Jet fuel prices in India have been increased for the fourth consecutive month, rising by 5%. This will put additional financial strain on airlines, as jet fuel makes up 40% of their operating costs. Additionally, the price of commercial cooking gas has been raised by Rs 209 per 19-kg cylinder, in line with international benchmarks.
The Indian government has reassured citizens that the Aadhaar system, along with other applications under the "India stack," remains highly protected against cyberattacks. Abhishek Singh, CEO and MD of Digital India Corporation, stated that the government invests significant efforts in ensuring the security and privacy of citizens' data.
India ranks fourth in the world for scaleups, with 429 startups receiving over $50 million in venture capital investment, according to a report by Startup Genome. The US, China, and the UK are ahead of India in terms of scaleups, but India surpasses the UK in total VC investment and cumulative tech value investment.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a draft master direction on the treatment of wilful defaulters, allowing borrowers to remove the tag by reaching a compromise settlement with banks. The new rules aim to provide a transparent procedure for classifying borrowers as wilful defaulters while complying with the principles of natural justice. However, some criminal cases may lose ground as a result.
The market valuation of HDFC Bank plummeted by Rs 99,835.27 crore to Rs 11,59,154.60 crore. Shares of the company fell by nearly 8 per cent last week. The valuation of Reliance Industries plunged Rs 71,715.6 crore to Rs 15,92,661.42 crore. The company's shares declined over 4 per cent past week. However, Hindustan Unilever added Rs 2,913.49 crore taking its valuation to Rs 5,83,239.04 crore. The mcap of TCS climbed Rs 1,024.53 crore to Rs 13,18,228.14 crore.
Former US treasury secretary Larry Summers has stated that India needs to achieve an 8% growth rate in order to bring about significant changes in the lives of its people. He also called for increased capital and expanded mandates for multilateral development banks (MDBs) such as the World Bank.
The Indian government has suggested that taxpayers can adjust earlier demands with this year's refund claims. The Central Board of Direct Taxes explained that taxpayers can make a representation to agree, disagree, or clarify the status of the demand before the refund is adjusted. This measure aims to facilitate the timely issue of refunds and clean up pending demands.
The Indian government is "comfortable" with the amount of red lentils imported from Canada amid tensions between the two countries. India has received nearly one lakh tonnes of lentils at its ports, which is sufficient to meet the country's annual consumption of 23 lakh tonnes. The government is considering continuing the zero import duty on lentils beyond March 2024 to encourage overseas growers.
The Chief Economic Adviser, V Anantha Nageswaran, has stated that the inclusion of Indian government bonds in JP Morgan's benchmark emerging market index, scheduled for June 2024, will have several positive effects. It will broaden the investor base, potentially lead to an appreciation of the rupee, and reduce the burden on Indian financial institutions to buy government bonds.
Ahmedabad-based Nirma is set to acquire Glenmark Life Sciences (GLS), a subsidiary of Glenmark Pharma, for Rs 5,652 crore. This move marks Nirma's entry into the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) sector and expands its pharmaceutical portfolio, which includes injectables, parentals, and ophthalmic products. GLS specializes in developing APIs for various therapeutic segments.
The Indian government plans to restrict imports of IT hardware components worth billions of dollars from China in an effort to boost local sourcing. With the implementation of a production-linked incentive scheme for IT hardware and an import management system, the government aims to create a stronger manufacturing ecosystem for devices and servers in India.
The Delhi High Court has rejected PepsiCo's request to restrain Parle Agro from using the tagline "For The Bold" on its B Fizz bottles. PepsiCo argued that it holds a valid trademark registration for the tagline, but Parle claimed that the tagline is merely descriptive and does not indicate the origin of the goods.
Cisco is buying the cybersecurity firm Splunk in a $28 billion deal as it bolsters its defences against potential security threats that may be heightened by the widening use of artificial intelligence. The Silicon Valley tech giant will pay $157 per Splunk share. "Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability," Cisco chair and CEO Chuck Robbins said.
Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH), backed by TPG, has acquired a majority stake in the Asian Institute of Nephrology and Urology (AINU) for Rs 600 crore. AINU, established in 2013 by a team of urologists and nephrologists, operates seven hospitals across several locations in India and specializes in urology and nephrology. This acquisition marks AHH's entry into this specialty segment and represents its fourth specialty focus area in healthcare delivery chains.
Gujarat-based stainless steel and special steel manufacturing company, Mangalam Alloys Ltd, plans to raise Rs 54.91 crore through its SME IPO. The company intends to use the funds for business expansion, working capital requirements, and general corporate purposes. The IPO includes up to 68,64,000 equity shares and will be listed on the Emerge Platform of the National Stock Exchange.
Amid reports that US telecom giant Verizon is among top suitors to acquire cash-strapped Vodafone Idea, a global Verizon official denied such plans on Tuesday.
State-run fuel retailers are likely to bear the cross for saving consumers from the impact of benchmark oil prices rising to their highest in 10 months. But at $95 a barrel, crude is bound to delay possible cuts in interest rates and test the government's management of inflation in the run-up to elections in politically important states and national polls next year.
The US dollar and most major currencies were flatlining in early trades on Monday, barring a blip in sterling, as a Japanese holiday and a bunch of upcoming central bank meetings sucked the air out of markets.
The Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is "not a recovery mechanism", observed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), while dismissing a plea against United Telecoms filed by one of its operational creditors.
The government is working on setting up the 16th Finance Commission over the next few weeks and is debating the terms of reference at a time when several states are facing financial stress and the Centre is worried over the impact of the spate of freebies announced across the country without factoring in the fiscal situation and the impact in the long run.
India and Brazil are in talks to resolve a sugar-related trade dispute at the WT). As part of the solution, Brazil may share ethanol production technology with India. This would help India reduce its reliance on imported oil and cut carbon emissions. India would also offer something in return as part of the mutually agreed solution.
The market valuation of TCS jumped Rs 57,300.75 crore to Rs 13,17,203.61 crore. HDFC Bank added Rs 28,974.82 crore taking its market capitalisation (mcap) to Rs 12,58,989.87 crore. The mcap of Bharti Airtel rallied Rs 28,354.73 crore to Rs 5,23,723.56 crore and that of Infosys zoomed Rs 17,680.53 crore to Rs 6,27,637.87 crore. Hindustan Unilever Limited was the only laggard from the top-10 pack.
India plans to phase out the use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in the manufacturing of new equipment by the end of 2020, as part of its efforts to reduce the use of ozone-depleting substances. This move will help India achieve compliance with control targets for HCFCs under the Montreal Protocol.
US industrial conglomerate 3M on Wednesday warned of "a slow growth environment" next year and highlighted weakness in its electronics and consumer segments in the current and next quarters. The warning by the conglomerate comes months after it elevated its annual profit forecast in July. 3M, which manufactures electronic displays for smartphones and tablets, has been registering a considerable decline in US retailers' inventories
Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari caused a stir in the car industry by initially suggesting a 10% additional GST on diesel vehicles, which led to a drop in share prices for companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors. However, Gadkari quickly retracted his statement, stating that there was no such proposal under consideration by the government.
The stressed asset space is losing its allure for international players. Arcion Revitalization, originally promoted by Apollo Global and ICICI Bank, has become the latest firm to relinquish its license for an asset reconstruction company (ARC). In January of this year, Lonestar had surrendered its ARC license. In 2020, amid the pandemic, KKR had abandoned its 'firm' intentions to establish an ARC.
The US department of justice has accused Google of using its dominant position in the internet search market to stifle competition and hinder innovation. The department claims that Google rigged the market in its favor by making its search engine the default choice on various platforms and devices.
Elon Musk's satellite company Starlink is expected to receive approval from the Indian telecom ministry to offer services in the country. A meeting is scheduled for later this month to discuss Starlink's proposal for a global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS) services license.
The Nifty index in India reached the 20,000-point mark for the first time on Monday due to strong buying by domestic funds and increased investment in stocks through mutual funds by retail investors. The successful conclusion of the G20 leaders' summit also boosted investor sentiment.
On Monday, India issued a government notification announcing the imposition of a five-year anti-dumping duty on specific Chinese steel products. India's steel secretary, Nagendra Nath Sinha, said New Delhi was monitoring the steel imports situation.
Growth in bank credit has outpaced the increase in deposits during the first five months of the current fiscal. As a result, bank deposit rates are likely to move up further, with banks' weighted average term deposit rates inching up 27 basis points in April-Aug 2023.
After cards, phones, and smartwatches, 'pay by car' - launched by Amazon and Mastercard-backed ToneTag - is the latest mode for making payments. The service has been enabled by linking UPI with the car's infotainment system. This way, a car owner can pay digitally without a smartphone.
Daniel Zhang, the former chief of Alibaba Group, has chosen to resign only a few months after accepting the leadership of its cloud division. This adds an additional element of unpredictability to China's largest e-commerce company at a time when it is managing a complicated breakup.
World Bank President Ajay Banga praised India's G20 presidency, stating that the G20 declaration was unanimously adopted by all G20 nations. He commended India for setting a path for the world and emphasized the importance of finding consensus among the developed and developing countries.
The wholesale CBDC, known as the Digital Rupee-Wholesale (e-W), was launched in November 2022 for the settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities. The RBI has already rolled out a pilot for the retail version of the CBDC in December 2022, which is distributed through financial intermediaries like banks.
Customers can now withdraw cash from any of Bank of Baroda's 6,000 UPI ATMs in the country without using a debit card by simply scanning a QR code on the ATM's display screen.
The income tax department in India has stated that the burden of proof to establish the creditworthiness of an investor lies with the company being assessed. This comes after several startups, including those in the portfolio of BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, received notices from the tax department requesting information about shareholders and their income tax returns.