Ahead of the Ram temple consecration ceremony, the Delhi government on Friday announced it will organise a three-day Ramlila from Saturday.

The announcement triggered a slugfest between the AAP and the BJP, with the ruling party claiming that the Centre denied permission to hold the event at the Bharat Mandapam and the opposition party saying the venue is not allotted for religious events.

President Droupadi Murmu will confer the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2024 to 19 exceptional children in an award ceremony that will take place at Vigyan Bhawan on January 22, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Women and Child Development here on Friday.

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, will interact with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar awardees on January 23, it said.

One97 Communications, the parent company of fintech major Paytm, saw its net loss narrow down to Rs 221.7 crore on a consolidated basis in the third quarter of financial year 2024 (Q3FY24) from a loss of Rs 392 crore in the third quarter of FY23.

On a sequential basis too, the company trimmed its loss from Rs 291.7 crore in Q2 FY24.

PepsiCo India on Friday appointed Jagrut Kotecha as its chief executive officer (CEO), saying he will take over from Ahmed El Sheikh, who held the position for seven years.

Kotecha is the company’s chief marketing officer in Africa, Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA). He will assume the CEO’s role in March 2024. Sheikh will become the CEO for the Middle East business unit.

Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday reported a 9.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 2023. This growth was tempered by weakness in the energy segment, which offset steady profit growth in RIL’s retail and telecom businesses.

Also, Mukesh Ambani, RIL’s chairman and managing director, announced in a press statement that the company’s New Energy Giga complex is slated for commissioning in the second half of 2024.

Shares of Aarti Industries (AIL) rose 8 per cent on BSE to Rs 658.70 on in Friday’s intra-day trade amid heavy volumes.

The average trading volumes on the counter jumped over four-fold. A combined 6.04 million equity shares of the company changed hands on the NSE and BSE.

In the past two days, the stock of the specialty chemicals company has surged 13 per cent after it secured a four-year supply contract worth over Rs 6,000 crore with a multinational conglomerate.

Shares of potato chip maker Prataap Snacks were up 4 per cent at Rs 1,426 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade and have surged 15 per cent in the past two days on reports that FMCG giant Haldiram's is in talks to acquire a majority stake in the company.

As per a Reuters report on Thursday, the Indian snacks maker Haldiram's is considering a majority stake in its listed rival Prataap Snacks, which is valued at $350 million. This is aimed to expand its presence in the potato chip market.

K Krithivasan, CEO and MD of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has expressed confidence in the success of the company's return-to-office policy, stating that it has played a crucial role in maintaining TCS' organisational culture. Speaking to Moneycontrol at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Krithivasan revealed that approximately 65 per cent of TCS associates are now attending the office 3-5 days a week, just a quarter after the implementation of the policy, setting TCS apart from its industry peers.

Shares of Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) surged 14 per cent on BSE to a fresh high of Rs 157.40 in Friday’s intra-day trade amid heavy volumes.

Since November, the stock of the state-owned financial institution has more than doubled or zoomed 109 per cent.

Sony Group Corp has convened a board meeting scheduled for Friday to make a crucial decision regarding its $10-billion merger with Zee Entertainment Enterprises in India, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET). The merger, initially announced two years ago with the aim of creating the country's largest broadcast company, is under scrutiny due to strained negotiations and unresolved issues.

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