BusinessLine (Chennai)
India Inc’s Q4 weathers geopolitical storm
While India Inc had to contend with the impact of the West Asia conflict for nearly onethird of Q4FY26 (the month of March), higher volumes helped offset cost pressures. For the quarter, India Inc delivered healthy revenue and adjusted PAT growth...
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US trade court junks 10% Trump tariff; India gets edge in BTA talks
The US Court of International Trade has ruled against President Donald Trump’s 10 per cent global tariff imposed on all trade partners, including India. The move, which will bring down import levies in the US to the basic MFN (most favoured nation)...
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Herbicide Paraquat Dichloride faces ban over severe toxicity
The Centre is set to impose a nationwide ban on Paraquat Dichloride, a widely used herbicide. This comes after an expert panel reviewed evidence linking the chemical to fatal poisoning, kidney failure, lung fibrosis and Parkinson’s disease. The move...
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Markets recover as crude oil cools on W. Asia peace hope
Hopes of peace in West Asia, even if only fragile, were enough to change the mood on Dalal Street on Wednesday, as a single report of a potential US-Iran breakthrough cooled crude prices, nudging investors back into risk assets. Equities rallied, the...
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AI trims international flights in May as rising ATF costs bite
The Tata Grouppromoted Air India has reduced flight frequencies across several key international routes for May, with reductions of 5 per cent on some routes and up to 25 per cent on others, industry sources told businessline. The move comes as oil...
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Shock verdict in Tamil Nadu; BJP storms Bengal, holds Assam; UDF returns in Kerala
The Assembly election results on Monday delivered major upsets in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, where incumbents were routed by a mix of traditional rivals and surprise challengers, signalling a sharp churn in key regional strongholds. Prime Minister...
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Banks may sell written-off loans to fund new ECL norms
Sale of a portion of the huge pile of technical writeoff accounts to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) could emerge as a linchpin for banks to unlock funds to make provisions for loans under the ECL (expected credit loss)based regime, which will...
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Buying the dip? This bull run has offered shallow ones
Indian investors have been relentless dipbuyers in recent years. Every bout of market weakness is seen as an opportunity to add equities, top up SIPs or deploy idle cash. But an uncomfortable detail remains hidden in the data: In the current bull...
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Steep hike in commercial LPG prices; other fuels not touched
The government on Friday tried to balance its energy import arithmetic by steeply raising prices of commodities used by industries such as commercial LPG and bulk diesel, while keeping retail prices of petrol, diesel and household LPG unchanged. Rates...
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India moves to secure energy fleet with ₹51,000crore vessel acquisition plan
Amid disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict, India is moving to secure its energy shipping fleet, placing maritime capacity at the centre of economic resilience. Staterun oil and shipping companies are lining up a largescale vessel acquisition...
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Exit polls 2026: Divided on Bengal; see incumbents holding ground in Assam, Tamil Nadu; predict UDF comeback in Kerala
Exit polls at the end of last round of polling in West Bengal gave a divided verdict for the eastern state while largely presenting continuity for incumbents in Tamil Nadu and Assam. In Kerala, the polls saw the pendulum swinging back to the...
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SEBI weighs uniform regime for options strike prices
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is evaluating a proposal to introduce a uniform framework for managing options strike prices, including the possibility of allowing exchanges to add new strikes during market hours, according to people...
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In mega deal, Sun Pharma to acquire US-based Organon for $11.75 b cash
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has inked an agreement with USbased Organon & Co to script the largest overseas buy for the Indian drugmaker, and also the domestic pharmaceutical industry. Sun is set to acquire all outstanding shares of Organon for $14...
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India may close FY26 with gross FDI of more than $90 b: CEA
Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has estimated that gross foreign direct investment (FDI) in FY26 will exceed $90 billion. “FDI in the AprilFebruary period has exceeded $88 billion, and there is one more month in the year. Going by this...
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Peak-cycle buybacks haunt India’s IT giants
Infosys shares’ 7 per cent fall on Friday to a fiveyear low was a fresh reminder that the market lacks confidence in any nearterm turnaround for the Indian IT companies. It also sends a clear message not just to the investors who thought IT stocks...
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Sapped by energy business, Reliance Ind Q4 net dips 12.6%
Reliance Industries reported a 12.6 per cent fall in consolidated net profit in the fourth, or March, quarter of FY26, falling well short of analyst estimates, due to a weakness in its energy businesses, which offset strong earnings growth in digital...
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AI mulls 15-20% flight cuts on fuel cost, operational hurdles
After reportedly posting a loss of around ₹20,000 crore ($2.4 billion) in FY26, the Tata Groupled Air India is planning to curtail operations amid rising jet fuel prices and operational challenges, industry sources told businessline. According to the...
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Amazon deepens AI push with $25-b Anthropic bet
At a time when Anthropic’s Claude is gaining ground among enterprise users, Amazon has announced plans to invest around $25 billion in the AI major. The deal, which signals Amazon’s aggressive push into AI, includes $5 billion immediate investment in...
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SBI targets ‘balance-sheet size of 25% of India’s GDP by 2030’
India’s biggest bank wants to grow even bigger. State Bank of India (SBI) plans to expand its balancesheet to about 25 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2030 from about 20 per cent now. The stateowned bank, which has been doubling its balancesheet...
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PIL alleges breach of trusteeship norms in Sir Ratan Tata Trust
The battle over control of the Tata Trusts has acquired yet another dimension with a public interest litigation filed by a lawyer with the Charity Commissioner, Mumbai, on Saturday, drawing his attention to a violation in the matter of lifetime...
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The golden trade is not yet crowded
Till recently every geopolitical scare, dollar wobble and equitymarket stumble pushed gold higher, taking it to record highs of $5,417 an ounce and ₹1.75 lakh per 10 gm by endJanuary. The subsequent correction — about 11 per cent in dollar terms and...
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Women’s Reservation Bill defeated in LS, fails to get two-thirds majority
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and the State Assemblies, was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday evening as the government’s lastditch effort to push it by promising an amendment...
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No injustice to the South in delimitation process: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday allayed concerns of the Opposition as he gave a “guarantee” that the three Bills aimed at advancing 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and the State Assemblies, based on the 2011 Census, would not...
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Mehli Mistry seeks appointment of administrator in Sir Dorabji Tata Trust
Mehli Mistry, who stepped down from the Tata Trusts as a trustee in November last year after being denied reappointment, has alleged grave illegalities in the administration of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and prayed for the appointment of an...
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India may go slow on trade deal till US mid-term polls
India is likely to play for time in its trade talks with the US when negotiators meet in Washington soon, as it looks to the upcoming US midterm elections to provide clarity on the American legislative landscape, sources have said. Following the US...
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IMD forecasts ‘below normal’ monsoon as El Nino risk builds
The SouthWest monsoon, which accounts for 75 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall of 116 cm, is likely to be “below normal” this year. It will quantitatively be 92 per cent of the long period average (LPA) of 87 cm, said M Ravichandran,...
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Draft CAFE-3 norms: Govt eases penalties, shifts to carbon credits
The government has proposed a more flexible compliance framework under the draft Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency3 (CAFE3) norms, easing penalties and allowing automakers to trade carbon credits to meet emission targets, sources told...
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Markets’ dilemma: Trust the bark or wag of oil prices
The spot oil market is barking loudly. Last week it rallied to an alltime high of $144.46/ barrel — levels not seen even during the frenzied rally of 200708 or the spike during the RussiaUkraine war. Ideally that should scare stock market investors...
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TCS Q4 net up 12% on AI-led revenue growth, order book
Tata Consultancy Services’ net profit rose 12 per cent to ₹13,784 crore for the fourth quarter of 202526, led by revenue growth and larger order bookings. Net profit increased by 28.5 per cent on a sequential basis, owing to oneoff expenses in the...
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Benchmarks skyrocket 3.8% as markets cheer Iran-US ceasefire
The equity benchmarks soared over 3.8 per cent on Wednesday after a lastminute ceasefire between the US and Iran triggered a global rally and sent crude oil prices tumbling. Major equities across the globe surged 27 per cent, with Korea’s Kospi...
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Chandra may not seek 3rd term as Tata Sons Chairman
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran may not offer to helm the conglomerate for a third term, sources said, though he will be drawing up a detailed plan for the future growth trajectory of the group and setting out timelines for lossmaking entities...
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Wipro bags $1 b Olam deal, buys IT arm Mindsprint for $375 m
Wipro has acquired Mindsprint as part of a $1 billionplus transformation deal with the Olam Group, seeking to lock in long-term, annuity-style revenue and deepen domain capabilities. Analysts said this signals a shift towards large, outcome-led...
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Banks seek RBI relief as rising yields hit G-Secs
Banks have knocked on the Reserve Bank of India’s door, seeking relaxation to spread the provisioning they will need to make for the losses incurred by their bond portfolio due to substantial hardening of yields in the fourth quarter (Q4) of...
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OFS switch erodes ₹95,000 crore of investor wealth
“By shamelessly merchandising birdless bushes, promoters have in recent years moved billions of dollars from the pockets of the public to their own purses...” Warren Buffett wrote those lines in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders amid...
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Russia offers India top up of crude, fertilizers and LNG
Russia has offered to step up energy trade with India by supplying more crude oil and fertilizers at a time when the world’s thirdlargest energy consumer is exploring alternatives to meet the oil and gas deficit created by the West Asia...
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Rupee leaps 173 paise on RBI intervention
The rupee started the new financial year (FY27) with a bang thanks to the RBI’s two recent measures — capping the net open position limits and tightening forex derivative rules — to curb speculative pressure on the domestic currency. The central...
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Oracle cuts 12,000 India jobs in global AI-led restructuring drive
Layoffs continue to plague the IT sector, with Oracle Corporation cutting around 12,000 jobs in India as part of a sweeping global restructuring tied to its AI infrastructure push. This accounts for roughly 40 per cent of a broader global reduction of...
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Equities end FY26 with their weakest showing in 6 years
Markets ended the final session of FY26 sharply lower on Monday, with the Nifty 50 falling 488 points or 2.14 per cent — marking a loss of 5.05 per cent for the full financial year — as the USIran conflict entered its fifth week without any credible...
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India bats to shield WTO’s core mandates at Yaoundé meet
India successfully stalled the Chinaled investment facilitation for development (IFD) agreement at the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) at Yaoundé, Cameroon, but found itself on the defensive as negotiations over the ecommerce tax moratorium...
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Are consistent compounders in for a lost decade?
“No economics textbook I know that was written in the first couple of thousand years discussed even the possibility that you could have this sort of situation continue and have all variables stay more or less the same,” investing legend Warren Buffett...
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Centre cuts special additional excise on petrol, diesel by ₹10
Offering relief to oil marketing companies amid rising crude oil prices due to the West Asia conflict, the Finance Ministry on Friday reduced the special additional excise duty (SAED) on petrol and diesel by ₹10 per litre with immediate effect, while...
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SEBI lens on HDFC Bank after Chakraborty’s exit
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has begun a review of the HDFC Bank episode, with the focus initially on disclosure hygiene, which could widen into a broader governance probe if the resignation of former Chairman Atanu Chakraborty...
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Centre clears ₹28,850crore modified UDAN flight plan
With the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approving a ₹28,850crore modified UDAN, India is set to expand its aviation network through the next iteration of the Regional Connectivity Scheme. businessline was the first to report on the proposed revamp of the...
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HDFC Bank board calls in law firms to review Chakraborty’s resignation letter
The drama over the abrupt resignation of Atanu Chakraborty as the Parttime Chairman and Independent Director of HDFC Bank is getting curiouser and curiouser. The bank’s board has approved the appointment of law firms (domestic and international) to...
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Equities, gold rebound, oil falls as Trump halts Iran strikes for 5 days
A possible deescalation in the West Asia conflict rippled through markets, with oil falling and stocks rising as US President Donald Trump said he would postpone strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after what he described as productive talks...
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Beyond ESOPs: Executive compensation set for upgrade
India’s corporate compensation structures are set to move closer to global standards, with the government proposing to allow companies to grant restricted stock units (RSUs) and stock appreciation rights (SARs), alongside employee stock option plans...
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50% of actively-managed equity NFOs underperformed in bull run from 2020
Every activelymanaged mutual fund New Fund Offer (NFO) comes with a simple pitch: Pay a higher fee than an index fund and outperform the market. But has that promise been kept? A bl.portfolio analysis of 275 active equity fund NFOs launched between...
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HDFC Bank board to meet next week on new chairman
HDFC Bank’s board of directors is scheduled to meet mid next week to take stock of the situation arising from the abrupt resignation of PartTime Chairman Atanu Chakraborty and discuss a possible replacement for him. While HDFC Group veteran Keki...
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Sensex, Nifty crash 3.26% in biggest fall since June 2024
In their worst singleday fall since June 2024, the BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 crashed 3.3 per cent on Thursday, weighed down by a sharp selloff in HDFC Bank, a spike in crude prices and the hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve. The Sensex fell...
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Govt mandates 60% seats on flights to be free of selection fee
In a passengercentric move, the Centre has directed airlines to ensure that a minimum of 60 per cent of seats on flights are made available without any additional charge (seat selection fee), while also requiring carriers to seat passengers travelling...
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Low on gas: Fertilizer shortage feared ahead of kharif season
With no end in sight to the Iran war as Tehran retaliates, India’s fertilizer industry is worried whether the country will have ample urea supplies for the coming kharif season. The season accounts for 60 per cent of annual agricultural output. One...
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Bajaj Auto mulls EV expansion out of Maharashtra on sops row
Bajaj Auto is contemplating moving a part of its electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing out of Maharashtra and allocating future EV investments to other States following a disagreement with the State government over nearly ₹75 crore in unpaid subsidies...
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Prolonged West Asia crisis deals multiple blows to exporters
The prolonged West Asia crisis and the nearhalt of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and other Gulf shipping lanes have triggered widespread disruption for Indian exporters, with industry estimates suggesting that nearly 70 per cent of outbound...
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How gold has stocks for breakfast
If Indian equities are supposed to reward patience, gold, often lampooned as a 'dead' asset, has spent the last decade mocking that promise. In the one year to March 13, 2026, gold (MCX spot prices) returned 82.86 per cent. Out of roughly 1,134...
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Key indices lose 5.5% in worst week in 15 months as oil surges
Markets capped their worst week in over 15 months on Friday, with investors losing about ₹20 lakh crore in market capitalisation over five sessions as the US/IsraelIran conflict drove crude oil past $100 per barrel and pushed the rupee to an alltime...
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Govt to ensure commercial units get 20% of LPG demand
Even as the fuel crisis caused by the West Asia war disrupts food services at restaurants, corporate campuses and large events across the country, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the Lok Sabha on Thursday that commercial establishments will...
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Trump announces first US refinery in 50 years with Reliance on board
US President Donald Trump said America First Refining was opening the first US oil refinery in 50 years in Texas, and indicated that India’s Reliance Industries would also be investing in it. In a post on social media platform Truth Social, Trump...
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Centre secures 1 mt LPG from US to bridge W. Asia supply gap
The government has arranged around one million tonnes (mt) of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cargoes, mostly from the US, to meet the demand for the key cooking fuel used by more than 330 million consumers. The proactive measure accompanied toplevel...
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Crude on boil scalds markets; Sensex down 1.7%, volatility up
Markets had one of their worst singleday selloffs on Monday as a spike in crude oil prices, triggered by the escalating US/Israel–Iran conflict, sent benchmark indices tumbling and pushed volatility to a ninemonth high. Riskoff sentiment also...
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IT dept’s nationwide crackdown targets restaurants in ₹70,000 crore tax scam
The Income Tax department on Sunday launched a nationwide survey at 6070 locations to unravel a deeply entrenched softwarebased network that restaurants across States and Union Territories are using for massive tax evasion. The Central Board of...
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‘US trade deal under review; to take 3-4 more months’
The March deadline for the IndiaUS trade deal will be set aside and it may take another threefour months to reassess the situation and conclude the deal after the US Supreme Court struck down the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency...
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Karnataka, AP propose to ban social media use by children
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh propose to ban use of social media by children. Karnataka becomes the first State to move towards restricting social media use for children under 16 as part of its 202627 Budget. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the...
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Enough LNG stocks now, but India will ration gas if disruption persists
India is currently “comfortable” with stocks of natural gas and the arrangements being made to procure LNG from Australia and Canada. However, if required, the government will “reprioritise” allocation, with the fertilizer industry and city gas...
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Markets take a hit on rising crude prices, supply concerns
It was a brutal Wednesday for the markets as escalating hostilities in West Asia triggered a broad riskoff selling. Though the markets made a latehour recovery due to a positive opening in European stocks, it was not enough to change the broad...
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Iran war: India has 50 days of crude, fuel stocks, says govt
The government is actively reviewing the conflict scenario in West Asia, top government officials said on Tuesday, adding that India has crude oil stocks for 25 days and an equal volume of refined petroleum products stocks, which is sufficient to...
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US/Israel-Iran conflict rattles financial markets, trade corridors
The ongoing war involving Iran, the US and Israel sent shockwaves through India’s financial markets and trade corridors on Monday, weakening the rupee past the 91mark against the dollar, triggering the steepest fall in benchmark equities in weeks,...
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Iran war raises fears of oil supply, price shock for India
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei by Israel and the United States, and Iran’s retaliatory attacks against Israel and civilian and military targets in in the Gulf, have raised fears of disruption in India’s oil supplies and a...
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IT slump pushes 3-year SIP returns into red
The relentless selloff in Indian IT stocks has begun to materially impact systematic investment plan (SIP) outcomes of sectorfocussed mutual funds. A bl.portfolio analysis of actively managed IT funds shows that, as of late February, 3year SIP...
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Women power — cultivating success through collectives
Their stories of how they ignored taunts, balanced housework and care duties and trained to become successful farmers brought the audience up on its feet to give a standing ovation. When Aruna Debbarma, a Lakhpati Didi from Tripura under the Tripura...
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Compensate content creators: IT Minister to online platforms
Digital platforms must ensure fair revenue share with news publishers and content creators, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday. If this is not done voluntarily, there are clear legal pathways, already shown by other countries, to...
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India’s solar manufacturers unfazed by US’ 126% tariff
The US Department of Commerce has announced a steep 125.8 per cent countervailing duty on solar cells and modules imported from India (and Indonesia and Laos) as a preliminary measure pending final determination. Indian manufacturers have, however,...
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Tata Sons board defers call on Chandra’s 3rd term as chairman
The Tata Sons board on Tuesday deferred a decision to reappoint Tata Sons’ Chairman N Chandrasekaran for a third term after some members, including Noel Tata, expressed their reservations. “I recommended that it should be deferred because of request...
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