A three-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul was hearing the pleas seeking reconsideration of the July 27, 2022 verdict by a three-judge bench on certain parameters.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd on Thursday reported a 10.7 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 2,100 crore for the first quarter ended June, 2021 led by a volume-based growth despite challenging circumstances due to the second wave of the pandemic. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,897 crore in the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal. Net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 11,996 crore, up 13.49 per cent, as against Rs 10,570 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said in a regulatory filing.
There is nothing "fundamentally inconsistent" with a minority institution being an institution of national importance (INI), the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while hearing arguments on the vexed issue of minority status to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
The bench refused to entertain the plea filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms and dismissed it.
Grappling with the intractable issue of Aligarh Muslim University's minority status, the Supreme Court said on Thursday the 1981 amendment to the AMU Act, which effectively accorded it a minority status, only did a "half-hearted job" and not restore to the institution the position it had prior to 1951.
UK-headquartered consumer goods giant Unilever on Tuesday announced a major organisational shakeup to make the company leaner, which involves some of its Indian-origin executives, and plans to lay off 1,500 staff as part of the wider restructuring of its global operations. Sanjiv Mehta retains executive leadership of Mumbai-headquartered subsidiary Hindustan Unilever, while Unilever chief operating officer (COO) Nitin Paranjpe will take on a new role as chief transformation officer & chief people officer, leading the business transformation and heading the HR function for the transformed organisation. The company said Sunny Jain, president of beauty & personal care, has decided to leave Unilever to set up an "investment fund in technology megatrends".
Indian consumers are likely to get respite from rising prices just before the festival season. Some consumer companies, including automakers, have indicated that they are planning to pause price hikes just before demand picks up in August, while keeping a close eye on volatile raw material prices.
The bench took on record the statement of senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari for Tamil Nadu that there are no restrictions on 'puja archana' in temples or live telecast of consecration ceremony at Ayodhya.
After navigating the turbulent pandemic waves, the recovering Indian economy is now sailing through unchartered waters of rising coronavirus cases, spiralling commodity prices and spiking inflation though the lighthouse of sustainable growth remains visible. As 2022 begins, a raft of developments, ranging from Budgetary announcements to continuation of stimulus measures to monetary policy, will set the tone for the domestic economy, which is projected to grow more than 9 per cent in the current fiscal ending March 2022. The country's continuing massive vaccination drive and 'precaution' doses starting for select categories of people this month will provide a firewall against any steep spike in coronavirus cases amid the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Sanjiv Mehta, chairman of the country's largest consumer goods company, HUL, believes that the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic between April and June this year has been a mere pause in India's consumption story, and that it will not change the country's overall growth trajectory. India is poised for growth, especially in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, Mehta told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday. The signs of recovery are becoming evident with many states lifting lockdown restrictions in recent weeks.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked National Conference leader Mohammed Akbar Lone to file an affidavit swearing allegiance to the Constitution of India and accepting the country's sovereignty, after the 'Pakistan zindabad' slogan that he allegedly raised in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly in 2018 kicked up a massive row.
How does it matter for people whether the Aligarh Muslim University is a minority institution or not when it has continued to be an institute of national importance without the minority tag, the Supreme Court said on Thursday as it underlined that the intent of Article 30 of the Constitution is not to "ghettoise the minority".
'The classic thing we need as a country is the virtuous cycle where you have robust demand which leads to more capital spending which in turn leads to more job creation and more money in the hands of people.'
Glimpses of some of the team owners at the IPL auction on Saturday.
Rather than move up the echelons of finance management, he was part of crisis management at his first employer, and then the commercial head of home and personal care products and, lately, chairman of Middle East and North Africa for Unilever, the second-largest fast-moving consumer goods company in the world.
'For our traditional membership base, it would be an access to disruptive ideas,' FICCI President Subhrakant Panda tells Asit Mishra/Business Standard.
'There will always be a challenge to maintain a fine balance to ensure that the growth keeps happening and inflation is contained.'
A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Prashant Kumar Mishra, which heard the matter in a special hearing, urged the Chief Justice of India to assign the matter to a larger bench.
Clearly, the domestic market has taken sharp knocks in April, which is likely to be visible in May as well, said analysts tracking the market, as FMCG companies are grappling with improving capacity utilisation and dealing with labour shortage.
Was the decision taken by the Centre on August 5, 2019 to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, constitutionally valid? The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on Monday on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370.
However, the government's draft policy on e-commerce companies has forced consumer companies to also adapt to the changes. For Dabur India, e-commerce channel continues to be a key driver of growth in urban India. The contribution of online sales to its entire portfolio is at six per cent compared to 1.5 per cent before the pandemic.
The Indian IT services sector is scrambling to retain talent since digitisation-led transformation has increased the demand for a digitally skilled workforce. As a result, the pull for jobs for tech professionals is also coming from non-IT sectors, leading to higher attrition among IT companies. The average number of tech jobs from non-IT sectors has seen a 41 per cent uptick in March-May'21 versus March-May'19, according to data from Naukri.com.
In May, Satpal Singh, who runs a dairy business with three buffaloes in Jewar, near Noida, was worried about the steep spike in input costs. Singh said dry fodder rates, which cost Rs 1,500-2000 per tractor trolley last year, were quoting at Rs 4,500-5,000. The price of other cattle feed ingredients (that include mustard meal and similar mixes) had also gone up from Rs 2,000 per quintal to Rs 3,100-3,200 per quintal.
60-65 per cent of the FMCG industry's overall sales come from urban areas; 35-40 per cent from rural areas.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Wednesday a plea by social activist Teesta Setalvad challenging the Gujarat high court order which had rejected her plea for regular bail and directed her to surrender immediately in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence to frame innocent people in 2002 post-Godhra riots cases.
The bench posed questions to senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for one of the petitioners Soayib Qureshi, who has challenged the Centre's August 5, 2019 decision to abrogate the provision.
In an emphatic victory for the Modi government, the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld its decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution that bestowed special status upon the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, ordered restoration of statehood "at the earliest" and set a September 30, 2024, deadline for holding the assembly elections.
Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt wants BJP chief Amit Shah to be made a respondent for allegedly foisting wrong criminal cases against him, former additional solicitor general Indira Jaising tells Prasanna Zore/Rediff.com
In spite of a severe second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and a widespread disruption in public life therefore, India's fast-moving consumer goods (FMGC) sector seems to have emerged as one of the most resilient segments of the economy. The early numbers and estimates for the April-June quarter indicate a steady recovery in FMCG players' business, which is now set to exceed the pre-pandemic level. Amid nationwide lockdowns because of the first Covid wave, FMCG revenues had been severely affected in mid-2020.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for Gujarat, told a bench headed by Justice UU Lalit that a response to Setalvad's petition is ready but it requires some corrections.
Experts point to the higher contribution of rural from the north for the growth reported by the region, a point endorsed by companies who've been pushing their presence aggressively there.
Sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 9,357 crore, up 12.42 per cent, as against Rs 8,323 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal
Most companies reporting an improvement in operating margins in Q1 as they cut ad spends and other expenses.
India will be the global host this year for World Environment Day, with the theme "Beat Plastic Pollution".
While sales momentum from rural areas may last another three to six months, sales growth in urban areas could stage a comeback by next year's June quarter as people learn to live with the coronavirus and economic activity gradually improves in the cities.
FMCG CEOs indicate that the market should stabilise post the general elections and that some growth should make its way back especially in rural areas
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will commence day-to-day hearing from August 2 on a batch of petitions challenging abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to clarify its stand on whether it wants to go ahead with its curative petition seeking Rs 7,844 crore as additional funds from successor firms of the US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) for giving compensation to victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
"Taking forward the brand's journey towards a more inclusive vision of beauty, the company will stop using the word 'Fair' in the brand name 'Fair & Lovely'. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals and we expect to change the name in the next few months," Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said in a statement. As part of the rebranding, the company will also be announcing the new name for the 'Fair & Lovely' Foundation, set up in 2003 to offer scholarships to women to help them pursue their education.
FMCG has been behaving unlike a defensive category in recent quarters.