Author: Sreelatha M

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Leaders

Gautam Adani gets relief as US graft case ends

A US federal judge has dismissed the criminal bribery and fraud case against billionaire Gautam Adani, bringing an end to one of the most closely watched legal battles involving the Indian business group in the United States.

US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York approved the US Department of Justice’s request to dismiss the criminal case against Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and former Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain, among others. The dismissal was made with prejudice, meaning the same criminal charges cannot be brought again.

The decision follows months of uncertainty after the US Justice Department moved to abandon the prosecution. The case had originally accused the defendants of participating in an alleged scheme involving payments to Indian government officials to secure solar power contracts. The allegations were denied by Adani and the other accused.

The indictment, filed in 2024, alleged that the defendants were involved in a scheme in which about $265 million in bribes were promised to Indian officials. Prosecutors said the payments were intended to help secure power supply agreements connected with major solar energy projects.

The US case also alleged that information about the bribery scheme was concealed from investors. According to the indictment, Adani-related entities had raised billions of dollars from US investors and financial markets.

Adani has consistently denied wrongdoing and rejected the allegations against him.

The dismissal, however, did not come without criticism from the judge. Garaufis questioned the way the Justice Department had handled its decision to withdraw the prosecution and criticised senior DOJ official Trent McCotter over his role in the process. Reuters reported that the judge described aspects of the government’s conduct as highly unusual and expressed concern that established investigative and prosecutorial views appeared to have been bypassed.

The judge had previously refused to immediately approve the government’s request to drop the case, saying the initial explanation from prosecutors was insufficient. The DOJ subsequently provided additional reasons for its decision.

Prosecutors argued that the case involved conduct outside the United States, would be difficult to prove and was not an appropriate use of government resources given the department’s changing priorities. The government maintained that the decision was based on prosecutorial discretion.

Another issue examined by the court was a pledge by Adani to invest around $10 billion in the United States. During the proceedings, questions were raised about whether the proposed investment had any connection with the government’s decision to end the prosecution.

The judge ultimately found that the investment pledge did not influence the government’s decision to seek dismissal, according to the court’s findings reported by Reuters. The court nevertheless questioned the circumstances surrounding the government’s handling of the case and left it to the public to assess the broader implications.

For the Adani Group, the dismissal removes a major criminal case that had remained an important concern for investors and the conglomerate’s international operations since the original indictment.

Adani welcomed the decision, saying his faith in the rule of law had remained firm during the proceedings. He has maintained that the allegations against him were unfounded.

The criminal case should also be distinguished from a separate civil proceeding involving the US Securities and Exchange Commission. That matter has been dealt with separately and should not be interpreted as having disappeared simply because the criminal prosecution has been dismissed.

In May, Adani Green Energy disclosed that the SEC, Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani had sought a final judgment by consent in the civil case. The company also clarified that it was not itself a party to that proceeding.

The latest development therefore represents a significant legal relief for Gautam Adani in the US criminal case, but it does not erase every legal proceeding connected with the broader allegations.

The decision is also likely to be closely watched in Indian financial markets. Adani Group shares gained after news of the dismissal, with several group companies seeing their stocks rise as investors reacted to the removal of the criminal prosecution as a major overhang.

The case had attracted global attention because of the size of the alleged solar bribery scheme, the involvement of one of India’s largest business groups and the questions it raised about corporate governance and cross-border enforcement.

With the criminal indictment now dismissed with prejudice, the immediate US prosecution against Adani has come to an end. The controversy surrounding the original allegations, however, remains significant, particularly because separate civil proceedings and settlements continue to form part of the wider legal picture.

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Beyond

Gold at ₹1.55 lakh, silver nears ₹2.40 lakh

Gold and silver prices climbed sharply on Tuesday as investors sought safety amid renewed geopolitical uncertainty and concerns over the impact of the US-Iran conflict on global markets. MCX gold moved above ₹1.55 lakh per 10 grams, while silver approached ₹2.40 lakh per kg, extending the recent rally in precious metals. The jump came as elevated crude oil prices and uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz added to market nervousness.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), the October gold futures contract opened at ₹1,54,699 per 10 grams, up ₹1,600 from its previous close of ₹1,53,099. The contract later climbed to ₹1,55,437 before trading around ₹1,55,100, representing a gain of about ₹2,001 at the time of the latest update.

Silver also recorded a strong move. The September silver futures contract opened at ₹2,39,999 per kg, gaining ₹3,132 from its previous close of ₹2,36,867. It was trading around ₹2,39,154 per kg, up ₹2,287, after touching an intraday high of ₹2,41,999.

The strength in bullion was not limited to India. On the international market, Comex gold opened at $4,446.90 per ounce against the previous close of $4,419.70. It was later trading at $4,474.10, up $54.40. Comex silver was around $65.96 per ounce, compared with its previous close of $65.27.

The latest gains reflect a broader move towards safe-haven assets. Gold is traditionally viewed as a store of value during periods of economic or geopolitical stress, while silver can benefit from both investment demand and its industrial applications.

Investors have been closely tracking developments around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy shipments. Any prolonged disruption could keep crude oil prices elevated and raise concerns about inflation and economic growth. Higher oil prices are particularly important for India because the country relies heavily on imported crude.

The weaker US dollar has also provided some support to bullion. Since gold is priced internationally in dollars, a weaker US currency can make the metal more attractive to buyers holding other currencies. Expectations surrounding US interest rates and monetary policy remain another factor influencing precious-metal prices.

Demand from central banks and institutional investors is adding to the positive backdrop for gold. Increased purchases by central banks, particularly in emerging markets, have strengthened the perception of gold as a portfolio hedge. Investors have also increased exposure to the metal as uncertainty surrounding global growth and financial markets persists.

In India’s retail market, gold prices remained elevated across major cities. In New Delhi, 24-karat gold was priced at ₹1,54,660 per 10 grams, while 22-karat gold stood at ₹1,41,772. Silver 999 fine was quoted at ₹2,39,490 per kg.

In Mumbai, 24-karat gold was available at ₹1,54,930 per 10 grams and 22-karat gold at ₹1,42,019. The retail rate for 999 silver was ₹2,39,910 per kg. Kolkata recorded a 24-karat gold rate of ₹1,54,710 and a 22-karat rate of ₹1,41,818 per 10 grams, while 999 silver was quoted at ₹2,39,320 per kg.

Other major cities also recorded high prices. Bengaluru’s 24-karat gold rate was ₹1,55,050 per 10 grams, while Chennai recorded ₹1,55,370. Hyderabad’s 24-karat gold rate stood at ₹1,55,160. Silver prices in these cities were broadly around ₹2.40 lakh per kg.

For jewellery buyers, the quoted gold rate is only one part of the final bill. Making charges, taxes and other costs are added by jewellers, meaning the actual purchase price can be higher than the headline market rate. The distinction between 24-karat and 22-karat gold is also important. While 24-karat represents higher purity, 22-karat gold is commonly used for jewellery because it is more durable.

Silver has also emerged as a strong performer this year, supported by investment demand as well as industrial consumption. The metal is widely used in electronics, solar panels and other industrial applications, giving its price a different set of demand drivers compared with gold.

However, precious-metal prices can remain volatile. A stronger US dollar, easing geopolitical tensions or changes in expectations around US interest rates could encourage investors to book profits. On the other hand, any escalation in the Middle East or further pressure on global energy supplies could increase demand for bullion.

Categories
Corporate

Kaynes Tech Q1 profit falls 24% to Rs 56 cr

Kaynes Technology India Ltd. delivered strong revenue growth in the June quarter, but a sharp fall in profit and rising working-capital requirements have made brokerages more cautious about the stock.

The company reported a 40.5% year-on-year rise in consolidated revenue to Rs 946 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with Rs 673.5 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue also came ahead of the Rs 863-crore estimate, signalling continued demand for the company’s electronics manufacturing services.

However, the strong top-line performance did not translate into higher profitability. Consolidated net profit fell 24.4% year-on-year to Rs 56.4 crore from Rs 74.6 crore. The figure was also below the Rs 66-crore analyst estimate.

EBITDA increased 29.5% to Rs 147 crore from Rs 113.5 crore a year earlier. The EBITDA margin, however, contracted to 15.5% from 16.9%. While the reported margin was slightly ahead of the 15.1% estimate, pressure on gross margins and higher employee costs weighed on the bottom line.

Gross margin declined by 680 basis points during the quarter, while employee expenses climbed 44% to Rs 85 crore. Other income also dropped to Rs 14.4 crore from Rs 27.1 crore a year earlier, adding to the pressure on net profit.

The biggest concern for investors, however, is cash flow. Kaynes Technology’s net working-capital days increased to 163 in Q1 FY27 from 122 previously. Net debt also rose sharply to around Rs 800 crore from Rs 200 crore.

Operating cash flow remained negative at about Rs 260 crore, according to Kotak. Smart-metering receivables also increased to Rs 1,311 crore from Rs 1,158 crore, making collections an important factor to watch in the coming quarters.

This has become particularly important because Kaynes Technology has been investing heavily in its next phase of growth. Its OSAT semiconductor packaging and PCB manufacturing facilities are expected to begin operations in Q3 FY27, later than the earlier Q2 FY27 timeline.

The delay means investors may have to wait longer for the contribution from these new businesses. At the same time, the company has indicated that supply and cost pressures in the electronics component industry have intensified, creating another near-term challenge for margins.

Brokerage opinions following the Q1 results have therefore been mixed but broadly cautious.

Kotak retained its ‘Reduce’ rating, although it raised its target price to Rs 3,550 from Rs 3,280. The brokerage acknowledged that Kaynes delivered strong revenue growth and that its core EBITDA margin of 15.6% was better than expected. However, it highlighted negative operating cash flow, rising working-capital days and concerns over smart-metering collections.

JPMorgan retained its ‘Neutral’ rating but lowered its target price to Rs 3,600 from Rs 3,700. The brokerage described the quarter as a strong beat on revenue and margin, noting that it was the company’s first revenue and margin beat in at least five quarters. Still, working capital remained its primary concern, while the delayed OSAT and PCB ramp-up could push back the expected benefits from the new facilities.

Nuvama took a more cautious stance and downgraded Kaynes Technology to ‘Reduce’ from its earlier rating. It raised its target price to Rs 3,450 from Rs 3,150, but cut its FY27 and FY28 earnings estimates by 12% and 2%, respectively. The brokerage cited the Q1 earnings miss, the outlook and the stock’s recent rally as reasons behind its downgrade.

The market reaction reflected these concerns. Kaynes Technology shares fell as much as 8.4% to Rs 3,530.70 on Monday after the results, although the stock subsequently recovered some of its losses during the session. Investors appeared to focus more on the deterioration in cash flow and working capital than on the strong revenue growth.

For Kaynes Technology, the central question now is whether revenue growth can eventually translate into stronger cash generation and earnings. The company’s electronics manufacturing business continues to benefit from rising demand, while its semiconductor and PCB investments offer significant long-term growth potential.

But investors are likely to closely track working-capital days, smart-metering collections, operating cash flow and the commissioning of the OSAT and PCB facilities. A sustained improvement in these areas could help rebuild confidence, while another deterioration could keep pressure on the Kaynes Technology share price.

Kaynes Technology’s expansion into semiconductor packaging and PCB manufacturing highlights how companies are investing in new capabilities to support their next phase of growth. Follow more corporate developments and business expansion stories in our Corporate News section.

The Q1 FY27 results therefore present a mixed picture. Strong revenue growth and better-than-expected core EBITDA margins offer positives, but declining net profit, weaker margins, negative cash flow, higher debt and delayed capacity expansion have shifted the near-term focus firmly towards execution and balance-sheet discipline.

For now, brokerages appear to be asking investors to look beyond Kaynes Technology’s impressive growth story and pay closer attention to the cash required to fund that growth.

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Beyond

Maharashtra FDA checks Mumbai Chinese food stalls

Mumbai’s familiar roadside Chinese food stalls are now coming under the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) food safety scanner, as authorities prepare to inspect outlets following complaints about food quality, ingredients and hygiene.

The proposed inspections are part of a wider enforcement drive by the Maharashtra FDA, which has stepped up action against food adulteration, unsafe products, counterfeit goods and illegal gutkha sales across the state.

The move has also drawn attention to a curious change noticed by some Mumbai diners: the bright red colour traditionally associated with dishes such as chicken lollipops and Manchurian preparations appears to be less prominent at some eateries.

However, the FDA has not announced a blanket ban on red food colouring in Chinese food. Instead, the focus is on whether food colours and other ingredients being used by restaurants and street vendors comply with applicable food safety requirements.

Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said the department had received complaints about Chinese food vendors operating across cities and towns in the state. Officials are expected to examine the food served at these outlets as well as the ingredients used during preparation.

The inspections are likely to cover several aspects of food safety. These include the quality of raw materials, food preparation and handling practices, hygiene at stalls, storage conditions and compliance with licensing and registration requirements.

For customers, the exercise could bring greater scrutiny to an important part of Mumbai’s street-food culture. Chinese food stalls are common across the city, offering inexpensive noodles, fried rice, Manchurian dishes, soups, chicken preparations and other popular items.

The bright red appearance of some dishes has long been associated with Mumbai-style Chinese food. While colour itself does not establish whether food is safe or unsafe, regulators are concerned about whether food additives and ingredients are being used within permitted standards.

Food colours are regulated because excessive or unauthorised use can raise food safety concerns. The FDA’s proposed inspections are therefore expected to look beyond appearance and examine the overall handling and preparation of food.

The latest move follows an intensified Maharashtra FDA campaign under Mundhe. Over the past two months, the department has conducted inspections and enforcement operations involving food adulteration, substandard products, counterfeit goods and illegal gutkha.

The wider campaign has also brought restaurants, institutional canteens and other food establishments under greater scrutiny. Authorities have been examining whether food businesses are maintaining basic hygiene standards and following food safety regulations.

The focus on Chinese food stalls reflects the regulator’s stated intention to respond to consumer complaints rather than limit inspections to a fixed list of food products.

Officials are expected to check whether vendors are sourcing ingredients from legitimate suppliers, storing food safely and maintaining hygienic preparation areas. They may also examine whether establishments have the necessary food licences and registrations.

For small roadside vendors, such inspections could mean greater pressure to improve hygiene and record-keeping. For consumers, however, the inspections could provide greater confidence about the food they buy from popular street-side outlets.

The FDA’s approach also highlights an important distinction between food safety concerns and changing food trends. A dish becoming less red does not necessarily mean that an outlet has stopped using artificial colours, nor does a brightly coloured dish automatically indicate that it is unsafe.

The actual safety of a food product depends on the ingredients used, permitted limits, preparation methods, storage and overall hygiene.

The proposed inspections are therefore expected to provide a more concrete picture of practices at Chinese food stalls across Maharashtra. Samples may also be examined where officials identify concerns about ingredients or food quality.

The action comes as food safety has become a bigger concern for consumers across the state. Recent enforcement measures have targeted adulteration and products that authorities believe may pose risks to public health.

Mundhe has indicated that public complaints will continue to play a role in deciding where the FDA directs its attention. The department has encouraged citizens to report concerns so that complaints can be examined through official channels.

For Mumbai’s food lovers, the immediate takeaway is that the city’s iconic Chinese food culture is not being targeted with a blanket ban. Instead, the regulator is preparing to check whether vendors are following food safety rules.

The inspections could eventually lead to warnings, corrective action or penalties where violations are found. Outlets that meet the required standards, meanwhile, would have little reason to be affected beyond routine regulatory checks.

The FDA’s expanding campaign shows that food safety enforcement in Maharashtra is moving beyond individual adulteration cases towards closer scrutiny of everyday food businesses.

As Chinese food stalls become the latest focus, Mumbai’s favourite roadside dishes may continue to look and taste familiar. But behind the scenes, the ingredients, colours, hygiene practices and storage conditions used to prepare them are now set to receive much closer attention.

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Leaders

Infraeo names Rakesh Sambaraju as CEO

Infraeo has appointed Rakesh Sambaraju as its President and Chief Executive Officer, placing an experienced optical communications executive at the helm as demand for high-speed connectivity continues to grow across artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centres.

The appointment comes at a crucial time for the AI infrastructure industry. As companies build increasingly powerful AI systems, data centres need faster connections, higher bandwidth and lower latency to move enormous volumes of data between servers, processors and storage systems. Infraeo is positioning its networking technology to address these requirements.

Sambaraju brings more than 20 years of experience in optical communications and high-speed interconnects. Before taking over as CEO, he served as Executive Vice President at Infraeo, giving him direct knowledge of the company’s technology, customers and markets.

Over his career, Sambaraju has held technology and business development leadership positions at companies including Sterlite Technologies, Nexans and Corning. His experience spans optical networking, photonics and the development of technologies designed for high-speed data transmission.

He holds a PhD, master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in Optical Communications from the Universitat Politècnica de València. His academic and industry background has focused on technologies that enable faster and more efficient communications networks.

Sambaraju takes charge as the artificial intelligence industry moves towards increasingly demanding workloads. AI training requires large clusters of computing systems to exchange data at extremely high speeds, while AI inference is increasingly being distributed closer to users and applications.

That shift is creating demand for networking technologies that can deliver high bandwidth without significantly increasing power consumption or latency. Infraeo says its strategy will focus on supporting both large-scale AI training environments and distributed AI inference.

Under Sambaraju, the company plans to continue developing its portfolio of 800G and 1.6T optical and copper interconnect products. These technologies are designed to provide the high-speed connectivity required by modern data centres and AI computing systems.

The company is also working on technologies for AI inference at the edge, where computing takes place closer to where data is generated or consumed. Such applications can require low-latency and long-reach connectivity, particularly as AI workloads become more distributed.

One area of focus will be near-package optics, or NPO. The technology places optical connectivity closer to high-performance computing components, potentially helping data-centre operators manage the growing bandwidth requirements of AI systems while addressing power and performance challenges.

Infraeo has already been demonstrating its high-speed connectivity technologies. At OFC 2026, the company showcased 800G and 1.6T interconnect solutions in collaboration with VIAVI. The demonstrations focused on line-rate performance, power efficiency and interoperability for next-generation AI fabrics and data-centre architectures.

The company has also highlighted a 400G QSFP112 LPO SR4 optical transceiver designed to provide high-performance connectivity while reducing power consumption in data-centre networks. Low-power optical technologies are becoming increasingly important as AI data centres consume more electricity and require larger numbers of high-speed connections.

Sambaraju’s appointment therefore reflects a broader trend in executive leadership and CEO appointments across growing companies, where new leaders are being brought in to guide the next phase of expansion. In Infraeo’s case, the change comes as the market for AI infrastructure is expanding rapidly, with hyperscalers, cloud providers and AI companies investing heavily in computing capacity.

The rapid development of AI models has increased pressure on data-centre operators to upgrade their networking infrastructure. Faster processors alone are not enough to improve overall system performance if data cannot move between computing resources quickly and efficiently.

This makes optical interconnects an increasingly important part of the AI infrastructure ecosystem. Optical technologies can support high-speed data movement over longer distances and are becoming increasingly relevant as data centres scale.

Infraeo says it intends to invest further in advanced optical technologies as AI workloads evolve. The company’s roadmap includes optical solutions designed for both centralised training clusters and distributed inference applications.

Sambaraju said his focus would be on taking the company to its next stage of growth while investing in technologies such as NPO, co-packaged optics and coherent optics. These technologies are being developed to address the networking challenges created by increasingly demanding AI workloads.

The leadership change also comes as the broader technology industry moves towards higher-speed Ethernet and optical connectivity. The transition from 800G towards 1.6T networking is expected to become increasingly important as AI clusters expand and computing requirements rise.

For Infraeo, the challenge will be turning this growing market opportunity into sustained commercial growth. The company will need to scale production, strengthen its technology portfolio and work closely with data-centre operators, system companies and other partners.

Sambaraju’s combination of technical expertise and experience within Infraeo could help the company navigate that transition. His previous leadership role means he already has familiarity with its products and strategic direction.

The appointment places Infraeo firmly within the race to build the connectivity layer required by next-generation AI infrastructure. As AI adoption expands across industries, the demand for faster, more efficient and lower-latency data-centre networks is expected to remain a key driver of the optical interconnect market.

With Sambaraju now leading the company, Infraeo is looking to use that opportunity to expand its presence in high-speed AI connectivity while developing technologies capable of supporting the next generation of data-centre architectures.

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Beyond

BIS expands silver hallmarking

he sharp rise in gold prices is changing buying patterns in India, with more consumers turning to silver jewellery and other silver articles as a relatively affordable alternative. In response, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is preparing to significantly expand its silver hallmarking and testing infrastructure across the country.

The move comes as jewellers and industry players report stronger interest in silver following the sustained rise in gold prices. BIS plans to increase the number of laboratories capable of testing silver, upgrade existing facilities and introduce technology-led systems to handle the growing demand for silver hallmarking.

BIS Director General Pramod Kumar Tiwari said the standards body is working to strengthen the country’s silver testing network. The expansion is aimed at making hallmarking more accessible to jewellers while ensuring consumers can identify the purity of silver products they purchase.

Unlike gold, where hallmarking has become widely established among consumers, silver hallmarking has had a more limited reach. The growing popularity of silver is now pushing the industry and regulators to give greater attention to quality certification.

The BIS plans to expand its network of silver testing laboratories and improve their capacity. The objective is to ensure that jewellery manufacturers and retailers do not face long waiting periods when sending products for purity testing.

The standards body is also looking at using artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies in the testing process. AI-based systems could help improve the speed and accuracy of testing while reducing the possibility of human error.

The increased focus on silver comes at a time when gold has become increasingly expensive for ordinary buyers. Gold prices have remained elevated amid strong investment demand, global economic uncertainty and expectations surrounding interest rates. For many households, particularly those purchasing jewellery for personal use or traditional occasions, the higher price of gold has encouraged them to consider silver.

Industry representatives have pointed to a noticeable shift in consumer preferences. Buyers who may previously have chosen gold jewellery are increasingly considering silver ornaments, coins, utensils and other articles. This has created a need for stronger quality standards in the silver market.

Hallmarking is particularly important in this environment because consumers often find it difficult to determine the actual purity of precious metals simply by looking at a product. A hallmark provides an independent indication that the article has undergone an approved purity assessment.

For silver buyers, the expansion of hallmarking could therefore offer greater confidence. It could also help bring more uniformity to the market by making purity information easier to verify.

The BIS has already established standards for silver articles and jewellery. The organisation’s efforts are now focused on expanding the infrastructure needed to support wider adoption of silver hallmarking.

One of the key challenges is the availability of testing facilities. As silver demand rises, existing laboratories may face higher workloads. Expanding the laboratory network would allow more jewellers and manufacturers to access testing services closer to their locations.

The proposed expansion is also expected to benefit smaller businesses. Jewellers in smaller cities and towns can face logistical difficulties when testing facilities are located far away. A broader network could reduce the time and cost involved in getting silver products hallmarked.

The industry is also witnessing a change in the role of silver itself. Traditionally associated with lower-cost jewellery and household articles, silver is increasingly being viewed as both a consumption product and an investment asset.

Silver has an advantage over gold in terms of affordability, allowing consumers to buy larger quantities for the same amount of money. At the same time, silver has significant industrial applications, including in electronics, solar energy equipment and other manufacturing sectors.

This combination of investment and industrial demand has helped keep silver in focus in recent years. Rising gold prices have added another factor by making silver more attractive to price-sensitive buyers.

The BIS’s proposed use of artificial intelligence in silver testing reflects the broader push to modernise India’s quality-control infrastructure. Technology could help laboratories process more samples and maintain consistent testing standards as volumes increase.

The expansion of silver hallmarking is also expected to strengthen transparency in the jewellery market. For consumers, clearer purity certification can reduce uncertainty when purchasing silver products. For legitimate jewellers, stronger standards can help create a more level playing field by distinguishing certified products from those whose purity may be unclear.

The development comes as India’s precious metals market undergoes a broader transformation. Gold continues to dominate jewellery demand and remains an important store of value for Indian households. However, record and near-record prices have made affordability a growing concern for consumers.

Silver is increasingly filling part of that gap. The shift does not necessarily mean that consumers are abandoning gold, but it indicates that buyers are becoming more flexible about the type of precious metal they purchase.

For the BIS, the challenge will now be to ensure that the hallmarking system keeps pace with this changing market. Expanding testing laboratories, improving technology and introducing AI-assisted processes could help the regulator respond to the expected rise in silver products entering the organised market.

For consumers, the message is straightforward: as silver becomes more popular, purity certification will become increasingly important. A stronger silver hallmarking network could provide buyers with greater assurance while supporting the growth of a more transparent and organised silver jewellery market in India.

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Beyond

Microsoft opens largest India data centre, AI race

Microsoft has opened its largest data centre region in India in Hyderabad, strengthening its cloud infrastructure as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) services accelerates across the country.

The launch of the India South Central region takes Microsoft’s total number of cloud regions in India to four, joining existing facilities in Pune, Chennai and Mumbai. The company said the new infrastructure will give businesses more options to run cloud services and AI workloads within the country.

The move comes as global technology companies compete aggressively to build India’s digital and AI infrastructure. With more than one billion internet users and a large pool of technology talent, India is increasingly becoming an important market for cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Microsoft’s Hyderabad facility has already attracted several major customers. Adani Group, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank and PB Pay are among the early users of the new data centre region, highlighting growing enterprise demand for cloud and AI capabilities.

For Microsoft, the expansion is about more than simply adding another data centre. The company is positioning its infrastructure closer to the businesses, developers and organisations that are increasingly using AI for everyday operations.

Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, said trusted infrastructure needs to be located close to where data is generated and decisions are made. The Hyderabad region is expected to provide that foundation for customers looking to scale their cloud and AI workloads.

The new data centre is part of Microsoft’s much larger investment programme in India. In December 2025, the company announced plans to invest $17.5 billion between 2026 and 2029 in cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling and operations in the country. This followed an earlier $3 billion investment announced in January 2025.

Together, these commitments underline the growing importance of India in Microsoft’s global cloud and artificial intelligence strategy. Microsoft had said the latest investment would support the expansion of hyperscale infrastructure, sovereign-ready solutions and AI skilling initiatives.

The company expects its investment to help businesses, startups, developers and public-sector organisations access the computing capacity needed to adopt AI at scale.

Microsoft’s Azure cloud business has also recorded double-digit revenue growth in India for the past two years, according to the company. The strong demand for Azure services, along with growing adoption of AI tools such as Copilot, has encouraged the company to expand its infrastructure further.

Microsoft’s move also adds momentum to Hyderabad’s emergence as a major data centre hub in India.

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Oracle are among the global technology companies expanding their presence in the city through owned infrastructure and partnerships. AWS launched its Hyderabad region in 2022, while Oracle has also announced plans to build data centre capacity in the city.

The growth is being driven by several factors, including rising cloud adoption, enterprise digitalisation, AI workloads and Hyderabad’s established technology ecosystem.

But rapid data centre expansion also brings infrastructure challenges. Large facilities require substantial electricity, reliable networks, cooling systems and connectivity. Industry experts have pointed to the need for stronger power infrastructure and improved connectivity, particularly as data centre campuses expand into peripheral areas.

Knight Frank India executive director Joseph Thilak said India’s data centre industry is moving into a more mature phase, supported by sustained cloud adoption, AI-led computing demand and enterprise digitalisation.

Microsoft’s expansion comes at a time when its biggest technology rivals are also increasing investments in India’s AI infrastructure.

Alphabet’s Google and Amazon are expanding their data centre capacity as they look to capture a larger share of India’s growing AI market. The competition is not limited to cloud storage or traditional computing anymore. Increasingly, companies are building infrastructure capable of supporting AI models, enterprise applications and high-performance workloads.

Microsoft also operates two data centres in India with Reliance Industries’ Jio, further expanding its infrastructure footprint in the country.

For Indian businesses, the expansion could mean greater access to cloud computing capacity, potentially lower latency and more options for running sensitive workloads within the country.

That is becoming increasingly important as banks, financial companies, manufacturers, startups and public-sector organisations experiment with generative AI and other advanced technologies.

The Hyderabad launch therefore marks another significant step in India’s transformation into an AI and cloud computing market. Microsoft is betting that demand will continue to rise as companies move beyond experimentation and begin deploying AI across core business functions.

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Beyond

CCPA fines 9 platforms over deceptive dark patterns

Online shopping may feel quick and convenient, but the choices presented on a screen are not always as straightforward as they appear. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has now tightened its scrutiny of such practices, penalising nine digital platforms for using so-called dark patterns that can influence or manipulate consumer decisions.

The penalties, totalling ₹20 lakh, cover companies operating across sectors including quick commerce, e-commerce, aviation, education, online pharmacy and cybersecurity.

The action has brought familiar names such as Zepto, IndiGo, BookMyShow, FirstCry, Physics Wallah and SpiceJet under the consumer watchdog’s spotlight.

Dark patterns are design techniques used on websites and apps that can push consumers towards choices they may not otherwise make. They can take the form of hidden charges, pre-selected options, misleading discounts, difficult cancellation processes or messages designed to create pressure.

The issue has become increasingly important as more Indians shop, book travel, subscribe to services and make payments online.

One of the largest penalties in the latest action was imposed on Zepto, which was fined ₹7 lakh. The quick-commerce platform was found to have displayed lower product prices before adding handling charges later in the checkout process. It also allegedly added a membership option to the basket automatically.

Such practices fall under categories known as drip pricing and basket sneaking.

Drip pricing occurs when the actual cost of a product or service is revealed only gradually, often towards the end of a transaction. Basket sneaking refers to adding products, services or other paid options to a consumer’s cart without clear consent.

For a customer ordering a few everyday items, the difference may appear small. But across millions of online transactions, such additional charges can have a significant impact on consumer spending.

BookMyShow was also penalised over a similar concern. The platform had a pre-selected ₹1 contribution towards its BookASmile initiative. Consumers could remove the contribution, but it was already selected unless they actively opted out.

The regulator treated this as basket sneaking, highlighting a larger concern: consumers should not have to notice and undo an unwanted choice before completing a purchase.

In the aviation sector, IndiGo and SpiceJet were among the platforms facing CCPA action. Flight bookings can involve several additional services and charges, making transparency particularly important for consumers comparing ticket prices.

The CCPA’s action reflects concerns that the price initially displayed to a traveller may not always represent the final amount payable after optional services, fees or other additions are included.

Other companies facing penalties include FirstCry, Physics Wallah, PharmEasy, McAfee and Anuj Jindal.

Physics Wallah was penalised over practices involving basket sneaking, confirm shaming and forced action. Confirm shaming refers to language or design that makes consumers feel guilty or irresponsible for refusing an offer. Forced action occurs when users are required to complete an unwanted step before accessing a product or service.

FirstCry was fined ₹2 lakh, while Anuj Jindal faced a ₹3 lakh penalty. PharmEasy, McAfee and SpiceJet were each fined ₹1 lakh.

The latest action comes under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, introduced to address deceptive practices in India’s rapidly expanding digital marketplace.

The guidelines identify 13 categories of dark patterns. These include false urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription traps, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing, disguised advertisements, nagging and trick questions, among others.

A false urgency message, for example, could tell users that only a few products remain in stock or that an offer will expire within minutes, creating pressure to purchase immediately.

A subscription trap can make it easy to sign up for a service while making cancellation unnecessarily difficult.

The CCPA’s intervention signals that digital consumer protection is moving beyond traditional concerns such as misleading advertisements and defective products. Regulators are increasingly examining the design of digital interfaces themselves.

In June 2025, the CCPA had advised e-commerce platforms to conduct self-audits to identify and remove dark patterns from their websites and applications. Companies were asked to examine their digital interfaces and submit declarations regarding compliance.

The latest penalties suggest that regulators are now moving from warnings and awareness to stronger enforcement.

For consumers, the message is equally practical: a discount displayed on an app may not always be the final price, and a pre-selected option should never be mistaken for a mandatory one.

Consumers are increasingly making decisions within seconds — clicking “buy now”, accepting a subscription or completing a payment without examining every line of a transaction. Dark patterns exploit precisely that behaviour.

For digital businesses, the action is a warning that user experience cannot come at the cost of transparency. Convenience, speed and attractive interfaces may draw customers in, but hidden charges and manipulative design can undermine trust.

 

Categories
Leaders

Google AI veteran Jeff Dean leaves to build startup

Jeff  Dean, Google’s longtime chief scientist and a key architect of its artificial intelligence efforts, has left the company to co-found Discovery Loop, a new AI startup focused on using artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific and engineering breakthroughs.

Dean is not leaving alone. He is joining forces with three other prominent Google AI researchers, Sanjay Ghemawat, Oriol Vinyals and Quoc Le, in a move that brings together some of the industry’s most experienced researchers outside Google’s corporate structure.

Discovery Loop is being established as a public-benefit corporation, with a mission that goes beyond building another consumer AI chatbot. The company wants to use AI to automate parts of the scientific method — allowing systems to generate ideas, design experiments, analyse results and repeatedly test new possibilities.

The ambition is to make scientific discovery faster and more scalable.

Dean’s departure is particularly significant because of his extraordinary influence on Google’s technical foundation. He joined the company in 1999, when Google was still a relatively small organisation, and went on to become one of its most respected engineers and researchers.

Over nearly three decades, he worked on systems that helped Google handle enormous amounts of information and built technologies that became important to the company’s search, computing and AI infrastructure.

He also played a major role in Google’s development of specialised hardware for machine learning, including the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) programme. TPUs later became a crucial part of Google’s strategy for training and running large AI models.

Dean eventually became Google’s chief scientist, putting him at the centre of the company’s long-term technology strategy.

His move comes at a particularly important moment for Google.

The company is reorganising its AI leadership as competition intensifies across the industry. Google is facing pressure from OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI companies to move quickly in areas ranging from frontier AI models and AI agents to scientific research and coding.

Google DeepMind is also undergoing a leadership reshuffle. Demis Hassabis, who has led DeepMind, is moving away from day-to-day executive responsibilities to focus more heavily on long-term research and become chairman and chief scientist. Koray Kavukcuoglu is taking greater responsibility for AI model development.

Dean’s departure is therefore part of a broader period of change inside Google’s AI organisation.

Yet the creation of Discovery Loop also highlights how the next phase of artificial intelligence may extend beyond the race to build increasingly capable general-purpose models.

The startup wants to focus on what could be called AI for discovery,  systems capable of working through complex scientific problems by repeatedly proposing, testing and refining ideas.

The potential applications are wide. The company is expected to explore areas such as drug discovery, hardware design, engineering and other scientific challenges where progress often depends on running large numbers of experiments.

Traditionally, scientific research can be slow because experiments require time, specialised equipment and human researchers. AI could potentially shorten that cycle by helping researchers identify promising ideas, automate parts of experimental work and analyse huge amounts of data.

Discovery Loop’s founders believe this could create a new model for scientific research, where AI systems operate alongside scientists and engineers rather than simply serving as productivity tools.

The company has also attracted significant backing. Its investors include prominent venture capital firms such as Radical Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed, Kleiner Perkins and Doerr Capital. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is also participating as an investor and cloud partner.

That relationship makes Dean’s exit unusual. While Google is losing a senior AI figure, the company is also backing the new venture and providing cloud infrastructure.

The move reflects the changing relationship between large technology companies and AI startups. Major researchers can now leave established companies with deep technical experience, access to capital and ambitious ideas — while their former employers may still have reasons to support their work.

For Dean personally, the move marks a dramatic change after 27 years at one of the world’s most influential technology companies.

He joined Google during its early growth and remained there through the transformation of search, cloud computing, smartphones, machine learning and generative AI.

Now, instead of helping shape the future from inside Google, he is attempting to build a new organisation around one central question: Can AI dramatically speed up the way humans discover new things?

That question could become increasingly important as artificial intelligence moves from generating content to performing increasingly complex tasks.

Discovery Loop’s success will depend on whether its systems can produce reliable, measurable breakthroughs rather than simply promising faster research.

But with four highly experienced AI researchers at the helm and backing from major technology and venture investors, the startup is already attracting attention.

Categories
Beyond

Gold gains to ₹1,49,490, silver rises to ₹2,28,660

Gold and silver prices moved higher in India on Friday, August 7, as precious metals continued to attract investor attention amid global market uncertainty. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures rose to ₹1,49,490 per 10 grams, while silver futures climbed to ₹2,28,660 per kg.

The latest movement keeps gold prices close to the ₹1.5 lakh mark, highlighting the strength of the precious metals market. Silver has also remained firm, supported by gains in international markets and continued demand for the metal as both an investment asset and an industrial commodity.

In the retail market, 24-karat gold in New Delhi was priced at around ₹1,49,020 per 10 grams, while 22-karat gold stood at ₹1,36,602. Silver 999 was quoted at ₹2,27,970 per kg.

In Mumbai, the 24K gold rate was around ₹1,49,280 per 10 grams and 22K gold was priced at ₹1,36,840. Silver was quoted at ₹2,28,370 per kg.

Kolkata saw 24K gold at approximately ₹1,49,080 per 10 grams, while 22K gold stood at ₹1,36,657. The silver rate was around ₹2,28,060 per kg.

Among other major markets, Bengaluru recorded 24K gold at about ₹1,49,400 per 10 grams and 22K gold at ₹1,36,950. Silver was priced at ₹2,28,550 per kg. In Hyderabad, 24K gold was around ₹1,49,510 and 22K gold at ₹1,37,051 per 10 grams, while silver stood at ₹2,28,730 per kg.

Chennai recorded one of the higher gold prices among the markets tracked, with 24K gold at around ₹1,49,710 per 10 grams and 22K gold at ₹1,37,234. Silver was quoted at approximately ₹2,29,030 per kg.

The domestic bullion market has been taking cues from international prices, with global gold and silver both gaining during Friday’s trading session. Spot gold rose around 0.41% to $4,317.40 an ounce, while silver gained about 1.50% to $62.53 an ounce during morning trade.

Gold had already touched a seven-week high in the previous session, supported by several factors including movements in the US dollar, Treasury yields and expectations surrounding US interest-rate policy.

A weaker US dollar generally supports gold because the metal becomes relatively cheaper for buyers holding other currencies. Lower bond yields can also make non-yielding assets such as gold more attractive to investors.

The outlook for US monetary policy remains particularly important for bullion prices. Investors are closely watching economic data from the United States for clues about the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate decision. Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls and unemployment data could influence the dollar and US Treasury yields, potentially triggering further movement in gold and silver prices.

Geopolitical developments are another factor keeping precious metals in focus. While some optimism around possible diplomatic developments has eased immediate concerns in global markets, uncertainty remains. Such conditions can encourage investors to maintain exposure to traditional safe-haven assets such as gold.

For Indian consumers, the latest gold price is significant because domestic rates remain close to record-high levels. Anyone planning to buy jewellery is likely to feel the impact not only of the gold rate but also of making charges, taxes and the purity of the jewellery.

There is also an important difference between 24K and 22K gold. Twenty-four-karat gold represents the highest commonly traded purity and is generally preferred for investment products. Twenty-two-karat gold, meanwhile, is widely used for jewellery because it contains a small proportion of other metals, making it more durable for everyday use.

Silver has also emerged as a closely watched commodity. Unlike gold, silver has significant industrial applications, including in electronics, solar technology and other manufacturing sectors. As a result, silver prices can respond to both investment demand and expectations about industrial activity.

The latest rise in MCX silver to ₹2,28,660 per kg underlines the strong momentum in the domestic silver market. Its performance is being influenced by international silver prices, currency movements, interest-rate expectations and broader commodity-market sentiment.

Analysts expect volatility to continue in the bullion market as traders assess incoming economic data and developments on the geopolitical front. Market participants are likely to watch the dollar and US bond yields closely, as both can have a direct influence on gold prices.

For investors, the current environment continues to support interest in precious metals, although elevated prices also mean that short-term movements can be sharp. Gold and silver can react quickly to changes in global interest-rate expectations, currency movements and risk sentiment.

For now, gold price today remains close to ₹1.5 lakh per 10 grams in the domestic futures market, with MCX gold at ₹1,49,490. MCX silver is also holding firm at ₹2,28,660 per kg.

With global economic data, US monetary policy expectations and geopolitical developments all in focus, investors will be watching closely to see whether gold and silver can extend their recent gains or face profit-taking at elevated levels.