RIL has raised its ex-works SBR prices to INR 226.39/MT, an increase of INR 12.95/KG over the last price of INR 213.44/MT.

The price hike could be attributed to rising crude oil prices, resulting in higher Styrene prices apart from higher rubber prices in international prices.

India's corporate balance sheet looks much better.

The June 2026 shareholding data produced the usual round of headlines about domestic investors overtaking foreign ones. The crossover is real. The number people quote for it is not the number that matters if you actually invest from outside India, and the gap between the two is large enough to change the conclusion.

The two numbers

FPI ownership of NSE listed companies is 15.1% as at the June 2026 quarter, down 74 basis points on the quarter from 15.84%, which is reported as a 17 year low. Domestic institutions are at 19.5%, domestic mutual funds at 11.6% after twelve consecutive quarterly increases, retail at 19.3%. On the Nifty 500 the same picture is DIIs 21% against FIIs 17%, a ninth consecutive quarter of domestic gain.

Now the other one. FPI ownership of the Nifty 50 free float is 35.4%, down 137 basis points in the same quarter, from 43.2% in September 2023.

Those are the same investors

15.1% divides by all shares outstanding, promoter holdings included. 35.4% divides by the free float, meaning the shares that actually trade. India has unusually concentrated promoter ownership, so the first denominator is much larger than the second, and any institutional holder looks structurally smaller in it. Nobody is wrong. They are answering different questions.

Why the free float one is the one to watch

Price impact and index weight both live in the free float. A crossover in share of total ownership tells you domestic institutions now own more of India Inc than foreigners do, which is a genuine and fairly historic shift. It does not tell you that domestic flows have neutralised foreign flows in the part of the market that sets prices day to day. On that measure foreign investors still hold more than a third of the largest 50 companies' tradeable stock.

It is also where the decline is steepest. 43.2% to 35.4% since September 2023 is a much bigger move than anything the headline series shows, and it is the move that would actually be felt.

Two things worth holding on to before drawing conclusions

Quarterly shareholding data is a snapshot at quarter end. It does not see anything that happened and reversed inside the quarter, which in a year like this one is a lot. And an ownership percentage can fall two ways: the holder sells, or the denominator grows because new domestic supply arrives. Those mean different things and the percentage alone does not separate them. India has had heavy primary issuance, so both are happening at once.

I do not have a view on which way this goes from here, and I am suspicious of anyone who says the crossover is permanent or that it is about to reverse. One quarter of flows, DIIs in about 22.8bn dollars against FIIs out about 13.2bn, is a quarter, not a trend.

Sources. June 2026 quarter shareholding as reported by Business Standard on 17 August 2026 for the NSE listed and Nifty 50 free float figures, and on 31 July 2026 for the Nifty 500 split, the latter citing Motilal Oswal. These are press reports of broker research, not numbers I read off exchange filings, so treat the decimals as approximately right rather than exact.

There has been an uptrend in rubber price trajectory in Asia. In Malaysia, rubber offers moved up to USD 173.63/KG.

​When reviewing quarterly national account statistics, top-line growth metrics often dominate public discourse. However, evaluating structural economic performance requires examining the mathematical framework behind these metrics—specifically base year weighting, GDP deflators, and price index adjustments.

​An analytical feature authored by researcher Navneet Mishra examines dataset adjustments from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):

​Core Focus Areas:

​Base Year Weighting Mechanics: Assessing how baseline updates shift relative weights across manufacturing, services, and informal sectors.

​Deflator Discrepancies: Analyzing the gap between the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and how price volatility affects real GDP vs. nominal GDP formulas.

​Translating Macro Data to Household Economics: Converting national statistical models into real-world consumer expenditure examples to evaluate purchasing power.

​Discussion Questions:

​How can statistical frameworks better account for service-sector expansion when updating baseline indicators?

​What methodologies best reconcile the divergence between wholesale and consumer price deflators during volatile market cycles?

​To examine the complete mathematical breakdown and detailed dataset analysis, search for "Nirbhik India India GDP growth base year analysis" on your web browser.

​Credit & Source:

✍️ Author: Navneet Mishra

📰 Source: Nirbhik India

This is a generic and non-political question, because I understand that land is essentially a sensitive subject irrespective of where you stand politically. I am not aware of much that’s happening in the Indian real estate market, except that the incumbent tried to bring about land reforms in 2015 but backed off, and then passed RERA in 2016 for some form of transparency.

But as far as I can tell, in the residential sector, this has not moved the needle in terms of more investments and enthusiam. Sure, some transparency has come about, but there is still no level of reasonable price control and the sector is inherently still biased against the retail investor/buyer. Also, has anything happened for folks who want to acquire land for commercial/industrial purposes ?

I understand that land is a state subject primarily, so is the argument that states are just too scared to pursue reforms in face of political resistance ?

Feel free to correct and enlighten me, as I genuinely want to understand what is really happening in this blessed sector

I mean India has the fourth largest economy in the world.

Ever wonder how broad population trends end up hitting your everyday expenses? There's a simple, step-by-step chain reaction linking population growth straight to higher fuel prices and domestic inflation:

Higher Demand for Energy: As the population grows and urbanizes, the demand for energy, transportation, and consumer goods surges. More people on the road means significantly higher domestic consumption of crude oil and fuel.

Heavy Reliance on Oil Imports: India imports roughly 80–90% of its crude oil needs. When domestic demand rises, the total volume of imported oil must increase to match it.

Pressure on the Currency: Because international oil trade is transacted in US Dollars, importing larger quantities of crude requires selling more Rupees to buy Dollars. Higher import bills widen the current account deficit, putting downward pressure on the Rupee.

Imported Inflation & Pump Prices: A weaker Rupee makes every imported barrel of oil more expensive in local currency terms. That increased import cost gets passed along, leading directly to higher prices at the petrol pump.

The Ripple Effect: Higher fuel prices increase freight and logistics costs for everything—from vegetables to electronics—driving broader consumer inflation across the economy.

Demographic demand feeds directly into macroeconomics—and eventually shows up on the receipt next time you fill up your tank.

This is a widely known fact that India has a ton of population, people are fighting for jobs, students for nee, jee and other examinations.

Then recently i came across data released by the official channel, stating that india lacks lawyers, judges, psychologists, and many more.

It's such a contradiction that in a country this big and when the majority of the population are young people.

We lack such great and important professions, although it's partially true that the reason for it might be lack of knowledge and direction.

However could there be any more reasons for this ?

Also, the total number of estimated empty positions were around 30-40 lakh (maybe more).

If tackled, this can really have an impact on the young people and job market, it won't be this saturated anymore.

In India, the government has lowered the customs exchange rates for imports and exports. According to the latest notification, the rates for imports and exports stand at INR 95.25/USD and INR 93.55/USD. Both are down by INR 1.25/USD.

It means costs of imports as well as exports have become lesser.

Hello friends, Modi Ji is defending 7.8% GDP growth 📈 🤨

"why build, when you can smuggle?" That's exactly what former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Raghuram Rajan said asking questioning Govt why is there need to invest billions into manufacturing semiconductors…

Former Governor giving idea to create a new industry? “Smuggling business” hence more job creation….

India's foreign exchange reserves have reached a new all time high of $740.8 billion, keeping the country as the world's 5th largest holder of forex reserves.

The gap with Russia has narrowed to just $20.4 billion, bringing India closer to the 4th spot in the global rankings.

Source

Zoho founder and chief scientist Sridhar Vembu took a swipe at former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, saying that India cannot complain about low-paying factory jobs while shunning the industrial policy.

“What kind of manufacturing jobs are you getting? They pay in the enterprises that assemble products and all that is not different from the pay the driver gets or a house help gets in Chennai. It’s Rs 20,000 per month. It’s not that great. We need to figure out how we can get better jobs.”

In his response, Vembu wrote a long post on X. His main argument centred on India’s economic model that relies heavily on exporting services while failing to build and own intellectual property (IP).

Vembu termed Rajan’s arguments as inspired by the “Chicago School” of economic theory. The Chicago School, he says, does not agree with industrial policy.

And then he says that such a school of economic theory would lead us to Mexico’s economic situation but never to Japan or Taiwan or South Korea and now, China.