A test for Tata Trusts this week

A crucial vote this week is set to reshape the leadership dynamics within Tata Trusts, for trustees will decide on the reappointment of Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh at the Tata Education and Development Trust.

The stakes are high: if either fails to secure unanimous backing, they risk losing their vice-chairman roles at Tata Trusts.

At the heart of the uncertainty is trustee Mehli Mistry, who has previously questioned their continuation, making his vote pivotal. The decision comes amid broader tensions since Noel Tata took charge, with disagreements emerging over issues like Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd.’s listing and the future of Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran.

Recent public comments by Srinivasan and Singh, backing a Tata Sons IPO and Chandrasekaran’s extension, have diverged from earlier Trust positions. What might have once been routine reappointments now reflect deeper fault lines. The outcome will signal whether the Tata Trusts can hold a unified line, or if internal differences reshape the group’s future. Read more.

THE MAIN STUFF

Mittal-Poonawalla buy Rajasthan Royals: After missing out earlier, the family of Lakshmi Niwas Mittal has secured a majority stake in Rajasthan Royals, partnering Adar Poonawalla in a $1.65-billion deal.

Led by Aditya Mittal, the consortium will own about 75%, with Poonawalla holding 18%. India’s second major sports deal in weeks—the first involved Royal Challengers Bangalore—underscores soaring valuations in the Indian Premier League (IPL), cementing its status as a global sports and media powerhouse. Read more.

India’s national alert system: The loud alert that buzzed across millions of phones on Saturday wasn’t a glitch, it was the first nationwide test of a new emergency warning system.

Developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics with the National Disaster Management Authority, the system uses cell broadcast technology to send instant alerts to all phones in an area. Unlike SMS, it works without internet and reaches users simultaneously, even reading messages aloud.

The push comes as extreme weather risks rise. While some users missed the alert, India plans to expand the system, including two-way communication for seeking help. Read more.

India power prices hit zero for the first time: India’s power prices briefly fell to zero on Indian Energy Exchange for the first time, highlighting a growing imbalance in the grid — weak industrial demand coincided with record solar power generation, which resulted in excess supply.

The episode underscores a deeper issue: India isn’t short on renewable power, it simply lacks storage and flexible demand. Read more.

Vedanta changes dividend policy amid demerger: Vedanta Ltd. is changing its dividend policy, effectively reneging on paying back at least 30% of profits, amid a five-way demerger.

The company will now decide payouts based on business needs—a shift that could unsettle investors who valued predictable returns.

While Vedanta says flexibility will help in better capital allocation, analysts say it removes a key attraction of a stock that offered steady yield. And with payouts already dipping in FY26, expectations may need a reset. Read more.

Is India ready to service its EVs? India’s EV market is scaling fast, but after-sales is a critical bottleneck that can undermine the sales momentum.

Sure, EVs are cheaper to maintain, but a breakdown—often linked to software or battery systems—can immobilise the vehicle altogether.

Unlike ICE vehicles, EVs rely heavily on software, making diagnostics and repairs more complex and less suited to traditional service networks. Now, automakers are racing to build service infrastructure, train technicians, and integrate remote diagnostics in their EVs, but will they catch up with the demand? Read on.

🔢 NEWS IN NUMBERS

• $4.8 billion: The oil revenue Iran has lost since mid-April due to the US military blockade in the Gulf of Oman, with 31 tankers carrying 53 million barrels stranded.
• ₹773 crore: The revenue from operations reported by Netweb Technologies in Q4 FY26, up 86.6% year-on-year, driven by strong demand for high-end computing systems in India.
• ₹17,683.86 crore: The revenue from operations reported by Avenue Supermarts (which runs D-Mart) in Q4FY26, up 18.9% YoY, as it crossed 500 stores with 58 new openings.
• ₹25,000 crore: The estimated one-time impact on the profits of India’s auto industry in FY26 due to environmental compensation provisions under the End-of-Life Vehicles Rules 2025.
• ₹9.50 crore: The box-office collections of Meryl Streep’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 in the two days since its release in India.
• $1.65 billion: The valuation at which the Mittal family and Adar Poonawalla have agreed to acquire IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals from the Manoj Badale-led ownership group.
• 5,000: The number of US troops the Pentagon will withdraw from Germany over the next 6–12 months, following Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s criticism of Washington’s Iran war strategy.

AROUND THE WORLD

• Crypto is now mainstream. Investors of all ages are diving in.
• The quest to use AI to help find new drugs
• Hezbollah is here to stay, no immediate plans to disarm
• Donald Trump lashes out at Anthropic
• Democrats lean on Wall Street to win in 2028

CHART OF THE DAY

LOUNGE RECOMMENDS

‘We Need to Talk in Whispers’: Soumya Sankar Bose’s new show We Need to Talk In Whispers at Experimenter, Ballygunge, in Kolkata is inspired by a journal he found on an overnight train journey from Howrah to Koraput. It seemed to be a curious “exploration of thanatology”, as the exhibition notes explain, a repository of “suicide notes” and “memories people hold on to in their final moments”. Read more.

WHAT THE FACT

May the Fourth be with you: On 4 May, fans around the world celebrate Star Wars Day, a tribute to the iconic sci-fi franchise created by George Lucas. The date is a playful pun on the famous dialogue “May the Force be with you”, transformed into “May the Fourth be with you”.

What began as a fan-driven joke has grown into a global celebration, with movie marathons, cosplay, and special releases by Lucasfilm and Disney. It’s a day when the Force, and fandom, feels especially strong across galaxies far, far away.

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