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Around the WorldET PanacheSports World PlayCompanies: Pursuit of ProfitDisruption: Startups & Tech
Around the WorldET PanacheSports World PlayCompanies: Pursuit of ProfitDisruption: Startups & Tech
Around the WorldET PanacheSports World PlayCompanies: Pursuit of ProfitDisruption: Startups & Tech

1Front Page

People didn’t drink as much booze as they were expected to in 2024, catching the global liquor industry by surprise, with consumption in once-booming India and other top consuming markets losing fizz.

Chinese electronics components manufacturers, panicked by the tariff war with the US, are offering to drop prices by up to 5% as Indian companies start negotiating fresh sourcing contracts.

Wary of cheap Chinese goods flooding India, policymakers are identifying markets and goods that need to be ringfenced through a minimum import price, safeguard duties or other steps, officials said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday lowered policy rates by a quarter percentage point for the second time in as many months and surprised the markets with a stance switch to ‘accommodative’ from ‘neutral’ to signal an easing bias.
Deployment of card swipe machines at merchant outlets has nearly doubled over the past three years to more than 10 million units, despite the rise of QR-based scan and pay.
Facing a global market meltdown, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but raised the rate on Chinese imports to 125%.

2Pure Politics

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday alleged that “scams are taking place in elections” and pitched for the return of paper ballots even as he dubbed the BJP alliance’s sweeping victory in Maharashtra as a “fraud”.

A meeting of legislature party leaders chaired here on Wednesday by Chief Minister M K Stalin to deliberate an action plan to secure exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET decided unanimously to pursue all necessary legal steps, including challenging it afresh in the Supreme Court.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged Muslims to have faith in her and not resort to protests over the Waqf Act.
The divide in BJD over voting in the Rajya Sabha on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is an indicator and precursor to the break-up of the party in the future, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi has said.
CWC member Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said Congress should project itself as a party of hope and positive narrative and not as one of resentment and criticism.
After supporting the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, Nitish Kumar-led JDU has stepped up efforts to reach out to the Muslim community and negate the Opposition campaign on it.
In the aftermath of 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP’s central leadership has sent a stern message to its cadre to not make any loose remarks against Dalits and reservation, and urged its leaders to continuously engage with the community while presenting Dr BR Ambedkar as the party’s icon.
Several districts in West Bengal witnessed protests on Wednesday as a section of teachers and non-teaching staff, who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court verdict that invalidated their appointments, clashed with police during demonstrations.
US Vice President JD Vance is likely to make a trip to India later this month, when he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also make a private visit to Jaipur and Agra.This comes at a time when India is working to fast-track a proposed bilateral trade agreement with the US.
With the showdown over the Waqf Act escalating, BJP is planning to launch a campaign to address the concerns of the Muslim community. Party leaders will go on a door-to-door campaign to explain the benefits of the law while refuting the claims of the Opposition.
Two encounters are underway in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur and Kishtwar districts, where infiltrators are said to be trapped.
The controversial ruling by the Allahabad High Court that held that mere grabbing of the breast and pulling the drawstring of a ‘pyjama’ does not amount to the offence of rape has been challenged by the victim’s mother.
Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, is being brought to India in a special plane after he was extradited following exhaustion of his legal options in the US.
The AICC session on Wednesday passed the main resolution, named ‘Nyay Path’, after the draft resolution passed by CWC on Tuesday — contents of which ET has already reported was presented to the session with notable additions, including mentioning Congress’ commitment to the INDIA bloc, which was a conspicuous omission in the draft form.
Close on the heels of Bangladesh interim regime chief adviser Mohammad Yunus’ China visit, the country’s army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman is undertaking a rare four-day visit to Russia this week, signalling a move to diversify Dhaka’s global outreach.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t utter a word when President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on India and warned that a ‘financial storm’ was about to hit the country.
The Central government has written to over 350 heads of India’s leading scientific institutes and laboratories, asking them to identify key bottlenecks and challenges in conducting and scaling Research & Development (R&D), ET has learnt.
The government has given a final go-ahead for a Rs 63,000-crore deal to acquire new Rafale M fighter jets from France that will give the Navy a much-needed capability boost for its aircraft carriers.
​Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar seems to have developed a fondness for referencing “artificial intelligence” in his remarks. Frequently, he uses the concept to humorously dismiss unrealistic demands or concerns raised by Opposition members.
A BSF jawan was "seriously" injured in an IED blast ahead of the fence along the India-Pakistan international border in Punjab on Wednesday. It is the first such instance at this front that a dangerous concoction of explosives and shrapnel was used in a bid to kill and maim.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to grant bail to separatist leader Nayeem Ahmad Khan in a terror-funding case, which also involves 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

3Economy & Companies

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Wednesday revised India’s economic growth forecast for FY26 down to 6.7% from 7% earlier, citing uncertainty stemming from the increase in US tariffs on India and other countries.

India’s exports soared to a record more than $820 billion in the just-ended fiscal year, growing nearly 6%, as per a government statement. Goods and services exports stood at $778.21 billion in FY24. People in the know said goods exports touched $438 billion last fiscal, a tad higher than the previous year’s $437.1 billion.

A recent moderation in imports of steel has enabled domestic steelmakers to raise prices of the alloy and this, along with demand remaining strong in the country, is seen helping these producers remain relatively insulated from the impact of recent tariffs imposed by the US.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Wednesday assured industry that the government is working proactively and exploring solutions which are in the best interest of the nation in its trade pact talks with the United States.
Institutional investors are returning to India’s residential real estate market with a sharp focus on mixed-use developments, encompassing residential, commercial, and retail spaces.

4Brands & Companies

Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has set up a flight recorders laboratory that will help it in carrying out more effective probes into accidents. Civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu inaugurated the laboratory in the AAIB premises in the national capital on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed an expert committee to give its recommendations to enable the Centre to amend food safety regulations to deal with warning labels on packaged foods.

After a year of muted project activity, India’s residential real estate market is poised for a revival in new launches in FY26 though the area sold is expected to see only a modest uptick.
With the Trump-era tariffs making manufacturing in China an increasingly pricey affair, Chinese companies are eyeing India for expansion.
Mahindra Aerostructures (MASPL), a Mahindra Group company, has bagged an order from Airbus Helicopters to manufacture and assemble the main fuselage of its H130 light single-engine helicopter, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Tata Steel’s Dutch subsidiary plans to cut around 1,600 jobs in management and support functions as part of a sweeping transformation plan aimed at improving efficiency and preparing for a green steel future.
With India’s urban markets showing signs of saturation in smartphone sales, the mobile handset industry and experts are hoping that the country’s tier-2 cities and beyond regions will help shore up sagging volumes.
Funds managed by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, emerged as the largest subscriber of an around $750-million bond issue of Renew Exim DMCC, a wholly owned offshore entity of the Adani Group promoter family.
Drugmaker Natco Pharma has said it will price its rare disease drug Risdiplam used to treat spinal muscular atrophy at ₹15,900 per bottle, against ₹6.2 lakh per bottle charged by its innovator Swiss drugmaker Roche under the brand Evrysdi.
An Air India passenger allegedly urinated on a fellow passenger during a flight from the national capital to Bangkok on Wednesday, according to sources

5The Edit Page

The Indian police system is broken. Unless it’s rehauled, citizens will continue to pay a heavy price. This was evident yet again on Monday, when CJI Sanjiv Khanna took serious note of UP police’s practice of converting monetary disputes into criminal cases, observing that ‘rule of law appears to have completely broken down in the state’.

Mahavir Janm Kalyanak marks the birthday celebration of the 24th Tirthankar, who pioneered ahimsa, art of forgiveness, equity, rational thinking, principles of pluralism, courage, a compassionate way of life, tranquillity and non-violence toward every living being.

You just gotta admire the sheer chutzpah of it all. The student and youth wings of West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress were let out to hold protest marches — and hold up traffic — in Kolkata on Wednesday.
India’s economic growth story has been defined by its ambitious national programmes, from MGNREGA to Skill India, which have strengthened rural livelihoods and lifted millions out of poverty.
RBI’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) delivered a widely expected second quarter-percentage-point interest rate cut, and shifted the central bank’s monetary policy stance to ‘accommodative’ as a signal for further easing.
Make no mistake. Trump or no Trump, Sanjay Malhotra would have cut interest rates on Wednesday. Inflation is softening, spending must be stoked, and New Delhi — in the RBI governor’s words — has ‘done its bit’ with a cut in tax rates.
Enigma is less of a restaurant and more of an edible fever dream curated by culinary wizards Ferran and Albert Adrià. From the moment you punch in a secret code to enter its silver labyrinth, you know you’ve left the world of ordinary dining behind. Each room reveals a different act in this multi-sensory performance, with up to 50 courses rolled out like magic tricks.
On hearing that MPs have awarded themselves a 24% salary hike, one’s thoughts drifted to that class of society known for low performance accountability and high job security: government employees.

6ET Markets

INOX Clean Energy is expected to file a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Sebi in a week or two for a ₹5,000 crore initial public offering (IPO) via the confidential route, according to people familiar with the matter.

Home, auto, and small business borrowers can look forward to lower interest rates as banks started to pass on the benefit of the Reserve Bank of India’s decision on Wednesday to reduce the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 6%.

The RBI Wednesday issued draft guidelines on gold loans with an aim to create a level playing field for banks and NBFCs involved in this type of lending and plug gaps in lending practices.
The central bank Wednesday expanded the scope of co-lending pacts beyond priority-sector loans (PSL), allowing more regulated entities to structure deals that would route formal financing to smaller non-PSL businesses crucial for boosting both growth and jobs locally.
InterGlobe Aviation, parent of IndiGo, became the world’s most valuable listed airline in Wednesday’s trading, albeit briefly, pipping American airline giant Delta Air Lines — the world’s largest by revenue.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has instructed the board of IndusInd Bank, as part of the prudential practice, to fix accountability into protracted accounting lapses that caused the private lender’s market value to shrink more than a quarter overnight early March and shook both depositor and investor trust.

7Smart Investing

RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra announced that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will have the flexibility to revise the transaction limits for UPI in-person merchant transactions.

The RBI has proposed to make the Regulatory Sandbox ‘Theme Neutral’ and ‘On Tap’ to keep pace with innovation in fintech space.

The central bank’s draft guidelines on Wednesday sought to incentivise more bond issues for long-gestation infrastructure projects and boost their ratings, allowing the proceeds of money raised from credit enhanced bonds to pay off bank loans.
Monetary policy makers for long have been puzzled by the ‘impossible trinity’—exchange rate, capital flows and the independence of policy-making. The Reserve Bank of India appears to have taken a bold step of compartmentalising interest rates and exchange rate management.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued draft guidelines for securitisation of stressed assets through a market-based mechanism. “A prudentially structured securitisation transaction can be an enabler for resolution of stressed assets as it is expected to improve risk distribution and provide an exit route from such exposures for lenders,” RBI said in its statement.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday highlighted risks to growth and inflation from the tariff war and policy uncertainties, with both businesses and households deferring investments and discretionary consumption, respectively, across industrial economies.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which on Wednesday lowered rates for the second time in nearly five years, while hinting at further easing to boost growth, said its liquidity management would neatly integrate with the altered policy priorities and help in effective transmission of rate actions.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday effectively ruled out incentivising uncollateralised loans in the broader pursuit of boosting credit offtake and undergirding consumption demand, underscoring that risk weights restored about 18 months ago on unsecured advances merely reflect a return to pre-Covid prudential norms.
For the second time in a row since the third team of external members in the monetary policy committee was constituted, the members were unanimous in their vote to cut rates.

8Economy: Macro, Micro & More

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Wednesday announced the establishment of four interim boards to take care of pending applications filed to settle customs and excise related matters before the Customs Central Excise Settlement Commission, which stands abolished from April 1.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has set April 30 as the end date for filing declarations under the Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Scheme (DTVSV) 2024, aimed at resolving pending income-tax disputes before various appellate authorities, including the Supreme Court and high courts, as of July 22, 2024.

The government could nudge listed private companies to adopt a fair dividend policy to make the share market a better place for the common man, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management secretary Arunish Chawla said on Wednesday.
India’s unemployment rate inched up to 3.2% in 2024 from 3.1% in the previous year, driven largely by more women leaving the workforce, official data released on Wednesday showed.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved a ₹1,878.31 crore access-controlled six-lane highway in Punjab and Haryana, and ₹1,332 crore railway projects.
India has terminated the transshipment facility that allowed export cargo from Bangladesh to third countries to use its land customs stations en route to ports and airports.

9Around the World

I’m codirector of The Global Capital Allocation Project which is a research lab that uses microdata and theory to develop models and frameworks that guide international economic policy.

Russia is no longer the top export destination for Chinese cars after the nation hiked taxes that affect auto imports and vehicle sales slowed as consumers, perhaps hopeful the conflict in Ukraine may draw to an end, await the return of foreign brands.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order raising duties on small packages sent from China from 30% to 90%, a move likely to disrupt the import of popular low-cost products.
Oil prices swung wildly on Wednesday, sinking to a four-year low in anticipation of slowing economic growth due to a burgeoning trade war, before jumping 2% after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of his tariffs.
The White House broadened its fight with elite universities by freezing federal grants for Cornell and Northwestern, following similar moves against Columbia and Princeton.
US President Trump claimed world leaders were “dying to make a deal” with the US and would do anything to secure a pact on tariffs. “I am telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my a * *,” Trump said during a speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner on Tuesday.
US stocks are soaring on a euphoric Wall Street Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he would temporarily back off on most of his global tariffs, as investors had so desperately hoped he would.

10ET Panache

The nondescript fresco of a Crucifixion by Renaissance master Fra Angelico was neglected for centuries — until three doctors fell in love with it

Sending US astronauts to Mars is high on the task list for billionaire fintech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, US President Donald Trump’s nominee to run NASA.

A rare blue diamond was displayed on April 8 at an exhibition of $100 million worth of the world’s rarest diamonds in the United A rab Emi rates’s capital, Abu Dhabi.
The economic boost that Universal's first theme park in Europe, scheduled to open in Bedford, UK, in 2031 could give the nation’s economy by 2055.

11Sports World Play

Declan Rice scored the first direct free-kick of his professional career to give Arsenal the lead in their historic victory over Real Madrid. Then, 12 minutes later, he did it again.

Sai Sudharsan's classy fifty combined with a collective bowling effort powered Gujarat Titans to a commanding 58-run win over Rajasthan Royals in their IPL clash here on Wednesday.

12Companies: Pursuit of Profit

India should have a calibrated and constructive response to the US tariff policy by combining unilateral concessions with bilateral negotiations to seek market access for key sectors on favourable terms, David Linke, the global head of tax & legal services, KPMG International, told ET.

Larsen & Toubro is seeing signs of a pickup in capital expenditure by large Indian business groups like the Tatas, Adanis, Jindals and Torrent, which may lead to potential business for the engineering and construction major.

India is likely to see $1 billion in investments in the hospitality sector by 2028, as per estimates shared by JLL exclusively with ET. The country saw $340 million worth of hotel transactions last year, but greater corporate M&A activity, development pipelines, and capital flows are likely to bring in much higher investment numbers by 2028, besides the usual trading of assets, said Nihat Ercan, CEO of APAC at JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group, in an interview.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is likely to report sequentially weaker numbers for the January-March 2025 period, in what would be the second consecutive quarter of subdued performance amid delay in discretionary spending as clients take time to assess the impact of changing geopolitical and global economic scenarios.
Finance ministers of India and the United Kingdom on Wednesday agreed to continue “negotiations at pace” to clinch a mutually beneficial free trade agreement (FTA) and an investment treaty, as they pledge to bolster a comprehensive and strategic partnership.
A consortium of Indian banks on Wednesday won their court appeal in London to uphold a bankruptcy order against Vijay Mallya in a long-standing legal battle seeking repayment of a judgment debt owed by the businessman’s now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
Former chief vigilance commissioner Pratyush Sinha will head Sebi’s high-level committee on conflict of interest and disclosures of board members of the regulatory body.
Darshan Mehta, an eminent retail professional and former managing director at Reliance Brands, passed away on Wednesday in Hyderabad after a heart attack. He was 64 and is survived by his wife and a son.
Private sector auto fuel retailers Reliance BP Mobility and Nayara Energy grew their sales at a faster rate than state-run firms in 2024-25, capturing a higher share of the market but still below that before the Ukraine war began in 2022.

13Disruption: Startups & Tech

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released the details of the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme, in a Gazette notification published on Tuesday.

Dixon Technologies signed an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government for a new manufacturing facility at Oragadam near Chennai with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.

Alphabet’s on Wednesday unveiled its seventh-generation AI chip ‘Ironwood’, which the company said is designed to speed up the performance of AI applications.
Quick commerce platform Zepto’s annualised gross order value (GOV) is nearing $4 billion, marking 300% year-on-year growth, chief executive Aadit Palicha said Wednesday.
In a move to tackle India’s artificial intelligence compute accessibility gap, IIT-Madras and its technology arm, IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation, have partnered with California-based deep-tech startup Ziroh Labs to launch a Centre of AI Research.
The Karnataka government is working on a new law to govern the online gaming sector as it looks to address the contentious issues dogging the sector.
Google plans to help developers build artificially intelligent assistants for a variety of tasks, which could increase dependence on—and revenue for—its cloud services.
There are no winners from a prolonged trade war. But if this drags on, President Donald Trump could see China’s tech sector weather the blows much better than Silicon Valley.
With the latest artificial intelligence image generation features being able to fake everything—from passports and college marksheets to restaurant receipts and Aadhaar cards—with alarming ease, there is an unprecedented global demand for enterprise-grade deepfake detection tools.
Homegrown wearables brand Noise has raised $20 million from US-based audio equipment major Bose Corporation. This marks the company’s second round of funding since its inception.
The amendments to the Aadhaar law will be harmonised vis-a-vis the DPDP Act 2023, keeping user interest at the centre, Union electronics and information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Expansion of the turnover threshold to ₹300 crore under the safe harbour tax rules for global capability centres (GCCs) is seen as a damp squib by the industry, which does not expect any material difference from this move to the uncertainties around ease of doing business.
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