Life Insurance Corporation of India's board has approved a 1-for-1 bonus issue, entitling shareholders to one additional share for every share held. The issue involves creating over 632 crore new shares, with a total value of approximately ₹6,325 crore, funded through the capitalisation of reserves and surplus recorded as of December 31, 2025. Bonus issues of this scale redistribute accumulated reserves into equity capital rather than deploying cash, leaving LIC's operating liquidity intact while doubling the share count in circulation. The immediate mechanical effect is a halving of the share price on ex-bonus date as the same enterprise value is spread across twice the shares, though existing shareholders see no dilution of their proportional ownership. For retail investors, a politically significant cohort given LIC's mass policyholder base and the government's majority stake, the move improves share affordability and secondary market liquidity. Investors should watch for the record date announcement and any revised earnings-per-share trajectory, as the expanded share count will compress per-share metrics going forward.
HDFC Bank's board has approved Rajiv Kumar, former Chief Election Commissioner and financial services secretary, as its Part-time Non-Executive Chairman from June 30, 2026. His chairmanship still requires RBI approval, but the move ends the bank's prolonged search for a permanent board leader.
Indian startups raised $1.1 billion across 16 deals in the week of June 21-26, 2026, up 2.5 times from the prior week, with CRED's $900 million Series H led by Meta accounting for most of the total. Square Yards became India's 131st unicorn after closing a $95 million round.
Jet fuel costs dropped sharply after a US-Iran interim peace deal, but airlines are expected to use the savings to rebuild margins rather than cut fares. Tight capacity, aircraft delivery delays, and weak budget carriers give major carriers unusual pricing power heading into the second half of 2026.
Meta is investing $900 million in CRED at a $4.5 billion valuation, the largest Indian startup round of 2026, as founder Kunal Shah moves to a global leadership role at WhatsApp. Miten Sampat takes over as interim CEO, and a major employee stock buyback is expected within weeks.
