Business
Zomato acquires 15-minute delivery platform Blinkit for Rs 4,447 cr

Online food delivery platform Zomato on Friday announced it had acquired quick-commerce platform Blinkit for Rs 4,447 crore (about $568 million) in an all-stock deal.
Zomato already owned more than 9 per cent stake in Blinkit (earlier Grofers).
While the earlier Blinkit deal value was around $700 million, the drop in Zomato’s share price reduced it to $568 million.
“This foray into the next big category is timely as our existing food business is steadily growing towards profitability,” said Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal.
Zomato has grown at a CAGR of 86 per cent in the last four years to an adjusted revenue of $710 million “while the adjusted EBITDA margin has improved from (153 per cent) in FY19 to (18 per cent) in FY22”, Goyal added.
Zomato’s restaurant supplies subsidiary Hyperpure will acquire the warehousing and ancillary services business of Hands on Trade Private Ltd (HOTPL) for Rs 60.7 crore.
Akshant Goyal, Chief Financial Officer, Zomato said the company is not acquiring the B2B trading business as “that no longer fits strategically into our plans”.
“Our existing Rs 2,228 million investment in HOTPL is protected through our liquidation preference right,” he said.
Blinkit is a quick commerce marketplace delivering grocery and other essentials to customers within minutes (average delivery time of 15 minutes in the month of May).
Blinkit was rebranded from Grofers after a pivot to quick commerce last year. Their erstwhile business model was next-day grocery delivery.
“Blinkit’s business pivoted to 100 per cent quick commerce in January 2022 and since then, the business has made tremendous progress on all important and relevant metrics for this business,” said Goyal.
In the month of May 2022, Blinkit did gross order value (GOV) of Rs 4,028 million, which is 1/5th of Zomato’s monthly average food delivery GOV in Q4 of FY22.
In August last year, Blinkit (then Grofers) raised $100 million from Zomato.
“As a food company, we are already tapping into the large food delivery opportunity in India. In addition to that, we now also want to focus on quick commerce as a natural extension of our food delivery business,” said Goyal.
“Quick commerce will help us increase the customer wallet share spent on our platform and also drive higher frequency and engagement from our customers,” he added.
The closing of the transaction is expected to happen in early August 2022.
National
Bengal school jobs case: SC upholds cancellation of over 25K appointments, modifies Calcutta HC directions

New Delhi, April 3: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Calcutta High Court’s order cancelling 25,753 appointments in teaching and non-teaching posts made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016.
Disposing a batch of petitions, including the West Bengal government’s appeal, a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar made certain modifications in the directions issued by the Calcutta High Court.
“The credibility and legitimacy of the selection procedure is denuded. Accordingly, we have proceeded to made some modifications in the directions issued by the Calcutta HC,” the apex court said.
It added that the challenge to the CBI probe into the creation of super-numeric posts by the West Bengal government will be listed for hearing on April 4.
On May 7, 2024, a Bench headed by then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud stayed the operation of the impugned order passed by the Calcutta High Court cancelling school jobs.
The then CJI Chandrachud-led Bench had allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue with its investigation into the alleged scam but restricted the agency from taking any coercive action against the candidates or officials.
In an order passed in the third week of April 2024, the Calcutta High Court nullified the appointment of the candidates selected from the expired panels and asked them to return the entire salary drawn during their tenures, along with an annualised interest of 12 per cent, within the next four weeks.
Besides directing the WBSSC to initiate the recruitment process afresh, a Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Shabbar Rashidi of the Calcutta HC also directed the probe agency to carry on with its investigation into the matter.
Taking cognisance of the state Cabinet’s decision for the creation of super-numeric posts, it had said that the CBI, if necessary, can question the masterminds behind the creation of the seats in excess of the vacant posts.
These super-numeric posts, which have remained under the cloud since the beginning, are perceived to provide room for ineligible candidates recruited illegally.
In July 2023, the apex court had set aside an interim direction passed by the Calcutta High Court terminating the service of 32,000 primary teachers and asking the West Bengal authorities to complete the recruitment process for the newly-created vacancies within three months.
Asking the Calcutta High Court to decide the appeal pertaining to the school-jobs-for-cash scam at the earliest, the Supreme Court had stressed that the opportunity for a hearing has to be given to all concerned.
National
BJP leader Amit Malviya explains key insertions in Waqf Bill

New Delhi, April 3: BJP leader Amit Malviya has elaborated on the implications of key insertions in the Waqf Amendment Bill, highlighting major changes aimed at protecting historical monuments and tribal land rights.
Taking to the social media platform X, Malviya shared a detailed explanation of the amendments.
“One of the significant insertions in the bill, Clause 3D, states: Any declaration or notification issued under this Act or under any previous Act in respect of waqf properties shall be void, if such property was a protected monument or protected area under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 or the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, at the time of such declaration or notification,” he wrote on X.
Explaining its impact, Malviya stated that ASI-protected monuments have now been excluded from the Waqf’s ambit.
He emphasised that since the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is merely a custodian, protected properties may not necessarily be government assets.
“Another key amendment, Clause 3E, reads: “Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, no land belonging to members of Scheduled Tribes under the provisions of the Fifth Schedule or the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution shall be declared or deemed to be waqf property,” he said.
Malviya highlighted that this provision ensures the exclusion of tribal land from Waqf’s jurisdiction, thereby protecting the interests of tribal communities and preventing land encroachment.
He noted that this issue has been particularly pressing in states like Jharkhand and other tribal-dominated regions.
“This is a major step in protecting Tribal rights, benefiting Bengal’s Tribals and many others,” Malviya remarked.
The amendments in the Waqf Act have sparked discussions across political and social circles, with proponents asserting that they safeguard historical heritage and tribal communities.
Earlier, addressing the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asserted that misconceptions about the Waqf (Amendment) Bill were being deliberately spread by certain parties to bolster their vote banks.
He said that the proposed legislation was in line with fulfilling the wishes of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, something the opposition had failed to do.
The Home Minister explained that the new law might not have been necessary had the Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2013, passed under the Congress-led UPA II government, not been rushed through just months before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
At that time, Lalu Prasad, whose party had been part of the ruling coalition before withdrawing and later offering support, had raised concerns about the state of Waqf properties.
Quoting Lalu Prasad, HM Amit Shah said: “We welcome the amendment bill presented by the government. I support the statements made by (BJP’s) Shahnawaz Hussain and others. Most of the land has been grabbed, be it government-owned or otherwise. People in the Waqf Board have sold all the prime land. In Patna, apartments have been constructed on Dak Bungalow property. There has been a lot of loot like this.”
The Home Minister also reiterated that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was not aimed at any particular religion and that the Congress and other opposition parties were spreading misinformation about the bill to serve their vote-bank politics.
National
After LS nod, Waqf Bill to be presented in Rajya Sabha today

New Delhi, April 3: After the Lok Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, it will be tabled by the government in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The Lok Sabha intensely discussed the bill for more than 12 hours, which began at Wednesday noon and continued till the early hours of Thursday. The Waqf Bill was passed with 288 votes in favour and 232 against.
Apart from the Waqf bill passage, a resolution was adopted by the Lower House confirming the President’s Rule in Manipur.
As per the Business List for Thursday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will move in the Rajya Sabha the Statutory Resolution confirming the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur.
HM Shah will “move the following Resolution – that this House approves the Proclamation issued by the President on the 13th February 2025 under Article 356(1) of the Constitution in relation to the State of Manipur.”
The Lok Sabha early Thursday passed the Statutory Resolution confirming the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur. Even though members across party lines supported the decision, some opposition members slammed the Centre for the situation in Manipur. HM Shah said that the government has taken every possible measure to bring back normalcy in the restive Northeastern state.
Minister Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani will lay a statement regarding the withdrawal of funds from the Contingency Fund of India for servicing Interest on Sovereign Guarantee Bonds (SGBs) raised by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).
In the Lok Sabha, the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024, will be put up by Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for consideration and passing. The motion was moved by Sonowal on April 1, namely – “That the Bill to consolidate and amend the law relating to regulation of coastal shipping, promote coasting trade and encourage domestic participation therein, to ensure that India is equipped with a coastal fleet, owned and operated by the citizens of India for its national security and commercial needs, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, be taken into consideration.”
Minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu will move The Protection of Interests In Aircraft Objects Bill, 2025, for consideration and passing. The Bill seeks to “provide for protection of interests in aircraft objects and to implement the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment, each signed at Cape Town on 16th November, 2001.”
Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will make a statement in the Lower House regarding “the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the 10th Report of the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs on PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) pertaining to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs”.
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