Making smalltalk

Between March 2023 and September 2024, the universe of smallcap companies delivered a staggering 120% return, leaving investors sitting on gains few would have thought possible. By June 2026, most of those gains were gone. The Nifty Smallcap 100 had fallen 2.7% over a brutal 630-day stretch, and the funds built around quality and momentum, the strategies investors trust most,...

As of April 2026, every litre of petrol sold across India contains 20% ethanol: a biofuel made from sugarcane, maize, and surplus food grains. India met its E20 blending target five years ahead of the original 2030 deadline.

But E20 may only be the beginning at the pumps. E85 fuel is already available at select outlets, and in June, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari signed ...

For most of its existence, Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited (KOEL, as the market calls it) has been the kind of company investors describe as “solid but boring.” A maker of diesel engines and generator sets, dependable as the machines it builds. The kind of name that shows up in infrastructure sites and farm fields across India is rarely in the headlines.

That changed ...

Most equity portfolios carry a hidden assumption: that diversification across sectors is, by itself, a form of risk management. Spread capital broadly enough, the thinking goes, and no single sector’s downturn can cause serious damage.

The problem with this view is that it treats all sector exposure as equivalent, regardless of what is actually happening inside thos...

The Great Indian Data Paradox: A Strategic Imperative

India currently finds itself in the midst of a striking contradiction. While the nation generates nearly 20% of the world’s data, it hosts only 3% of global data center capacity. This “Data Paradox” is more than a simple infrastructure gap; it is a call to action for “Sovereign AI.” In an era whe...