Business
Economic recovery to drive road traffic up 12-14% this fiscal
Road traffic volume will grow 12-14 per cent in the current fiscal, driven by economic recovery, continued industrial production, and increased preference for personal mobility fuelled by the pandemic, after declining 4-5 per cent in the last one year.
Resilient performance of the sector through the pandemic and adequate liquidity maintained by players would continue to support their credit profiles, a CRISIL Ratings study of 25 toll road assets across 11 states indicates.
Says Anuj Sethi, Senior Director, CRISIL Ratings, “Road traffic grew 57 per cent on-year in the first quarter this fiscal, albeit on a significantly contracted base of last fiscal, which saw more stringent restrictions. The bounce-back has been faster compared with the first wave, with normalcy returning in July as against September last fiscal. Consequently, traffic growth is likely to be healthy at 12-14 on-year.”
Commercial traffic, which is closely linked to the macroeconomic environment, is expected to log healthy growth this fiscal. Personal mobility, on the other hand, is likely to gain preference over public transport or shared mobility due to pandemic-related concerns, thereby driving passenger traffic.
With both these growth engines expected to fire, the sector’s growth prospects look brighter.
CRISIL’s base-case estimate, though, factors a modest impact of a possible third wave, and could see a downside of 200 basis points (bps) if it is more severe than anticipated.
The sector faced multiple headwinds over the last 2-3 fiscals, with revision in axle-load norms of commercial vehicles, economic slowdown and the pandemic affecting traffic.
To be sure, the sector remained resilient through the pandemic. A strict nationwide lockdown and restrictions on industrial activity disrupted traffic well into the second quarter of last fiscal.
However, once restrictions eased, there was a healthy bounce-back, limiting the decline in traffic to a better-than-expected 4-5 per cent last fiscal. This fiscal has seen a much stronger bounce-back after the second wave-induced restrictions in the first quarter.
While traffic in north, east and central regions remained fairly resilient due to lower caseload and thereby a faster relaxation of movement restrictions, the more industrialised southern and western states saw a comparatively sharper decline due to more stringent restrictions and slower recovery.
Says Anand Kulkarni, Director, CRISIL Ratings, “The credit profiles of players in the road sector are expected to remain strong, and their debt-servicing ability has not deteriorated due to the pandemic-related disruptions. Average debt service coverage ratio of the CRISIL Ratings sample is likely to be healthy at around 1.9x this fiscal, similar to our pre-pandemic estimates, after contracting by a modest 0.3-0.5x last fiscal. Additionally, adequate liquidity maintained by these players (debt service reserve of 3-6 months) would support their credit profiles.”
Healthy performance will continue to support investor activity in the sector, and CRISIL Ratings foresees strong monetisation potential in the sector through infrastructure investment trusts, private sales and toll-operate-transfer modes.
That said, an intense third wave impacting economic activity could moderate the sector outlook and will bear watching.
Business
Top 10 firms add nearly Rs 93,000 crore in market value last week

Mumbai, July 12: The combined market valuation of four of India’s 10 most-valued companies increased by Rs 92,995.48 crore during the last week, with HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel emerging as the biggest gainers, even as the broader equity market ended lower.
During the week, the Sensex declined 194.52 points, or 0.25 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 63.95 points, or 0.26 per cent.
Among the country’s 10 most-valued companies, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) registered gains in their market capitalisation.
In contrast, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and Hindustan Unilever together witnessed an erosion of Rs 49,294.13 crore in their market valuation.
HDFC Bank recorded the largest increase in market capitalisation during the week, with its valuation rising by Rs 35,808.09 crore to Rs 12,69,454.42 crore.
Bharti Airtel followed closely, adding Rs 34,896.92 crore to take its market valuation to Rs 11,98,774.22 crore.
LIC’s market capitalisation rose by Rs 16,065.5 crore to Rs 5,60,205.05 crore, while Reliance Industries added Rs 6,224.97 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 17,71,206.33 crore.
On the losing side, Hindustan Unilever registered the steepest decline, with its market capitalisation falling by Rs 12,088.65 crore to Rs 5,04,997.65 crore.
Larsen & Toubro’s valuation declined by Rs 11,040.23 crore to Rs 5,42,938.40 crore, while TCS lost Rs 8,574.87 crore in market value, ending the week at Rs 7,48,600.40 crore.
Bajaj Finance saw its market capitalisation shrink by Rs 7,813.58 crore to Rs 6,35,327.78 crore. ICICI Bank’s valuation slipped by Rs 6,315.32 crore to Rs 10,05,379.71 crore, while SBI’s market value declined by Rs 3,461.48 crore to Rs 9,56,430.44 crore.
Despite the mixed performance, Reliance Industries retained its position as India’s most-valued company by market capitalisation. It was followed by HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, TCS, Bajaj Finance, LIC, Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Unilever.
Business
Piyush Goyal to lead business delegation to Spain, Belgium and Finland to deepen trade, investment ties

New Delhi, July 12: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead a high-level Indian business delegation on a five-day visit to Spain, Belgium and Finland from July 13 to 17, as India seeks to deepen its economic engagement with Europe through enhanced cooperation in trade, investment, technology, innovation and sustainability, it was announced on Sunday.
The delegation will include leading Indian companies from sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, digital technologies, gems and jewellery, food processing, healthcare and design. The visit is aimed at expanding business-to-business partnerships and exploring new opportunities for collaboration with European industries, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said.
The visit will begin in Spain on July 13, where Goyal will participate in a business roundtable jointly organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Spain, CEOE and ICEX Spain Trade & Investment. The discussions are expected to focus on sectors including automotive, renewable energy, railways, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, food processing and tourism.
The meeting will bring together industry leaders from both countries at a time when India and Spain are celebrating the Spain-India Dual Year 2026, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations. Several Spanish companies, including Iberdrola, Acciona, CAF, Talgo, Gestamp and Indra, have already established a strong presence in India, while Indian technology and engineering firms such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro are expanding their operations in Spain to support digital transformation and Industry 4.0 initiatives.
In Belgium, where the delegation will travel on July 14 and 15, the minister will visit the Port of Antwerp to study Europe’s leading logistics hub and gain insights into multimodal connectivity, green logistics and resilient supply chains.
During the Belgium visit, Goyal will hold CEO-level meetings with senior executives of Thales Group and Silox Group.
The minister will also participate in the India-EU Business Roundtable and the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Plenary, where discussions will cover foreign direct investment, trade facilitation, sustainable technologies and resilient supply chains.
The final leg of the tour will take the delegation to Finland on July 16 and 17. Goyal will participate in the India-Finland Business Roundtable, engaging with Finnish companies across digitalisation, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and the circular economy.
Business
Q1 earnings, crude oil trends likely to drive Dalal Street next week

Mumbai, July 12: Investors will closely track the ongoing Q1 FY27 earnings season, movement in crude oil prices, foreign fund flows and developments in West Asia next week after the Indian stock market ended its four-week winning streak amid heightened geopolitical tensions and volatile global cues.
Benchmark indices closed the week with marginal losses as renewed tensions in West Asia and a spike in crude oil prices dented investor sentiment.
However, a strong recovery in the final two trading sessions, supported by easing global concerns and robust earnings from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), helped limit the losses.
The Sensex declined 0.25 per cent during the week to settle at 77,569.39, while the Nifty slipped 0.26 per cent to close at 24,206.90.
In contrast, broader markets remained resilient, with both the midcap and smallcap indices gaining more than one per cent.
Market participants are expected to keep a close watch on the June quarter earnings season, which has begun on a positive note following TCS’ better-than-expected financial performance. The upcoming earnings announcements from several major companies will be crucial in determining the market’s near-term direction.
Geopolitical developments in West Asia will also remain in focus. Investor sentiment turned cautious during the week after fresh US strikes on Iran heightened concerns over regional stability and global energy supplies. Any further escalation or signs of de-escalation are likely to influence risk appetite across global markets.
Crude oil prices will continue to be another key monitorable. Oil prices eased towards the end of the week amid expectations that the US and Iran would continue diplomatic engagement despite renewed hostilities and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The trajectory of crude prices remains critical for India, a major oil importer, as sustained increases could raise inflationary pressures and impact corporate profitability.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net buyers through most of the week, investing around Rs 4,670 crore on a net basis.
The continued foreign inflows, aided by softer crude prices and improving global risk sentiment, provided support to domestic equities despite intermittent volatility.
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