Category: Business & Economy

Venture capitalist Dilip Kumar recently shared his thoughts on employee wellness on social media. He pointed out that many companies make wellness too complicated, which often leads them to miss the mark. According to his post, 64% of employees in India feel stressed and burned out at work. He emphasized that wellness isn’t just about yoga classes, fun office activities, or step challenges.

Kumar explained that the real issue isn’t just working long hours; it’s also about strict work cultures. He noted that being stuck in a rigid 9-to-6 job, sitting in endless meetings, dealing with long commutes, and worrying about family are what truly cause stress. He said that no amount of meditation or exercise can fix these problems.

Kumar, who runs Rainmatter (the investment fund of Zerodha), believes companies should allow workers to have flexible schedules. This means letting employees take breaks to exercise, sleep when they need, or care for their families without feeling guilty. He insisted that the healthiest workers aren’t those who follow wellness programs; they are the ones who can create their own lives.

His views come at a time when many people are talking about work-life balance. In contrast, some well-known figures, like Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Larsen & Toubro Chairman S.N. Subrahmanyan, have faced criticism for promoting long work hours.

In New Delhi, fertilizer stocks were up and down during trading on Monday morning.

Some companies, like Bohra Industries, saw their stocks rise by 4.98%. Others that gained included Madhya Bharat Agro Products (up 2.21%), Sikko Industries (up 1.95%), and Chambal Fertilisers (up 1.26%).

However, not all stocks were doing well. Madras Fertilizers had the biggest drop at 5.59%, followed by Nagarjuna Fertilizers (down 4.21%) and Gujarat State Fertilizer (down 2.61%).

In the broader market, the NSE Nifty50 index fell by 24.66 points, reaching 22904.6. The BSE Sensex dropped 101.2 points to 75838.01 at the same time.

Meanwhile, in the larger Nifty group, some companies like Bajaj Finserv (up 2.34%) and Sun Pharma (up 1.74%) experienced gains. However, Mahindra & Mahindra’s stock dropped by 3.26%, indicating that not all companies were thriving.

In Friday’s trading session, some of the most popular stocks were HDFC Bank (Rs. 1,687.06 crores), Godfrey Philips (Rs. 1,684.72 crores), ICICI Bank (Rs. 1,300.69 crores), Reliance Industries Ltd. (Rs. 1,251.33 crores), and BSE (Rs. 1,235.51 crores). Other notable trades included Deepak Nitrite (Rs. 1,144.47 crores), Infosys (Rs. 976.58 crores), Bharti Airtel (Rs. 878.92 crores), HAL (Rs. 841.61 crores), and Mazagon Dock Ship (Rs. 840.93 crores).

The NSE Nifty index fell by 102.16 points and ended at 22,929.25, while the BSE Sensex dropped 199.76 points to finish at 75,939.21.

On the Nifty index, Britannia Industries Ltd. saw an increase of 1.05%, followed by ICICI Bank Ltd. at 0.90%, Nestle India Ltd. at 0.85%, Infosys Ltd. at 0.72%, and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. at 0.64%.

In contrast, some stocks lost value: Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. decreased by 4.40%, Bharat Electronics Ltd. by 4.29%, Adani Enterprises Ltd. by 4.11%, Trent Ltd. by 2.66%, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. by 2.63%.

NEW DELHI: The Nifty IT index was going down around 10:45 AM (IST) on Friday as the overall market was weak. HCL Technologies was up by 0.59%, and Tata Consultancy Services rose by 0.14%, making them the top winners. On the other hand, Persistent Systems fell by 2.19%, while Coforge dropped by 1.85%. MphasiS was down by 1.31%, LTIMindtree fell by 1.06%, and Infosys was down by 0.4%, making them the biggest losers in the IT sector.

At that time, the Nifty IT index was down by 0.35%, sitting at 41,171.4. Meanwhile, the main NSE Nifty50 index dropped by 109.21 points to 22,922.2, and the BSE Sensex fell by 295.33 points to 75,843.64. Out of the 50 stocks in the Nifty, only 8 were doing well, while 42 were struggling.

Some of the most traded shares on the NSE included Vodafone Idea, YES Bank, Tata Steel, Manappuram Finance, and SAIL. Notably, Norben Tea Exp, Aarvee Denims, and SBI Card reached new 52-week highs today. On the flip side, stocks like MITCON Const & Engg.(PP), Concord Enviro Syste, Deepak Nitrite, Veto Switchgear, and JHS Svendgaard hit fresh 52-week lows in trading.

Air India is set to boost its international flight options starting March 30 to make travel easier for everyone. The airline will add more flights to popular destinations, especially in the UK.

Here’s what to expect:

– Delhi to Heathrow: Air India will add three more flights every week, increasing the total to 24 flights from the current 21.
– Amritsar to Birmingham: Flight frequency will rise from three to four times a week.
– Amritsar to London Gatwick: This route will also increase from three to four flights each week.
– Ahmedabad to Gatwick: Flights will jump from three to five times a week.
– Delhi to Zurich: These flights will increase from four to five each week.
– Delhi to Vienna: This will go from three to four flights a week.
– Delhi to Seoul (Incheon): More demand means flights will go from four to five times weekly.
– Delhi to Hong Kong: The airline will upgrade to a more spacious Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flying every day.

In Africa, Air India will add one more flight each week between Delhi and Nairobi, bringing it to four flights weekly.

Air India is also working on modernizing its fleet. The first Boeing 787 aircraft will get new seats and an upgraded entertainment system starting in April 2025. The revamped planes will be back in service by October 2025. They plan to upgrade all 27 older planes by bringing in two to three improved ones each month.

However, due to this aircraft modernization, Air India will temporarily stop some flights. The Mumbai-Melbourne route will be suspended from March 30 to September 13, 2025. Similarly, the Kochi to London Gatwick flight will also be paused from March 30, 2025, until further notice.

Renault, a French car company that owns a big part of Nissan, decided to stop the merger plan with Honda. According to a Bloomberg report, Renault felt that the deal wasn’t fair because it didn’t include any extra payment, which they wanted, given their investment in Nissan.

Renault owns 36% of Nissan and wanted some extra money since they would be giving up their control. There were worries about how the merger would work. Even though it was called a merger, it seemed more like Honda would take over Nissan.

Honda and Nissan wanted to join forces to compete better against other car brands, especially with the rise of electric vehicles from Chinese companies like BYD. However, Nissan has been facing many challenges, including financial struggles and issues stemming from the arrest of its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, back in 2018. They are now expecting to lose a lot of money this year.

Renault has shown its support for Nissan’s efforts to recover and said it would keep helping with joint projects.

NEW DELHI: In today’s trading, several companies, including Albert David, Swelect Energy, Kavita Fabrics, W S Industries, and Balaxi Pharma, hit their lowest stock prices in a year. On the stock market, the NSE Nifty dropped by 13.85 points to finish at 23031.4, while the BSE Sensex fell by 32.11 points, with a closing value of 76138.97.

On the brighter side, companies like Redington, Muthoot Finance, Dr. Agarwals Health, SBI Card, and Norben Tea Exp reached their highest stock prices in a year. In the Nifty 50 index, the biggest winners included Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, and Cipla, celebrating strong performances today.

However, some companies like Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports SEZ, Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, and ONGC saw their stock prices drop the most.

On Thursday, the Nifty Pharma index saw a nice boost, closing higher. The biggest winners were:

– Ipca Laboratories Ltd.: up 5.01%
– J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.: up 3.55%
– Mankind Pharma Ltd.: up 3.25%
– Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.: up 3.1%
– Aurobindo Pharma Ltd.: up 3.1%

However, not all companies did well. The biggest losers were:

– Natco Pharma Ltd.: down 20.0%
– Abbott India Ltd.: down 1.47%
– Ajanta Pharma Ltd.: down 0.78%
– Gland Pharma Ltd.: down 0.18%
– Laurus Labs Ltd.: down 0.01%

The Nifty Pharma index ended up 1.35% at 21,427.1 points. In contrast, the main Nifty50 index fell by 13.85 points to settle at 23,031.4, while the BSE Sensex dropped by 32.11 points to reach 76,138.97.

Among the 50 stocks in the Nifty index, half went up, while the other half went down. Some of the most traded stocks included Vodafone Idea, Tata Steel, YES Bank, Suzlon Energy, and SAIL.

Additionally, stocks like Redington, Muthoot Finance, Dr. Agarwals Health, SBI Card, and Norben Tea Exp reached their highest prices in a year. Meanwhile, Albert David, Swelect Energy, Kavita Fabrics, W S Industries, and Balaxi Pharma hit their lowest prices in a year.

On February 13, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the new Income Tax Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha. This new bill aims to make tax laws in India simpler and easier to understand. The old Income Tax Act, created in 1961 and changed many times, was too complicated and long. It included 47 chapters and 819 sections, and over 65 amendments made it difficult to follow.

The tax department explained that the old law became “bulky” because it was based on traditional writing styles and had many updates. They pointed out that the new law is necessary to keep up with changes in society and the law.

Many politicians in the opposition questioned why a new bill was needed. The government answered that the new law will help in multiple ways:

– Simplifying Language: The aim is to make the tax law easy to read and understand.
– Reducing Confusion: They want to clear up any confusing parts to lessen arguments and court cases.
– Easier Procedures: The new law will make tax processes simpler for everyone involved, giving more certainty to taxpayers.

The government wants to remove unnecessary rules, improve the structure of the law, and make it more readable. In July 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that a major review of the Income Tax Act was planned, aiming to complete it in six months.

The drafting of this new bill started in August 2024. A core committee and 26 sub-committees worked together, gathering information and ideas from both domestic experts and international examples, like those from the UK and Australia.

During consultations, they collected around 21,000 responses from various sectors and received over 1,800 ideas for making the tax process simpler.

Key Differences:
– The old Income Tax Act had 5.12 lakh words, while the new Bill has 2.6 lakh words.
– The new Bill has 23 chapters and 536 sections compared to the old one’s 47 chapters and 819 sections.
– The new Bill includes 57 tables, eliminating unnecessary explanations found in the old Act.

Overall, the new Income Tax Bill is designed to make paying taxes easier for everyone.

Adani Green Energy Ltd has decided not to go ahead with two planned wind power projects in Sri Lanka. This is after the Sri Lankan government asked for lower electricity prices. According to a letter from the Adani Group, these projects were meant to be built in Mannar and Pooneryn and could have brought in $1 billion to the country.

The new government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, wants to lower the electricity price to less than 6 US cents per unit. Previously, the agreement was to buy electricity at 8.26 US cents. This decision comes at a time when the Adani Group is facing challenges in other countries too. They are dealing with unpaid bills in Bangladesh and canceled projects in Kenya due to a bribery investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The Sri Lankan wind projects would have helped Adani grow its green energy business worldwide, especially since they planned to send electricity from Sri Lanka to India, connecting the two countries’ power grids.

In the stock market, Adani Green Energy’s shares were trading at ₹918.75 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, up by 0.19%. Meanwhile, Adani Enterprises Ltd saw a drop in shares, trading at ₹2,251.80, down by 4.31%.