Business Today 24 November 2024

I remember an anecdote about a woman who, when introduced to some people as a “woman entrepreneur”, quickly corrected the person, saying: “Just call me an entrepreneur. They can see I am a woman.” Today, as more and more women come into the workforce, set up businesses on their own, get their hands dirty on the shop floor, and even draw up details of India’s space strategy, there is hardly any sector where women have not made their mark. Whether in policymaking, large companies, start-ups, or the capital markets, women achievers are dotting the Indian business landscape and demanding their rightful place. But it’s not as if there aren’t challenges along the way. Whether it is the perennial one of balancing work and family commitments, returning to work after a…

A VIEW OF COONOOR IN TAMIL NADU SOURCE ICICIDIRECT, SUKHANIDHI INVESTMENT ADVISORS $9.56 BILLION Estimated market size of the Indian paint industry; it is expected to reach $15 billion by 2029 4.5 KG India’s per capita paint consumption, much lower than the global average of 13-15 kg 25-30 PER CENT Surge in paint demand during festive, wedding seasons as people tend to renovate their homes 70 PER CENT Total market demand that comes from the real estate sector…

27.72 % INDEPENDENT DIRECTORSHIPS HELD BY WOMEN IN NSE-LISTED FIRMS AT PRESENT, COMPARED WITH 13.64% IN 2015 53 NUMBER OF NSE-LISTED COMPANIES THAT DON’T HAVE WOMEN DIRECTORS AT PRESENT; THE FIGURE WAS 101 AS OF MARCH 2021 AND 177 AS OF MARCH 2015 44% OF BOARD SEATS HELD BY WOMEN IN FRANCE IN 2023, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST; FOLLOWED BY NORWAY (43.5%), PER DELOITTE…

IN SEPTEMBER 2022, the Adani Group entered the cement sector by acquiring Ambuja Cements and ACC from Switzerland’s Holcim for $10.5 billion. The deal brought in capacity of 68 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) for the Adani Group and since then, it has been very aggressive on the inorganic front, lapping up five assets, with the most recent being Orient Cement for ₹8,100 crore. Announcing the deal, Karan Adani, Director of Ambuja Cements, said the company’s capacity has increased by around 30 mtpa within two years of the Ambuja-ACC deal. “Now, Ambuja is poised to reach 100 mtpa cement capacity by FY25.” The deal involves picking up a 47% stake to be followed by a mandatory 26% open offer. A large chunk of Orient’s operations is housed in the South,…

THE WORLD BANK’S ‘South Asia Development Update October 2024: Women, Jobs and Growth’ said that raising female labour force participation rates in the region to those of men would increase regional GDP by up to 51%. In an interview with BUSINESS TODAY, Franziska Ohnsorge, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for South Asia, underscores that this is entirely possible through societal and economic support. Edited excerpts: The report highlights the low female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in South Asian countries, partly due to societal norms. But even in other East Asian and African countries, it’s largely women who perform household chores. What is the difference between these regions? It is really striking how low the female LFPR is in South Asia compared to the rest of the world. All South Asian countries other…

KARAN JOHAR’S DHARMA Productions was looking to sell a stake. But discussions with Saregama and Reliance Industries did not yield results, with the buzz that both valuation and shareholding are contentious issues. Now, in an interesting development, Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute, has decided to acquire a 50% stake in Dharma at a valuation of ₹2,000 crore. A press statement announcing the deal did not provide any information regarding shareholding. Whether this is a fresh equity infusion by Poonawalla through a company called Serene Productions, Johar’s exit, or a combination of both remains unclear. Dharma has been going through a challenging situation financially, with both revenues and profitability declining. Johar, who made it big in 1998 with his debut film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, maintained a streak of…