Driverless metros in the making? 🚇
India's industrial output grows, Amazon layoffs, and ONGC eyes global oil giants
🗓️ Morning, folks! ☀️
Markets stayed in a sweet spot on Wednesday, extending gains for a second straight session and closing near the day’s highs.
Sensex & Nifty gained 0.6% each.
A tragic update came in on Wednesday morning, as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, along with four others, including the pilots and his security personnel, lost their lives in a plane crash in Baramati, leaving the state in deep shock and mourning.
💡 Spotlight: India’s factory momentum hits a 26-month high ⬆️
India’s industrial activity ended the year on a strong footing, with IIP growth jumping to 7.8% in December, the fastest pace in 26 months, up from 6.7% in November.
The pickup was broad-based, led by manufacturing growth of 8.1%, while mining expanded 6.8% and electricity output rebounded 6.3% after contracting in the previous month.
On the demand side, infrastructure and construction goods surged 12.1%, capital goods grew a healthy 8.1%, and consumption stayed resilient with consumer durables up 12.3% and non-durables rising 8.3%.
Let’s hit it!
1 Big thing: TVS Q3 hits top gear 🛵
TVS Motor’s Q3 numbers zoomed in the fast lane, after profit and revenue jumped sharply. The stock went up 4% on the back of the numbers.
By the numbers:
Net profit: up 52% YoY to ₹940.4 crore vs ₹619 crore
Revenue: up 37% YoY to ₹12,476.3 crore vs ₹9,097 crore
Labour code impact: ₹41.4 crore
What’s behind the ride: TVS’ India two-wheeler sales grew nearly 23%, comfortably ahead of the industry’s 16.9% growth.
A big push came from last year’s tax cut. The GST on most two-wheelers (up to 350cc) dropped to 18% from 28%, making bikes and scooters easier on the wallet.
Add festive demand, and domestic sales hit about 5.7 million units, a Q3 record.
And the EV story had its own kick. Electric vehicle sales jumped 40% to a record 1.06 lakh units in the quarter ended December 2025, up from 0.76 lakh a year ago.
2. ONGC dials global oil giants for help 📞
ONGC has decided to take help from big global oil companies to get more oil out of its old offshore oil fields on India’s west coast.
The why: the state-run energy giant has floated a tender to form technical support partnerships for its western offshore blocks, as oil production from these fields has remained flat for years.
In simple terms, ONGC owns these oil fields but wants experienced global players to step in and show how more oil can be extracted from them using better technology and global best practices.
The deals: some of the world’s biggest energy companies have shown interest, including Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and TotalEnergies.
While we are on partnerships 🤝,
Petronet LNG, India’s largest gas importer has signed two fresh agreements to strengthen gas supply in the country.
First, it entered a five-year deal with ONGC, under which Petronet will convert imported LNG into usable natural gas at its Dahej terminal.
Simply put, it helps ONGC meet rising gas demand by adding imported gas to its domestic production.
Petronet has also signed a one-year gas supply agreement with Mahanagar Gas (MGL), which supplies gas to homes, vehicles, and industries in Mumbai and nearby areas.
3. This deal brings driverless metros closer 🚄
Titagarh Rail Systems and Swiss automation major ABB Group have taken a major step to develop driverless metro train technology in India.
What’s brewing: ABB India, the Swiss company’s Indian arm will help design, build, and install the propulsion systems. These systems will power metro trains, and transfer technology for the Train Control and Monitoring System (TCMS).
Think of TCMS as the digital “brain” that controls and monitors the train. It will run on 25 kV AC, meaning the trains will use high-voltage electric power.
A metro train running on 25 kV uses over 100 times that voltage so it can pull heavy trains, accelerate quickly, and carry thousands of passengers without slowing down.
The significance: the new train technology will be rolled out on Line 5 (Kapurbawadi-Kalyan APMC) and Line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli).
These corridors are crucial as they cut commute times by up to 75% on Line 5 and 30-45 minutes on Line 6.
4. Fractal Analytics gears up for IPO 💸
Fractal Analytics is gearing up for an IPO in the first half of 2026.
It helps companies use AI and data to understand customers better, run smoother operations, and make smarter business decisions.
What’s brewing: the company has trimmed the issue size to ₹2,800 crore from the ₹4,900 crore it was earlier targeting.
Even after the cut, it’s still set to be one of the larger tech listings of 2026, and likely the second big tech IPO of the year after Amagi Media Labs’ ₹1,788 crore share sale.
What’s the opportunity: the global data, analytics and AI market is expected to grow to $310 billion by FY30, which works out to a 16.7% annual growth rate.
What really pops is that Fractal is growing even quicker than the overall industry. Its revenue grew about 18% a year from FY23 to FY25, which means it’s gaining ground faster than the market around it.
5. India’s rich are getting richer 🤑
India is seeing the fastest growth in Ultra High Net-worth Individuals (UHNI) globally.
While the US still leads in absolute numbers with over 283,000 UHNIs, India’s wealthy population is expanding at nearly 2x the global pace, signalling a rapid shift in where new wealth is being created.
6. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
1. L&T expands Middle East footprint 👣
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has bagged an order in the range of ₹5,000-10,000 crore from Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission of Riyadh City for work on the Riyadh Metro expansion.
About the deal: the order is to design and build an 8.4-km stretch of Riyadh Metro’s Red Line, including elevated and underground sections and five stations.
Riyadh is expanding its city train system to reduce traffic and modernise urban transport. L&T will physically build a key part of that network from scratch and hand it over in a ready-to-use form.
2. New order, new high for Suzlon 💰
Suzlon Energy shares gained over 4% after the company landed a first time wind power deal with ArcelorMittal.
ArcelorMittal is one of the world’s largest steel companies, making steel used in buildings, cars, appliances, and infrastructure worldwide.
Here’s the scoop: Suzlon will set up enough wind turbines to generate 248.8 MW of electricity in Bachau, Gujarat, and that power will be used directly by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel’s plants in India.
Suzlon is supplying 79 large wind turbines, and each one can produce 3.15 MW. This is Suzlon’s fourth big deal linked to helping steel makers cut pollution.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
❌ Pink slips: Amazon will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide over the three months, restructuring operations while expanding artificial intelligence initiatives.
🤖 Server surge: Blackstone is doubling down on India’s data centre boom with a ₹10,000 crore investment to build a 216-MW hyperscale campus on 16 acres in Ambattur, Chennai.
⚡ Power flex: Adani Electricity Mumbai has earned a AAA credit rating, making it India’s first private power distributor to be rated at sovereign level.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
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