DayStarter

Market snapshot

Equities: Wednesday close

The Nifty opened almost flat at 24,342 after mixed global cues. It briefly moved towards 24,370 to 24,375 during the first hour.

The index then fell below 24,300 and spent much of the second half between 24,260 and 24,290.

A sharp move during the closing auction pulled the Nifty down to 24,207.75, close to the day’s low and around 135 points below its opening level.

The Sensex closed 0.24% lower at 77,472.94. Mid-cap stocks were almost flat, while small-cap and micro-cap indices ended higher.

Sector performance

Metal was the strongest sector, rising 1.27%. PSU Bank gained 0.77%, while Bank rose 0.47%.

IT was the weakest sector, falling 1.47%. FMCG declined 0.95%, while Consumer Durables fell 0.93%.

F&O winners and losers

Hindustan Zinc was the strongest F&O stock, rising 5.72%. SAIL gained 5.59%, while MAHABANK rose 4.77%.

VBL was the biggest loser, falling 3.82%. Jubilant FoodWorks declined 3.01%, while Premier Energies fell 2.99%.

Commodities

Crude oil futures fell 2.09%. Gold declined 0.45%, while silver fell 0.46%.

Natural gas rose 1.81%. Zinc gained 1.48%, while copper increased 0.24%.

Currency and bond yields

USDINR was almost unchanged at 95.40. India’s 10-year government bond yield remained at 6.85. The US 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.63 from 4.66.

Institutional flows

Foreign institutional investors bought Indian equities worth a net ₹503 crore on 26 August. Domestic institutional investors bought a net ₹6,425 crore.

Across the five sessions ending 26 August, FIIs were net buyers of ₹2,153 crore, while DIIs bought a net ₹14,810 crore.

Macro view

GDP growth

A Mint poll of 21 economists expects India’s GDP growth to slow to 7.4% in the April to June quarter. This would be the slowest growth in four quarters.

Forecasts range from 6.8% to 8.0%. All but one economist expects growth to be lower than in the previous quarter. The official estimate is scheduled for release on 31 August.

Retail inflation averaged 3.93% during April to June, compared with 2.89% in the same quarter last year. Wholesale inflation averaged 9.37%, compared with almost no inflation a year earlier.

If GDP growth comes in around the poll estimate, it would still be higher than the RBI’s latest projection of 7.0% for the quarter.

Gaura Sengupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank, said higher input costs affected margins in Q1, especially in petroleum and manufacturing, and also pushed up the GDP deflator.

Kunal Kundu, economist at Societe Generale, linked the slowdown from the March quarter partly to the normalisation of an unusually weak GDP deflator and less favourable base effects.

CareEdge Ratings expects growth momentum to slow further in Q2 and Q3 as external shocks gradually affect different parts of the economy.

CareEdge Ratings

Engineering exports

India’s engineering-goods exports rose 18% year-on-year to $12.24 billion in July 2026. The figure was $10.40 billion in July 2025. Engineering exports have remained above $10 billion in each of the first four months of FY27.

Growth was faster than the 17% increase in overall merchandise exports. Engineering goods accounted for 27.7% of India’s merchandise exports in July.

Exports increased across most major markets. Exceptions included Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey. Exports to Saudi Arabia were affected by logistics problems around the Strait of Hormuz. Shipments to the US rose 20% year-on-year to $2.18 billion. Exports to China increased 32% to $349 million.

EEPC India

India’s trade deficit and import dependence

India recorded a trade deficit of $334 billion in 2025-26. Of this:

• Petroleum products contributed $120 billion.
• Non-petroleum products contributed $214 billion.
• Electronics alone contributed nearly $69 billion.

Electronics therefore accounted for 21% of the total trade deficit and 32% of the non-petroleum trade deficit.

Mining and manufacturing are India’s two most import-dependent broad sectors. Mining imports account for 35.4% of total supply in the sector. Among product groups, gems and jewellery have the highest import dependence at 56.5% of total supply. Electronic products are second at 29.8%.

Electronic integrated circuits recorded net imports of $30 billion in FY26. Semiconductors and electric accumulators each recorded net imports of $4.9 billion. Electronics made up 15.4% of India’s imports in FY26, up from 11.4% a decade earlier. Petroleum and engineering goods remain the two largest import categories, accounting for 22.4% and 20.2%.

Ajay Srivastava of the Global Trade Research Initiative said India’s imports have increased steadily for nearly three decades because of persistent gaps in domestic capacity across energy, electronics, machinery, critical minerals, chemicals and industrial components.

The government approved another 31 proposals under the Electronic Component Manufacturing Scheme last week, in addition to 75 applications approved earlier.

Crisil; Global Trade Research Initiative

Railways and private investment

The railway ministry is developing two new investment structures:

• Development Partner Model.
• Hybrid Annuity Model.

The models are based on structures already used in the highways sector. The ministry has identified 54 projects with targeted private investment of up to ₹1.81 trillion. This forms part of the Railways’ wider goal of attracting ₹2.62 trillion under the national monetisation pipeline.

So far:

• 18 public-private partnership projects worth around ₹16,686 crore have been completed.
• Seven projects worth ₹16,362 crore are under implementation.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has also outlined a plan to four-lane the entire high-density railway network of nearly 11,000 km. The seven high-density routes carry around 41% of total railway traffic while representing only 16% of the network’s route length.

Ministry of Railways

Premium petrol and possible E10 option

The petroleum ministry is discussing whether branded fuels such as XP95, Speed and Power95 can also be sold in an E10 formulation. Octane 95 now accounts for around 15% of petrol sales by state-run oil marketing companies. Its share was around 4% in March.

Octane 95 costs around ₹110 to ₹115 per litre, compared with around ₹102 for regular petrol in Delhi. It is available at around 90,000 PSU petrol pumps.

India-Japan startup cooperation

India and Japan plan to increase cooperation in:

• Startups.
• Deep technology.
• Innovation.
• MSMEs.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India has become the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, with nearly 250,000 startups established during the past decade. He proposed a four-pillar framework and a second Fund of Funds of around $1 billion focused on deep-tech companies.

Commerce Ministry

India-Denmark maritime cooperation

India and Denmark plan to expand maritime cooperation beyond green shipping. The wider areas include:

• Commercial shipbuilding.
• Naval shipbuilding.
• Port development.
• Maritime technologies.

Around 95% of India’s trade by volume moves by sea. The government has targeted $139 billion of investment under Sagarmala 2.0. India also wants to increase shipbuilding output 40 times by 2047. The target is to move from slightly above 100,000 gross tonnes to around 4.5 million gross tonnes under Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.

Deep-tech scale-up study

The Centre is planning a study through Niti Aayog to examine how Indian deep-tech startups can move from research and prototypes to industrial-scale use. India has more than 4,200 deep-tech startups. The country’s deep-tech market opportunity is expected to exceed $30 billion by 2030.

Nasscom-Zinnov Indian Tech Startup Report 2025; Redseer

Banking-sector consolidation

A working paper from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister says India should consider consolidating banks so that a few large banks of similar size are created without reducing competition. The paper is titled “Reforms, Efficiency, and Productivity of Indian Banking Sector in the Last Decade: A DEA Approach”.

Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

Hindustan Copper disinvestment

The government raised nearly ₹3,000 crore from the sale of shares in Hindustan Copper. The offer was oversubscribed on both days. The government therefore exercised the full green-shoe option. Total disinvestment proceeds so far this financial year have reached ₹52,716 crore.

Department of Investment and Public Asset Management

Hydropower generation

Hydropower generation fell 19.1% year-on-year during June and July. India had weak rainfall in June and uneven rainfall in July. Total electricity generation still rose 10.3%.

CMIE

Closing auction and ETF pricing

The new closing auction session began on 3 August. It currently covers 213 derivative-traded stocks. For these stocks, continuous trading stops at 3:15 pm and the closing price is determined through a single equilibrium-price auction. Other stocks continue trading until 3:30 pm.

This difference is creating a pricing problem for exchange-traded funds because different holdings in the same ETF can be valued using prices from different times. This can affect the indicative net asset value. ETFs held assets worth ₹11.71 trillion in July 2026, up 28% year-on-year.

Closing auction move on Wednesday

The Nifty’s reference level at 3:15 pm was 24,276.9. Within 30 seconds after the closing auction opened at 3:20 pm, the index fell 271.4 points, or 1.11%, to 24,005.5. It later recovered and closed at 24,207.75. That was 0.28% below the reference rate.

The move was linked to a bid placed 3% below the reference price for Bharti Airtel, which recorded the highest trading volume during the session. An NSE official was not immediately available for comment.

Corporate action and earnings

Foreign direct investment

India attracted $30.7 billion of gross foreign direct investment during Q1FY27. This was the highest quarterly amount in at least 15 years. Net FDI also reached its strongest quarterly level since June 2022. Net FDI turned positive in June at $1.3 billion as inflows increased and overseas investment by Indian companies fell.

Coal stocks at power plants

Coal stocks at domestic-coal-based power plants fell to 28.36 million tonnes as of 24 August. This is enough for 9.7 days of consumption. The normative requirement is 19.4 days. The low inventories are mainly linked to railway, logistics and coal-lifting constraints rather than a shortage of coal production.

Credit cards

The number of outstanding credit cards in India rose 9.9% year-on-year to 12.29 crore in July. Overall spending remained moderate. HDFC Bank added the most cards, with 2.3 lakh new cards.

Among large issuers, ICICI Bank recorded the strongest growth:

• Cards outstanding rose 9% year-on-year.
• Monthly spending increased 8%.

Gaja Alternative Asset Management listing

Gaja Alternative Asset Management listed at ₹185 on the NSE. This was almost 16% above its ₹160 IPO price. The stock later closed at ₹168.67, ending the first session 5.4% above the issue price. The company ended the day with a valuation of around ₹2,400 crore, or $251.54 million. Its IPO last week raised $57.5 million.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Gopal Jain said the listing was an important step towards institutionalisation, governance and transparency.

TCS and Porsche

Tata Consultancy Services will acquire Porsche’s fully owned IT and consulting subsidiary MHP for €320 million in cash. The companies also signed a five-year strategic agreement worth €1.25 billion. TCS will create a dedicated AI mobility centre of excellence.

MHP’s revenue fell 11% in 2025 to €742 million. Europe contributed 15.4% of TCS’s Q1FY27 revenue. BNP Paribas Securities India estimates that the acquisition will reduce TCS’s EBIT margin by around 50 basis points.

HDFC Bank US lawsuit

HDFC Bank has been sued in the US by investors alleging violations of US securities laws. Investor Jwalant Natvarlal Soneji filed a securities-fraud class-action complaint on 13 August in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The proposed class covers investors who bought or acquired HDFC securities between 17 July 2023 and 26 May 2026.

The complaint alleges that the bank paid ₹45 crore to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and offered it an effective interest rate of 6.01%. This was 2.51 percentage points above the rate offered on other savings accounts. HDFC Bank said it believes the lawsuit is without merit and intends to defend itself vigorously.

JSW pauses battery-cell factory plan

JSW Group has put its planned 50 GWh battery-cell gigafactory in India on hold. The company has not been able to secure a Chinese technology partner because of restrictions imposed by Beijing on technology transfers. A July 2025 JSW presentation had expected the full 50 GWh of capacity to become operational by 2032 in three phases.

Avaada Electro IPO

Avaada Electro reduced the size of its proposed IPO to ₹7,600 crore from an earlier possible target of ₹10,000 crore. The updated draft red herring prospectus was filed with SEBI on 24 August. The issue includes:

• Fresh issue of up to ₹1,600 crore.
• Offer for sale of up to ₹6,000 crore.

Around ₹1,200 crore from the proceeds is planned for debt repayment. The company’s financial performance improved sharply in FY26.

Semiconductor investment

Four major Indian conglomerates have invested more than ₹4,000 crore in semiconductor projects during the past two financial years. Tata Electronics, CG Power and HCL Group have announced semiconductor projects worth ₹1.29 trillion under the India Semiconductor Mission. They have invested ₹3,345 crore so far. Including L&T’s ₹812 crore investment in chip design, total investment rises to ₹4,157 crore.

The government has allocated more than ₹2 trillion across two semiconductor programmes:

• Semicon 1.0: ₹76,000 crore.
• Semicon 2.0: ₹1.27 trillion.

Gabriel India and HL Klemove

Gabriel India will acquire a 30% less one share stake in the Indian subsidiary of South Korea’s HL Klemove. The transaction is worth $98.44 million, or approximately ₹935 crore.

Prudential stake sale

Prudential Plc plans to sell up to a 2% stake in ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co. on 27 August. Prudential Corp. Holdings will sell up to 9.89 million shares worth around ₹3,190 crore, or $333.3 million. The price range is ₹2,998 to ₹3,158 per share. Promoter ownership would fall from 87.60% to 85.60%.

Cemindia Projects fundraise

Adani Group-backed Cemindia Projects, formerly ITD Cementation India, is preparing a share sale to institutional investors. The company may raise as much as ₹5,000 crore, or $524 million. ICICI Securities and SBI Capital Markets are working on the transaction. The board approved the fundraising plan on 23 July.

India IPO pipeline

BofA Securities expects India’s IPO market to become busier during the second half of the year. As of 22 August 2026:

• Around 59 companies had raised ₹72,078 crore during 2026.
• Around 103 companies raised ₹1.75 lakh crore during 2025.

Retail investors move towards the secondary market

Retail investors bought a net ₹39,053 crore of shares in the NSE cash market during FY27 so far. They had recorded a net outflow of ₹5,803 crore during the whole of FY26.

Retail investment in the primary market stood at ₹7,134 crore during FY27 so far. This was much lower than the ₹42,608 crore invested during the previous financial year. Of the combined ₹46,187 crore of net investment this year, almost 85% went into the secondary market.

Textile companies

Aggregate EBITDA across 21 textile companies covered by Motilal Oswal Financial Services rose 34% year-on-year to ₹3,270 crore in Q1FY27. Revenue increased 18% to ₹27,000 crore.

Motilal Oswal expects these companies to record:

• Revenue CAGR of 14% during FY26 to FY28.
• EBITDA CAGR of 27%.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services

DN Solutions

South Korean machine-tool company DN Solutions opened its first manufacturing plant in India in Bengaluru. This is its first overseas manufacturing investment since its China facility opened in 2003. The company invested ₹600 crore in Phase 1. It may invest a similar amount again depending on demand and business growth.

L&T and BOMAG equipment

Larsen & Toubro partnered with France’s FAYAT Road Equipment to market BOMAG road-construction machinery in India. The agreement covers:

• Sales.
• After-sales service.
• Spare parts.

Flipkart Minutes and quick commerce

Flipkart Minutes now operates 627 dark stores across India’s 10 largest quick-commerce markets. Instamart operates 615. Blinkit remains the largest player.

CLSA

boAt

Consumer-electronics company boAt reported FY26 profit after tax of ₹84.5 crore. This was 38% higher than FY25. Its wearables business became profitable.

Upcoming events

Economic calendar

Global pulse

Global markets

Most major Asian indices ended higher. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.62%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.59% and the Hang Seng gained 0.56%. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones rose 0.30%. The Nasdaq 100 and FTSE 100 ended slightly lower.

Crude oil and the Strait of Hormuz

Brent crude fell towards $86 per barrel. This was its third consecutive session of losses. Iran and Oman discussed a temporary joint maritime corridor through the Strait of Hormuz. The discussions increased hopes that shipping disruptions could ease.

Brent had fallen around 6% over two days to $85 per barrel by Wednesday. Iranian military spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said Iran and Oman had reached a revenue-sharing agreement covering:

• Each country’s share of the strait’s waters.
• Their respective shares of revenue from the waterway.

The comments went further than the joint statement issued by the two countries’ foreign ministries on Tuesday.

US inflation

The US PCE price index rose 0.2% month-on-month in July. Markets had expected a 0.1% increase. Annual inflation remained at 3.7%. Core PCE also rose 0.2%, in line with expectations. Services inflation accelerated, showing that underlying price pressure remained persistent.

Canada-US trade tensions

The Trump administration is considering additional trade action against Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced matching retaliation to new US tariffs. US tariffs of 50% on around $20 billion of Canadian goods came into effect just after midnight. The tariffs use Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act, a provision that had not previously been used.

President Trump has also threatened to:

• Double auto tariffs on Canada to 50%.
• Introduce tariffs on auto parts from 1 January.

Nvidia earnings

Nvidia’s results are expected to test whether its new Rubin chips can continue driving AI-related growth. Analysts expect Q3 revenue to rise nearly 83% year-on-year to $104.2 billion.

Apple products

Apple introduced a more powerful Mac mini aimed at users who run AI agents remotely. The device starts at $899. It is available with either:

• The new M6 chip.
• The M5 Pro chip.

Apple also introduced an upgraded Mac Studio. Separately, Apple will hold its largest product launch of the year on 9 September. The event will begin the tenure of new chief executive John Ternus. Apple is expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone.

Huawei and HP

Huawei and HP signed a multi-year patent cross-licensing agreement. The agreement covers Wi-Fi technology, including Wi-Fi 7. Both companies will receive access to each other’s patents. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Microsoft cloud and AI spending

Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment generated 42% of total company sales last year. Its financials were:

Microsoft reported $115.9 billion of additions to property and equipment in its cash-flow statement. An accompanying release reported capital expenditure of $145.3 billion. Microsoft also recorded:

• $24.1 billion of revenue from OpenAI.
• $6 billion of accounts receivable from OpenAI.

Other global numbers

Deloitte agreed to pay the US government $21.5 million to settle allegations involving discriminatory diversity practices and violations of federal contracting rules. SpaceX plans to spend $100 billion on a spaceport in Louisiana. Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport fell 31.3% during the first half of the year because of disruption from the US-Iran war.

HAL and Safran helicopter engine

Hindustan Aeronautics and France’s Safran signed the final contract for a new helicopter-engine programme. Their joint venture, SAFHAL Helicopter Engines, will develop the Aravalli engine. The engine will produce 3,500 to 4,000 shaft horsepower. It is planned for:

• HAL’s 13-tonne Indian multi-role helicopter.
• Its naval version.

India’s military plans to acquire:

• 353 Indian multi-role helicopters.
• 66 deck-based variants.

Parliamentary defence committee report

Nepal flash flood

A major flash flood from the Tibet-Nepal border hit the Bhote Koshi river in Nepal’s Rasuwa district. The flood swept away:

• Homes.
• Roads.
• Bridges.
• Hydropower infrastructure.

Media reports indicate that close to 100 people have died in Nepal. Hundreds are missing, including 105 Indians. The Bihar government placed several districts on alert. Authorities warned that a flood wave of around three metres could enter the Gandak river.

Management commentary

On India’s growth for Nestlé

On India’s investment appeal

On battery-cell technology

Feature: The $103,265 H-1B proposal

What has been proposed

The US Department of Homeland Security is proposing a $103,265 fee for all H-1B cap-subject petitions. This includes petitions that qualify for the advanced-degree exemption. The additional fee would not apply to H-1B petitions that are exempt from the annual cap, including some petitions from:

• Nonprofit research organisations.
• Government research organisations.
• Institutions of higher education.

The annual cap allows:

• 65,000 regular cap-subject H-1B visas or grants of status.
• Another 20,000 for people with a master’s degree or higher from a US institution.

Regulatory details

The proposed rule is listed as:

• DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0298.
• RIN 1615-AD20.
• Federal Register Document No. 2026-17324.

Comments must be filed through regulations.gov and include the agency name and docket number. The notice was published on 25 August 2026. The public-comment period lasts 30 days. The proposal is not currently in force. DHS must first review public comments before it can issue a final rule.

Employers therefore do not need to add the proposed fee to current H-1B filings unless a final rule is issued with an effective date and transition rules. USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said the fee is intended “to recover the costs incurred across the federal government”. The costs relate to adjudication, vetting and other lawful immigration programmes that would otherwise be funded by taxpayers.

Fiscal impact

DHS estimates that the proposed fee could raise around $8.8 billion each year. The estimate assumes around 85,000 filings. Projected allocation of the money includes the following.

The funding would be used for activities including:

• Immigration adjudications.
• Fraud detection.
• National-security vetting.
• Labour-compliance enforcement.
• Visa screening.
• Immigration-court operations.
• Border biometric systems.

USCIS received an average of 96,750 cap-subject H-1B petitions each year between 2021 and 2025. DHS expects this to fall to around 85,000 if the fee is introduced. DHS also cited a 2026 economic study estimating that some employers would be willing to pay one-time costs of $100,000 to $200,000 to hire certain foreign H-1B workers.

The earlier $100,000 fee

India’s $315 billion IT industry had already started changing its long-standing strategy of moving skilled employees into US projects after President Donald Trump introduced an H-1B fee last year. In June, the US District Court in Boston struck down that earlier policy. The court concluded that the charge was an unlawful tax that had not been authorised by Congress.

The earlier fee came from a presidential proclamation signed on 19 September 2025. It required a $100,000 payment for certain H-1B workers entering the US from abroad. The District of Massachusetts cancelled the rule on 8 June 2026. On 24 July, the First Circuit declined to pause that ruling. The $100,000 fee is therefore not currently being collected while the appeal continues.

A separate case in Washington, DC reached the opposite conclusion, creating conflicting rulings. The new DHS proposal comes around one month after the appeals court refused to stay the order overturning the earlier fee. The earlier $100,000 payment has also faced legal challenges and is scheduled to expire next month. The new draft rule could take a few months to finalise. The government’s appeal relating to the 2025 proclamation remains pending. Briefing is expected to conclude in October 2026. Caroline Tang of Ogletree Deakins said legal challenges to the new rule are also likely if it is finalised.

India’s H-1B exposure

USCIS approved 406,348 H-1B petitions during FY2025. India was the largest recipient country.

The seven largest Indian IT companies received 4,573 approvals for new H-1B workers during FY2025. This was:

• 37% lower than FY2024.
• 70% lower than FY2015.

Only three India-based companies were among the 25 largest H-1B-hiring employers. The largest employers for initial H-1B approvals were as follows.

Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American Policy said Indian IT companies are increasingly serving US customers with fewer H-1B workers. Large US technology companies continue to hire significant numbers of highly skilled workers, including for artificial-intelligence investments.

A total of 28,277 US employers received approval to hire at least one new H-1B worker during FY2025. Of these:

• 61% received approval for only one petition.
• 95% received 10 or fewer initial approvals.

Indian IT industry response

Nasscom has asked the US government to consider the H-1B programme’s role in filling skill shortages. The industry body said it is “actively engaged” with all major stakeholders. Nasscom said Indian technology companies have significantly reduced their use of H-1B visas during the past five years as they increased local hiring in the US.

The organisation said H-1B has historically served “an important purpose in addressing short-term skill gaps”. Nasscom said any increase in visa fees should therefore be considered in the context of the programme’s original role in allowing employers to access temporary skills when shortages exist.

Indian IT companies have spent more than $1.1 billion strengthening the US STEM pipeline. The work has involved:

• More than 130 universities and colleges.
• 2.9 million students.
• More than 255,000 employees who were upskilled.

Wider US visa restrictions

The US State Department has paused or rescheduled some immigrant-visa appointments at embassies and consulates worldwide. Consular officers are receiving training on public-charge screening. A State Department official said that in early August it launched “a global training initiative at all of our embassies” and consulates around the world. Visa appointments are being adjusted to allow for the training.

The global pause followed a federal-court ruling on 21 August that cancelled a separate State Department policy. That policy had suspended immigrant-visa issuance for citizens of 75 countries on public-charge grounds. The State Department has not said that the training initiative is linked to the court ruling. US District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled on 21 August that the State Department did not have authority to impose a blanket suspension on that basis.

A new DHS public-charge policy for adjustment-of-status applications takes effect on 18 September 2026. The State Department also announced a pilot programme on 5 August that allows consular officers to require certain immigrant-visa applicants to post a Public Charge Bond.

What happens next

Three issues remain open:

• Public comments: The comment period is expected to close around 24 September 2026. DHS will then decide whether to finalise, amend or withdraw the proposal.
• The earlier fee litigation: Briefing in the appeal involving the 2025 proclamation is expected to conclude in October 2026. Conflicting lower-court rulings remain.
• Effective date: The $103,265 fee is not currently payable. USCIS says the proposed fee would apply only to cap-subject petitions. It would not apply to petitions for people who already hold H-1B status and are transferring to a new employer.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services; Federal Register; Reuters; Business Standard; The Tribune; Newsweek; National Foundation for American Policy; IANS; Ogletree Deakins via Mondaq; Murthy Law Firm. The proposed $103,265 fee was not in force at the time of publication.

Closing note

Market data: Zerodha AfterMarket Report, 26 August 2026 close. Editorial: Mint Mumbai print edition, 27 August 2026. Feature: named public sources. For information only; not investment advice.