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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Ambuja Cements' acquisition of up to 72.8 per cent stake in Orient Cement, a significant move in the cement industry landscape. This acquisition process, outlined in two share purchase agreements (SPAs) initiated on October 22, 2024, begins with Ambuja Cements acquiring an initial 46.80 per cent stake in Orient Cement.

This strategic acquisition marks a notable development for Ambuja Cements, a key entity within the Adani Group's diverse portfolio, as it seeks to enhance its competitive footing in the cement sector. Ambuja Cements, a leading player in India’s cement industry, currently operates 22 integrated cement plants, 10 bulk cement terminals, and 21 grinding units across the country.

Ikea India, the local subsidiary of Swedish retail giant Ikea Group, is finally entering the crucial north India market after a prolonged phase of planning and streamlining its local operations.

The company that started its physical retail journey in 2018 with its first store in Hyderabad, has since launched ‘the blue box’ (a typical Ikea store) in three other cities – in Navi Mumbai (2020), Mumbai (2021) and Bengaluru (2022).

However, the vast market in the national capital region of Delhi remained untouched, despite its business potential. That wait, however, is over. Starting 1st March, Ikea will be serving the region through its online ordering and delivery system.

India's social spending is seeing steady growth, primarily driven by the public sector, the latest India Philanthropy Report 2025 by Bain & Company in collaboration with Dasra noted.

However, despite being the fifth-largest economy globally, India is facing a significant funding deficit in the social sector, which is anticipated to increase over the next five years.

According to the latest India Philanthropy Report 2025, the top four business families in India — Tatas, Ambanis, Adanis, and the Birlas — were responsible for 20% of the total corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions made by family-owned or family-run companies in the fiscal year 2023-24. On average, the top four families contributed between Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,000 crore per family group, ranging from Rs 200 crore to Rs 1,500 crore.

In January, major Indian banks aggressively expanded their credit card portfolios, accounting for nearly 90% of all new cards issued, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). HDFC Bank, SBI Cards, and ICICI Bank were the top issuers contributing to a year-on-year growth of 9.5% in the total number of credit cards in India, now standing at 10.89 crore, The Economic Times reported.

The industry added 8.2 lakh new credit cards in January, led by HDFC Bank with 3 lakh cards, followed by SBI Cards (2.4 lakh) and ICICI Bank (1.8 lakh).

Despite the surge in card issuance by major banks, smaller institutions remained cautious, issuing only 1 lakh new credit cards. This caution is attributed to rising delinquencies and the RBI's stringent risk-weight regulations.

UltraTech Cement, India’s largest cement manufacturer, announced its foray into the wires and cables business with an initial capital expenditure of Rs 1,800 crore over two years.

The company aims to commence operations in this segment by December 2026, with a production facility set to be established in Bharuch, Gujarat.

The move is positioned as an extension of UltraTech’s presence in the construction value chain. Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, stated, “We intend to expand our presence in the construction value chain through our foray in the cables and wires segment, which aligns with our vision of providing comprehensive solutions to our end customers in the construction sector.” UltraTech’s board has approved the plan under its building products division, reinforcing the company’s strategy to position itself as a complete building solutions provider. The company plans to leverage its extensive manufacturing expertise and strong customer connections to deliver high-quality wires and cables.

The Tata and Bharti groups are reportedly nearing the finalisation of a merger between their direct-to-home (DTH) businesses, Tata Play and Airtel Digital TV. This merger comes as audiences are gradually moving away from DTH to digital platforms.

According to a report in The Economic Times, the merger will take place through a share swap, which will increase Airtel’s non-mobile revenues.

As per the report, Airtel will hold more than 50 per cent in the combined entity. Airtel is expected to hold 52-55 per cent of the combined entity, while Tata Play shareholders, including Walt Disney will hold 45-48 per cent. Airtel’s senior management is expected to run the entity, while Tata is expected to keep two seats on the board, the report added. Both sides are expected to announce the terms of agreement soon. The due diligence will commence after that. Both the operations are reportedly being valued at around Rs 6,000-7,000 crore. The two entities had a total 35 million paid subscribers as of September 2024, and the FY24 revenues exceeded Rs 7,000 crore.

With the deal, Airtel will get access to Tata Play’s 19 million homes. The deal would be the second major transaction in the DTH sector in about a decade, following the Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger in 2016.

The government is finalising the contours of a social security scheme for gig workers, which is likely to be taken to the Union Cabinet for approval soon. The move, if it goes through, would provide a safety net to India’s rising gig workforce, many of whom have taken up such jobs due to lack of employment opportunities

According to sources, the labour ministry has been holding discussions with gig workers’ associations, online aggregators and state governments and is finalising the contours of the scheme, which would be based on a 1% to 2% contribution based on the gig worker’s daily earning from each platform that he or she is working with.

As announced in the Union Budget, each gig worker will be registered on the labour ministry’s e-Shram portal and be assigned a 12 digit universal account number (UAN).  Based on this, the gig worker would be identified and the contribution would be deducted from each platform that they work on. Under the scheme, the worker would receive provident fund and pension benefits.

The quantum of contribution is yet to be finalised but it could be in the range of 1% to 2%.

In case the worker decides to move to a regular job, the social security account under the scheme would be merged with his account under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation.

The NITI Aayog had estimated that India has about 7.7 million gig workers in 2020-21 but their numbers are seen to have increased to over 10 million by now.  The scheme is expected to help gig workers who have to rely on their daily earnings with no safety net. While several aggregators provide accidental insurance to workers, they do not have a social security scheme.

The Union Budget has also announced the inclusion of gig workers under the government’s ambitious health insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

The Code on Social Security, 2020, which is yet to be implemented, provides for framing of suitable social security measures for gig workers and platform workers for life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits as well as old age protection. It also provides for setting up a Social Security Fund to finance the welfare scheme. Sources indicated that the proposed benefits would be formulated in line with the Code and no separate legislation will be needed.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), announced that the conglomerate will double its investments in West Bengal by the end of the decade. Ambani was speaking at the West Bengal Investment Summit, in the presence of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. 

“Reliance's commitment to Bengal's all-around development remains unwavering. In 2016, when I first attended this summit, Reliance’s investments were below Rs 2,000 crore. Today, in less than a decade, our investments in Bengal have increased 20 times, and we have invested over Rs 50,000 crore. We shall double this investment by the end of this decade,” he said. 

Ambani further added, “More importantly, our investments have created over 1 lakh direct jobs and spurred significant economic growth in West Bengal.” 

He said that the investments would be made across multiple sectors including digital services, green energy, and retail. Ambani also highlighted Reliance’s role in transforming Bengal’s business landscape. 

The Reliance Chairman said that this was the best time to invest in Bengal. 

Bengal is witnessing a Renaissance in economy and business, he said. Ambani added that today Bengal means soaring vision, mighty ambition, and efficient implementation.

Ambani congratulates Mamata Banerjee for the summit. He said Bengal under CM Mamata Banerjee means business.

Nestle is reportedly planning, in a partnership with Starbucks, to bring the global coffee chain’s products to the retail market outside cafes. Nestle has a global coffee partnership with Starbucks that allows both the companies to bring out a wide range of products.

According to a report in The Economic Times, head of Nestle’s coffee strategic business unit, Axel Touzet, the company is planning to expand their coffee portfolio in India to target different coffee consumption moments.

Nestle and Starbucks had signed a global deal in 2018 that gave Nestle rights to market Starbucks’ packaged coffee and food service products outside of its coffee shops. The report added that this does not impact Starbucks’ joint venture with Tata Consumer Products that operates the coffee chain in the country. 

The two companies said that they are extending their partnership to launch ready-to-drink coffee beverages in markets across Southeast Asia, Oceania and Latin America, under which they would roll out products like Frappuccinos and Doubleshots. 

Touzet said that Nestle has the right to distribute Starbucks ready-to-drink coffees as FMCG products, and they are keen on exploring India as it is one of the fastest markets for Nescafe. Even though India is a tea-drinking market, there is tremendous potential for coffee, he said. 

They are jointly developing a range of products including wholebean, roast, ground and premium instant Starbucks coffees, capsules, Nespresso pods and creamers. 

Starbucks had entered India in October 2012 through a 50:50 joint venture with Tata Consumer Products. The joint venture operates more than 470 stores. The arrangement with Nestle is exclusive of Starbucks’s joint venture with Tata Consumer Products, the report added.

Shares of Tata Consumer Products were trading higher in pre-opening trade today. The stock has climbed around 13 per cent in 2025 so far