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Indian companies' credit profile -- a detailed account of a business's borrowing history, financial health, and repayment reliability-- remained strong in the first half of 2026-27 fiscal year despite energy shock from West Asia conflict, according to rating agency Ind-Ra. At the end of last fiscal (April 2025-March 2026), Ind-Ra had indicated that the West Asia conflict would test the balance sheet strength that corporate India had built since FY22. The conflict proved to be one of the most significant tests of corporate credit profiles since the pandemic. "The corporate credit profile continued to show resilience through 1HFY27, with downward rating actions attributable to the conflict confined to a handful of issuers," Ind-Ra, Senior Director, Head of Credit Policy Group, Arvind Rao said. Upgrade and downgrade intensity both held close to FY26 levels as much of the shock was absorbed before it reached corporate cost structures. Diversified crude sourcing secured supply, and the
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked Indian industry to focus not just on scale but also on building stronger, more resilient, and better-governed enterprises as the country works towards the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047. Addressing an AIMA event here, Sitharaman said Indian industry needs to build institutions that combine scale with durability, higher quality, better governance and deeper technological capabilities. "India today has the scale of market, the entrepreneurial energy and the institutional capacity to aim much higher. Execution will determine how successfully we convert these strengths into lasting national capability," she said. The contribution of Indian management would be measured by the quality of enterprises and institutions being built today as the country moves toward Viksit Bharat by 2047, she noted. The minister urged industry to focus on creating companies that are not merely bigger, but better competitive, innovative, trusted and resilient
India Inc on Saturday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day address, saying it looks forward to working with the government to translate his announcements into actionable programmes to boost investment, jobs, innovation and manufacturing. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said, "As we mark 80 years of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address puts people, sustainability and India's global strengths at the centre of our development journey. "His call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India and Vocal for Local reflects our growing confidence to build a self-reliant, future-ready nation, one that has moved from being among the 'Fragile Five' to the world's fastest-growing major economy in just over a decade". Industry shares the prime minister's resolve to build on this momentum and is ready to match it with sustained investment in areas of strategic importance, Banerjee stated. Agriculture and food processing stand out as a real opportunity: with
Fitch Ratings on Wednesday projected aggregate revenue for rated corporates to rise by 9 per cent in the current fiscal, stronger than the 5 per cent estimated for FY26, which would keep credit metrics of Indian companies stable. Fitch, however, said that some corporates could be vulnerable to a re-escalation of hostilities between the US and Iran, which could push up oil prices, fuel marketing losses and raise working capital needs at oil refining and marketing companies, pressuring free cash flow. "Chemical companies could also face higher costs, softer demand and pricier logistics. We would expect the related rise in inflation and weaker economic confidence to also curb discretionary consumer and corporate technology spending," it said. Besides, emerging El Nino risks and a weakening monsoon could cut wind generation at renewable companies and dampen crop protection demand at chemical companies. The broader economy would also suffer from sharper food inflation and lower rural ...
The profitability impact of the recent West Asia conflict on corporate India is likely to be about half as severe as initially feared if the US-Iran ceasefire holds and energy supplies continue to normalise, Crisil Ratings said. The ratings agency said it now expects the conflict to shave around 100 basis points off India Inc's operating margins in fiscal 2027, compared with its earlier estimate of a 200-basis-point hit under a prolonged conflict scenario that included disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The revised outlook follows a sharp correction in crude oil prices after the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz under a fragile US-Iran memorandum of understanding, although Crisil cautioned that geopolitical risks remain elevated and gas supplies could take longer to normalise. "If the armistice sustains, two-thirds of the 34 sectors (we assessed) will see minimal disruption, with margin recovery in the second half mostly offsetting pressures of the first half," sai
Finance ministry officials and the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) on Wednesday briefed a joint committee of Parliament on a bill to amend corporate laws. The Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to amend the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008, and the Companies Act to facilitate ease of doing business, decriminalise minor procedural defaults and modernise the country's corporate governance architecture. The Joint Committee on the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, headed by BJP member Sudheer Gupta, is examining the bill. The panel has been gathering views from various stakeholders on the proposed changes in the laws. On Wednesday, NFRA Chairperson Nitin Gupta briefed the panel with regard to the bill. The regulator's Full Time Member Smita Jhingran and other officials were also present at the meeting. NFRA comes under the administrative control of the corporate affairs ministry. Finance ministry officials also briefed the committee on the bill. V
A resounding majority of India Inc have reported a positive and neutral experience with Goods and Services Tax (GST) with digitisation and rate rationalisation emerging as key factors benefiting businesses, but flagged concerns in delays in refund and audit related issues, a Deloitte India survey said on Tuesday. Released ahead of GST completing 9 years on July 1, Deloitte India's GST@9 survey called for the next phase of reform to move beyond digitalisation to an AI-driven compliance and data-led dispute reduction. The survey, based on 1,096 responses from leaders across eight industries, including MSMEs, showed increased stakeholder confidence with a "near universal acceptance", with 99 per cent positive and neutral sentiment, and with negative perception of less than 1 per cent. GST, which subsumed 17 local taxes and 13 cesses, was rolled out on July 1, 2017. The GST taxpayer base has grown from 66.5 lakh in 2017 to about 1.65 crore in 2026. The Deloitte India survey outlined th
A significant majority of Indian businesses report that external disruptions, such as climate shocks, infrastructure issues, and public health outbreaks, are impacting their ability to attract and retain talent, according to a report released on Tuesday. Nearly 50 per cent reported that disruptions already affect their ability to attract and retain talent, signalling that what began as a productivity issue has become a labour market concern, the Adecco India External Disruptions and Workforce Productivity Report said. The findings of the report are based on responses from 1,044 employers across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Around 97 per cent of Indian businesses now experience external disruptions like climate shocks, infrastructure pressures and public-health outbreaks as a constant operational reality, according to the report. The report revealed that for organisations, the impact from these disruptions ranges from lower productivity, rising absenteeism a