Amazon wants the quick-commerce crown 🛍️
Adani got big plans, nutraceuticals glow up, and school season kicks in.
🗓️ Morning, folks! ☀️
Markets bounced back strongly on Wednesday, with both Sensex and Nifty ending nearly 1% higher and closing near their day's highs.
HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank led the charge, while Infosys helped lift sentiment in the IT pack.
The biggest boost came from banking stocks, with Nifty Bank surging over 1.5% as almost every constituent ended in the green.
Despite the broader rally, defence stocks lagged and the Nifty India Defence index ended as the day’s worst-performing sector.
Also, Trent shares were in focus because…
💡 Spotlight: Amazon’s new venture is hurting Q-comm stocks 🛒
Shares of Swiggy and Eternal slipped after Amazon announced plans to build India’s largest “delivery-in-minutes” network through Amazon Now, expanding the service to more than 300 cities.
What is Amazon Now: it’s Amazon’s answer to Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto. It already serves more than 50 million customers across 15+ cities, offering everything from groceries and beauty products to daily essentials.
The bigger picture: India’s quick-commerce war is heating up.
Amazon wants to build the country’s largest delivery-in-minutes network, with tens of thousands of products delivered within minutes or hours, over 1 million products delivered the same day, and 4 million by the next day.
For consumers, that means more choice and faster deliveries. For rivals, it means a much tougher fight.
Let’s hit it! 💪🏻
1 Big thing: Adani lays down a growth map 💪
Gautam Adani used the Adani Group’s 34th Annual General Meeting to send a clear message: the company is betting big on India’s future.
And it’s not just doubling down on ports, airports and power. The group is now making major moves into nuclear energy, artificial intelligence and next-generation infrastructure.
Let’s start with the money.
The Adani Group invested a record ₹1.5 lakh crore in FY26. According to Gautam Adani, that accounted for more than 30% of all new private-sector capital expenditure in India during the year, making it one of the country’s largest investors.
The group announced its entry into the nuclear sector through Adani Atomic Energy and has already identified land for projects. Its goal? Build 10 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2035.
Adani Power is currently executing what the group describes as India’s largest private-sector power expansion programme, worth more than ₹2 lakh crore. The target is ambitious: 45 GW of power generation capacity over the next five years.
Meanwhile, Adani Energy Solutions continued adding to its project pipeline, taking its transmission order book to ₹72,000 crore and strengthening its position in high-voltage transmission networks.
Adani has partnered with Bhutan’s Druk Green Power Corporation to jointly develop 5,000 MW of hydropower projects, expanding its presence in renewable energy and cross-border infrastructure.
The Adani Group reiterated plans to build a massive 3 GW data centre platform by 2030. Gautam Adani revealed that the company has signed a binding agreement with Google for a gigawatt-scale data centre in Visakhapatnam.
He also said global technology companies including Microsoft, Uber and Flipkart are already working with the group.
Meanwhile, Adani Ports handled more than 500 million tonnes of cargo in FY26 and is aiming to double that by 2030.
2. Mamaearth goes beyond skincare 💊
Honasa Consumer, the company behind Mamaearth and The Derma Co, is acquiring a majority stake in Fluence Pharma for ₹135 crore.
Fluence Pharma makes science-backed hair and skin supplements that are sold through dermatologists. Its brands include Hair Fact, Skin Fact and Pro Fact.
What’s going on: Honasa will initially acquire a 58% stake and plans to buy the remaining 42% stake in phases over the next 5-7 years.
The company is also setting up a new subsidiary called Honasa Health to build its consumer nutraceuticals business.
The why: people are no longer looking only for skincare products that work on the surface. Increasingly, they are turning to supplements containing vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that claim to support healthier skin, hair and overall wellness.
Fluence gives Honasa something it doesn’t already have: a science-led portfolio, patented nutritional therapies and a network of over 3,000 dermatologists across India.
While we are on acquisitions 💸,
Rashi Peripherals is acquiring a majority stake in VDA Infosolutions for ₹368.5 crore. The stock gained nearly 4% following the announcement.
VDA helps businesses manage cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, data protection, storage and other digital transformation services.
Breaking it down: Rashi will initially acquire a 67% stake and then buy the remaining 33% stake in phases by 2029.
In simple terms, Rashi is moving beyond simply distributing IT products and hardware. It now wants a bigger role in helping companies build and manage their digital infrastructure.
The company also believes the semiconductor opportunity could become a meaningful growth driver over the next few years.
3. Back-to-school, bigger carbon footprint 🌍
India’s back-to-school economy is a massive $15 billion market that comes alive every academic year, benefiting industries ranging from school bags and uniforms to footwear, stationery, books, and Edtech.
But this annual spending spree comes with a hidden environmental cost.
Producing a single school backpack generates around 17.5 kg of CO₂ emissions, roughly the same as driving a petrol car for 70-80 kilometres.
If just 10 million families replace usable school bags unnecessarily each year, that translates to 175 million kg of CO₂ emissions from bags alone.
And that’s before accounting for uniforms, bottles, notebooks, and other essentials. As the back-to-school market continues to grow, so does the need for smarter consumption.
4. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
What went up ⬆️
👕 Textile stocks rallied up to 10% after Motilal Oswal initiated coverage on eight apparel and home textile companies, naming Gokaldas Exports, Arvind and Indo Count as its top picks.
🏢 Oberoi Realty rose 3% after the firm received RERA approval for its Gurugram real estate project.
✈️ IndiGo reclaimed the ₹2 lakh crore market-cap milestone as the stock recovered from losses triggered by the Iran conflict, rising 5%.
👀 Shares of DP Wires went up 4% after Amitabh Bachchan sold nearly a 1% stake worth ₹2.48 crore.
📈 HCLTech shares gained as it expanded its Nokia partnership for AI-powered network automation and signed a long-term deal with Neste to drive AI-led efficiency transformation.
What went down ⬇️
🚆 IRFC slipped over 6% after the government unveiled plans to sell a 2% stake through an Offer for Sale (OFS), with the floor price set at ₹91 per share.
🚗 Bajaj Auto shares slipped nearly 3% after the company moved ahead with its ₹5,633 crore share buyback plan.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
📦 IPO launch: Knack Packaging will launch its ₹440 crore IPO on July 1, comprising a ₹380 crore fresh issue and an OFS of 35 lakh shares by promoters.
🫡 Order boost: Bharat Dynamics won a ₹1,348 crore order from HAL to supply missile systems and defence equipment, boosting its order book.
📱 Leadership exit: Realme India CEO Michael Guo has stepped down amid Oppo-led restructuring, as Oppo, Realme and OnePlus move toward a unified operating structure.
🤖 AI expansion: Infosys expanded its multi-year partnership with GlobalFoundries to transform and manage AI-led IT operations.
And that’s a wrap as we enter a loooong weekend. 😎
While we work behind the scenes to bring you the best stories, why not watch the latest episode of This Is Business?
Tanvi Dessai travelled to Cherrapunji and spoke to Mayukh Hazarika, Founder & CEO of Cherrapunji Gin, to understand how a gin brand is being built in one of the wettest places on Earth.
That’s it for today 👋
Markets will remain closed on June 26 for Muharram. We’ll be back like clockwork on Monday.
Hit that 💚 if you liked this issue.
Good
you are wrong in mentioning Fluency is the part of science backed skin care at Honasa. Honasa ace Dr Sheth’s in 2022 May which was science backed… the space is a cross over between Derma-Cosmeto which is clinically prescribed.
your narrative is off the mark.