IndiGo heir groomed, Bira 91 founder exits, VW sells to JSW

Rahul Bhatia is pulling his 20‑something son Madhav into IndiGo’s executive meetings and pairing him with senior leaders, even as veteran Willie Walsh prepares to take over as CEO. The move tightens promoter oversight after a December pilot shortage that forced the airline to cancel over 3,000 flights, signalling a shift in governance as investors watch.

Ankur Jain has stepped down from B9 Beverages’ board, giving up all executive powers and his 17.8% stake to settle a dispute. The brewer, crippled by a ₹1,000 crore debt and halted production, will be recapitalised by existing investors and aim to resume operations in 3-6 months.

Volkswagen is in advanced talks with India's JSW Group to sell a majority stake in its Indian subsidiary, injecting fresh capital and gaining access to JSW's EV expertise. The deal, expected to close in weeks, is critical as VW holds only about 2.5% of the market, well shy of its 5% target, and seeks to curb costly EV platform spend.

Adani Energy is paying ₹3,050 cr to acquire IntelliSmart, securing long‑term contracts for smart‑meter deployment under India’s massive RDSS scheme. The move gives the group a foothold in the country’s $93 bn smart‑meter rollout, turning chronic electricity theft into a revenue stream and easing losses for strained DISCOMs.

India’s rural retail inflation hit 4.74% in June, outpacing urban’s 3.9% and breaching the RBI’s 4% target. Price pressure is now spilling into non‑food items, from LPG to personal care, raising core inflation and widening the rural‑urban gap, which could force tighter monetary policy.

Renewed fighting in West Asia has choked Gulf shipping lanes, leaving Indian exporters without containers or vessels. Ocean freight rates on key routes have doubled or tripled, while ports like Mundra and JNPT sit gridlocked, forcing firms to shoulder hefty demurrage and cancel orders.

State‑run oil marketers lost about ₹75,800 crore in the April‑June quarter after selling fuel below market rates. The oil ministry is shaping a compensation package that needs finance ministry approval, but the government balks at using billions of rupees to cover loss on deregulated fuels. The deal could strain fiscal balances and set a precedent for future price‑support claims.

An independent analysis shows Airtel’s Fast Lane 5G slicing gives its premium postpaid customers noticeably faster downloads and lower latency than regular users. By prioritising a small subscriber slice, the plan challenges India’s network‑neutrality norms and could pressure regulators.

Jana Small Finance Bank said its FY25 gross NPAs were ₹750 cr, ₹169 cr less than RBI’s 919 cr assessment. The RBI‑driven gap triggers a ₹42 cr provisioning hit, trimming net profit to ₹459 cr from the ₹501 cr it had reported. The correction highlights the risk of under‑reporting NPAs for small lenders.

After India doubled import duty on gold and silver to 15%, gold seizures jumped 186% and silver smuggling rose ten‑fold in just seven weeks, data show. The surge signals that higher taxes are pushing precious‑metal trade underground, undermining the policy’s aim to protect foreign‑exchange reserves.

Two vessels, one with 60,000 t of DAP/NPK and another with 7,000 t of urea, have been idle at Kandla and other ports due to congestion and West‑Asia shipping disruptions. The delay risks missing the critical window for DAP application as kharif sowing accelerates after monsoon rains.