The stock surged to Rs 99.60 apiece on Thursday, the highest level in more than month, amid a sharp surge in trading volumes. While the firm’s net profit rose 34% from Rs 220 crore reported in Q1 of the previous year, sequentially it grew around 55% from Rs 197 crore reported in the preceding three months.

NTPC Green Energy’s revenue from operations, meanwhile, jumped nearly 63% YoY to Rs 1,107 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 680 crore in the year-ago period. Total expenses rose around 59% YoY to Rs 782 crore.

The renewable energy producer’s operating EBITDA rose 64% YoY to Rs 989 crore, while operating EBITDA margin remained flat but robust at 89%.

Also read | IndusInd Bank shares fall 5% despite 72% YoY Q1 profit surge. Why analysts remain bullish?

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Along with the Q1 earnings, NTPC Green also announced that its board of directors have considered and approved the plan to invest up to Rs 28.77 lakh in AP NGEL Harit Amrit, which is a 50:50 joint venture of the company with New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh, through the subscription of 2.88 lakh equity shares. Following this, NTPC Green’s holding will increase to 51%, making the firm its subsidiary.

After hitting a 52-week low of Rs 84 in early March, NTPC Green Energy shares surged about 43% in less than two months to a 52-week high of nearly Rs 120 in late April, driven by soaring power demand amid rising temperatures and expectations of a strong El Niño.
Also read | Waaree Renewable shares crash 7% even after Q1 net profit rises 34% YoY. What’s spooking investors?The stock has since corrected around 17%. It is up 6% over the past week and 3% in the last month, taking its gains for 2026 so far to more than 3%. Over the past year, the stock has returned over 9%. The company currently has a market capitalisation of nearly Rs 82,654 crore.

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Damian Lillard turned 36 on July 15, marking another milestone in a lengthy recovery from a torn left Achilles tendon that has kept the Portland Trail Blazers guard off the court for more than a year, with the team and player both continuing to target a full return when the 2026-27 NBA season opens this fall.

Lillard suffered the injury in Game 4 of Milwaukee’s first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers on April 27, 2025, a non-contact injury that effectively ended the Bucks’ postseason run and, ultimately, Lillard’s tenure in Milwaukee. He underwent surgery days later, on May 2, 2025.

Where his recovery stands now

With training camp and preseason action approaching in the fall, all indications from the Blazers organization point toward Lillard being on track for his long-awaited return when the 2026-27 season tips off in October, closing out what has been a deliberate, more than yearlong rehabilitation process built around ensuring the nine-time All-Star returns to the court at or near his previous form.

The Blazers waived Lillard using a stretch provision shortly after his injury, a move that allowed him to return home to the franchise that originally drafted him in 2012. Portland signed him to a three-year, $42 million contract that includes a player option for the 2027-28 season and a no-trade clause, fully aware at the time that he would miss the entire 2025-26 campaign to focus exclusively on his recovery.

A season spent almost entirely in rehab, with one notable exception

Lillard did not appear in a single regular-season or postseason game for Portland during the 2025-26 campaign, sitting out the Blazers’ first-round playoff exit to the San Antonio Spurs in April. Portland head coach Tiago Splitter confirmed to reporters on April 17 that Lillard would not play at any point during the postseason, formally closing the door on any possibility of an emergency in-season return.

Despite that full-season absence, Lillard made one high-profile on-court appearance in February, competing in and winning the NBA All-Star 3-point contest, his third career title in the event. Speaking afterward about where he stood in his recovery, Lillard described a deliberately cautious approach. “I’m at the stage where I’m testing it,” Lillard said, according to NBA reporter Mark Medina, adding that he was focused on “making sure that he’s doing honest testing” and “being patient with it.”

Signs of physical progress through the spring

By early May, roughly a year after the injury, video shared publicly showed Lillard performing increasingly advanced basketball movements, including dunking and executing windmill dunks during individual workouts, a notable marker given the severity of the original injury. At his end-of-season exit interview, Lillard said he had already begun participating in 5-on-5 pickup basketball as part of his rehabilitation progression, another significant step toward a full return.

Throughout the process, Lillard has consistently pointed to the start of the 2026-27 season as his intended return timeline, rather than attempting any kind of accelerated postseason comeback despite persistent public speculation. Medical experts have noted that Achilles tendon recoveries for guards in their mid-30s typically require 12 to 18 months to fully regain explosiveness and confidence in game situations, a timeline broadly consistent with Lillard’s own stated target.

Why Portland prioritized patience

Portland’s front office has publicly supported Lillard’s measured approach throughout the rehabilitation process, framing his full season away from competitive play as an investment in a stronger, more sustainable return for 2026-27 rather than rushing him back for a lost-cause postseason run. The Blazers finished the 2025-26 season in the play-in tournament, ultimately falling short of a deeper playoff push, a result that added further logic to the decision not to bring Lillard back for what would have been a low-stakes, high-risk appearance.

The organization’s approach also reflects broader league trends around Achilles injuries in recent years, with other prominent players, including Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, dealing with similar injuries around the same period, prompting wider conversations across the NBA about recovery timelines, load management and the long-term physical toll of the injury on elite athletes.

No formal date has been set for when Lillard will begin participating in training camp activities, though the target remains full participation when Portland’s preseason schedule begins in the fall, followed by a return to game action for opening night in October. Lillard has expressed confidence that he will be able to return to something close to his prior All-Star level once cleared for full competitive play, and has spoken about his broader goal of sustaining a high level of performance for the remainder of his career rather than settling for a diminished role following the injury.

As Lillard’s recovery enters its final stretch before training camp, Portland’s roster around him has also continued to take shape, with the team building out its young core, including forward Deni Avdija, during his season-long absence. How quickly Lillard can integrate into that group once healthy, and how close he comes to his pre-injury form, are likely to be among the most closely watched storylines of Portland’s upcoming season.

For now, the update on Lillard’s recovery remains a positive one: more than 14 months removed from surgery, the veteran guard continues progressing toward a full return, with his 36th birthday serving as one more marker along a rehabilitation path that both player and team have approached with deliberate patience rather than urgency.

The £100m commitment will be financed by clamping down on businesses such as vape shops

Andy Burnham has announced a 20 per cent reduction to business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues. The £100m commitment will be financed by clamping down on businesses, such as vape shops and tax-avoidant online retailers, which “do not make a positive contribution to local communities,” the government said.

The measure forms part of Burnham’s promise to provide Brits with “breathing space” on the cost of living, though this marks the first policy specifically targeted at businesses.

Pubs and hospitality establishments have been lobbying for a reduction to business rates after their tax bills were pushed skyward by Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget last year.

The Prime Minister said this policy demonstrates that his government will “back the businesses that people want to see in their communities” rather than standing idly by while “cherished venues have disappeared from our local high streets”, as reported by City AM.

The reduction to business rates for pubs had been a central promise during Burnham’s campaign throughout the Makerfield by-election.

During the campaign pledge, Burnham had criticised Keir Starmer for “undervaluing” pubs. Labour had “got this wrong in government,” he said.

Chancellor John Healey said: “Pubs, clubs and live music venues are at the heart of communities across the UK.

“They bring people together, support local jobs and help keep high streets and town centres busy – which is why we will back them all the way.”

The pledge was warmly received by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) during the Makerfield campaign. Its chief executive, Emma McClarkin, said pubs “continue to pay a disproportionately higher rate which grinds down their ability to keep the doors open”.

“A further 20 per cent would be a real boost for the local, and raising the threshold so many smaller pubs get taken out of paying rates would make a real difference to high streets and livelihoods,” she had said.

Pressure on the government to overhaul the business rates system has extended well beyond the hospitality sector, with high street retailers arguing the tax puts them at a significant disadvantage compared to their online counterparts.

A coalition of retail trade bodies has urged Burnham to slash business rates for all high street businesses by 37 per cent, by introducing a two per cent levy on online sales.

Earlier in the week, the Prime Minister announced measures to reduce VAT on household electricity bills and introduce a £2 bus fare cap, though both policies faced scrutiny over how they would be financed.

Young boys and men appear to be over-represented in the stats. Of the casualties, 302 – the most of any age and sex category – were males aged 10-19.

Six deaths were recorded in 2024, unchanged from the previous year. Five of these were riders and one a pedestrian.

Although the numbers aren’t conclusive, it is thought more accidents are happening on privately owned e-scooters. Winchcomb says police statistics “aren’t reflective of the number of injuries”.

Nonetheless, campaigners believe there is enough evidence to show that regulation is urgently needed.

Carly Calland’s 14-year-old son Jacob died in March 2025 of a catastrophic head injury. He was a passenger on an e-scooter that was involved with a collision with a car.

If privately owned e-scooters are legalised for public use, Carly believes, there should be mandatory helmets, a ban on carrying passengers and penalties for parents that allow children to ride illegally.

“If Jacob was wearing a helmet that day, he would still be here,” Carly, from Wythenshawe in Greater Manchester, says.

Carly is not against e-scooters. They “are really good for people to get to work, and they are eco-friendly”, she tells me, but “they just need to be used in the correct way.”

What happens if the current situation goes on? Her answer is emphatic: “More deaths.”

This article was written by

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