 Morning Dispatch |
Mutual funds buy new-age dip; Infy CEO interview
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Happy Thursday! Mutual fund inflows into listed new-age companies rose due to valuation adjustments and FPI selloff. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ Tata Electronics boosts workforce
■ UPI underdogs seek fair play
■ Cognizant's Q1 report
Mutual funds lifted their exposure to new-age stocks in the March quarter even as share prices slid, using the correction triggered by macro headwinds to add more.
What changed: Holdings increased in names such as Eternal, PB Fintech, and Paytm, even though portfolio values fell as stock prices dropped during the period.
With foreign investors selling in a choppy global environment, domestic institutions stepped in, signalling rising confidence in listed internet businesses.
IPO spillover: The shift may weigh on upcoming IPOs, as investors prefer investing in listed peers with visible track records rather than in private companies with uncertain pricing.
Selective bets: Funds cut exposure to underperformers such as Ola Electric and Awfis, pointing to a sharper focus on execution and fundamentals.
Big picture: Steady SIP inflows and consistent performance from recent IPOs are helping drive consistent, long-term allocations to the sector.
Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys
Days after Infosys reported what was, at least on paper, a strong quarter, CEO Salil Parekh spoke to us about Indian IT’s outlook, the impact of AI, and more.
Edited excerpts:
On IT and talent: Last financial year, we recruited 20,000 college graduates… this financial year will also have a similar number. As AI services become a larger part of our business and overall growth starts to scale, there will be a need for people, in addition to the agents that we are deploying. We’re looking at the horizon of change where more specialised skills will become more important.
Also Read: Infosys Q4 headcount falls by 8,440; attrition rises to 12.6%
On FY27 outlook: Our guidance for next year is growth. The main difference was that the macro was somewhat different. At the start of Q4, with the situation in the Middle East… that is now getting resolved. And we are increasingly seeing that the macroeconomic environment will improve as the year progresses.
Also Read: Infosys non-committal on pay hikes, keeps employees guessing
On AI impact: Our AI services strategy is working well. We laid out these six areas where we see a huge opportunity. We see something like a $300 billion addressable market. We are ensuring we drive growth in this area. Then, we've applied AI to the rest of the activities that we are driving, which we call AI augmented services.
Also Read: Infosys logs 21% jump in Q4 profit
Tata Electronics has grown its workforce to about 75,000, overtaking Foxconn’s employee count in India for now, sources told us.
Driving the news: This is a jump from roughly 15,000 workers in 2023. It underlines how quickly the company has scaled around its Hosur facility and acquired plants.
“Tata Electronics has been expanding at a whirlwind pace,” said one of the persons cited. “Part of that expansion involved hiring aggressively to achieve the scale and momentum needed for contract manufacturing. They have met Apple's stringent metrics, handled surging demand and laid out a blueprint for other homegrown firms to emulate.”
Why this matters: This move shows how far an Indian company has climbed up the electronics manufacturing chain in a segment long dominated by Taiwanese and other global contract manufacturers, experts said.
Yes, and: Now that it has achieved “assembly scale”, the company should push for deeper localisation in the upstream value chain, build multi-site resilience to cut concentration risk, and keep improving quality and yield, another expert told us.
Also Read: Tata Electronics' head of construction resigns; new exec hired: Sources
Smaller UPI firms to meet NPCI: A clutch of smaller third-party UPI players, including Amazon Pay, Cred, Super Money, and Navi, are set to demand fresh curbs on market leaders at a meeting with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday, as the industry grapples with the long-pending market share cap issue.
Cognizant's Q1 report: Nasdaq-listed IT services giant Cognizant reported a 0.1% decline in net profit year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, at $662 million, amid a tepid demand environment, while the company also announced potential employee layoffs for the year.
■ China’s Mao-era regulator in a stand-off with Meta over AI (FT)
■ I got stood up by an AI agent, and tracked down its human owner in China (Rest of World)
■ The friendlier the AI chatbot the more inaccurate it is, study suggests (BBC)
Also in the letter:
■ Tata Electronics boosts workforce
■ UPI underdogs seek fair play
■ Cognizant's Q1 report
Valuation reset drives mutual fund inflows into listed new-age firms amid FPI selloff
Mutual funds lifted their exposure to new-age stocks in the March quarter even as share prices slid, using the correction triggered by macro headwinds to add more.
What changed: Holdings increased in names such as Eternal, PB Fintech, and Paytm, even though portfolio values fell as stock prices dropped during the period.
With foreign investors selling in a choppy global environment, domestic institutions stepped in, signalling rising confidence in listed internet businesses.
IPO spillover: The shift may weigh on upcoming IPOs, as investors prefer investing in listed peers with visible track records rather than in private companies with uncertain pricing.
Selective bets: Funds cut exposure to underperformers such as Ola Electric and Awfis, pointing to a sharper focus on execution and fundamentals.
Big picture: Steady SIP inflows and consistent performance from recent IPOs are helping drive consistent, long-term allocations to the sector.
AI will bring changes to Indian IT's pyramid talent model: Infosys CEO Salil Parekh
Days after Infosys reported what was, at least on paper, a strong quarter, CEO Salil Parekh spoke to us about Indian IT’s outlook, the impact of AI, and more.
Edited excerpts:
On IT and talent: Last financial year, we recruited 20,000 college graduates… this financial year will also have a similar number. As AI services become a larger part of our business and overall growth starts to scale, there will be a need for people, in addition to the agents that we are deploying. We’re looking at the horizon of change where more specialised skills will become more important.
Also Read: Infosys Q4 headcount falls by 8,440; attrition rises to 12.6%
On FY27 outlook: Our guidance for next year is growth. The main difference was that the macro was somewhat different. At the start of Q4, with the situation in the Middle East… that is now getting resolved. And we are increasingly seeing that the macroeconomic environment will improve as the year progresses.
Also Read: Infosys non-committal on pay hikes, keeps employees guessing
On AI impact: Our AI services strategy is working well. We laid out these six areas where we see a huge opportunity. We see something like a $300 billion addressable market. We are ensuring we drive growth in this area. Then, we've applied AI to the rest of the activities that we are driving, which we call AI augmented services.
Also Read: Infosys logs 21% jump in Q4 profit
Tata Electronics boosts headcount to 75,000
Tata Electronics has grown its workforce to about 75,000, overtaking Foxconn’s employee count in India for now, sources told us.
Driving the news: This is a jump from roughly 15,000 workers in 2023. It underlines how quickly the company has scaled around its Hosur facility and acquired plants.
“Tata Electronics has been expanding at a whirlwind pace,” said one of the persons cited. “Part of that expansion involved hiring aggressively to achieve the scale and momentum needed for contract manufacturing. They have met Apple's stringent metrics, handled surging demand and laid out a blueprint for other homegrown firms to emulate.”
Why this matters: This move shows how far an Indian company has climbed up the electronics manufacturing chain in a segment long dominated by Taiwanese and other global contract manufacturers, experts said.
Yes, and: Now that it has achieved “assembly scale”, the company should push for deeper localisation in the upstream value chain, build multi-site resilience to cut concentration risk, and keep improving quality and yield, another expert told us.
Also Read: Tata Electronics' head of construction resigns; new exec hired: Sources
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Smaller UPI firms to meet NPCI: A clutch of smaller third-party UPI players, including Amazon Pay, Cred, Super Money, and Navi, are set to demand fresh curbs on market leaders at a meeting with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday, as the industry grapples with the long-pending market share cap issue.
Cognizant's Q1 report: Nasdaq-listed IT services giant Cognizant reported a 0.1% decline in net profit year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, at $662 million, amid a tepid demand environment, while the company also announced potential employee layoffs for the year.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ China’s Mao-era regulator in a stand-off with Meta over AI (FT)
■ I got stood up by an AI agent, and tracked down its human owner in China (Rest of World)
■ The friendlier the AI chatbot the more inaccurate it is, study suggests (BBC)
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