Top of the Morning

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Friday, February 7, 2025. This is Nelson John, let's get started.

State Bank of India (SBI) posted a net profit of ₹16,891 crore for Q3 FY25, an 84.3% year-on-year surge. Chairman C.S. Setty highlighted a pickup in private capital expenditure, though sectors like steel remain sluggish, report Anshika Kayastha and Gopika Gopakumar. Despite these headwinds, SBI's corporate loan pipeline remains solid, with ₹4.8 trillion in sanctioned or under-process loans as of December-end. Setty is confident about meeting the bank’s 14-16% credit growth target for FY25, supported by budget measures aimed at boosting disposable income and consumption, which are expected to fuel credit demand.

Global private equity giant Blackstone is exploring a potential sale of its majority stake in Bengaluru-based digital learning platform Simplilearn, report Mansi Verma and Sneha Shah. This comes more than three years after its initial $250 million investment. A Simplilearn spokesperson, however, has denied any plans for an exit or the appointment of investment bankers.Since acquiring over 60% of Simplilearn in 2021, Blackstone has seen the company recalibrate its strategy amid a broader slowdown in the edtech sector. Once focused on rapid expansion, Simplilearn has pivoted toward profitability, cutting its FY24 Ebitda losses by 75% by discontinuing select programs and doubling down on core offerings. This shift reflects the broader challenges in edtech, where reduced funding and the return of physical classes post-COVID have pushed many firms to prioritize sustainability over aggressive growth.

Employees expecting bigger pay hikes this year may be in for a disappointment, as salary increments are set to be lower than last year’s, which were already the smallest in nearly a decade. Consultants and firms Devina Sengupta and Samiksha Goel spoke to cited slower corporate earnings and economic growth as key reasons for tighter budgets and more conservative raises. According to Aon's Annual Salary Increase and Turnover Survey 2023-24, the average salary hike stood at 9.3% in 2024, down from 9.7% in 2023. The outlook for 2025 is even softer, with Mercer forecasting an average increase of 9.4%, a sharp decline from the peak of 10.6% in 2022. With companies shifting focus from aggressive hiring to retaining top talent, some are offering unique perks—such as exclusive credit cards—to keep key employees engaged. However, only a select group of high performers is likely to see significant pay bumps.

In a high-profile insider trading case, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has barred two former IT executives, Keyur Maniar and Ramit Chaudhri, from the securities market for a year. Maniar, a former senior vice president at Wipro, and Chaudhri, previously with Infosys, were found guilty of trading on confidential information about Infosys’ $1.89 billion deal with Vanguard before its public announcement on July 14, 2020. Sebi’s investigation revealed that Chaudhri shared details of the deal with Maniar, who then made ₹2.6 crore in profits from trading Infosys shares. The regulator’s surveillance system flagged unusual trading activity around the announcement, leading to a probe that confirmed the misuse of unpublished price-sensitive information. Jas Bardia and Varun Sood take a deep dive into the Sebi probe and how the case unfolded.

Recent hits like Singham Again, Animal, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 reveal a trend where most box office earnings are concentrated in the first week of release. Over 60% of a film's total revenue often comes within its opening days, signalling a shift towards shorter theatre runs. Lata Jha speaks with Rahul Puri of Mukta Arts, who notes that films now face immense pressure to perform immediately, especially with the quick transition to streaming platforms. For movies relying on word-of-mouth to gain traction, this presents a unique challenge. Devang Sampat from Cinepolis India emphasizes that while the opening weekend is key, sustaining positive reviews is crucial for a film’s long-term success.

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Monday, February 10, 2025. This is Nelson John, let's get started.

Air traffic is booming in India. Manufacturers are actively seeking deals at the Aero India exhibition, highlighting the country's potential. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is set to hold its annual general meeting in June in New Delhi, a testament to India's growing market influence.

According to Airbus India's Remi Maillard, “ India is now the third-largest air market globally, after the U.S. and China”. Boeing's Salil Gupte echoed this sentiment, calling India the most dynamic and exciting market. The civil aviation ministry claims a meteoric rise in the sector, with traffic growth projected over seven percent annually until 2043.

Although rail travel remains popular, it's often slow and chaotic. Boeing estimates that converting just two percent of daily train users to air travel could double the air market, given the current low per capita air travel of 0.12 compared to 0.46 in China.

Going by these statistics, the Indian market will need at least 2,835 new aircraft in the next 20 years, and all major players like Indigo, Airbus and Air India are gunning for the Next big leap in the airline sector.

Ola Electric will need to consistently sell 50,000 units every month in order to achieve profitability, says founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Bhavish Aggarwal.

To be sure, Ola Electric has faced considerable criticism due to widespread customer complaints about poor service centre experience. In September last year, Mint reported that Ola’s service centre backlogs had risen to 80,000 customer complaints per month.

Speaking to an analyst, Aggarwal claimed that the company had recaptured its market leadership in terms of volumes with 25,000 units sold in January.

The company has consistently been under pressure, with Ola Electric’s shares losing about 2% on Friday alone to settle at ₹70 apiece on the BSE—only 8% off its all-time low. The company has suffered a quarterly net loss of ₹564 crore in the last quarter of 2024.

Aggarwal, however, claimed that the company “maintained a steady industry leadership with a market share of over 25%.”

The recent deportation of 104 illegal migrants to India by the US government has sparked controversy in the Indian Parliament. In the midst of this debate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the United States from February 12 to 13, where he will engage in discussions with President Donald Trump, as quoted by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Earlier, on January 27, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi held a conversation focused on immigration matters and the importance of India purchasing more American-made security equipment.

The United States is India's largest trading partner, with two-way trade surpassing $118 billion in 2023/24, and India recording a trade surplus of $32 billion.

As a strategic partner of the United States, India will aim to enhance trade relations, simplify access to skilled worker visas and review import tariffs on over 30 items, including luxury cars, and solar cells, potentially boosting imports from the US amid rising global trade tensions.

4)

The Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee (MPC) on Friday cut the key policy interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% to support growth. At a post-policy press conference, new RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra spoke on a range of issues such as implementation of the proposed guidelines on liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), working with the government on various recommendations, geopolitical developments, and the cost of policy actions on regulated entities.

It is not only about stability, the implementation of LCR norms comes at a cost. It requires a strict impact analysis and enough time to be implemented.

While the Rupee depreciation puts pressure on inflation, a higher worry is how global uncertainties would pan out.

5)

Religare Enterprises Ltd chairperson Rashmi Saluja informed shareholders at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday that she was not retiring as a director, a move that stumped shareholders and proxy advisory firms. However, a third of Religare's investors told Mint that they had voted against Saluja’s reappointment as director. Manendra Singh, partner at law firm Economic Laws Practice revealed that "Under the Companies Act, 2013, the chairman can regulate the manner in which voting is conducted, but cannot take away the voting rights of its members.” The Burman family, which owns a little over 25% of Religare, got approvals fro...

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