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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know I ndia’s No. 2 software services exporter Infosys unex- pectedly raised its revenue forecast onWednesday and signaled a healthy demand outlook, citing steady discretionary tech spending and renewed momen- tum in its core financial services business. The forecast lifted its U.S.-listed shares 10% in early trade and came just two days after market leader Tata Consultancy Services flagged strong demand in 2026, pointing to a possible rebound in India’s $283 billion IT sector. Clients who had cut discretionary spending amid tariff-related uncertainty are now funding AI projects. AI DRIVES RECOVERY HOPES “There is an industry-wide recovery as certain tech spends can’t be postponed beyond a point. It’s this incremental improvement in demand that is helping the industry on a gradual recovery path,” said Centrum Broking analyst Piyush Pandey, who called Infosys’ fore- cast revision a “positive surprise”. For the fiscal year ending March 2026, Infosys said it expects revenue growth of 3% to 3.5%, versus its own earlier estimate of 2% to 3%. Three brokerages had expected the company to nar- row the range to 2.5%-3%. “We have become (the) AI partner of choice for (the) largest clients in financial services and energy (sectors). Therefore, we see a good outlook even as we look into the next financial year,” CEO Salil Parekh said in a post- results press conference. Peers Tata Consultancy Services and HCLTech beat revenue estimates on Monday and also talked of AI-led demand. Third-quarter revenue for Infosys rose 8.9% to 454.79 billion rupees ($5.04 billion), beating the LSEG-compiled average analysts’ estimate of 452.27 billion rupees. Revenue from the financial services segment, which accounts for nearly a third of sales, increased 3.9%. Infosys, which won AI-led deals with Adobe and Sie- mens AG in 2025, did not disclose revenue from AI proj- ects. Last month, Accenture beat first-quarter revenue estimates on strong demand for AI-driven IT services. Net profit for the reported quarter fell 2.2% to 66.54 billion rupees, missing the average estimate of 73.79 bil- lion rupees on a one-time charge of 12.89 billion rupees linked to India’s new labour codes. Large order bookings, defined as deals above $50 mil- lion, rose to $4.8 billion from $3.1 billion in the previous quarter and $2.5 billion a year earlier. -Reuters I ndia’s Narayana Hrudayalaya plans to expand into selectWestern markets, exporting its low-cost healthcare model as it continues to scale opera- tions at home, a senior executive said. The Bengaluru-based chain, also called Narayana Health, was established in 2000 by renowned cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty. The group, which counts cardiac ser- vices as its largest segment, is considering future forays into parts of the Caribbean, Europe and other developed markets, Group Chief Financial Officer Sandhya J told Reuters in an interview. “We’re looking at markets where there is a stable rule of law and where other pri- vate players have been able to operate and create a mark,” she said on Tuesday. Narayana Health has a facility in the Cayman Islands and acquired the UK’s Practice Plus Group Hospitals last year, facilitating its entry into the UK. “At the moment, we will only focus on doubling down and making the UK (investment) successful for us...,” she said, adding that the group will look out for further international expansion after its UK unit is strengthened. The company operates over 5,900 beds and plans to add 2,000 more in India over the next three years. This domestic expan- sion involves an investment of 30 billion rupees ($332.61 million). Narayana competes with Apollo Hos- pitals, which has a capacity of over 10,000 beds and plans to add 3,600 more over five years. Manipal Health Enterprises has also grown its capacity to approximately 12,600 beds. For fiscal 2025, Narayana Health report- ed a 12.1% rise in revenue to 54.83 billion rupees ($608.30 million). Its CFO expects similar organic growth next year. Apollo reported revenue of 217.94 billion rupees for the year ending March 2025. -Reuters Infosys Raises Revenue View, Sparks Hopes Of Indian IT Turnaround Indian Hospital Chain Narayana Health Eyes International Expansion By Sai Ishwarbharath B and Haripriya Suresh By Rishika Sadam India Eases Rules For Foreign Investors, Proposes New Trade Settlement Mechanism I ndia’s markets regulator on Friday introduced several measures to ease foreign investor participation, in- cluding a trading session to determine closing prices and a proposal to let large foreign investors settle trades on a net basis rather than per transaction. The overhaul is aimed at making the markets deeper and attracting overseas investors amid accelerated foreign outflows from India amid steep U.S. tariffs, weak earnings and high equity valuations. Foreign investors often execute multiple buy and sell trades in a day and must currently settle each transac- tion. Settling only the net value – “netting” in market parlance – would allow those trades to be offset so only the net value is paid, reducing costs and funding require- ments. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) would allow netting across two or more stocks, benefiting exchange-traded and index funds. The mechanism would not apply to single-stock intraday transactions. SESSION TO DECIDE CLOSING STOCK PRICES To align the Indian equity markets with global prac- tices, the regulator approved the phased introduction of a closing auction session (CAS) for determining stock closing prices. SEBI said it would first introduce such a session for derivatives stocks, followed by other equity segments. Globally, major markets use a closing auction that pools all buy and sell interest to arrive at a fair closing price, while in India the closing price is currently based on average trading price during the day. The regulator said CAS will be implemented as a ses- sion of 20 minutes from 3:15 p.m. IST (0945 GMT) on all trading days, starting August 3. EASIER REGISTRATION FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS Earlier in the day, SEBI also notified the final rules aimed at making it easier for sovereign-backed and overseas retail funds to access the local markets, a move expected to ease access for nearly two-thirds of foreign investors. -Reuters PHOTO:REUTERS/FRANCIS MASCARENHAS PHOTO:REUTERS/YVES HERMAN A general view of the the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) headquarters in Mumbai, India, September 12, 2025. A logo of Infosys sits outside the company’s house on the opening day of the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2025. India News India Times (January 17, 2026 - January 23, 2026) January 23, 2026 9