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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A clarification by the Reserve Bank of India has undercut Tata Sons’ attempt to distance itself from public funds, potentially retaining it in the upper layer of non-bank financial companies (NBFCs), a category that entails tighter regulation and a mandatory listing requirement.The move complicates matters for the holding company of the Tata group, which has been trying to stay private, especially since RBI introduced its scale-based supervision of non-bank lenders.Late Wednesday, the central bank said it has received feedback that the mention of ‘indirect public funds’ in its draft non-banking financial company (NBFC) circular of 6 February leads to treating equity investment in an NBFC by group entities having debt as ‘indirect receipt of public funds’.Per RBI, public funds include funds raised either directly or indirectly through public deposits, inter-corporate deposits, bank finance and all funds received from external sources.Mint had reported in 2024 that Tata Sons had turned debt-free in a bid to avoid getting listed under the upper layer regulations and surrendered its registration as a core investment company (CIC). The RBI is yet to communicate its decision on this issue.A former regulator said the earlier argument was that since Tata Sons does not have public funds, it can give up its CIC registration, not be in the upper layer, and therefore can stay private, does not hold water.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Indian Bank expects steady balance-sheet growth in fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) but warned that margins could remain under pressure as deposit costs stay elevated and funding growth lags credit demand.“The cost of deposit is not going down, that is the major concern. Credit growth has been outpacing deposit growth since the last so many quarters, so there, of course, will be some bearing on cost of deposit,” managing director and chief executive officer Binod Kumar said.The bank’s ability to cut deposit rates is constrained by the need to keep deposit mobilization in line with credit growth.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Many Indians rely on recurring payments to manage everything from systematic investment plan (SIP) installments and insurance premiums to credit card bills. However, until recently, there was a major pain point for transactions above ₹15,000 done through cards or UPI: the requirement for a one-time password (OTP).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Many years ago, in 1971, Peter Kilby wrote that understanding entrepreneurship is like hunting a ‘heffalump,’ a fictional elephant-like creature from Winnie-the-Pooh.Many claim to have captured it, but their descriptions do not match and no two agree on what it looks like. After centuries of research, we are still arguing about what an entrepreneur really is.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A public feud that played out on social media for years is now having its day in court. Tech billionaire Elon Musk took the stand this week and described OpenAI as a “stolen charity”, escalating a legal battle that is at the heart of the global artificial intelligence (AI) race.The lawsuit, filed by Musk against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, also a billionaire, seeks damages of around $150 billion and challenges the company’s shift from a non-profit research lab to a commercial AI powerhouse.The case comes at a time when OpenAI is updating its guiding principles, reworking key partnerships, and expanding its footprint across cloud platforms.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.IT TAKES ONLY a brief chat with the organisers of Black Hat Asia to realise this is no ordinary conference. Whereas most professional get-togethers invite their guests to piggyback on the hotel Wi-Fi, Black Hat builds the network for its annual conferences in Las Vegas, London and Singapore from scratch, installing switches, access points, firewalls and monitoring sensors before the conference opens.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bajaj Finance continued its streak of consistency in the March quarter (Q4FY26), with the non-banking financial company again delivering an over 20% growth in assets under management (AUM). This time, its AUM surpassed the ₹5-trillion milestone while it also maintained its sector-leading profitability metrics.Net profit rose 22% year-on-year (y-o-y) to ₹5,550 crore, supported by 20% growth in net interest income and a sharp moderation in credit costs.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.At his Senate confirmation hearing last week, Kevin Warsh told lawmakers that the Federal Reserve needed a serious shaking up, with “messier meetings” and “a good family fight” at an institution that has cultivated discipline and consensus.He may be getting all of that and more.On Wednesday afternoon, the man he’s set to replace as Fed chair, Jerome Powell, announced he wouldn’t be leaving right away. Three of Powell’s colleagues delivered a pointed warning that they are in no mood to cut rates anytime soon.Every Fed chair for the past 75 years has left the central bank when his or her successor took over.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Tencent-backed audio platform Pocket FM has revived plans to raise fresh capital, targeting $100 million-$120 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion-$2 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter. This marks a second attempt by Pocket FM, which had explored fundraising about nine months ago but failed to close the round amid investor concerns over backing a loss-making business.Mint had earlier reported that Goldman Sachs was advising on the previous mandate.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The government is set to roll out the third iteration of the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) in May, strengthening its push for evidence-based planning at the grassroots level, said Sushil Kumar Lohani, additional secretary in the ministry of panchayati raj.PAI, first launched for 2022-23, is a composite index to assess the performance and progress of gram panchayats across India by using socio-economic indicators, identifying development gaps and supporting evidence-based planning. The introduction of PAI 3.0 for 2025-26 is expected to transform rural areas by enhancing service delivery, infrastructure and livelihoods.With about 65% of India’s population living in the rural areas, PAI could significantly improve transparency and accountability, ultimately transforming living standards and accelerating inclusive growth across almost 665,000 villages.The updated index builds on earlier versions that have already been adopted by several states as a core planning tool.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Shares of state-owned miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) rose around 7%, hitting its 52-week high of ₹491.25 on Thursday, after robust March quarter (Q4FY26) performance.Investor interest also seems to be driven by the recent rise in temperatures. As per the government data, peak power demand rose to 256 GW on 25 April, breaching the previous peak of 250 GW hit on 30 May 2024.Electricity consumption during 1-27 April grew sharply by 9% year-on-year (y-o-y).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The government’s push for clean mobility, though a climate imperative, is pushing India’s automobile industry through a difficult transition. Going by road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari’s comments this week, the Centre wants faster progress.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.When Yeats wrote his celebrated poem The Second Coming in 1919, the lines “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” caught the world’s attention, recovering as it was from the wanton violence of World War I. What inspired the poet is contested, but his words are as relevant today as they were a century ago. The senseless Iran war is taking the core of global certainties apart, with much of the globally accepted compact coming unstuck.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Indian equity benchmarks rebounded on Wednesday, 29 April, with the Nifty 50 rising 181.95 points, or 0.76%, to close at 24,177.65, reclaiming the 24,000 mark. The Sensex advanced about 0.73% to end near 77,446.Sentiment was supported by optimism around fourth-quarter earnings, led by Maruti Suzuki and an improvement in global risk appetite, even as tensions in West Asia persisted.Gains were led by FMCG and auto stocks, with the Nifty FMCG index up 1.75% and the Nifty Auto index rising 1.15%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.IIM Ahmedabad's venture platform IIMA Ventures has averaged six to eight exits from its startup portfolio every yearsince the financial year 2012-13 (FY13)—a pace of returns that outstrips even some of India's leading venture capital funds.IIMA Ventures exited Pune-based Unbox Robotics earlier this year when the warehouse automation startup raised $28 million in its Series B round led by ICICI Venture. It was among the first institutional backers of the company, writing an $80,000 ( ₹75 lakh) cheque when it raised a $500,000 seed round back in 2020.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Cognizant Technology plans to cut about 4,000 jobs, or roughly 1% of its workforce, two people with knowledge of the matter said, even as slowing demand and a push toward automation weigh on growth and prompted the company to lower its full-year outlook.The company on Wednesday announced Project Leap, a transformation programme involving increased investments in AI, integrated digital offerings, and workforce upskilling. Cognizant expects the programme to cost $230-320 million, including $200-270 million of employee severance and other personnel-related costs, but generate savings of as much as $300 million this year.While Cognizant did not put a number to the employees affected by the restructuring, the management said in a post-earnings analyst call that more than 20,000 freshers would join this year, suggesting reductions in mid-level roles.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India's summer (zaid) crops, including maize, moong, and groundnut, have remained resilient despite scorching heat across several parts of the country. However, an extended heatwave could hurt both yields and crop quality, a senior agricultural scientist warned on Wednesday.Field reports suggest that these short-duration crops, grown between rabi and kharif seasons, are largely holding up, supported by timely irrigation, M.L.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Anthropic’s Mythos, a frontier artificial intelligence (AI) model, can outperform humans in detecting vulnerabilities across systems, including banks, telcos and utilities. While it can detect flaws faster and better than humans, global agencies warn it could be used as a potential cyberweapon too. Mint decodes.Claude Mythos or Mythos is US-based Anthropic's advanced AI model designed to handle complex cybersecurity tasks such as identifying bugs, analyzing systems and even generating exploits.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: Prestige Group is preparing to launch a premium senior living brand, entering a fast-growing real estate segment, a top company executive said.The developer has identified land parcels in Bengaluru for its first projects, with an inaugural development likely in north Bengaluru. The brand will be unveiled alongside the first project launch. Prestige is also setting up a dedicated senior living vertical and has hired experienced professionals to lead the business.“We are keen to get into senior living but we plan to do it differently.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.This summer’s World Cup was supposed to be the triumphant return of the planet’s favorite sport to America. But as the U.S. men’s national team prepares to host the tournament for the first time since 1994, its opening game has even hardcore fans feeling left out.The first match, against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles, should have been a sold-out celebration.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Marriage is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer, recent research found.A study of more than 4 million cancer cases in the U.S. found that cancer rates were about 68% higher among men who have never married compared with those who have.