Business

Bengaluru, March 25 The two southern tech hubs—Bengaluru and Hyderabad—now account for over half of India's urban growth momentum, reshaping jobs, consumption, mobility, and the future of Indian cities, according to a data report released on Wednesday.Together, the two cities accounted for about 53 per cent of all Grade A office space added across India's top cities in the last five years, the report said.The findings are part of "WeAreCity 2026", the second edition of UnboxingBLR's flagship data report on Indian cities, unveiled at the Indiaspora Global AI Summit 2026 here.Titled "A Tale of Two Cities", UnboxingBLR said in a statement that the report presents a data-led comparison of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India's two...

Kolkata, March 24 Mehul Mohanka, Managing Director and Group CEO of Tega Group, has been elected chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Eastern Region for 2026-27, according to a statement released on Wednesday.Rudra Chatterjee, Managing Director of Luxmi Tea and chairman of Obeetee Pvt Ltd, has been elected as the deputy chairman.Mohanka joined Tega in 2001 as a full-time director and became Managing Director and Group CEO in 2016. Under his leadership, the company has expanded globally with 10 plants across four countries and operations in 18 countries, serving customers in 96 nations, the statement said.Chatterjee heads Luxmi Tea, which produces over 30 million kg of tea annually from 25 estates across India and...

New Delhi, March 25 The Fair Trade Regulator, the Competition Commission, approved on Wednesday BlackRock's proposal to acquire a stake in Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd.US-based BlackRock, through its affiliate GIP EM Star Pte Ltd, is acquiring a stake in the company.Mumbai-based Aditya Birla Renewables, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the business of power generation through renewable energy resources, including solar and wind power."The Commission approves the subscription of certain equity share capital of Aditya Birla Renewables Limited (ABReN/Target) by GIP EM Star Pte Ltd (Acquirer)," the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in a release.GIP EM Star Pte Ltd is owned by certain funds managed by Global...

Mumbai, March 25 Logistics platform Porter announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with identity solutions provider Incognia to eliminate the abuse of multiple accounts by delivery partners, thereby reducing delays and ensuring more reliable fulfillment.The practice of "multi-accounting" occurs when driver-partners clone the app on a single device to run multiple accounts simultaneously, logging into two or more accounts at once and accepting parallel orders from the same phone.By eliminating this practice at the device level, the company ensures that customers experience fewer delays and more reliable fulfillment, while legitimate driver-partners benefit from fair access to orders and improved earning opportunities, it said...

Mumbai, March 25 Sula Vineyards, a wine producer, announced on Wednesday the acquisition of Chandon's wine production facility and estate in Dindori, Nashik, for ₹20 crore, which will help expand its wine tourism footprint.Sula Vineyards is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive agreement with Moet Hennessy India to acquire Chandon's estate in Dindori, Nashik, for ₹20 crore, according to a statement. The funds will be raised through internal accruals.Chandon's wine production facility spans 19 acres, comprising a highly advanced facility with an annual capacity of 4.5 lakh litres, scalable up to 13 lakh litres.The acquisition is being undertaken through the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Artisan Spirits (ASPL)...

Chandigarh, March 25 An FIR has been filed in connection with alleged discrepancies in fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) held by the Panchkula Municipal Corporation at a Kotak Mahindra Bank branch, amounting to nearly Rs 150 crore.The Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SVACB) filed the FIR on Tuesday night, accusing unnamed bank officials and others of cheating, conspiracy, and other offenses. The Haryana government had decided to refer the case to the SVACB.The municipal corporation claims a multi-crore mismatch between its official records and the records reflected by the Panchkula branch of Kotak Mahindra Bank.According to Vinay Kumar, Commissioner of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation (PMC), the discrepancies...

New Delhi, March 25 Revamping the regional air connectivity initiative, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a modified UDAN scheme with an outlay of ₹28,840 crore for ten years that will provide funds for developing airports, related operations and maintenance activities, helipads, and support for the acquisition of India-made aircraft.Airlines will be provided Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for operating UDAN routes, and the estimated amount is ₹10,433 crore over the ten-year period starting from FY 2026-27.Briefing media persons after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that under the modified scheme, 100 airports will be developed from existing unserved airstrips with the help of...

New Delhi, March 25 Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal held a meeting with Deputy US Trade Representative Joseph Barloon on Wednesday, discussing issues related to the WTO's ministerial conference and ways to further expand bilateral trade ties.The meeting was held in Yaounde, the capital city of Cameroon. Both are in the African nation for the 14th ministerial conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The four-day meeting will begin on March 26.They had detailed discussions on the "MC14 agenda and explored strategic ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties," the Department of Commerce said in a social media post.The meeting is important as the two countries have finalized a framework...

Mumbai, March 25 AMC Repo Clearing, the operator of the tri-party repo platform, has witnessed a sharp increase in daily trading volumes in FY26, and it is expected to double in 2026-27, a top official has said.The average daily volume in the market, which is mainly used by primary dealers and corporate treasuries for raising funds against their corporate bond investments, surged to up to Rs 7,000 crore a day in FY26, from a level of up to Rs 2,000 crore a day in FY25.Kashinath Katakdhond, Managing Director at the platform, said the daily volume is expected to surge to Rs 10,000-15,000 crore a day in the upcoming fiscal year, driven by a widening user base."The increase in traded volume this fiscal year is due to more participants...

New Delhi, March 25 Ceigall India announced on Wednesday that it has signed power purchase agreements with the Maharashtra state utility, MSEDCL, for two solar projects with a combined capacity of 337 MW, to be set up at an investment of Rs 1,369 crore.Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (MSEDCL) signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the company's two wholly-owned subsidiaries on March 24, Ceigall India said in an exchange filing.The agreements cover the development of solar photovoltaic power-generating stations with a combined capacity of 337 MW under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana 2.0 (MSKVY 2.0). The first project, with a capacity of 190 MW, will be developed across four districts in...

New Delhi, March 25 The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), a federation of nine unions, on Wednesday demanded the immediate reversal of the unilateral implementation of the revised performance-linked incentive (PLI) formula.The revised PLI formula, proposed by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), is seen by the workforce as a unilateral and divisive departure from the existing settlement-based PLI scheme, which was developed through bilateral discussions and incorporated into the bipartite settlement/joint note framework, UFBU said in a statement.It further pointed out that the matter is already under conciliation before the office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central).During the conciliation proceedings held on March...

Mumbai, March 25 The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has raised serious concerns about the functioning of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) between 2017 and 2022, stating that many industries were found to be operating without the necessary permits and discharging untreated wastewater into water bodies.The "Subject-Specific Compliance Audit" on the role of the MPCB in preventing water pollution, covering the period from 2017-18 to 2021-22, found that despite legal provisions, several industries were operating without obtaining the required consent to establish and operate.The MPCB, which has the power to even order the closure of a plant for violating rules, was found to be lacking in enforcement...

New Delhi, March 25 The market regulator, Sebi, on Wednesday allowed members of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India to conduct the annual audits of research analysts and investment advisors, a move that will expand the pool of eligible professionals.Previously, only members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India were permitted to carry out such audits."Given the representation from the Institute of Cost Accountants of India and considering the recognition of Cost Accountants to conduct annual audits of RAs/IAs under the RA/IA Regulations, it has been decided to modify the aforementioned paragraph to clarify the eligibility of members of the Institute of Cost...

New Delhi, March 25 Omaxe Ltd, a real estate firm that is developing a cricket stadium in Dwarka, the national capital, announced on Wednesday that a key stand with over 1,500 seats will be named after Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of the Indian women's cricket team.In a regulatory filing, Omaxe stated, "The Harmanpreet Kaur Stand, also known as the Pink Stand, will be located in the North (Pavilion) Lower Bowl and will have a total of 1,500+ seats."The stand will be part of a 30,000-seater stadium.Omaxe is building this cricket stadium as part of its 50-acre integrated project, "The Omaxe State," with an investment of approximately Rs 2,500 crore.The stadium is being developed in partnership with DDA (Delhi Development...

New Delhi, March 25 A bill brought by the government to amend the FCRA will significantly tighten its oversight of foreign-funded organizations, proposing the creation of a powerful new authority to seize and manage the assets of non-profits that lose their license.The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Wednesday, entails a comprehensive statutory framework for vesting, supervision, management and disposal of foreign contributions and assets through a 'designated authority', including provisional and permanent vesting.Currently, approximately 16,000 associations are registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA)...

Gandhinagar, March 25 – The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has identified irregularities in the financial management of the Gujarat government, including the misuse of funds, submission of misleading utilization certificates (UCs), and weak monitoring mechanisms.These irregularities were highlighted in the "Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on State Finances for the year 2024-25," which was presented to the state assembly on Wednesday, the last day of its budget session.The audit findings, particularly concerning financial reporting practices, reveal issues with tracking public expenditure and ensuring accountability.One of the key observations relates to the submission of incorrect utilization...

New Delhi, March 25 The Reserve Bank has approved the proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in Sammaan Capital Ltd by a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company.The acquisition by Avenir Investment RSC Ltd also includes the indirect change in control of the wholly-owned subsidiary, Sammaan Finserve Ltd.As part of the transaction, Avenir Investment will inject Rs 8,850 crore through a preferential equity issue, for an initial stake of 41.23 per cent, which could increase to 63.36 per cent upon completion of the open offer, Sammaan Capital said in a regulatory filing.With this key regulatory clearance in place, the transaction now awaits final approval from SEBI, while both parties continue to work towards...

New Delhi, March 25 Since the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana was launched in February 2024, 9,566.89 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar capacity has been added across the country, the government said on Wednesday.Rooftop solar installations in one crore households would generate approximately 1,000 billion units of renewable electricity and reduce 720 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions over a 25-year project life, according to government estimates cited in an official statement.The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana is estimated to create around 17 lakh jobs across manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, sales, and installation services, as well as O&M and financial services, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy stated in its...

New Delhi, March 25 Silver prices surged by Rs 12,861 to Rs 2.36 lakh per kilogram in futures trading on Wednesday, driven by a weak US dollar and easing inflation fears following a correction in crude oil prices.Ending a 10-day decline, the white metal for May delivery soared by Rs 12,861, or nearly 6%, to Rs 2,36,802 per kilogram on the Multi Commodity Exchange.Analysts said the sharp rebound in silver was largely driven by bullish sentiment in precious metals in overseas markets and a weak US dollar."The sharp rebound in silver on Wednesday was driven by a softer US dollar and easing inflation concerns as crude oil prices corrected," said Hareesh V, Head of Commodity Research, Geojit Investments Ltd.He added that the pullback...

New Delhi, March 25 – Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated on Wednesday that the Union Budget includes several "supportive" measures for the middle class and MSMEs, and the government is moving forward with reforms based on conviction and clarity, rather than compulsion.In response to the debate on the Finance Bill 2026 in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said that the fiscal deficit is projected to decrease to 4.3 per cent of GDP in FY27, from 9.3 per cent in FY21, and the country's debt-to-GDP ratio is on a declining path and is lower than most major economies.The Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill 2026 through voice vote after incorporating 32 government amendments.Sitharaman said that the Finance Bill, 2026, is based on five key...