9 FINANCEOUTLOOKINDIAJULY, 2026ZERODHA TO ENTER INVESTMENT BANKING POST SEBI APPROVALINDIAN BOND MARKET SEES RS 32,630 CRORE FOREIGN INFLOWS POST REFORMSPFC-REC MERGER GETS NOD, CREATING RS 11 LAKH CR POWER FINANCE GIANTINDIA STARTUP FUNDING CROSSES $1.1 BILLION IN THE LATEST WEEKIndia's largest discount brokerage platform, Zerodha, is looking to step into the investment banking field and has applied to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for approval in this regard. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company has filed an application, seeking permission to function as a merchant banker. The application, submitted in April 2026, is currently under review by Sebi. India's government bond market is witnessing renewed interest from global investors after the Centre introduced a series of reforms aimed at making the country's debt market more attractive. The policy changes such as elimination of taxes on selected government bond investments for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), relaxing ownership norms and measures to improve the performance of the rupee have resulted in a renewed buying spree by international funds into India's debt market. The boards of state-run Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC Ltd have approved their pending merger, which will result in the formation of one of the biggest financial institutions in the power sector with combined loan book of Rs 11 lakh crore. The Indian startup ecosystem witnessed one of its strongest funding weeks of 2026, with 20 startups raising a combined whopping $1.11 billion across 19 disclosed funding rounds in the latest week (June 22 and June 27). More than 80% of the capital raised over the week was from YT funds, led by a $900 million investment in fintech unicorn CRED by Meta.
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