India's domestic benchmark indices ended lower for the third consecutive session on Thursday as selling was seen in the IT, pharma and financial services sectors.

Sensex ended at 75,735.96 down by 203.22 points or 0.27 per cent. The index had touched an intra-day high of 75,794.15 but also saw a low of 75,463.01 before closing.

The Nifty index ended almost unchanged at 22,913.15, slipping by 19.75 points or 0.09 per cent. The broader index traded between 22,923.85 and 22,812.75 during the session.

According to experts, another day passed with Nifty remaining confined within a narrow range, failing to break beyond a defined level.

The Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, the parent company of Maruti Suzuki India, on Thursday announced a new mid-term plan with a "rethink" in its strategy as "the business environment has changed due to declining market share in India" and the growing electrical vehicles segment.

In its new mid-term plan for 2025-30, the company has identified India as its "most important market". Maruti Suzuki aims to create a manufacturing capacity of producing 4 million cars annually to reclaim a 50 per cent market share in India and use the country as a global export hub as well.

The auto major plans to expand its EV lineup starting with the e-Vitara, and is aiming to launch four new EV models by FY30 in a segment where its rivals like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra already have a varied EV portfolio in India.

"In India, we will promote further localisation in line with the growth of the electric vehicle market," the company said.

The cumulative number of EVs on Indian roads will likely cross 28 million units in 2030, generating significant demand for energy from the grid, according to the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), a leading industry body focused on e-mobility, energy storage and hydrogen.

India's cumulative EV sales have crossed 4.1 million units in the fiscal year 2023-2024 and the future outlook for electric vehicle sales continues to be positive, driven by increasing environmental awareness, customer interest, advancements in Battery technology, and readily available and easily accessible EV charging infrastructure, according to an IESA statement.

“It is predicted that 83 per cent of the annual sales would be e-2wheelers, 10 per cent would be e-4wheelers, and commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses while three-wheelers would contribute to 7 per cent of sales,” IESA said.

India continues to make significant and sustained inroads in its decarbonisation journey, with the rapid increase in sales of electric vehicles, supported by demand and supply incentives, growing consumer demand, and a focus on developing charging infrastructure.

The revenue growth of the Indian auto component industry is projected to expand by 8-10 per cent in FY26, according to a report on Thursday.

Credit rating agency ICRA expects operating margins to remain range-bound and hover at 11-12 per cent in FY25 and FY26, supported by benefits from operating leverage, higher content per vehicle and value addition, while remaining vulnerable to any significant unfavourable movements in commodity prices and foreign exchange rates.

The disruption along the Red Sea route has resulted in a surge in ocean freight rates by 2-3 times in CY2024, compared to CY2023.

The government on Wednesday said that a recent circular issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has no impact on the overall FASTag customer experience.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) issued a clarification after reports surfaced, citing the NPCI circular dated January 28, regarding the change in FASTag rules which reportedly declines transactions on FASTags which are not active for more than 60 minutes prior to read time and up to 10 minutes after read time.

"The Circular has been issued by NPCI to facilitate resolution of disputes between Acquirer Bank and Issuer Bank on FASTag status while vehicle crosses Toll Plazas," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

The circular also aims to ensure that the FASTag transactions are created within a reasonable time of vehicle passing a toll plaza so that customers are not harassed by late transactions.

"All National Highway Toll Plazas operate on ICD 2.5 protocol which gives real-time tag status, hence the FASTag customers can recharge any time before crossing the toll plaza," the ministry said.

Some toll plazas on state highways are still on ICD 2.4 protocol which needs regular updates of tag status.

Domestic annual sales of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles are forecast to reach 1.1 million units by the end of the current financial year, driven by the government’s ongoing push for cleaner fuels, according to a Crisil report released on Wednesday.

This will take the CNG vehicle count in India to 7.5 million, a 3 times increase from 2.6 million in fiscal 2016, and translate into a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 12 per cent, the report states.

The rapid uptake has been undergirded by the expansion of the CNG infrastructure, with the number of filling stations set to rise to over 7,400 from 1,081 in fiscal 2016, etching a CAGR of 24 per cent.

The report also states that rising sales of CNG passenger vehicles has driven up their penetration in the overall passenger vehicle population to 15-16 per cent this fiscal-end vs 5.6 per cent in fiscal 2016.

The availability of over 30 CNG car variants, compared with single digit not long ago, thus catering to diverse consumer preferences, has accelerated adoption.

Global brokerage Jefferies on Wednesday said it remains optimistic about the two-wheeler industry in India, especially with recent income tax cuts in the Union Budget to boost consumption.

According to the firm, two-wheeler registrations in India grew at 4-5 per cent in January and the first half of February, following a strong performance during fiscal years 2022-24.

Jefferies projects a 13 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the two-wheeler industry from fiscal 2024 to 2027, which translates to a modest 3 per cent CAGR over the longer period from fiscal 2019 to 2027.

“The domestic industry is seeing divergent growth among companies, with TVS Motor Co. outperforming with double-digit growth and registration market share rise”, Jefferies said in a note.

"Hero MotoCorp Limited and Bajaj Auto Limited, conversely, are lagging in domestic two-wheeler growth," it added.

While the high capital intensity of the life insurance sector necessitates substantial investments to sustain growth, the increase in FDI limits will provide the much-needed capital boost to the sector, enabling insurers to expand their mortality coverage and increase penetration, according to a report released by rating agency ICRA on Wednesday.

ICRA expects growth in sum assured in the retail segment for insurers to continue to outpace the growth in retail new business premiums (NBP).

Private insurers saw a surge in retail sum assured by 41 per cent YoY in 9M FY2025 (30 per cent in FY2024), higher than the retail NBP growth of 17 per cent (7 per cent in FY2024).

Given the shift in product mix from the high value of new business (VNB) margin non-participating (non-par) products to low VNB margin unit-linked investment plan (ULIP) products, the pressure on the VNB margins is likely to continue, resulting in increased sum assured and rider attachments in a bid to offset the negative impact of the product shift, the report states

With Tesla finally gearing up to enter India later this year, the Elon Musk-run electric vehicle (EV) major is set to take a "top-down approach" - launch expensive models in the country first and then follow it up with the cheaper vehicles.

The electric car maker is reportedly set to import its fully-built Model Y from its Berlin Gigafactory, as the electric SUV is manufactured in right-hand drive configuration in the European facility.

The Tesla Model Y would cost Rs 60-70 lakh, considering the revised import duty structure recently announced by the government.

The country has reduced basic customs duty on high-end cars priced above $40,000 from 110 per cent to 70 per cent.

The right-hand-drive Model 3 is also made in Shanghai but that’s unlikely to arrive first owing to constraints on Chinese car imports.

According to industry experts aware of the development on the Tesla front, there are currently no plans for local assembly of Tesla vehicles.

Mobile phone exports from India are projected to exceed approximately Rs 1,80,000 crore this fiscal (FY25), representing approximately 40 per cent growth over the previous fiscal year, industry data showed on Tuesday.

In the 10 months this fiscal (April-January), India reached Rs 1,50,000 crore in mobile exports, with January alone surging past Rs. 25,000 crore in exports, according to data shared by the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).

There has been estimated over 680 per cent growth since the inception of the PLI scheme in FY20-21.

Mobile phones export is the largest growth driver within electronics, with the U.S. standing out as a key market for India’s smartphones.