'Hard work is the key, whether it is in studies or in sport. Nobody is born with a golden spoon.'
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu emphasises the importance of education for aspiring athletes, highlighting the risks of focusing solely on sports and the lifelong value of academics.
Biryani is set to get its own valuation. Devyani International, the largest franchisee of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) quick-service restaurants (QSRs) in India, is considering the acquisition of Sky Gate Hospitality, which operates restaurants under the brand Biryani By Kilo (BBK), it said in a statement to BSE on Monday.
The restaurant chains are riding the Hallyu wave -- a phenomenon about the growing global prominence of South Korean pop culture.
Six of the 12 Indian badminton players were barred from participating at the World University Games due to an alleged administrative lapse.
Even as the near-term outlook for the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry remains muted, brokerages are positive about the prospects of Sapphire Foods India. Their preference for the QSR chain comes on the back of the steady performance of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), superior execution and reasonable valuations. The Sapphire Foods stock is up 11 per cent since the start of November.
Retail investors-those investing up to Rs 200,000-lapped up all the four initial public offerings (IPOs) that opened for subscription on Wednesday. This is the first time since 2007 that four IPOs have been launched on a single day, according to information provided by Prime Database. KFC and Pizza Hut franchisee Devyani International (size Rs 1,838 crore); Diagnostic chains Krsnaa Diagnostics (Rs 1,213 crore), pharmaceutical firm Windlas Biotech (Rs 401 crore) and vitrified tiles manufacturer Exxaro Tiles (Rs 161 crore) are the four companies whose IPOs opened on Wednesday.
It may be a little early to cheer the recovery in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space as a deceleration in discretionary demand, after the festival season, may offset fragile rural recovery, analysts have cautioned. "The overall demand environment for staples remains muted, while discretionary demand trends have seen some deceleration after the festival season. "We believe margins in staples have bottomed out, but we expect only a gradual uptick with the ongoing softening in raw material prices.
Notwithstanding the inflation pinch, analysts believe the Indian retail sector is on the 'cusp of accelerated earnings growth' as consumer sentiment and discretionary purchases bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic. "The shift in consumer preference from the unorganised sector to the organised, coupled with uptick in domestic demand as people resume work from office, will cheer the Indian retail sector," says Nishit Master, portfolio manager, Axis Securities. Shopping malls are witnessing increased footfall in lower tier towns and standalone stores as consumption picks up and mobility improves.
Except for Westlife Foodworld (Westlife), a weak 2022-23 (FY23) January-March (fourth quarter, or Q4) quarter performance and a muted near-term outlook led to a downward revision of earnings estimates for quick-service restaurant (QSR) players. Brokerages have slashed estimates by as much as 10 per cent for 2023-24 (FY24) and 2024-25 (FY25). The downward revisions have weighed on the performance of listed players, who have underperformed the market with low single-digit returns over the past month.
The dent on India-US relations caused by L'affaire Devyani will not remain for long as those will be determined by strategic and economic considerations, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Prime Minister Modi should sit with Trump and find a solution to this issue.'
The world's largest coffee chain, Seattle-based Starbucks, is close to hiring its India head. Tata Starbucks Limited, the $10.7-billion American group's joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, has zeroed in on Virag Joshi as managing director for India operations, according to market sources.
Start-ups Zomato, PB Fintech, One97 Communications, and FSN E-Commerce Ventures have entered the large-cap category after the latest reclassification exercise by the Association of Mutual funds in India (Amfi). This comes despite stocks such as PB Fintech (Policybazaar) and One 97 Communication (Paytm) trading below their issue price. Others such as Mindtree, SRF, IRCTC, Tata Power, JSW Energy have been moved from mid-cap to large-cap category.
After its tie-up with master franchising group, Devyani International Ltd, Walt Disney launched on Saturday its first merchandise store in India, which will sell its branded kids products.
The recent equity market weakness has sobered up investor mood, but the coming festive season is keeping analysts upbeat on stocks related to the consumption basket. Among the lot, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and consumer electronics segments are expected to do well over the next few months, and investors should thus selectively take bets in these pockets, analysts suggest. "We expect good volume growth for the FMCG sector during the festive season with some improvement in rural demand.
'We deeply apologise for a post that was published on some KFC social media channels outside the country. We honour and respect India, and remain steadfast in our commitment to serving all Indians with pride,' according to a message on KFC India official account on Twitter.
'If at all,' says Suhasini Haidar, Foreign Affairs Editor, CNN-IBN, 'Devyani Khobragade is to avoid facing a full trial, the process of that negotiation must start immediately, for which the current acrimonious atmosphere must be improved. It is no more than the US was willing to do for Raymond Davis; the Italian government for its sailors; and India for Captain Sunil James and Vijayan in Togo. Devyani Khobragade is not accused of charges anywhere as serious they were, and whether Preet Bharara's office recognises it or not, she is a diplomat who represents a proud country that has taken the insult to her as a personal insult to the country.'
'How can Devyani sitting in New York and I in Mumbai arm-twist the maid's family?' Uttam Khobragade challenges Preet Bharara's version of events in this interview to Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.
Devyani Khobragade, deputy consul general at the Indian Consulate in New York, who was arrested two weeks ago on changes of allegedly submitting fraudulent documents in support of her maid and babysitter to the US State Department, will have to appear in court on January 13.
The National Domestic Workers Alliance and the United Workers Congress have called for an International Day of Action to support Sangeeta Richard, who had been hired by Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade as a domestic help and babysitter.
'Devyani represents some of the best things about the Indian mission -- our ambassadors of soft power. Young, humane, open to ideas with a deep commitment to her country and the work she does.' Human rights activist Suchitra Vijayan on the Devyani Khobragade she knows.
With India locked in a face-off with the United States over the arrest of senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade, Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam on Thursday said such things should not happen to high-level officials.
Asserting that its demand after Devyani Khobragade's arrest is not unreasonable, India has said the case is not about mistreatment of a domestic employee but rather of US laws being gamed for immigration purposes.
Fundraising activity in the upcoming financial year 2022-23 may even surpass FY22 when 52 Indian companies raised a record Rs 1.11 trillion via initial public offerings (IPOs). According to a note by PRIME Database, 54 companies (including LIC) plan to raise Rs 1.4 trillion and currently hold the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) approval. Another 43 companies, the note said, are looking to raise about Rs 81,000 crore but waiting for Sebi nod.
In further retaliatory steps over the arrest of diplomat Devyani Khobragade, India has asked the United States to "discontinue" commercial activities being undertaken from its embassy premises in New Delhi by January 16.
The IPO rush will continue in September with two more companies Vijaya Diagnostic Centre and Ami Organics launching their initial share-sales on Wednesday to raise a total of Rs 2,465 crore. This comes after eight companies including Devyani International, Nuvoco Vistas Corporation and CarTrade Tech floated their initial share-sales last month to mobilise Rs 18,243 crore. So far in the current fiscal, a total of 20 companies have mopped up more than Rs 45,000 crore through IPOs. This is much higher than Rs 31,277 crore raised by 30 firms in the entire 2020-21.
He has drawn fresh strategies to take his businesses to the next level.
At least five companies looking to raise a cumulative Rs 6,595 crore could launch their initial public offerings (IPOs) next month after a busy August that saw eight IPOs. On Thursday, south-based diagnostic chain Vijaya Diagnostics announced its plans for a Rs 1,895-crore IPO. Ami Organics will announce its plans for a Rs 600-crore issue on Friday.
Jaipuria has not specified the amount he is looking to raise, but says this is the right time to tap the capital markets.
Of the 59 IPOs for which the data is available, 36 IPOs received mega responses of more than 10x (of which, six IPOs more than 100x), while eight IPOs were oversubscribed more than 3x.
The primary issue market has hit an all-time high with 63 corporates raising Rs 1,18,704 crore through main-board initial public offerings (IPOs) so far in 2021, which is nearly 4.5 times more than the Rs 26,613 crore raised through 15 issues in 2020 and almost double of the previous best of Rs 68,827 crore in 2017, according to a report. Pranav Haldea, managing director of Prime Database Group, said the IPO frenzy was driven by new-age loss-making technology start-ups along with strong retail participation, and the resultant massive listing gains were the key highlights of the year. Another highlight was only 51 per cent or Rs 103,621 crore of the total Rs 202,009 crore was fresh capital raising and the remaining Rs 98,388 crore were offers for sale.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
'...to prevent this episode from disrupting ongoing cooperation.' 'The discovery of this plot had the potential to derail much of what has been achieved in the relationship during this administration's tenure -- I don't think that fact has been sufficiently appreciated in India.'
The buzz in the IPO market continues with four companies launching their initial share sales this week to raise over Rs 14,628 crore collectively. This comes after four companies -- Devyani International, Krsnaa Diagnostics, Windlas Biotech and Exxaro Tiles-- launched their initial share-sales last week to mobilise Rs 3,614 crore. So far in the current fiscal, 16 companies have raised Rs 30,666 crore through IPOs against Rs 31,277 crore by 30 firms in the entire 2020-21. Going forward, market analysts expect the IPO environment to remain buzzing during the entire 2021-22.
'This incident offers ammunition to those inside the US government and elsewhere who question the wisdom of trusting India, so it will have a lasting consequence no matter how it is managed.'
Hectic fundraising through initial public offerings (IPOs) is expected in October-November, with at least 30 companies are looking to collectively raise over Rs 45,000 crore through initial share-sales, merchant banking sources said. Of the total fundraising, a large chunk would be garnered by technology-driven companies. The successful IPO of food delivery company Zomato, which was overwhelmingly subscribed by over 38 times, encouraged new-age tech companies to come out with their primary share-sales.
Stock market minnows put up a stellar show in 2021 giving returns of up to 60 per cent amid Dalal Street dream run and are likely to continue sailing northwards in the New Year too. Trumping pandemic-induced uncertainties, the Indian equity market posted stunning gains this year achieving several feats and smaller stocks benefited the most from the strong momentum. From reaching the momentous 50,000-mark in January to scaling 61,000-level in October, the BSE Sensex had an epic journey this year.
Initial share sales are set to dazzle the Dalal Street in 2022 too as companies are expected to garner up to Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the New Year, continuing with the bullish momentum after 2021 turned out to be the best IPO year in two decades for the Indian market. Excessive liquidity and increased retail investor participation ensured a persistent euphoria in the Initial Public Offer (IPO) space wherein companies mopped up more than Rs 1.2 lakh crore this year even as pandemic gloom shadowed the broader economy. In 2022, the higher amount of funds through the primary market will be largely driven by the mega IPO of state-owned Life Insurance Corp (LIC).
The youngsters in Mismatched look like angels. There are no bullies, no mean girl cliques -- they are all a mostly cheerful, helpful, clean-cut lot, for whom kissing and mild swearing is about as naughty as they dare, observes Deepa Gahlot. Mismatched Season 2 Review
