RBI may allow banks greater flexibility in foreign exchange transactions and hedging

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 17, 2026 | Business

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to provide greater flexibility to banks’ authorised dealers (ADs) and standalone primary dealers (SPDs) in foreign exchange dealings.
| Photo Credit:
FRANCIS MASCARENHAS

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to provide greater flexibility to banks’ authorised dealers (AD) in foreign exchange and standalone primary dealers to deal in products and undertake foreign exchange transactions for hedging their exposures, balance sheet management and market-making.

As per the “Draft circular of Foreign Exchange Dealings of Authorised Persons”, AD Category-I banks can borrow up to 100% of Tier-I capital or USD 10 million (whichever is higher). Borrowing above this limit will require RBI approval. Standalone Primary Dealers (SPDs) can borrow from parents or banks abroad within the prescribed limits.

For managing proprietary and client-related exposures, ADs can undertake foreign exchange transactions, including Non-Deliverable Derivative Contracts (NDDCs) involving Indian Rupees (INR). These transactions can be cash-settled in INR or foreign currency, provided the bank (or its parent) has an operating IFSC Banking Unit (IBU).

Transactions by ADs will be permitted on RBI-authorised electronic trading platforms (ETPs). They can also use offshore ETPs if the operator is in a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) member country and regulated by CPMI or IOSCO.

Further, ADs may deal in currency derivatives on recognised Indian exchanges, IFSC exchanges, and FATF-regulated overseas exchanges (for non-INR contracts).

An AD can utilise the surplus funds in its foreign currency accounts for purposes such as overnight placements, reverse repo with maturity of up to one year, invest in overseas money market instruments, and / or invest in overseas debt instruments issued by a foreign state with original or residual maturity of up to one year.

Further, the AD can lend in INR and foreign currency. Un-deployed FCNR (B) funds may also be invested in long-term overseas debt instruments issued by a foreign state, subject to the condition that the residual maturity of such instruments shall not exceed the maturity of the underlying FCNR (B) deposits.

Banks designated under the Gold Monetisation Scheme can hedge gold price risk in overseas markets using OTC or exchange-traded products (subject to a “no net premium paid” rule on options).

Published on February 17, 2026

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‘Our equity returns have improved due to lower module costs’

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 17, 2026 | Business

Kuldeep Jain, Founder and Managing Director, CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions

CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions scaled back its fundraise from over ₹5,000 crore to ₹4,600 crore for its initial public offering on February 23, amid renewable sector headwinds marked by sliding valuations and cautious investor sentiment. Founder and Managing Director Kuldeep Jain speaks about pricing discipline, business model resilience and growth runway . Edited excerpts:

At the upper band, the valuation is about ₹12,800 crore. How do you defend that number in a cooling market?

If you step back and look at our journey, we have raised roughly ₹4,000 crore of cumulative equity over 15 years, including pre-IPO rounds. At ₹12,800 crore post-money, that represents about three times value creation. This is long-term compounding, not a short-cycle build-up. We believe the valuation reflects our 6-GW platform, long-duration contracted assets and improving project returns.

You are selling shares worth about ₹382 crore. Is that partial monetisation?

No. I had taken a personal loan earlier to buy back shares. The proceeds from this sale will go towards repaying that loan. It’s balance-sheet housekeeping, not cashing out.

How insulated is your business model from sector volatility?

We operate exclusively in the commercial and industrial renewable segment. Our weighted average PPA tenure is about 23 years. The majority of corporates prefer long-term contracts because renewable generation is capital-intensive and non-core for them. That gives us strong revenue visibility and predictable cash flows.

What does your current operating platform look like and how have the financials evolved?

We are a 6-GW platform. Of this, about 2.8 GW was operational as of September-end, and 3.2 GW is contracted and under execution over the next 24 months. We reported ₹1,000 crore in EBITDA last fiscal and ₹635 crore in the first half of the current fiscal. Over the past three years, our EBITDA CAGR has been about 58 per cent.

With tariffs on a downward trend, do you see returns compressing?

Historically, our weighted average dispatch tariff was around ₹4.3 per unit. For projects under construction, it is about ₹3.61 per unit. While customer tariffs have come down, our equity returns have improved due to lower module costs, better wind turbine efficiencies and improved capital structuring. Equity payback for projects commissioned in the past three years is around 2.5 years, compared with a historical average of 3.4 years.

Where do you see growth coming from?

Corporates account for nearly half of India’s electricity consumption, but only about 7 per cent of that demand is currently met through bilateral renewable arrangements. That leaves a very large headroom. Data centres and AI-driven infrastructure are also emerging as strong demand drivers. We believe the structural opportunity remains intact despite near-term valuation resets.

Published on February 17, 2026

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Next round of growth in pharma, life sciences will be in high value products: CEOs

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 17, 2026 | Business

(from left) Winselow Tucker, President and GM, Eli Lilly India; Stefan Miltenyi, Founder & President, Miltenyi Biotec, Germany; GV prasad, Co-Chairman & MD, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories; Eric Mansion, GM, India & South-East Asia, Sanofi, Singapore, and Shreehas Tambe, MD & CEO, Biocon Biologics, during the ‘CEO Conclave – Future of Pharma & Biotech (’26-’30): Growth, Headwinds & Opportunities’, at BioAsia 2026, Hyderabad, on Tuesday
| Photo Credit:
NAGARA GOPAL

To further harness global opportunity in pharma and life sciences, Indian industry needs to move up on the value chain to become a capability leader with focus on high-value products, according to industry captains.

The journey towards this end has just begun and may take a decade or more to achieve tangible results, said panelists of a discussion on the future of pharma and biotech over the next five years, during the CEO Conclave at the BioAsia 2026, here on Tuesday.

“India did become the generic pharma hub of the world, while value lies in innovation and volume lies in generics. There may not be any significant shift in product portfolio in the next five years, but growth can now be seen in biologicals and services,’’ said GV Prasad, Co-Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

However, an ecosystem for impactful R&D in value based products is underway with many global majors setting up global capability centres (GCCs) in India, which could boost innovation, Prasad said.

Echoing Prasad, Shreehas Tambe, MD & CEO, Biocon Biologics, said that Indian generics industry did make the country proud. “We have done well in cost arbitrage and reverse innovation, with high volume of exports and low value. It’s time to move up on the value chain by innovation,’’ he said.

India needs to build capability leadership along with capacity leadership, which it already enjoys. Five years from now would be “too soon” to witness big shifts in the industry, he said, adding, “But we could see new beginnings.’’

Key requirements for the next phase of growth are: Differential pricing, innovation, a technology-enabled ecosystem with robust application of Augmented Intelligence would be vital going forward, according o Winselow Tucker, President and GM, Eli Lilly and Company (India).

From a regulatory point of view, a different policy shift was also needed with provisions to reward breakthrough innovation, he said.

Capex

Is investing in innovation and drug discovery a big challenge for Indian companies? For GV Prasad, while higher expenditure on R&D in new molecules is always “lovable”, there is also a need to show return on investment to the investors as it would cut down margins and profit before tax. “We can still spend more on R&D, but it will not be adequate,’’ Prasad said. However, there were ways to fund higher R&D through collaborations and other models, he added.

“There is no valuation to the product pipeline in India and investors, including venture capitalists, would want to see profit visibility,’’ Prasad said.

Even though there are risks, Biocon had an innovation-led culture, according to Tambe. “We took bets which are not conventional,’’ he said, adding the outcome of R&D investments would decide the investor perception.

Published on February 17, 2026

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Will cap gold loans at 35-40% of overall advances, says ESAF SFB MD

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 17, 2026 | Business

K Paul Thomas, MD, CEO, ESAF SFB

ESAF Small Finance Bank (ESAF SFB) will cap share of gold loans in its overall advances at 35-40 per cent, while micro loans will form 30-35 per cent of overall loans, said MD & CEO K Paul Thomas. The bank does not intend to concentrate all its advances in one loan segment like it did in the past, when micro loans formed a third of overall advances. The bank’s focus on gold loans will continue till it builds its secured retail, agriculture and MSME loan book, he says. Excerpts:

Your portfolio mix is shifting from unsecured to secured loans. What is the strategy?

We have a strategy to grow our secured business, focusing on MSME, agri, and retail loans. Retail advances include vehicle loans, home loans, affordable housing and loan against property. We are not moving away from micro loans completely. We will continue to serve those segments and micro loans will form 30-35 per cent of our overall advances, while gold loans will form 35-40 per cent.

We are planning to set up 43 business centres to grow MSME and retail loans, and 25 have already been operationalised. These centres will have credit, business, operations and collection teams. Building a secured book will take time, so till then, gold focus will be there. We don’t want to have majority of our advances in gold segment.

Will you be able to increase market share in home loans given stiff competition on interest rates by PSU banks?

Even gold loans are very competitive, especially in the Southern region; PSU banks are very aggressive on gold loans. But it is the about customer service and relations that matter. We hold around 11.5 tonnes of gold as security as of December-end, one tonne higher than last year.

Stressed accounts have reduced in the micro loan business. Will the trend sustain?

In the broader industry, a lot of discipline has come due to new guidelines issued by Sa-Dhan. The new guardrails have helped improve asset quality. Monitoring of loans has improved and engagement has increased with customers. During Covid-19 period, we could not stay in touch with customers much. We are conducting field-level activities, financial literacy programmes, and medical camps.

The success of the microfinance industry was based on strong engagement with the local community. So, we are trying to bring that back. We have got dedicated community engagement teams that arrange various productive activities, helping lower delinquencies. Doubtful cases are not being sourced, which is why rejection rate has come down for us. Overall, our gross slippages in FY24 were around ₹950 crore, and net slippages were at ₹850 crore. In FY25, gross slippages increased to ₹1,870 and net slippage was at ₹1,620 crore. In 9MFY26, gross slippage is close to ₹970 crore and net slippages at ₹820 crore. Off late, slippages have reduced and we expect lower slippages in Q4 as well. Therefore, we are broadly reaching back to FY24 levels and credit cost will reduce drastically over the coming quarters, partially aided by gold loans.

What is holding ESAF back from applying for a universal bank license?

As of now we are not eligible. We don’t meet required bad loan ratios, and two annual years complete profitability parameters. We could consider after two years.

Published on February 17, 2026

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CleanMax Enviro’s ₹3,100-crore IPO to open Feb 23 at ₹1,000–1,053 price band

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 17, 2026 | Business

CleanMax operates 2.8 GW renewable capacity, with 43% serving data centres and AI clients. In FY25, revenue rose 7.6% to ₹1,495.7 crore, while EBITDA jumped nearly 37%.

CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions’ ₹3,100-crore initial public offering is scheduled to open for subscription on February 23 at a price band of ₹1,000-1,053 per equity share.

The renewable energy company has already raised ₹1,500 crore through a pre-IPO placement from institutional investors, including Jongsong Investments Pte Ltd — an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings — alongside funds such as GSS India Opportunities AIF Scheme I, 360 ONE Special Opportunities Fund, and Steadview Capital Mauritius Ltd.

Corporate green push drives timing

The IPO assumes significance as corporate India accelerates its adoption of renewable energy to meet sustainability targets, with data centres powering AI and cloud computing emerging as particularly voracious consumers of green power.

The issue closes on February 25, comprising a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to ₹1,200 crore and an offer for sale of up to ₹1,900 crore by promoters Kuldeep Jain, BGTF One Holdings (DIFC) Ltd and KEMPINC LLP, as well as selling shareholders Augment India I Holdings LLC and DSDG Holding APS. Bids can be placed for a minimum of 14 shares and in multiples thereof.

Debt reduction takes priority

Of the fresh issue proceeds, approximately ₹1,122.6 crore will fund repayment or prepayment of certain borrowings of the company and its subsidiaries, with the balance earmarked for general corporate purposes. CleanMax’s total borrowings stood at ₹8,078 crore as of March 2025.

In FY25, the company reported revenue from operations of ₹1,495.7 crore, up 7.62 per cent year on year. EBITDA rose sharply by 36.88 per cent to ₹1,015.07 crore, while it posted a profit after tax of ₹19.43-27.84 crore, reversing a loss of ₹37.64 crore in FY24.

2.8 GW operational, data centres key clients

CleanMax, which operates in the commercial and industrial renewable energy space, had an operational, owned-and-managed capacity of 2.80 GW as of October 31, 2025, complemented by an additional 3.17 GW of contracted capacity. The company develops renewable energy plants to supply power to corporate customers under long-term power purchase agreements, with a weighted-average tenure of 22.85 years.

About 43 per cent of its portfolio serves data centre and artificial intelligence customers. Its client roster spans automotive majors such as Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Bajaj Auto, TVS, and Suzuki India, alongside technology companies such as Amazon, Apple, Cisco, Equinix, and Google. As of September 30, 2025, 77.28 per cent of its FY25 contracted capacity came from repeat customers.

Incorporated in 2010, CleanMax provides net-zero and decarbonisation solutions across project development, land acquisition, EPC, financing and asset management.

Published on February 17, 2026

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ASK Asset & Wealth receives SEBI approval to launch mutual fund business

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 17, 2026 | Business

Sameer Koticha, Founder & Chairman, ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group

ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group, a leading player in the investment and wealth management space in India, has received regulatory approval from the SEBI to launch a mutual fund business.

It will be the 52nd fund house to join the mutual fund industry, which registered assets under management of ₹81 lakh crore as of January-end.

Four-Decade Legacy

ASK Asset & Wealth Management has a four-decade-long legacy in equity markets, with a proven track record of managing capital across market cycles through its Portfolio Management Services and alternative investment platforms.

The experience, built on disciplined research, risk management, and long-term wealth creation, will now serve as the foundation for ASK’s entry into the mutual fund space, it said.

New MF Foray

ASK Mutual Fund will bring this cycle-tested investment philosophy to a wider audience, offering investment solutions across active equity, passive strategies, hybrid and fixed-income products.

The mutual fund platform will cater to all investor categories, from first-time retail investors and long-term savers to HNIs and institutional participants, through transparent, well-structured, and scalable products, it added.

Sameer Koticha, Founder & Chairman, said ASK has navigated multiple market cycles with a strong, research-driven approach focused on capital protection and growth.

The launch of ASK Mutual Fund now enables us to extend this legacy to a wider investor base, he said.

“We complete our transition into a full-suite asset and wealth management platform, spanning PMS, AIFs, Private Wealth and now Mutual Funds for retail and institutional investors,” he said.

Blackstone Backing

In 2022, private equity funds managed by Blackstone acquired a majority stake in ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group.ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group, a leading player in the investment and wealth management space in India, has received regulatory approval from the SEBI to launch a mutual fund business.

It will be the 52nd fund house to join the mutual fund industry, which registered assets under management of Rs 81 lakh crore as of January-end.

Market Experience

The experience, built on disciplined research, risk management, and long-term wealth creation, will now serve as the foundation for ASK’s entry into the mutual fund space, it said.

Wider Investor Base

ASK Mutual Fund will bring this cycle-tested investment philosophy to a wider audience, offering investment solutions across active equity, passive strategies, hybrid and fixed-income products.

Full-Suite Platform

Sameer Koticha, Founder & Chairman, said ASK has navigated multiple market cycles with a strong, research-driven approach focused on capital protection and growth.

The launch of ASK Mutual Fund now enables us to extend this legacy to a wider investor base, he said.

“We complete our transition into a full-suite asset and wealth management platform, spanning PMS, AIFs, Private Wealth and now Mutual Funds for retail and institutional investors,” he said.

In 2022, private equity funds managed by Blackstone acquired a majority stake in ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group.

Published on February 17, 2026

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