Newspaper Summary - 040726

 

Google loses appeal against €4.1 b European Union anti-trust penalty

COSTLY DEFEAT. European Court of Justice upholds 2022 ruling to fine US giant for abusing Android’s market power Bloomberg TECH CURBS. Judgment reinforces stricter antitrust enforcement against platform dominance under EU digital regulations REUTERS

Google lost its long-running fight against a €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) European Union antitrust fine after the bloc’s top judges said regulators were right to punish the US giant for abusing Android’s market power.

The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that Google’s earlier defeat against a European Commission penalty should stand. The decision is legally binding and marks a significant win for the Brussels-based regulator, which has been fighting Google through EU courts since the fine was first levied in 2018.

ABUSE OF POSITION

“The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed, thereby confirming the penalty imposed for Google Search’s abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system,” the court said in a statement.

The decision is a constraint on the Android business model — which has provided free software in exchange for conditions imposed on mobile phone manufacturers. Such contracts provoked the ire of the Commission in 2018, when the watchdog accused Alphabet Inc’s Google of three separate types of illegal behaviour that helped cement the dominance of its search engine, accompanying the order with the then-record fine. The decision also paves the way for a wave of potential lawsuits from victims of Google’s behaviour.

Google said the ruling “fails to recognise our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free. In any event, we adapted our agreements to comply with the initial decision back in 2018, and we remain focused on continued innovation and openness for our users, partners and developers”.

FairSearch, a group of complainants that brought the case to the commission in 2013, called the ruling “an important victory in Europe’s highest court against Google’s anti-competitive conduct in mobile markets”.

PLAY STORE

Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said the regulator would “carefully assess” the details of the court win. In its decision to fine Google, the Commission said:

• It was illegally forcing handset makers to pre-install the Google Search app and the Chrome browser as a condition for licensing its Play Store.
• Google made payments to some large manufacturers and operators on condition that they exclusively pre-installed the Google Search app.
• Google prevented manufacturers wishing to pre-install apps from running alternative versions of Android not approved by Google.

In a September 2022 ruling at the EU’s lower General Court, judges upheld the vast majority of the commission’s arguments, but cut the fine from €4.3 billion after finding that regulators hadn’t provided enough evidence for specific abuses.

The Android case was a key element in erstwhile EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager’s effort to crack down on the growing power of Silicon Valley. Since Vestager was replaced by Spanish official Teresa Ribera in 2024, Google has continued to face EU scrutiny — including under the bloc’s powerful Digital Markets Act (DMA), introduced to prevent Big Tech from leveraging market power before traditional antitrust rules kick in.

Earlier this year, Google was told to lift technical barriers to rival AI search assistants on Android and provide key data to other search engine providers. Separately, it faces penalties under the DMA over allegations it unfairly favours in-house services and for preventing app developers from steering consumers to offers outside of its Play Store. It’s also being probed over concerns it unfairly demotes certain news results.

Health-conscious consumers beat the heat with dairy beverages

Brands are reporting soaring sales of buttermilk, lassi, flavoured milk and protein drinks Meenakshi Verma Ambwani New Delhi Protein-rich beverages are gaining popularity as consumers prioritise nutrition and refreshing summer drink options

Amidst a scorching summer, packaged dairy-based beverages like buttermilk, lassi, haldi doodh and flavoured milk are seeing high double-digit growth. This surge in demand comes as health-conscious consumers increasingly prioritise wellness and look for functional ways to boost their daily protein intake.

SALES SOAR

Jayen Mehta, MD, GCMMF (Amul), told businessline: “We have a large portfolio [of dairy drinks] and it has been a very good season. Category growth has been higher. For instance, buttermilk sales rose 60 per cent month-on-month in June, while the Amul protein range has been growing at 100 per cent”.

Jayatheertha Chary, Managing Director, Mother Dairy, pointed out that factors such as rising temperatures and a wider distribution network across channels had been supporting the growing demand for dairy-based beverages. “Our dairy beverages portfolio witnessed strong double-digit growth this summer, led by robust demand across categories. For instance, flavoured milk registered growth of over 50 per cent, while our Probiotic Chaach category rose upwards of 40 per cent, reflecting strong consumer preference for refreshing, value-added dairy beverages,” he added.

PRICE ADVANTAGE

For Parle Agro, its dairy brand Smoodh has delivered another strong year of growth. Nadia Chauhan, CMO, Parle Agro, said, “While the extended summer has certainly provided a favourable consumption environment, the brand’s momentum has been driven by far more fundamental factors”. She added that the brand’s focus on the ₹10 price point had been instrumental in accelerating its growth by making it more accessible.

Akshali Shah, ED, Parag Milk Foods, noted that the momentum for dairy-based beverages is being driven by consumers prioritizing nutrition alongside refreshing options.

LPG consumption falls 8% in first half of 2026 as West Asia conflict hits supply

Rishi Ranjan Kala New Delhi

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption declined by 8 per cent y-o-y to around 14.74 million tonnes (mt) during the first half of the current calendar year as the West Asia conflict and the resultant closure of the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) completely blocked off supply of the key cooking fuel.

According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), India’s LPG usage from January through June stood at 14.74 mt on a provisional basis, compared to 15.95 mt a year-ago.

USAGE DOWN

The decline in consumption is entirely due to lower availability of the commodity, as a large part of the imports comes via vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz (SoH). During June, LPG usage declined by almost 17 per cent y-o-y to 2.18 mt on a provisional basis.

However, consumption on a monthly basis rose by a little over 2 per cent as more LPG cargoes made it to Indian ports, particularly from the US, which emerged as a major supplier. This commodity is the main cooking medium for more than 33.50 crore households, including over 10.50 crore beneficiaries who receive subsidised LPG under PM Ujjwala Yojna.

LPG consumption during May stood at roughly 2.13 mt, which is the lowest in the last 62 months, or more than five years. Lower usage was previously recorded in May 2019 (1.79 mt) and April 2019 (1.9 mt).

LPG consumption generally declines during the summers. As of early June 2026, India was consuming around 72,000 tonnes per day (TPD) of LPG. A back of the envelope calculation shows that the country’s average usage stood at roughly 90,991 TPD in FY26, 85,830 TPD in FY25 and 81,271 TPD in FY24.

However, analysts, traders and refiners indicate that supplies will now get back on track with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran and the 60-day sanctions reprieve for Tehran. This is already reflecting in a higher number of vessels loaded with crude oil, LNG and LPG transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Gold gains after weak US payrolls report

Gold extended its gains, climbing more than 2 per cent on Thursday, after weaker than expected US non-farm payrolls data reduced expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year. Spot gold was up 2.4 per cent at $4,126.97 per ounce, as of 1300 GMT. US gold futures inched up 1.4 per cent to $4,139.20. Silver rose 4 per cent to $61.53.

REUTERS

Japan’s key agenda

Sridhar Krishnaswami TRUST QUOTIENT. Japan sees India as a reliable partner Reset policies to reduce China’s clout in the region

Even before landing in New Delhi, the Prime Minister of Japan, Sanae Takaichi, made it clear that she attached importance to the “strengthening of the strategic relationship between our countries. I wish to deepen cooperation in the field of security and strengthen our capacity to navigate the uncertain international landscape.”

In a few words, the Japanese leader captured the essence of today’s international system, not because of the implications the US-Iran war had for the world but in a genuine apprehension of the valid lessons not properly understood.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Surely the visiting Prime Minister’s agenda had a heavy economic component especially for a deeper economic cooperation between the two nations in the realms of energy, technology and defence and from a Tokyo perspective, to look beyond East Asia.

India as an “indispensable partner for Japan” did not mean that China was being given a short shrift or “dumped”, but that in reducing the burden of exposure and in keeping the Indo-Pacific open and free, India was a reliable partner.

China is Japan’s largest trading partner with a two-way trade of around $325 billion, predominantly of high-tech components, machines and consumer items. Japan consistently runs a deficit of about $40 billion.

India, on the other hand, accounts for less than 2 per cent of Japan’s total global trade; the two-way total accounting for about $27.5 billion with Japan’s exports at $21.5 billion versus India’s at a little over $6 billion. But Tokyo has been one of India’s top investors spread over automobiles, electronics, infrastructure, logistics and finance.

Now, with changes in Japan’s defence and forward posturing, it is expected that the two countries will quickly widen and deepen the points of interest especially in collaborative high technologies with dual applications.

There are nearly 1,500 Japanese companies in India operating in a very different environment compared to the restrictive eras of the past.

Prime Minister Takaichi correctly pointed out the uncertain landscape of the Indo-Pacific, especially with the US looking to humour, and stabilise relations with, Beijing. But even before this, Tokyo was becoming increasingly apprehensive of Washington’s commitment to Asia.

And this has intensified after President Donald Trump’s recent visit to China and his putting on hold a $10 billion arms package for Taiwan; making it a bargaining chip with China, and effectively giving it a veto.

CHINA FACTOR

More than the uncertainty of American commitment, Japan’s primary concern is that of China, with North Korea and Russia playing their dutiful role of add-ons.

Beijing has been consistently turning the economic heat on Tokyo, putting the squeeze on exports of rare earths or materials of dual use. But if Japan has received a big wake-up call, it is over the US-Iran war and in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

While other nations in the Indo-Pacific may be reluctant to admit, it is an open secret that China’s aggressive posturing in the South China Sea and laying claim to all of the Spratlys have raised anxiety levels, especially in the event of a potential military showdown and shutting off a pivotal waterway.

Prime Minister Takaichi will understand why India cannot be roped into any grand alliance against China. And Beijing knows what is making Japan and most of East and South East Asia uncomfortable.

The Takaichi government is on its way to remake Japan’s strategic and foreign policies. And guilt trips of Imperial Japan, World War II and Yasukuni Shrine by Beijing are unlikely to make a difference.

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The writer is a senior journalist who has reported from Washington DC on North America and United Nations

Food sovereignty: Lessons from France and India

Rohini Rangachari Karnik FARMING. For future generations For ensuring that future generation of farmers don’t leave farming, state support and credit access are crucial

France is Europe’s largest agricultural producer, accounting for around 18 per cent of the European Union’s total agricultural output. Worryingly, half of France’s farmers are set to exit farming by 2030. Similarly, in India, where about 60 per cent of the arable land is used for agriculture, the youth are leaving agriculture for cities. Both countries face a shared challenge: how do they ensure generational renewal in agriculture and what does this mean for their respective notions of sovereignty?.

The issue of generational renewal of agriculture facing France and India is not only one of production or supply. It is also a question of control: who decides what agricultural commodities are grown, how these are grown and on what terms. It is useful to distinguish food security from agricultural sovereignty. Food security is about reliable access to sufficient, safe and affordable food; agricultural sovereignty is about a country’s ability to control the inputs, institutions and decisions that shape its agricultural future.

In economic terms, the latter is the ability of a nation to control its core production inputs, pricing exposure and long-term soil capital without structural external dependency. Agriculture sovereignty, more recently known as food sovereignty, rests on six principles — right to food for people, valuing food providers, localising food systems, putting control locally, building knowledge and skills and working with nature. Food sovereignty defends the interests and inclusion of the next generation in agriculture.

Recognising the need for placing food sovereignty at the heart of the political priorities of French agricultural laws, in 2024 France proposed a draft Orientation law on ‘agricultural sovereignty and generational renewal in agriculture’. This law explicitly links sovereignty to training, EU co-financing, fosters education across agriculture, encourages environmental practices, and invests in human resources in keeping with Europe’s aim to double the share of young and new farmers by 2040.

India had its own expression of the food sovereignty movement during recent farm law protests against three farm laws passed by the Centre in which farmers demanded control over markets, inputs and land. The three laws, primarily marketing reforms, were aimed at deregulating food price control, liberalising the control of food stocks and trade, and giving private enterprise more freedom to contract with farmers directly. One fear of the farmers was that the minimum support price would get dismantled leaving farmers to bargain directly with a few large corporations. The farmer protests to retain market, input and seed control in India stand in sharp contrast to France’s top-down model of generational renewal, where state policy and explicit financial support, plays an important role in driving entry and retention in farming.

FRANCE’S EXPERIENCES

In France the state lowers financial and bureaucratic barriers for young farmers, as many leave agriculture early due to costs and low incomes. In India, generational renewal as a policy is less explicit, left vulnerable to the needs of small and marginal landholders, high debt, small landholdings, and rural-urban migration.

France uses the EU’s CAP Strategic Plan, which includes direct payments, eco-schemes and transition support for sustainable farming and generational renewal. India’s main tools for agriculture include the Minimum Support Price, input subsidies, PM-KISAN, the Kisan Credit Card scheme, crop insurance, soil-health and irrigation schemes, and market reforms, amongst others. These are major schemes aimed at enhancing productivity, income support and sustainable practices, but with little direct relevance tackling the issue of generational renewal in agriculture.

France’s model shows how legislation and finance can institutionalise generational renewal. The path forward lies in a purposeful synthesis: Indian policy could integrate France’s institutional tools — youth-support schemes, land-access instruments and targeted credit — while France could adopt India’s low-cost agro-ecological community led models that give importance to smallholders and seed sovereignty.

Only by combining state capacity with a sensitivity to movement-driven demands can both countries ensure that the next generation of farmers not only enters agriculture, but does so in terms that are economically viable, ecologically sustainable and politically empowering.

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The writer teaches French at the Alliance française de Delhi

Carlsberg files confidential IPO papers, to raise ₹7,100 cr

Suresh P Iyengar Mumbai

Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S learnt to have filed papers confidentiality with the market regulator SEBI for tapping the primary market. One of the largest brewers in India, Carlsberg will join the growing multinationals tapping the vibrant Indian market.

The confidential route allows companies to keep their IPO filings private until it is cleared by SEBI, which allows the company to withhold sensitive trade information from public glare. Some large Indian companies such as Jio Platforms and NSE also took the confidential route for filings with SEBI.

OFFER FOR SALE

The IPO of Carlsberg will largely be an offer for sale with the promoters offloading part of their stake to raise about $750 million (₹7,100 crore), sources said. With the equity markets set to rebound in the second half of this year, the company may attempt to complete the IPO by this year, he added.

Earlier, share sale of multinational companies such as Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics saw good response despite higher valuations. Carlsberg India, which entered India in 2007, commands a market share of 22 per cent.

Visa unveils payment passkey in India

Press Trust of India Mumbai

Digital payment authentication must move beyond passwords and one-time passwords (OTPs) as AI-driven commerce gathers pace, a top Visa official said on Thursday. “Authentication cannot remain dependent on passwords or one-time codes designed for an earlier digital era. It must become secured by design, invisible to the consumer, and resilient against increasingly sophisticated fraud,” Suresh Sethi, Group Country Manager for India and South Asia for Visa, said.

The payments major launched its ‘payment passkey’ solution in India. This enables consumers to authenticate online card payments using capabilities already built into their mobile devices, and helps satisfy the two-factor authentication requirement in India.

Inflation risks in the US have come down

Enda Curran Catarina Saraiva KEVIN WARSH. US Fed chief keen on delivering price stability BLOOMBERG

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said price risks have come down in recent weeks, while repeating his determination to bring inflation back to the US central bank’s 2 per cent target.

“Expectations of inflation over the first four weeks of this period have come down, inflation risks have come down,” Warsh said Wednesday at the European Central Bank’s annual Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal. He doubled down on a message from his first press conference as Fed chairman last month that the central bank will deliver price stability.

“We’re going to deliver price stability in the US, that’s what this committee has signed up to do, and our objective is to do that,” he said. “Tactics, the strategy and the rest, that’s still to come,” Warsh said.

Warsh also emphasised the Fed’s autonomy in determining the proper policy course — in the face of consistent calls by President Donald Trump for slashing interest rates. “We’ve been an independent central bank for a very long time. We’re going to be an independent central bank at this moment and you’re going to see no changes on that,” he said in a panel discussion at the ECB conference.

‘NEW COURSE’

Warsh repeated that he isn’t going to offer “forward guidance” with regard to upcoming interest-rate policy, marking a step-change at the US central bank. Asked specifically whether a rate hike is on the table at this month’s meeting, Warsh said the panel moderator was “trying to get me to break this rule” on foreswearing forward guidance. “She’s going to fail.”

“We’re going to chart a new course,” Warsh said. “I want us to have a good family fight when we meet in four weeks,” he said, referring to the next policy decision.

In his initial press conference last month, Warsh said that Fed policymakers had agreed that forward guidance “was not well-suited to the current policy conjuncture.” “At my press conference, I said we’re not going to give forward guidance because we’re meeting in six weeks,” Warsh said on a panel alongside other prominent central bank leaders. “I have an update for you,” he added — noting the July 28-29 meeting is now just four weeks away.

TASK FORCES

While Fed officials held interest rates steady last month, they did signal growing support for hikes this year amid inflation running at its fastest since 2023. Updated forecasts for the Fed’s benchmark rate showed half of 18 officials projected a rate increase this year, though Warsh declined to offer a forecast himself.

FEDERAL FUNDS RATE

The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously last month to hold its benchmark federal funds rate target in a range of 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent. Investors are now pricing in at least one 25 basis point rate rise by year-end.

As for whether the Fed will more permanently refrain from forward guidance, Warsh in June announced the creation of five task forces, one of which will examine communications. The others cover the balance sheet, the Fed’s use of data, productivity and jobs, and the central bank’s inflation frameworks.

Speaking on the panel, Warsh said that it’s likely there’ll be news next week on task-force membership. Participants will include outside experts, and some individuals from outside the US, he said.

Air India slashes fuel surcharge for Australia, North America, Europe flights

Press Trust of India New Delhi

Air India has cut fuel surcharge for flights to North America, Australia, Europe, and the UK as oil prices eased in recent weeks, according to sources.

The airline announced the fuel surcharge on April 7 amid a surge in oil and jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict. The higher costs and airspace curbs had pushed up operational expenses for the airline.

FUEL SURCHARGES

Fuel surcharge for North America and Australia flights have been cut to $200 from $280 per ticket and that for Europe and the UK services have been reduced to $125 from $205, the sources said on Thursday.

The revised fuel surcharges are effective from July 1, the sources said. Fuel surcharges for other international flights and domestic services of the airline remain unchanged.

Fuel surcharges for North America, Australia, Europe, and the UK flights had come into force from April 10. On April 7, the Air India Group announced fuel surcharges ranging from $24 to $280 for international flights except certain routes, and ₹299 to ₹899 for domestic flights.

The changing dynamic in China-India economic ties

China has introduced tighter controls on tech exports, outbound investment and sensitive industrial know-how, while strengthening supply chain rules.

While India is cautiously reopening to Chinese investment, China is becoming more restrictive about tech transfers and overseas investment.

PARAN BALAKRISHNAN THE WIDER ANGLE.

It’s the first significant Chinese auto investment in India since 2017. The colourfully named Horse Powertrain, a joint-venture backed by China’s Geely, will invest up to $370 million to manufacture hybrid powertrains in Chennai. After years of near-freeze, Chinese participation in India’s auto sector may finally be restarting.

For a very different China-India auto story, turn to the June 8 edition of China’s English-language Global Times. Days earlier, Tata Motors announced it would use Chinese automaker Chery’s platform for its premium Avinya EV, fuelling speculation the partnership could deepen. The state-run Global Times quickly shut that down. Chery stressed the agreement was limited to “vehicle-related parts supply, including providing auto components”. It denied any plans for direct investment or technology transfer in India.

The two announcements capture the changing dynamic in China-India economic ties. India is cautiously reopening to Chinese investment just as China is becoming more restrictive about technology transfers and overseas investment.

The turning point came in 2020. After the Galwan Valley clash, India effectively slammed the brakes on Chinese investment, requiring government approval for investments from neighbouring countries. Many proposals were delayed indefinitely or abandoned. Four years later, policymakers have concluded that sectors such as EVs, batteries and advanced manufacturing cannot become globally competitive without some access to Chinese technology and capital.

In March, India signalled a more pragmatic approach, allowing Chinese companies to take minority stakes in Indian firms in select sectors. The shift is modest but marks the first meaningful easing of restrictions since 2020.

Unfortunately for Indian companies, this policy change has come just as Beijing has tightened controls over its own companies, helping explain why Chery distanced itself from suggestions of deeper cooperation with Tata.

China’s tougher stance is not aimed primarily at India. It reflects Beijing’s response to growing US and other Western restrictions on Chinese investment and technology exports. China has introduced tighter controls on technology exports, outbound investment and sensitive industrial know-how, while strengthening supply chain rules to discourage manufacturers from relocating production overseas.

From Beijing’s perspective, India occupies an ambiguous position. On one hand, it’s not central to China’s global economic strategy. “They aren’t losing any sleep over it,” says Santosh Pai, partner at Dentons Link Legal.

Yet India is now the world’s third-largest automobile market and one of the fastest-growing EV markets. Companies like Chery would clearly like a foothold. Even so, Chinese policy is shaped by broader global strategy rather than India alone.

The auto sector isn’t unique. Across industries, Chinese and Indian companies are quietly exploring structures that can satisfy both countries’ regulators. “There’s been more activity in the last six months than in the last six years,” says Pai. Whether these proposals clear approval hurdles in New Delhi and Beijing remains uncertain.

OVERPLAYED ITS HAND?

Pai also believes Beijing risks tying its own companies in knots. “China may have overplayed its hand. They’ve put out legislation after legislation in the last three years to put every global Chinese company into shackles. Will it be overkill? At the end of five years, if none of the Chinese companies is going to be global, then it’s backfiring on them”.

The solar industry illustrates the same tensions. India has become one of the world’s largest solar markets, with companies like Adani building giant projects. But after India imposed higher duties and restrictions on Chinese solar imports, Chinese manufacturers shifted production to Southeast Asia rather than investing in India, allowing them to keep serving India while avoiding trade barriers.

India paid a price. Instead of attracting manufacturing investment, it continued importing large volumes of solar equipment. While the Adanis have since localised much of their production, key materials such as polysilicon, ingots and wafers are still imported. The automotive industry presents an even tougher challenge. Indian manufacturers still source a large share of critical parts from China, reflecting its dominance of EV supply chains. As one industry analyst puts it: “Chinese companies will be fighting with companies that are sourcing almost everything from China”.

That dependence should decline as domestic manufacturing expands, but keeping pace with China’s rapid technological advances remains difficult. Chinese firms continue to lead in batteries, software and vehicle platforms. BYD’s latest Blade Battery, for example, offers a range of over 1,000 kilometres and charging in minutes.

Despite political tensions and regulatory hurdles, many Chinese companies remain eager to enter India, seeing it as one of the biggest long-term growth markets across automobiles, renewable energy, electronics and advanced manufacturing.

The question is whether commercial logic will ultimately outweigh geopolitical caution. The coming months will test whether the two countries are willing to let business opportunities trump political differences.