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Blackstone, Hillhouse Investment, TPG Capital, and General Atlantic have submitted non-binding bids to acquire AGS Health, valuing the healthcare IT services firm at around $1 billion, said multiple people aware of the development. EQT Partners, the Swedish fund that owns AGS Health, has hired JP Morgan and Bank of America to manage the sale process which will be launched by early next year, ET first reported in September 2024. EQT acquired AGS Health in 2019 for $320 million. Spokespeople at EQT, Blackstone, and General Atlantic declined to comment. Hillhouse and TPG Capital did not respond to email queries.

This should be commensurate with awareness of responsible and ethical use of AI without curbing innovation, they said at the second edition of The Economic Times Digital Transformation Dialogues in Bengaluru, moderated by ET's Beena Parmar. The technology services world is moving towards the platforms and products operating model, which will increasingly rely «not on seniority or experience, but on your ability to deliver on your role,» said Sandhya Arun, chief technology officer at Wipro, which operates in an industry where revenue has traditionally been linked to the headcount. «A role itself has many tasks. If you break it down, some of those tasks will get automated, will get handed off to AI, but the role itself will transform as opposed to the role disappearing if you are doing something relevant such as impacting business value, delivering products ensuring quality and security,» Arun said. Because of this, Wipro is training its next gen, or young associates, to become full stack to work across frontend and backend of technology applications.

Priyank Kharge said. The state's digital infrastructure at the panchayat level is «extremely good», said Kharge, who handles the portfolios of rural development, panchayat raj, information technology and biotechnology. «I have close to around 6,000 panchayats, and all the gram panchayat meetings have moved online. We are at a beta level, but more than 136,000 meetings have been conducted online,» Kharge said at the second edition of the Salesforce Economic Times Digital Transformation Dialogues. The meetings are open to people and have been viewed online by 25,6 million people, out of which 11.7 million are women, the minister said. The state has also mapped around 15 million properties with Geographic Information System (GIS) tagging, bringing them under panchayats' tax ambit.

Shell LNG marketing executive said, adding that LNG trade will find ways to adapt to logistical interruptions. Shell, the world's largest trader of LNG, accounts for 15% of global trade and supplies about a tenth of India's LNG imports. The company remains sanguine about India, which imported record volumes of LNG in 2024, and aims to tie up more long-term sale contracts with Indian buyers and expand its import terminal capacity when there is a need for it, Tom Summers, senior vice president for Shell LNG Marketing & Trading, told ET in an interview. Summers defended Shell's India terminal's underutilisation, saying global utilisation average is probably 50% or less and its India terminal is strategically connected to supply and demand centres to serve the growing customer needs. Shell's Indian terminal's utilisation is about 40% while India's average is 55%.

Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, aimed at boosting the country's exploration sector by ensuring policy stability, scope for international arbitration and longer lease for oil and gas companies. The bill, which has already been passed by Rajya Sabha, «will further strengthen and propel India's energy sector,» said oil minister Hardeep Puri. «By virtue of the fact that we are going to rely on conventional energy for some time, we need to step up our exploration and production activities.» The Centre hopes the proposed law will perk up India's exploration sector, which has been dull for more than a decade despite various policy reforms.

With Mexico and Canada as two of America's biggest suppliers of food items and beverages, the tariffs will soon drive prices up and may cause supply chain disruptions while demand stays high, New York Post reported.

Wall Street keeps shaking because of tariffs. After jumping to a big early gain on an encouraging inflation update, the U.S. stock market lost all of it after other countries announced their retaliations following President Donald Trump's latest escalation in his trade war. The S&P 500 was down 0.3% in midday trading after erasing an initial leap of 1.3%. The unsettled trading comes a day after the index briefly fell more than 10% below its all-time high set last month.

Mitsubishi Chemical Group of Japan has evinced interest in entering the supply chain link in the semiconductor and electric vehicles sectors in India. There are plans to set up a project catering to the supply chain link in the semiconductor and EV sectors in the country, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Chemical Group Manabu Chikumoto, said at an interactive session of Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Wednesday. «We are trying to find out some occasions to come to this market to expand our existence, together with some partners. It will be in the supply chain link to the semiconductor and EV sectors», he said. Chikumoto said the group has not identified any place for the proposed project.

Bollywood superstar Govinda recently claimed that he was offered James Cameron's Hollywood blockbuster Avatar for Rs 18 crore. Now, veteran producer Pahlaj Nihalani recently weighed in on these allegations, addressing the controversy surrounding Avatar. In an interview, he cleared the air that he had once come up with a project titled Avatar which had absolutely no connection to Hollywood's namesake. One of the most intriguing aspects of Govinda’s career is his claim of being approached for Avatar, a film that went on to become a Hollywood blockbuster. In an interview with veteran actor Mukesh Khanna on his YouTube channel, Govinda recalled meeting James Cameron through a businessman in the US. He claimed that he suggested the title Avatar to Cameron and was offered Rs 18 crore for the role. However, he declined the project upon learning that the protagonist was handicapped, as he was unwilling to commit to the 410-day shoot.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The government may make it mandatory for packages containing narcotics to carry a barcode while it mulls building a portal to identify, track and monitor the illegal sale of narcotics. In view to recent cases of abuse of narcotics meant for medicinal use, the government is devising a mechanism to ensure the tracking and traceability of these drugs.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Lucknow-based SLMG Beverages Pvt. Ltd, a major Coca-Cola bottler in India, plans to invest up to $1 billion by 2030 to expand its production capacity in the populous states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, according to a company executive.

HSQ initially invested in Kingswood in September 2019, injecting up to £80m in growth equity capital to support the business. HSQ currently holds 68.4% of Kingswood's voting rights. Kingswood said it has been impacted by «headwinds seen across the sector over the last couple of years», despite HSQ's investment. This resulted in the company's growth not being as strong over the period as management had expected, it set out. Assura receives cash offer from KKR and Stonepeak Partners In conjunction with this, its acquisition strategy has seen the company's debt position increase signi...

Thong, who will work alongside Eric Chan, joins from JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM), where he spent almost 12 years as a portfolio manager on the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income trust and the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Income fund. abrdn Asian Income introduces continuation vote and enhanced dividend policy With over 15 years' experience in financial services, Thong said he is «looking forward» to taking on the management of the aberdeen trust.  «The company has a rich heritage of investing in Asia, while the team at aberdeen has an excellent track record in Asia equit...

Inflation showed signs of cooling in February, offering some signs of relief for Americans who were squeezed by rising costs. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key measure of living costs, climbed 2.8 per cent compared to last year, with monthly growth slowing to 0.2 per cent down from January’s sharper 0.5 per cent jump and beating economists’ forecasts. Even the “core” inflation rate, which ignores food and energy prices, eased slightly to 3.1 per cent annually. While progress toward the Fed’s 2 per cent target remains uneven, the dip suggests some pressure is lifting, as per NY Times.

central universities, with over half of them reserved for OBC, ST, and SC categories, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said that more than 7,825 teaching positions have been filled in these varsities through special recruitment drives.

Tiger Woods underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon. He sustained the injury while training at home. Post surgery, Woods is almost certain to miss the Masters Tournament for only the fifth time since he began competing in 1995. The injury has cast doubts on whether Woods will be able to appear for any major golf tournaments this year.

Donald Trump’s administration are watching Canada to get a preview of what happens when you hit back. Canadian officials have gone hostile in their responses to Trump’s trade war. Ontario Premier Doug Ford slapped a 25% charge on electricity exports to make power more expensive for people in New York and two other states — earning the president’s ire. Mark Carney, the incoming prime minister, called the US “a country we can no longer trust,” and said his new government will keep its retaliatory tariffs in place “until the Americans show us respect.” On Tuesday, the brinkmanship seemed to pay off: Trump started the day threatening to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50%, but by day’s end both sides had pulled back. Ford suspended the electricity tax, prompting Trump to say “I respect that” and drop the metals levy back to 25%. Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum — which came into force on US imports on Wednesday — drew a swift response from Canada and the European Union. The government in Ottawa announced new 25% counter-tariffs on about C$30 billion ($20.8 billion) of US-made items, while Brussels laid out countermeasures against US goods worth as much as €26 billion ($28.3 billion). But other metals-exporting countries including Japan and South Korea held off on any immediate retaliation. Even before that widening of the trade war, Mélanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, had issued a warning to other nations. Watch what Trump is doing to Canada, she said. “You’re next.”

Friends alum turned Apple TV+ powerhouse, is reportedly feeling the heat as Ellen Pompeo prepares to make her grand return to the small screen with Hulu’s Good American Family.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Inflation may have finally eased to below 4.0% in February, thanks to a continued correction in vegetable items, but high inflation in several items may continue to pinch consumers. A Mint analysis of item-wise inflation shows that despite the headline inflation easing to 3.61% in February, over one-fifth of the items in the basket still recorded inflation above 6%.

The retail portion of the issue was subscribed by 1.88 times, while the issue was subscribed by 14% in the non-institutional investors category on the final day of bidding. Meanwhile, the qualified institutional buyers had not made any bids yet.

Hinduja Group, which promotes IndusInd Bank, may be compelled to pledge up to 80% of its holdings in the bank if the stock price drops below Rs 600 per share, according to an analysis by Macquarie Capital. Analysts warn that the risk of pledging could extend to other Hinduja-led entities as the group works to repay debt and reduce collateral. IndusInd International Holdings (IIHL), led by the Hinduja Group and owning a 15% stake in the bank, has already pledged about 50% of its shares to Barclays Bank PLC and Deutsche Bank AG in exchange for a loan.