Business Standard - February 07, 2025

In this issue

February 07, 2025

SBI Q3 profit jumps 84%, asset quality improves

The net profit of State Bank of India (SBI), country's largest lender, jumped 84.32 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ₹16,891 crore for the October-December quarter (Q3FY25).

3 mins

OpenAI plugs into India's data ecosystem

A day after OpenAI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sam Altman reposed faith in India's potential for artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, senior executives from the company met government officials, representatives of technology policy groups, industry bodies, and legal firms in two separate meetings on Thursday.

2 mins

Hedging, cost cut: India Inc takes cover as ₹ plunges

Firms securing forex, cross-currency cover

3 mins

Volume Gains Prop Up Britannia Profit

Leading biscuits maker Britannia Industries Ltd on Thursday reported a 4.8 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to ₹582.3 crore for the third quarter ended December 2024, helped by volume gains and price hikes.

1 min

Hero MotoCorp net rises 1.3% to ₹1,108 cr

Country's top two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on Thursday reported a 1.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in its consolidated net profit at ₹1,107.5 crore for third quarter of the financial year 2025 (Q3FY25), while revenue from operations grew by 4.8 per cent to ₹10,259.8 crore.

1 min

Zomato parent firm to be renamed Eternal

Food aggregator Zomato said on Thursday its board of directors had approved a resolution to officially change the name of the parent company to Eternal Ltd.

2 mins

Auto retail sales up 6.6% in Jan: Fada

Automobile retail sales in the country grew 6.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in January, marking a \"moderately positive\" note after business dipped the month before.

1 min

Urban recovery on its way: ITC

Conglomerate reports 7.5% drop in profit

1 min

Not given a fair hearing by NCLT: Former Byju's RP

The former resolution professional (RP) of Byju's, Pankaj Srivastava, told the Chennai Bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday that he was not given a fair hearing before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Bengaluru.

1 min

India will mitigate China's threat with Siang project

Hydropower is back in the reckoning after the recent policy push from the Centre to make it a reliable balancing power source as India adds more renewable energy. NHPC, the state-owned hydropower major, is betting on this and is hopeful to finish large hydro projects of strategic importance such as the one in the Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. It is also building solar and wind projects that will be hived off in a subsidiary and potentially listed as well, said R K CHAUDHARY, chairman & managing director, NHPC, in an interview with Shreya Jai in Faridabad. Edited excerpts:

3 mins

State-owned entities line up to tap bond market after rate decision

Major state-owned entities including State Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), REC Ltd, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco), and Indian Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL) are looking to tap the domestic debt capital market to raise as much as ₹14,000 crore through bonds.

1 min

Compliance burden on suppliers may be higher

Tax experts have raised concern over the proposed amendment in the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 in the 2025-26 (FY26) Budget in respect of credit note that puts the onus on suppliers to ensure reversal of input tax credit (ITC) availed by the recipient in order to reduce their (suppliers') own tax liability.

2 mins

Bengal gets over ₹4 trn investment proposals: CM

The 8th edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) generated investment pledges worth ₹4.4 trillion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on the concluding day of the conclave, dubbing it a \"remarkable success\".

1 min

SBI's credit growth continues to be robust: Setty

Net interest income (NII) grew 4.09 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹41,446 crore in Q3FY25, compared to ₹39,816 crore in the year-ago quarter.

2 mins

MoD signs ₹10K cr deal for Pinaka rockets

Contracts for advanced munitions for the indigenously developed PINAKA Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), totalling ₹10,147 crore, were signed on Thursday between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and private player Economic Explosives Limited (EEL) and defence public sector undertaking Munitions India Limited (MIL) to enhance the Indian Army's firepower.

1 min

OpenAI execs meet tech policy groups, industry bodies

Sources who attended these meetings also said that OpenAI executives wanted to understand India-specific use cases, the nature of work being done by using its foundation models and products, and apprised them of the product investment type that the company is planning in near future.

1 min

Rupee hits new low of 87.58 against dollar

Another Low

1 min

Infra financing not an issue; need to increase project pipeline

The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID), a state-owned infrastructure-focused development financial institution (DFI), is planning to go big on financing airport construction in 2025-26, says Managing Director RAJKIRAN RAI G in an interview with Harsh Kumar in New Delhi. Edited excerpts:

2 mins

India Inc Slows Down Forex Borrowings Amid Falling ₹

Chief executive officers (CEOs) of auto component firms, which import around $20.9 billion worth of materials annually, attribute the rupee's decline to global market volatility.

2 mins

Low core income, slippages hit banks' profitability in Q3

Lower core income, muted margins, and higher slippages weighed on the Indian banking sector's (excluding small finance banks) profitability in the October-December quarter (Q3FY25).

2 mins

2024 was Netflix India's biggest year yet'

Despite the gloom-and-doom prognosis, the ₹35,200 crore (advertising plus pay revenue) Indian video streaming market had a strong 2024. Subscriptions rose to 125 million, up by 15 million, according to Media Partners Asia. The two anchor services in most markets worldwide, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, saw revenue and subscriber numbers increase in India. Vanita Kohli-Khandekar spoke to their India heads. Edited excerpts:

4 mins

Azim Premji, Ranjan Pai family offices infuse capital into Akasa

Akasa Air, which began operations in August 2022, announced on Thursday that it has signed agreements with investors, including Premji Invest, Ranjan Pai's investment office, and 360 ONE Asset, to infuse fresh capital into the airline.

1 min

Supply chain issues slowed A-I growth

Boeing expects to deliver two planes a month to Indian carriers for next 2 yrs

1 min

Rajnath, Hegseth agree to boost India-US defence ties

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his American counterpart Pete Hegseth on Thursday agreed to work on an ambitious agenda, including in the areas of operational, intelligence, logistics and industrial cooperation, to further boost the India-US strategic partnership.

1 min

Top Production May Jump This Season

In what could be of some comfort to the government in its fight against inflation, production of three major vegetables, namely tomato, onions and potatoes that comprise the trinity of TOP, is expected to be higher in the 2024-25 season as compared to the previous year, the first advanced estimate released on Thursday showed.

1 min

Morgan Stanley sells $5.5 billion of X debt on demand surge

A group of Morgan Stanley-led banks sold $5.5 billion of debt tied to Elon Musk's social-media platform X after receiving stronger-than-expected demand from investors, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

1 min

US Set to Unveil Proposal to End Ukraine War

US allies expect President Donald Trump's administration to present a long-awaited plan to end Russia's war on Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference in Germany next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

1 min

Honeywell to split into 3 separate firms

Honeywell International Inc will split into separate publicly traded companies following pressure from an activist investor, the latest in a line of industrial conglomerates seeking a more streamlined portfolio.

1 min

China Challenges Trump Tariffs at WTO

China filed a World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint on Wednesday against US President Donald Trump's new 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports and his cancellation of a duty-free exemption for low-value packages, arguing the actions are \"protectionist\" and break WTO rules.

1 min

Rubio to skip G20 meeting, citing South Africa's focus on equality

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he won't attend a Group of 20 summit (G20) in Johannesburg later this month, citing among his reasons South Africa's efforts to address inequality.

1 min

Nissan seeks new partners, including Foxconn

Nissan is open to working with new partners after merger talks with Honda foundered, two people familiar with its thinking said on Thursday, with Taiwan's Foxconn seen as one candidate.

1 min

The Raj below the salt

You might imagine that the era of colonial India is well mapped, with little left to say.

4 mins

Time for light-touch but useful regulation

There's no doubt that light-touch regulation and a reduction in red tape would help with both the ease of doing business and the ease of living.

3 mins

Campaigning deadline

The silent period has become redundant

2 mins

Illegal migration

Govt must address all related aspects

2 mins

70, 90, 120 & Counting

Leading voices from the world of business have expressed their opinions on how many hours people should work, but the debate over the work week remains complicated

4 mins

Eager to be active partners in Indian art

As the CEO and director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York, MAX HOLLEIN leads one of the world's most influential cultural institutions, overseeing a vast collection of 1.5 million objects spanning centuries and civilizations. In this virtual interview with Veenu Sandhu, he discusses the Met's commitment to Indian art, the evolving discourse on cultural heritage and repatriation, and the museum's growing engagement with Indian collectors and patrons. Edited excerpts:

3 mins

DEC Infra-HG Infra lowest bidder for NDLS revamp

After several delays in the past, the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) redevelopment gets one step closer to reality as the joint venture (JV) of DEC Infrastructure and Projects and HG Infra Engineering was declared the lowest bidder for the project with a bid of ₹2,195 crore, H G Infra said in an exchange filing on Thursday.

1 min

Indices Fall on Profit Taking in Bluechips

Benchmark indices slid for the second consecutive day on Thursday amid caution ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy decision and fresh foreign fund outflows.

1 min

Strong cash flows, robust pipeline positive for Godrej Properties

The pre-sales volume of Godrej Properties (GPL) for third quarter 2024-25 (Q3FY25) declined 6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) - down 21 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) - to 4.1 million square feet (msf), resulting in a pre-sales value of ₹5,450 crore, down 5 per cent each Y-o-Y and Q-o-Q.

2 mins

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