📰 India Business Brief: Top Headlines for November 13, 2026

The Economic Times

• Retail Inflation Surges to 6.09%, Breaching RBI’s Target Upper Limit: Headline retail inflation accelerated in October, crossing the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance threshold of 6%. The spike has sparked fresh concerns across domestic debt and equity markets regarding the likelihood of monetary easing in the forthcoming MPC meeting.

• Ola Electric Q2 Revenue Dips 39% Amid Distribution Overhaul: Ola Electric reported an operating revenue decline of 39% year-on-year to ₹421 crore for the September quarter as vehicle registrations slid. However, net loss narrowed to ₹362 crore on cost cuts as the EV maker transitions from company-owned direct-to-consumer showrooms to a partner dealership model.

• Zee Entertainment Approves ₹600 Crore Share Buyback: The board of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) approved a share buyback program amounting to ₹600 crore at ₹91 per share. The promoters of the media conglomerate will not be participating in the buyback tender.

• Mars Targets Doubling of India Business Post-Kellanova Deal: Global confectionery and food major Mars announced plans to more than double its India revenue following its $36-billion acquisition of Kellanova, riding on strong quick-commerce expansion and rising packaged-food demand.

• Page Industries Discloses Inadvertent FEMA Violation: Innerwear maker Page Industries witnessed stock pressure after the company disclosed an inadvertent non-compliance under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to regulators.

Business Standard

• NITI Aayog Report Highlights Lag in PLI Employment Numbers: A comprehensive assessment by NITI Aayog revealed that only 28% of total employment generation targets under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes were met through FY26, raising questions on job creation efficiency across manufacturing sectors.

• MSCI Standard Index Addition to Spur $2 Billion Passive Inflows: The latest MSCI Standard Index rebalancing includes four Indian entrants—including Adani Green, Coforge, Meesho, and LIC—which is projected to trigger roughly $2 billion in foreign passive tracker inflows.

• LTCG Tax Filers Surge but Form a Narrow Taxpayer Base: Analysis of recent tax returns showed that while long-term capital gains (LTCG) declarations jumped, only 3.8 million individual taxpayers accounted for individual returns, with corporate entities continuing to generate nearly half of aggregate reported gains.

• Softening Crude Oil Prices May Provide Second-Half Fiscal Buffer: A sharp pullback in international crude oil prices is expected to deliver substantial macroeconomic relief to India’s current account deficit and import bill in the second half of the fiscal year.

Mint

• Bharti Airtel Charts Path to Become Debt-Free by 2029: Sunil Bharti Mittal announced that Bharti Airtel expects to completely eliminate its debt load by 2029. Following balance sheet deleveraging, the telecom provider will evaluate substantial capital return options, including share buybacks.

• Moody’s Raises India’s FY27 GDP Growth Projection to 7%: Citing persistent domestic infrastructure expenditure, strong services output, and resilient private consumption, rating agency Moody’s upgraded its real GDP growth forecast for India to 7.0%.

• RVNL Q2 Profit Rises 10% Despite Flat Revenue: State-run Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) reported a 10% rise in Q2 net profit to ₹253.71 crore, supported by an operating profit jump of nearly 20%, despite facing minor top-line contraction during the quarter.

• Andhra Pradesh Passes Dedicated Investor Protection Legislation: The state government of Andhra Pradesh introduced a new legal framework aimed at shielding private capital investments and enforcing contract safety to attract major long-term industrial projects.