Mint TOTM | HDFC Bank preps for life after CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan

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Six years after taking the CEO job nobody expected him to get, Sashidhar Jagdishan is walking away from HDFC Bank Ltd., and this time, he’s not looking back.

His decision not to seek a third term, announced Saturday, comes barely five months after chairman Atanu Chakraborty’s abrupt resignation over unspecified “governance” concerns, plunging India’s largest private lender into fresh leadership uncertainty just as it was trying to move past the last one.

Jagdishan’s journey is a classic insider story. A finance manager in 1996 who spent three decades climbing to CFO and finally CEO in 2020, inheriting the position mid-pandemic. Colleagues describe him as thoughtful and willing to listen, unlike his predecessor Aditya Puri’s more directive style—some believe that same openness may have worked against him internally. Away from banking, he’s known for Carnatic music, cycling, and preparing curd rice for family on weekends.

But his final stretch was loud. A Dubai regulatory ban, terminated executives, a board penalty over “business overreach” on deposit rates, and now a looming US securities lawsuit. The board reportedly wanted him to reconsider the exit, but people aware of the matter say Jagdishan didn’t want the risk of a truncated term or RBI rejection, something the bank has denied.

Deputy MD Kaizad Bharucha, a 31-year veteran, is the frontrunner for interim CEO, though RBI’s 15-year cap on whole-time directors limits how long he could eventually serve in the top role. Adding to the churn, another senior executive’s term ends in November.

The stock market, interestingly, seem unbothered—even relieved. HDFC Bank’s ADR jumped 2.76% before the announcement, while domestic shares rebounded from a 52-week low, suggesting the Street had already priced in the exit. Analysts point to depressed valuations, 1.84 times book value, well below ICICI Bank Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., as reason for optimism once fresh leadership arrives. Mutual funds have been increasing their stake even as foreign investors pull back.

As one advisor put it, this is “the season of early resignations”, following similar exits at Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank. But for HDFC Bank specifically, the question that lingers is whether his successor can restore both performance and investor trust. Will the next chief be a steady hand from within, or does the bank need a fresh outsider’s perspective?

🔗 HDFC Bank may turn to Plan B with just two months to find its next CEO

PLAIN FACTS

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THE MAIN STUFF

The search for new Tata Sons chairman is stuck

Three weeks after N. Chandrasekaran announced he won’t seek a third term, Tata Sons still can’t officially start hunting for his replacement. The holdup is a charity commissioner’s order barring Sir Ratan Tata Trust, one of Tata Trusts’ key entities, from holding board meetings.

Noel Tata has now written directly to the commissioner, seeking permission to jointly nominate a selection committee member, approve last year’s accounts, and clear the trust’s budget. Without this, the five-member panel that’s supposed to pick the next Tata Sons chair simply can’t form.

Legal experts suggest a writ petition could speed things up, but Tata executives are wary—court battles bring their own delays. “We remain hopeful that the charity commissioner will consider our request,” one executive said.

TAFE breaks a 29-year pause to build a new plant

After nearly three decades without a new plant, India’s second-largest tractor maker is expanding again, and this time, exports are the driving force. TAFE will invest ₹1,250 crore in a 60,000-tractor Rajasthan facility, coming up within 18 months.

“We’re confident of growing internationally, and that’s why we’re putting in capacity,” Chairperson Mallika Srinivasan told Mint in a rare interview, following a breakout year with revenue up 25% to ₹16,000 crore.

Good monsoons, a GST cut, and farmer-friendly state policies all played a part, Vice Chair Lakshmi Venu said, pulling in a wave of first-time buyers upgrading to premium tractors. TAFE has also grown its share in the popular 41-50 HP segment from under 50% to 63% in five years. Read more.

MINT LONG STORY

As youth migrate and palatial homes stand silent, Keralam is crafting a new blueprint for elderly care. From vibrant daycare centres to innovative “time banks”, explore how the rapidly ageing state is transforming loneliness into companionship. Read more.

Adani Enterprises valuation faces a reality check

Brokerages see roughly 20% more upside for Adani Enterprises Ltd., but they are already valuing its businesses at premium multiples. Airports are priced more than double GMR’s valuation, its new-energy arm trades way above solar peers, and its data-centre business sits well ahead of global comparables.

With little room left for multiples to expand further, future gains will need to come from actual earnings growth—think airport non-aero revenue, Adani New Industries Ltd.’s renewable capacity ramp-up, or AdaniConnex scaling toward 3,000 MW by 2030.

None of Adani Enterprises’s businesses are listed yet, so today’s valuation carries no holding-company discount. Once spin-offs begin between 2027 and 2031, that could change, much like what’s happening with Reliance Industries Ltd.’s Jio Platforms.

YouTube’s new view metric may kill the clickbait era

Starting 24 August, watching the first frame of a video counts as a view, but hitting pause a second later won’t hide anymore. YouTube’s new “engaged view” tracking is shifting the game from chasing headline numbers to actually holding attention.

For creators, that means the thumbnail-and-first-two-seconds trick, what one founder calls “hook arbitrage”, loses its edge. Retention, watch time and audience quality now matter more than raw view counts, especially for brands chasing real business outcomes, not vanity metrics.

With Netflix poaching top YouTube creators like Samay Raina, YouTube is reportedly dangling million-dollar exclusivity deals to keep its biggest names in-house. But is chasing platform money the smart move, or does it just trade independence for a short-term payout? Read on.

🔢 NEWS IN NUMBERS

3: The number of lenders, including Canara Bank, Union Bank of India (UK) and LIC Housing Finance, set to challenge the NCLT’s approval of Subhash Chandra’s ₹6.25 crore repayment plan.

750: The confirmed combined death toll in Nepal and Tibet following catastrophic flash floods along their border, with at least 3,000 people still missing as of Sunday, according to reports.

₹30,919 crore: The amount infused by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in Indian equities in August, following investment of ₹20,200 crore in July, amid favourable economic conditions.

$330 billion: The gross extra cost paid by fossil fuel importers for seaborne oil and LNG in the six months following the US-Israel strikes against Iran, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

44,000: The number of new chemist outlets added by Amrutanjan Health Care during FY26 to expand its distribution and deepen market penetration.

2.1 million: The number of drivers in Great Britain with a medical condition registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, led by diabetes.

32%: The percentage of respondents whose organisations decided against buying one or more software products because they could be built internally using agentic coding tools, according to a McKinsey report.

AROUND THE WORLD

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CHART OF THE DAY

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In his opening note, the author admits to spending thousands of hours “collecting, curating, and editing” Musk’s most useful ideas. With that out of the way, let us get to the man whom the book labours to eulogise. Read more.

WHAT THE FACT

The death of a Princess

On this day in 1997, Princess Diana Spencer died in a Paris car crash initially blamed on pursuing paparazzi, though investigations later attributed it to the driver. The accident also claimed the lives of her companion Dodi Fayed and the driver himself.