Moneycontrol Selects: Top stories this evening

A daily round-up of the most interesting articles.

Here is a collection of the most important stories this evening:

Blackstone in advanced talks for controlling stake in Haldiram's

Blackstone Inc - one of the largest names in private equity - is in advanced talks with family members running India’s largest savouries and snacks business Haldiram's, for a controlling stake in the business at a valuation of up to Rs 70,000 crore, said people aware of the development. Learn more.

Kotak evaluating if Kingdon deliberately misled the lender; call on legal action after evaluation

Kotak Mahindra Bank is evaluating if it was misled by Kingdon Capital over its links to Hindenburg Research which, in a scathing report in January last year accused the Adani group of corporate governance lapses and market manipulation, said people privy to the development. Know more.

SpiceJet has not deposited employee provident fund since 2022: EPFO to CNBC-TV18

Troubled airline SpiceJet may find itself in further financial struggle after it emerged that the company has not deposited employees' provident fund dues over nearly 2-1/2 years, CNBC-TV18 learns. The last provident fund deposit by SpiceJet was made in in January 2022 for 11,581 employees, query sent to EPFO has revealed. The EPFO has issued notices and summons to SpiceJet in this regard, an RTI query has revealed. Read more.

MC Selects

NEET-UG row: Beyond reasonable doubt that paper leak happened, sanctity of exam was compromised, observes CJI

Hearing a bunch of petitions seeking directives for conducting the NEET exam afresh due to alleged malpractices and irregularities, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on July 8 observed that the sanctity of the recently held NEET exam was "compromised". Making strong observations, the apex court held that the sanctity of the exam was compromised and said that it is beyond reasonable doubt that the paper leak occurred. More details here.

Free beer, non-veg food: Karnataka BJP MP's victory party videos go viral as 60,000 turn up

Free liquor bottles and packets of non-vegetarian food were distributed for free at a thanksgiving event organised by Chikkballapur BJP MP K Sudhakar and his supporters in Karnataka. The event drew criticism as some passed out at the venue while many fell at each other creating chaos. Supporters of the MP organised the event to thank people for his victory in the recently-held general election. Find out more.

Centre dismisses Citigroup's claim that India would struggle to create jobs

The Centre has issued a rebuttal to a recent Citigroup research note that had raised concerns over the pace of job creation. The report 'fails to account for the comprehensive and positive employment data available from official sources such as the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Reserve Bank of India's KLEMS data', the Ministry of Labour and Employment said. Know more.