Innholdsfortegnelse for 8 June 2025 i Business Today

WHILE THE US-CHINA agreement on reduction of trade tariffs could impact India’s plans to attract companies looking to relocate operations from China, the country could gain by focusing on export competitiveness by producing better quality goods at lower prices, experts believe. The two major economies reaching an agreement could help China regain lost ground while reducing India’s opportunity to capitalise on the situation. Several countries have finalised or are in advanced stages of finalising trade agreements with the US. The US and China recently reached a trade agreement that temporarily reduced tariffs. US tariffs on Chinese goods were lowered from 145% to 30%, while China cut its tariffs on US goods from 125% to 10%. The agreement came after President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on several countries, including a…

64-YEAR-OLD Wee Siew Kim, Director, Representative Executive Officer & Co-President, Nippon Paint Holdings Co. Ltd and Group CEO, NIPSEA Group, talks about the importance of India as a growth driver. Speaking with Business Today, he also shares his views about the possible acquisitions in India. Edited excerpts: How important is India in terms of growth and expansion? India is exciting for us because I believe we fit so well into what the Indian government wants as the future. Today, as I understand, the future is articulated in three pillars—Make in India, skills enhancement as well as ensuring that the product thrives and leads to an export arm. So why do we say we’re excited? Because Nippon Paint in India is a very young company. “WE GO TO MARKETS WHERE INDIA…

A train ride in India was once incomplete without the rattle of a passing coal-laden goods train. Throughout the 1990s, it was a familiar sight: black trains disappearing into the distance, leaving behind dust and diesel as they trudged along with unhurried intent. Coal was the fuel for progress, and rail the preferred carrier. Three decades on, while coal still holds its place, the railways are transporting far fewer commodities than before. Steel, iron and cement companies, which were once massive users of the rail network, have discovered a faster and more convenient way to transport their goods—trucks. Despite big bets involving billions of dollars, such as the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), the share of trains in overall goods movement has stubbornly refused to budge. Even the movement of foreign…

IN APRIL, professional services major Grant Thornton said in a report that private lender IndusInd Bank’s adverse accounting practices related to derivative trades would result in a `1,960-crore hit to the profit and loss account in FY25. The report went into the roles and actions of key employees. But the incident has turned the spotlight on the role of independent directors on bank boards, since they are expected to act as a check on the senior management. Banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are not unaware of this situation. They are scrambling to find competent independent directors with qualifications and expertise to undertake the increasingly executive roles that their boards are now required to perform. This was as a result of a decision by the Reserve Bank of India…

Small Wonder with Leica Precision ► XIAOMI CONTINUES TO champion compact premium devices with its latest launch—the Xiaomi 15. Built in collaboration with renowned German optics maker Leica, the Xiaomi 15 doesn’t dramatically reinvent its predecessor, yet carefully refines it, delivering a compact device at `64,999. The aluminium chassis feels premium yet practical, slightly heavier than Samsung’s Galaxy S25 but lighter than Google’s Pixel 9. Its matte finish is a welcome upgrade, offering improved grip and fewer fingerprints. The vibrant 6.36-inch AMOLED display impresses with exceptional brightness and is perfect for vivid outdoor viewing. While slightly less bright than Samsung S25, it outclasses most competitors, providing vivid, accurate colours ideal for content consumption. Performance is flagshiplevel, driven by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. While Samsung S25 marginally outpaces Xiaomi with its…

CLEAR FOCUS BUDGET ALLOCATION TO THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE HAS RISEN OVER 2X SINCE FY15 SOURCE CMIE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK EXPORT PUSH DEFENCE EXPORTS HAVE RISEN OVER 12 TIMES SINCE FY15 SOURCE PIB MAJOR PURCHASES FRENCH AND RUSSIAN EQUIPMENT HAS STRENGTHENED INDIA’S DEFENCE SYSTEM SOURCE BT RESEARCH FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS REVENUES AND PROFITS OF THE DEFENCE SECTOR HAVE RISEN AT 10% AND 13% CAGR, RESPECTIVELY, OVER 10 YEARS NOTE FIRMS IN NIFTY DEFENCE INDEX CONSIDERED; SOURCE ACE EQUITY SOLID INVESTOR BACKING SELECT DEFENCE-RELATED STOCKS HAVE RALLIED OVER 50% IN THE PAST ONE YEAR AS AGAINST 9% RISE IN THE NSE NIFTY NOTE DATA AS OF MAY 9, 2025  SOURCE ACE EQUITY ` 3 LAKH CRORE THE GOVERNMENT’S TARGET OF LOCAL DEFENCE MANUFACTURING BY 2029 AS AGAINST `1.27 LAKH CRORE IN…

CRUDE OIL PRICES HAVE significantly cooled off since the 2022 peak due to stabilising supply chains and weakening global demand. According to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, crude oil prices for the Indian basket saw a sharp rise from $63.40 per barrel in April 2021 to $116.01 in June 2022, driven by global supply disruptions. However, prices declined steadily through 2023 and into 2024. By May 14, 2025, the price dropped to $63.47, nearly matching the level seen four years earlier. The drop could help reduce India’s import bill, as it still depends heavily on imported crude oil to meet its energy needs. In FY24-25, India spent around $185.7 billion on crude oil and petroleum product imports, according to the CMIE Economic Outlook. The crude oil bill accounts…

SAUGATA BHATTACHARYA, who is an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), believes that trends in various commodities groups suggest optimism on inflationary pressures. In an interview to Business Today, he says that there is space for further repo rate cuts given the inflation forecast and notes that the real repo rate remains restrictive. The RBI has already cut the repo rate twice this year following the February and April MPC meetings. Edited excerpts: “EVEN IF A HOT SUMMER INCREASES VEGETABLES PRICES, THERE IS ROOM FOR HEADLINE INFLATION TO REMAIN DURABLY CLOSE TO 4%” The MPC has cut rates twice this year in February and April and has an accommodative stance. Is there space for…

Markets across the world have cheered the ceasefire in the US-China trade war. As the fog lifts on US President Donald Trump’s trade policies, uncertainty, the market’s biggest enemy, has eased. To understand the impact of these moves, Siddharth Zarabi spoke with one of the world’s leading voices on emerging markets, Mark Mobius, the 88-year-old Chairman of the Mobius Emerging Opportunities Fund. Edited excerpts: Q: With the US-China trade war entering a ceasefire, is the era of escalating tariffs behind us? A: I like the term you use, ceasefire, because the war continues. At the end of the day, there’s no question that China was desperate to reach an agreement, because with the tariffs they are facing now, their export manufacturing is being decimated. But at the same time, Trump…

INDIA’S DEFENCE SECTOR has been witnessing strong growth, largely fuelled by the government’s sustained push for self-reliance in manufacturing, record-breaking order books, and strategic policy initiatives. Recent events, such as the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, and the subsequent ‘Operation Sindoor’ by the Indian Armed Forces, showcased the power of Indigenous weapons—from drones to missiles and radars—to the world. Market watchers believe that the country’s defence sector is strategically positioned for long-term growth. Following the recent crossborder tensions, defence-related stocks witnessed heavy buying in the domestic stock market. This is evident from the nearly 21% rise in the Nifty India Defence index since April 22, the day of the terror attack in Pahalgam. The market valuation of the Nifty India Defence index surged by `1.83 lakh crore…

PERHAPS NO PERSON symbolised the fight against Covid-19 quite like Adar Poonawalla, the 44-year-old Chief Executive Officer of the world’s biggest vaccine maker by volume, Serum Institute of India. The massive vaccine rollout in India, through which well over a billion people were inoculated against the deadly virus, boosted Serum’s revenue and profits. But they have dipped since then. In a conversation with Siddharth Zarabi, Group Editor of Business Today, Poonawalla talks about the path ahead for Serum, his decision to invest in a film production house, and more. Edited excerpts: Let’s start with the big picture. Serum Institute played a crucial role in the Covid fight. Where does the com  pany stand now? We faced multiple challenges—[accessing] raw materials, scaling up [production], and global logistics. But we learnt a lot and became more efficient. After…

For her annual break this year, Rukmini Singh, a 37-year-old corporate lawyer, did not go for a wine tour to Europe or a beach holiday to Thailand. Instead, she signed up for a five-night ‘Sleep with Six Senses’ programme at Six Senses Vana, near Dehradun. The team combined data from her sleep tracker with expert consultations from wellness specialists and customised a programme for her—including mind-body practices like Yoga Nidra and meditation, calming therapies like Shirodhara, a traditional Ayurvedic treatment, and Tibetan sound journeys for relaxation. At `65,000 per night per person, she was also provided personalised dietary recommendations to optimise her nervous system function and enhance sleep quality. Singh is not alone. Thanks to our stressful lives, most of us are sleep deprived. As per a report in the…