Ashok Soota, 81, Leads the List of Oldest Self-Made Entrepreneurs in IDFC FIRST Private & Hurun India’s Top 200 Millennial Entrepreneurs 2024

While the IDFC FIRST Private & Hurun India’s Top 200 Self-Made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia 2024 predominantly celebrates young entrepreneurial talent, it also highlights the enduring spirit of entrepreneurship among veterans. The list features 33 founders aged 60 or older, with Ashok Soota, 81, at the helm.

Soota, founder of Happiest Minds Technologies, stands out as the eldest entrepreneur on the list. After serving as Executive Chairman at Mindtree, he established Happiest Minds in 2011, headquartered in Bengaluru.

The list underscores that age is no barrier to innovation and leadership. Other notable senior entrepreneurs include Naresh Trehan, 78, founder of Global Health in Gurugram; Kirti Mehta, 77, founder of Corona Remedies in Ahmedabad; and Shiv Prakash Mittal, 75, founder of Greenpanel Industries in Gurugram.

Click here to access the full list.

This segment of the report serves as an inspiration, showcasing how seasoned entrepreneurs continue to make a significant impact on India’s business landscape.

Oil falls from highest since October as dollar strengthens

Oil prices dipped on Monday amid a strong U.S. dollar ahead of key economic data by the U.S. Federal Reserve and U.S. payrolls later in the week.

Brent crude futures slid 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $76.23 a barrel by 0800 GMT after settling on Friday at its highest since Oct. 14.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 27 cents, or 0.4%, at $73.69 a barrel after closing on Friday at its highest since Oct. 11.

Oil posted five-session gains previously with hopes of rising demand following colder weather in the Northern Hemisphere and more fiscal stimulus by China to revitalise its faltering economy.

However, the strength of the dollar is on investor's radar, Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, wrote in a report on Monday.

The dollar stayed close to a two-year peak on Monday. A stronger dollar makes it more expensive to buy the greenback-priced commodity.

Investors are also awaiting economic news for more clues on the Federal Reserve's rate outlook and energy consumption.

Minutes of the Fed's last meeting are due on Wednesday and the December payrolls report will come on Friday.

Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, on Monday raised crude prices for Asian buyers in February for the first time in three months.

There are some future concerns about Iranian and Russian oil shipments as the potential for stronger sanctions on both producers looms.

The Biden administration plans to impose more sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, taking aim at its oil revenues with action against tankers carrying Russian crude, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday.

Goldman Sachs expects Iran's production and exports to fall by the second quarter as a result of expected policy changes and tighter sanctions from the administration of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.

Output at the OPEC producer could drop by 300,000 barrels per day to 3.25 million bpd by second quarter, they said.

The U.S. oil rig count, an indicator of future output, fell by one to 482 last week, a weekly report from energy services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday.

Still, the global oil market is clouded by a supply surplus this year as a rise in non-OPEC supplies is projected by analysts to largely offset global demand increase, also with the possibility of more production in the U.S. under Trump.

Mexican peso posts biggest annual drop versus US dollar in 16 years

Mexico's peso weakened nearly 23% this year to close the final day of trading at 20.82 pesos per U.S. dollar on Tuesday, the currency's deepest drop against the greenback since the 2008 global financial crisis.

The peso's volatile year kicked off with months of steady gains until the days following June's general election, which swept the leftist coalition led by the ruling Morena party to a resounding victory in the presidential race as well as large congressional majorities.

Ahead of the election, the Mexican currency traded in April at about 16.26 pesos per dollar to reach a nine-year high.

The election win for Morena paved the way for passage of constitutional reforms in September, including a major overhaul of the judiciary that critics argue will undermine the independence of the courts in Latin America's second-biggest economy.

The election of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in November exacerbated the peso's rocky ride, amid his fresh tariff threats against Mexico, which sends around 80% of its exports to its northern neighbor.

Mexico's main stock index also shed value during the year, dipping nearly 14% to close on Tuesday at 49,513 points, its steepest fall since 2018.

India’s services activity rises to a 4-month high of 59.3 in December

India’s services activity rose to a four-month?high of 59.3 in December compared with 58.4 in the previous month, as demand buoyancy helped improved conditions for output growth and new orders, according to results of a private sector survey released on January 6.

"Forward-looking indicators such as new business and future activity suggested that the strong performance will likely continue in the near future," said Ines Lam, Economist at HSBC,

The HSBC India Services Business Activity Index remained above the 58 mark for a third consecutive month. But services activity in the quarter dipped to a four quarter low.

A reading of above 50 signifies expansion.

"Finance & Insurance again registered by far the strongest increases in both new orders and business activity at the sub-sector level," HSBC stated.

The services activity index performance was better than the manufacturing sector, which dipped to a 12-month low of 56.4 in December.

"Strength in the services PMI stands in contrast with the growing signs of a slowdown in the manufacturing industry," Lam said.

India’s economy is expected to perform better in the third quarter compared with the July-September period when growth slumped to a near two-year low of 5.4 percent.

Inflation was also subdued compared with the previous month, but higher fees for inputs did feed into charge inflation, as service providers raised their fees.

There was positive news on the employment front as well.

"The rate of employment growth softened from November, but was sharp and among the strongest seen since data collection began in December 2005," HSBC noted.

The level of positive sentiment declined from November, but remained above the long-run average.

The government will release preliminary figures for GDP on January 7, indicating the hit to growth owing to a slowdown in growth after the release of the second quarter data.

The economy grew 6 percent in the first half of the year. It would need to log 7 percent growth in the remaining half to achieve the lower end of 6.5-7 percent growth projected by the government.

A tumultuous geopolitical scenario may also weigh on growth. International orders did slip to a three month low in December.

Poverty below 5%, extreme poverty rates minimal in India: SBI research

India's poverty rates dropped significantly below 5% in 2024, as revealed by the State Bank of India's study. Both rural and urban poverty saw major reductions, with rural poverty at 4.86% and urban poverty at 4.09%. Further adjustments may occur following the completion of the 2021 census

NEW DELHI: Poverty rates in India fell below 5% and the existence of extreme poverty became almost minimal in 2024, according to a study by the State Bank of India. "At an aggregate level, we believe poverty rates in India could now be in the range of 4-4.5 per cent with almost minimal existence of extreme poverty," the research said.

The report highlighted notable progress in reducing both rural and urban poverty, as revealed by the government's Consumption Expenditure Survey. Rural poverty in FY24 stood at 4.86%, a drop from 7.2% in FY23 and 25.7% in FY12. The report credited the reduction in rural poverty to increased consumption growth among the bottom 5% of the population, resulting in a shift in the poverty line.

Similarly, urban poverty decreased to 4.09% in FY24, down from 4.6% in FY23 and 13.7% in FY12.The study noted that poverty estimates could see slight adjustments pending the completion of the 2021 census and the release of updated rural-urban population data."It is possible that these numbers could undergo minor revisions once the 2021 census is completed and new Rural Urban population share is published. We believe Urban poverty could decline even further," it said

Microsoft to spend US$80 billion on AI data centres

The tech giant spent more than US$50 billion on capital expenditures the previous year, mostly related to AI-supporting server farm construction

Microsoft Corp. plans to spend US$80 billion this fiscal year building out data centres, underscoring the intense capital requirements of artificial intelligence (AI).

More than half of this projected spending through June 2025 will be in the United States, Microsoft president Brad Smith wrote in a blog post Friday. Recent AI progress is thanks to “large-scale infrastructure investments that serve as the essential foundation of AI innovation and use,” Smith wrote.

Cloud infrastructure providers like Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. have been racing to expand computing capacity by constructing new data centres. In the previous fiscal year ending in June 2024, Microsoft spent more than US$50 billion on capital expenditures, the vast majority related to server farm construction fuelled by demand for artificial intelligence services.

Smith also cautioned the incoming Donald Trump administration against “heavy-handed regulations” related to AI. “The most important U.S. public-policy priority should be to ensure that the U.S. private sector can continue to advance with the wind at its back,” Smith wrote.

The country needs “a pragmatic export control policy that balances strong security protection for AI components in trusted data centres with an ability for U.S. companies to expand rapidly and provide a reliable source of supply to the many countries that are American allies and friends,” Smith wrote.

Curefoods acquires Krispy Kreme from Landmark Group

The deal is a mix of cash and equity. Curefoods has given money and shares in the company to the Landmark Group, CEO and founder Ankit Nagori told Moneycontrol.

Curefoods, a food and beverage (F&B) startup in India, has entered into an agreement with the Landmark Group to acquire operations of Krispy Kreme, the popular doughnut brand, in the South and West of India, the companies said in a joint press release on December 31.

While the current agreement allows Curefoods to run and operate Krispy Kreme in the South and West of India, Curefoods is also in discussions to expand operations to the North and East of India over the coming months, founder Ankit Nagori told Moneycontrol.

Krispy Kreme, under Curefoods, currently has over 50 touchpoints and has plans to expand to over 350 additional points of access in India over the next five years.

The deal is a mix of cash and equity. Curefoods has given money and shares in the company to the Landmark Group, Nagori said.

“This partnership underscores our commitment to expanding into categories beyond our cloud kitchen ecosystem and investing in well-loved brands to enhance our presence in India’s food market,” he added.

Binny Bansal-backed Curefoods has been expanding operations by bringing Frozen Bottle and other brands under its fold, along with an existing portfolio of brands such as EatFit, Cakezone, Nomad Pizza, Sharief Bhai Biryani, among others.

Overall,?it has over 500 cloud kitchens and offline stores that cater to over 10 cuisines, across 40 cities in India.

“We’ve had a very fruitful partnership with Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation (KKDC) and created a growing and profitable business…we’re delighted to see it join the Curefoods portfolio where, we’re certain, it will continue to grow significantly in the years to come,” K A Madappa, President, Citymax Hotels Pvt Ltd & Business Head of Krispy Kreme said.

Founded in 2016, Bengaluru-based Curefoods competes with firms like Rebel Foods, Biryani by Kilo, and EatClub (formerly Box8), which are at the forefront of the industry and are building a house of food brands.