Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Italy on an official trip, received an unusual gift for his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni – a box of Melody candy. And the news didn’t just break the Internet. They sent Parle shares soaring. Track updates on Modi’s visit to Italy
But here is the twist. It was the wrong company Parle whose shares soared after Italy’s ‘Melodi’ moment. Melody candy is manufactured by the private company FMCG Parle Products, but apparently, retail investors were quick to buy shares of Parle Industries, a company that specializes in real estate, infrastructure construction, waste management and recycling.
Parle shares rise
Parle Industries share price hit the upper circuit by 5% on Wednesday and small cap stocks rose 5% to $The stock price is 5.25 per piece on the BSE, Live Mint reported.
The rise in Parle Industries shares was supported by heavy volumes as around 8 lakh shares of Parle Industries were traded on the bourses. This is significantly higher than the average one-week trading volume of 2K shares and the average one-month trading volume of 3K shares.
Melody Sweets, which became the talk of the town on the back of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Italy, is owned by Parle Products, a Mumbai-based consumer goods company. Parle products are known for brands like Parle-G, Monaco, Hide & Seek and Mango Bite. However, it is not listed on the stock markets.
Prime Minister Modi’s Melody gift to Meloni helped put Indian products on a bigger global stage, Parle Products’ Mayank Shah told CNBC-TV18.
Moody gifts Melody to Melonie
The highlight of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Italy was the presentation of Melody sweets to Melonie. In the video, Melony can be heard saying, “Prime Minister Modi has brought us a gift. It’s Melody,” while holding a box of Melody chocolates gifted by Modi.
“Thank you for the gift,” Melonie wrote while sharing the video. The moment quickly caught attention online, as social media users reacted to the light-hearted moment the two leaders shared.
Modi arrived in Rome on Tuesday on the fifth and final leg of his five-nation tour, at the invitation of Prime Minister Meloni. The visit comes as India and Italy continue to deepen ties under the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029, which focuses on cooperation in trade, investment, defence, clean energy, innovation, science and technology and cultural exchanges.
Bilateral trade between the two countries reached US$16.77 billion in 2025, while Italian foreign direct investment in India totaled US$3.66 billion in the period from April 2000 to September 2025.
The visit to Italy is the last stop of Prime Minister Modi’s five-nation tour, which also included the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.
The opposition criticizes Modi
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, criticized Modi for “distributing sweets in Italy” at a time when India was facing an “economic storm”.
Gandhi said in a post on the X website that the “economic storm is raging” in the country while the Prime Minister was “busy distributing sweets in Italy.”
“Farmers, youth, women, workers and small traders are all in tears – the Prime Minister laughs and makes reels, while the BJP applauds. This is not leadership, this is a farce,” he added.
Notably, the term ‘Melody’, which was created by combining the names Modi and Meloni, was first used by the Italian Prime Minister at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai in 2023. It later became popular online after the two leaders were seen sharing friendly moments at international events.
