The government is considering blocking internet protocol (IP) addresses of companies/exchanges on which trading in cryptocurrencies is happening, said a source in the know. Two months ago, the government had said it intended to bring a Bill to ban private cryptocurrencies and introduce India's own digital currency in line with what China and other countries had done. This move is part of that. The government had also proposed to promote technology like blockchain. Industry, however, says banning decentralised currencies like bitcoin and ethereum is not possible.
Bajaj Auto has amended its dividend distribution policy as it seeks to reward its shareholders and boost return ratios. The amended policy will also consider the surplus the company has when calculating the dividend payout as a percentage of profits after tax, the Pune-based firm said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
Bitcoin has been on fire ever since Musk announced that Tesla had bought $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency, and that his electric-vehicle company would accept bitcoin from buyers.
Indian banks have started exploring opportunities in the space, including lending to crypto exchanges, and accepting bitcoins as collateral, among others.
Experts recommend buying gold as the fundamentals supporting a rally have not changed.
Any shift in investor sentiment may result in speculators fleeing the gold market, driving its price down sharply, quickly. One significant risk for gold is a near-term reversal in the dollar, which recently fell to a two-year low.
The two cities finally got their act together by ramping up the testing capacity and implementing stricter quarantine norms.
Those interested in investing in gold have shifted to instruments, such as sovereign gold bonds and gold ETFs. Many others are, in fact, selling gold or using it as collateral to generate short-term liquidity.
The all-time high price of silver is Rs 75,000 a kg, recorded in April 2011.
The government has sold SGBs worth Rs 1,990 crore in April and May alone.
Silver has been quoting at a premium in India since mid-March because of huge scarcity.
It plans to use it as collateral, along with forex reserves, to print currency.
Gold and silver became costlier in the country following the international price rise over the expectations of negative interest rates in the US, the rising trade tensions between the US and China and the weakening of the rupee.
Industry estimates over 30 tonnes of gold were sold on Akshaya Tritiya this time.
There have been several instances of traders dumping fruits and vegetables outside mandis. Or of farmers dumping produce outside their villages or feeding them to their animals.
The month of March could be worst in many years, with imports estimated only around 18 tonnes amid the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown, said an industry player. The import in March 2019 was 72.5 tonnes, according to the GFMS data.
Nilesh Veera, director of APMC said, complained that availability of workers is a big problem. They have asked the government to provide enough sanitizers, masks, etc, for worker safety, to call them back. There has been no reply.
The objective is to ensure the exchange's preparedness in the event of a natural calamity, so that any disruptions should not affect market integrity and investor confidence.
Customs officials are busy at ports and airports, scanning passengers to ensure that COVID-19 virus-affected people are traced. So, officials are not able to focus much on baggage checking. This could lead to more gold getting smuggled into the country as luggage check at airports is now random unlike earlier where every bag was checked thoroughly.
Gold price in Mumbai's physical market on Friday fell 31.1 per cent or Rs 1,351 to close at Rs 41,848 per 10 gramme. Friday's fall in per cent terms is worst after November 2015 and, in absolute terms, the worst after August 2013. Silver prices fell Rs 2,255 to close 5 per cent lower at Rs 43,085 per kg on Friday.