Innholdsfortegnelse for 25 May 2025 i Business Today

After nearly a quarter of a century, Bajaj Allianz has split, marking the end of an era. This after the Union Budget announced a landmark move this February—100% foreign direct investment in the insurance sector. The move has generated significant investor interest. The potential is immense. Insurance penetration in India is below 4% compared to around 15% in developed economies. With a growing population, rising incomes, and expanding middle class, the market is ripe for transformation. New entrants and innovative technologies are fast changing how insurance is sold, ushering in a disruptive era for the industry and hitherto dominant players like LIC. A reduction in the 18% GST on insurance to a more reasonable 5% would further support the sector’s growth and make insurance more accessible to Indians. The government’s…

54-YEAR-OLD Kenneth Andrade, Founder and CIO of Old Bridge Mutual Fund, believes at a 5-6% growth rate, India will remain one of the top growing countries. Speaking to Business Today, he dwells on India’s position in a post-tariff world. He also speaks about gold as a hedge against uncertainties. Edited excerpts: This is a time of extreme volatility and now it seems that the worst of the tariffrelated news may have already been priced in by markets. President Trump also seems to be softening vis-à-vis China. Is that the right way to read the current situation? Well, all of this is still evolving, so we do not know how it would go. It is really a new environment that we are studying. So, over the course of the next couple…

TWO YEARS AGO, in peak summer, Abhijit Roy was on a routine visit to Nagpur. It was an oppressively hot afternoon, and the MD & CEO of Berger Paints was in deep conversation with dealers and a bunch of contractors. Such interactions often lead to a path-breaking idea. That day was no exception. “The water from the tap is unbearably hot. We have to wait for it to cool down,” said a contractor, imploring Roy for a solution. The MD & CEO smelled an opportunity and, once back at the company’s Kolkata headquarters, called in the top team. The task: create a product to cool down water in plastic as well as concrete tanks. “We needed something that could sit on any surface,” says Roy. A combination of a grip…

INSIDE MOVES PROMOTERS OF THE INDIA CEMENTS UPPED THEIR STAKE THE MOST IN THE MARCH QUARTER PROMOTER SHAREHOLDING IN %  SOURCE ACE EQUITY 67.22% FII SHAREHOLDING IN 360 ONE WAM AS OF MARCH 2025, THE HIGHEST AMONG BSE 500 COMPANIES. IT WAS FOLLOWED BY REDINGTON (60.57%) AND FIVE STAR BUSINESS FINANCE (58.75%) 47.38% DOMESTIC FUNDS’ STAKE IN CROMPTON GREAVES CONSUMER ELECTRICALS IN Q4FY25, THE HIGHEST, FOLLOWED BY KALPATARU PROJECTS (40.35%) AND MAX FINANCIAL SERVICES (39.88%) NOTE ONLY COMPANIES THAT ARE PART OF BSE 500 WERE CONSIDERED; 499 FIRMS DISCLOSED THEIR SHAREHOLDING PATTERN TILL APRIL 28; MARKET VALUATION DATA WAS AS OF THAT DATE SOURCE ACE EQUITY FUND FAVOURITES AWL AGRI BUSINESS AND TBO TECK SAW THE BIGGEST INCREASE IN MUTUAL FUND SHAREHOLDING IN Q4FY25 FIGURES ABOVE BAR SHOW MUTUAL FUND…

IN 2008, JSW Steel and Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd (BPSL) struck a joint venture for the allocation of the Rohne coking coal block in Jharkhand. There was little to suggest that JSW would go on to acquire BPSL over a decade later in March 2021. The latter was part of a dubious list of a dozen companies that were highly stressed corporate accounts identified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). They were put up for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). In a bidding process that also involved Tata Steel and the UK-based Liberty House, JSW clinched BPSL for ₹19,700 crore. Of this, ₹19,350 crore was allocated to financial creditors and the rest to operational creditors. The total amount due to financial creditors was ₹47,000 crore,…

THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) recently lowered India’s growth forecast for FY26 from 6.5% to 6.2%, citing global uncertainty and structural bottlenecks. To unpack the outlook and understand what India must do to make good of the China+1 opportunity, Business Today spoke with Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the IMF. Edited excerpts: India’s growth forecast has been revised. If domestic consumption strengthens, could we see an upward revision? We have revised our forecast for India from 6.5 to 6.2% for this year, and 6.3 next year. These revisions in the bigger scheme of things are small compared to other countries. And partly related to the trade tensions and uncertainties. So, if there is a big improvement in domestic demand, for example, if investment picks up…

A QUARTER CENTURY is a long time for policy. It’s no different in the case of the big bang opening up of India’s state-controlled insurance industry in 2000. Two deals serve as book-ends for that phase. Almost 25 years to the day when the Bajaj group, famous for its two-wheelers, formed a joint venture with German insurance giant Allianz, the two companies decided to part ways, in a development that points to a new phase for the sector. Bajaj Allianz’s journey was emblematic of the heady initial years of liberalisation in the space, coming less than a decade after the country opened itself up to foreign investments and decided to loosen the government’s grip on various sectors. As an initial move, accepting the recommendations of a commission set up to look…

WHEN TATA STARBUCKS, a joint venture between Tata Consumer Products and Starbucks Corporation, opened its first Indian store in Mumbai in 2012, the iconic American brand promised to pioneer a new coffee-drinking culture in a country where the hot brew of choice has always been tea—a sweet, milky concoction sometimes spiced with cloves, cardamom and cinnamon, depending on local tastes. Thirteen years and some 487 stores later, the ride hasn’t been smooth for the Seattlebased giant that has set itself the target of 1,000 outlets in the world’s most populous nation by 2028. Its operating revenue grew 12% from a year ago to ₹1,218.06 crore in the financial year ended March 2024. The venture made a loss of nearly ₹80 crore in the year, a more than three-fold jump from…

Namrata Sriram, a Delhi-based HR consultant with a leading multinational firm, is a self-confessed coffee addict. Five to six cups a day is the norm for her. “It’s a wonder I get any sleep at all,” says the 35-year-old. While she grew up on a healthy dose of South Indian filter coffee in Bengaluru, her university years in the US turned her towards cappuccino. “I had a favourite café that I went to regularly. When I returned to India a decade ago, the coffee revolution here was truly on its way and I had enough cafes to choose from,” she says. But all that changed during the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns. “Of all things, I think I missed my coffee the most,” says Sriram. Like most of us, she started…

FOLLOWING THREE YEARS of talks and a renewed resolve this year because of trade-related uncertainties, India and the UK have concluded the free trade agreement (FTA) that aims to double bilateral trade to $120 billion by 2030. The deal, seen as a precursor to, and most likely a model for, similar agreements with the US and the European Union, allows both India and the UK to expand their exports with greater market access. As part of the FTA, India will slash tariffs on key products such as whisky, automobiles, cosmetics and medical devices, locking in reductions on 90% of tariff lines. India will also get duty free or zero-rated access for 99% of its exports to the UK, as well as easing of restrictions on services trade that will enable…

IN FEBRUARY 2024, a 69-year-old pensioner died by suicide in the provident fund (PF) office in Kochi after being unable to withdraw his PF benefits for nine years. Despite multiple visits and submission of papers, it is reported that his dues were not cleared because of ‘technical’ issues. The tragic incident brought to the forefront the long delays subscribers and pensioners of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) often face in not only getting their life’s savings but also for minor requests such as correction in personal details. Over the past few months, the EPFO, the country’s second-largest financial institution after the Life Insurance Corporation of India, has embarked upon serious reforms to overhaul its decades-old IT infrastructure and reduce the number of compliances and approvals. The aim is faster service…

What was the problem you were grappling with? In 2001, I had to decide between continuing my studies and stepping in to manage the family business, Eleganz Interiors, which was at a critical juncture. My mother had been diagnosed with stage three cancer, and my father needed to focus on her care, leaving me to step up. Whom did you approach for advice and why? I turned to my father, Akshay Pakvasa, who had always been the guiding force behind our business. Despite his own emotional turmoil, he had managed to navigate the company through many challenges and was a source of strength. What was the advice you received? My father advised me to trust my instincts, prioritise the business, and take full responsibility, especially during this critical phase. He…