Business Standard - May 17, 2025

In this issue

May 17, 2025

PM Internship Scheme May Go Beyond Top 500 Companies

In order to widen the ambit of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme, now running as a pilot programme, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has started consultations for preparing a Cabinet note on the matter, according to people in the know.

1 min

Investors Pile Into Defence Stocks With All Guns Blazing

Defence index logs record weekly gain

2 mins

Cyberwarfare signs: Govt alerts industry

Large groups, MSMEs asked to step up defences

2 mins

Centre Plans To List At Least Five RRBs By FY27-End

After the merger of regional rural banks (RRBs) under the \"One State, One RRB\" policy to improve their efficiency and minimise competition among public-sector banks (PSBs) that sponsor them, the government is planning to list at least five RRBs by the end of financial year 2026-27 (FY27).

1 min

Bookings to Turkiye, Azerbaijan, China remain blocked: Ixigo CEO

Travel aggregator Ixigo on Friday said its decision to block bookings to Turkiye, Azerbaijan, and China would stay amid the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan where the West Asian countries had taken a pro-Islamabad stand.

1 min

SP Group Inks Record $3.4 Billion Private Credit Deal

Real estate and construction conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji group signed a $3.4 billion private credit deal, a person familiar with the matter said, marking the biggest of its kind in the country.

1 min

Jindal family sells 2% in JSW Infra

Charting change

1 min

Google Workspace added 1 mn users in a year on GenAI push

Google Workspace added one million paid users last year to take the total to more than 11 million, said Sumedha Chakraborty, country head of Google Workspace in India and South Asia.

1 min

Aim to expand capacity by '30 with ₹1 trn investment

Vedanta and KKR-backed Serentica Renewables is planning an ambitious capacity expansion by 2030. Chief executive officer (CEO) Akshay Hiranandani talks to Shine Jacob in Chennai about Serentica's future road map, and the current market scenario. Edited excerpts:

3 mins

Celebi Moves Court Against Revocation of Security Clearance

Turkey-based Celebi, which provides airport ground handling in India, has launched a legal challenge to New Delhi's decision to overturn its security clearance, arguing that \"vague\" national security concerns were cited without reasoning.

1 min

Singtel Offloads 1.2% Direct Stake in Airtel for $1.5 Billion via Block Deal

Transaction priced at a 2.85% discount to Airtel's closing stock price on Thursday

2 mins

Banks, NBFCs Need to Step Up IT Systems, Say Bankers

Draft guidelines on colending, if they take effect in their current form, require information technology (IT) systems to be beefed up, according to banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

2 mins

UP's export target has competition

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government in April announced a plan to triple exports by 2030, setting an ambitious target amid competition from other Indian states and global tariff tensions.

1 min

India-US talks on bilateral trade pact begin today

India and the US will commence ministerial-level meetings in Washington from May 17 to assess the progress of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement, provide political guidance to chief negotiators and push forward efforts to deepen economic ties, an official said.

1 min

Centre nudges CPSEs for tech, AI adoption

The Union Finance Ministry has asked the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to channel efforts and investments into advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), to enhance operational efficiency and maintain strategic competitiveness, according to a senior government official.

1 min

US move raises discrimination concerns for overseas Indians

Changing dynamics

2 mins

India Reviews US Plea to Lift Ethanol Import Curb

India is reviewing the United States' (US') request to lift restrictions on ethanol imports as it negotiates a wider trade deal with Washington to avoid punitive tariffs, news agency Bloomberg reported on Friday.

1 min

Emami profit rose 9% to ₹162 cr

Emami on Friday posted an 8.9 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in consolidated net profit to ₹162.17 crore for the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25).

1 min

Hyundai India Q4 net profit down 3.8%

Carmaker says 8 cars will be launched in next 2 years

2 mins

Port Majors Make Logistics Anchor for Cargo Growth Plans

Adani Ports and JSW Infrastructure, India's leading private port operators, are expanding their logistics services to capture extra cargo while they run integrated transport services.

2 mins

Forex reserves at 7-mth high

Rising kitty

1 min

Kohli: Numero uno cricketing brand

A glorious chapter in India's test cricket history came to an end after Virat Kohli decided to hang up his boots on May 12.

1 min

Internship Scheme: Pilot run saw poor traction

In its pilot, the scheme, announced in the Budget for 2024-25 to increase the employability of the youth, has seen a poor takeup among interns owing to factors such as location, the travel factor, and the duration of internship.

1 min

IndusInd Fiasco May Have Dented Its FY25 Profit

After the disclosure of additional accounting discrepancies in an internal audit of the IndusInd Bank, brokerages have warned of potential impairment to the bank's core profitability and business growth, revising profitability estimates for 2024-25 (FY25) and FY26.

2 mins

Implement a zero-trust architecture: Cert-In to data fiduciaries, MSMEs

Large data fiduciaries should strengthen authentication and access control to their digital systems, use automated tools to regularly update the systems with the latest software and security protocols, run continuous infrastructure scans for all possible vulnerable ports, and isolate or remove old digital infrastructure, Cert-In has conveyed to them.

1 min

Defence stocks' valuations reflect exuberance

The figure includes both revenue expenditure — such as salaries & wages and operational costs — and capital allocation, which covers procurement of new equipment and other capital expenditure.

2 mins

Omar, Mufti lock horns over Tulbul barrage project

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his predecessor and People's Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti engaged in a social media spat on Friday over Abdullah's call to revive the Tulbul Navigation Barrage project on Wular Lake.

1 min

IMF funding to Pak akin to backing terror, says Rajnath

Azad, Tharoor likely to be part of govt delegation to world capitals

2 mins

Maharashtra's new EV policy may hit toll operators' cash flows in short term

The new electric vehicle (EV) policy launched by the Maharashtra government may dent cash flows of the state's toll road operators in the short term.

2 mins

Israeli Strikes Kill 93 in Gaza as Trump Wraps Up Asia Visit

At least 93 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza on Friday as US President Donald Trump wrapped up his regional trip.

1 min

World Economic Forum Courts Lagarde as Next Leader

Klaus Schwab's abrupt departure from the World Economic Forum (WEF), the influential organisation he founded and led for more than half a century, has complicated carefully laid plans to persuade Christine Lagarde (pictured) to assume the helm in a seamless transition, according to people familiar with the discussions.

2 mins

HK, Singapore hit by new wave of Covid-19 cases

Worrying surge

1 min

Russia, Ukraine Hold First Direct Talks in 3 Years

Kyiv accuses Russia of making unacceptable demands; nations to exchange 1,000 POWs

1 min

US Will Set Tariff Rates for Other Nations in 2–3 Weeks: Trump

US President Donald Trump said he would set tariff rates for US trading partners \"over the next two to three weeks,\" saying his administration lacks the capacity to negotiate deals with all of its trading partners.

1 min

Evidence-based policymaking

There is statistical data that suggests the impact of the pandemic is still being felt, and that it had a far higher death toll than is acknowledged.

3 mins

Putin Still Holds All The Cards In Ukraine

While we anguish over Donald Trump's wars on trade, judges, migrants, aid recipients and universities, spare a thought for Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

3 mins

Two Minus One Front Idea

Pakistani establishments and their proxies are prone to a severe, predictable 7-year itch. Each step up the escalation ladder buys India about these many years of deterrence on average

5 mins

Why 2025 Feels Like 2012

In many ways, 2025 feels eerily similar to 2012.

3 mins

'Purposeful' deergha ayush

The debate about family-managed versus professional companies is fruitless.

3 mins

Groww Set to Buy Fisdom for $150 Mn

Stock-broking platform Groww is set to acquire wealth tech startup and PayU-backed Fisdom in an all-cash deal worth $150 million, subject to regulatory approval, said sources who did not wish to be named.

1 min

Mkt Regulator Probes Index Derivatives Trades of Jane Street

Capital markets regulator is conducting an investigation of index derivatives trades by Jane Street group, according to people familiar with the matter.

1 min

Transmission capex, RE segment may energise Tata Power stock

Tata Power reported robust results in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 (Q4FY25).

3 mins

Nifty logs best week in a month, up 4.2%

Ceasefire with Pakistan, US deal hopes fuel gains

2 mins

Investors Looking for Staggered Approach with Margin of Safety

With the next generation's increasing involvement in wealth management, Anuj Kapoor, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of private wealth and alternatives at JM Financial Services, tells Devanshu Singla in an email interview that there is a significant rise in interest in direct opportunities across listed and unlisted equities and in the private debt space. Edited excerpts:

2 mins

Public-promoter confusion: Switches across multiple cos

In many instances, same shareholder is both public and promoter

2 mins

Incorrect form can render tax return invalid, need revision

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified the key Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for the financial year 2024-25 (assessment year 2025-2026), allowing taxpayers to file their returns.

2 mins

Bank, OMC stocks may be top performers in PSU pack

Only a handful of PSU stocks have beaten Nifty 50 this year

2 mins

Microsoft Offers to Price Office Without Teams at Cheaper Rate

Microsoft has offered to make its Office product without Teams cheaper than when sold with Teams, EU antitrust regulators said on Friday, which could spare the company a big fine and ease tensions with the United States.

1 min

The Greater Escape

In World War II lore, The Wooden Horse, and The Great Escape get star billing as heroic stories of Allied prisoners of war escaping German captivity from the Stalag Luft III in occupied Poland.

4 mins

Delhi Govt to Set Up Welfare Board for Gig Workers

Delhi Labour Minister Kapil Mishra on Friday said the government would constitute a welfare board for gig and platform workers and frame schemes for their welfare.

1 min

Affordable housing cap needs rethink: Credai

With escalating housing costs, the government should reconsider the ₹45 lakh cap defined by the government for affordable housing, which was last set in 2019, said Shekhar Patel, president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai).

1 min

Signature Global May Launch NCR Projects Worth ₹17,000 Cr in FY26

Firm looks to stay in its core mid-size project segment

2 mins

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