Business Standard - May 06, 2025

In this issue

May 06, 2025

Buybacks down to a trickle after tax tweak

Share buybacks have all but disappeared following a rule change on October 1 last year that shifted the tax burden from companies to shareholders.

2 mins

MHA orders civil defence drills amid Pak tensions

The exercise will be conducted in 244 'civil defence districts' tomorrow

3 mins

Auto Retail Sales See 3% Rise in April

Fada Keeps Outlook Positive for May

1 min

Evera Cabs starts acquiring BluSmart EVs

All electric cab-hailing service Evera Cabs has started taking possession of cars previously operated by BluSmart.

1 min

Would like to play a larger role beyond pharmaceuticals alone

Ahmedabad-based Zydus Lifesciences has recently forayed into medical devices, and companion diagnostics. In a virtual interview, Managing Director (MD) SHARVIL PATEL told Sohini Das that medicines are only a part of the solution. Edited excerpts:

3 mins

IHCL logs 25% surge in Q4 profit

Tata Group's hospitality arm and Taj Hotels' parent company, Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), reported a 25 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to ₹522.3 crore for the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25), as demand continues to outstrip supply in the sector.

1 min

SUV, tractor fire up M&M earnings, Q4 PAT up 20%

Company plans greenfield PV plant by FY28 as SUV capacity runs past 90%

2 mins

Indian GCCs Shaped Our Global Tech Road Map: Sabre CEO

Texas-based travel technology firm Sabre on Monday credited its Global Capability Center (GCC) in Bengaluru with \"increasingly shaping\" the company's global technology roadmap as the GCC marked its 20th anniversary this year.

1 min

Airtel Rolls Out Feature for Businesses to Display Names

Airtel's new Business Name Display (BND) service lets businesses showcase their brand on recipient screens during calls.

1 min

Marico Extends CEO Gupta's Tenure by 2 Yrs

Home-grown fast-moving consumers goods (FMCG) major Marico said it had extended the tenure of managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Saugata Gupta, by re-appointing him for next two years.

1 min

Jio May Become World's 6th-Largest Telco After IPO

Likely to Replace Airtel at Peak Valuation of $154 bn

1 min

Telcos to airports: Allow us to provide indoor telecom infra

Latest rules don't allow third-party partners to deploy active or passive infrastructure

1 min

Govt weighs next move after SC's JSW-BPSL order

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has reviewed the Supreme Court's (SC's) judgment on JSW Steel's acquisition of Bhushan Power & Steel (BPSL) through the insolvency process, in consultation with the lenders involved, and will now seek the government's view on how to approach the ruling and determine the next course of action, DFS Secretary M Nagaraju said on Monday in Mumbai.

2 mins

RP's failure flagged in BPSL insolvency plan

The Supreme Court citing lapses on the part of the resolution professional of Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) and the non-disclosure of key information could reshape due diligence in bankruptcy recovery, according to legal experts.

2 mins

NCLT, NCLAT can't review PMLA decision

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and its appellate body, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, do not have the powers of judicial review of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the Supreme Court observed in its judgment on Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) on May 2.

3 mins

OMCs to get compensation for LPG under-recovery in FY26

The central government has said it will compensate oil-marketing companies (OMCs) for the ₹30,000 crore under-recovery they continue to face in the sale of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the ongoing financial year 2025-26 (FY26), officials at two OMCs said.

2 mins

EPFO dials BSNL, MTNL to acquire offices, land

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is looking to acquire offices, lands and buildings from government-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), as part of its strategy to expand its capital infrastructure to keep pace with its growing subscriber base.

2 mins

India's investment treaties progress in BITs and pieces

Though it is still unclear if the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) will have clauses on investment protection, it makes sense to assess the bilateral investment treaties (BITs) that India has signed with other countries after amending the model framework in 2015, which came into effect from 2016.

1 min

RBI Starts Cutting Short Dollar Book After 7 Months

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started winding down its short position in the dollar forward book, after a gap of seven months, on the back of a softening dollar, while infusing funds via open market operations (OMOs) to counter the resulting liquidity drain.

2 mins

Gold's share in India's forex kitty rises to 12%

RISING APPETITE

1 min

Cyberattackers Target Indian Defence Institutions

Putin confirmed that he would visit India later this year for the annual bilateral summit.

2 mins

CIL Resumes Talks With Chile To Acquire Lithium Blocks

Coal India Limited (CIL) has resumed talks with Chile to acquire lithium mines, aiming to supply the Indian automotive sector and other industries.

1 min

Subramanian's termination was India's call: IMF

The premature exit of Krishnamurthy Subramanian from the role of executive director (ED) at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was a call taken by the Government of India, the Fund's spokesperson told Business Standard on Monday.

1 min

Share of buybacks surged between FY17 and FY19 due to tax benefits

Unlike buybacks, dividends do not require the appointment of merchant bankers, face fewer compliance requirements from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and can be executed at a greater speed.

1 min

RBI May Cut Rates by Up to 125 bps in FY26: SBI Report

With March consumer price index (CPI) inflation falling to a multi-year low of 3.34 per cent and expectation of benign inflation going forward, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may look at cutting policy rates by as much 125 basis points (bps) in the current financial year (FY26), an SBI Research report said on Monday.

1 min

UPI QR codes fastest-growing payment infra in FY25

THE TREND Payment infrastructures (Y-o-Y chg in %)

1 min

India Offers Zero-for-Zero Levy on Auto Parts, Steel From US

India has proposed zero tariffs on steel, auto components and pharmaceuticals on a reciprocal basis up to a certain quantity of imports in its trade negotiations with the US, sources said.

1 min

Global airlines steer clear of Pak airspace for India flights

Major global airlines such as Lufthansa, Swiss, Emirates, American Airlines, Air France, and British Airways have stopped using Pakistan's airspace while operating their flights to and from India, after tensions between India and Pakistan flared following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 people, most of them tourists, died.

1 min

Defence spend amid Pak tensions may weigh on India's fisc: Moody's

Sustained escalation in tensions with India may weigh on Pakistan's growth and hamper its ongoing fiscal consolidation, the agency said

1 min

DoT tightens satcom rules after Pahalgam attack

New guidelines may pose fresh hurdle for Starlink, Project Kuiper

2 mins

Berkshire confirms Abel as CEO, Buffett to remain chairman

Warren Buffett will stay on as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after Vice Chairman Greg Abel takes over as chief executive officer, the conglomerate said on Monday.

1 min

UN: US seeks to weaken global development finance efforts

The United States is seeking to weaken a global deal aimed at helping developing countries struggling with the impacts of climate change and other issues, an internal United Nations document seen by Reuters showed.

1 min

Israel Plans to Capture Entire Gaza Strip Under New Plan

Israel approved plans Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, a move that, if implemented, would vastly expand Israel's operations there and likely draw fierce international opposition.

1 min

Trump Plays Tariff Hero to Save 'Dying' Hollywood

Orders 100% tariff on movies produced outside America

2 mins

AI becoming more powerful, but its hallucinations are getting worse

Last month, an AI bot that handles tech support for Cursor, an up-and-coming tool for computer programmers, alerted several customers about a change in company policy.

3 mins

Living the Partition

When Shabana Azmi met celebrity journalist and writer Bhawana Somaaya's siblings, she felt the family resembled an Ingmar Bergman film—complete with multiple characters, layers, and complexities. Javed Akhtar further advised Somaaya to write a book about them, devoting a chapter to each sibling.

3 mins

Discipline and deviation

Opec action will keep oil prices at reasonable levels

2 mins

The End of Anglo-Americanism

Electorates in Australia and Canada reject Trumpism

2 mins

US vs China: India's high-stakes trade walk

As many commentators have pointed out, India's manufacturing sector stands to gain from the US-China trade war.

3 mins

The first 100 days of Trump

The belief that US markets are invincible is about to be seriously stress-tested

5 mins

NSE issues standards for algo trading

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday released implementation standards for algorithmic (algo) trading, aligning with recent norms framed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to ensure safer participation for retail traders.

1 min

SBI, Kotak shares fall on soft earnings

Shares of State Bank of India (SBI) and Kotak Mahindra Bank tumbled on Monday after the banks reported weak quarterly earnings in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25) over the weekend.

1 min

One needs to be cautious with mid and smallcaps

As the March 2025 quarter (Q4FY25) earnings season gets busier, KARTHIKRAJ LAKSHMANAN, senior vice-president and fund manager for equity at UTI AMC, tells Puneet Wadhwa in an email interview that considering the near-term uncertainties, there is a possibility of a few percentage points of cut in earnings growth for 2025-26 (FY26) versus the current expectations. Edited excerpts:

2 mins

Healthy performance captured in Marico's high stock valuation

Marico reported consolidated revenue growth of 20 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) during the January-March quarter (Q4) of FY25.

2 mins

Benchmarks Rise to Over 4-Month High

Benchmark BSE Sensex climbed nearly 295 points to close at an over four-month high on Monday following sustained foreign fund inflows and a sharp correction in global crude oil prices.

1 min

All Adani Stocks Surge; Adani Total Zooms 11%

All listed Adani group stocks ended sharply higher on Monday amid reports that Gautam Adani's representatives met with US officials to seek the dismissal of criminal charges in a bribery probe.

1 min

SMEs mainboard migration slows amid stricter rules

Tough Leap

1 min

MCLR to Repo Rate-Linked Home Loan: Choose Lender with Low and Stable Spread, Quarterly Reset

The one-year median marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) remained at 9 percent between November and April, barring a brief rise to 9.05 percent in February, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

2 mins

Competitive Pressures May Cap DMart Margins

Stock dips 3.44% in early trade but recovers to close 1.07% lower

2 mins

AI adoption still at very nascent level: Accenture

Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is still nascent across most enterprises, a survey by US-based IT firm Accenture said, as organisations try to frame and put in place an AI strategy that is cost-effective and built on trust.

1 min

Microsoft shuts down Skype, asks users to try Teams

Microsoft finally brought the curtains down on Skype on Monday, evoking memories of a bygone era when computer-to-computer video calls used to connect people globally.

1 min

From support hubs to the core, GCCs take lead in biz outcome, leadership

American home improvement retailer Lowe's last year elevated Ankur Mittal, its managing director of India operations, as also its chief technology officer.

2 mins

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