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AI Hopes Soar, India Pushes Asset Monetisation, Trump Spins Growth Story

NVIDIA’s better-than-expected results announced Wednesday have served to assuage market concerns over an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble. This is illogical. If NVIDIA continues to receive strong orders for its chips, it only shows that people continue to put up data centres, not that these data centres and the AI they deliver will find revenue-generating applications that would collectively justify the gargantuan investments going into the sector, or the gravity-defying valuations being given to AI firms. That remains to be seen.

Concluding that NVIDIA’s bumper results rule out an AI bubble is like concluding, during the dotcom bubble at the turn of the century, that AOL’s acquisition of Time-Warner for a fancy sum of $165 billion ‘proved’ that there was no bubble, and that all internet company valuations were perfectly justified.

Bubbles have spherical boundaries that distort the vision of anyone trying to assess what the world looks like from within the bubble.

However, the NVIDIA results announcement did serve a useful purpose. The company’s boss, Jensen Huang, said that rumours of the death of software companies at the hands of AI firms that churn out ever-cleverer agents are highly exaggerated. Software companies will continue to perform useful functions, he said. 

This column had said much the same in its edition on February 6, while commenting on the sudden plunge in software company prices following Anthropic’s announcement of clever tools that many feared would make software companies redundant.

The Great Asset Bet

The government has announced a second instalment of the asset monetisation programme that targeted Rs 6 trillion and realised 90% of the target, according to an official release. The National Asset Monetisation Pipeline 2 (NMP2) has a bigger ambition. 

According to the Press Information Bureau release on the launch of the programme, NMP2 is to materialise a whopping Rs 16.72 trillion over the next five years. However, according to the Niti Aayog report, on which the monetisation scheme is based, the target for the next five years is a little over Rs 10 trillion, and the rest would be realised over several years beyond 2030.

This push could materialise in multiple gains and be a useful tool for augmenting investment in the Indian economy. However, the success of the asset monetisation project will depend on how transparently it is conducted. 

America’s Growth Despite Tariffs 

A significant insight from American president Donald Trump’s long peroration at his State of the Union address to Congress is that even in the world’s oldest democracy, institutions barely hold up to keep autocracy at bay. 

The entire world was keen to find out what Trump would tell the American people about his plans for Iran. Would he drag his country into yet another prolonged war in the Middle East, or would he be content to extract a replacement for the nuclear deal he had scrapped in his first term? Trump kept his Iran cards close to his chest.

Trump was economical with the truth on other matters as well. Every single one of the claims made in the speech has been fact-checked by American media and found wanting.

While the US economy continues to show robust growth, it isn’t because of tariffs.

Young Indian Aspirations Give Wings To Warehousing Companies

By Katya Naidu

What?

India’s logistics business is thriving as quick deliveries and overnight orders have found great success among Indians.

Warehouses are the focal points that make it possible for e-commerce companies to deliver their orders with speed and efficiency.

The warehousing and logistics sector, not surprisingly, is seeing strong growth from 3PL players, manufacturing, as well as consumer goods and services, with ecommerce driving a large chunk of incremental growth.

As per a report by JLL, overall demand for warehousing space is estimated to reach 1,200 million square feet (including light manufacturing) by 2027, growing at a rate of 7.75%.

Why?

Apart from favourable policies and the advent of GST, the shifting of sales channels due to e-commerce is driving a new era of growth for the sector.

Goods travel through multiple warehouses by the time it reaches the home — from a hub to a warehouse in the state, to a city, to urban logistics and a smaller hub in the area.

“When you order a Rs 300 product, it travels via four to five warehouses. So, the overall demand of the warehouse is increasing day by day. E-commerce demand is so high in urban logistics that the sky is the limit – especially with the way people’s behaviour is changing with the young generation, and the way they are ordering,” says Balbir Singh Khalsa, executive director of industrial capital markets and national director at Knight Frank.

Not all this growth is coming from the urban areas either. The Indian warehousing sector is also transcending from tier-1 cities to tier-2 cities. Also, tier-2 cities are accounting for a higher share of consumer demand.

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116.7 million

That’s how many active credit cards India had in January 2026, as the Indian credit card market revealed a striking paradox. Average spending per card fell 3.5% to Rs 17,060. Total industry spending moderated to Rs 1,990 billion, a 2.7% sequential decline. This cooling was primarily driven by the “Big Four” banks, which accounted for over 87% of the spending drop.

Overview: Despite the addition of 0.87 million new cards, stagnant transaction volumes suggest “spend redistribution” rather than new customer acquisition. Users are increasingly splitting existing budgets across multiple cards, causing a sharp 13% YoY fall in average transaction value.

Setting: HDFC Bank emerged as an outlier, gaining 43 bps in market share (28.4%) despite the broader slowdown. Conversely, SBI and ICICI Bank witnessed significant contractions.

Brave Face On AI

The artificial intelligence threat is “overblown,” Babak Hodjat, chief technology officer at Cognizant, told Reuters. Cognizant dismissed fears that automation will wipe out entry-level jobs. Chief Executive Ravi Kumar S said during the company’s earnings call that Cognizant hired 25,000 fresh graduates in 2025 and expects to exceed that number in 2026.

Setup: Indian IT stocks have shed nearly $70 billion in market capitalisation this month, marking their steepest drop in 23 years as investors worry that generative AI tools could disrupt traditional outsourcing models.

Implications: Even as markets grow anxious, industry leaders sound optimistic. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Chief Executive K Krithivasan previously said he has urged staff to deploy AI tools without worrying about cannibalising revenue. “We are not afraid this technology will take away our livelihood. We believe it is going to open up more,” he said.

India Slows Russian Oil

Indian refiners are continuing to keep new Russian crude bookings to as low as they can following a US Supreme Court ruling that vacated President Trump’s emergency tariff powers, Bloomberg reported. This judicial shift has complicated a tentative trade deal where the US promised to slash levies on Indian goods to 18% in exchange for India ending Russian oil imports.

Flashpoint: Imports are projected to plummet to roughly 800,000 barrels per day in March. While Urals discounts have widened to $20 below Dated Brent, millions of barrels remain stranded at sea as Indian firms pivot toward Middle Eastern tenders.

Setup: This shift exposes India to heightened geopolitical risks. As US-Iran tensions escalate, reliance on Middle Eastern supply could jeopardise energy security for the world’s third-largest oil importer.

DGCA Eases Ticket Modification

India’s aviation regulator, the DGCA, has introduced passenger-friendly ticket refund norms, allowing travellers to cancel or modify bookings without extra charges within 48 hours of purchase, subject to conditions, The Economic Times reported.

Flashpoint: The revised Civil Aviation Requirements issued on February 24 also mandate that airlines waive fees for correcting name errors within 24 hours when tickets are booked directly via airline websites. Airlines must complete refunds within 14 working days, even when bookings are made through travel agents, with responsibility resting on carriers.

What's Next? In cases of medical emergencies involving hospitalisation of the passenger or a family member on the same PNR, airlines may offer refunds or credit shells. The changes follow rising refund complaints, including during the December 2025 IndiGo flight disruptions.

Apple Pay in India?

Apple is currently talking to Indian banks–ICICI Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd.-- about launching Apple Pay in India. The company is looking to launch the service in mid-2026, according to sources Bloomberg spoke to. 

Backdrop: If Apple proceeds, iPhone and Apple Watch users will be able to add their debit and credit cards to Apple Wallet and tap to pay at stores. Apple is also exploring support for India’s Unified Payments Interface, the country’s dominant real-time payments network. 

Flashpoint: A launch would place Apple in direct competition with PhonePe, Paytm and Google Pay, which currently dominate India’s digital payments market. The move signals Apple’s push to deepen its financial services footprint in one of its fastest-growing markets.

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Fresh Twist To India-US Tariff Deal

On Episode 809 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Kunal Khattar, Founder at AdvantEdge. We also feature an excerpt from Episode 3 of our series “Eye On Retail”.

• Fresh twist to India-US tariff deal as US Commerce Secretary Lutnick drops by

• Why you have to brace for a warmer March and what that could mean.

• The Government jumps into ride-hailing business. What does this mean for consumers and drivers?

• Thousands of companies have filed lawsuits against the US Govt seeking tariff refunds that could touch $130 billion

• How both US and China are ganging up against India’s subsidies for manufacturing

Simplifying GST for Large Enterprises

Masters India is one of the biggest GST Suvidha Providers (GSP) under Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). Through our advanced solutions our mission is to assist businesses simplify their required compliance and workloads. We create smart compliance automation tools to help businesses simplify their compliance activities and run their operations more effectively. Join us as we continue to innovate and deliver actionable insights, strategic tools, and exceptional support to help enterprises stay ahead in the ever-evolving financial landscape.

Visit Masters India for more information.