Best of the Week | Champions Trophy: A positive catalyst to India's happiness & economy

Cricket never fascinated me when I was younger. The gentleman’s game just wasn’t my thing—until the day India, under M.S. Dhoni, qualified for the 2011 World Cup quarterfinals. That was the moment I started believing in cricket, and before I knew it, I was hooked. From then on, there was no looking back. My love and admiration for Captain Cool made me ‘bleed blue’ for Team India and ‘bleed yellow’ for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League.

Fast forward to 19 November, 2023—the heartbreak of watching India lose the World Cup final to Australia still stings. But that despair turned into sheer joy on 29 June, 2024, when the Indian team brought home the T20 World Cup. And now, just 10 months later, India has clinched the ICC Champions Trophy—a tournament hosted by Pakistan. Sunday, 9 March turned into a night of national celebration as the entire country erupted with joy.

The victory wasn’t just a morale booster—it also gave a solid push to India’s hospitality industry. Restaurants, pubs, and bars saw an incredible surge in business as fans flocked to celebrate. Meanwhile, the digital world went berserk, with JioHotstar clocking over 900 million live views—more than 62% of India’s population!

In a nail-biting final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India carved its name in history, defeating New Zealand by four wickets. The energy wasn’t just online. From Mumbai to Chandigarh, the streets were alive with celebrations—crackers bursting, people dancing, and chants of victory echoing through the night.

The cricket fever wasn’t limited to stadiums and living rooms—it fueled a business boom across the country. Restaurants, bars, and breweries hosted packed watch parties, with industry insiders reporting a 15-40% jump in sales, and some outlets even doubling their Sunday revenue.

It was the perfect blend of cricket, camaraderie, and commerce—making this win unforgettable!

On to the best of Mint’s journalism from this week.

Streaming wars 

From period dramas and crime thrillers to comedy and biopics, streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and SonyLIV have kept audiences hooked. While Netflix even leveraged international hits like Squid Game 2 to sustain engagement, Disney+ Hotstar largely stepped back from originals, banking on sports, especially IPL, and Bigg Boss for subscribers. But with its merger with JioCinema, the game has changed. The newly formed JioHotstar, backed by Reliance and Disney, now dominates the Indian OTT space with 750 million viewers—far surpassing Netflix and Prime Video. Read More.

Blackstone eyes India expansion

Blackstone Group plans to expand its credit and infrastructure verticals in India, aiming to double its assets under management (AUM) in three years, senior executives revealed. Blackstone, which has $1.1 trillion in AUM globally, sees India as a top-performing market. Chairman Stephen Schwarzman highlighted plans to bring its $450 billion credit business to India, alongside infrastructure investments. India head Amit Dixit emphasized strong exit opportunities for investments, citing IPOs like that of Aadhar Housing Finance. Currently managing $50-55 billion in India, Blackstone plans to launch its credit arm in the country by the end of the year. Read More.

Starlink's India entry

After years of waiting, Starlink has finally secured marketing deals with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, paving way for its satellite internet launch in India. Yet, experts question whether the service—priced higher than traditional wireless options—will appeal to its intended rural audience. Both Airtel and Jio will sell Starlink’s terminals, but analysts warn that steep costs ( ₹30,000+ setup fees) may restrict adoption to niche sectors like remote healthcare and education. Read More.

IndusInd Bank crash

IndusInd Bank’s shares plummeted 27.2% on Tuesday after the lender disclosed discrepancies in its derivatives portfolio, sparking investor panic. The shock came after MD and CEO Sumant Kathpalia was granted a one-year extension by RBI despite the bank's recommendation of three years, which he linked to the derivatives-related lapses. The estimated financial impact of the discrepancies is ₹1,530 crore, but the Hinduja-backed bank’s market cap eroded by ₹19,051 crore. Read More.

Temasek acquires stake in Haldiram’s 

Singapore’s Temasek has agreed to buy a 10% stake in Haldiram Snacks Food for ₹8,500 crore, valuing India’s leading snack brand at $10 billion ( ₹85,000 crore). The Haldiram family is also in talks to offload another 5% stake to Blackstone or Alphawave Global under similar terms. The deal marks one of India's largest private equity transactions. Read More.

Spotify’s India bet pays off

Since its India launch in 2019, Spotify has navigated a fragmented market dominated by film music and price-sensitive users. Competing against JioSaavn, Gaana, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, the Swedish giant faced skepticism over its premium pricing and artist-first approach. Six years later, Spotify boasts 88 million monthly active users in India, per Comscore (January 2025). It recorded a 46% year-on-year growth in user hours, reaching 347 million in December 2024. Yet, a core challenge remains—turning its massive user base into a profitable venture in India. Read More.

BSE vs NSE: Sebi’s Options Curbs

Sebi’s bid to curb expiry-day options trading frenzy has barely dented overall volumes but has fueled competition between BSE and NSE. While NSE’s options ADT (premium) fell 13% year-on-year to ₹56,681 crore (Oct–7 Mar FY25), BSE’s surged nearly threefold to ₹9,943 crore, albeit from a lower base. With BSE’s Sensex contract gaining momentum, NSE countered by advancing its expiry day, forcing BSE to rethink its strategy. Despite regulatory curbs, overall options ADT dropped just 2.9% YoY to ₹66,624 crore. Read More.

Agentic AI: The new workforce competitors?

AI may not steal your job—but an AI-powered agent might. The rise of agentic AI—models that make autonomous decisions—is reshaping industries, from business services to robotics. AI-RAH, an AI-powered agent at Northwest Registered Agent, has been forming companies, filing reports, and resolving disputes without human intervention for two years. Meanwhile, OtoCo Inc. claims its AI created a limited liability company on its own in Delaware. Closer home, Zomato’s Nugget AI handles over 15 million support queries monthly, and Reliance-backed Addverb is building a humanoid AI to eliminate "3D jobs"—Dull, Dirty, Dangerous. Read More.

RBI on rupee defence 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to persist in defending the rupee, with the government backing the regulator's interventions to slow the currency’s decline. Despite speculation that RBI's new governor Sanjay Malhotra might take a hands-off approach, there’s no shift in the regulator's foreign exchange policy. The rupee has slid 3.5% to 86.88 per dollar in six months, outpacing declines in the Chinese yuan (1.7%) and the Japanese yen (0.7%). While initially seen as favouring depreciation, RBI remains committed to curbing volatility. India's forex reserves, now at $638.7 billion, have declined by $16.2 billion since December. Read More.

India-US interim trade deal 

As India and the US work towards a broad bilateral trade agreement (BTA), both sides are now considering an interim trade deal to expedite the process. The preliminary pact would sidestep sensitive issues like immigration and intellectual property, focusing instead on tariff concessions for lentils, almonds, and pharmaceutical tech. India seeks a structured tariff reduction, mirroring agreements with the UAE, Australia, and the European Free Trade Association. The full BTA, announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump’s 13 February meeting, is slated for fall 2025, but the interim pact may be signed earlier. Read More.

That’s all for this week!

If you have any feedback, want to talk about food, or have anything else to say about our journalism, write to me at shravani.sinha@livemint.com or reply to this mail. You can also write to feedback@livemint.com.

Best,

Shravani Sinha

Senior Correspondent