Business
Over 80% of below 40 entrepreneurs self-made – The Times of India
MUMBAI: Nearly four out of five of India’s leading young entrepreneurs are self-made, underscoring a shift in the country’s business landscape from inheritance to merit, according to the Avendus Wealth – Hurun India Uth Series 2025. The report shows that about 80% of business leaders under 40 featured in the ranking are first-generation founders.The study tracks entrepreneurs aged up to 40 whose companies meet minimum valuation thresholds ranging from $25 million to $200 million, based on age cohort and whether the founder is first- or next-generation. Of the 436 entrepreneurs shortlisted, 349 are self-made, pointing to a growing ecosystem driven by new ideas and technology rather than legacy ownership.Among first-generation founders, Ritesh Agarwal, founder of OYO, leads the list. At 31, Agarwal has built one of the most capitalised startups in the country, raising $3.7 billion. He is followed by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, both 22, whose quick-commerce firm Zepto has raised $1.95 billion.Other prominent first-generation entrepreneurs include Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, now among India’s most-followed entrepreneurs on LinkedIn; Alakh Pandey of Physics Wallah, who disrupted the ed-tech space; and Ghazal Alagh, the most-followed woman entrepreneur on the list.Next-generation leaders account for about 20% of the ranking and continue to shape large family-run businesses. Key names include Isha Ambani of Reliance Retail, which employs more than 2.47 lakh people; Abhyuday Jindal, who is driving sustainability initiatives at Jindal Stainless; and Vidhi Shanghvi, who recently led Sun Pharmaceutical’s $355 million acquisition of US-based Checkpoint Therapeutics.The report categorises entrepreneurs across three age groups—under 30, under 35 and under 40. Together, the companies led by these 436 entrepreneurs are valued at more than $950 billion, higher than Switzerland’s GDP. Bengaluru tops the list with 109 entrants, followed by Mumbai with 87 and New Delhi with 45. Software products and services dominate with 77 entrepreneurs, ahead of financial services and healthcare, highlighting the tilt toward digital and technology-led businesses.
Oil prices jumped on Tuesday as Donald Trump weighed Iran’s latest proposal to end the war.
The US president is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal, a US official said on Monday. Iranian sources disclosed that Tehran’s proposal avoided addressing its nuclear programme until hostilities cease and Gulf shipping disputes are resolved.
Trump’s displeasure with the Iranian offer leaves the conflict deadlocked, with Iran shutting shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries supply equal to about 20 per cent of global oil and gas consumption, and the US keeping in place its blockade of Iranian ports.
Brent crude rose to $108.13 per barrel, hovering near a three-week high, while US West Texas Intermediate went up to $96.48.
Both benchmarks are well above pre-war levels. Brent was trading at $72 before the US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February.
Asian stocks were broadly subdued at the opening. While MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.12 per cent, hovering near the record high it touched on Monday, Nikkei fell 0.5 per cent.
The S&P 500 eked out modest gains on Monday and was on course for a nearly 10 per cent gain for April. US stock futures were 0.1 per cent higher in Asian hours.
Indian shares are set to open lower on Tuesday, with GIFT Nifty futures pointing to the benchmark Nifty 50 opening below Monday’s close of 24,092.70. Both Nifty and Sensex snapped a three-session losing run on Monday, led by a rebound in technology stocks, but the broader momentum remained constrained by unresolved tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
Elevated oil prices are a particular headwind for India, the world’s third-largest crude importer, heightening inflation risks, pressuring economic growth and widening the country’s import bill.
Foreign portfolio investors offloaded domestic stocks worth Rs 11.5bn ($122m) on Monday, extending their selling streak to a sixth straight session.
Vessel crossings showed signs of recovery over the weekend, according to the maritime intelligence firm Windward, but analysts warned increased movement was yet to translate into a surge in oil and gas flows.
Iran reportedly offered to end its blockade of the waterway without addressing its nuclear programme, passing the proposal to Washington through Pakistani mediators. But Mr Trump has made ending Iran’s atomic programme a condition for any deal.
Central banks are also in focus this week, with the Bank of Japan, the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank all due to announce policy decisions. All are expected to hold rates steady, but markets will be watching closely for signals about how policymakers plan to respond to the inflationary pressure from the war.
“The BOJ is likely to stay highly sensitive to market volatility,” Fred Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC, told Reuters. “Our base case remains one single 25 basis point hike this year in July, but a June rate rise becomes more likely if the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively closed after mid-May.”
The General Motors global headquarters at Hudson’s Detroit in Detroit, Michigan, US, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.
Jeff Kowalsky | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DETROIT – General Motors is set to report its first-quarter earnings before the bell Tuesday.
Here’s what Wall Street is expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $2.62 adjusted
- Revenue: $43.68 billion
Those results would mark a roughly 1% decline in revenue compared with a year earlier and a 5.8% decrease in adjusted earnings per share.
GM’s 2025 first-quarter results included $44.02 billion in revenue, net income attributable to stockholders of $2.78 billion, and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $3.49 billion.
Aside from earnings and any changes to the automaker’s 2026 guidance, investors will be monitoring effects from the Iran war, tariff impacts and additional charges related to the automaker’s pullback in all-electric vehicles.
After announcing $7.6 billion in EV write-downs last year, the automaker said it expected additional charges but at a lower level than in 2025.
GM’s 2026 earnings guidance is better than its expectations and results from last year. It includes net income attributable to stockholders of between $10.3 billion and $11.7 billion; adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $13 billion to $15 billion; and EPS of between $11 and $13 for the year.
Mumbai: RBI has required banks to report all foreign exchange derivative deals involving the rupee undertaken in India and globally by their entire group, including overseas branches, subsidiaries, and parent entities. This brings into view offshore trades that were earlier largely invisible. This applies to both OTC deliverable and offshore non-deliverable contracts, meaning even speculative offshore bets on the rupee must now be disclosed. Banks now must report detailed transaction data-size, counterparty, maturity, and structure-no later than two working days, though trades below $1 million and certain already-reported or internal hedging transactions are exempt.
Unicef warns Afghanistan could lose up to 25,000 female health workers, teachers
Oil prices edge higher as Trump weighs Iran’s latest proposal to open Hormuz
General Motors is set to report earnings before the bell. Here’s what Wall Street expects
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