One funding round closed on 17 August 2026, with OTP Ventures leading a pesticide-free food bet. The headline raise is DeHaat Honest Farms' INR 35 crore pre-Series A round. Away from funding, PhysicsWallah shares jumped 9.5% after brokerage upgrades, while Ola Electric expanded into battery energy storage. Parle Agro's licence was also suspended by the Maharashtra FDA, and HUL-owned Minimalist neared INR 700 crore in FY26 income. DeHaat Honest Farms raised INR 35 crore in a pre-Series A round led by OTP Ventures, with participation from Sadev Capital and Maiuni Ventures. The company also appointed DeHaat co-founder Adarsh J Srivastava as its CEO. The funds will accelerate geographic expansion, build category awareness for pesticide-free produce, and support new product development. DeHaat Honest Farms is a pesticide-free consumer food brand started by agritech company DeHaat. It sources directly from DeHaat's network of more than 13 million farmers and sells over 100 products across staples, superfoods and everyday essentials. Its products are available in more than 3,000 retail stores across over 120 cities, along with quick commerce and ecommerce platforms. PhysicsWallah shares jumped as much as 9.5% to an intraday high of INR 128.35 after JPMorgan and JM Financial upgraded their ratings following the company's Q1 FY27 results. JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight with a target price of INR 148, while JM Financial upgraded it to Buy with a target of INR 140. The upgrades came despite disruption from the NEET exam cycle. PhysicsWallah's operating revenue grew 24.4% year-on-year to INR 1,054 crore, its net loss narrowed 30.5% to INR 88.3 crore, and its EBITDA turned positive at INR 52 crore. The company expects to achieve group-level profit after tax in Q3 FY27. Ola Electric launched three battery energy storageproducts on 16 August to expand beyond electric vehicles into energy solutions. The lineup includes Ola Shakti 2 for homes, Shakti Rack for commercial use, and Mahashakti for large-scale utility projects such as data centres and grid infrastructure. The residential Ola Shakti 2 will be priced from INR 99,000 for the 3 kW version, with a 6 kW version priced at nearly INR 1.75 lakh, both powered by Ola Electric's in-house 4680 Bharat lithium-ion cell. Deliveries begin in November 2026, while the commercial and utility products are expected to roll out by March 2027. TheMaharashtra Food and Drug Administration suspended Parle Agro's licenceafter finding expired Frooti, Appy and Apple Fizz worth nearly INR 99,970 at its Chembur warehouse. The action is part of a wider food safety drive across restaurants, warehouses and quick commerce platforms in the state. By 13 August, the FDA had inspected 109 eateries, issued 49 improvement notices and suspended four food business licences. The agency has also flagged hygiene violations at quick commerce stores run by Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart, and issued show-cause notices to Bollywood actors end
