Gopichand P Hinduja: The Patriarch

He was instrumental in turning a family trading business into a multinational conglomerate.

THE HINDUJA FAMILY, yet again this year, was found to be the wealthiest in the UK with a net worth of over GBP 35 billion, and since 2023, it was Gopichand Hinduja (1940-2025), or GP as he was known, who was its patriarch. Even before that, he had been instrumental in turning what started off as a small family-run business in pre-Independence India into a conglomerate spanning multiple continents.

When he joined the business in 1959, it had already expanded overseas. He had graduated from Jai Hind College in Mumbai but it was in the Middle East, especially Iran, that he first made his mark. The family was still mostly into trading, but with the next generation of Hinduja and his brothers taking charge, ambitions and connections were scaling up. Iran had been central to the business but after the revolution there in 1979, Hinduja shifted base to the UK. In the 1980s, they bought Gulf Oil and then Ashok Leyland, two diverse sectors, in succession. Acquisitions over the decades saw them entering banks, telecom, entertainment and more.

Understated in public, Hinduja was a different entity in private, where he built and nurtured his network. It was sprawling, including key political functionaries in countries that they had business interests in. There were moments of controversy too, as when a UK minister had to resign when the Hindujas were accused of trying to use favours to get a passport for one of the brothers. But none did lasting damage, and the fortunes of the Hindujas never waned, and he had a large part in it. Towards the end, however, the unity in the family itself was fraying at the edges with competing claims and legal battles, and with his passing, the direction of the group remains an unknown question. ( By Madhavankutty Pillai)

JD Vance: Identity Crisis

US Vice President JD Vance, till his recent statements about hoping that his “atheist” wife Usha will one day embrace Christianity, came across as someone at ease with his marriage. The backlash against his remarks saw him clarifying that his Hindu wife had no plans to change her religion and he respected their interfaith marriage. The clarification did help in setting the record straight but Vance might have succumbed to religious identity fervour gripping the MAGA crowd. During their visit to India, the Vances came across as a well-adjusted couple willing to let the children embrace their Indian heritage. With every vice president dreaming of occupying the White House, an assimilative approach might serve Vance best once the MAGA fever subsides.

Ideas

Copyright

Just a little before he was elected as New York City’s next mayor, Zohran Mamdani uploaded a video with Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’’ playing in the background on social media. By the next day, it had been taken down from X. This happened because the copyright holder of the song, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), had reportedly asked for the song to be taken down, citing copyright infringement.

This joins a long list of instances in American political history where copyright holders have objected to or tried to stop politicians from using their songs. This has been going on for a long time, and several prominent politicians from both Republican and Democratic parties have at one time or another faced this issue. The ones receiving the notices usually tend to be Republican figures, which shouldn’t be very surprising given that a large part of the music world has historically tended to have a left tilt. And within this, divisive figures find it hard to find music. Donald Trump has attracted hordes of cease and desist notices from musicians like the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Aerosmith, ABBA, Celine Dion, and many more.

What has added a new dimension to all this is the growing incidence of companies buying the copyright of entire catalogues of musicians. UMPG was the one that created a stir when it purchased all of Dylan’s songwriting rights in 2020, but many such deals for other musicians have since been struck. In the future, a company might be the one objecting, or perhaps they will have no qualms over licensing the song, irrespective of how the original songwriter feels.

Money Mantra

GST Bonanza

The move is showing signs of paying off

WHEN GST RATES are trimmed ahead of, or around, the festive window, the first impact is obvious at the checkout counter: prices dip below psychological thresholds, EMIs look friendlier, and hesitant browsers become buyers. But the second-order effects, what happens after that purchase, is what matters for the economy. They seem to be turning right as a number of retailers have given estimates which show that things have turned brighter this festive season. While the auto numbers had shown improvement, after Deepavali, voices from retailers have been positive. This is going to have a positive impact on the economy.

The spike in demand does two things at once: it clears inventories and lifts capacity utilisation. Higher utilisation spreads fixed costs over more units, improving operating leverage. Then comes the multiplier. Every festive purchase sets off a chain of transactions, logistics, warehousing, packaging, payment processing, installation, after-sales, and consumer financing. Rate cuts magnify this chain by lowering friction at the start. A family that saves `2,000 on an appliance doesn’t pocket all of it; a chunk gets re-spent on accessories, services, or an additional item. That “re-spend” keeps cash rotating within the local economy, benefiting electricians, delivery staff, gig workers, neighbourhood retailers, and repair technicians. In macro terms, the marginal propensity to consume gets a nudge upward, and with it, short-term growth.

Formalisation is the quiet structural dividend. GST, by design, rewards documented trade through input tax credits. When rates fall, the relative advantage of the formal channel widens during the busiest weeks of the year. Big-ticket categories like electronics and jewellery increasingly move with proper invoices, which strengthens audit trails, improves credit scoring for small sellers, and expands their access to working-capital loans. Over time, better credit access reduces financing costs for MSMEs, stabilises their cash flows, and encourages digital adoption in billing and inventory, all of which raise productivity well beyond the festival spike. (By Ramesh Singh)

Viral

Backstage Blowup

Beauty pageants may look like glamorous events, where participants sashay down the ramp exhibiting preternatural grace. But like most things put up for consumption on TV and online, the reality can be different. A series of viral videos from the Miss Universe event in Bangkok showed just how uncharitable things can get backstage. The president of the Miss Grand International, Nawat Itsaragrisil, pulled up Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch for skipping a sponsorship shoot. Things heated up from there on, with Itsaragrisil using choice words to reprimand Bosch, before she and other contestants walked out in protest. An upset Bosch was heard saying, “The world needs to see this because we are empowered women, and this is a platform for our voice. No one can shut our voice.” The fallout would prompt the Miss Universe Organization to launch a review and restrict Itsaragrisil’s involvement with the competition.