Manojit Saha &Amp;Amp; Shine Jacob

Stories by Manojit Saha &Amp;Amp; Shine Jacob

Kerala bypoll has a lot at stake for Rahul, aide Venugopal

Kerala bypoll has a lot at stake for Rahul, aide Venugopal

Rediff.com   23 May 2022

Any adverse electoral fallout in Thrikkakara by-poll may have an impact on Rahul Gandhi because this falls in the state he represents as a member of Parliament and KC Venugopal because it is his home state, reports Shine Jacob.

Prices of food items continue to rise in May, says RBI report

Prices of food items continue to rise in May, says RBI report

Rediff.com   18 May 2022

Prices of food items like cereals, pulses, and edible oils rose or remained steady in May, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report said, indicating there could be another higher inflation print. However, it observed that the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC's) surprise move to increase interest rates bodes well for its credibility. The RBI's monthly State of the Economy report, released on Tuesday, citing high frequency food price data from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for the period May 1-12, said the increase in the prices of cereals was primarily because of the surge in wheat prices.

Ford drops plan to manufacture EVs in India; opts out of PLI scheme

Ford drops plan to manufacture EVs in India; opts out of PLI scheme

Rediff.com   13 May 2022

American automaker Ford on Thursday said that it had withdrawn plans to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in India and it won't invest in the country under the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. "After careful review, we have decided to no longer pursue EV manufacturing for exports from any of the Indian plants. "We remain grateful to the government for approving our proposal under the PLI and for being supportive while we continued our exploration. "Ford India's previously announced business restructuring continues as planned, including exploring other alternatives for our manufacturing facilities.

Russia will play a major role in India's energy sector

Russia will play a major role in India's energy sector

Rediff.com   10 May 2022

Old timers in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) still remember how in early 2000 its overseas subsidiary, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), was on the verge of closure. Though OVL was set up in 1965, the only discovery the company had made till then was in Vietnam offshore, with more investment needed to monetise it. In 2001, when OVL started looking for new blocks abroad, the company's previous acquisition was 13 years old.

Boom Motors recalls Corbett ebikes, halts production after fatal accident

Boom Motors recalls Corbett ebikes, halts production after fatal accident

Rediff.com   30 Apr 2022

So far at least eight incidents of EV fires have been reported in just over a month's time.

Vande Bharat gets back on track after myriad controversies, vigilance probe

Vande Bharat gets back on track after myriad controversies, vigilance probe

Rediff.com   27 Apr 2022

On August 15 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort that the Indian Railways would launch 75 Vande Bharat Express trains by August 2023. Later, in her 2022 Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that 400 Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured in the next three years, which are expected to cost between Rs 40,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore. Those upbeat announcements come after a series of cancelled tenders, vigilance actions against officials and interdepartmental rivalry that delayed the addition of these iconic trains developed entirely indigenously by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.

Stalin comes into his own in a year, national role next?

Stalin comes into his own in a year, national role next?

Rediff.com   26 Apr 2022

The Tamil Nadu government saw an increase in foreign direct investment by 41.5 per cent during the April-December period.

Why Ola decides to recall 1,441 units of S1

Why Ola decides to recall 1,441 units of S1

Rediff.com   25 Apr 2022

Ola Electric became the latest among electric scooter (e-scooter) makers to have started the exercise of recalling a specific batch of its model after a rap on the knuckles by the government. Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday advised electric vehicle (EV) companies to act responsibly by identifying and recalling defective batches without waiting for orders or guidelines from the ministry. The Bengaluru-based start-up is conducting pre-emptive diagnostics and health check on 1,441 scooters, it said in a statement on Sunday.

Majority of Future group's secured creditors reject Reliance deal

Majority of Future group's secured creditors reject Reliance deal

Rediff.com   23 Apr 2022

Shareholders of the six listed Future Group companies voted on Wednesday. Bankers said all the large lenders had rejected the proposal.

Why BPCL divestment is on the slow track

Why BPCL divestment is on the slow track

Rediff.com   12 Apr 2022

In December 2019, the India arm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu surprised many with its ultra-competitive bid to become the transaction advisor for the country's largest strategic divestment in Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL). The multinational major quoted just Rs 1; the second-highest bidder, SBI Caps, reportedly quoted Rs 15-17 crore. For Deloitte, the motivation was to bag a prestigious deal adding a national energy company to its portfolio. No doubt, it expected BPCL to go to a marquee buyer in quick time.

What acquisition of Citi's retail biz means for Axis Bank

What acquisition of Citi's retail biz means for Axis Bank

Rediff.com   12 Apr 2022

Axis Bank's acquisition of Citibank's consumer finance business for Rs 12,325 crore - the second biggest deal in the Indian banking sector - is seen as a good deal at a good price. The acquisition enables Axis Bank to close the gap with competition in some key segments such as credit cards. At the same time, there are some key issues that are crucial for the deal's success, apart from the fact that it will take some time for Axis to reap the full harvest of its investment.

How safe are India's electric scooters?

How safe are India's electric scooters?

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2022

The government-appointed expert committee, which probes incidents of Ola Electric's S1 Pro and Okinawa vehicles catching fires, has added the latest case of fire involving PureEV electric scooter to its investigation, a senior government official told Business Standard. "A team comprising experts from Indian Institute of Science (IISC) and Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) are investigating the cases. "As soon as the report is submitted, we shall take appropriate action," said Giridhar Aramane, secretary at the ministry of road transport and highways.

RBI won't buy or sell dollars till rupee falls below 75

RBI won't buy or sell dollars till rupee falls below 75

Rediff.com   28 Mar 2022

After selling dollars for the past few months, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may take a hands-off approach before its annual account closing by not trying to prop up the rupee as geopolitical tensions show signs of stabilising with global crude oil prices easing from its $140 peak. The central bank was a net buyer of dollars between April and September, and then turned a net seller in the following months, the data released by the RBI showed. The RBI continued to be a net buyer of $36.6 billion in this fiscal year - between April and January. In 2020-21, it purchased $68 billion on a net basis.

India may import 15 mn barrels of cheap Russian oil

India may import 15 mn barrels of cheap Russian oil

Rediff.com   24 Mar 2022

Taking advantage of a Russian offer to sell its crude oil cheap and bear the cost of insurance and transportation, India may import as much as 2 million tonnes (mt), or roughly 15 million barrels of crude, from the sanctioned nation in 2022, Business Standard has learnt. This comes after reports that Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) bought 3 million barrels of Russian Urals from trader Vitol for May delivery. This will be on cost, insurance and freight (CIF) model, where the seller incurs the costs and pays the freight, including insurance charges.

HDFC Bank plans digital launches in 2-3 qtrs

HDFC Bank plans digital launches in 2-3 qtrs

Rediff.com   23 Mar 2022

With the banking regulator lifting restrictions on HDFC Bank's digital initiatives, the largest private sector lender is now girding up to launch a clutch of customer-facing applications (apps), which will act as stepping stones in its journey to morph into a technology (tech)-led bank from a conventional one. Following repeated outages in its digital offerings, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had barred HDFC Bank from issuing new credit cards in December 2020 and prevented it from going ahead with its digital launches. The embargo on issuing credit cards was lifted in August 2021 and the ban on digital launches was lifted last week.

'Paytm's business will continue'

'Paytm's business will continue'

Rediff.com   23 Mar 2022

'We now understand things that we have to correct.'

Ukraine crisis: Russian oil companies offer big discounts to India

Ukraine crisis: Russian oil companies offer big discounts to India

Rediff.com   15 Mar 2022

As stringent sanctions imposed by the European Union and US are crippling business and trade, desperate Russian oil companies are offering huge discounts to India, provided a payment mechanism to bypass the SWIFT ban is quickly approved by the government. According to sources familiar with the development, Russian oil firms are offering 25-27 per cent discount to the dated Brent crude prices. State-run Rosneft is one the biggest oil companies that supply crude to India.

Govt may miss Rs 6-trillion national monetisation target

Govt may miss Rs 6-trillion national monetisation target

Rediff.com   2 Mar 2022

The Centre's ambitious Rs 6-trillion National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) could fall short of yearly targets for the current fiscal year (FY22) and the next one as well (FY23), partly due to the long gestation period in monetising big-ticket railway infrastructure, Business Standard has learnt from sources in the finance and rail ministries. Officials say the major chunk of railway monetisation will happen from FY24 onwards because leasing some of the infrastructure, like stadiums and dedicated freight corridor, will not happen anytime soon. Rail infra is expected to be the second-biggest contributor to the NMP, with about Rs 1.52 trillion worth of assets to be monetised.

The $8.5 billion TVS Group splits to grow: What's changed structure-wise?

The $8.5 billion TVS Group splits to grow: What's changed structure-wise?

Rediff.com   1 Mar 2022

The $8.5 billion TVS Group received final approval for a family resettlement on February 4 from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). It is an arrangement that is noteworthy because unlike many other corporate settlements this one was sorted out amicably and without any open conflicts.

India Inc braces for fallout of Russia-Ukraine crisis

India Inc braces for fallout of Russia-Ukraine crisis

Rediff.com   23 Feb 2022

Stocks of Indian companies with exposure to Europe fell on Tuesday amid concerns about the impact on their sales in case the Russia-Ukraine crisis worsens and the US and its allies impose economic sanctions on Russia. While top conglomerates, including Reliance Industries, the Tata group, and Aditya Birla Group, said they did not have any significant exposure to Russia, executives of some of the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and tea companies said they were monitoring the situation closely as they earned substantial income from the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing that Russia would recognise their independence.