After a successful tie up in traditional ICE and strong hybrid models, Suzuki and Toyota are now set to take their partnership to the next level: the electric vehicle segment. Both the Japanese auto giants recently announced a plan to produce Suzuki eVX-based SUV which will be sold under Toyota brand across the globe. This electric SUV, bearing Toyota's logo, will go for production at Suzuki Motor Group (SMG) facility in Hansalpur, Gujarat beginning the spring of 2025, marking the first EV launch for both companies in India.
Shareholders of industry giants Adani Enterprises, Reliance Industries, and Tata Motors - the latter two are part of the Sensex - will decide on combined related-party transactions of more than Rs 2.68 trillion proposed for this financial year and later. Related-party transactions for BSE 500 companies touched at least a six-year high of Rs 42.1 trillion in FY23, the Capitaline data shows. The Rs 42.1 trillion includes related-party transactions both at balance-sheet and profit-and-loss levels.
If there is a decline in the number of Indian students pursuing higher studies in Canada due to the ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two countries, it may have implications for Indian banks operating in the North American country, senior bank officials said.
Nestle, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Axis Bank were the other major winners. Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance and Titan were the laggards.
Smartphones have been a key success story of the government's production-linked incentive scheme, helping India become the second-largest mobile phone manufacturing country, after China.
Road awards were muted in Q1FY25. But the pace will accelerate with a bidding pipeline of Rs 1.1 trillion (September 2024), mostly dominated by HAM (Hybrid Annuity Model) projects, which contribute 47 per cent and engineering procurement and construction or EPC projects, which have about 36 per cent share. Hence, infrastructure companies mostly reported revenue decline on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis in Q1FY25.
'The conspiracy is to end India's entrepreneurship culture even before it fully blooms.' 'Negativity is being spread in society towards all those who do business, and this hatred for business and wealth creators is spilling everywhere.'
India Inc reported an uptick in revenue growth in the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2023-24 (FY24), but it came at the cost of a deceleration in earnings growth.
Coal behemoth CIL on Thursday reported a 26.2 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,682.20 crore for the March quarter on the back higher supplies of the dry fuel. The company's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 6,875.07 crore in the year-ago period, Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a regulatory filing. Its consolidated income in the January-March period declined to Rs 39,654.50 crore from Rs 40,371.51 crore a year ago.
Among major economies, India in FY23 recorded the steepest increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, climbing 6.1 per cent, with China trailing close behind at 5.2 per cent, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2024. In contrast, GHG emission decreased in both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) by 7.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. Despite India's rise, its 2023 GHG emission remains relatively low at 4,140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCOe) against China's 16,000 and the US's 5,970.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported very strong results for the January-March quarter of the last financial year (Q4FY24), beating consensus comfortably. The margins of the automobile business improved 170 basis points (bps) year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 8.8 per cent, while FES (Farm Equipment Sector) margins improved to 15.8 per cent (up 60 bps Y-o-Y), despite a decline in volumes due to cost optimisation and lower raw material costs.
India's economy is expected to grow 7.5-8 per cent this fiscal year with exports playing a key role in the country's success story, CII president TV Narendran said on Monday. However, he said the country needs to remain prepared for any fallout of next wave of COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. "We are confident that the economy can retain a high growth trajectory this year. "So, we are very optimistic on the export front. "Exports will be a key component of India's success story going forward," Narendran said.
After a prolonged winter, the Indian edtech sector seems to be witnessing some signs of a thaw. The sector has received $608.8 million of funding across 68 deals in 2024 so far - 153 per cent more than the $240.9 million across 106 deals during the same period last year - according to data from market intelligence platform Tracxn.
The four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations and occupation safety, health and working conditions are likely to be implemented by the next fiscal year as at least 13 states have pre-published draft rules on these laws, a senior official said. The Centre has already finalised the rules under these codes and now states are required to frame regulations on their part as labour is a concurrent subject. A senior official said that the four labour codes are likely to be implemented by the next fiscal year.
Even as the government debates whether to continue the FAME-II subsidy for electric vehicles (EVs), the share of such vehicles in overall sales is decelerating, after witnessing a heady growth in the first few years. The penetration of EVs - electric two-wheelers, passenger vehicles, three- wheelers and other segments collectively - in the first 10 months of FY24 has been pegged at 4.3 per cent, compared to 3.7 per cent in FY23, according to credit rating agency ICRA.
Technology giant Apple Inc has pushed the pedal on exporting iPhones from India by racking up exports valued at over $2 billion in the first two months of the current financial year (FY25), according to the data provided by vendors to the government. This accounts for 81 per cent of the country's total production of iPhones worth $2.6 billion. In May, Apple repeated its performance of April and once again crossed $1 billion of iPhone exports.
On average, 49 sexual harassment cases were reported every day in 2022.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) aims to sell 4-6 lakh CNG units in the current fiscal year depending upon supply situation of essential components, as per a senior company official. The company sold about 2.3 lakh CNG units in 2021-22. MSI currently sells nine of its 15 models with CNG powertrain and is looking to drive in more models with such technology in the coming days.
Equity markets began the new financial year with smart gains on Friday, with the Sensex rallying over 708 points to recapture the crucial 59,000-mark following gains in index majors HDFC twins and Reliance Industries, along with foreign fund inflows. On the first day of trading in the new financial year, the BSE barometer rallied 708.18 points or 1.21 per cent to settle at 59,276.69. During the day, it jumped 828.11 points or 1.41 per cent to 59,396.62. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 205.70 points or 1.18 per cent to settle at 17,670.45.
Whether nominal or real, India's investment rate needs to increase by 3 to 4 percentage points of GDP to support 8 per cent real growth, recommends Nikhil Gupta.
The prospective bidders of Haldiram Snacks Foods (HSFPL), a leading food firm, have sought clarity on the ownership of the brand as it is currently owned by different family factions. The Delhi and Nagpur families have decided to merge their operations and formed a joint venture to sell part of their stake. On the other hand, the Kolkata family runs its separate, independent operations. Bankers said prospective bidders of the company do not want any confusion over the brand in future. They have sought clarity over usage of the brand.
The slowdown in private consumption in the economy is taking a toll on the growth of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). The net sales growth of listed FMCG companies hit a 14-quarter low of 2.5 per cent in October-December 2023 (Q3FY24). This is the lowest revenue growth for the industry since the June 2020 quarter, when the FMCG firms in the Business Standard sample had reported a 13.2 per cent Y-o-Y decline in combined net sales owing to the lockdown.
The combined wealth of India's dollar billionaires is now equivalent to 33.81 per cent of India's nominal GDP.
In the June quarter of 2024-2025, smartphone exports hit $2 billion, well ahead of non-industrial diamond exports, which stood at $1.44 billion.
Direct tax collection, net of refunds, moderately exceeded the revised estimates (RE) for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) on the back of personal income tax revenues, but corporation tax receipts fell short of the RE. Net direct tax collection stood at Rs 19.58 trillion in FY24, surpassing the RE of Rs 19.45 trillion by Rs 13,000 crore, or 0.7 per cent. The government had revised up FY24 projections for personal income tax by 13.5 per cent over the Budget estimates (BE) of Rs 9 trillion, at Rs 10.22 trillion.
State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) reported a weak performance in the fourth quarter of FY24 (January-March 2024), and the turmoil in the energy market indicates it could endure another lacklustre quarter. The oil marketing company (OMC) reported an Ebitda of Rs 10,400 crore, down 27 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) due to weak reported gross refining margin (GRM) of $8.4 per barrel in Q4FY24, which was almost half the consensus expectation of $15 per barrel.
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company reported financial improvement and optimistic commentary in Q4FY24. It reported 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in Gross Written Premium (GWP) and 115 bps improvement in the Combined Ratio (COR) in FY24, and improved COR guidance with COR going from 104.5 per cent in FY23 to 103.3 per cent in FY24, 102.4 per cent in FY25 and 102.0 per cent in FY26.
'If you look at assets truly working for us, you should look at Aakash and Great Learning.'
Corporate India continues to be generous in rewarding its shareholders with big dividend payouts. This is especially true for shareholders of companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Hindustan Zinc (HZL), and Coal India (CIL) which are seen as cash cows of large business groups and the government. Boosted by a big payout by these three companies, the combined equity dividend payout by listed companies was up 38 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to a record high of Rs 2.27 trillion in 2022-23 (FY23), compared with Rs 1.65 trillion in 2021-22 (FY22).
The share of life insurance policies sold by top private insurers in the rural areas declined in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) compared to previous year. SBI Life, HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance -- the top three players from the private sector-- have seen the share of insurance policies sold in rural areas drop in FY24 as compared to the previous financial year. Max Life Insurance's share of rural policies recorded an increase in FY24.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) record surplus transfer to the government has raised hopes among bond traders that the government might reduce its gross borrowing for the current financial year (2024-25/FY25) by up to Rs 1 trillion. The RBI approved a dividend of Rs 2.11 trillion for the central government for 2023-24, marking an increase of roughly 141 per cent from 2022-23 (FY23). In addition, the contingency risk buffer has been raised to 6.5 per cent from the previous 6 per cent.
Swiggy is planning to file its draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for its initial public offering (IPO) in the next two weeks, aiming for an $11 billion IPO valuation target. The Bengaluru-based firm plans to raise an estimated $1 billion (Rs 8,300 crore) through the IPO this year. The company is targeting a valuation in the range of $10-11 billion, and it currently has approximately $800 million in cash from the previous funding round, according to sources.
From its lows this month, the stock of Sona BLW Precision Forgings is up 10 per cent on better-than-expected results. The stock rose by 4 per cent in the trading session on Tuesday after Japan's Nikkei Group said the Indian automotive component major has topped its rankings in terms of competitive advantage. The rankings are based on sales, profit margin, capital expenditure, research and development, and market capitalisation.
India will grow at around 7.4 per cent in 2022-23 and continue at the same pace in the next year as well, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. Sitharaman said there are risks on the external front and this is not the right time to throw caution to the wind, and also assured exporters of all the necessary support from the government as they face the headwinds. Speaking at the FE Best Bank Awards event here, Sitharaman said global agencies like IMF and the World Bank have taken cognisance of the strengths of the Indian economy by saying that it will be among the fastest growing ones in the next two years.
The 2022-23 Budget has projected a disinvestment target of Rs 65,000 crore for next financial year. This is significantly lower than the estimated Rs 1.75 lakh crore budgeted for 2021-22. In the revised estimates, the target for 2021-22 has been cut to Rs 78,000 crore.
'The global median of whistle-blower complaints is 1.5 per cent of the total employees. India's reporting is far away from this average.'
74 of these fatalities were reported by 8 companies: Coal India (21), L&T (14), Vedanta (13, of which Hindustan Zinc reported 7), Tata Steel (7), Power Grid Corporation of India (7), JSW Steel (6), and ONGC (6).
As many as 5,532 complaints were received by the regulator in January, an 80 per cent increase over the number of complaints filed in the previous month.
The aggregate value of private equity (PE) deals in Indian real estate has declined nearly 30 per cent to $3.6 billion in 2023-24 (FY24) as compared to $5.1 billion in FY20, according to a report released on Monday.
The rupee has depreciated by 0.6 per cent so far in the current financial year.
