Foreign Direct Investment into India rose by 13 per cent in 2020, boosted by interest in the digital sector, and while fund flows "declined most strongly" in major economies such as the UK, the US and Russia due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India and China "bucked the trend", the UN has said.
'From March 2020 to November 2021, the combined wealth of the billionaires of this country has doubled.'
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday announced the buyout of British battery maker Faradion Ltd for an enterprise value of 100 million, as the oil-to-retail conglomerate continued with the acquisition of end-to-end technology for its multi-billion-dollar clean energy portfolio. Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a unit of the nation's most valuable company, signed definitive agreements to acquire 100 per cent shareholding in Faradion for an enterprise value of 100 million and will invest an additional 25 million as growth capital to accelerate the commercial roll-out, the company said in a statement. Based out of Sheffield and Oxford in the UK and with its patented sodium-ion battery technology, Faradion is one of the leading global battery technology companies.
Recent derailments had brought the vulnerability of the national carrier into the limelight. For the railways, the fund allotment of Rs 1 lakh crore towards safety, is a welcome move, says Subrat Nath.
The assumption clearly was that project execution timelines would be adhered to and revenues would flow in as scheduled.
Riled by Sri Lanka's request to defer the planned docking of a high-tech Chinese research vessel at the strategic Hambantota Port, China on Monday took a dig at India, saying it was "senseless to pressure" Colombo by citing the issue of security concerns.
While Rs 37,461.01 crore has been allocated for higher education, Rs 56,386.63 crore has been earmarked for school education.
India needs to tread cautiously on the growth path.
A senior US official said that the plan of establishing OBOR alternative was still 'nascent'.
Seven years after Modi took office, merchandise exports were lower in 2020-2021 than when he had taken over from Manmohan Singh, points out Aakar Patel.
Of the cash outgo, Rs 64,598 crore is for enhanced expenditure on fertiliser subsidy under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0 and Rs 20,466 crore for the capital outlay in defence services.
India believes in sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayaas and walks ahead with it, Modi said.
'Long-term retail investors should not worry about these sharp dips and jumps if they have chosen their stocks wisely.' 'Short-term volatility is a given and a rise and fall of two-three per cent should not worry them.'
On his maiden visit to Beijing, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which the two leaders agreed to strengthen the all-weather friendship and the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Much to the surprise of Beijing, Nepal's Parliament on Sunday ratified the contentious US-funded $500 million Millennium Challenge Corporation compact along with an interpretive declaration a day ahead of the February 28 deadline set by Washington.
The CII delegation includes many eminent names.
80-85 per cent of about 700 major infrastructure projects within the Centre's domain have been delayed.
While the interest from Hinduja is a positive sign for the grounded airline, executives of banks cautioned that there is no certainty that the deal will fructify. The cost of recapitalising Jet Airways is increasing every day.
'The shadow banks are currently facing a liquidity and solvency crisis.' 'The danger is that it could potentially engulf the entire financial system because shadow banks have borrowed huge amount of money from banks, mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance companies.'
'EV-charging is the next big opportunity after fuelling'
Government think tank Niti Aayog has suggested 100 per cent income tax exemption for donations and provision of working capital loans with lower interest rates for not-for-profit hospitals to strengthen healthcare services in India. In a report titled 'Not-for-Profit Hospital Model in India', the Aayog also pitched for involving high performing hospitals in public private partnership (PPP) models for managing primary health care (PHCs), operations of government facilities and PSU hospitals. "Income-tax exemption could be increased from the current 50 per cent exemption to 100 per cent exemption for philanthropy toward the identified not-for-profit hospitals.
The central government has agreed in-principle to Air India employees' main demands. It fears an industrial dissension now could impede the process of privatisation. It has agreed to bear the cost of liquidation loss on account of transfer to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from company-owned trusts, inclusion of employees in the central government health scheme (CGHS), and encashment of leaves. The template of the Air India process will be followed for other public sector undertakings up for privatisation at a later date.
'If the government was serious about co-opting the corporate sector meaningfully in the fight against COVID-19, it could have specified activities beyond cheque-writing,' notes Kanika Datta.
No one expects the government to publicly concede policy mistakes. But it can shed denial; and, stop the point-winning debating style to the formulation of public policy, says Rahul Khullar.
It is raining private equity funds in the logistics and warehousing space.
Among the other conditions of the Hinduja group for picking up a stake in Jet is that bankers must take a haircut of 80 per cent and that they should help negotiate with operational creditors like aircraft lessors for moratorium on certain immediate payments.
A lot depends on how Srei shapes up under the new administrator and his team, which is critical for investors' interest.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on the sidelines of the climate summit here and discussed ways to further sustainable development, steps to mitigate climate change and vaccine research. The meeting between Modi and the American business magnate, whose foundation is focusing on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, took place after the former launched the Initiative for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) for developing infrastructure of small island nations. Prime Minister Modi expressed appreciation for the work being done by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, mere tinkering with existing government procedures will not enhance India's economic competitiveness, says Pranjal Sharma.
The race to get a New Umbrella Entity (NUE) licence for digital payments may get crowded. As many as six consortiums are said to be in the fray to apply for an NUE licence, which would create a for-profit National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-like body for retail payments. A consortium led by Financial Software and Systems (FSS), a leading provider of payment products and payment processor, is in talks and may file an application to the RBI for an NUE license, said sources aware of the development. The other constituents of this group include Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, India Post Payments Bank, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), and a few small finance banks.
'There has been far too much overconfidence about the size and composition of the Indian consumer economy,' notes Mihir S Sharma.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Rs 30,600 crore government guarantee for the bad bank has changed the body language of bankers for the better, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
There is a link between objectives and commitments.
The Prime Minister's Office has suggested that EPFO should deploy 15 per cent of its funds as loan for low cost housing saying it would generate a credit flow of Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion).
The ship will now arrive on August 16 and remain at the Hambantota port till August 22, they said.
Modi is optimistic that the reforms will be passed soon.
While the likelihood of these states going the Lanka or Greece way may be an alarming assessment, the financial situation of some states such as Punjab and West Bengal is indeed quite weak.
The Adanis were the highest bidder for the Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Mangaluru and Jaipur airports.
With real estate valuations falling and other deals coming unstuck, the current management's improved target faces significant challenges.
