Innholdsfortegnelse for 3 August 2025 i Business Today

Today, we stand at a moment of reckoning with the rise of artificial intelligence. Unlike past shifts, AI is reshaping the very architecture of the internet and reconfiguring vast swathes of business and human endeavour. Preceding this AI inflection point was the Covid-19 pandemic—a global event that didn’t just push us indoors but transformed the way we interact with the world around us. How we work, shop, consume content, and entertain ourselves has been irreversibly altered. This dramatic shift in consumer behaviour in India, accelerated by a rapid embrace of digital, lies at the heart of this issue’s cover story by Krishna Gopalan. The `18,700-crore Indian film industry is facing its moment of truth. The chaos traces back to the pandemic-era OTT gold rush, when platforms competed fiercely for releases,…

THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on July 3 banned the US-based proprietary trading firm Jane Street from the Indian securities market on charges of manipulation. Between January 2023 and March 2025, Jane Street Group made a total profit of more than ₹35,000 crore across all trading activities in Indian markets. Unlawful gains for the period was around ₹4,843 crore and the same has been deposited by the company in an escrow account. Overall, a significant chunk—₹43,289 crore for the same period—was derived from trading index options, although this was partly reduced by ₹7,687 crore in losses from activities in cash and futures segments. Investors have been on the receiving end of such market manipulations. A recent analysis by Sebi revealed that nine out of 10 investors lost…

IT IS NOT easy to achieve sustainability at scale, especially when there are multiple business operations. In an interview with Business Today, Anup Sahay, Head, Corporate Strategy & Special Initiatives, L&T, elaborates on how the company has fared on sustainability so far. Edited excerpts: What makes the L&T sustainability story a complex one? When you speak of carbon footprint coming into the world, what comes to mind are hard-to-abate industries like power, transportation, metals, and chemicals. We are not in that set. Construction as an activity itself contributes less than 2% of global emissions. “THE TEAM WORKED TOWARDS A TIMELINE FOR BEING CARBON NEUTRAL… WILL ACHIEVE WATER NEUTRALITY BY 2035 AND CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2040” But we still have another context, which is unique to us or companies like us. We…

FILM/LANGUAGE ► Vettaiyan/Tamil RELEASE DATE/STAR CAST ► October, 2024/Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan BUDGET: ₹300 CR DOMESTIC/OVER-SEAS COLLECTION ► ₹175/85 CR TOTAL COLLECTION ₹260 CR FILM/LANGUAGE ► Sikandar/Hindi RELEASE DATE/STAR CAST ► March, 2025/Salman Khan, Rashmika Mandanna BUDGET: ₹200 CR  DOMESTIC/OVER-SEAS COLLECTION ► ₹130/58 CR TOTAL COLLECTION ₹188 CR FILM/LANGUAGE ► Game Changer/Telugu RELEASE DATE/STAR CAST ► January, 2025/Ram Charan, Kiara Advani BUDGET: ₹350 CR DOMESTIC/OVERSEAS COLLECTION ► ₹130/50 CR TOTAL COLLECTION ₹180 CR FILM/LANGUAGE ► Indian 2/Tamil RELEASE DATE/STAR CAST ► July, 2024/Kamal Haasan, Siddharth BUDGET: ₹300 CR  DOMESTIC/OVER-SEAS COLLECTION ► ₹100/51 CR TOTAL COLLECTION ₹151 CR FILM/LANGUAGE ► Vidaamuyarchi/Tamil RELEASE DATE/STAR CAST ► February, 2025/Ajith, Arjun, Trisha BUDGET: ₹200 CR  DOMESTIC/OVER-SEAS COLLECTION ► ₹96/40 CR TOTAL COLLECTION ₹136 CR FILM/LANGUAGE ► Kanguva/Tamil RELEASE DATE/STAR CAST ► November, 2024/Suriya, Bobby Deol…

ASUTOSH PADHI, an IIT and IIM graduate, is the Chicago-based Senior Partner and Global Leader for Firm Strategy at McKinsey & Company. In an interview with BT, he talks about how companies can navigate the many disruptions they face at this moment. Edited excerpts: With the global economy in a state of flux, what are you hearing from CEOs of global companies about their concerns? The I have been spending a lot of time with CEOs around the world, and I would say that two topics are consistently on their minds. The first one is geopolitics, given all the uncertainty around tariffs and trade. The second is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its disruptive impact. We are at the very beginning of what we are going to witness with AI. It’s…

AKSHAY KUMAR ► Fee per movie 5-7 years ago: ₹60 Crore ► Peak Fee* ₹120 Crore RANVEER SINGH ► Fee per movie 5-7 years ago: ₹15 crore ► Peak Fee: ₹60 Crore SHAHID KAPOOR ► Fee per movie 5-7 years ago: ₹7 crore ► Peak Fee: ₹30 crore RANBIR KAPOOR ► Fee per movie 5-7 years ago: ₹35 crore ► Peak Fee: ₹60* crore AYUSHMANN KHURRANA ► Fee per movie 5-7 years ago: ₹10 crore ► Peak Fee: ₹30 crore VARUN DHAWAN ► Fee per movie 5-7 years ago: ₹20 crore ► Peak Fee: ₹30 crore RAJKUMMAR RAO ► Fee per movie 5-7 years ago: ₹6 crore ► Peak Fee: ₹15 crore …AND THE SOUTH STARS ALLU ARJUN ► Fee per movie 5-7 years ago: ₹70-80 crore ► Peak Fee…

► THE INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE (IBC) has transformed the insolvency resolution regime in several fundamental ways, says M.S. Sahoo, former distinguished Professor, National Law University Delhi, and founder chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). In an interview to Business Today, he says the IBC has firmly established the primacy of market mechanisms in resolving business stress. It has also ushered in a new era of professionalism in insolvency resolution. Third, it has catalysed the emergence of a robust, though still maturing, market for distressed assets. Edited excerpts: Recent court rulings, particularly the one on Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL), have raised concerns over the efficacy of the IBC. Do you think there needs to be a relook at its functioning? The concerns arising from the…

▶ MAN, SUPERMAN AND Professor Satya! He once promised to make rockets fly. He did that as founding advisor of Agnikul. He has now promised to make taxis fly. Can he do it as the founder of The ePlane Company? Before we get the answer from the horse’s mouth, let’s understand what he is trying to do. The ePlane Company focuses on the development of flying electric taxis designed for intra-city transportation, says the WEF. “The company’s offering includes all-electric flying vehicles capable of vertical take-off and landing,” it notes, adding that the intent is to provide an alternative to traditional commuting. Incubated at IIT-Madras in 2017 and backed by marquee investors such as Speciale Invest, Micelio Mobility and UTEC (University of Tokyo Edge Capital), the start-up is still in…

IN A WORLD riddled with geopolitical turmoil, macroeconomic jitters and shifting policy winds, two age-old hedges are back in the spotlight: gold and silver. Over the past year, both metals have seen a formidable rally, rekindling investor interest, reshaping portfolio strategies and challenging the returns of even mainstream equity indices. Over the past three years, gold and silver have delivered returns of 91% and 79%, respectively, while the benchmark Nifty 50 equity index has generated 62% returns. A significant contributor to this rally has been the return of the safe-haven trade. From the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war to the flare-ups in West Asia, most notably the brief but intense war between Israel and Iran, the fragile geopolitical order has given rise to a widespread sense of anxiety. However, a big change…

A Tabvet That Knows It’s a Beast ► THE 2025 EDITION of the Asus ROG Flow Z13, knows it can keep up and often does. Built around AMD’s new Ryzen AI Max 390 processor and paired with Radeon 8050S graphics, this year’s Flow Z13 delivers serious performance. Add 32GB of RAM to that mix, and you’re looking at a machine capable of handling everything from AAA gaming to AI-assisted creative work, all inside a chassis that weighs just over 1.2 kg. High-end games run comfortably at 65–70 frames per second, with even higher numbers in competitive titles like Valorant. The 13.4-inch 2.5K Nebula display remains a standout feature. With a 180Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 colour coverage, and Dolby Vision, it’s a panel that works just as well for creators as…

THE TATA GROUP has been ranked as India’s top brand in terms of valuation by the UK-based consultancy Brand Finance for the 15th year in a row. This makes it seem like a routine development. Yet, there are some factors that make it worth a deeper look. The group faced a big setback after a London-bound Air India flight from Ahmedabad crashed in June, resulting in the deaths of 260 people. Incidentally, the Brand Finance report was finalised before the crash. Its impact on the brand’s valuation will be known next year. Otherwise, too, the going has not been too good for the salt-to-software conglomerate, lately. Sentiment has been muted because of the underperformance of flagship companies, such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Motors, and Tata Steel, over the…

CHALUVE GOWDA TAKES A DEEP BREATH, AS HE DESCRIBES THE CURRENT CONDITION OF THE INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY THE TREMORS IN his voice are emblematic of the undercurrents among producers, distributors, exhibitors, et al. He measures his words before expressing utter disappointment. “This,” he says, pausing, “has been the most challenging situation for the film industry.” The man is not a mere spectator in the movie business. A name to reckon with in the Kannada film industry, as the co-founder and Managing Director of Hombale Films, he has produced blockbusters such as KGF: Chapter 1 and a sequel, followed by Kantara, Salaar: Part 1—Ceasefire. For someone sitting as pretty with these big-budget successes across languages as he is, what could possibly worry him? Well, Gowda’s pessimism stems from the larger problem…

► BOLLYWOOD’S HIGHLY ACCLAIMED actor and producer, Aamir Khan, is a happy man. Sitaare Zameen Par (SZP), the recent addition to his kitty as a producer, has become a box office success. Known for his patience, the actor is holding on to the OTT rights, a decision that has piqued curiosity. Amid a busy schedule, Khan took time out to speak to Business Today on a drive from his home in Bandra to a multiplex in south Mumbai. Edited excerpts: You took a big chance with Sitaare Zameen Par by not selling its digital rights to an OTT platform before its release. What was the thought process? I think by releasing a movie on the big screen and then, in a very short time, making it available on an OTT platform, ensures…

THE INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE (IBC) continues to strengthen corporate governance standards and the credit market, says Shailendra Ajmera, Partner, Transaction, Advisory Services at EY India, and an insolvency professional (IP). In an interview, he tells BT that IPs are expected to maintain the highest levels of integrity and accountability to ensure stakeholder trust in them and the underlying Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). This should also extend to other stakeholders, he says. Edited excerpts: What are your views on how the IBC is doing? It remains one of the most path-breaking legislations and has transformed India’s insolvency resolution landscape. Recent data from the IBBI reflects that the Code has rescued 1,194 corporate debtors through CIRPs and resolution plans have on an average yielded a recovery of 93.4% of the…

► AT TIMES, the line between optimism and delusion gets blurred. In 2020, Neeraj Jain, Nikhil Nahar and Shreya Mishra encountered such a moment. Founded in 2015, SolarSquare grew briskly over the next five years to become one of the top 10 B2B players in India in design and installation of commercial solar panel systems. By early 2020, it was bootstrapped, had a revenue north of ₹100 crore, and was profitable. Then came the ‘blurry’ moment. The co-founders decided to pull the plug on the B2B business. To the outside world, it was an insane move. SolarSquare, they argued, should have doubled down and topped the charts. Instead, they pivoted to residential solar rooftop business. “People labelled as crazy,” recalls Shreya Mishra, who had seen her maiden venture—Flyrobe, a fashion rental…

Having travelled to to over 35 countries, I’ve grown accustomed to brusque airport security checks and rushed interactions. So, imagine my surprise when at Osaka airport, after removing my shoes for screening, I was handed a pristine pair of red slippers to walk through the metal detector. My belongings, neatly laid out in the tray, were gently covered with another—an elegant nod to personal privacy. All this, done with smiles and the signature Japanese efficiency. While Japan dazzles with its ancient temples, tranquil Shinto shrines, and exquisite cuisine, what truly sets it apart is the charm of the everyday. This is a nation where Uber drivers wear white gloves, lace-draped seats adorn taxis, and no detail is too small. Even at restaurants, where language can be a barrier, staff go…

What was the problem you were grappling with? When I was 17, I was absolutely passionate about physics, and wanted to pursue engineering (Physics) from IIT Kanpur. However, most people around me—family, mentors, and well-wishers—thought I should take a safe, more conventional path: Electrical & Electronics Engineering at IIT Madras. It became a tough choice between following what I loved and what was considered more practical. Whom did you approach for advice and why? I turned to two people I trusted deeply: my father, a mathematics professor, and his elder brother, an experienced engineer. They had seen the world, they understood the trade-offs, and I knew their advice would come from both experience and care. What was the advice you received? They urged me to study Electrical & Electronics, focusing…