Business Today 12 May 2024

A mid the buzz around the Supreme Court-ordered disclosures on electoral bond donors and recipients, one name that cropped up prominently was of the closely-held Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd, which bought a hefty ₹966 crore worth of bonds, becoming the second-largest bond donor to political parties. Until these details became public, little was known around the country about Megha and its boss, P.V. Krishna Reddy. Krishna Gopalan pursued Reddy relentlessly and managed to meet him in his Hyderabad headquarters for what turned out to be a one-and-a-half-hour conversation, his first major interview ever. During this interaction for our cover story, Reddy—while declining to answer questions on his electoral bond contributions—explained in detail the Megha growth story and the key projects the company is involved in. As BT unveils…

Crude oil tankers off Jurong Island, Singapore SOURCE CMIE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK, INVESTING.COM BRENT CRUDE, WHICH SURPASSED $90/BBL IN APRIL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIX MONTHS, MAY RALLY FURTHER DUE TO IRAN-ISRAEL TENSIONS. THIS COULD LEAD TO HIGHER INFLATION IN INDIA AND WIDEN THE TRADE DEFICIT. A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS: $16.9 BILLION Value of India’s Brent crude oil imports in February, up 9% from $15.5 billion in January 26% Share of crude oil imports in India’s total import bill of $620.3 billion in FY24 till February $225.3 BILLION India’s trade deficit in FY24 till February, of which 37% or $84.3 billion is only on account of crude oil…

INDIA’S DEFENCE EXPORTS HAVE JUMPED ALMOST 31-FOLD TO A RECORD OF ₹21,083 CRORE IN FY24 FROM ₹686 CRORE IN FY14, REFLECTING THE COUNTRY’S GROWING CLOUT IN THE GLOBAL DEFENCE MANUFACTURING MARKET. WITH A ROBUST LOCAL MANUFACTURING ECOSYSTEM AND MORE THAN 100 COMPANIES EXPORTING DEFENCE EQUIPMENT, THE GOVERNMENT EXPECTS THE FIGURE TO CROSS ₹50,000 CRORE BY FY29. HERE’S HOW THE DEFENCE SECTOR HAS PROGRESSED OVER THE YEARS: SALES ON FIRE SOURCE PIB DESTINATION LOCKED MYANMAR, SRI LANKA AND MAURITIUS HAVE EMERGED AS THE LEADING DESTINATIONS FOR INDIA’S DEFENCE EXPORTS, TOGETHER ACCOUNTING FOR OVER 50% OF THE TOTAL SOURCE SIPRI/INDIA TODAY EXPLOSIVE GROWTH THE COMBINED PROFIT (CONSOLIDATED) OF THE 15 COMPANIES THAT MAKE UP THE NIFTY INDIA DEFENCE INDEX HAS NEARLY DOUBLED SINCE FY19 SOURCE ACE EQUITY BUDGET BOOST THE UNION BUDGET…

A recent testament to this enduring legacy was the 50th India Gem and Jewellery Awards (IGJA), a glittering ceremony organized by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The IGJA recognizes and celebrates the outstanding achievements of companies across various segments of the Indian gem and jewellery industry. This year, the 50th edition of the IGJA ceremony was graced by Chief Guest, Shri Ramesh Bais, Hon. Governor, Maharashtra State, and Guest of Honour, business tycoon Shri Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & MD, Reliance Industries Ltd., highlighting the immense significance of the industry to India's economic growth. Today, the $40 billion gem and jewellery industry proudly contributes nearly 14% to India's overall merchandise exports and serves as one of the leading employment generators in the country, providing livelihoods to more than…

THE SWIFTNESS OF the change in leadership at Wipro highlights the scale of challenges that have plagued the IT major. Right on top of that list is the company’s financial performance, with net profit falling year-on-year in the fourth quarter of financial year 2023-24 (Q4FY24). Then there are the departures of around 10 senior leaders in 2023. These factors together led to the premature exit of Thierry Delaporte as Wipro’s CEO and MD, and the selection of internal candidate Srinivas Pallia as his replacement. That said, those tracking the company were not completely surprised by the development. According to Gaurav Vasu, CEO and Founder of market intelligence firm Unearth-Insight, there was speculation about Delaporte’s exit for at least six to eight months. “This was on account of financial underperformance, the…

1 Thierry Delaporte, Wipro’s seventh CEO who joined the firm in 2020, quit before his tenure was set to end 2 In this, he follows his predecessor Abidali Neemuchwala, who joined Wipro from TCS 3 Wipro has been hit by the exits of senior executives, at least 10 of whom left the firm in 2023 4 It also faces financial challenges. Its net profit declined by 8% YoY in Q4FY24, though it rose 5.8% sequentially from Q3 5 Experts say Delaporte’s successor, Srinivas Pallia, an internal candidate, will need to reassure investors and employees quickly…