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Infosys' mega ₹18,000-crore share buyback has lifted spirits on Dalal Street, but beneath the euphoria lies a crucial question: how much will investors pay as per the new tax rules. The matter has drawn attention as this is the first large buyback since the revised regime took in October, 2024. What is a buyback of shares and why do companies do it?A buyback is when a company purchases its own shares from existing shareholders, thereby reducing the total number of shares in the market. Companies may do this for several reasons: they may feel their shares are undervalued and want to support the price, to improve earnings per share by lowering the share count, to prevent hostile takeovers, or to deploy surplus cash effectively.What are the kinds of buybacks in India?Buybacks are usually carried out via two routes: a tender offer, and an open market purchase. In a tender offer, the company offers to repurchase its shares from shareholders at a fixed price (usually at a premium to the market price) within a specified time frame. If the total number of shares tendered exceeds the buyback size, the company accepts them on a proportionate basis.In an open-market buyback, companies buy back shares from the secondary market for a certain pre-determined period.Which route has Infosys opted?Infosys' buyback will be by a tender offer. It will accept tenders at ₹1,800 per share, against Friday's close of ₹1,525.6, implying a premium of 18% on these shares. The record date for the buyback has not been announced yet.What are the tax implications for individual shareholders?Earlier, the tax burden of buybacks lay on the companies. But since October 24, the tax liability has shifted to individual shareholders. "Now, for any amount paid on the buyback, the entire amount is considered as a dividend in the hands of the individual shareholder, " said Hitesh Sawhney, Partner, Price Waterhouse & Co. LLP. He said the buyback proceeds are taxed as part of the individual's income, according to her income-tax slab rates.So, how does it work?Let's assume a company announced a buyback at ₹10,000 per share. Now, an individual investor bought the shares at ₹6,000 per share and tendered in the buyback process. As per the new rules, the entire ₹10,000 is treated as dividend income for the investor. This means the company will levy 10% TDS or Tax Deducted at Source (₹1,000) and pay the investor ₹9,000.Amit Maheshwari, Tax Partner, AKM Global, a tax and consulting firm, said while the 10% TDS is for resident shareholders, 20% TDS or the applicable treaty rates applies for for non-residents.Now, there is one more layer of taxation here as the investor must pay a tax on the entire ₹10,000 as per her income tax slab, after adjusting for the TDS amount. So, if the investor has annual income between ₹12 lakh and ₹lakh (under the new tax regime), she would fall in the 15% income tax slab. Here, she must pay an additional 5% tax (₹500 on ₹10,000) on this amount which is classified as "other income." This excludes any cess. This applies to shareholders in both listed and unlisted companies.Before October 2024, companies were liable to pay a 20% buyback distribution tax (plus surcharge and cess) on the difference between the buyback price and the issue price of shares.Is there any relief for investors tendering shares in the buyback?Yes. The initial investment of ₹6,000 will be recorded as a capital loss, which can be set off against capital gains. Vivek Gupta, Partner, Deloitte India, said the cost of acquisition recorded as a capital loss in a buyback can be set off against gains in the same year or carried forward for up to eight years.What is the market feedback to the new buyback tax regime?Many market participants and consultants said the new system is onerous for large and high-income shareholders. The new regime is however, more beneficial for small shareholders in lower tax slabs. Active investors may benefit from the ability to set off capital losses, but taxing the entire buyback proceeds - including capital - is viewed as unfavourable for those in higher slabs.

New Delhi: KKR-backed Serentica Renewables has outbid Blackstone to acquire Statkraft's solar power generation business in India for an enterprise value of $220-250 million (₹1,942-2,207 crore), sealing a transaction that has been in the works since March, said people in the know.Both parties signed the agreement earlier on Sunday, the people said. A formal announcement is likely within days.Statkraft's solar business in India comprises 1.5 gigawatts of operational and under construction projects in Rajasthan that are being sold as a package. It also has hydropower assets that are on sale. The solar projects are termed the Foxtrot special purpose vehicles by Statkraft internally.Norwegian government-owned Statkraft is exiting the India business as part of a global realignment to sharpen focus on its home market of Europe. It is the largest renewable energy supplier in the continent.Statkraft and Serentica did not respond to queries.ET was the first to report on April 11 that Serentica was in the running to acquire Statkraft's India business. On May 20, ET reported that Blackstone had joined the race for the company.Statkraft announced last week that it sold its stake in Malana Power Company to LNJ Bhilwara group for an undisclosed sum. Malana Power Company houses two of its hydro power projects in India. It has also put two other hydro power assets on the block, located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Those have received bids from JSW Neo Energy, Adani Green Energy, and Torrent Power.EY is advising Statkraft on the disposal of the India business. Standard Chartered Bank is the advisor to Serentica.The acquisition of Stakraft's solar power generation business will enhance Serentica's operational capacity to 1.5 GW. It has also announced plans to develop 17 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.Serentica is led by Pratik Agarwal of Vedanta group. He is also at the helm of two other ventures in the power business- Sterlite Electric, a manufacturer of transmission equipment and cables, and Resonia, which deals with power transmission infrastructure.US investment giant Blackstone has recently turned its attention to renewable energy investments in India.Statkraft was the first renewable energy producer that it bid for in India. Deal making in the renewable energy sector has been on the rise with the likes of JSW Neo and Inox group announcing acquisitions in the recent past. JSW Neo acquired O2 Power while Inox Clean Energy acquired Evergreen Power's India portfolio.Clean energy adoption too has been on the rise as it has become a cheaper source of power and due to companies' need to meet their own decarbonisation goals. Further, India's commitment to global carbon emissions reduction targets is also propelling state support for the renewable energy sector.Statkraft's India portfolio has a total 2GW renewable energy capacity. The Oslo-headquartered company follows a unique business model in that it doesn't enter into long-term power purchase pacts with customers, instead preferring to sell power on the spot market or through short duration contracts. The company generates about ₹400 crore annually in operating profits from its hydropower business. Financial information for the solar power business could not be ascertained.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is slated to pronounce on Monday its interim orders on three key issues, including the power to denotify properties declared as "waqf by courts, waqf-by-user or waqf by deed", which cropped up during the hearing of pleas challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.A bench headed by chief justice BR Gavai on May 22 reserved the interim orders on these issues after hearing both sides in the waqf case.According to the cause list of September 15 uploaded on the apex court website, the court will deliver its order in the matter. The bench previously identified the three issues, on which a stay was sought by the petitioners, for passing interim orders.

India turned up in style at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, handing Pakistan a crushing seven-wicket defeat in their Asia Cup Group A clash on Sunday. From the very first over, the contest looked one-sided, with India’s bowlers dictating terms and the batters wrapping things up with ease.Pakistan’s decision to bat first backfired almost instantly. Hardik Pandya struck with the very first legal delivery of the game to remove Saim Ayub, before Jasprit Bumrah got rid of Mohammad Haris in the following over. At 6 for 2, Pakistan were already on the back foot, and India never let them recover.Kuldeep Yadav was at his magical best, finishing with figures of 3 for 18, while Axar Patel chipped in with 2 for 18. The duo squeezed Pakistan’s middle order, leaving them struggling to find momentum. Only Sahibzada Farhan showed some resistance, grinding his way to 40 from 44 balls.Late in the innings, Shaheen Afridi swung his bat with freedom, smashing 33 not out off just 16 deliveries. His knock ensured Pakistan at least crossed 125, finishing on 127 for 9 in their 20 overs.India vs Pakistan: Chasing Made EasyIndia’s reply was clinical. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav anchored the innings with an unbeaten 47 off 37 balls, while Abhishek Sharma’s blazing 31 from just 13 deliveries provided the fireworks. Tilak Varma also chipped in with a steady 31, guiding India towards the target with calm assurance.The chase was wrapped up in just 15.5 overs, with India cruising to 131 for 3 and sealing a dominant win.India vs Pakistan: Brief ScoresPakistan: 127/9 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 40, Shaheen Afridi 33*; Kuldeep Yadav 3/18, Axar Patel 2/18)India: 131/3 in 15.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 47*, Abhishek Sharma 31, Tilak Varma 31; Saim Ayub 3/35)

Three decades after the Soviet Union collapse, Russia is witnessing a growing interest in students wanting to learn Hindi and the government is increasing the number of institutions teaching the language. Russia's Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, Konstantin Mogilevsky said "We want more of our students to learn Hindi". "India is the world's most populous country today, and more and more Indians are starting to use Hindi in their daily lives instead of English. We need to learn Hindi and other Eastern languages," Mogilevsky told the Russian News Agency TASS. Russia's Higher Education and Science Ministry has registered a growing interest in students wanting to learn Hindi and is already taking steps to extend the number of educational institutions teaching the language. Indira Gaziyeva of Russian State University of Humanities (RSUH) said the Russian print and electronic media "mostly reflects the Indian realities through the Western narrative". "The younger generation of Russians are taking interest in deeper study of modern India and its ancient civilisational heritage," she said. The Russian Ministry of Education and Science plans to create more opportunities for students to study oriental languages. In particular, this concerns Hindi, the demand for which among modern students has already grown significantly. "Young people who want to study Hindi today have more opportunities than before. In Moscow alone, there is MGIMO School of International Relations, RSUH, the Institute of Asian and African Studies of Moscow State University and the Moscow State Linguistic University," Mogilevsky was quoted as saying by TASS. "Hindi is also taught at St. Petersburg State University, Kazan Federal University and other universities.The number of students enrolled in Hindi courses is increasing, and the number of groups is two to three times larger," he added. After the Soviet collapse, the oldest boarding school teaching Hindi in Moscow was shut down by the city government, because it found teaching Hindi redundant at a time when Radio Moscow had shut its Hindi broadcasts and "Progress" and "Raduga" publishing houses had ceased to publish translations of Russian authors. The Moscow International Book Fair held earlier this month had invited India as the " Guest of Honour Country". Local scholars of India had warmly welcomed the release of the unique "Hindi-Russian Idioms Dictionary", a collective project of several Indian scholars and translators containing around 2000 Hindi idioms. "Throughout our work we kept in mind that the dictionary is bilingual and is being made for those learners of Hindi whose language, traditions, geographical topology etc. are quite different from ours, and the meanings given in the dictionary should very clearly explain when and how each idiom can be used," one of the lead compilers of the dictionary Pragati Tipnese told PTI. She told about the immense interest in the Hindi-Russian Idioms dictionary from Russian institutions that teach Hindi and said the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) is considering to help them to procure this dictionary.