Business Standard - January 31, 2025

In this issue

January 31, 2025

Back to business: Govt lines up key Bills as Budget Session begins today

The impact of American President Donald Trump's policies on trade and immigration and the related matter of the \"overall economic slowdown\" will be part of the Opposition's quiver in Parliament's Budget Session, which starts on Friday.

2 mins

India's foundation AI model in months

Vaishnaw says Meity working with experts to build framework

3 mins

After Fronx, Maruti starts exporting Jimny to Japan

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) on Thursday said it has started exporting the off-roader sport utility vehicle (SUV) Jimny to Japan.

1 min

Retail biz was slow initially, now there is sense of positivity

Urban consumption has shown some green shoots since Makar Sankranti and is expected to improve for the rest of the year, says GAUTAM SINGHANIA, chairman and managing director of Raymond. In an interview with Dev Chatterjee and Sharleen D'Souza in Mumbai, Singhania says the group is moving to an asset-light strategy. Edited excerpts:

2 mins

Max Healthcare PAT drops 17.4%

Max Healthcare Institute reported a consolidated net profit of ₹ 238.80 crore in the third quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q3FY25), down 17.4 per cent from ₹289.34 crore in the same period last year, according to a filing on the BSE.

1 min

Dabur to hike prices of toothpaste, fruit juices

Net up 1.6% at ₹522 crore

1 min

Adani Enterprises net plunges 97% on poor coal trading

Flagship entity Adani Enterprises reported a 96.9 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit (attributable to the company's owners) in the October-December 2024 quarter, as volumes for its coal trading and mining business took a hit.

1 min

Adani Ports net rises 14% amid moderation in cargo volumes

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) reported an annual increase of 14.12 per cent in its profit attributable to equity holders of the parent for the third quarter of financial year 2024-25 (Q3FY25). The profit stood at ₹2,520.26 crore.

1 min

HVDC a $30 bn market but India's share is negligible

PRATIK AGARWAL is the managing director of Sterlite Power, a leading power transmission infrastructure company and cable producer – a critical but often overlooked component in India's net-zero journey. He also chairs Serentica Renewables, a developer of renewable energy projects for businesses. Of Sterlite's ₹3,000 crore in revenue, 40 percent comes from exports, with over half from Europe and the US. The company aims to double revenue to ₹10,000 crore in three years. In an interview with S Dinakar in Mumbai, Agarwal discusses market dynamics, India's role in the global supply chain, and future growth. Edited excerpts:

2 mins

L&T profit up 14% at ₹3,359 cr

Firm announces ₹1,000-2,500 cr order win for setting up freight handling facilities in GCC region

2 mins

Whirlpool to cut stake in Indian arm to 20% in 2025

Move may generate $550-600 million for company

1 min

Infor raising India headcount 15-20% annually

Company saw 100% growth in India in 2024

2 mins

Wind sector seeks favourable policies for 500 GW target

India's wind energy sector is calling for budgetary support to address transmission infrastructure needs and ensure the country meets its renewable energy target of 500 gigawatt (GW) by 2030.

2 mins

Govt May Stay With Flexible PPP Contracts On Waterways

The central government, which is looking for ways to make inland waterways attractive for private parties, is unlikely to have a standard contract or a model concession agreement for inland waterway terminals, according to a senior official.

1 min

449,000 ITI Seats De-Affiliated After Lying Vacant for 6 Years

In a bid to improve quality, ensure accountability in the skilling ecosystem, and prepare the road map for the new scheme to upgrade industrial training institutes (ITIs), the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has de-affiliated nearly half a million seats in ITIs across the country, as they had been lying vacant for six consecutive years between 2018 and 2023.

2 mins

Companies yet to learn to use IBC to be more productive: Ibbi chief

Companies in India have yet to learn to use the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to make themselves more productive, Ravi Mittal, Chairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Ibbi), said on Thursday,

1 min

Rural Assam, Bihar spent big on food in 2023-24: NSO

Households in rural areas of Kerala, Delhi spent least

2 mins

RBI gets 6x bids at OMO auction

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) received bids worth ₹1.2 trillion against the notified amount of ₹20,000 crore at the Open Market Operation (OMO) purchase auction on Thursday—the first of the three auctions announced by the central bank earlier this week.

1 min

May Consider Applying for Universal Bank Licence in Two Years

India's first small finance bank (SFB) is aiming to apply for the universal bank licence in the next two years. In a virtual interview, Capital Small Finance Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer SARVJIT SINGH SAMRA tells Harsh Kumar that the SFB will continue to expand its presence beyond the northern part of India in the upcoming financial year. Edited excerpts:

2 mins

Trump, AI may dominate Budget session

India's preparedness on artificial intelligence (AI) and how it perceives the emergence of China in the field with the sudden emergence of DeepSeek will figure in what the Opposition highlights.

1 min

BoB's net up 5.6% on non-interest income

Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB)'s net profit rose by 5.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ₹4,837 crore during the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25), driven by robust growth in non-interest income covering fees, commissions and treasury.

1 min

Irdai Caps Hike in Senior Citizens' Health Premium

Directs insurance firms to not revise it by over 10% annually

1 min

Expect credit growth to moderate in FY26

BINOD KUMAR, who recently took charge of Chennai-based Indian Bank as managing director and chief executive officer, said the lower share of repo rate-linked loans will act as a cushion for protecting net interest margins if there are rate cuts, in a telephonic interview with Manojit Saha.

2 mins

Pvt banks stumble on MFI, agriculture loan slippages in Q3

Profit rises 7.4% Y-o-Y but declines 1.4% sequentially

2 mins

Zomato rolls out in-app 10-minute food delivery

Food aggregator Zomato has rolled out its in-app quick food delivery service, Zomato Quick, in multiple cities.

1 min

Delhi HC denies stay on Religare AGM, Burman family open offer

The Delhi High Court (HC) on Thursday declined interim relief to Sapna Govind Rao, a minority shareholder in Religare Enterprises (REL), who had sought a stay on the company's upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the open offer made by Dabur promoter Burman family for a controlling stake in the financial services firm.

1 min

Plan 500-city presence in next two qtrs

Ride-hailing unicorn Rapido, which recently announced plans to expand operations to 500 cities, aims to deepen its presence in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. In January 2025 alone, the company expanded to 50 cities. Rapido's Cofounder PAVAN GUNTUPALLI, in an interview with Udisha Srivastav, shares insights into the company's expansion strategy, competition, diversity, employment initiatives, and the push towards green mobility. Edited excerpts:

2 mins

SC/ST Act case: Law misused, says Infosys cofounder

Infosys cofounder Senapathy Kris Gopalakrishnan has said that a law meant to protect marginalized communities has been misused to make false allegations against him.

1 min

IBM Beats Profit Estimates as AI Shift Boosts Software Performance

International Business Machines (IBM) surpassed fourth-quarter profit estimates, driven by robust demand in its software unit as businesses ramped up IT spending.

1 min

Tesla Commits to Cheaper Cars, But Results Miss Targets

Tesla said it was on track to roll out new, cheaper electric vehicle models in the first half of 2025 and would start testing a paid autonomous car service in June, enthusing investors and overshadowing quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street expectations on Wednesday.

1 min

Microsoft Results Disappoint Investors Wanting More From AI

Microsoft on Wednesday forecast disappointing growth in its cloud computing business, sending its shares down as investors worry about big spending, elusive artificial intelligence revenue, and competition from cheaper AI models from China.

1 min

Fed has done 'a terrible job' on banking regulation: Trump

US President Donald Trump assailed the Federal Reserve's approach to bank regulation and accused Chair Jay Powell of fumbling the fight against inflation, while refraining from directly commenting on interest rates.

1 min

All aboard feared dead as jet, chopper crash in US

American Airlines confirmed 60 passengers and four crew members were on the plane; rescue ops underway as 28 bodies said to have been recovered so far

3 mins

Meta Sends Mixed Signals as Quarterly Sales Beat Estimates But Outlook Muted

Meta Platforms beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter revenue on Wednesday but predicted sales in the current first quarter may not meet forecasts, sending mixed signals about how its bets on pricey artificial intelligence-powered tools are paying off.

1 min

SoftBank May Invest Up To $25 Billion In OpenAI

SoftBank Group Corp is in discussions to invest as much as $25 billion in OpenAI, a move that would potentially make it the AI startup's biggest backer.

1 min

US Economy Grew 2.5% in 2024

The US economy expanded at a solid pace at the end of 2024, fuelled by a generous tailwind from consumer spending that more than offset drags from a strike at Boeing Co and much leaner inventory investment.

1 min

The Ascent of Hindi Middlebrow

Akriti Mandhwani, \"a print historian of the popular,\" provides a unique historiography of Hindi reading culture of the growing north Indian middle class in the 1950s and 1960s, with bourgeois aspirations seeking to separate itself from the realities of scarcity, poverty, and hunger.

3 mins

A tactical thaw

Sino-India relations must be treated with cautious optimism

2 mins

Critical efforts

New critical minerals mission must engage private sector

2 mins

Why Elon Musk is not media's Enemy No 1

Iridium was a satellite phone company in the 1990s that wanted to connect the earth with dozens of low-orbit satellites. Not too many sampled its service, but millions admired its advertising line: \"Geography is history.\"

4 mins

Challenges with tax cuts as stimulus

Beyond personal income tax, the govt can consider two other measures to stimulate demand, but the focus should remain on delivering only a short-term boost

4 mins

DeepSeek to be hosted on Indian servers: Vaishnaw

The foundation models are being developed under the ₹10,372-crore India AI mission, which was approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2024.

2 mins

Less than 50% of schools in NE states have usable toilets for girls

An average of 49.67 per cent of schools in seven Northeast states had usable toilets for girls in 2024, according to data analysed from the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Rural 2024.

1 min

Govt pushing India into middle-income trap: Cong

Party releases 'Real State of the Economy' report ahead of Budget Session

2 mins

PRESSING CHARGERS

Having announced a battery of new electric passenger vehicles, carmakers are getting ready to expand the charging infra lightning fast

5 mins

Indian startups saw a raft of high-profile exits in 2024

PharmEasy founders Dhaval Shah, Dharmil Sheth, and Hardik Dedhia recently announced their plans to step down from their day-to-day roles at the e-pharmacy giant to launch a new venture in the consumer space.

2 mins

Maha Kumbh stampede: Crowd management efforts ramped up

Millions of devotees flocked to the Triveni Sangam and other ghats at the Maha Kumbh to take a dip on Thursday with the Uttar Pradesh government ramping up efforts to ensure crowd management and safety of people a day after the stampede tragedy.

1 min

Samara-backed SMT, More Retail gear up for listing

Sahajanand Medical Technologies (SMT), an Indian cardiovascular device maker backed by private equity firm Samara Capital, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) worth around ₹1,500 crore, said two top executives of Samara.

2 mins

Benchmarks extend gains for third day

Extending the winning run to the third day, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Thursday on buying in heavyweight stocks Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, and HDFC Bank.

1 min

Despite margin pressure, brokerages bet on Ambuja Cements

Adani group-promoted Ambuja Cements reported a 156 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in its consolidated net profit (attributable to the owners of the company) for the third quarter of the current financial year.

3 mins

TaMo stock plunges 7% after weak Q3

Tata Motors' stock sank as much as 9.06 per cent to hit a fresh 52-week low of ₹684.25 on Thursday following disappointing Q3 results.

1 min

Sebi reins in influencers and educators

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has drawn distinct lines differentiating educators and financial influencers (finfluencers), with its latest clarifications on sharing of live trading data.

1 min

Time ripe for cherry picking of stocks? Sensex, Nifty P/E dips below 10-year average

The sharp fall in the Sensex and the Nifty 50, of 11 per cent and 12 per cent, from peak levels in the last few months has seen their valuation as measured by the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio on a trailing 12-month (TTM) basis dip below the five and 10-year averages.

2 mins

SIP Losses May Not Deter Investors

January AUM data reflects continued investor interest

2 mins

Respite from volatility for new, risk-averse investors

Heightened stock market volatility and declining net asset values of equity funds (NAV) are denting investors' portfolios.

2 mins

Bajaj Finance a hot pick after strong Q3 showing

Stock reclaims Mt 8K intraday after 15 mths

3 mins

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