Capital dumping is being used by foreign e-commerce firms to subsidise and engage in predatory pricing, oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL) has told the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) in an internal document. The document alleges that this is leading to massive unemployment and financial distress among small merchants and kirana stores. It consists of various recommendations and proposed changes that deal with Press Note 2 of 2018 (PN 2), which RIL wanted Assocham to present to the government, according to sources.
Global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 2,069.50 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd for a 0.25 per cent additional stake of the retailer at a valuation of about Rs 8.36 lakh crore, Reliance Industries Ltd said on Monday. After this investment, KKR's shareholding in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), the holding company of the retail business of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led RIL, will increase to 1.42 per cent from 1.17 per cent. The investment is at "a pre-money equity value of Rs 8.361 lakh crore (around $100.87 billion)", said a joint statement.
US Commerce Secretary Carlos M Gutierrez,who travels to New Delhi, Feb. 13-14 to meet Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath,
The wholesale price index-based inflation remained in the negative territory for the sixth straight month in September at (-)0.26 per cent, on easing prices of food articles. The WPI-based inflation rate has been in the negative since April and was (-)0.52 per cent in August. In September last year, it was 10.55 per cent.
India will not tailor its policies to suit US EV maker Tesla, and its laws and tariff rules will be formulated to attract all-electric vehicle manufacturers from across the world to set up a base in the world's fastest-growing economy, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. Tesla has been seeking an initial tariff concession that would allow it to offset 70 per cent customs duty for cars priced less than $40,000, and 100 per cent for cars of higher value.
The government on Friday approved an electric-vehicle policy, under which duty concessions will be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of $500 million, a move aimed at attracting major global players like US-based Tesla. According to an official statement, the companies setting up manufacturing facilities for e-vehicles will be allowed to import a limited number of cars at lower customs duty. The policy seeks to promote India as a manufacturing destination for EVs and attract investment from reputed global EV manufacturers, it added.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors rose to a 14-month high of 12.1 per cent in August 2023 against 4.2 per cent a year ago, mainly due to expansion in production of coal, crude oil, and natural gas, according to the official data released on Friday. The expansion in August is the highest since June 2022, when it was 13.2 per cent. The production of refinery products, steel, cement and electricity also grew in August, the data showed.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today assured Korean trade minister Kim Jong-Hoon that the stalled $12 billion-project of Korean steelmaker Posco would soon be resolved by obtaining the pending approvals.
Geopolitical headwinds leading to lower demand from export markets, coupled with lower domestic buying, have dragged the auction average of Darjeeling tea to its lowest level since 2015. Data from Calcutta Tea Traders Association (CTTA) shows that the average price of Darjeeling tea at Kolkata auctions for January-December 2023 was Rs 319.74 per kg. The last time it dipped below this level was in 2015 at Rs 285.71 per kg.
The president of République Française needed to attend the inaugural game of the rugby World Cup at the Stade de France in Paris on Friday night.
'What has happened at Byju's is no surprise to anyone.'
'Due to rural stress, volumes continue to remain an issue for the industry, and we are yet to see any revival in demand.'
This is despite a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry survey showing more players were optimistic on a recovery in manufacturing in the last quarter of 2011-12.
Ensuring health insurance for all workers would be major challenge for the industry that is already grappling with cash crunch, and the government should have borne the cost.
Having missed most of the first three industrial revolutions, India has its chance to lead the fourth industrial revolution through a convergence of its IT prowess, ultra-high-speed internet connectivity and affordable smart devices, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said on Thursday. The richest Indian, who heads the nation's most valuable company Reliance Industries, said his group's telecom and digital unit Jio was conceived to provide the key ingredients needed to lead the fourth industrial revolution.
Flipkart and Snapdeal take a cue from Amazon even as they differ on who is ahead in the race
Five firms, including ACC Ltd, HDFC Asset Management Company and FSN E-Commerce Ventures that runs Nykaa, will be dropped from Nifty Next 50 index from September 29. NSE Indices Ltd, an arm of the National Stock Exchange, on Thursday said that Indus Towers and Page Industries will also be dropped from the index. Punjab National Bank, Trent, Sriram Finance, TVS Motor Company, and Zydus Lifesciences will be included in the Nifty Next 50 index, NSE Indices said in a statement.
Representatives from four states including Maharashtra and Karnataka will also be members of the panel.
It is being suggested that apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, should share their APIs with each other to ensure there is interoperability, just as it exists across email services.
Will come out with a response on the issue shortly.
The big boys of India's traditional retail have finally come together to fight the onslaught of their online counterparts.
For the startup ecosystem in India, the scorecard so far has been a mixed bag, observes Akhil Gupta.
Today, India is one of the fastest-growing eCommerce markets in Asia/Pacific along with China.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 in Chandigarh.
'Das is friendly, but he finally does what he does. The quality of engagement is very good.'
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
It is still "discounts" that e-commerce players have to rely on to bring in customers, though they might claim otherwise.
The message is clear: The 60-year-old wise uncles need to handhold the 40-year-old entrepreneurs when, obsessed with ambition and greed for growth, they become a victim of hubris, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
A panel of Union ministers will hold a fourth round of talks with farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Sunday over their demands, including loan waiver and bringing an ordinance on giving legal guarantee to a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
The wholesale price-based inflation rate declined to (-) 4.12 per cent in June on easing prices of food, fuel and manufactured items. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation in May was (-) 3.48 per cent. In June last year, it was 16.23 per cent.
"Not a single step has been taken by this government to empower small businesses in India," says Praveen Khandelwal, national secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders and former treasurer of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi unit.
Exports of electronics goods has risen by 24 per cent from April to November as compared with the same period in the last fiscal, the largest increase out of India's top 10 export categories. The increase has been propelled by mobile exports under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and has pushed electronics up from sixth to fifth position in the top 10. A gap of $200 million separates electronics from occupying the fourth position, currently held by drugs and pharmaceuticals at $17.9 billion.
The IAS officer was later taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is expected to be produced before a magistrate seeking his remand, the sources said.
'I tell those in their 20s that age is on their side and they should start exercising early.' 'Just like investing in good stocks, if they start early, they will get the multiplier effects of being healthy, fit and strong later in life.'
Referring to an action against farmers by the security personnel deployed by the Haryana authorities at the Punjab-Haryana border, Pandher slammed paramilitary personnel for using "force" against farmers, leaving many injured.
With the fate of the Development Enterprise and Services Hub (DESH) Bill in limbo, the commerce department is working towards tweaking some rules under the existing special economic zone (SEZ) law to allow use of unutilised spaces in IT/ITES for non-SEZ purposes. The move, when implemented, will free-up the land area that is not in demand through partial de-notification of certain floors or buildings, thereby allowing easier exit. "The department of commerce is discussing the matter with the revenue department before making changes in the Special Economic Zone Act, 2005," a person aware of the matter
Sale of Apple's iPhone 15 is estimated to have registered a 100 per cent growth compared to that of the iPhone 14 series on the first day with high demand for made-in-India iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models, according to industry sources. Apple has for the first time made available the 'made-in-India' iPhone on the same day it started selling the devices in the country and other parts of the globe. "Till evening, 6 pm IST, the sales of iPhone 15 series have recorded over 100 per cent growth on Day 1 compared to the sale of iPhone 14.
E-commerce companies are seeing an increase in demand for products such as fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, flour, rice, and lentils, and personal hygiene items like sanitisers and soaps and household cleaning products. Other products include instant noodles, baby food and Ayurvedic items. "There is even a huge spike in pet food," said a person.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and held a productive conversation with him on deepening bilateral defence cooperation, including in the co-production of defence articles, and exchanged perspectives on a variety of security issues.
With the insistence on data centres to be onshore, entities in real estate believe there is going to be a rise in demand for specialised Grade-A commercial spaces to set these up.