Bernstein has added Eternal and Paytm to its India portfolio while removing Avenue Supermarts, the operator of the DMart retail chain, according to a CNBC-TV18 report published on August 19, 2026.

Bernstein, the global brokerage and research firm owned by asset manager AllianceBernstein, maintains an India portfolio that it periodically rebalances, and such reshuffles are watched as a read on how institutional analysts view Indian equities. The brokerage said the decision to drop Avenue Supermarts followed the stock's recent outperformance and rising risks to urban growth from quick commerce — a challenge the company's own management cited as a structural issue at its latest analyst meet.

Following the changes, Bernstein's India portfolio includes:

• Larsen & Toubro (L&T) — engineering and construction conglomerate
• NTPC — state-owned power producer
• Titan — Tata Group watches and jewellery company
• Power Finance Corporation (PFC) — state-owned lender to the power sector
• Axis Bank — private-sector bank
• HDFC Bank — private-sector bank
• Nuvama Wealth — wealth management firm
• Home First Finance — affordable housing finance company
• Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) — automotive and tractor manufacturer
• Zydus — pharmaceutical company (Zydus Lifesciences)
• Eternal — formerly Zomato; operates food delivery and the Blinkit quick-commerce platform
• Paytm — digital payments and financial services firm operated by One97 Communications
• Adani Ports — the Adani Group's ports and logistics arm (Adani Ports and SEZ)

Eternal is the company formerly known as Zomato, which adopted its new name in 2025. In addition to its food-delivery platform, it owns Blinkit, the rapid-grocery business it acquired in 2022 that is now one of India's largest quick-commerce operations. Paytm, founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, is one of India's best-known digital payments brands. Avenue Supermarts, founded by veteran investor Radhakishan Damani, runs the DMart chain of hypermarkets and supermarkets across India. Together, the additions deepen the portfolio's exposure to India's digital consumer economy — online food delivery, quick commerce and digital payments — and they sit on both sides of the same industry shift: Bernstein's stated concern for Avenue Supermarts is quick commerce, while its new holding Eternal owns Blinkit, one of that segment's largest operators.

Quick commerce — the delivery of groceries and household essentials within minutes — has expanded rapidly in Indian cities, with operators such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart competing for urban shoppers, and large e-commerce groups have joined in as well, including Walmart-backed Flipkart with its Minutes service and Amazon with its rapid-delivery offering Amazon Now. For DMart, the overlap is direct: rapid-delivery baskets are dominated by the groceries and household staples that anchor its everyday-low-price model. How the retailer responds to minute-scale delivery remains an open question for its urban business.

Reported by Hormaz Fatakia (X) for CNBC-TV18.