Digital, new energy, supply chain resilience and health will be the themes of the over $100-billion Tata group's strategy going forward, according to its chairman N Chandrasekaran even as he asserted that all ambitions are contingent on learning to live with the coronavirus. In his New Year address to the over 8 lakh employees of salt-to-software conglomerate, Chandrasekaran said businesses and society must adapt to the virus by preparing as "best we can for new outbreaks and variants. We are seeing this now with the spread of Omicron". Reflecting on the year gone by, he said the group is becoming "simpler and financially stronger than we have been in a long time".
The Budget, to be presented on February 1, is likely to be less worried about fiscal deficit and will be focused more on nursing the fragile growth, according to a Wall Street brokerage report. Bank of America Securities India expects the budget to peg "fiscal deficit at a high 5 per cent of GDP for FY22 and 7.2 per cent for FY21, as it is likely to step up capex, recap public sector banks, push asset sales to break government monopolies, offer sops for real estate, tax cuts for lower income groups and creation of a bad bank". Its house economists expect these spends to be funded by debt and partly by imposing a cess on high income groups and also by some non-fiscal measures like tapping the central bank's revaluation reserves and bank recapitalisation and infra bonds.
The Rs 2,000 note withdrawal decision and response to it so far suggest that the move can help boost FY24 GDP growth to beyond 6.5 per cent estimated by the RBI, a report said on Monday. The real GDP growth for the first quarter of FY24 will come at 8.1 per cent with an upward bias and the Reserve Bank of India's 6.5 per cent estimate can also be exceeded, economists at the country's largest lender SBI said. "We expect Q1 FY24 GDP growth at 8.1 per cent with an upward bias due to the impact of Rs 2000 note withdrawal event...this reinforces our projection that FY24 GDP could be higher than 6.5 per cent, basis the RBI estimate," a note said.
Bank credit growth declined to 8.5 per cent in January from 13.5 per cent in the year-ago period.
Renewed inflationary pressures, led by a spike in prices of vegetables and cereals, have cast a spell on the equity markets in the past month. The BSE Sensex and Nifty50 have declined up to 2 per cent each during the period, clipping the 13 per cent rally from the March lows, shows data from ACE Equity. Investors typically consider shares of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies as defensive bets, putting their weight behind them in a falling market.
However, the World Bank has projected India's GDP growth rate at 7.5 per cent for the next three financial years, including the current one.
'India is the sixth-largest market for the Kia Corporation, and contributes 8 to 9 per cent to our global sales.' 'We are eyeing 10 per cent market share over the next few years depending on customer demand and new product innovations.'
In its mid-quarter review of monetary policy, RBI on Wednesday kept all key interest rates unchanged notwithstanding persistent high inflationary pressure.
It is thanks to the policy of liberalisation conceived by Manmohan Singh and enforced by P V Narasimha that the Indian economy has now become the world's 5th largest economy by nominal GDP, asserts Dr Sudhir Bisht.
Work on a dozen decisions to start by next week.
An improved showing of mutual funds (MFs) is helping the industry attract distribution talent at a brisk pace. The industry has onboarded a net of 11,600 individual distributors in the first seven months of 2023-24 (FY24) compared to just 5,555 distributors in the whole of 2022-23 (FY23), according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India. Like most financial products, MFs also have significant reliance on individual distributors to sell their products, even as digital platforms are gaining popularity.
The sector may be overcrowded with a fair number of large players and the entry of the Adani Group through its two key acquisitions, followed by the takeover of majority stake in Sanghi Industries via Ambuja Cements. Since every major player is in expansion mode, there could be a capacity surplus and hence, price wars.
Two-wheeler exports from India have decreased by 20 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 1.69 million units in the first half (H1) of 2023-24 (FY24) due to a challenging geopolitical situation and foreign exchange (forex) crises in key markets such as South Asia, industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) said on Monday. On the other hand, passenger vehicle (PV) exports in H1FY24 increased by 5 per cent to 336,754 units because the key markets are much more diversified worldwide, Vinod Aggarwal, president, Siam, told reporters during a press conference. The Russia-Ukraine war, which started in February 2022, has brought significant instability to global fuel prices.
India should become a middle-income country and then push to make INR (rupee) a hard currency, and till then, it must promote the settlement of global trade in the local currency, think tank GTRI said on Sunday. Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that transforming a currency into a hard currency is a complex process that hinges on several pivotal factors. Firstly, economic stability is paramount; a country must exhibit low and stable inflation, consistent growth, and a balanced trade environment.
'We are engaging in substantial open market sales of both wheat and rice to control food inflation; special measures of market intervention in vegetables, pulses and oil seeds were also taken to cushion the impact.'
Revising up inflation bands for the central bank will hurt the poor, former deputy governor of RBI Viral Acharya said on Wednesday, terming the current 4 per cent midpoint on price-rise as a "reasonable target".
The agency attributed the sharp revision to various high-frequency indicators showing a softness and partly blamed the same to reforms like GST, real estate regulation, and the bankruptcy code which are still a "drag" on the economy.
Core sector companies have seen volumes drop to single digit in the first nine months of FY16.
Taxing the rich will fetch nothing; only votes, argues Debashis Basu.
The Indian economy will suffer lasting damage from the coronavirus crisis and after an initial strong rebound in FY22 (fiscal year ending March 2022) growth will slow to around 6.5 per cent a year over FY23-FY26, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday. "A combination of supply-side scarring and demand-side constraints - such as the weak state of the financial sector - will keep the level of GDP well below its pre-pandemic path," it said in commentary on the Indian economy. Fitch said India's coronavirus-induced recession has been among the most severe in the world, amid a stringent lockdown and limited direct fiscal support.
Government incentives to grow rice and wheat as part of a subsidised food programme for the poor also keep prices high.
Rising crude oil prices and muted passenger traffic in the July-September quarter (second quarter, or Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24) have raised concerns about the profitability of listed aviation players. These two concerns have caused the stock of InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo), the largest player in the sector, to slip by 11 per cent since its highs at the end of July. Nuvama Research expects yields to cool down in the near term due to seasonality, rising crude oil prices, and higher capacity.
RBI said at the current juncture, the all-out effort is to maintain and sustain, with the hope that when life is secure, resources, energy and time can be marshalled to rebuild and revive.
Invitees to the 'pran pratishtha' consecration ceremony at the Ram temple started arriving Sunday in Ayodhya -- once a sleepy town now resplendent with new infrastructure and gripped by heightened religious fervour on the eve of a seminal event in India's political and religious history.
Notwithstanding expectations of a pick-up in construction activity during a seasonally strong January-March quarter (fourth quarter) of 2022-23 (FY23), analysts are cautiously optimistic about the building material sector - encompassing paints, pipes, wood panels, tiles, metals, and cement - as volatile input costs, coupled with fears of a global slowdown, are making demand projections uncertain. Against this backdrop, analysts suggest investors stay selective and pick stocks of companies with stronger brand recall, expanding distribution network, diversified product profile, healthier balance sheet, and sustainable cash flow. "The government's various proposals under Budget 2023-24 (FY24) may lead to the building material segment growing between 8 per cent and 12 per cent for the next five years.
Byju Raveendran, founder of educational technology (edtech) firm Byju's, has injected around Rs 4,000 crore of personal capital into the company in recent months. This move comes as the company grapples with challenges, including securing fresh capital, delays in financial reporting, and legal disputes with lenders. "Raveendran has pledged personal property to assist the company in dealing with the crisis. "He conveyed to employees that despite perceptions of being a billionaire, he has reinvested a major portion of his wealth back into the company," said a person familiar with the matter.
Showing concerns over hardening inflation, the Reserve Bank today left the key interest rate unchanged but reduced cash reserve ratio by 0.25 per cent to inject Rs 17,500 crore (Rs 175 billion) liquidity into the financial system.
Stocks of defence-related companies have been firing on all cylinders on the bourses in calendar year 2023 (CY23). Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Bharat Electronics (BEL), Bharat Dynamics (BDL), Data Patterns, MTAR Tech, Cochin Shipyard and GRSE have rallied in the range of 21-96 per cent so far this year. By comparison, the BSE Sensex is up 8 per cent. The gains have been sustained on the back of robust export opportunities, a healthy project pipeline and the government's continued push for local manufacturing and indigenisation of defence equipment.
The total number of unique investors directly investing in the stock market has surged to 80 million for the first time, with the latest 10 million additions taking place in just eight months, according to data shared by the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the country's largest bourse. "The 80 million unique PAN (permanent account number) investors correspond approximately to around 50 million unique households in India amounting to around 17 per cent households directly investing in the Indian stock market via NSE's extensive nationwide network of trading members," said the exchange. In 2021, the number of domestic households were pegged at 300 million.
'The second generation of migrant labourers is not enthusiastic about continuing in this field.' 'The parents of the next generation do not wish their children to be part of this trade.'
The Reserve Bank of India, for the second straight time, on Thursday kept its key policy rate unchanged at 5.15 per cent, maintaining its accommodative policy stance as long as it was necessary to revive growth. The central bank retained GDP growth at 5 per cent for 2019-20 and pegged it at 6 per cent for the next fiscal.
'Given that the market is now demanding disciplined growth, well-run companies should be able to demonstrate profitability with the cash on hand.'
EV players suggest a reduction in the goods and services tax on batteries from 18 to 5 per cent as it would help push demand.
India's gross domestic product product (GDP) growth rate between 2011-12 and 2016-17 should be about 4.5 per cent instead of the official estimate of close to 7 per cent, he said in a research paper published at Harvard University. "The Indian policy automobile has been navigated with a faulty, possibly broken, speedometer," he says in the paper.
However, India is likely to regain the tag of the fastest growth emerging economies of the world in 2018.
His government's decision to host G-20 events across the country is an investment in capacity-building among people, cities and institutions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, as he took a jibe at previous governments asserting they lacked confidence in people's abilities to hold mega events outside the capital, in smaller places.
More and more women are making their presence felt in jobs related to sciences, technology, and engineering across organisations.
'A weak monsoon always spells disaster. But it's too early to have a pessimistic view.'
Without mentioning the boundary dispute, the spokesperson said that China-India relations have been stable on the whole and "our two sides have maintained dialogue and communication at various levels".
According to data compiled by the World Bank, the UK's economy grew to $2.82 trillion and the French economy expanded to $2.78 trillion in 2018, against India's $2.73 trillion, showed the data.
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