Bullets

ONGC, India's oil giant, is considering a joint or solo bid for Ayana Renewable Power, a major clean energy player, along with NTPC Green Energy. This follows National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) putting Ayana up for sale.

ONGC recently launched a renewable energy subsidiary and NTPC Green Energy is planning an IPO, hinting at their growing focus on clean energy.

Ayana has a strong project portfolio, making it an attractive target for both companies.

Also read: Top Green Energy Stocks in India

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) raised concerns about the new Digital Competition Bill, fearing it could hinder investments in startups.

This Indian industry body argues the bill's rules might limit business growth. This comes despite a deadline extension for feedback on the bill.

Some industry groups previously requested consultations be delayed until after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to ensure a new government is involved.

Also Read: Will the Digital India Act Destroy the Indian Data Ecosystem?

Virat Kohli & Anushka Sharma backed Go Digit’s IPO off to a strong start! The retail portion for 9.6 million shares was completely subscribed by 15 May.

Overall, the first day saw 36% subscription for the ₹2,615 crore IPO priced between ₹258 and ₹272 per share.

The company earlier raised ₹1,176 crore from anchor investors.

Funding for female-founded startups in India dropped significantly in 2023. According to a report by WinPe, women received only 9.3% of venture capital funding last year, down from 14.7% in 2021.

This puts India behind other regions like Europe and the US in terms of gender equality for funding.

The World Bank also found similar trends in emerging markets, highlighting a wider funding gap for female founders. The question is what’s being done to prevent it?

Also read: Top Women Entrepreneurs in India

Popular Indian spice brands MDH and Everest are under scrutiny yet again by another country's regulator.

New Zealand is investigating the spice brands’ products for possible ethylene oxide contamination. This chemical is a carcinogen, and its use in food is banned in New Zealand.

A few days ago, Hong Kong & Singapore banned both brands, causing multiple allegations to befall both Indian brands.

Also read: Is the Indian Food Industry in danger?

Cipla's promoters, the Hamied family, sold 2.04 crore shares (2.53%) worth about ₹2,600 crore.

The reason for stake sale is said to fulfil personal needs & philanthropy. Promoters vouch to remain committed to the company with a holding of over 31%.

This sale comes 8 months after failed acquisition talks with Torrent Pharma. Cipla stock price rose after the news.

LIC gets 3 more years to meet public shareholding Rule 19(2)(b)(iv) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957.

This means the government has more time to sell its shares (potentially preventing a price drop) and investors seem happy about the delay.

The deadline for LIC to reach 10% public ownership is now 16 May 2027. This caused a stock price hike of 3% to the day's high of ₹962.

Blackstone, along with Abu Dhabi and Singapore's sovereign wealth funds, is reportedly in talks to buy a controlling stake in Haldiram Snacks, India's largest snack company.

This could be the biggest ever buyout in India, valuing Haldiram between $8-8.5 billion (around ₹66,500 crore).

The deal hinges on a family business merger getting finalised in the next few months.

Shriram Finance approved selling its housing subsidiary, Shriram Housing Finance, to Warburg Pincus for ₹4,630 crore.

This comes after exploring options to sell a controlling stake in the subsidiary since December 2023.

The deal includes equity and convertible instruments, subject to regulatory approvals. Previously, another firm was in talks for a minority stake but didn't proceed.

Indian e-commerce platform Meesho raised $275 million (₹32.37 crore) from investors, with talks ongoing for a larger $600 million round. This would potentially increase the company’s valuation at $3.9 billion (₹32,370 crore).

This funding will be used for an upcoming IPO in India and cover relocation costs.

Meesho is aiming to compete with major players like Flipkart and Amazon and has seen strong growth.

Across key industries, the adoption rate of AI reached 48% in FY2024 and is expected to climb even higher in FY25.

Banking and finance lead the pack at 68%, while tech sits at 60-65%. Other sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, and retail are also embracing AI, with adoption rates ranging from 10% to 52%.

This suggests AI is transforming various industries across India. But the danger regarding privacy and error prone data remains the same. 

Wipro's brand new CEO, Srinivas Pallia, is reportedly close to settling lawsuits against former executives, including ex-CFO Jatin Dalal. Dalal allegedly breached employment contracts.

The exact terms are unknown but a settlement is expected this week.

This comes after Pallia took over in April, following the resignation of Thierry Delaporte under whose leadership the lawsuits were filed. 

Tata Motors plans to merge its vehicle financing subsidiaries with Tata Capital via a share-swap agreement. This will involve Tata Sons (the main Tata group company) giving Tata Motors shares in Tata Capital in exchange for its financing subsidiaries.

The agreement would help simplify operations and improve the company’s financial health.

It would also streamline the futuristic plans as Tata Group is planning to bring multiple IPOs in the next 2-3 years.

To avoid a repetition of the Vistara pilot strike, 30 Tata-owned Air India Express cabin crew members were fired for calling in sick.

The airline took this step after major disruptions on 8 April, believing it a coordinated effort for a mass strike.

The airline says they're open to discussing the situation but terminated these employees for violating company rules. Air India Express will cut back on flights for the next few days to manage the situation. 

Paytm's lending business is facing trouble. Several partner NBFCs like Aditya Birla Finance have stopped offering loans through Paytm.

This is due to concerns about Paytm's compliance rules and potential loan defaults. Paytm might have to pay guarantees offered to NBFCs, further impacting their finances.

This particular roadblock is a blow to Paytm as a significant portion of their revenue comes from financial services. 

Tata Electronics is making strides in Indian semiconductors! They've begun exporting small batches of packaged chips made at their Bengaluru facility.

These chips are being sent to partners in Japan, US, and Europe. This is a pilot project while Tata builds a bigger chip packaging unit in Assam and a massive chip factory in Gujarat.

This could in turn benefit Tesla’s entry in India as it has signed an agreement with Tata Electronics for chips distribution.

Also read: Can tesla disrupt India's auto industry?

Vodafone Idea is fast-tracking talks with Nokia and Ericsson to upgrade its 4G network. Purchase orders will likely be issued in June-July and might even include initial 5G deals.

This follows their successful follow-on public offer (FPO) that raised ₹18,000 crore, with over half allocated for network capex, primarily focused on 4G expansion.

With the gained funds, will Vi finally be able to compete strongly with major players like Jio and Airtel?

Also read: Could Vi finally join Jio & Airtel as a 5G Service Provider?

Azim Premji's family office, Premji Invest, is close to buying a controlling stake (around 51%) in Nainital Bank. Discussions are advanced, with a potential valuation of ₹800 crore for the bank.

Bank of Baroda, the current large shareholder with 98% stakes, is looking to sell its entire stake.

This follows earlier reports of several parties interested in acquiring the bank, including Zerodha, MobiKwik, and Premji Invest.

The ban on Indian spice companies like Everest & MDH overseas has led the central government to order all states to test their spices.

While the Spices Board and FSSAI were already sampling, no official statements confirming quality have been issued. Uttarakhand, with over 50 spice manufacturers, is actively testing its spices.

Food safety officers are collecting samples across the state to ensure quality control. After recent controversies, this move aims to regain trust in India's spice industry.

This is one of many instances. Many times, India's food industry has faced serious allegations. Read about a few of them from the article: Is the Indian Food Industry in Danger?

RBI is concerned about how banks partner with fintech companies for gold loans. This follows their action against IIFL Finance for issues in its gold loan portfolio.

Apparently, the central bank isn't happy with how gold is valued and loans are approved by some fintech platforms.

While there's no official communication yet, RBI has expressed its dissatisfaction. This could slow down the growth of gold loans offered through fintechs by major banks like HDFC, Kotak Mahindra, and Federal Bank.