{
  "id": 9293089,
  "title": "Succession test at Hikal; Nothing spins off CMF as majority Indian-owned company",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/succession-test-at-hikal-nothing-spins-off-cmf-as-majority-indian",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-23T02:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "YourStory",
    "slug": "yourstory",
    "url": "https://yourstory.com/2026/09/succession-test-at-hikal-nothing-cmf-majority-indian-owned-company"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hikal shareholders will be voting on Wednesday to determine whether Sameer Hiremath should continue as chairman and managing director for another five years. The company is embroiled in a long-standing ownership dispute, with the Hiremath and Kalyani factions each holding around 34% of the shares, making a decisive vote necessary. Proxy advisers have expressed mixed opinions on Hiremath's elevation to the position. Meanwhile, India's startup landscape is becoming increasingly active, with several notable IPOs in the pipeline. Ride-hailing app Snapdeal's parent company, AceVector, is slated to enter the public market this week, while used-car marketplace Spinny has filed confidential IPO papers, aiming to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore. These two diverse consumer businesses illustrate how India's startup story is transitioning towards more sophisticated public market participation.\n\nBeyond India's borders, PhonePe, the digital payments arm of PhonePe, has obtained provisional approval from the UAE central bank to launch two payment services on the country's Aani and Jaywan platforms once final regulatory clearance is granted. The fintech firm aims to expand its international footprint by leveraging these new partnerships.\n\nIn the realm of artificial intelligence, the discourse surrounding AI risks and regulation has intensified. DeepSeek, an AI startup, will brief the United Nations Security Council this week on the potential risks associated with advanced AI systems, as world leaders convene in New York for the UN General Assembly. This comes amidst growing calls from AI industry leaders for a more measured approach to the rapid development of increasingly powerful AI technologies, with concerns about maintaining human control over these systems. However, not all experts share the same alarmist view; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed predictions of AI becoming \"superhuman\" or causing human extinction within the next few years, labeling such claims as exaggerated. He also criticized former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon's warnings about AI risks as \"irresponsible.\"",
  "summary": "At Hikal’s AGM on September 23, shareholders will vote on Sameer Hiremath’s five-year term as CMD. The Hiremath and Kalyani sides hold nearly identical 34% stakes, while proxy advisers are split over the move.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}