruti Suzuki reported a 26.4% drop in quarterly profit to ₹2,466 crore, hurt by elevated commodity costs, unfavourable foreign exchange movements, and treasury write-downs.
• PM Modi Outlines Tech Ambitions: Addressing industry leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that India is transitioning from adopting foreign technology to leading global innovation in semiconductors, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence, backed by the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) corpus.
• BFSI Insight Summit 2026 Spotlight: Regulators and financial leaders called for structural shifts; IRDAI Chairman Ajay Seth asserted insurance penetration must expand 1.5–2 times faster than GDP, while SEBI officials hinted at additional guardrails for retail equity derivatives trading.

The Economic Times

• Oil Climbs Past $115 Amid Saudi Refinery Strike: Global crude prices rallied after an attack on Saudi Arabia’s key refining facility revived fears of energy supply disruptions across the Middle East, exerting pressure on emerging market import bills.
• L&T Secures Massive International Inflow: ET highlighted that 63% of Larsen & Toubro's ₹1.47 trillion order inflow for the September quarter originated from overseas markets—particularly energy and infrastructure projects in the Middle East.
• MoSPI Restructures Enterprise Survey: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation announced plans to shift its Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises to an annual financial-year cycle starting April 2027 to capture micro-enterprise capital investments and energy usage better.
• Global Tech Layoffs Persist: International coverage focused on Microsoft offering voluntary exit buyouts to approximately 60,000 staff globally as enterprise capital shifts heavily toward artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Mint

• Jio Platforms Set for Historic Market Debut: Reliance Industries' digital and telecom arm, Jio Platforms, lists on the BSE and NSE today after raising over ₹30,200 crore in India’s largest IPO to date. Grey market trends pointed to a listing premium of roughly 20% to 22%.
• Market Caution Ahead of US Fed Decision: Dalal Street closed flat in choppy trade (Nifty at 22,749 and Sensex at 73,598) as banking and IT heavyweights saw selective profit booking amid high oil prices and investor caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy verdict.
• Reliance Industries Board Meeting Ahead: RIL shares remained in the spotlight as the conglomerate scheduled a board meeting for October 30 to approve its September-quarter earnings and deliberate on fresh fundraising via non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
• Corporate Dynasty Governance in Focus: Mint reported rising boardroom and succession tensions within major Indian industrial groups, including ongoing governance deliberations at Tata Sons involving TVS's Venu Srinivasan.