THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 4 MARKETS | PAGE 6 Leverage:Access engine born from Oxford rejection INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 13 Midcaps to edge past peers, says Kotak’s Nilesh Shah LUCKNOW, MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2025 Trump, Zelenskyy plan talks on Ukraine peace FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL 18 NO. 329, 18 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E OVERSEASBUYSAT25%OFDEALSIN2025 ECONOMY PAGE 3 `44,700 CRORE ALLOCATED FOR SHIPBUILDING THE MINISTRY of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has notified norms for two major shipbuilding plans with a combined outlay of over `44,700 crore. The SBFAS and SbDS aim to boost domestic shipbuilding. PTI ECONOMY PAGE 2 ICAI FLAGS COST IMPACT OF NEW LABOUR CODES THE NEW LABOUR codes introduced by the Centre last month are going to have accounting implications for the firms, including listed entities, said the Institute of CharteredAccountants of India, reports Manu Kaushik. Passingthe E firstbigtest Outbound M&As roar back in 2025 ● Indian firms are IN THE NEWS NOEL TATA, CHAIRMAN, TATA TRUSTS looking to grow faster by tapping new markets GLOBAL PUSH Inbound Domestic 96 44 Source: Bloomberg & merger market NEWSMAKERS OF THE YEAR 19 29 98 25 Total (CY25 YTD) ofopportunitythatdidn’texist ten years ago. The jump from $18.8 billion in outbound deal value in 2024 to $24.8 billion year-to-date (YTD) in 2025 highlights how India’s top businesses are cashing in on the opportunity. Experts point out that for the first time in decades, Indian companies are approaching outbound M&A not as opportunistic buyers, butasconfidentglobalplayers. Continued on Page 13 ● PRESIDENTTAKES SUBMARINE SORTIE PMO directs CILto list all units by 2030 » INSIDE « FOREIGN INVESTOR PULL OUT`1.6LCR IN 2005 PAGE 6 ADANI READIES `1.8LCR FOR DEFENCE PAGE 4 BACK PAGE PAGE 18 AI REFUSESTO BLINK, BUTCAN INDIATURN ADOPTION INTO INNOVATION,ASKS SHOBHANASUBRAMANIAN Rolls Royce aims to make India a 'home market' ROLLS-ROYCE plans to make India its third “home market” after the UK, aiming to tap opportunities across jet engines, naval propulsion, land systems, and advanced engineering. PTI President Droupadi Murmu during a submarine sortie aboard Indian Navy’s frontline submarine INS Vaghsheer from the Karwar naval base in Karnataka on Sunday FE S P E C I A L ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 A roller-coaster ride for adland The past year brought a slew of challenges in Indian advertising PTI IndiGodrops130flightsdaily ● Bengaluru tops list of flight curtailments SUKALP SHARMA New Delhi, December 28 FOLLOWING directives from the government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to curtail its domestic schedule by 10%, IndiGo reducedaround130dailyflights across94routes,showsananalysisofitsoperatingschedule. The airline’s highest fre- Affordable housing to struggle next year as well THE SALE OF affordable housing units is likely to remain subdued next year too due to low supply and lower buyer interest as interest rates on loans have not fallen enough, reports Raghavendra Kamath. CORNEROFFICEHASBEENA SOBERINGINITIATION 38 Total (CY24) YTD as on December 15, 2025 ● HISFIRSTYEARINTHE (Amounts in $ billion) 39 MAHESH NAYAK Mumbai, December 28 INDIA’S M&A LANDSCAPE was dominated by inbound deals in 2025, but a quieter, emerging shift this year has been Indian companies increasingly looking outward. Overseas acquisitions have accounted for over a fourth of the total deal market in 2025 compared with just 10% in 2023 and about 20% lastyear. The appetite for overseas growth coincides with highquality businesses in Europe and part of the US selling out as family-owned firms face succession gaps, sponsor-owned assets near exit cycles, and industrial companies get squeezedbygeopoliticalshocks. Indian buyers, observers say,aresteppingintoawindow Outbound quency and busiest domestic routes, like Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru,andMumbaiBengaluru,have seen no reductioninflightfrequencies,shows the data sourced from aviation analyticscompanyCirium.Further, the curtailment in schedule is not concentrated in a few routes,its ratherspread out. Amongthetopairports,Bengaluru has seen the most domestic flight reductions,followed by Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata,andAhmedabad. There is no curtailment in flights to and from the airline’s Mehli Mistryfactions spilled into the open. Mistry had long been a forVEN FOR AN ACE DRIVER like Noel Tata, midable presence within Tata Trusts,owing to his close relaTata Trusts chairman, tionship with Ratan Tata — 2025 turned out to be despite being part of the a bumpy drive.But few were Shapoorji Pallonji group,which surprised.With the late Ratan owns 18.37% of Tata Sons,the Tata staying firmly at the helm holding company of the until his passing — without `15.24 lakh crore conglomernaming a successor — the ate.Notably,Mehli had stood moment of transition was firmlywith Ratan Tata during always going to be fraught. the bruising battle with Cyrus Suspense was inevitable.So Mistry,his own cousin.That was the expectation of history gave him moral heft boardroom turbulence. within the Trusts. What did surprise manywas AfterNoelTata assumed the that the storm did not break chairmanship,however,the Misimmediately. trybloc began to feel increasFor a while, Noel Tata inglymarginalised.Theyargued appeared the natural, almost that keydecisionswere being default choice. He was the takenwithout adequate consulonly eligible Tata by surname, tation and sought the son-in-law of the greateraccess toTata Mistry family, and uniquely positioned HEADLINES Sons board agendas OF THE YEAR and deliberations durat the intersection of ingTrust meetings. the two families that ON PAGE 18 The first open salvo together own 100% camewhen the Mistryfaction of Tata Sons. If anyone could blocked a resolution to reapbridge legacy and continuity, point 77-year-oldVijaySingh, it was him. formerdefence secretary,as Yet Noel Tata has lived nominee directoron theTata with the shadow of succesSons board.Thevote split the sion for over a decade. Back in Trusts 3-4 — an unprecedented 2012, when the Tata Group fracture.TheTata bloc retaliated was searching for Ratan byopposing Mistry’s appointTata’s successor at Tata Sons, ment.Singh subsequentlychose he was widely seen as a serito resignvoluntarilyfrom the ous contender. That possibility faded after Ratan Tata told Tata Sons board,but the damage was done. a foreign publication that With board appointments Noel lacked the requisite experience — a comment that paralysed and governance questions mounting,the diswas widely interpreted as a pute took an extraordinary signal to the selection comturn — it reached the governmittee.What followed is well ment’s doorstep.For a 156documented history. year-old group famed for quiet Fast forward to September consensus-building,this was 2025,when fault lines finally surfaced — at aTataTrusts board uncharted territory. meeting no less.The long-simmering rift between theTata and Continued on Page 15 JOYDEEP GHOSH SHYAM KR PRASAD HEADSTART EDUCATION - UNLOCK THE FUTURE largestbaseDelhi,whilejusttwo flights—one departure and one arrival—at Mumbai have been reduced. In terms of route length,a sizable part of the curtailment exercise appears to be on relatively short-distance routes, like those within the same state or between cities in neighbouring states. The analysis is based on the changes in IndiGo’s operating schedules for a single day— Monday, December 29—filed threeweeks apart. Continued on Page 13 BILLIONAIRE BOYS THE IPO BOOM of2025 has created as many as five new startup billionaires, reports Kishor Kadam . In total, six startups have collectively raised `27,081 crore so far in 2025. PhysicsWallah cofoundersAlakh Pandey and Prateek Boob each have a networth of $1.51 billion.The company’s shares listedwith strong gains of32%. The networth of Lenskart founder Peyush Bansal (along with his family) stands at $1.51 billion.Although the company’s shares debuted 3% below the issue price, they later recovered and are currently trading 12.4% higher than the IPO price. TO IMPROVE GOVERNANCE and accountability, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has directed the coal ministry to map and list all the subsidiaries of state-run CIL by 2030, sources said. The move aims to streamline governance, enhance transparency and unlock value through asset monetisation in the coal PSU. CIL accounts for over 80% of local coal output. P2 VC funding set to be selective but stronger AFTER TWO YEARS of muted deal-making and largely flat funding levels in 2025, venture capital investors expect 2026 to usher in a steadier, though more selective, phase for the startup ecosystem. A strong IPO market this year has unlocked long-awaited liquidity for funds. P4 ALAKH PANDEY PRATEEK BOOB Both founders hold 36.15% each in the company PEYUSH BANSAL & FAMILY Peyush Bansal & family hold 17.41% stake in Lenskart LALIT KESHRE Lalit Keshre holds 8.87% in Groww VIDIT AATREY Vidit Aatrey holds 10.12% in Meesho Promoters of startups listed in 2025 Net worth ($ bn) Physicswallah Physicswallah 1.5 1.5 1.5 Lenskart Solutions Groww* 1.01 Meesho 1.01 *Billionbrains Garage Ventures Exchange rate 1 US dollar = `89.85 Better execution, more capacity utilisation top the agenda URVI MALVANIA & MAHESH NAYAK Mumbai, December 28 A CLUTCH OF chief executives who took charge in 2025 is stepping into the corner office at a time when strategic choices are unusually constrained. Demand has recovered but not evenly, the competition is keen and investors are far less tolerant of long gestation bets. What makes these leadership transitions difficult is the absence of easy levers. For these CEOs, the start is unlikely to be defined by sweeping vision statements. Instead, it will be shaped by immediatetrade-offs:reviving volumes without leaning on pricing, monetising capacity built over the last cycle, and restoring confidence where leverage or governance con- NewCEOs inherit a challenging firstyear TOUGH TRANSITIONS BHARTI AIRTEL BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES Rakshit Hargave Manish Tiwary NESTLÉ INDIA VODAFONE IDEA INDUSIND BANK Rajiv Anand Harshavardhan Chitale MD and CEO MD and CEO Chairman and MD CEO MD and CEO CEO Shashwat Sharma cerns have weakened trust. For Nestle India CEO, Manish Tiwary,the challenge is to push volume-led growth as he takes charge after several quarters in which growth was driven largely by price hikes. With commodity costs still volatile,the scope for further pricing action is limited, forcing a sharper focus on distribution expansion, higher throughput in existing categories and incremental Abhijit Kishore penetration beyond top urban centres. At the same time,the company must balance deeper rural and small-town reach with premiumisation efforts that protect margins, even as digital and AI-led efficiencies are embedded across the supply chain and go-to-market operations. A similar set of constraints confronts Britannia Industries under Rakshit Hargave. Con- HERO MOTOCORP sumption remains patchy, particularly in rural markets, and competition in core categories has intensified.Volume recovery will depend more on execution than on a broadbased demand rebound, even asvolatilityinwheat,dairyand edible oil prices limits flexibility on margins. The leadership transition follows the exit of a longtenured predecessor, making it critical to reinforce strategic continuity and restore investorconfidencewhile navigating a challenging operating environment. In telecom, leadership changes come as the investment cycle turns. At Bharti Airtel,Shashwat Sharma steps in with the bulk of the 5G rollout largely complete. The focus now shifts decisively to monetisation – converting network leadership into sustained Arpu growth through tariff repair, enterprise services and premium offerings, without triggering churninacompetitivemarket. Continued on Page 15 Lucknow