Good morning, midweek warriors! 🐪

Wednesday’s brew is rich with global drama and desi spice: Indian markets are clinging to RBI’s every word, and billion-dollar IPOs are queuing up faster than you can say “oversubscribed.” Even the IPL is in play, with Adar Poonawalla reportedly eyeing a blockbuster franchise buy. Let’s pour into today’s cup.

📰 Chai Shots

• 💎 Bvlgari bets big on India despite global slowdown: The Italian luxury jeweller is on track for record sales in India this year, even as demand softens worldwide. CEO Jean-Christophe Babin credited the success of Indian-inspired creations like the Kada and Mangalsutra—co-designed with Priyanka Chopra—for capturing affluent buyers.

• ✈️ Airbus & Air India set up pilot mega-hub in Gurugram: A new 12,000 sq. m training facility, jointly run by Airbus and Air India, has been inaugurated to prepare more than 5,000 new pilots over the next decade. Airbus says the project is part of its long-term commitment to building an aviation and aerospace ecosystem in India, including training engineers and collaborating with IITs and universities for R&D and talent development.

• ✈️ Recap: Air India secures $215M lifeline for debt refinancing: As shared in yesterday’s brew, the Tata-owned airline has raised $215M (₹1,790 Cr) from Bank of India and Standard Chartered through GIFT City. More in the Big Brew 👇

• 🏏 Adar Poonawalla circles billion-dollar RCB buyout: Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla is reportedly evaluating a full acquisition of Royal Challengers Bengaluru at a price tag of $1–1.2 billion. Current owner Diageo has previously denied sale rumours but is reportedly considering offers.

• ⚡ Jindal Power clears antitrust hurdle for Jaypee bid: The Competition Commission of India has granted Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Power approval to acquire debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates, should it win the bidding process under insolvency. JAL, which defaulted on loans totalling more than ₹57,000 crore, owns marquee assets like Jaypee Greens projects, hotels, and cement plants (currently non-operational).

📊 Market Masala

• 📉 Markets stumble into October with 8-day losing streak: The Sensex shed 97 points to close at 80,268, while the Nifty dropped 24 points to end at 24,611—marking their eighth consecutive decline. FMCG, IT, and realty dragged the indices, though autos, metals, and PSU banks managed gains. Tata Investment surged 16% to an all-time high, while Ola Electric rebounded 5% after recent losses.

• 🏦 RBI policy verdict due today: The Monetary Policy Committee will announce its decision with most analysts expecting a status quo at 5.5%, though some still forecast a 25 bps cut. While muted inflation and weak demand argue for easing, the RBI may prefer to wait to see the effects of recent GST cuts.

• 🤝 India–EFTA trade pact takes effect: Indian consumers will see cheaper Swiss wines, chocolates, apparel, and watches, while exporters of tea, coffee, textiles, leather, gems, and seafood gain wider access in Europe. The agreement covers more than 90% of tariff lines and includes a $100B investment pledge.

🌍 Global Masala

• 💊 Pfizer bows to Trump’s drug-pricing campaign: Pfizer has agreed to slash prescription drug costs for Medicaid and commit $70B to U.S. manufacturing. The deal enforces “most-favoured-nation” pricing, matching the lowest rates globally, and may ease state budgets even if patient co-pays stay low. Trump said more pharma firms will follow.

• 🚀 Nvidia hits $4.5T market cap: Shares rose nearly 3%, lifting the chipmaker to a record valuation. Nvidia’s GPUs are powering giant AI infra projects including OpenAI and Oracle’s $500B “Stargate” data centre and Meta’s $14.2B deal with CoreWeave. Analysts say Nvidia now accounts for 70% of all spending on new AI data centres.

• 🎬 OpenAI unveils Sora 2.0 video app: The new invite-only iOS app brings hyper-realistic, multi-shot video generation with safeguards. Individuals cannot be generated without consent, while studios can opt out of IP use. Expansion to Pro, web, and API access is planned. The launch reflects growing demand for creative AI tools that balance innovation with rights protection.

☕ The Big Brew ✈️ Air India’s $215M Refinancing: Flying Through Turbulence

Just months after one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters threatened to derail its fundraising plans, Air India has secured a $215 million refinancing lifeline from Bank of India and Standard Chartered. The six-year loan, structured via Gujarat’s GIFT City, carries a spread of 168 basis points over SOFR and will refinance short-term debt used to acquire six Boeing 777-300ERs.

• ✈️ The timing is critical: June’s tragedy shook lender confidence, slowing talks. This deal signals renewed faith in Tata-owned Air India’s long-term prospects, while also easing near-term repayment pressure by swapping short-term debt for longer tenure.

• 🏦 For Bank of India, it’s a landmark—it acted as mandated lead manager for the first time in a GIFT City loan. That underlines how Indian banks are carving out space in aviation finance, a field long dominated by global lenders.

• 📈 With 570 aircraft on order, Air India needs stable funding pipelines as much as new planes. This refinancing isn’t just about numbers—it’s about showing the world that despite turbulence, the carrier is still firmly in flight mode.

🤔 What does this mean?

• 🛫 For Air India: Breathing room on repayments, stability after tragedy, and proof that lenders still trust its growth path.

• 🏦 For GIFT City: A showcase moment as India’s financial hub becomes a competitive source of foreign currency loans.

• 🇮🇳 For Indian aviation: Financing confidence is as crucial as flashy expansion plans—this deal proves resilience matters as much as ambition.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 🎧 boAt reshuffles leadership for IPO journey: COO Gaurav Nayyar has been promoted to CEO, while cofounders Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta step back into board roles. The shake-up comes as boAt revives its ₹2,000 Cr IPO plan under SEBI’s confidential filing route.

• 🥩 Zappfresh extends IPO subscription: Online meat delivery startup Zappfresh extended its SME IPO to Oct 6 after weak demand, with only 52% of shares subscribed. Parent DSM Foods also lowered the price band to ₹95–100 to attract more buyers.

• 🛡️ Unmannd raises $2M for defence drones: The Bengaluru startup, founded this year, secured backing from Accel and Speciale Invest to scale its Titan logistics drone (already approved for Indian defence supply) and Fury, an interceptor drone that can detect threats from 30 km and neutralize them at 300 km/h.

• 🌍 Climaty AI bags $2M for green martech: Founded by Neel Pandya in 2025, Climaty uses Agentic AI to measure the carbon impact of media campaigns, optimize targeting, and offset emissions. With pilots in edtech, healthcare, and CPG, the startup will expand into APAC, EMEA, the UK, and North America, tapping into the $1T global ad market where 37% of spend is wasted on inefficiencies.

🤔 Chai Break Trivia

🧀 Did you know Switzerland is home to more than 450 varieties of cheese—from Emmental to Gruyère. Fun twist? The Swiss actually export most of it, while consuming nearly 22 kg of cheese per person each year themselves. Talk about living the dairy dream! 🐄🧀

🔮 What’s Brewing Next

• 📊 RBI MPC verdict today: Markets brace for the central bank’s rate decision, widely expected to hold at 5.5%.

That’s your Wednesday brew—extra strong today with a shot of tariffs, IPOs, and even IPL drama. From luxury giants eyeing Indian wallets to pharma giants wrestling with the tariff stick, October is off to a fiery start 🔥.

Stay sharp, sip slow, and we’ll be back tomorrow to stir up more chai. ☕✨