India’s festive season opened this week with almost everything on the shelf costing more. Here is what moved.
1. The festive cart costs more, and the plan is to sell the upgrade
India’s consumer durables trade walked into the festive season with prices up almost everywhere. The average selling price of a mobile phone in India hit a record $315 in Q2 2026, up 14.4% on the year (IDC). LG Electronics India raised prices a cumulative 16-17% across its portfolio in April-June, Blue Star 5%, Crompton high single to low double digits — copper is up about 45% and aluminium 25%. Retailers still expect 8-10% growth, with Vijay Sales and Croma both pointing to trade-up demand. The pressure sits lower down: Sathya Agencies, 400-plus stores across the south, says large fridges and bigger TVs are being deferred. (Mint)
2. The food regulator published the names
On Saturday the FSSAI said it has issued more than 150 notices in recent months for misleading ads, false claims and labelling non-compliance — and listed the brands. Nestle India, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola India, Mondelez, Abbott, Danone, Red Bull, Monster, Ferrero, Kenvue, Diageo and Pernod Ricard were named. Twelve notices went to Amazon and Flipkart, with one Amazon warehouse licence cancelled; 30-plus went to KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Costa Coffee, with five Domino’s licences suspended. Publishing the list is the part that changes behaviour — a private compliance cost has just become a public one, in festive media season. (PTI / Business Standard)
3. The government asked Google to take down 57 pages pretending to be your bank
I4C, under the Home Ministry, sent Google three notices in August to remove Firebase accounts impersonating bank sites and apps. Seven of the 57 flagged were phishing pages mimicking SBI, ICICI and Axis; the rest were built to collect card details and OTPs already stolen from phones. India has lost close to Rs 52,000 crore to cyber fraud in five years, roughly Rs 22,500 crore in 2025 alone. Fraud has moved off app stores and onto legitimate cloud hosting, where a phishing page inherits a trusted Google domain — which is exactly why the RBI is pushing the .bank.in domain. (Business Standard)
4. Ather’s next showroom is the armed forces canteen
Ather Energy has been cleared to sell through the Canteen Stores Department portal from September 2026, with eight variants across the 450 and Rizta ranges listed. It is among the first two electric two-wheeler makers on CSD. Buyers get Ather’s own discounts on top of the GST benefit CSD already carries. The channel serves several million serving and retired personnel and their families, concentrated in the tier-2 and tier-3 towns where EV penetration is thinnest — and it carries no dealership rent, no local marketing and captive footfall. (YourStory)
5. A two-year-old watch brand raised Rs 7.5 crore to sell on ten-minute apps
Noida-based Bruno Milano raised Rs 7.5 crore on 21 August, led by Sauce VC with Titan Capital participating, and is spending it specifically on wider availability across e-commerce and quick commerce. A watch is normally a considered purchase, tried on and often gifted. Putting it on a ten-minute shelf is a bet that one price band of accessory has stopped being considered at all — and that the winning brands there are the ones whose price point survives a decision made in ninety seconds. (Indian Startup News)
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