🌳 Delhi turns to Green Therapy

PLUS: Lenskart’s Blurry Market Debut

Author

Ruchirr Sharma
November 11, 2025

 

Good morning. Sending best wishes and prayers for the recovery for legend Bollywood movie legend, Dharmendra 🙏 

Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GREEN TRANSITION

As Delhi’s air turns toxic once again, the city’s residents are responding with a splash of green. Nurseries across the capital are reporting a doubling of sales for air-purifying indoor plants like Areca Palm, Snake Plant, and Peace Lily, as people rush to find natural fixes for worsening air quality.

From Connaught Place to Rohini, shopkeepers say customers are walking in with Instagram screenshots and ready-made plant lists. Prices range from ₹150 for a Peace Lily to ₹1,500 for decorative palms, with some buyers spending as much as ₹10,000 to “greenify” their homes.

Experts confirm that these plants do more than just look pretty. Spider plants and peace lilies absorb carbon monoxide and formaldehyde, while snake plants and aloe vera keep releasing oxygen even at night—helping counter Delhi’s suffocating smog indoors.

The rush isn’t just a seasonal fad. Air pollution in Delhi has become a year-round menace, and residents are learning that cleaner air might just begin with a pot of soil. As one nursery owner put it, “People can’t fix the city’s air, but they can fix the air inside their homes.”

IPO

After a blockbuster IPO that drew bids worth nearly ₹1 lakh crore, Lenskart’s market debut proved less than picture-perfect. The eyewear retailer listed at a slight discount to its issue price of ₹402, opening at ₹390 on the BSE and ₹395 on the NSE — a far cry from the buzz its IPO generated.

Despite being oversubscribed 28 times, investor enthusiasm cooled as valuation concerns took center stage. Brokerage Ambit Capital slapped a “Sell” rating, warning of a 16% downside and calling the stock’s current pricing “stretched.” The grey market premium, once at ₹108, had already crashed to zero before listing — a clear sign of fading euphoria.

CEO Peyush Bansal, however, is taking the market jitters in stride. Speaking at The Economic Times Startup Awards, he said, “Criticism means people care. It’s a learning experience — and part of being a public company.”

For now, though, Lenskart’s valuation lens seems out of focus. While its long-term story in India’s booming eyewear market remains intact, Monday’s debut showed that investors aren’t quite ready to pay a premium for that vision — at least not yet.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

đźš— Red Fort Blast Rocks Delhi - A massive explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort Metro Station on Monday evening killed at least eight people and injured 24 others. The blast, originating from a parked car, triggered a large fire that gutted several vehicles. Ten fire tenders brought the blaze under control, while NIA and Delhi Police teams began investigations into a possible terror angle. Authorities have placed Delhi, Mumbai, and Uttar Pradesh on high alert, and PM Modi has taken stock of the situation. The incident came hours after police recovered 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate and arms from a Faridabad flat, raising national security concerns.

🇷🇺 India Turns to Moscow - A delegation of 20+ Indian exporters will visit Moscow this week to explore new trade opportunities as U.S. tariffs hit Indian exports. The move comes after President Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50%, citing India’s continued Russian oil imports. Led by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the visit focuses on promoting engineering products, which make up one-fifth of India’s exports. While exports to the U.S. fell 9.4%, shipments to Russia rose 14.6% last fiscal year. The delegation will participate in the MITEX Tools Expo, seeking to strengthen India-Russia trade ties ahead of Putin’s visit to India next month.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

  • India proposes new e-commerce regulations that would require platforms to provide “country of origin” filters for goods sold online.

  • Britannia Industries Ltd’ CEO Varun Berry steps down after ten years, with Rakshit Hargave set to take over as of 15 December.

  • Global markets rally - the FTSE 100 hits a record high as optimism grows over a potential end to the U.S. government shutdown.

  • Indian equity markets climb: the BSE Sensex rises ~319 points, driven by improved global sentiment and expectations of strong earnings.

  1. You’re the best :)

  2. It would mean the world to us if you shared this link with a friend!

P.S.: Up n’ Running can now be installed as an app on your phone! Here’s how:

  • Click on the banner above and select your browser of choice.

  • You will receive a pop-up saying “Install the app.”

  • Follow the instructions on that pop-up, and voila - you will now receive Up n’ Running updates directly to your phone! It’s also an easy way for you to access previous Up n’ Running editions at will.

That’s all for today folks - have a lovely day and we’ll see you tomorrow.