Top headlines: RIL profits surge, L&T Infotech-Mindtree merger, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines on Saturday

Larsen & Toubro on Friday announced the merger of its two listed IT services companies – L&T Infotech (LTI) and Mindtree – and the process is expected to complete by the end of the current financial year. Meanwhile, telecom equipment makers and mobile operators are pushing for an exemption from the contentious mandatory testing and certification of all key network equipment. Read more on these stories down below:

New testing rules to hamper 5G roll-out, say telecom gear makers
 

Telecom equipment makers and mobile operators are pushing for an exemption from the contentious mandatory testing and certification of all key network equipment as per the new rules that are slated to kick in from July 1. They have told the government that these requirements will lead to a serious disruption in the supply chain for building 4G and the upcoming 5G networks and could jeopardise the latter’s launch expected to take place by the end of this year. Read more...

RIL Q4 consolidated net profit up 22.5%; FY22 revenue at Rs 7 trillion
 

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 16,203 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 (Q4 FY22), up 22.5 per cent over the year-ago period’s Rs 13,227 crore but slightly short of expectations. A poll of analysts by Bloomberg had pegged net profit at Rs 16,819 crore for Q4. But for the exceptional income of Rs 2,836 crore in the December 2021 quarter, net profit would have been its highest quarterly profit ever. Revenues and Ebitda for the quarter were its highest ever. Likewise, revenues, Ebitda and net profit for FY22 were RIL’s highest annual figures for all time. Read more...

Mega merger: LTIMindtree to join the big league with scale and ambition
 

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Friday announced the merger of its two listed IT services companies – L&T Infotech (LTI) and Mindtree – and the process is expected to complete by the end of the current financial year. The merged entity, to be called LTIMindtree, will have a stronger potential to access large deals and compete with scale players, said top executives of L&T. In terms of revenue and profit, LTIMindtree will be the sixth-largest IT player in the country, after TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra. Read more...

India plays catch-up in global chip race, offers subsidies to woo firms
 

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a persuasive pitch to global giants to help make India one of the key partners in the global semiconductor chain backed by a new supportive policy. His virtual address inaugurated the three-day Semicon conference organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in Bengaluru. The conference included the who’s who of the business — Intel, Micron Technology, GlobalFoundries, TSMC and Cadence. Read more...

'Guest-first policy': For Prithvi Raj Singh 'Biki' Oberoi, quality tops
 

One thing that every general manager at Oberoi properties knows is that if Biki was visiting his hotel, he would often ask the guests what they didn’t like. For him — even in his sunset years — picking up the phone and directly engaging with customers was the ‘Biki way’ where 99.99 per cent wasn't good enough. The Oberoi’s quality had to be 100 per cent. The least that the staff members at the hotels aim for is 9 on a scale of 10. Earlier this week, Prithvi Raj Singh ‘Biki’ Oberoi (93), chairman and director of EIH, relinquished his post. He passed on the baton to the younger generation — nephew Arjun Oberoi and son Vikram Oberoi. He is leaving behind a huge legacy to inherit. Read more...

Will equip PM, ministers with ways to deal with uncertain world: Suman Bery
 

In his first interview after taking over as NITI Aayog vice-chairman, Suman Bery tells Indivjal Dhasmana and Sanjeeb Mukherjee that his important job will be to ideate a medium-term roadmap for revival of economic growth. The conversation ranged from cooperative federalism to growth-inflation trade off and more. Read more...