TMS Ep495: Paytm, district division, L&T buyback, Article 370

Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma is set to become the largest shareholder in the company he founded in 2010. Sharma’s stake is set to rise to over 19% once he purchases a 10% stake in the company from an arm of Chinese fintech giant Ant Financial. It will also make One97 Communications -- which operates under Paytm brand name-- into a majorly Indian-owned company. Earlier company was majorly owned by Chinese firms. Find out what Vijay Shekhar Sharmlarger might be up to.

Shares of Paytm soared over 11% to 887 rupees on Monday after the buyback announcement was made. But it was still trading well below the IPO price of 2,150 rupees. Meanwhile, in another interesting development, the Rajasthan government carved out 17 new districts and three new divisions. The state will now have 50 districts. But what is the rationale behind this move? Do smaller administrative units mean better governance? 

After the western state of Rajasthan, let us shift our focus to engineering major Larsen and Toubro. It has announced a buyback for about 33.3 million shares. L&T will purchase the shares of the company from its shareholders at a maximum price of 3,000 rupees per share. However, as India sees a pickup in capex, should investors tender their shares? 

L&T has left, or is leaving, a mark in almost every part of the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir where it is building a hydroelectric power station on the Marusudar River -- a tributary of Chenab. The Government claims that the state is on a path of development, and that it has returned to normalcy since the abrogation of special status of the state. To do it, the government made Article 370 “inoperative” even though it still exists in the Constitution. But what is this article? Listen to this episode of the podcast to know more.