Who will lead India’s top banks next?

India’s banking sector is quietly entering a high-stakes transition phase. Over the next 18–24 months, leadership calls at HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and IDFC First Bank will come under the scanner.

While incumbents like Sashidhar Jagdishan and Sandeep Bakhshi are eligible, the real intrigue lies beneath: Has a strong second line truly been built, or will boards look outside yet again? Recent trends suggest the latter isn’t off the table, with lateral hires becoming more common amid a shrinking leadership pool.

The Reserve Bank of India has tightened expectations, pushing for governance-heavy profiles. That’s why CFOs and audit-savvy leaders are suddenly front-runners. But does this shift risk sidelining business-first bankers?

As regulatory oversight deepens and banking complexity rises, succession is no longer a routine exercise. It’s a strategic gamble. Read the full story by Shayan Ghosh and Devina Sengupta.

THE MAIN STUFF

Why inflation feels higher than it is—why that matters: While India’s inflation, tracked by the consumer price index, may look stable on paper, households perceive it to be 4–6% higher. Why? Because they don’t track indices. They track grocery bills, fuel costs, and daily expenses.

Recent findings from the Reserve Bank of India show inflation anxiety is rising again, especially after global uncertainties like the West Asia conflict. Even if official inflation was just 3.4% in March, expectations for the future are climbing sharply. What’s driving this disconnect? Food and fuel prices—quick to rise, slow to ease—shape perceptions more than anything else. And for lower-income households, the anxiety is even sharper. Read on.

Ahmedabad GIFT City vs Mumbai’s BKC: Imagine being offered a 50–60% salary hike, a house, and even your child’s school fees. Would you relocate? That’s exactly what asset managers are pitching as they try to move talent from Mumbai’s BKC to GIFT City.

Driven by stricter norms from regulators like International Financial Services Centres Authority, firms need key executives on-ground. But fund managers aren’t rushing. Lifestyle shifts, family ties, and limited talent pools are slowing the move. Is money enough to build India’s next financial hub? Or will GIFT City need more than perks to truly compete with Mumbai? Read on.

The changing face of market power: Something interesting is brewing in India’s stock market. The dominance of giants like Reliance Industries and Adani Group is slowly easing, not because they’re shrinking, but because everyone else is rising faster.

The share of Top 10 conglomerates in total market cap has slipped from 31.4% in FY22 to under 24% now. Yet, they’re still growing, even outpacing the BSE Sensex in recent months. A broader rally is happening. Mid-sized firms, infra plays, and new-age businesses are stepping up, expanding the market pie.

But will this trend last? Or will investors run back to big, stable names when volatility hits again? Read more.

Kidfluencers and compliance: Cute reels, viral fame and, now, stricter rules. As India tightens norms under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, parents of kidfluencers are reworking strategies to keep content monetisable. From running accounts in their own names to appearing alongside kids, they are navigating regulatory grey zones.

But while brands still love child-led engagement, questions around consent and awareness remain. Do kids truly understand their online fame, or is it all managed for them? Read more.

The rise of premium Indian staples: Would you pay ₹2,000 for ghee or gourmet granola made from forest flowers? A growing tribe of conscious consumers is saying yes.

Traditional staples, from mahua to heirloom grains, are getting a modern makeover, with startups turning them into premium FMCG products. Brands like Two Brothers Organic Farms and Anveshan are selling traceability, sustainability, and trust.

Backed by social media buzz and quick commerce, even niche ingredients are finding urban buyers. But is this a lasting food revolution, or just a premium trend? Read on.

NEWS IN NUMBERS

• ₹95.87 crore: The worldwide box office collections of Akshay Kumar's horror-comedy Bhooth Bangla in three days since its release, including ₹26.5 crore from overseas markets.
• ₹1,731.71 crore: The net buying by foreign institutional investors over three consecutive days (April 15–17), the first such streak since February, after months of sustained outflows.
• 1%: The year-on-year decline in cinema screens across southern India in 2025, contrasting with 3% growth nationally, as single-screen theatres struggled with rising costs and OTT competition.
• $9 billion: The estimated net outflows recorded by Aave, a leading decentralised lending platform, since a $293 million DeFi exploit triggered a crisis of confidence.
• 73,000: The number of jobs cut globally in Q1 2026 across 95 companies, including in Meta, Oracle, Disney and Snap, according to data compiled by Layoffs.fyi.
• 50:26: The time in which Honor’s autonomous humanoid robot won Beijing's half-marathon, beating the human world record of 57 minutes 20 seconds set by Jacob Kiplimo.
• 10%: The approximate annual growth rate of European defence outlays in dollar terms since 2021, per Bloomberg Intelligence, driven by rearmament tied to the war in Ukraine.

AROUND THE WORLD

• Kevin Warsh pitched a case for Fed rate cuts. His future colleagues are sceptical.
• A new drug could prove to be a much needed hope against pancreatic cancer
• Pete Hegseth’s feud with army secretary Dan Driscoll spills into public view
• How to invest in AI power now—and what to avoid
• Why China’s central bank won’t save the country from deflation

CHART OF THE DAY

While growth in global coal demand slowed in 2025, India recorded a contraction of 14 million tonnes, driven by an early and unusually long monsoon season, as per the International Energy Agency's latest energy review report.

LOUNGE RECOMMENDS

A new book frames artists in their studios: ‘Portrait of an Artist’ is the latest title to delve into the workspaces of creative practitioners. Conceptualised and shot by Rohit Chawla, the book features the studios of 68 artists, ranging from modern to contemporary. It contains text by writer-curator Kishore Singh besides contributory essays by Ina Puri and Girish Shahane.

Among many striking images, three frames stand out—there is a closeup of the late Akbar Padamsee with his eyes closed. If this image is about looking inwards, the one that follows is that of revelation. Read more.

WHAT THE FACT

Farewell to a people’s pope: On this day last year, just a day after attending Easter services, Pope Francis passed away at 88. The first pope from the Western Hemisphere, South America, and the Jesuit order, he reshaped the Church with reform-driven leadership and humility.

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