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Front PagePure PoliticsThe PM InterviewThe Edit PageCompanies: Pursuit of ProfitEye on AIET Markets
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Disruption: Startups & TechEconomy: Macro, Micro & MoreBrands & CompaniesAround the WorldET PanacheSports World Play
Disruption: Startups & TechEconomy: Macro, Micro & MoreBrands & CompaniesAround the WorldET PanacheSports World Play
Disruption: Startups & TechEconomy: Macro, Micro & MoreBrands & CompaniesAround the WorldET PanacheSports World Play

1Front Page

Markets crashed and burned across Asia and Europe as the trade war begun by US President Donald Trump detonated with devastating consequences for investors.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students in the US from India and elsewhere are faced with the threat of having to leave the country once their studies get over after a bill was introduced in Congress to eliminate Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorisation.

Small cars are stumbling downhill, posting their steepest sales decline in recent times last fiscal even as demand for more premium SUVs rose in double digits, reflecting the growing divide between entry-level buyers and more affluent consumers.
India is setting up an import monitoring group for certain products including consumer goods to check diversion from countries which face US reciprocal tariffs that are higher than on India, such as China and Vietnam.

2Pure Politics

The latest Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) assessment of Election Commission data on donations made to political parties in FY 2023-24—points to the financial dynamics at play in the electoral field ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with BJP bagging the lion’s share once again, Congress a very distant second and AAP seeing a 70% cut

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal Monday said the farmers' agitation will continue till the government accepts their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price for crops.

The Supreme Court Monday hauled up the Uttar Pradesh police for converting civil disputes into criminal cases. Describing it as a “complete breakdown of the rule of law,” a 3-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna warned that costs may be imposed on the state’s police if such practices recur.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna Monday said it would consider the request for urgent listing of pleas challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
Curfew was imposed indefinitely in Manipur’s Lilong assembly constituency on Monday after a mob torched the house of BJP Minority Morcha state president Md Asker Ali for supporting the Waqf Amendment Act.
As resentment brews over the party's shift in stance on the Waqf Bill, BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Monday said his commitment to secularism remains steadfast and asserted that this commitment led him to sever ties with the NDA after the communal riots in Kandhamal.
A day after Union home minister Amit Shah appealed to surrender arms in Chhattisgarh, 31 Naxals, including five women, each carrying a bounty of ₹1 lakh, surrendered along with their weapons, in Dantewada and Narayanpur.
Slamming West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee over her jail remarks, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar on Monday demanded her resignation over corruption while asking why the Trinamool chief feared going to jail.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said on Monday that she is ready to “go to jail” for the sake of the teachers who lost their jobs recently. Speaking to the teachers at Netaji Indoor stadium in Kolkata, she told them that she stood by the terminated “eligible” teachers.
​The Prime Minister’s 119th Mann Ki Baat has inspired a new nationwide initiative One Day as a Scientist. The Education Ministry has written to all states, urging them to create strategies to ignite student interest in STEM and research.
The stage is set for the Congress to hold its all-India session from Tuesday in Ahmedabad after a hiatus of 64 years.
The Ministry of Defence has signed a ₹2,385 crore contract with Bharat Electronics Limited for the acquisition of Electronic Warfare (EW) Suites and aircraft modification kits as well as their installation on Mi-17 V5 helicopters, along with associated equipment, for the Indian Air Force, according to an official statement issued on Monday.
Having established a defence space agency, India is now moving ahead to bringing out a military space doctrine as well as a military space policy in the coming months, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan has said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Srinagar on Monday evening as part of his three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir and drove straight to the residence of DySP Humayun, who was killed during an operation in southern Kashmir in 2023. Shah was accompanied by J&K LG Manoj Sinha and CM Omar Abdullah to Humayun’s residence.
The US Supreme Court has rejected 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana's appeal seeking a stay on his extradition to India, moving him closer to being handed over to Indian authorities to face justice.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday talked with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the phone and discussed the early conclusion of the bilateral trade agreement in the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Monday witnessed disruptions and exchange of religious and jingoistic sloganeering between Kashmir-based parties and the BJP after speaker Abdul Rahim Rather disallowed discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, saying the matter is sub judice.
Dubai Crown Prince and UAE defence minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s visit to India on April 8-9 is not merely an attempt by the Modi government to cultivate next generation of UAE leadership but also an effort to ramp up defence ties with a key strategic partner in the Gulf and Indian Ocean Region.
In a setback to the Maharashtra government, the Bombay High Court pulled up the state and asked it to file an FIR against the policemen who were involved in the “fake encounter” of Akshay Shinde.
As the southern states spar with the Centre over the imposition of Hindi, Andhra Pradesh has decided to completely overhaul its school education system aligning it with the National Education Policy (NEP) with a major thrust on play-based learning for foundational classes, guaranteed age and grade appropriate foundational education in primary classes and tech-driven personalised assessment to fill learning gaps.
The Supreme Court on Monday closed a matter over the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) in holding last year's NEET-UG after the Centre assured of implementing exam reforms suggested by its expert panel.

3The PM Interview

Public sector banks (PSBs) have adjusted their special deposit schemes in the new fiscal, replacing them with lower rates. Some banks have, however, chosen to extend their special schemes for a month or a quarter, even as banking liquidity has improved in 2025.

HDFC Bank has reduced its marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLR) by 10 basis points across tenures, effective Monday. The bank’s MCLR now stands in the 9.10–9.35% range.

In its 10th year, the MUDRA scheme has allowed the govt to fund the unfunded, says the PM, adding that over 52 crore loans worth`33 lakh crore have been given out so far. People have responded with great zeal and made the scheme a massive success, he says.
The Big Four firms are emerging as powerful dealmakers, with EY, PwC and KPMG leading the league tables, according to the 2024 Mergermarket rankings.
Reliance Jio is set to outshine Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) on revenue growth in the fiscal fourth quarter, boosted by stronger customer additions and a bigger residual flow-through of the July 2024 headline rate hike due to a larger share of users on longer-validity plans, analysts said.

4The Edit Page

Slowly, but surely, a new class of HNIs has realised that the real objective of wealth is to have the time to spend it, in a superior manner. While 1980s Wall Street-style ‘workshipping’ may still be a fashionable brag for some, it’s so passé that it’s corny.

The market reaction to T2 — Trump-tariffs — and Chinese retaliation was fierce on Monday. But it may not have priced in the full impact of a trade war.

In Vedic era, the primary purpose of life was spiritual uplift. Scriptures linked it with religious duty: ‘Shariramadyam dharm khalu sadhanam’ — human body is the foremost instrument for spiritual pursuits.
In a world without T2 — Trump-tariffs — members of MPC meeting this week would have raised a toast to sliding inflation and signalled a downward cycle in interest rates. That’s off the table now.
Alice Della Rocca hated ski school. She hated getting up at half past seven in the morning during the Christmas holidays. She hated her father staring at her over breakfast, his leg dancing nervously under the table as if to say hurry up, get a move on.
Even as India records its highest adoption numbers in over a decade, crossing 4,500 in 2024-25, the process remains slow. Demand far outstrips supply — over 35,500 waiting parents vs 2,400 available children.
Last week, at GoI’s flagship Startup Mahakumbh, Piyush Goyal presented a slide that quickly went viral. It showed Indian startups building quick commerce, artisanal ice cream and betting apps, while their Chinese counterparts were working on AI foundational models, chips and deep tech.
Donald Trump’s tariffs have thrown the world in turmoil. Economic consequences of a political decision are now on full display, with the markets on total boil.

5Companies: Pursuit of Profit

Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya has claimed that Indian banks have got access to his properties worth ₹14,131.6 crore, more than twice the amount that he owed to public sector banks.

“A new chapter begins and it’s a significant one,” ethnic snacks maker Haldiram’s chief executive KK Chutani wrote on social media platform LinkedIn on Monday afternoon to announce the merger of the two family entities, Haldiram Snacks Delhi and Haldiram Foods International.

CarGo, the cargo arm of India’s largest airline IndiGo, is aiming for a low double-digit rise in both revenue and tonnage this fiscal by scaling international operations, improving aircraft utilisation, and targeting high-yield sectors such as pharmaceuticals and electronics, said Mark Sutch, chief commercial officer of IndiGo CarGo.
States want the eighth Central Pay Commission to hear their voices, along with the Centre’s, before submitting its recommendations, a senior finance ministry official said.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday dismissed the plea of IDBI Bank which sought to initiate insolvency proceedings against Zee Entertainment.
The government on Monday increased excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹2 per litre, using the opportunity provided by falling international oil prices to shore up its revenue.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will visit the UK and Austria from April 8 to 13 to attend ministerial-level bilateral meetings in both the countries, the finance ministry said on Monday.

6Eye on AI

Amazon’s AI assistant Rufus is expected to add $700 million - although indirectly - to its operating profit, according to a Business Insider report citing internal documents.

​ Researchers and cybersecurity experts have warned that AI agents could be used by cybercriminals to carry out hacks at a larger scale in the near future.

​ A report from the UN Trade and Development Agency said AI is likely to affect 40% of all jobs globally by 2033, raising concerns of automation and job displacement.
These are “unprecedented times”, said Debarghya Das, principal for AI and infrastructure at Menlo Ventures, pointing to private companies in artificial intelligence being valued on par with top public listed ones, Silicon Valley researchers earning a million dollars in salary, and lean startups raking in $200 million in revenue in the first year.
​OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4.5 was deemed to be human 73% of the time when instructed to mimic a persona using the Turing test, which is higher than a random 50% chance, suggesting that the test was beaten.
Indian venture capital firms are hiring artificial intelligence (AI) and technical partners as the new-generation technology becomes integral and, in many cases, foundational, across all spectrums of enterprises.
The AI race is intensifying, with China closing the gap with the US, both in terms of model performance as well as AI usage by organisations, the latest Stanford AI Index Report shows.
OpenAI Startup Fund has led a $43 million investment in the cybersecurity startup Adaptive Security along with Andreessen Horowitz.
Google’s parent Alphabet is shaking up the AI consumer app leadership by appointing Josh Woodward, who is currently leading Google Labs, as head of Gemini app.

7ET Markets

The selloff in Indian equity markets has wiped out Rs 24 lakh crore of investor wealth in April. The Tata Group alone saw its market capitalisation erode by nearly Rs 2.08 lakh crore in April, taking its year-to-date loss to Rs 5.58 lakh crore.

Gold prices retreated nearly 3% on Monday after rallying for several sessions, offering relief to buyers preparing for weddings while sellers rejoiced at the return of customers.

The Indian rupee on Monday plunged 60 paisa, or nearly eight-tenth of a percentage point, against the dollar—its steepest one-day retreat in three months— to ₹85.83 in line with other Asian currencies roiled by tariffs, illustrating that Friday’s gains past ₹85/$ for the first time this year would be temporary through what’s turning out to be the worst for emerging markets assets in about three decades.
Oil prices slid 2% to a nearly four-year low on Monday on worries US President Donald Trump's latest trade tariffs could push economies around the world into recession and reduce global demand for energy.
The market may be at crucial levels. If the Nifty falls below 21,700-21,900 levels—a key support—the index could fall by another 4% to around 21,200-21,300, which was the low made on June 4, 2024, the day when the Lok Shabha election results were announced, said technical analysts.
Wall Street leaders issued warnings on US tariffs, with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon saying they could have lasting negative consequences, while fund manager Bill Ackman said they could lead to an “economic nuclear winter”.

8Smart Investing

Markets witnessed a sharp sell-off, with benchmark indices plunging nearly 3%, primarily weighed down by weak global cues.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has imposed a penalty of Rs 7 lakh on Reliance Securities for alleged noncompliance with stock broker norms.

Though majority of the auto ancillary stocks have shown weakness after the US government’s decision to impose import tariffs, the extent of their fall .
U.S. stocks careened through a manic Monday after President Donald Trump threatened to crank his tariffs higher, despite a stunning display showing how dearly Wall Street wants him to do the opposite.
Towering Trump tariffs have dwarfed risk assets worldwide, putting the spotlight on capital protection.
The broader stock market rout following US President Donald Trump’s move to impose “reciprocal tariffs” could prompt new-age companies in India to take a hard look at their plans to go public, founders, investors and bankers told ET.
Volatility Index, or India VIX — the market’s fear gauge — Monday jumped more than 65% to 22.8 in its highest single-day spike ever, suggesting traders see extremely high risk and uncertainty in the near-term.
Nippon Life India Asset Management has appointed Andrew Holland as head of the proposed new asset class, introduced by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
India’s central bank is expected to boost the availability of funds for effective—and rapid—transmission of policy rate action, as Mint Road seeks to steer Asia’s third-biggest economy through the rubble of tariffs-ravaged global markets with minimal damage to growth and domestic consumption demand.

9Disruption: Startups & Tech

​Five semiconductor units with a combined investment of Rs 1.52 lakh crore, approved under Semicon India programme, are expected to go on stream in a four to six year period. India is well on its way to create a robust semiconductor ecosystem, says IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Apple, following assurances from the Trump administration, is keeping TikTok and other apps from ByteDance on its US App Store for at least another 75 days.

DeepSeek is working with Tsinghua University on reducing the training its AI models need in an effort to lower operational costs. The Chinese startup collaborated with researchers from the Beijing institution on a paper detailing a novel approach to reinforcement learning to make models more efficient.
Imagine Marketing, the parent of consumer devices maker Boat, has filed draft documents for its initial public offering with the capital markets regulator, the company said on Monday.
India’s electronics industry is in a relatively advantageous position compared with competing nations in terms of the impact from the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) secretary S Krishnan said on Monday.
Indians account for 12%, or 18 million, of the 150 million developers on GitHub, an online platform for collaborative software development, and India is the fastest-growing developer community with a million Indians joining the platform every three months, a top official said.
Nanotechnology startup Vimano has raised ₹25 crore in a seed funding round led by Ankur Capital, marking the first investment from the early-stage venture firm’s newly launched third fund.
Bengaluru-based wealthtech startup Scripbox is looking to raise $15-20 million (about ₹130-170 crore) in a fresh round of funding which could value the firm at around $200 million, according to two people in the know.
Venture capital firm SignalFire has raised over a $1 billion to bet on AI startups — an unusually large fundraising haul in a difficult market for VCs and startups.
The US tariffs don’t apply to services, but they could still hurt India’s software services exporters due to their impact on key client sectors such as BFSI, manufacturing and retail.
Payments aggregator Juspay closed a $60 million financing round led by domestic private equity fund Kedaara Capital, with participation from existing investors SoftBank and Accel.

10Economy: Macro, Micro & More

The 26% reciprocal tariff imposed by the US on India is lower than that on several other nations, creating an opportunity to gain market share from those hit harder, say experts.

India has “a lot of elbow room” in bilaterally working with developed countries and those that follow fair trade practices and offer equal opportunity to do business, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Monday.

The government is closely monitoring the volatility in stock markets in the wake of the onset of a global tariff war but will avoid any hasty steps or knee-jerk reactions, said a senior official.
India is likely to achieve its projected 6.3-6.8% economic growth in 2025-26, even as it assesses the potential impact of the global trade war and a financial market slide in the aftermath of the Trump administration’s “reciprocal tariffs” last week, senior officials said on Monday.
The average cost of a home-cooked vegetarian thali declined for the fifth straight month in March to ₹26.6, due to a decline in vegetable prices, according to a report by Crisil released on Monday.

11Brands & Companies

Kalyan Jewellers on Monday reported a 37% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue for the fourth quarter of FY25, despite extreme volatility in the gold prices.

Aviation watchdogs DGCA and BCAS and state-owned AAI are grappling with a significant manpower crunch, with 37-48% of the total sanctioned positions remaining vacant, according to official data.

Coffee Day Enterprises (CDEL) has reported a total default of Rs 425.3 crore on payments of interest and repayment of principal amount on loans from banks, financial institutions and unlisted debt securities as NCDs and NCRPS as on March 31, 2025.
British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover recorded flat wholesale volumes in the just-ended fiscal year largely due to a weak performance in its core market of China. Retail sales during the year also stayed flat, parent Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
Maruti Suzuki India is decentralising its plants in Haryana and Gujarat, treating them as strategic business units (SBUs), in a transformative step aimed at driving internal competition and fostering quicker decision making, said people aware of the plans.
Bulge-bracket private equity funds are increasingly investing in single-speciality Indian hospital chains that present a robust growth potential in emerging consuming centres, significantly widening the addressable market beyond their traditional metropolitan bailiwicks.
Manufacturers of consumer goods—from packaged foods and beverages to detergent and paint—are expected to benefit from the fall in crude oil price, as it would make raw materials cheaper and boost their profit margins, providing some relief amid a protracted slowdown in urban consumption, industry executives and analysts said.
Little did this gentleman know that ghosts from his startup past would come to haunt him on a dating app. He got chatting with a prospective friend on an app and flexed that he co-founded this particular mobility startup.
InterGlobe Enterprises and French hospitality chain Accor are in talks with homegrown budget hotel brand Treebo for a master franchise partnership in a bid to rapidly scale up their presence in the growing mid-market segment in the country, multiple people familiar with the developments told ET.
Bullish owner-investors of marquee hotel chains in India are ramping up investments, encouraged by growing domestic travel demand, amid increasing affluence in Asia's third-biggest economy.
As Vikram Mehta, a 42-year-old IT professional, navigates through Mumbai's chaotic streets in his recently bought SUV, his car anticipates danger before he can even react.

12Around the World

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened huge additional tariffs on imports from China if Beijing did not withdraw its retaliation plans, adding that Washington would begin talks with other nations that want negotiations.

The set of 34% tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Chinese exports could hit China’s GDP by two to 2.5 percentage points, further affecting the Chinese economy which is struggling with slowdown, a top Chinese Economist said.

Boeing has reached a last-minute settlement to avoid a civil trial that was due to start Monday over the fatal 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX plane, the plaintiffs' lawyers said.
The Kremlin on Monday said that it supported the idea of a truce in Ukraine but had many “questions” about how it would work, pushing back at US and European suggestions that it was playing for time.
Israeli troops could be seen clearing ground and building watch towers on Monday in parts of Gaza they have seized in recent days in a renewed offensive that the United Nations says has already captured or depopulated two-thirds of the enclave.
US President Donald Trump remained defiant Monday as global markets continued plunging and recession fears grew after his tariff announcement last week.
Britain said it could close hundreds of arms-length government agencies, as it looks to reform the state to cut costs and improve productivity in what it called "a new era of global instability".
The European Union said on Monday it would start collecting retaliatory duties on some imported US goods next week, as EU trade ministers agreed they preferred negotiations to remove tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump over retaliation.
Mercedes-Benz Group AG is falling further behind in China, its largest market, where fierce competition and an ongoing price war are squeezing European carmakers.
Two federal board members fired by the Trump administration can go back to their jobs for now, a split appeals court ruled Monday ahead of a likely Supreme Court showdown on the US President’s power over independent agencies.

13ET Panache

The music industry is fighting on platforms, through the courts and with legislators in a bid to prevent the theft and misuse of art from generative AI — but it remains an uphill battle.

A musical reimagining of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Giant, starring John Lithgow as author Roald Dahl, were among the big winners at Britain’s Olivier theatre awards this year, picking up three prizes each.

From hosting LIV Golf at Trump National Doral in Miami to auctioning his executive orders, economic turbulence seems a world away for the US President.

14Sports World Play

When Trent Alexander Arnold was first considering a move to Real Madrid, which was some time ago now, a particular message was relayed. It was the same as that which Jude Bellingham received when given a tour of the Bernabeu by head of recruitment Juni Calafat.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru held their nerves to beat Mumbai Indians by 12 runs in their IPL match here on Monday for their first victory at the Wankhede Stadium in 10 years.

India's top shuttlers, including Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, will try to overcome their string of below-par performances this season when the opening-round matches in the Badminton Asia Championships commence here on Tuesday.
Riding on Lalengmawia ‘Apuia’ Ralte’s late stunner, Mohun Bagan Super Giant qualified for their third consecutive final of the Indian Super League after a 3-2 aggregate win against Jamshedpur FC in the two-legged semi-finals, which concluded here on Monday.
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