Biz Masala

  BIZ MASALA   |   INFRASTRUCTURE & PUBLIC FINANCE L&T’s proposed exit, a state-backed debt refinancing and the public-interest questions behind the transfer of Phase I By Murthy ASR   |   Biz Masala   |   18 October 2026 Hyderabad Metro train at a depot. Photograph supplied for this Biz Masala story. THE BIG QUESTION The proposed transfer of Hyderabad Metro Phase I from Larsen & Toubro to a Telangana government-owned entity is not simply a corporate stake sale. It combines an equity purchase with the refinancing of a much larger debt burden. The transaction raises practical questions about financing costs, risk allocation, accountability and the service commuters receive. The public record confirms the broad structure. It does not, by itself, answer every question about the eventual cost to taxpayers or the long-term financial sustainability of the network. This story separates confirmed terms from issues that require further...

  TELANGANA’S GROWTH AMBITION MEETS A WATER REALITY CHECK As the state courts investment and asks farmers to defer water-intensive crops, the hard question is how scarce supplies will be allocated—and measured. By Murthy ASR   |   18 October 2026   |   BIZ MASALA The Chief Minister’s appeal to defer water-intensive Rabi paddy has exposed a difficult policy intersection: drinking-water security, farm livelihoods and industrial growth all depend on the same resource. The data needs careful reading, but the case for transparent water accounting is immediate. THE STORY A public appeal signals a serious trade-off Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has urged farmers to defer water-intensive paddy cultivation in the coming Yasangi/Rabi season, warning of a difficult water situation over the coming months. Reports of the October 15 appeal cited the need to protect drinking-water supplies and described reservoir storage as sharply lower than a year earlier. ...