In Friday's market rally post the corporate tax cut, the country's top business promoters recouped more than two-thirds of the losses that they suffered in the post-Budget sell-off in equity markets.
Large chains like the Marriott and Taj that are estimated to consume two million plastic bottles a year have taken a conscious decision to first eliminate PET bottles on their premises and then reduce the use of single-use plastic altogether, saying they are all for a sustainably environment-friendly tomorrow.
Auto sales have been declining for 13 straight months as a broader slowdown in the economy has crippled demand across the country.
The overall volume at India's top four M&HCV makers - Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher, and Mahindra & Mahindra - fell 59.5 per cent to 31,067 units during the month.
The group firms reported combined losses of Rs 6,134 crore in FY19 against a net profit of Rs 5,414 crore a year ago. Excluding Vodafone Idea, the group reported a net profit of Rs 8,470 crore, down from a profit of Rs 9,582 crore a year ago.
These firms owe Rs 13 trillion to lenders and account for 55% of all non-financial corporate debt.
The companies' combined net profit declined by 10.1 per cent y-o-y during June '19 quarter against 26.2 per cent y-o-y growth a year ago.
Combined net profit of BSE500 companies at $ 63 bn is 2.3% of GDP; global average is 5%.
The optimism stems from benign fuel prices, adequate and well distributed rainfall and the recent measures announced by the government to boost liquidity at banks and NBFCs.
Net profit at M&M and Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturing Ltd contracted to Rs 918 crore from Rs 1,238 crore a year ago while revenue and other income decreased to Rs 12,997 crore from Rs 13,551 crore a year ago.
This amount does not include losses suffered indirectly through investment in mutual funds (MFs) and insurance companies.
The change in stance follows a strong opposition by automakers of the proposed government plan to ban two-wheelers (below 150cc) and three-wheelers by 2023 and 2025, respectively
The list of companies skipping dividends in FY19 includes some of the country's largest firms and industry leaders such Tata Motors, Avenue Supermart, Future Retail and Vodafone Idea, among others.
'The people let off by the NBFCs have little bargaining power and willingly settle for a 20% to 25% cut in their existing salaries when hunting for new jobs.'
While home-grown firms like Tata and Mahindra have been actively participating in the government's e-mobility mission, by launching electrified versions of their existing models, the global firms believe electric is not the best solution for a country where the primary source of power generation is coal, and where infrastructure is a big impediment.
JLR, the maker of Jaguar F-Type and Range Rover Evoque, was a jewel in the crown of Tata Motors till two years back. But, it has been struggling because of the pending Brexit, a sharp contraction in sales in China, a shift in consumer preference from diesel to gasoline in Europe, higher taxes on diesel vehicles, and tightening regulations.
Most of the hotels in the country, including the Indian ones that traditionally owned assets, have embarked upon an asset light model for a faster growth and quicker returns. Lemon Tree is likely to announce a deal with Keys Hotels in the next two weeks.
At the end of 2018-19, the Tata group had a consolidated debt of Rs 2.77 trillion. Tatas not only plan to avoid big-ticket acquisitions for now, the group's main focus will be on improving key metrics and reduce debt, say Shally Seth Mohile & Dev Chatterjee.
Historically, there has been no correlation between growth in bank credit to industry and lower benchmark interest rate
The combined interest payment for India's top listed companies, excluding financial and oil and gas firms, was up 15.2 per cent year-on-year during the six months ended March 2019, outpacing the change in net sales and operating profit.
