Business Standard - April 26, 2025

In this issue

April 26, 2025

India slashed extreme poverty to 2.3% in FY23, nearly bridged rural-urban divide

India has made significant progress in reducing poverty, with extreme poverty—measured at $2.15 per day in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms—falling from 16 per cent in 2011-12 to 2.3 per cent in 2022-23, according to the World Bank.

2 mins

RIL's profit rises 2.4% in Q4, beats estimates

First Indian conglomerate to achieve ₹10 trillion net worth

4 mins

Delhi HC orders Gensol, BluSmart to maintain status quo on 175 EVs

The Delhi High Court on Friday restrained ride-hailing firm BluSmart and its promoter Gensol Engineering from creating third-party rights on the 175 electric vehicles (EVs) leased to them by Japanese financial services group Orix.

2 mins

IWT suspension: India may take visible action soon

In the coming days, action will be visible on the ground that will underscore the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, said a source aware of the matter.

3 mins

Only 12% Indian Households Can Afford to Buy a Car: Bhargava Amid Maruti Earnings Hiccups

Car purchases in India are largely limited to the top 12 percent of households with an annual income exceeding ₹12 lakh, while even small cars have become unaffordable for the remaining 88 percent, said R C Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), on Friday.

1 min

Apple Looks to Source Most US iPhones From India by '26-End

Apple aims to make most of its iPhones sold in the United States (US) at factories in India by the end of 2026, and is speeding up those plans to navigate potentially higher tariffs in China, its main manufacturing base, a source told Reuters.

1 min

Hindustan Zinc's net rises 47.4% to ₹3,003 crore

Hindustan Zinc, a part of the Vedanta group, reported a rise in its consolidated net profit by 47.4 per cent to ₹3,003 crore in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25) compared with the same quarter last year, driven by an increase in its total revenue and a lower cost of production.

1 min

EOW Complaint Filed: Gensol Promoters Diluted Equity Without Lender Approval

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (Ireda), one of two public sector lenders who had loaned money to scam-hit Gensol Engineering for buying electric vehicles, on Friday said the promoters of the firm breached the contract by diluting shareholding without lenders' approval.

1 min

Telecom tariff hike rings in 26% jump in Jio profit

Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL), which runs India's largest mobile network operator Reliance Jio, on Friday reported a strong 25.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in net profit to ₹7,022 crore for the January-March quarter of 2024-25 (Q4FY25) as a result of a hike in telecom tariffs imposed in early July 2024.

1 min

No bulk hiring anytime soon' as IT firms navigate tricky ground

India's software exporting firms were waiting for the ongoing global volatility to recede as IT hiring remained on precarious ground in the ongoing financial year 2025-26 (FY26), and may swing either way.

2 mins

Reliance Retail logs 30% growth in profit

Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) on Friday reported a 30.4 per cent on-year rise in its net profit at ₹3,519 crore for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25).

1 min

Weak urban demand hits Maruti's earnings

Auto major reports 4.3% decline in profit

3 mins

PE firms eye fresh bite of Haldiram

Alpha Wave Global and IHC (International Holding Company) have sought the Competition Commission of India's (CCI's) approval to acquire minority stakes in Haldiram Snacks Food.

1 min

Nokia Solutions sells 1% stake in Vi for ₹786 cr

Nokia Solutions and Networks India on Friday divested nearly 1 per cent stake in debt-saddled telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) for ₹786 crore through an open market transaction.

1 min

PV volume may cruise past 5 mn in FY26

India's passenger vehicle (PV) industry is set to scale a fresh high this financial year (FY26) with the cumulative domestic and export volume crossing 5 million units even as annual growth slows to 2-4 per cent, according to a Crisil Ratings report published on Friday.

1 min

Samsung to invest ₹1K cr in TN unit

Sriperumbudur plant accounts for a fifth of the South Korean major's $12 billion sales in India

2 mins

Eka Mobility to Make 10K E-buses by FY27

Eka Mobility, a startup-turned-original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that makes electric vehicles (EVs), is targeting to ramp up production of e-buses to 10,000 by 2026-27, founder and chairman Sudhir Mehta told Business Standard.

2 mins

AS TRADITIONAL VISA PATHS SHRINK, INDIANS CHART NEW COURSE

Australia, Canada, the United States (US), and the United Kingdom (UK) are tightening their immigration policies, hurting the chances of Indians wanting to study or work there and prompting them to seek their dreams elsewhere.

1 min

Govt to procure 14K e-buses in tranches

The Centre is planning to procure the 14,028 electric buses (e-buses) it had promised to buy for states to electrify public transport in multiple tranches instead of doing it at one go because some states are yet to send in requirements, according to a government official.

1 min

Net direct tax mop-up in FY25 hit ₹22.26 trillion

This was marginally short of revised target; highest-ever refunds issued

1 min

Centre Notifies Rules for GST Appellate Tribunal

In a major step towards making the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) functional, the Ministry of Finance on Thursday notified the GST Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025.

1 min

India Inches Closer to OTC Drug Framework

Booster Dose

2 mins

Goyal: India won't allow transshipment of goods

Says govt has been able to protect domestic steel industry from 'dumping'

1 min

Poverty estimates will change with revisions to int'l poverty lines: WB

India's five most populous states — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh — accounted for 54 per cent of the country's extreme poor in 2022-23 and 51 per cent of its multidimensionally poor in 2019-21.

1 min

BoM net rises 23% to ₹1,493 cr

State-owned Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) on Friday posted a 23 per cent rise in the net profit to ₹1,493 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2024-25 (Q4FY25) due to rise in core income.

1 min

Shriram Fin Q4 net up 6%; board approves foray into payments biz

Shriram Finance, one of the largest non-banking financial companies in India, on Friday reported a 6 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to ₹2,143.77 crore in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), compared to ₹2,021.28 crore in the year-ago period.

1 min

Court Will Hear Orix's Petition on May 16

They include a default in lease payment amounting to ₹4 crore.

1 min

O2C segment delivered 'resilient' performance amid volatility in global energy market: Ambani

Revenue on a standalone basis slipped 9.4 percent to ₹1,32,962 crore in the period under review.

3 mins

Lower taxes, different regulations needed to boost small car segment: Bhargava

The MSIL chairman expressed doubts on whether the major income tax relief, given by the Union government in the latest Budget, is going to boost small car sales in 2025-26.

1 min

Credit Card Spends Surged to 4-Month High of ₹2 Trillion in March

Credit card spends surged to a four-month high of ₹2.01 trillion in March 2025 amid high year-end financial transactions, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

2 mins

Stance change means chance of more cuts

NAGESH KUMAR, external member of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy committee, says, in an email interview with Manojit Saha, the impact of reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States (US) is mixed and there is fiscal space to support public expenditure. Edited excerpts:

3 mins

Abrogation of treaty may also be on table

\"An impact will likely be seen on the predictability of water flow in the time to come, as India moves to enforce to the full extent the rights it anyway had under the treaty, and as some of its restrictions are no longer in force,\" the source added.

2 mins

IndiGo flights impacted by closure of Pak airspace

IndiGo on Friday said some of its international flights remain impacted by the Pakistan airspace closure and the airline is closely monitoring the situation.

1 min

Merchant vessels told to be cautious at Pak ports

India's shipping regulator — the Directorate General of Shipping — has asked all merchant vessels carrying the Indian flag or those with Indian seafarers on board to exercise caution at ports in Pakistan and the surrounding region.

1 min

'Doing dirty work for US, West': Pak min admits to terror funding

Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif has admitted the country's history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations as \"dirty work\" for the West, a mistake for which he said Pakistan had suffered.

1 min

Pakistan army opens fire along LoC; India retaliates

Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi visits J&K to review ground situation

2 mins

Intel Forecasts Weak Q2 Showing

Intel forecast second-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates, casting a shadow over new CEO Lip-Bu Tan's first round of earnings at the helm, against the backdrop of a raging Sino-US trade war.

1 min

Alphabet Sales Beat Estimates on Google Search Advertising

Tech giant tells investors that AI investments are powering returns

1 min

In talks with China to strike tariff deal, says Trump

Beijing denies US Prez's claim that trade discussions are underway

2 mins

BYD profit rises 100%, fastest pace in two yrs

BYD's first-quarter profit leapt 100.4 per cent from a year earlier, the fastest pace in nearly two years, as the Chinese electric vehicle giant extends its lead in its competitive home market after launching a smart EV price war.

1 min

US envoy, Putin meet in bid to end Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin for three hours in Moscow on Friday to discuss the US plan to end the Ukraine war, and the Kremlin said the two sides' positions had moved closer.

1 min

The Pakistan playbook: The messaging from Islamabad

In the aftermath of the barbaric terrorist incident in Pahalgam, India announced a series of measures, which in their totality would bring the already meagre relations between India and Pakistan to a virtual cipher. The stoppage of trade, transit, and cross-border travel were to be expected. A new element is putting into abeyance the operation of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 on the division of the waters of the Indus river and its tributaries.

3 mins

Reborn, but ethically torn

They look like escapees from Jurassic World—or better yet, Game of Thrones. Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi aren't your average pampered pups. They're the modern reincarnations, at least in silhouette, of the dire wolf or Canis dirus: A burly, heavy-jawed predator that ruled Ice Age landscapes over 10,000 years ago.

3 mins

ISI Targets Hindus & Tests India

At some point, the ISI's calculation has been, Hindus will rise in reprisal against their own minorities. That's a crisis they've been conjuring up in India. A nation at war with itself

5 mins

Unquiet flows the Indus

In 2020, when border tensions between India and China were at their height, New Delhi made it harder for Chinese companies to do business in India and banned several apps including TikTok in an attempt to make China come to heel.

3 mins

Making the cricket bat less brutal

In the first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, batters lofted 622 balls over the boundary for six. By 2018, the number had jumped to 872.

3 mins

Indian markets show strong fundamentals, says HDFC Securities

Indian markets continue to show strong fundamentals in terms of valuations, earnings, and macroeconomic parameters from a long-term perspective, according to Dhiraj Relli (pictured), Managing Director of HDFC Securities.

1 min

Fast & furious: In a first, bourses cross 10 bn trades in FY25

GROWTH SURGE NUMBER OF TRADES IN EQUITY CASH SEGMENT (in billion)

2 mins

Competitive pressures, valuations leave little room for upside in Nestle India

Nestle India saw subdued revenue growth of 4.5 percent on-year during the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), on a high base of 9 percent and 100 basis points gross margin contraction due to inflationary pressures in coffee, edible oil and palm oil.

2 mins

D-Street trims weekly gains on geopolitical concerns

Nifty 50 declines nearly 1% on Friday

2 mins

Can you break your SCSS deposit early? And what would it cost?

The Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) has become the go-to investment option for senior citizens in India, offering a stable and secure way to grow their savings.

1 min

Pick high-value redemption option instead of always settling for cashback

About 70 per cent of credit card users do not optimise their rewards, according to a February-March 2025 survey of over 5,000 users across nine major cities.

2 mins

Steady Q4, valuations may support Axis Bank

Experts believe the stock is ideal for sustainable wealth creation

2 mins

Notes From A Spy's Diary

Kashmir on his mind, Dulat speaks to Aditi Phadnis about the potential threats to India and his fractured relationship with an old friend — over a lunch meeting a day before the Pahalgam terror attack

6 mins

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