RBI is expecting the rupee to stay close to Rs 75 to a dollar, as COVID-19 forces foreign funds to withdraw from emerging markets.
Though Kishore Biyani is selling stakes in group companies to pay off debt, a significant share price crash since January this year is making his task difficult.
Once the 21-day lockdown is lifted, which may happen in phases, those who have been contemplating purchasing a car may actually do it, said analysts. Thanks to social distancing norms and rising hygiene awareness, daily commuters may ditch public transport and shared mobility solutions like Ola and Uber. Many are likely to prefer the confines of a car over roughing it up in crowded public transport services such as a metro, local sub-urban trains and buses, they said.
Many firms have asked those joining on April 1 to delay their on-boarding by 2-3 months. The outlook for the airline, tourism, hotel, and media industries is bleak too.
The possibility of harassment by cops and fear of the unknown have forced a large number of truck drivers to abandon vehicles at the transport centres and flee home. Transport of goods remains badly hit as confusion remains among various stakeholders and road transport becomes the victim of disconnect between policy makers and local authorities.
From offering office premises that can be converted into isolation wards to earmarking funds to be used for procuring kits, ventilators as well as personal protective equipment for health care workers, India Inc has put a united front to combat the unprecedented crisis facing the country.
The donation by Tata Sons and Trusts is the biggest sum committed by a corporate and its philanthropic arm since the outbreak of Covid-19. Others, including Reliance Foundation, Mahindra Group, Bajaj Group, and ITC, are lending support too in the battle against the pandemic.
The business will also see a change of guard. Shailesh Chandra, president of EV and corporate strategy, will replace Mayank Pareek as president of PV business, including EV, with effect from April 1. Pareek will be superannuating from the company after a six-year stint at the end of February 2021. Chandra and Pareek will work on transition over the next few weeks.
Some 500,000 drivers and helpers have been left high and dry because of lockdown; many of these trucks are carrying essential goods.
Indian companies will have to repay overseas debt worth $7.5 billion in the June quarter.
To sell off L&T IDPL, Nabha Power; transfer Hyderabad Metro to an InvIT.
Apart from the Adani group, the Tata group, the Hinduja group, Indigo and a New York-based fund, Interups, are expected to submit EoIs.
Vodafone Idea, which reported a loss of Rs 6,439 crore in the December quarter, said it had received letters from the department of telecommunications (DoT) directing immediate payment of dues amounting to Rs 54,000 crores after the SC judgment. "The company is currently assessing the amount that it will be able to pay to DoT towards the dues calculated based on AGR, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in its order dated October 24, 2019. The company proposes to pay the amount so assessed in the next few days," it stated.
Vodafone Idea's net worth (or shareholders' equity) was down 73 per cent year-on-year to around Rs 17,600 crore at the end of the December 2019 quarter after the company reported a net loss of around Rs 6,400 crore during the quarter. Cumulatively, the company has lost nearly Rs 45,000 crore in the last four quarters, eroding its net worth to its lowest level in three-year. Analysts said a such a low level of net worth, coupled with continuing losses in operations, ruled out the possibility of the company getting fresh loans from lenders to fund its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of Rs 54,000 crore.
After years of giving free passes to counterparts from Korea, Japan, US in the Indian auto market, Chinese automakers had planned a major push to grab the fifth largest car market in the world. But the shutdown of factories and logistics hubs in the country following the outbreak of coronavirus is slowly constricting the business of Chinese auto majors which have recently entered India.
The number of participating automakers has fallen from 50 in 2018 to 30 this year. The count of exhibitors, including technology companies, has come down from 119 to 112. And showstopper luxury and supercar brands, including Toyota, Jeep, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Volvo will be missing. Similarly, the commercial vehicle makers also gave the show a miss -- a prolonged economic slowdown has dented their fortunes and near chances of any recovery.
Owing to the poor market conditions and tepid sentiments, the size of the show has shrunk compared to the last edition, which took place in 2018. A majority of the two-wheeler makers, and several car and commercial vehicle makers, have opted out of this year's show, which opens for the media on Wednesday.
From Hyundai to Tata Motors, automakers are staring at a bleak future. With no succor provided in the Budget, the pain for companies is likely to continue for the next two quarters.
The increased tax target comes at a time when consumer spending and sales growth are slowing down and most companies are not investing in new capacities.
Chinese automakers Great Wall Motors, FAW Haima Automobile, and Changan Automobile, after dithering about entering India for some years, have been encouraged by the robust sales performance of the late entrants Kia Motors and MG Motors even in a slowing market.
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