Highlights of the Day: HCLTech Q4 revenue rises 7.1% to Rs 28,499 cr, misses estimates

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HCLTech, India's No.3 IT services player, reported a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue on Friday amid decelerating tech spending among clients due to macro overhang. The company posted a 7.1% increase in revenue on-year to Rs 28,499 crore ($3.42 billion), compared with average analysts' estimates of Rs 286,07 crore, as per LSEG data.

India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported fourth-quarter profit on Friday that marginally missed estimates. Maruti's standalone profit rose 47.8% on-year to Rs 3,878 crore, compared with analysts' estimate of Rs 3,897 crore on average, as per LSEG data.

The Supreme Court today rejected all the petitions seeking the complete verification of votes cast using Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.  A  bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta delivered the judgement. "While balanced perspective is important, but blindly doubting a system can breed scepticism and thus, meaningful criticism is needed, be it judiciary, legislature etc," the bench said while delivering the verdict.

NGO Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and others were among the petitioners in the case. During the hearing on the petitions on April 24, the Supreme Court had said the court cannot "control the elections" or issue directions simply because doubts have been raised about the efficacy of the polling machines. The batch of petitions alleged the EVMs can be manipulated to influence the results.

The Centre has asked French officals, in a meeting held earlier in April, to approve the extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya “without preconditions”, The Indian Express reported today citing sources. Mallya’s extradition was raised in the 16th meeting of the India-France Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, held on April 15.

On Thursday, the Delhi High Court listed in August WhatsApp and Meta’s 2021 pleas challenging a provision of the 2021 Information Technology Rules for social media intermediaries, requiring them to identify the first originator of information. WhatsApp and Meta’s have challenged Rule 4(2) of the 2021 IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules which requires “significant social media intermediaries” providing primarily messaging services to “enable the identification of the first originator of the information.” This could be required by a court order or an order of the competent authority, as per the IT (Procedure and Safeguards for interception, monitoring and decryption of information) Rules, 2009.

8:19 PM

Bank of Maharashtra Q4 profit jumps 45% to Rs 1,218 cr; aims fund raising in FY25

State-owned Bank of Maharashtra on Friday reported a 45 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,218 crore for the March 2024 quarter, helped by a decline in bad loans and a rise in interest income. The Pune-based lender had earned a net profit of Rs 840 crore in the year-ago period. For full fiscal 2023-24, its net profit jumped 55 per cent to Rs 4,055 crore. Its core net interest income grew 18.17 per cent to Rs 2,584 crore for the March quarter on the back of a 16 per cent growth in advances and a nearly 0.20 per cent widening in the net interest margin at 3.97 per cent. Interest income grew to Rs 5,467 crore during the period under review from Rs 4,495 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The bank's non-interest income rose 24 per cent to Rs 1,022 crore during the fourth quarter and was helped by a 40 per cent growth in the core fee income.

7:07 PM

IndiGo's wide-body aircraft order augurs well for Indian aviation: CRISIL

Budget carrier IndiGo's decision to acquire wide-body planes augurs well for the Indian aviation industry as international long-haul routes are comparatively more profitable and will also help in creating an aviation hub in the country, according to rating agency CRISIL. Till January last year, IndiGo operated single-aisle Airbus aircraft fleet and in February 2023, it started operating wide-body Boeing 777 wet-leased from its codeshare partner Turkish Airlines. Currently, the airline has two wet-leased B777 operating flights to Istanbul from Delhi and Mumbai. On Thursday, the country's largest airline announced placing a firm order for 30 wide-body Airbus A350-900 planes, to be powered by Rolls-Royce's Trent XWB engines, and also has the option to purchase 70 more such aircraft.

6:19 PM

Edu ministry, CBSE to hold consultations meeting next month on plan for conducting board exams twice a year

Education ministry and CBSE to hold consultations with school principals next month on plan for conducting board exams twice a year, reports PTI. It further reported that the education ministry has asked CBSE to work out logistics for conducting board exams twice a year:

5:49 PM

In second consecutive week of decline, India's forex kitty drops $2.28 bn to $640.33 bn

India's forex reserves decreased $2.282 billion to $640.334 billion for the seven days ended April 19 in the second consecutive week of drop in the kitty, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. The reserves had dropped $5.401 billion to $643.162 billion in the previous reporting week, ending a multi-week trend of an increase, which also saw the overall reserves touching a new all-time high of $648.562 billion for the week ended April 5. In September 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached a high of $642.453 billion, which was breached in March this year. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global events, but there had been a steady accretion over the past few months.

4:57 PM

Supreme Court seeks EC's reply on PIL for fresh poll if NOTA gets majority in constituency

The top court today asked for a response from the Election Commision on a PIL seeking framing of rules to nullify an election and order fresh one if NOTA (none of the above) option gets majority over other candidates. The SC issued notice to the Election Commission on the PIL filed by author, activist and motivational speaker Shiv Khera.

4:54 PM

Go First case: DGCA directed to process deregistration of leased planes

Delhi HC directs DGCA to forthwith process re-registration applications moved by lessors 54 aircraft on lease with crisis-hit airline Go First.

4:49 PM

Delhi news update: Couple arrested with nearly 800g of heroin in Tilak Nagar

A couple was arrested with nearly 800 grams of heroin, for allegedly selling it here, police said today. The police was searching for Neelam, a proclaimed offender, an official said. "On Wednesday, tip-off was received about the presence of Neelam in the Tilak Nagar area. A raid was conducted and Neelam and her husband were nabbed," Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vichitra Veer said.

4:09 PM

News update: Maruti Suzuki Q4 standalone profit rises 47.8% to Rs 3,878 crore

India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported fourth-quarter profit on Friday that marginally missed estimates. According to LSEG data, Maruti's standalone profit rose 47.8 per cent on-year to Rs 3,878 crore, compared with analysts' estimate of Rs 3,897 crore on average.

 

 

4:02 PM

Concerted effort to weaken India's progress has to be nipped in the bud: Justice Datta

Supreme Court judge Dipankar Datta today put forward the argument that there seems to be a concerted effort to discredit, diminish and weaken India's progress on every possible frontier and any such attempt has to be "nipped in the bud". Justice Datta, who was part of the SC bench which dismissed pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), said in recent years, a trend has been fast developing of certain vested interest groups endeavoring to undermine the achievements and accomplishments of the nation.

3:52 PM

Hope US takes 'positive view' of China's development: China President Xi Jinping to Blinken

US secretary of state Antony Blinken met Chinese President Xi Jinping today. Antony Blinken held a meeting with China's foreign minister Wang Yi for more than five and half hours, which Blinken called "extensive and constructive".

President Xi told Blinken that the world's two biggest economies should be "partners, not rivals", adding that "There are still a number of issues that need to be resolved, and there is still room for further efforts."

Xi added that he hopes the United States will take a "positive view" of his country's development.

3:47 PM

News update: Four people killed in road accident UP's Rae Bareli

Four people were left dead and four injured today when their car crashed into a culvert and hit a tree on the roadside, police said. The incident took place around 3 am near Malin Purva village of Mill Area police station area, when the victims, part of a marriage procession, were returning from Fursatganj in Amethi.

3:07 PM

Issuance of LOCs at instance of public sector banks sans law is violation of fundamental rights: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has said that issuance of a Look Out Circular (LOC) at the instance of public sector banks against alleged default borrowers in the absence of a statute or law is violative of a person's fundamental rights. The court made the observation on April 23 while quashing the Centre's decision empowering such banks to seek issuance of LOCs.

2:11 PM

Salman Khan firing incident : Arms suppliers sent to Mumbai Crime Branch custody

The Esplanade Court in Mumbai has sent both arms suppliers to Mumbai Crime Branch custody till 30th April.

1:24 PM

Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to protect old friend Trump

As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, David Pecker, the National Enquirer's publisher, was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them under the wraps. But when it came to the claims by performer Stormy Daniels, Pecker said he put his foot down.

 

1:23 PM

Arms and ammunition seized by CBI during operations in Sandeshkhalli

Arms and ammunition, including foreign-made pistols, captured by CBI during search operation in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, officials said today.