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Sectors in Focus

Major Corporate Developments This Week

Corporate Developments

1. Titagarh Rail Systems: Upgraded to Approved Vendor status by Indian Railways for supplying 3-phase locomotive traction motors, with an approved manufacturing capacity of 1,200 motors annually.
2. EMS: Emerged as the L1 bidder for a ₹190.86 crore water treatment and infrastructure project in Kota, Rajasthan.
3. Gravita India: Plans to add 59,200 MTPA of copper recycling capacity at Mundra by March 2029, with an estimated capex of ₹64 crore.
4. BSE: Signed an agreement with MSCI to explore the launch of futures and options contracts linked to MSCI indexes in India.
5. Hindustan Oil Exploration: Plans to drill four additional wells in the PY-1 field to restore production, leveraging the existing SUN platform and pipeline.
6. IndiQube Spaces: Secured a ₹68 crore workspace deal for 1,300 seats in Bengaluru with a leading global audio series platform.
7. Ceigall India: Secured a ₹274 crore road EPC project in Arunachal Pradesh from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
8. Karnataka Bank: Empanelled as an Arranger & Collector for HUDCO Capital Gain Bonds, expanding its government-backed investment product offerings.
9. Exide Industries: Invested ₹200 crore in its wholly owned subsidiary Exide Energy Solutions to support its greenfield multi-gigawatt lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility.
10. RailTel Corporation: Received a ₹166.8 crore work order from the Employees Provident Fund Organisation.
11. Atlanta Electricals: Received a ₹193.92 crore LoI from APTRANSCO for the design, manufacture and supply of 12 units of 160 MVA transformers.
12. Jubilant Ingrevia: Entered into an agreement to acquire a 40% strategic stake in electronics design and manufacturing company Zettaone Technologies for ₹189.2 crore.
13. Kalpataru Projects International: Secured new orders and notifications of award worth approximately ₹3,526 crore across its businesses.
14. Nibe: Secured a ₹563 crore order from the Indian Army.
15. CESC: Secured a 70 MW power supply order from SECI for 25 years at ₹5.25/kWh.
16. Reliance Industries: Partnered with Rolls-Royce to jointly develop and manufacture an indigenous combat engine for India's AMCA programme.
17. Mahindra & Mahindra: Unveiled the Global Pik Up, based on the Scorpio platform, with launch planned by April 2027.
18. Vedanta: Declared the successful bidder for the Punnam Manganese Block through an e-auction.
19. Shukra Pharmaceuticals: Entered into a strategic JV term sheet with Borns Medical Robotics to develop and manufacture AI-enabled surgical robotic systems for India and APAC.
20. Juniper Green: Received an LOA from SECI for a 230 MW firm and dispatchable renewable energy project connected to the inter-state transmission system.
21. Voltas: Entered into a JV with Atomberg for manufacturing AC compressors.
22. Texmaco Rail & Engineering: Agreed to invest up to ₹200 crore in Texmaco Defence Technologies alongside Vagus Defence Technologies.
23. HEG: Received NCLT approval for the demerger and merger scheme involving HEG, HEG Graphite and Bhilwara Energy.
24. Cipla: NCLT approved the amalgamation of wholly owned subsidiary Inzpera Healthsciences with the company.
25. Gabriel India: Shareholders approved a ₹1,881 crore preferential issue to Asia Investments and the acquisition of HL Mando Anand India's stake through a material related-party transaction.
26. Aditya Infotech: Approved a proposal to raise up to ₹1,500 crore through equity issuance via permissible routes including public issue and QIP.
27. Jain Irrigation Systems: CRISIL reaffirmed ratings at BBB-/Negative and A3, with refinancing of ₹652 crore debt due in FY27 remaining a key concern.
28. JSW Cement: Received a ₹10.27 crore GST show-cause-cum-demand notice from the Central Tax authorities in Kolkata.
29. Nitin Spinners: Increased its investment in CGE II Hybrid Energy, taking its holding to 7.36%, strengthening its renewable-energy exposure.
30. Hindustan Zinc: Increased renewable power's share in overall electricity consumption to 22% and targets 70% by FY28.
31. BPCL: Board approved raising up to ₹5,000 crore through NCDs in up to 10 tranches over one year.
32. Jubilant Agri & Consumer Products: Received a ₹5.09 crore GST show-cause notice for FY21–FY24 and plans to contest the proposed demand.
33. PC Jeweller: Repaid outstanding debt of another consortium bank, taking the number of fully repaid banks to 8 of 14, with over 96% of remaining debt also discharged.
34. Minda Corporation: Minda Instruments received ECMS approval to manufacture display module sub-assemblies at a new greenfield facility.
35. Interarch Building Solutions: Secured a ₹128 crore order from a major global FMCG player for a homecare/beauty and wellness manufacturing facility.
36. EFC (I): Approved the acquisition of 100% of Ultrafresh Modular Solutions for ₹54 crore through a share-swap transaction.
37. Alivus Life Sciences: Agreed to acquire a 76% stake in IQGenX for ₹9.12 crore.
38. Krsnaa Diagnostics: Proposed a preferential issue of up to 16.21 lakh warrants at ₹566 each, aggregating ₹91.75 crore.
39. Nibe Space: Received a ₹12.15 crore Letter of Award from MSEDCL for GIS survey, mapping and digital data preparation of its distribution network.
40. Dr Lal PathLabs: Its Dubai subsidiary incorporated a new company in Uzbekistan and will hold a 70% stake in the entity.
41. Ramco Systems: Its US subsidiary was selected by Pem-Air to drive AI-led digital transformation of its engine MRO operations using Ramco Aviation Software.
42. Strides Pharma Science: Received the USFDA Establishment Inspection Report for its Bengaluru facility, with the inspection closed under VAI classification.
43. RITES: Approved the sale of its entire 13% stake in Elicius Energy, after which the company will cease to be an associate.
44. Astra Microwave: Converted its wholly owned subsidiary Astra Space Technologies from a private company into a public limited company.
45. HFCL: Voluntarily liquidated and deregistered its non-operational Australian step-down subsidiary HFCL Pty Ltd.
46. Happiest Minds Technologies: NCLT Bengaluru approved the merger of wholly owned subsidiary Aureus Tech Systems with the company.
47. BLS International Services: Completed an internal group restructuring through the merger of its step-down subsidiary BLS International Vize Hizmetleri with iDATA.
48. Eicher Motors: Royal Enfield launched the Classic 350 Gorkha Edition at ₹2.11 lakh and introduced a Gorkha-inspired apparel collection.
49. TVS Motor: Launched the TVS Orbiter electric scooter in Sri Lanka.
50. One MobiKwik Systems: Completed the transfer of its LSP business to wholly owned subsidiary MobiKwik Distribution Services through a slump-sale transaction.

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Technofunda 101

Second-Level Thinking

Being right is not enough. You have to be right about what the market is getting wrong.

One of the most important ideas in investing is also one of the easiest to misunderstand: being right does not necessarily make you money. A company can be excellent, its industry can have a strong long-term outlook, and its earnings can grow meaningfully—and yet the stock can still decline. The reason is simple: markets do not price companies based only on what will happen. They price companies based on what investors collectively expect will happen.

This is at the heart of Howard Marks' concept of second-level thinking. First-level thinking is relatively straightforward. It looks at the company, forms an opinion about its future, and makes an investment decision accordingly. Second-level thinking goes one step deeper. It asks: What does the market already believe? What is reflected in the current price? Where is my view different from consensus? And, most importantly, why might my view be more accurate than the market's?

This distinction is critical because investing is a relative game. You don't make superior returns simply by identifying that a business is good. Everyone else may already know that. You make superior returns when your assessment of the future is better than what is already reflected in the price.

The Difference Between Being Right and Making Money

Imagine you analyse a company and conclude that its earnings will grow by 20% annually for the next three years. On the surface, that looks like a bullish thesis. But now suppose the stock is trading at 50 times earnings because the market is already expecting 30% growth.

Your analysis may be completely correct. Earnings may indeed grow by 20%. The business may execute exactly as you predicted. Yet the stock can still fall because the reality turned out to be worse than expectations.

Now consider the opposite situation. Another company is expected by the market to grow earnings by only 5%, but your analysis suggests that it can grow at 12–15%. The business may appear far less exciting than the first company, but if your assessment is correct, the gap between expectations and reality can create a much more attractive investment opportunity.

This is one of the most important lessons from Marks' framework: investment returns are driven not simply by what happens, but by what happens relative to what was expected.

A company delivering "good" results can see its stock fall if the market expected "great" results. A company delivering mediocre results can see its stock rise if investors were positioned for something much worse.

The stock market is therefore not simply a machine that rewards good outcomes. It is a machine that constantly compares reality with expectations.

First-Level Thinking vs Second-Level Thinking

First-level thinking might look at a company growing earnings at 25% and conclude, "This is a high-growth company, therefore the stock should do well."

Second-level thinking asks a more uncomfortable question: "If I know that earnings are likely to grow 25%, how many other investors already know this? And how much of that 25% growth am I already paying for?"

The first investor is analysing the company.

The second investor is analysing the company, the expectations and the price simultaneously.

This is why a great business can become a poor investment when expectations become excessive. A company may continue to deliver excellent operational performance, but if investors were expecting something even better, the stock can disappoint.

Conversely, a business that looks unattractive on the surface can become an interesting investment when expectations have become excessively pessimistic. If the business merely performs slightly better than feared, the change in expectations can drive a significant re-rating.

The opportunity lies in the gap.

The Hardest Part: Knowing What Is Already Priced In

This is where investing becomes much more difficult than simply analysing financial statements.

Suppose you believe that India's defence industry has a long runway for growth. That may be true. But if every investor already believes the same thing, and defence stocks are trading at extremely high valuations, the question is no longer whether the sector will grow.

The question becomes: How much better does reality need to be than current expectations to justify today's price?

Perhaps the market expects order books to grow 20%, margins to expand and capacity utilisation to rise. If the company delivers exactly that, the business may perform perfectly while the stock does very little.

But suppose your research suggests that the market is underestimating the speed of capacity expansion, the size of export opportunities or the operating leverage from higher utilisation. Now you have something more interesting.

You are not simply bullish on the company.

You are more bullish than the market.

That is the essence of second-level thinking.

Second-Level Thinking Is Not About Being Contrarian

This is an important distinction.

Being different from the consensus does not automatically make you a better investor. If everyone believes a company is attractive and you decide it is unattractive simply because you want to be contrarian, that is not second-level thinking.

The real question is why you disagree.

You need to identify something that the consensus is misunderstanding, underestimating or mispricing. Your differentiated view needs to be supported by evidence, reasoning and an understanding of the underlying business economics.

The objective is not to be different.

The objective is to be differently right.

That is a much higher standard.

If the market believes a company will grow earnings at 15% and you believe it will grow at 25%, you need to understand why. Is there an upcoming capacity expansion that the market has underestimated? Is there a margin inflection? Is a new product entering commercialisation? Is the industry structure improving? Or is there simply an overly optimistic assumption in your own model?

Second-level thinking forces you to confront these questions.

The Market Can Be Wrong in Both Directions

One of the most useful aspects of this framework is that the market can be excessively optimistic or excessively pessimistic.

Consider a company whose earnings have declined for two consecutive years. The narrative becomes negative, analysts downgrade the stock, and investors begin assuming that the decline is structural.

First-level thinking might conclude: "Earnings are falling, so this is a bad investment."

Second-level thinking asks: "What if the market is already pricing in a permanent deterioration, but the actual problem is temporary?"

Perhaps a new capacity is about to ramp up. Perhaps raw material costs are normalising. Perhaps a temporary customer loss is being replaced. Perhaps the industry is moving from a period of oversupply into a more favourable cycle.

If earnings simply stabilise rather than collapse further, the company may deliver a result that is poor historically but dramatically better than what the market expected.

The stock can rise even though the business is still far from perfect.

This is why expectations matter as much as absolute outcomes.

A Simple Example: Good Business, Bad Investment

Consider two hypothetical companies.

Company A is a fantastic business. It has a strong competitive advantage, grows earnings at 25%, earns 30% ROCE and has an excellent management team. However, everyone knows this. Investors are extremely optimistic and the stock trades at 60 times earnings.

Company B is a decent business. It grows earnings at 12%, earns 18% ROCE and has a reasonable competitive position. But investors are deeply pessimistic and the stock trades at 12 times earnings.

Which is the better business?

Clearly, Company A.

Which is the better investment?

We don't know.

The answer depends on the difference between future reality and current expectations, as well as the price paid for that future.

This is why separating business quality from investment attractiveness is so important.

A great company can be a bad investment at the wrong price.

A mediocre company can sometimes be a good investment when expectations are sufficiently depressed.

Second-level thinking helps us understand why.

The most important lesson from Howard Marks' second-level thinking is that investing is not about being right in isolation.

You can correctly identify a great company, correctly forecast earnings growth and still lose money if the market had already priced in an even better outcome.

Likewise, you can invest in a company with an imperfect near-term outlook and still make excellent returns if reality turns out to be meaningfully better than what investors had feared.

The first-level investor asks, "Is this a good company?"

The second-level investor asks, "Is it better or worse than the market thinks?"

The first-level investor asks, "Will earnings grow?"

The second-level investor asks, "How much growth is already priced in?"

The first-level investor asks, "Is the outlook positive?"

The second-level investor asks, "What would have to happen for the market to change its mind?"

That final question may be the most important of all.

Because in investing, the goal isn't to predict the future perfectly. It is to identify where your understanding of the future differs from the market—and to have a compelling reason to believe you are right.

The real edge isn't knowing more. It's thinking better about what everyone already knows.

🚀 My Content For This Week 🎬 YouTube: How to Invest in IPO with AI | IPO Allotment Tricks​ ​ 📋 Twitter: Vivek Mashrani, CFA @MashraniVivek Finding the right stock starts long before you open a screener. I distilled the entire process into a 3-step framework. Step 1: Screen for Price Volume Strength Start with what the market is already telling you. Which stocks and sectors are showing genuine price-volume action: 12:8 PM • Jul 17, 2026 3 Retweets 18 Likes Read 5 replies ​ 📷 Instagram: 2 days in Goa. One room full of learners.​ 🔗 Linkedin: The quality of your portfolio isn't decided by how many stocks you own.​

🎙️ My Weekly Podcast For You

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Keep Compounding...

Vivek Mashrani, CFA Founder, TechnoFunda Investing

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