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ET MarketsSmart InvestingET PanacheSports World PlayCompanies: Pursuit of ProfitAround the World
ET MarketsSmart InvestingET PanacheSports World PlayCompanies: Pursuit of ProfitAround the World
ET MarketsSmart InvestingET PanacheSports World PlayCompanies: Pursuit of ProfitAround the World

1Front Page

Demand for gold in India fell 15% to 118.1 tonnes in the March quarter as prices surged, the steepest decline in five years, with jewellery taking the biggest hit, according to the World Gold Council data.

Tensions on the border have risen after a series of steps by Pakistan—the expansion of firing to the international border in Jammu and Kashmir, cyberattacks on critical military infrastructure that were thwarted and the movement of heavy firepower in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) managing director Rohit Jawa said the company will invest across innovation, distribution and marketing to revive volume growth, even if it leads to a short-term moderation in margins.
India’s next census will include caste enumeration, marking a major political shift by the NDA government. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and comes ahead of the Bihar assembly polls later in the year.

2Pure Politics

Pakistan’s terrorism track record has impacted not just India, Bangladesh & Afghanistan but also Iran and Russia, reports Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury

The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred to July the hearing of a suo motu case, pertaining to a recent ruling of the Lokpal which held that the anti-corruption ombudsman can entertain complaints against high court judges under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Wednesday urged the people not to fall prey to hatred and propaganda creating mistrust. Mirwaiz said the “collective punishment being meted out to Kashmiris, both inside and outside J&K, is unjust and inhumane.”
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose party has been a strong advocate of caste census, welcomed the decision. “…Our demand for conducting caste census is old. It is a matter of great happiness that the Central Government has decided to conduct a caste census.
The Congress leadership was taken by surprise by the government’s announcement on the caste census but the party soon started dealing with the situation with leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi welcoming the move while trying to claim credit for it by saying it was the Congress’ campaign and pressure that forced the government’s hand.
Lok Sabha’s Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has demanded that the government take strong action against those who were behind the Pahalgam massacre.
Former RAW chief and NTRO chairman Alok Joshi has been appointed as the new chairman of National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) that advises the National Security Adviser and National Security Council Secretariat.
The next steps following the announcement of a caste census will involve setting up a commission, with the Union Cabinet expected to take a decision soon on its constitution and terms of reference (ToR), officials aware of the development said.
India on Wednesday night announced the closure of its airspace for Pakistani aircraft. It would force rerouting of planes over China or Sri Lanka to reach Southeast Asian destinations, said people with knowledge of the matter.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that digital access is a fundamental right while issuing a number of directions to simplify the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process for acid attack survivors, who may have suffered eye injuries, and for the visually impaired as well.
Deportation of Pakistani nationals from Jammu and Kashmir continued despite the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh admitting a plea by one such family from Poonch against the government’s move and granting it temporary relief.
About 21 MLAs from Manipur have written separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging them to reinstate a popular government in the state to restore peace and normalcy.
A week after the Pahalgam terror attack jolted Kashmir, the US has said that it is closely monitoring the developments pertaining to the incident and advised both India and Pakistan not to escalate tensions.

3Brands & Companies

Aster DM Healthcare on Wednesday said it has completed the acquisition of a 5% stake in Quality Care India in a deal worth Rs 849 crore.

The recently launched Airtel-Blinkit express home delivery service of SIM cards has been put on hold on security grounds after the government objected to the idea of customers undertaking selfKYC (know-your customer) authentication post-delivery of such mobile connections.

Consumers in India are willing to pay more for their cup of coffee despite all-time high prices as the country’s GDP and incomes grow, Philippe Schaillee, global chief of British coffee chain Costa Coffee, told ET in an interview.
To pre-empt higher tariffs on imports from China, Apple shipped nearly 98% of its total iPhone exports from India to the US in March, said a S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
Universal Studios, one of the world’s largest theme park operators, is in talks with Bharti Real Estate to launch its first amusement park in India, two people aware of the development said.
India’s booming live events industry, currently valued at Rs 12,000 crore, is pushing for a comprehensive policy framework as it eyes an ambitious growth target of Rs 20,200 crore by 2027.
From decongesting the western airspace to finding a new flight path, top executives of air navigation authorities and airlines are huddled up to find mitigation steps to reduce the impact of Pakistan’s airspace blockade.
​A high-stakes tussle is playing out in India’s consumer space, with two industry heavyweights one based in the north, the other in the east locked in a bidding war for a rising D2C health food brand.
IKEA is going to take next-day ecommerce deliveries into more Asian markets after its successful pilot in India, the Swedish furniture retailer’s India business chief executive Suzanne Pulverer said.

4Companies

The Income-Tax (I-T) Department has invoked the benami law to fish out information from a few payment gateway (PG) companies.

The Indian weather office has forecast a trend of above-normal temperatures in most parts of the country and a higher number of heat wave days this month.

In a significant ruling for companies with transnational business relationships, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday in a 4:1 majority judgment held that the courts in India have only limited powers to modify arbitral awards.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response from the Indian cricket board and others on a petition filed by the publisher of the Champak magazine, claiming that they infringed upon its copyright by naming a robotic dog introduced at Indian Premier League venues as 'Champak'.

5The Edit Page

The new toast and butter of town is quick commerce. Qcomm promises delivery in a record-breaking 10 mins.

The Cabinet’s approval on Wednesday to include caste enumeration as part of the general census process is an important, and welcome, development.

Bozar in Brussels is a true culinary gem tucked inside the stunning Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, and it’s as much a feast for the eyes as it is for the stomach.
​On Wednesday, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment in the ‘Pragya Prasun vs Union of India’ and ‘Amar Jain vs Union of India’ cases, declaring the right to digital access as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
When you think of great leaders, inspiring figures like Gandhiji, Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela come to mind.
By all accounts and inputs available as of now, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) masterminded last Tuesday’s terrorist attack on civilians in Pahalgam through the terrorist outfits it controls.
Digital access is inarguably a component of the fundamental right to life. But enforcing it will require a nuanced approach over availability and affordability.

6Companies & Economy

The commerce and industry ministry has sought views of export promotion councils (EPCs) on the different schemes which the government is framing under the proposed export promotion mission after senior ministry officials met exporters and representatives of ECGC, EXIM bank and RBI Wednesday.

The National Highways Authority of India and GR Infra projects will jointly develop an 88-km long six-lane Agra-Gwalior greenfield expressway at a capital cost of Rs 4,613 crore on the build-operate-transfer (toll) mode.

Large service enterprises, with an output of Rs 500 crore or more, accounted for 69.5% of gross value added in FY23, according to a pilot study released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday.
Soaring gold prices dampened festive buying this Akshaya Tritiya, with preliminary estimates indicating that volume sales may have declined by about 30% compared to last year, jewellers said. In value terms, however, sales may be up 15-20%, they added.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal may travel to London again later this week in an attempt to resolve the four-five thorny issues that still remain and announce the conclusion of negotiations for the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), people in the know of the development said.

7Economy: Macro, Micro & More

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved a 166.8-kilometre access-controlled greenfield high-speed corridor between Meghalaya and Assam at an investment of ₹22,864 crore, aimed at improving road connectivity to Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and the Barak Valley region of Assam from mainland and Guwahati.

Global growth prospects will strengthen if trade tensions ease in a lasting manner implying a more robust outlook for commodity demand, World Bank’s deputy chief economist Ayhan Kose, told ET.

The cabinet approved a 4.41% increase in the price at which sugar mills will have to buy sugarcane from farmers for the season starting in October, raising it to ₹355 per quintal from ₹340 earlier.
India has called for realistic solutions to resolve the issues of food security, emphasising the need for flexibility in agricultural support.
The government is likely to soon roll out an enhanced shipbuilding financial assistance policy worth ₹18,090 crore and a maritime development fund (MDF) of ₹25,000 crore.
The US, the UK and Canada Tuesday raised questions at the Make in India initiative and sought details on India’s Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) including the subsidy amount and the product categories at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Wednesday notified revised Income Tax Return (ITR) forms 1 and 4 for assessment year 2025-26, a move that aims to simplify tax filing for small investors.

8Disruption: Startups & Tech

Nasdaq-listed software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Freshworks on Tuesday reported a 19% year-on-year increase in revenue to $196.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, up from $165.1 million a year earlier.

Increasing tensions between India and Pakistan since the Pahalgam terror attack have extended into cyberspace with groups engaging in hacking and cyberattacks.

Homegrown online gaming startup Winzo reported a 70% rise in operating revenue to ₹1,055.2 crore for the financial year ended March 2024, despite a challenging regulatory environment for the online gaming sector in India.
Anveshan, a health food brand, has raised ₹48 crore in a funding round led by Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, the venture capital arm of Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting.
Some European tech workers who might once have headed to the United States are looking at defence startups closer to home. Others are rushing back to Europe from jobs abroad.
Britain’s Co-op Group said on Wednesday hackers had attempted to break into its systems, forcing the retailer to shut down some of its back office and call centre operations
AI jobs are expected to expand as fast as 45% in FY26, bucking the broader circumspect trend in technology hiring, as deployment of artificial intelligence gathers further momentum across user industries, data sourced by ET from Quess IT Staffing showed.

9ET Markets

Gujarat-based Corona Remedies has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities & Exchange Board of India for an IPO on Wednesday.

Traders created fresh bearish derivative bets on IndusInd Bank on Wednesday, amid uncertainty over top exits, with the latest being its CEO. Analysts said the profile of the new head will decide the stock’s prospects.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved IndusInd Bank’s proposal to form a “committee of executives” to manage the bank’s daily operations until a new MD and CEO is appointed, the bank said in a regulatory filing.
Shares of Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv slumped over 5% on Wednesday after their fourth quarter results were lower than consensus estimates and the company guided for slower growth in FY26.
The ₹2,981-crore initial public offering (IPO) of Ather Energy was subscribed 1.43 times on the final day of bidding on Wednesday, according to BSE data as of 7 PM. Investors placed bids for 7.65 crore shares in the issue, compared with the 5.33 crore shares on offer by the company.
Veteran emerging-markets investor Mark Mobius is keeping the bulk of his funds’ holdings in cash as he waits out the trade-related uncertainty, which is likely to persist for up to six months.
The Indian rupee appreciated to its strongest level since November 29 to close at₹ 84.48/$1 on Wednesday, due to inflows into Indian equities, a pick-up in dollar sales by exporters and unwinding of long dollar positions, traders said.
The resignation of Sumant Kathpalia as CEO of IndusInd Bank has raised concerns that it could delay the bank’s recovery, disrupt business, increase the risk of run on deposits and cause a further deterioration in asset quality.

10Smart Investing

TVS Motor Company enters FY26 on a strong footing, driven by rising electric vehicle (EV) adoption, premium product launches, and recovering exports. With EVs contributing about 9% to revenue and further expansion planned, the company aims to outpace industry growth.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed mandating the dematerialisation of shares held by key shareholders including promoters, directors and qualified institutional buyers prior to an initial public offering (IPO).

Mortgage lender PNB Housing Finance is set to resume project financing this quarter after a gap of three years, with the current strength in asset quality providing a platform to renew engagement with the developers’ segment that troubled it in the past.
A large section of bank loan borrowers is yet to see the benefit from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) two consecutive policy rate cuts.
Low-profile IndusInd Bank CEO Sumant Kathpalia quit two days after the bank said it would absorb ₹1,959.98 crore—or the full impact—of losses from incorrect accounting practices in its March earnings, throwing the lender into turmoil. It is certainly a crisis.
Net sales of Indian bonds by overseas investors surged the highest in April since the inclusion of local debt on global bond indices, reflecting the undiminished allure of higher returns in the US, and the impact of escalating tensions with Pakistan toward the latter half of the month, market experts said.
The pace of credit demand at mainstream lenders slowed to 12% in FY25 from 16% a year ago, reflecting the impact of regulatory curbs in sectors such as retail borrowing and unsecured exposures, the latest data on sectoral deployment of bank credit showed.

11ET Panache

Sometimes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But in one recent bureaucratic snafu, a known treasure most likely ended up in the trash.

At the Paris trial of 10 people accused of robbing Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in 2016, a defendant who wrote a book about the jewellery heist said he regretted participating.

Racing champs don’t just sit and drive. They require endurance training and reaction-time routines.

12Sports World Play

Advances adding up to Rs 8 crore given to athletes under the sports ministry's flagship Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) remain "unsettled" as beneficiaries have failed to submit "bills or recovery amounts" despite repeated reminders, an internal assessment by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has revealed.

Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal side must do something special next week to reach the Champions League final after a 1-0 defeat by Paris St Germain in the semi-final first leg at home on Tuesday.

PSG coach Luis Enrique hailed his team but insisted there would be no euphoria in their ranks ahead of next week’s return. “We showed the mentality that we show in every match and that is a great pleasure for me to see as coach,” the Spaniard said.
Paris Saint-Germain is leaving England on a high again and within touching distance of a second Champions League final. Ousmane Dembele's early goal gave PSG a 1-0 win over Arsenal on Tuesday in the first leg of their semifinal, and only a couple of late misses prevented the advantage from growing bigger.
A hat-trick by Yuzvendra Chahal and skipper Shreyas Iyer’s 72 helped Punjab Kings to a four-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, officially ending their opponents’ slim chances of reaching the playoffs.
Novak Djokovic's shock withdrawal from next week's Italian Open should be a huge worry for the 24-times Grand Slam champion's fans as he heads to the French Open without winning a match on clay this season, former Roland Garros winner Jim Courier said.

13Companies: Pursuit of Profit

Jeffry Frieden is Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University SIPA. Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das, he discusses globalisation, China’s rise — and why this eclipsed US industry.

Vedanta’s consolidated profit more than doubled on year in the March quarter to ₹4,961 crore driven by strong volumes and realisations across its key businesses.

Indian Oil Corporation reported a profit of ₹7,265 crore for the fourth quarter of 2024-25, a 50% increase from a year earlier, on inventory gains and expanded marketing margins.
The telecom industry's latest move to convert cable TV connections to internet-based IPTV may face challenges such as low fibre connectivity to homes and resistance from cable operators, said industry executives and experts.
Indus Towers on Wednesday reported a 4% fall in fourth-quarter net profit, hurt by an accounting impact from its acquisition of telecom towers from Bharti Airtel and higher net finance costs, despite writing back provisions made against doubtful receivables from Vodafone Idea.
Despite concerns over presence of cancer causing agents in popular antacid Ranitidine and a recent recommendation by an expert panel for suspension of the drug, India's top drug advisory body has decided to ignore and form another “larger committee” to look into all aspects of the drug.
RPG Group-owned CEAT Ltd has earmarked ₹950-1,000 crore as capital expenditure for this fiscal year, mainly to expand manufacturing capacity across its key product segments including truck and bus radials (TBR), off-highway tyres (OHT), and two-wheeler tyres.
Adani Power on Wednesday reported a 5% fall in January-March net profit to ₹2,599.23 crore. Profit stood at ₹2737.24 crore in the March 2024 quarter.
Jindal Steel and Power reported a consolidated loss of ₹304 crore for the March quarter due to an exceptional loss of ₹1,229.45 crore.
Long seen as the traditional pipeline to the corner office, an IIT or IIM degree is fast losing its dominance in shaping India’s corporate leadership.
Electronics contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies has formed a joint venture (JV) with Taiwan-based Inventec to boost its IT hardware manufacturing business.

14Around the World

China's factory activity shrank in April, official data showed on Wednesday, with Beijing blaming a "sharp shift" in the global economy as it fights a mounting trade war with the United States.

US President Donald Trump has said jokingly he would be his own “number one choice” for the next pope. Trump's remarks come when cardinals are set to begin on May 7 the process to choose a successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21.

Microsoft pledged on Wednesday to fight any US government order to halt data centre operations in Europe as it sought to soothe concerns among European customers that trans-Atlantic tensions would lead to service disruptions.
Israel said Wednesday that it carried out an attack in Syria on a group targeting members of a minority sect as a new round of clashes left at least 11 people dead, most of them members of the country’s security forces.
Harvard University released its long-awaited reports on antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias, presenting a scathing critique of how its students treated each other in the aftermath of the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.
Iran will hold nuclear talks in Rome on Friday with Britain, France and Germany, foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday, with the aim of improving strained ties at a time of high-stakes nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs prompted several of Europe’s largest automakers to withdraw financial guidance, underlining the extent of the chaos unleashed by his fast-changing trade tactics.
Meta Platforms released a new standalone artificial intelligence app on Tuesday in a bid to compete with other popular chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The eurozone economy expanded more than expected at the start of the year, official data showed on Wednesday, despite US President Donald Trump's tariffs but global trade tensions threaten more pain and near stagnation in 2025.
Google would be discouraged to invest in search engine technology if antitrust enforcers succeed in their bid to make the company share data with rivals, the company's chief executive officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai testified on Wednesday morning at a trial in Washington.
The US economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace from January through March, the first drop in three years, as President Donald Trump's trade wars disrupted business.
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