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The Indian stock market has declined over 14% from its 2024 highs, with small and midcaps hit hardest. Investors like Anshul Saigal see this correction as a buying opportunity, drawing inspiration from Warren Buffett’s philosophy of investing amid fear.Despite the turmoil, seasoned investors like Anshul Saigal, Founder of Saigal Capital in an interview with ETNow, see this as a golden opportunity rather than a cause for concern.Saigal draws inspiration from Warren Buffett, who often emphasizes that “you pay a very heavy price for a cheery consensus.” Buffett’s philosophy suggests that when markets are euphoric, valuations are high, and opportunities are scarce. On the other hand, when uncertainty prevails, prices fall, creating value opportunities for discerning investors.Using an everyday analogy, Saigal compares investing to shopping. "If you walk into a store looking for a shirt, you’d be happy to see a discount. But when stock prices fall, investors panic instead of celebrating." This paradox highlights the emotional bias that often leads retail investors to buy at the peak and sell at the bottom—the exact opposite of what Buffett recommends.Six months ago, with markets at record highs, Saigal struggled to find attractive investment opportunities. However, after the recent market correction, small and midcaps are now trading at just a 10% premium to their historical valuations, making them far more appealing. This aligns with Buffett’s approach of buying great businesses at fair prices rather than chasing momentum-driven rallies."Valuations for the Nifty index are already below its 10-year average for one-year forward earnings. In the case of mid-caps and small-caps, they are now trading at just a 10% premium to their historical valuations," Shridatta Bhandwaldar, Head Equities at Canara Robeco Mutual Fund, said."Typically, periods of fear and disappointment in the market present opportunities to acquire quality assets at reasonable valuations. We believe we are nearing this zone, and we suggest looking at the market with an 18 to 24-month perspective," added Bhandwaldar.For investors willing to adopt a long-term, value-driven mindset, market downturns should be seen as opportunities, not threats. As Buffett famously puts it, “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” Following this principle could help investors build wealth over time, rather than reacting emotionally to market volatility.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

Bernstein said it is unable to spot a broader buying opportunity in the Indian market despite the recent slide in stock prices."One would think that given the significant corrections, over half the basket should be a screaming buy. The reality isn't quite so," said the brokerage in a note.The Sensex and Nifty lost nearly 15% each since the onset of the market downturn on September 26. On Thursday, the Nifty fell 73.30 points or 0.3% to close at 22,397.20. The Sensex declined 200.85 points or 0.3% to 73,828.91. Financial markets will remain closed in India on Friday on account of Holi. Bernstein said it would be a selective buyer in large cap stocks, especially in power and information technology.

Bharatmala projects covering a total length of 26,425 km have been awarded and out of this 19,826 km have already been constructed, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed Lok Sabha in a written reply earlier this week.The Bharatmala Pariyojana was approved by the central government in 2017.Bharatmala Pariyojana is envisaged to improve the logistics efficiency and connectivity in the country including connectivity to tribal, aspirational and Left Wing Extremist-affected districts while reducing accident on the these Highways ensuring safer transportation networks. The development of high-speed corridors will also reduce the travel time substantially between key economic centers. Various Industrial Hubs, NMP nodes, MMLPs, Ports and Airports to be provided high-speed connectivity through these corridors.As of February 2025, 6,669 km length of high speed greenfield corridors has been awarded with construction completed for 4,610 km.In so far as National Highways (NHs) are concerned, works are carried out as per standards, guidelines, manual, code of practice of Indian Roads Congress as well as Specification for Road and Bridge Works, the minister said in his written reply."Necessary road safety measures are taken during design, construction, operation and maintenance stages. Further, Guidelines have been issued for regular safety audit of all NHs at design, construction, pre-opening stage of NH projects as well as on existing NHs for ensuring road safety," Minister Gadkari said.Many Smart Technologies such as Automated and intelligent Machine-aided construction (AI-MC), LIDAR and drone based analytics etc is being adopted in Highway Construction.In another reply regarding the ambitious PM Gati Shakti initiative, the minister said 115 NHs / road projects in about 13,500 km amounting to Rs. 6.38 lakh crore have been examined so far leveraging the PM Gati Shakti NMP Portal and consulted within the Network Planning Group (NPG) of PM Gati Shakti NMP.This, he said, has resulted in better planning and execution of infrastructure projects for more streamlined project delivery by reducing the time and cost associated with project design, alignment, clearances, and approvals.The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs). All the NHs development projects are planned in line with PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) principles.

Baba Ramdev-owned Patanjali Ayurved and Dharampal Satyapal Group (DS Group) have bought a majority stake in Magma General Insurance, backed by Adar Poonawalla-owned Sanoti Properties, valuing the company at ₹4,500 crore.The deal marks Patanjali's entry into the general insurance market and its diversification into financial services beyond ayurvedic and consumer goods. Following the transaction, Patanjali will become the promoter for Magma General Insurance, with a 98% stake, giving exit to Magma.The insurer was valued at 1.37x its gross written premium (GWP) for FY24, with a GWP of ₹3,295 crore. Its half-year solvency ratio was 1.77 against the regulatory requirement of 1.5. Magma had reported a loss of ₹141 crore in FY24.