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Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar has raised doubts over Pakistan's potential role as a regional mediator, warning India that the Middle East conflict serves as a "preview" of radical tactics that could soon impact its own neighbourhood.In an interview with PTI Videos, he rejected the notion that Pakistan possesses the credibility to act as a mediator in regional negotiations.Labelling the country unreliable, Azar characterized Pakistan as a "problematic player" whose involvement requires the US to exercise "special caution" to avoid potential traps."I don't think they are reliable," he said about Pakistan's mediation role.He added that when mediators lean towards a "terrorist entity" or "legitimize radicalism", it becomes "very tricky because the United States has to exercise special caution not to fall into traps set not only by the opposing side but also by the mediator".The envoy further alleged an increasing connection between radical elements and the region, noting a rise in visits by Hamas leaders to both Pakistan and Bangladesh over the last two years.Turning to the India angle, Azar claimed that because Israel is the most attacked country in the world, the threats it faces often serve as a "preview to a movie coming to a theatre in your neighbourhood".He specifically alleged that radical groups are drawing twisted inspiration from the October 7 attacks and warned that the methodologies of hybrid warfare, including using human shields and manipulating media, are likely to be emulated elsewhere.While commenting on Israel's policy of mandatory military service, Azar refrained from suggesting India adopt similar models.He observed that India is "blessed" with a large territory and population, expressing confidence that the Indian government is making the "right decisions" regarding its own recruitment and defence needs.He, however, noted the "positive aspect of conscription" in maturing young citizens and instilling a sense of responsibility."It doesn't mean that one size fits all. Each country has to find its own way." PTI SHJ ZMN
ICICI Bank is well-positioned to sustain sector leadership with a healthy growth outlook and robust asset quality, said Motilal Oswal Financial Services while naming the heavyweight private lender its top ‘Buy’ within the banking sector even after the stock tumbled 10% in six months.The shares of ICICI Bank gained over 1% on Thursday to trade at Rs 1,258.40 apiece on NSE. The stock has however fallen over 1% in one week and 6% in 2026 so far. The stock has fallen more than 12% in one year.Despite the muted returns, Motilal Oswal maintained its bullish call for the shares of ICICI Bank. The domestic brokerage said that the private lender is well-positioned to sustain its growth momentum while maintaining profitability benchmarks. It expects the bank to deliver a 16% loan CAGR over FY26-FY28, led by strong growth in business banking and PL, while the corporate segment is also expected to witness healthy traction, supported by working capital demand.ICICI Bank’s liability franchise continues to remain best-in-class, supported by diversified acquisition engines and a rapidly expanding physical network, Motilal said. With a domestic CD ratio of 85.5% and LCR of 126%, the brokerage added that the bank is well placed to capitalize on growth opportunities compared to peers.“ICICI Bank is likely to maintain cost leadership despite meaningful investments in technology, customer delivery, analytics, and talent. ICICIBC’s asset quality remains robust, supported by disciplined underwriting, continued monitoring, and strong recoveries, while the bank maintains a healthy contingency buffer (0.9% of loans). The bank currently does not face additional portfolio stress from the West Asia crisis or ECL transition. Credit costs are, thus, expected to remain contained, with GNPA/NNPA improving to ~1.4%/0.3% by FY28E,” Motilal said.Motilal Oswal on ICICI Bank share priceThe brokerage acknowledged that ICICI Bank shares have delivered tepid performance over the past year, reflecting broader derating across large banking stocks amid persistent FII selling. However, with operating performance holding strong and sustained market share gains across key lending segments, Motilal expects a gradual rerating.It maintained its ‘Buy’ call on the stock, with a target price of Rs 1,750 apiece. This implies an upside potential of nearly 41% from the stock’s previous closing price of Rs 1,242 apiece on NSE.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
International brokerage firm Jefferies started coverage on Poonawalla Fincorp with a Buy rating and a target price of Rs 490, implying an upside of 23% from current market levels, citing positive levers of growth. Jefferies says the company is well positioned to accelerate growth under its revamped leadership team, expanding product portfolio, wider distribution network and sharper underwriting practices. The brokerage expects the company to deliver a 33% AUM CAGR, the fastest among major NBFCs, supported by an improving loan mix, better net interest margins and lower credit costs driven by reduced slippages and a healthier portfolio mix. Analysts also forecast a sharp improvement in profitability, with RoA/RoE expected to expand to 16% by FY29 from 6% in FY26, which it believes should support the stock's premium valuation multiples. The brokerage cited the company's ongoing strategic transformation under CEO Arvind Kapil, former head of retail and mortgage banking at HDFC Bank as a positive. The brokerage highlighted the leadership overhaul, with seven of nine CXOs coming from HDFC Bank, alongside the launch of six new products including prime personal loans, commercial vehicle loans, gold loans and education loans. These new segments have already scaled to 14% of AUM within a year and are expected to contribute 34% of AUM over time. Jefferies expects the company to deliver a 33% AUM CAGR during FY26-29, supported by investments in distribution, collections, technology and AI, as well as its AAA credit rating and backing from the Adar Poonawalla Group.The brokerage expects margins to improve as the company shifts toward higher-yielding products. After contracting by 250 basis points over the past two years due to the run-down of its legacy personal loan portfolio, NIMs are projected to expand by around 70 basis points over FY26-29, aided by growth in products such as prime personal loans and gold loans. At the same time, Jefferies expects cost-to-AUM to improve to 3.9% by FY29 from 4.4% in FY26 on the back of operating leverage.Asset quality trends have also strengthened, with gross NPAs declining to 1.4% from 1.8% in FY25, supported by tighter underwriting and the reduction of the stressed legacy personal loan book. Jefferies noted that delinquency levels in loans originated after September 2024 are running about 50% lower than the previous 12-month cohort. It expects credit costs to moderate to 2.2% over FY26-29 from 2.7% in FY26, driven by better portfolio quality and a growing share of lower-risk products such as gold and education loans.Following a Rs 2,500 crore capital raise in April 2026, the company's Tier-1 capital ratio has risen above 19.5%, providing ample room to fund growth. Jefferies forecasts profit after tax to surge to Rs 2,900 crore by FY29 from Rs 540 crore in FY26, while return on assets and return on equity are expected to improve to 2.3% and 16%, respectively, from 1.1% and 6% in FY26. Despite trading at 2.4x FY27 estimated book value and 25x FY27 estimated earnings, the brokerage believes Poonawalla Fincorp's strong growth trajectory and improving profitability justify premium valuations and could support further re-rating if execution remains robust. Key risks include weaker-than-expected execution, margin pressure and higher credit stress.In Thursday’s session, shares of the company are down 1.5% to Rs 394 on the BSE. Poonawala Fincorp shares are down 18% in 2026. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
The Indian rupee is trading around Rs. 95-96 to the dollar in late May 2026, setting fresh record lows. Markets are openly discussing the Rs. 100 threshold. The rupee has weakened in almost every year since 2014 and has lost approximately half its value against the dollar over that period. The end of this currency depreciation is not in sight. The factors that would stop it are not yet visible.The government is acting. State run oil companies have implemented four fuel price hikes in ten days as of May 25, taking petrol in Delhi past Rs. 102 per litre. This is the right and necessary response to the energy cost reality created by the Iran war. Crucially, the Modi government has also done its part on the macroeconomic front, consistently and aggressively reducing the fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP to maintain structural stability.Yet, the currency pressure persists. The energy price impact has not yet fully reached Indian consumers and supply chains. It is coming.Uday Kotak said it plainly at the CII Annual Business Summit on May 12: "Be ready for tough times rather than waiting for the shock to hit us." He was right.Also read | Manufactured monopoly: How industrial policy is structuring monopolies in IndiaThis is not a time to panic. But it is a time to act. The leaders who move now will have options. Those who wait will not.The Overriding Factor: The Psychology of the PlayersWhy is the currency declining despite strong domestic fiscal discipline? Because exchange rates are not driven by mathematical models alone. The currency decline is highly affected—and accelerated—by the psychology of all players engaged in this endeavor.Currency movements are deeply behavioral. When a currency visualizes a downward trend, psychology shifts from calculation to self-protection and speculation. Every player in the ecosystem operates under this psychological weight:Corporate CFOs and Treasurers: Instead of hedging normally, they rush to cover future dollar liabilities early, hoarding hard currency and inadvertently worsening the scarcity.Foreign Investors: They begin to judge their returns not by the quality of Indian business operations, but by the eroding value of the conversion rate.Importers and Exporters: Importers advance their payments to avoid paying more tomorrow; exporters delay converting their dollar earnings back into rupees, waiting for a "better" rate. This collective psychology creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.Investors, CFOs, and FDI decision makers extrapolate what is happening now into the future. When they see a currency that has lost approximately half its value since 2014 with no clear floor in sight, their psychological pivot alters market realities.Also read | India tightens checks on overseas flows as currency pressure mounts, sources sayThe cascading timeline of Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) equity behavior perfectly mirrors this psychological shift from rational evaluation to systemic risk aversion:2024 (The Calculation Phase): Rupee averages Rs. 83-84. FPI flows remain positive (+$12 billion) as investors trade on strong domestic corporate earnings.2025 (The Self-Protection Phase): Rupee slides past Rs. 89. Collective psychology shifts to risk mitigation. FPIs withdraw a record $18.4 billion from Indian equities—the largest annual equity outflow on record.Early 2026 (The Capitulation Phase): Rupee breaks past Rs. 95. Sentiment turns into an outright exit strategy. In the first four months of 2026 alone, outflows have already reached $19.1 billion, completely bypassing the entire previous year's record loss in a fraction of the time.FDI agreements are being signed, but capital is delayed because players are psychologically hesitant to deploy funds into a depreciating asset.The Trap of Hard Currency Debt: A Broken Business Model There is a highly significant and dangerous phenomenon unfolding in India today that requires immediate exposure. For years, a specific class of Indian corporates adopted a regular strategy of borrowing heavily in hard currency (External Commercial Borrowings, or ECBs). Lured by low nominal global interest rates, several of these companies over borrowed, treating cheap dollar debt as a permanent structural advantage.Today, that strategy has become a trap. The compounding effect of a depreciating rupee, skyrocketing hedging costs, and brutal refinancing realities is fundamentally breaking their business models.Consider the mechanics of this crisis:The Hedging Penalty: Leaving dollar debt unhedged is now corporate roulette. However, buying hedges at current rupee levels has become structurally prohibitive. The cost of protection completely wipes out any interest rate advantage.The Refinancing Wall: Billions in foreign debt are coming due. These over-borrowed companies must now refinance their liabilities at a time when the rupee value has materially deteriorated. They are effectively forced to borrow far more rupees just to pay back the same amount of original dollars.The Crushing Cost of Rupee Capital: As these companies try to pivot back to domestic lenders, they face a severe escalation in their rupee cost of capital.The Growth Verdict: When your cost of capital spikes and your cash flows are consumed by servicing legacy dollar debt, future growth stops. Capital expenditure (CapEx) plans are being frozen. These companies can no longer invest in innovation, capacity, or market expansion. Their business model shifts overnight from aggressive value creation to basic survival. Boards must realize that this is not a temporary treasury headache; it is a structural threat to the company’s future viability.India's forex reserves stand at approximately 10 to 11 months of import cover. Substantial, but being actively deployed to defend the currency. Some imports are non-negotiable: oil, critical inputs, components. These will now cost more. That cost passes through every supply chain.Six Actions for Business Leaders1. Protect your cash and liquidity first. This is the most immediate priority. Map your cash position today. Identify every source of liquidity across the next twelve months. Stress-test it at Rs. 100 and beyond. Which receivables are at risk? Which credit lines are rupee-denominated and which are not? Companies that run into a cash crisis during a currency depreciation cycle lose their options entirely. The CFO must own this analysis and present it to the board within days, not weeks.2. Act now on your foreign currency borrowings, hedging, and refinancing. Do not assume the rupee will recover to Rs. 80. Analyse your full foreign currency exposure across the next three years: every loan, every refinancing date, every hedging contract, every procurement price denominated in foreign currency. Hard currency loans now face refinancing at rupee values that have materially deteriorated. Model every scenario at Rs. 100 and beyond. Your CFO, treasury, and procurement team must be aligned on one instruction: do not run into a liquidity crisis. This analysis must happen now, not at the next quarterly review.3. Build a war room. Most companies have begun thinking about war rooms for supply chain disruptions. Expand the mandate. Currency exposure belongs in the same room. Which of your costs are dollar or euro denominated? Which of your revenues are rupee denominated? Where is the mismatch? What is your break-even exchange rate? If you do not have clear answers today, you are exposed. The war room is not a committee. It is a real-time decision environment with live data, a clear owner, and the authority to act.4. Use the currency depreciation advantage: double your export salesforce. A weaker rupee makes Indian exports more competitive. This window will not stay open indefinitely. Double the salesforce in your export markets now. Use this period to upgrade quality, improve service delivery, and build customer relationships that will last beyond the currency advantage. Indian exporters who invest in capability during this period will emerge stronger regardless of what the rupee does next. Those who simply ride the price advantage without building the underlying business will lose when conditions change.5. Watch your stock and your sector. Banks and financial institutions should already be on high alert. Companies with large foreign currency exposure will see pressure on their financials. Some stock prices are already reflecting this. Go through your sector company by company. Identify who is most exposed. If you are an investor or a lender, this analysis is not optional. The combination of currency depreciation, rising oil prices, and FPI outflows creates a compounding pressure that will surface in earnings before it surfaces in headlines.6. Cut costs aggressively. AI will help. There has never been more urgency to reduce costs than now. And there has never been a better tool to do it. AI can cut most operational costs by as much as 30% across functions: procurement, finance, customer service, logistics, and compliance. McKinsey data confirms companies adopting AI and automation reduce operational costs by 20 to 30 percent. This is not a future opportunity. It is a present imperative. Every rupee of cost removed through AI is a rupee that does not need to be recovered through revenue in a deteriorating currency environment. Start now with your highest-cost functions.The CFO as CaptainCurrency risk is a cash flow risk. Every function that touches foreign currency—procurement, treasury, sales, capex planning— must now report into a single coordinating authority. That authority is the CFO. This is not about hierarchy. It is about clarity. In a currency crisis, fragmented decision-making is as dangerous as wrong decision making. One captain. One consolidated view. Weekly reviews minimum.The Bigger PictureThis currency depreciation is a structural signal, not a cyclical one. India's economy must move from a cheap labour advantage to genuine global value creation.The companies that will survive and thrive are those building products and services that command premium prices in global markets. The rupee's weakness is a reminder that competing on cost alone has limits.The recently concluded trade agreements are a genuine opportunity. Execute them with full force. Build the export pipelines. Add the sales capacity.The businesses that move now, with discipline and clarity, will manage market psychology, navigate the debt trap, and define the next chapter of Indian industry.The shock is coming. Prepare before it arrives.Ram Charan is the author of China’s 90% model. It is restricting India’s industrial progress. Former Director of Hindalco and Muyuan (China).
Kolkata Mayor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Firhad Hakim has resigned from his post after receiving permission from party supremo Mamata Banerjee, senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said on Wednesday, amid deepening turmoil within the opposition party following its electoral defeat in West Bengal.The announcement came as the TMC grappled with its most serious internal crisis since losing power, with a large section of its legislators openly rebelling against the party leadership and seeking a reorganisation of the legislature wing.Also read: TMC crisis deepens as Mamata loyalists attend BJP-led review meetingThe political churn was visible on Wednesday when Hakim, along with TMC MLAs Nayana Bandyopadhyay, Ashok Deb and Kunal Ghosh, attended an administrative review meeting convened by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna, a development that added a fresh dimension to the ongoing unrest within the party, PTI reported.The attendance of several leaders considered close to Banerjee at the government meeting came even as the party's legislative wing appeared headed for an unprecedented split.Rebels stake claim to legislature leadershipHours earlier, 58 dissident TMC MLAs formally extended support to expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee as the new leader of the legislature party and conveyed their decision to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, according to PTI.Ritabrata Banerjee, accompanied by fellow rebel MLA Sandipan Saha and other dissident legislators, met the Speaker and submitted letters of support purportedly signed by 58 MLAs.The rebel faction also proposed a new leadership structure, naming Ritabrata Banerjee as legislature party leader, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Shiuli Saha as deputy leaders, and Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman as the chief whip.Ritabrata Banerjee, Khan and Saha were also present at the chief minister's administrative review meeting later in the day.The developments followed a gathering of dissident legislators at the Assembly earlier on Wednesday. Significantly, none of the MLAs who attended the rebels' meeting had participated in Mamata Banerjee's dharna in central Kolkata on Tuesday, highlighting the growing divide between the party leadership and the dissident bloc.Also read: TMC rebels back expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as legislature party leader in BengalPolitical signals from administrative meetingsSeveral leaders identified with the Kalighat leadership, including Hakim, Bandyopadhyay, Deb and Ghosh, skipped the Assembly meeting and instead attended the Nabanna review meeting.The latest development comes days after senior TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and six party MLAs attended an administrative review meeting chaired by Adhikari in Kalyani, triggering speculation over shifting political equations within the opposition camp after the assembly election setback.Political observers told PTI that with another set of TMC leaders attending Wednesday's meeting, the line between administrative engagement and political messaging was becoming increasingly blurred in West Bengal's evolving post-election landscape.The BJP government has maintained that such meetings are inclusive administrative exercises. During the previous TMC regime, BJP leaders had often alleged that opposition legislators were excluded from official review meetings.Soon after assuming office, Adhikari announced that opposition MPs and MLAs would be invited to government programmes and district-level administrative review meetings.Also read: TMC dissolves West Bengal units, launches overhaul after poll drubbingParty debates participationReacting to the participation of TMC legislators in such meetings last week, Kunal Ghosh had said the matter was being discussed within the party."We are not in favour of boycotting administrative meetings called by the state government. But when our party workers are being assaulted and rendered homeless in post-poll violence, we need to think twice before attending such meetings. Our party is also discussing whether we should continue participating in these meetings or not," he had said.The ongoing turmoil comes against the backdrop of the TMC's crushing assembly election defeat and growing uncertainty over the party's future leadership structure.
Bengaluru: Senior Congress leader G Parameshwara will be the new Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, official sources said here on Wednesday.Parameshwara will take the oath of office and secrecy after CM-designate D K Shivakumar takes oath, they said.Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot will administer the oath at 4.05 pm to Shivakumar and other MLAs at Lok Bhavan Glass House.Parameshwara, who had served as Home Minister in the Siddaramaiah-led government, held the position of deputy chief minister in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government under Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy from May 2018 to July 2019.A prominent Dalit leader, Parameshwara served a record eight years consecutively as President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) between 2010 and 2018.Meanwhile, Shivakumar and Parameshwara met Siddaramaiah at his residence and expressed their gratitude, the outgoing CM's office said in a statement.Both the leaders invited Siddaramaiah for the swearing-in ceremony and he congratulated them and extended his best wishes.
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday held separate meetings with senior leaders of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Bharti Enterprises to review ongoing projects and discuss future investments in the state.The Chief Minister said he met S.N. Subrahmanyan, Chairman and Managing Director of Larsen & Toubro, at his official residence and reviewed the progress of various projects being executed by the engineering and infrastructure major in Assam."We discussed the various projects that L&T is undertaking in Assam and the roadmap for their timely completion," Sarma said in a post on X.Later in the day, the Chief Minister also held discussions with Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, at his official residence, focusing on the group's expansion plans in Assam, particularly in the telecommunications sector."We discussed the group's expansion plans in Assam, with a specific focus on covering dark areas so that more people can benefit from proper phone and internet connectivity," Sarma said.The meetings underline the Assam government's continued engagement with leading corporate groups to accelerate infrastructure development and improve digital connectivity across the state, especially in underserved regions.Sarma also congratulated Dr Ashok Lahiri on his recent appointment as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog and expressed the state's commitment to strengthening its partnership with the national policy think tank.Sharing details of his meeting with Lahiri in the national capital, Sarma said the newly appointed Vice Chairman "brings with him extensive experience in public policy and finance", highlighting the expertise he is expected to bring to NITI Aayog's policymaking and reform agenda.The Chief Minister noted that the Assam government is keen to deepen its engagement with NITI Aayog in implementing reforms and development policies."The Assam government aims to deepen its partnership with NITI Aayog in implementing reforms and policies that will improve the ease of living of our people," Sarma said in a post on X after the meeting.The interaction comes as Assam continues to pursue governance reforms, infrastructure development and welfare initiatives with support from central institutions. Officials believe closer collaboration with NITI Aayog will help accelerate policy implementation and improve outcomes across key sectors.
India's first AI-powered music company PaRa Music launched on Tuesday, offering a model designed to help original Indian music reach larger audiences across the country and worldwide, but does not create its own music.The music venture combines human-created music with proprietary AI-led market intelligence to guide catalogue development, distribution, and monetisation of music. It is backed by a funding from a consortium of angel and institutional investors led by Apollo Growth Capital and plans to build a catalogue of 40,000 songs over the next four years across film and non-film music, spanning Hindi and regional languages.Tapping one of the world’s largest music markets, PaRa is aiming to bridge the gap between audience demand and effective discovery, particularly for regional and non-film music. With the industry projected to reach Rs 7,500 crore in 2028, estimates point to continued expansion in both streaming and recorded music revenues.Para Music has deployed a model "ParaMeter" as its in-house AI Chief of Music Intelligence who does not create music.This AI brain analyses audience signals across platforms and geographies to identify emerging demand, guide investment decisions, and support smarter catalogue and release strategies. The approach is intended to improve discovery and market fit while keeping music creation firmly in the hands of artists, composers, and songwriters.The venture is planning to build its business around the premise that original Indian music should have a stronger path to audience reach and long-term monetisation. It combines human creativity, institutional capital with data-led decision-making to support catalogue creation, targeted distribution, and diversified revenue opportunities for creators and rights holders.It further aims to partner with central and state governments to support music-led cultural, creative, and economic initiatives across India.PaRa Music is entering a broader market in which music rights and catalogues are increasingly viewed as long-term assets, with global investment activity expanding across recorded music and related rights. It adds volume to India’s national music arena through a technology-led approach and a professional team aiming to build Indian music IP for the world, ensuring creators achieve stronger commercial outcomes and capture greater long-term value.“India has one of the world’s richest and most diverse music ecosystems, yet much of its potential remains untapped. PaRa Music was founded to unlock this opportunity through technology, data, and strategic investment in Music IP," said founder Rashna Pochkhanawala.As the global recorded music market moves towards $200 billion by 2035, Pochkhanawala believes that India is poised to become a major growth engine.“We rarely encounter opportunities where a large market, a proven business model, and exceptional leadership converge so clearly. India’s music economy is entering a period of unprecedented growth, and we believe Music IP will be one of the defining asset classes of the next decade," said Johri, Company Spokesperson - Apollo Growth Capital.
China is pitching itself as the global fulcrum for the next phase of artificial intelligence and a legion of robotics companies is lining up initial public offerings to test investor appetite.Unitree Robotics, one of the most recognizable names in the industry after its robots practicing martial arts made headlines, on Monday received approval for a listing in Shanghai. Its IPO will serve as an early test for what could be a broader wave of offerings. Hong Kong alone has at least 46 robotics-related companies in the pipeline, more than 10% of applicants, according to a report. Companies that have filed IPO applications include Leju Robotics and Deep Robotics. “Chinese humanoids are one step closer to IPOs, igniting market interest on humanoids in the second half of 2026,” Sheng Zhong, head of China industrials research at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a note. “Funds from most of the Chinese humanoids’ IPOs will go toward R&D, especially robot models.” The deep pipeline of robotics IPOs mirrors the fast rise of China’s AI ecosystem, where an array of listings whipped up an investor frenzy in the past six months. It also aligns with Beijing’s push to shift high-tech industries from innovation to large-scale deployment. China is rushing to set the pace of funding, industrialization and ultimately leadership in what Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang calls “physical AI.” Shares of OneRobotics (Shenzhen) Co. jumped as much as 18% in Hong Kong on Tuesday, while component maker Leader Harmonious Drive Systems Co. gained as much as 11% on the mainland. 131456136“This is the decade of the robot – and it belongs to China,” Barclays analysts, including Zornitsa Todorova, wrote in a note last month. “This leadership reflects a decade-long, state-guided push.”The firm says China’s robotics roll-out is already unmatched, accounting for 50% of global industrial robots and 85% of humanoids in 2025. Backed by coordinated industrial policy and tight supply-chain control, humanoids could reach about 3.8% of the nation’s labor capacity by 2035, it estimates. Unitree got a nice shoutout from Nvidia’s Huang on Monday, when he showcased his company’s endeavors in robotic AI. The two companies have partnered to build humanoid “reference” machines, featuring five-fingered hands and built-in chips to replace cumbersome “Frankenrobots” in research labs.Some investors remain more cautious, though, when looking at the companies’ fundamentals. Many robotics firms are expected to burn cash for years and concerns are mounting that valuations could run ahead of earnings.A gauge of humanoid robot stocks has fallen about 13% this year, after registering a 47% gain in 2025. ChinaAMC CSI Robot ETF, a major exchange-traded fund tracking robot-related stocks, has seen net fund outflows for most of this year. Valuations were also elevated, with the sector trading at about 40 times forward earnings, compared with about 14 times for the CSI 300 Index, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.“Investors trading at such elevated valuations are typically not driven by long-term fundamentals, but rather by the pursuit of short-term price gains,” said Shen Meng, a director at Beijing-based investment bank Chanson & Co. “It indicates that sentiment is driven more by market dynamics than by conviction or long-term vision.”The state-run China Securities Journal also struck a cautious tone in an editorial published Tuesday, warning that pre-IPO valuations may outpace fundamentals, with many firms still unprofitable, raising the risk of a sharp correction if growth or commercialization disappoints. Still, prospective issuers can look at the performance of China tech IPOs this year, with many listings thousands of times oversubscribed and producing big gains on their debuts. Two of those companies, AI model developers Knowledge Atlas Technology Joint Stock Co. and MiniMax Group Inc. last month gained inclusion in the Hang Seng Tech Index after massive rallies since their January listings. For investors, the robotics companies can also offer a way to benefit from the rapid expansion of a cutting edge industry, said Zhou Nan, founder and investment director of Shenzhen Long Hui Fund Management Co.“With continued advances in AI, the robotics sector is poised for substantial long-term growth,” Zhou said. “Robotics is expected to become a key driver of enterprise value, and progressively complement or replace human labor across a wide range of use cases.”
Mumbai: Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata conveyed to Tata Sons board after the meeting last week that several key issues remained unresolved, rendering any formal discussion on the reappointment of the holding company’s chairman N Chandrasekaran premature, said people familiar with the matter.That could lead to a deadlock between Chandra and Tata, they said. Tata sought greater clarity from Chandrasekaran on the group’s five-year strategic roadmap, the framework for providing an exit option to Shapoorji Pallonji Group that doesn’t involve Tata Sons going public as well as his formal position on the long-debated matter of the listing.Also Read: Adani Group now focused on building assets at scale, says Gautam AdaniThese issues have gained traction amid turbulence at the Trusts and the holding company of the conglomerate over governance and other matters, amid questions over the performance of units such as Air India and BigBasket.Towards the end of the May 26 board meeting, a few directors are learnt to have informally asked whether Chandrasekaran’s reappointment for a third term could be taken up next time.131429115Consensus NeededNoel Tata responded that it was still too soon, pointing to unresolved issues and unanswered questions that require further engagement, said the people cited.Chief executives of Air India, Tata Electronics and Tata Digital made presentations on their respective businesses to the board at the meeting. Noel Tata is learnt to have provided extensive feedback on BigBasket and Air India, executives close to the matter said.Chandrasekaran had called for a special board meeting on May 26 to respond in detail to concerns raised by Noel Tata at the holding company’s previous board meeting on February 24 at which consideration of his reappointment for a third term had been deferred. Tata Trusts controls Tata Sons with a 66% holding. SP Group has an 18% stake that it wants to sell in order to repay debt.Also Read: Infosys CEO Salil Parekh earned Rs 82.6 crore in FY26, up 2.5%Noel Tata had raised concerns over losses at Air India and BigBasket and called for course correction. Tata Sons is slated to hold its next board meeting on June 12 to discuss annual accounts. People aware of the exchanges said Noel Tata also indicated that any timeline or date for considering the reappointment would need to be discussed and arrived at through consensus.Tata Sons and Noel Tata did not comment. According to executives close to Tata Sons, discussions with SP Group on an exit plan do not carry significant weight until clarity emerges from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the matter of the listing. “The value of Tata group is too high to easily consider a non-listing option to buy back stakes from SP Group. Until there is clarity from RBI on the matter, no one can proceed,” one of them said. As an ‘upperlayer’ non-banking finance company, Tata Sons is required to launch an initial public offering, potentially diluting ownership. It has sought exemption from RBI.Chandrasekaran is also understood to be unwilling to outline any formal five-year growth plan at this stage. He is similarly not in a hurry to raise the matter of reappointment, officials close to the matter said. During Ratan Tata’s tenure, the issue of reappointment was typically brought up a month before a term ended, officials said. It was Tata Trusts that had passed a resolution in 2025 to raise the matter of Chandrasekaran’s reappointment a year before the end of his term to ensure leadership stability.The May 26 meeting saw Chandrasekaran getting chief executives to lead detailed presentations before the board and Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, people familiar with the deliberations said. Unlike the previous board meeting, which had been marked by sharper scrutiny and unresolved questions, this session focused extensively on operating businesses.
For Gujarat Titans, this was supposed to be Ahmedabad's night.Instead, it became an Ahmeda-bad evening for Shubman Gill's men.Also Read: RCB win IPL for 2 straight years, but this player has created a hat-trick of winsOn a stage draped in blue, in front of a crowd willing the home side towards a second IPL crown, Royal Challengers Bengaluru once again arrived like champions who no longer carry the burden of history. They carried certainty. They carried belief. And, as they have so often over the last two seasons, they carried Virat Kohli.Chasing a modest but tricky 156, RCB were never reckless. They were relentless. Kohli, the grandmaster of the chase and the heartbeat of this franchise, produced yet another knockout innings, crafting a half-century that sucked the anxiety out of the contest and the hope out of Gujarat's defence. It was not his most explosive knock. It did not need to be. It was a classic Kohli pursuit — measured, intelligent and utterly inevitable.The numbers will show another fifty. The final will remember much more than that.For a franchise that spent nearly two decades being cricket's great unfinished story, this felt like the final confirmation that last year's title was not an emotional one-off. This is now a team that understands how to win the biggest games. Two titles in two years is not a breakthrough. It is the beginning of a legacy.Yet Gujarat refused to make it easy.After being restricted to 155, a total that always felt 20 runs short on a placid Ahmedabad surface, the Titans fought with the stubbornness that has defined much of their short IPL history. Rashid Khan, magnificent as ever, dragged the contest deeper than it deserved to go. His spell was a reminder that class survives even when the scoreboard does not cooperate. Every wicket he took briefly reignited belief. Every dot ball lifted the noise levels.Also Read: Rohit, Dhoni, Hardik: When IPL's biggest names couldn't deliver this seasonAnd then there was Rajat Patidar — the quiet captain who has turned Royal Challengers Bengaluru from cricket’s great underachievers into a title machine.A year after leading RCB to their long-awaited maiden IPL crown, Patidar is set to script history again, becoming only the third captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to guide a franchise to back-to-back IPL titles. If last season was about breaking an 18-year curse, this one has been about building a champion's mentality.Patidar’s numbers do not scream for attention, but his captaincy has. RCB topped the league stage, steamrolled Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, and entered the final carrying the assurance of a side that no longer panics under pressure. The 31-year-old has fostered a dressing-room culture built on clarity and calm, repeatedly insisting throughout the season that every game was “just another match” despite the mounting expectations around a title defence.His fingerprints were all over the campaign. Whether it was trusting Josh Hazlewood in crunch overs, backing Krunal Pandya's experience on spin-friendly surfaces, or ensuring Virat Kohli could play the anchor's role without the burden of forcing the pace, Patidar's tactical calls consistently landed. Most importantly, Patidar has managed something few RCB leaders before him could: he has made the franchise feel bigger than its baggage. For years, RCB were defined by near-misses, heartbreaks and dependence on individual brillianceBut Gujarat's bowlers were left carrying a burden that should never have been theirs alone.The real disappointment lay with the batting.Too many starts disappeared. Too many big names drifted through the final without leaving a mark. At no point did the innings gather the momentum expected from a side stacked with stroke-makers and match-winners. The scoreboard moved, but never surged. The pressure remained, and RCB's attack, led by the discipline of Josh Hazlewood and the control of Krunal Pandya, squeezed relentlessly.By the halfway mark, the script already felt familiar.RCB had been the better side for most of the season. They entered the final as favourites. They played like favourites. And when the moment arrived to finish the job, they handed the chase to the one man who has spent nearly two decades making impossible pursuits look routine.Kohli has worn many labels across his career — superstar, run machine, icon, leader.On nights like these, one title fits best- King Kohli.And with another IPL trophy glistening under the Ahmedabad lights, his kingdom just got bigger
New Delhi: The Centre has withdrawn the draft Sugarcane (Control) Order, 2026, saying it needs to be revisited in the light of objections received from state governments and other stakeholders.The Food Ministry had circulated the draft for public comments, with a May 20 deadline.Also Read: Sugarcane FRP hiked to Rs 365/quintal for 2026-27 season"Based on the suggestions/comments received from state governments and other stakeholders, it is considered necessary to revisit the draft Sugarcane (Control) Order, 2026," the ministry said in an office memorandum.The draft sought to replace the 60-year-old Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966, with a new regulatory framework that proposed, among other things, bringing the ethanol and khandsari sectors under government regulation.The move drew opposition from khandsari units and farmers. The draft had proposed redefining a khandsari unit as one with more than 10 workers and a crushing capacity of over 500 tonnes per day. Under the existing rules, a khandsari unit is defined as one with 20 or more workers, with no capacity limit.Also Read: Gujarat govt's 'revolutionary' decision to provide Rs 1,500 cr financial relief to sugar cooperativesSources said the proposed definition would have brought a large number of small-scale, labour-intensive units under the regulatory ambit, adversely affecting farmers who generally receive better prices from khandsari units than from sugar mills.BJP MP Sanjeev Balyan, who represents Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, said on social media the government had decided to withdraw the order "in the interest of farmers"."This demonstrates that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government formulates every policy by placing the consent of the farmers and their welfare above all," he said.
In an environment where global equities are swinging between optimism around AI-led growth and anxiety over persistent inflation, elevated interest rates, and geopolitical uncertainty, investors are once again being tested, not on intelligence, but on psychology.Charlie Munger’s famous list of “human misjudgment tendencies” is not just a philosophical framework. It is, in today’s market, a practical survival guide.Markets in 2026 are still being shaped by three dominant forces:(1) higher-for-longer interest rates, (2) liquidity concentration in a few mega-cap stocks, and (3) emotionally driven retail participation.Against this backdrop, Munger’s behavioral warnings feel unusually relevant.1. The real enemy is not volatility, but emotional distortionMunger repeatedly warned that investors don’t lose money because they lack information, they lose because they misprocess it.Today’s markets amplify that problem.Every CPI print, Fed commentary, or geopolitical headline triggers immediate overreaction. Investors are constantly pulled between fear of missing out (FOMO) in AI-led rallies and fear of correction during rate jitters.This is a classic combination of:Availability bias (overweighting recent news)Social proof (following crowded trades)Stress-induced reaction (panic buying or selling)In Munger’s language, this is the setup for “avoidable stupidity.”2. “Envy and FOMO” are silently driving modern portfoliosOne of Munger’s strongest warnings was about envy, not as emotion, but as a financial destroyer.In today’s market, envy doesn’t look like jealousy of a neighbour. It looks like:Chasing AI stocks after they’ve already rerated sharplyComparing portfolio performance with index benchmarks dailyAbandoning long-term positions because “others are making faster money”When liquidity is abundant in a narrow set of names, envy becomes structurally embedded in portfolio behaviour. Investors are no longer asking “Is this a good business?” but “Am I missing this move?”That shift is dangerous in a market where leadership is concentrated and reversals can be abrupt.3. The “Lollapalooza effect” is stronger than everMunger described the Lollapalooza effect as multiple biases reinforcing each other into extreme outcomes.Today’s version looks like this:Social media hype amplifies narrativesAlgorithmic flows reinforce momentumPassive inflows concentrate capital into large indicesRetail traders amplify short-term spikesThe result: prices detach from fundamentals faster, and corrections become sharper when sentiment shifts.This is why today’s rallies often feel effortless, but reversals feel violent.4. Overconfidence is rising with “easy market memories”A prolonged period of strong returns, especially in largecap tech, creates what Munger called “excessive self-regard”.Many investors now assume:“Buying dips always works”“Quality stocks never go down much”“The Fed will rescue markets eventually”But in a higher-rate regime, that assumption is no longer guaranteed. Valuation compression risk is real, and earnings must now do more of the heavy lifting.Confidence built in one regime often breaks in another.5. The biggest risk today: avoiding pain too aggressivelyOne of Munger’s less discussed but critical ideas is “pain-avoidance behavior”.In today’s context, it shows up as:Selling winners too early to “lock in gains”Avoiding fundamentally strong but volatile sectorsSitting excessively in cash due to fear of drawdownsIronically, in trying to avoid discomfort, investors often underperform the very market they are trying to survive.6. What works in today’s market: Munger-style disciplineIf we translate Munger’s philosophy into today’s environment, a few principles stand out:(1) Concentrate only when conviction is realNot based on stories, but on durable cash flows and long-term pricing power.(2) Expect volatility as a feature, not a flawEven high-quality companies will see sharp drawdowns in a rate-sensitive world.(3) Reduce decision frequencyMost mistakes come from over-trading emotional signals disguised as “information.”(4) Build a bias checklistBefore acting, ask:Am I reacting to news or value?Am I following the crowd?Would I make this decision in isolation?7. The current market lesson in one lineIf Munger were observing today’s markets, the warning would likely remain unchanged:“The biggest returns still come from avoiding obvious psychological errors, not from predicting the next move.”Bottom lineToday’s markets are not irrational, but they are emotionally amplified. Liquidity, technology, and information speed have not removed human bias; they have accelerated it.That is exactly the environment where Munger’s framework becomes most powerful. Because in the end, investing success is still less about knowing more, and more about misbehaving less.
NEW DELHI: Law Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday described the arrest of Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami as "seriously reprehensible, unwarranted and worrisome."He also questioned the silence of the Congress leadership when its government in Maharashtra was "blatantly suppressing freedom of press."Police on Wednesday arrested Goswami in Mumbai for allegedly abetting suicide of a 53-year-old interior designer, a police official said."The arrest of senior journalist Arnab Goswami is seriously reprehensible, unwarranted and worrisome. We had fought for freedoms of Press as well while opposing the draconian Emergency of 1975," Prasad said in a series of tweets.The arrest of senior journalist #ArnabGoswami is seriously reprehensible, unwarranted and worrisome. We had fought… https://t.co/d5fY66b1w5— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) 1604465175000He said while Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have attacked the Modi government "through motivated charges of attack on institutions" yet they are completely silent when their own government in Maharashtra is "blatantly suppressing freedom of Press."He claimed it to be a "textbook case of hypocrisy."Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have openly attacked @narendramodi Govt through motivated charges of attack on instit… https://t.co/TZHS3W6pFJ— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) 1604464512000"One can differ, one can debate and one can ask questions too. However arresting a journalist of the stature of Arnab Goswami by abuse of police power, because he was asking questions, is something which we all need to condemn," the Union minister said.One can differ, one can debate and one can ask questions too. However arresting a journalist of the stature of… https://t.co/uc4hEu3uA4— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) 1604463867000The ruling alliance in Maharashtra comprises the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.