In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index bucked the trend to gain 0.3%
Titan, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Power Grid, NTPC and Tata Motors were among the among the major gainers. Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Nestle, JSW Steel, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra and Maruti were the major laggards.
Amid increasing number of cyber attacks and snooping, the government on Tuesday announced the national cyber security policy that aims to protect information and build capabilities to prevent such attacks.
Gautam Adani's alleged proximity to Narendra Modi may dent the latter's self-styled image of incorruptibility, points out Kanika Datta.
Capital expenditure by Indian companies is likely to see an uptick in the upcoming quarters as capacity utilisation has surpassed the critical threshold of 75 per cent, and numerous companies have deleveraged their balance sheets, according to analysts. The first quarter of the current financial year has shown improved profitability, driven by a decrease in input prices. This, according to analysts at Care Ratings, should stimulate a revival in the private capex cycle.
The government is not in a "crazy rush" to sell everything and it will continue to have a presence in four strategic sectors, including telecom, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. In strategic sectors, a bare minimum presence of the existing public sector commercial enterprises at the holding company level will be retained under government control. The remaining enterprises in a strategic sector will be considered for privatisation or merger with another PSE or for closure.
However, since the banking system is facing tight cash conditions due to payment for spectrum for high speed telecom and broadband services and advance tax outgo, some experts are also of the view that RBI would wait for liquidity to ease before going for rate hikes.
The govt withdrew the draft encryption policy which made it mandatory for storage of all messages, including social media, for 90 days.
The government will introduce a unified licensing regime, covering operators either on an all-India scale or circle-wise with an aim to increase competition in the long distance segment. \n
Foreign players too will be allowed to compete in the 3G space.
The 2G judgment suggests many bureaucrats have poor application, inadequate interest and are unwilling to be active participants in the policy process, says Babu Jacob.
'While consumers have benefited tremendously from rock-bottom telecom tariffs, the telecom sector has been reeling under deep financial stress,' points out Rajan S Mathews, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India.
'You have to have commitment to both, but it has to be done at the individual level.'
'The government is unwilling or unable to provide the kind of relief that Vodafone India is asking for.'
Dismissing the view that the Supreme Court's judgement cancelling 122 2G licences was an indictment, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday said that the government will move forward in the issue after regulator TRAI make its recommendations.
Shares of telecom services providers - Reliance Industries (parent of Reliance Jio), Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea - have shed up to 23 per cent so far in the current calendar year as growth in the wireless subscriber segment begins to plateau amid higher tariffs and rising costs of smartphones. By comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex, and sectoral index BSE Telecom have dipped 1.8 per cent, and 12.6 per cent, respectively, ACE Equity data shows. However, analysts expect the trend to reverse soon as telecom services providers focus on the next leg of growth -- fixed broadband (FBB) segment.
Need for much more investment; sector would like govt help
From the Sensex pack, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Infosys, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finance were the major gainers. Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti, Titan, HDFC Bank, Wipro, HDFC and ITC were among the laggards.
The new telecom policy draft has paved the way for stoking competition and allowing customers to select their long distance operators by calling for introduction of carrier access code immediately.
Former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, currently in jail in connection with the 2G scam, on Wednesday told the Delhi high court that the 'so called' gigantic loss of Rs 30,984 crore (Rs 309.84 billion) to the state in spectrum allocation was caused due to the government policy and not because of the alleged acts of the accused.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US is expected to see discussion on India's possible entry into a US-led global alliance on critical minerals, officials told Business Standard. In June last year, the US, the European Union, and other G7 partners launched the Minerals Security Partnership to ensure that China did not further strengthen its grip on supplies of critical minerals the world over. Various ministries, including the Ministry of Finance, have communicated to the Ministry of External Affairs to explore the possibility of India joining the partnership, officials said.
''No lobbyists will be able to influence us. If that happens, you can censure me for dereliction,'' he said.
Poor infrastructure could result in a loss of $21 billion of investment to other competing countries in Asia and this was a major threat to the realisation of India's projected IT vision for 2008, a Confederation of Indian Industry paper has said.
From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Titan, Reliance Industries and Nestle were the major winners. Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, State Bank of India, Asian Paints and Wipro were the laggards.
Letter to telecom secretary alleges Jio is masquerading full-blown services in the guise of a trial; no word from Reliance.
Indian telecom sector has registered a phenomenal growth and has become second largest telephone network in the world after China.
Despite multiple headwinds at the start of 2023, the Indian markets delivered a strong performance, posting 19-20 per cent growth for the year. Even as new records were set, investor sentiment remains strong going into 2024, given the lower inflation, expectations of steady to lower interest rates, higher economic growth, and strong inflows. However, the overriding concern for most brokerages is valuations.
Clearly, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and his team are looking to raise their game in India.
A healthy growth in India's services segments has helped the country's total exports and imports of goods and services to cross the $800 billion mark during the first half of 2023, despite a slowdown in global demand, think tank GTRI said in a report on Monday. According to the analysis of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), exports of goods and services rose by 1.5 per cent to $385.4 billion during January-June this year, as against $379.5 billion in January-June 2022. Imports, however, dipped by 5.9 per cent to $415.5 billion during the six months of this year, as against $441.7 billion in January-June 2022.
The much-awaited guidelines for the 3G policy will be out this month, assured Communications Minister Andimuthu Raja today. Speaking on the sidelines of a conference, the minister said, "It has been delayed for some time. I will ensure that the policy is out by the 30th of June."
India's booming telecommunications industry is set to see investment in excess of $20 billion over the next five years, a senior government official said on Friday.
To make the scheme attractive, the government has announced a rate structure wherein the operators may take the optical fibre on lease and provide broadband connectivity to customers.
Former telecom minister Arun Shourie agreed with A Raja that the latter had discussed the 2G spectrum issue with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and then finance minister P Chidambaram before going ahead, but refuted his claim of following the National Democratic Alliance policy.
'Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process.'
A government panel on Tuesday proposed raising foreign investment limits in sectors like defence, multi-brand retail and telecommunications, to spur investment in the country and tide over the Current Account Deficit woes.
