It is critical to upgrade domestic systems to achieve greater market access and a level playing field for exporters

Time to review India's non-tariff measures

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Travel booking major OYO has launched a new check-in policy for partner hotels, starting from Meerut, introducing guidelines effective this year whereby unmarried couples will no longer be welcome to check in.
Under the revised policy, all couples will be asked to present valid proof of relationship at the time of check-in, including for bookings made online. OYO has empowered its partner hotels' discretion to decline couple bookings based on their judgment, aligning with local social sensibility, the company said.
OYO has given the directive to its partner hotels in Meerut to ensure this with immediate effect. Based on ground feedback, the company may expand this to more cities, people familiar with the policy change said.
"OYO has received feedback in the past from civil society groups especially in Meerut urging action to address this issue. Additionally, residents from few other cities have petitioned for disallowing unmarried couples to check-in at OYO hotels," they said.
Pawa

OYO, Oyo rooms, Oyo app, Oyo logo

The combined market valuation of four of the top-10 most valued firms eroded by Rs 96,605.66 crore last week, with HDFC Bank taking the biggest hit.
While Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India suffered erosion from their valuation, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, ITC, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Hindustan Unilever were the winners. Together they added Rs 82,861.16 crore in combined market valuation.
The market valuation of HDFC Bank tumbled Rs 37,025.46 crore to Rs 13,37,919.84 crore.
ICICI Bank's valuation slumped Rs 29,324.55 crore to Rs 8,93,378.50 crore.
The market capitalisation (mcap) of TCS tanked Rs 24,856.26 crore to Rs 14,83,144.53 crore and that of State Bank of India declined Rs 5,399.39 crore to Rs 7,08,168.60 crore.
However, the mcap of Reliance Industries surged Rs 41,138.41 crore to Rs 16,93,373.48 crore.
The valuation of Hindustan Unilever soared Rs 15,331.08 crore to Rs 5,65,194.18 crore.
T

HDFC Bank, HDFC

Nayara Energy, India's largest private fuel retailer, plans to add 400 petrol pumps this year to expand its retail network across various states, the firm said on Sunday.
With 6,500+ retail outlets across India, Nayara Energy has been adding new retail outlets to its network and has been growing steadily across various states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
In a statement, Nayara said it "is well on track to add 400 retail outlets this year".
In line with its plans to aggressively grow in India, Nayara Energy has also revamped its dealer programme to onboard new dealers and give a boost to local entrepreneurship. It is now inviting applications for new dealerships across the country to open petrol pumps.
Nayara operates a 20-million tonnes a year refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat.
With over 6,500 petrol pumps, it caters to the need for reliable and safe mobility across the length and breadth of the country. It recently forayed into petrochemicals sector with a

Nayara Energy

Foreign investors pulled out Rs 4,285 crore from Indian equities in the first three trading days of the month driven by apprehensions ahead of the third-quarter earnings season and high valuations of domestic stocks.
This came following an investment of Rs 15,446 crore in the entire December, data with the depositories showed.
The shift in sentiment comes amid global and domestic headwinds.
"FPIs are likely to continue selling as long as the dollar remains strong and US bond yields offer attractive returns. The dollar index at around 109 and the 10-year bond yield above 4.5 per cent are significant deterrents to FPI flows," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.
According to the data, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 4,285 crore from Indian equities in the first three trading sessions of the month (January 1 to 3).
The uncertainty among foreign investors is reflected in the ongoing trend of outflows.
"Investors

Online investment platforms are rapidly reshaping the mutual fund (MF) distribution landscape. The share of direct plans in SIP (systematic investment plan) accounts has climbed to nearly 40 per cent from around 21 per cent four years ago, indicating

OfBusiness, a b2b commerce and fintech startup, is looking to invest about Rs 3,000 crore into doubling its steel business to more than 4MTPA in the next three years.
The company has acquired three steel firms -- SMW Ispat, Shree Sidhbali Ispat and Noble Steel -- in the past and the expansion is lined up in all the three companies.
"We are looking forward to investing close to USD 350 million, about Rs 3,000 crore, to scale up our steel business from the current 2 million tonne to more than 4 million tonne in the next 3 years. This is also expected to sharply increase the sector EBITDA to 2.5x from the current level. The funding will be a combination of internal accruals and debt & equity financing," Co-Founder and CEO Asish Mohapatra said.
The company supplies steel to companies such as L&T, Adani, J Kumar, Dilip Buildcon, Ashoka Buildcon.
OfBusiness also plans to get into new categories such as  pre-painted galvanised iron (PPGI) adding onto thermo-mechanically treated (TMT)

OfBusiness

Jagdeep Singh, the former CEO of Quantumscape, has an annual salary of Rs 17,500 crore ($2.06 billion), which surpasses the revenue of several large corporations in the world

Jagdeep Singh

Health Ministry convenes monitoring group meeting over hMPV surge in China

Fever, Unwell, Cold, Unhealthy

Four Kirloskar companies on Saturday said they have filed an appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal challenging the SEBI letter asking them to disclose the deed of family settlement that was signed by members of the Kirloskar family on September 11, 2009.
In a joint statement, the Kirloskar companies -- Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Ltd (KFIL), Kirloskar Industries Ltd (KIL), Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Ltd, Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd -- said they have filed the appeal before SAT challenging the SEBI letter dated December 30, 2024 wherein the market regulator advised them to disclose the Deed of Family Settlement (DDS).
On December 31, these companies stated that they were preparing to legally challenge the letter by SEBI.
The markets watchdog in its letter stated that "since the DFS is subsisting in nature, indirectly creates a restriction on the listed entities managed/promoted by the parties to such DFS, warrants disclosure, regardless of whether such listed entity is a ..

Kirloskar Industries Ltd (Photo: Kirloskar)

Kirloskar Industries Ltd

Adani Wilmar, which sells edible oils and other food items, on Saturday reported a 6 per cent annual growth in sales volumes and a 33 per cent increase in revenue in the December quarter.
Adani Wilmar, established jointly by Adani Group and Singapore Wilmar Group in 1999 markets its products mainly under Fortune brand.
Adani Group recently announced its exit from the joint venture by divesting its entire 44 per cent stake to Wilmar group as well as open market sale.
In a regulatory filing on Saturday, Adani Wilmar said the company "achieved a healthy volume growth of 6 per cent year-on-year in Q3 (December quarter), despite significant price hikes driven by surge in raw material costs".
Revenue grew 33 per cent year-on-year, it added.
"In the edible oils segment, although there was downtrading among consumers, the company maintained its market share by its strategy of having a diverse portfolio of brands at various price points," Adani Wilmar said.
The company reported 4 per cent

result, q1, q2, q3, q4

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Saturday said his company is fully committed to transforming Air India into a top-class airline, delivering exceptional service and performance on a global scale.
Tata Group acquired Air India in 2022 after the government had signed a share purchase agreement with Tata Sons for the sale of Air India for Rs 18,000 crore.
Chandrasekaran was responding to a query during a free side chat with TVS Supply Chain Solutions Ltd Managing Director Ravi Viswanathan at the Global Alumni Meet of NIT Trichy, here, on what people can expect from Air India following the acquisition made by Tata Group in 2022.
"My commitment is to take every effort to make Air India, an absolute top-class airline in the world. In terms of the hardware, the flight experience, customer experience, technology and in every which way." Chandrasekaran said.
On a lighter note, he appealed to the audience gathered at the venue to urge the aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus to ...

Natarajan Chandrasekaran

The decline in Easy Trip Planners, the owner of Ease My Trip, comes even as the company said it has appointed Rikant Pittie as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

image

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider a plea of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi seeking the implementation of the 1991 places of worship law, which asks to maintain the religious character of a place as it existed on August 15, 1947.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar ordered that Owaisi's fresh plea to be tagged with pending cases on the matter and said it will be taken up on February 17 with them.
At the outset, lawyer Nizam Pasha, appearing for Owaisi, the president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), said that the court is seized of various pleas on the issue and the fresh one may be tagged with them as well.
We will tag this, the CJI said.
Owaisi filed the plea on December 17, 2024 through advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi.
On December 12, however, the bench headed by the CJI, while acting on a batch of similar pleas against the 1991 law, restrained all courts from entertaining fresh suits and passing any interim or final

Supreme Court, SC

Sensex zoomed 755.85 points or 0.96 per cent and logged an intraday high at 79,263.26, while Nifty advanced 231.25 points or 0.97 per cent to the day's high at 23,974.15. Here's why

Sensex, Nifty, stock brokers

The New York Police Department (NYPD) stated that none of the injured persons are in critical condition and all are expected to survive

New York City

The PM will also inaugurate the new Integrated Office Complex of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) at Dwarka

Modi, Narendra Modi

Regulator has barred the infamous stock operator for front-running trades pertaining to a US based FPI, directed disgorgement of illegal gains of Rs 66 crore

sebi

Singh spoke about the major trends that dominated the insurance space in 2024 and the trends to look forward to in the new year

Sarbvir Singh, CEO, Policybazaar.com

Once the pride of Indian Railways, the Rajdhani Express hasn't lived up to its speed promises decades later. The train seems to be stuck in a slow-motion time loop

Train, Indian Railway

A lot has changed. Both nations are more than a little concerned about how they will revive slowing growth

India China

The matter pertains to alleged violations of LODR regulations

Anjali Tandon

Anjali Tandon

Anjali Tandon

Time to review India's non-tariff measures

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Unmarried couples no longer welcome, OYO changes check-in policy

Mcap of 4 of top-10 most valued firms erode by Rs 96,605 cr; HDFC Bank hit

Nayara Energy to expand retail network by adding one fuel station per day

FPIs withdraw Rs 4,285 cr in 3 trading sessions amid global headwinds

OfBusiness plans to invest Rs 3000 cr in next 3 yrs to ramp up steel biz

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Indian CEO is highest paid person in the world, earns Rs 48 crore per day

No unusual rise in flu-like cases in India, says govt amid China HMPV surge

Kirloskars challenge Sebi letter asking family settlement deed disclosure

Adani Wilmar sees 6% rise in sales volume in Q3, revenue grows 33%

Committed to turning Air India into top-class airline: Tata Sons chairman