'Rolling out the vaccine is not a major challenge in India.'
Reliance Industries (RIL) is likely to be the lone bidder for Mangalore-based JBF Petrochemicals, which is up for sale after defaulting on bank loans worth Rs 5,000 crore. The lenders for the second time extended the deadline for submission of bids, which had ended on August 20, as several players, including public sector companies, were redrawing their acquisition plans, said people in the know. "There were several companies which had submitted their expressions of interest (EoIs) for the company but after due diligence decided to exit the race," said a source close to the development. "The new deadline for submitting financial offers is August-end," the source said.
In a show of solidarity, the CEOs of some 40 top American companies have come together to create a global task force to mobilise resources to help India fight the battle against Covid-19.
Expect a more modest out-turn of around 5 per cent (if not less) because of the longer-term scarring effects of the Covid shock, the sharply slowing growth in the pre-Covid years and some scepticism about the growth-efficacy of some of recent official policy initiatives, explains Shankar Acharya, former chief economic advisor to the government.
Five out of the top 10 companies in Fortune 500 list of Indian companies are from the oil sector.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-day visit to Britain has seen India and the UK agreeing on Rs 90,000 crore deals.
22 companies won bids for the 31 contracts on offer; 15 were new entrants to the oil and gas business. Three years on, none of them have started production.
India's largest cement firm, Ultratech Cement, has joined the race to acquire the Holcim stake in Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary, ACC. UltraTech - part of the Aditya Birla Group - submitted a non-binding bid on Wednesday. Swiss multinational Holcim, which manufactures building material, is exiting India by selling its 63.19% stake in Ambuja Cements. According to banking sources, UltraTech has submitted a plan to Holcim, outlining divestiture details that would meet the norms set by anti-trust body Competition Commission of India.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das tells Anup Roy, Raghu Mohan and Niraj Bhatt that it is time for banks to lower interest rates and start lending to cash-starved finance companies after due credit appraisal and proper risk assessment.
'We are not able to manufacture even low-end products as cheaply as China.' 'We are not buying Chinese goods today out of any love for China.'
Liberalising regulations on satcom technology could attract billions of dollars in foreign investment.
Dr Rakesh Mohan, former RBI deputy governor, and Dr Pronab Sen, former chairman of the Indian Statistical Commission discuss the issues facing the Indian rural and manufacturing sectors and what the government must possibly do to improve demand and perk up the Indian economy
Analysts said even though the Indian economy is expected to slow down to 7.2 per cent in fiscal 2020, it is still the best bet for investment for foreign investors.
India's Rs 4.5-trillion fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector was one of the first to bounce back from the lockdown induced blues, reporting a year-on-year (YoY) growth in the October-December quarter last year. That said, the overall consumption figures continue to remain depressed. The FMCG market, which includes daily consumables like branded atta, hand sanitizers, edible oils, shampoos, razors, and so on, recorded 7.3 per cent value growth during the period, while the smartphone market grew by 21 per cent.
'Internet, healthcare and life insurance are a few sectors which offer solid long-term decadal potential.'
'A balanced head plus heart approach would be a full opening up of the economy including manufacturing and internal travel in the country but excluding COVID-19 hotspots,' recommends Jaimini Bhagwati.
The weekend lockdown will start from 8 pm on Fridays and last till 7 am on Mondays. Besides, prohibitory orders will be in force during daytime on weekdays, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement.
'Market feels this Budget will promote all-round growth and that is what is giving it confidence.'
A comprehensive solution involves a complete overhaul of our education and training model.
Each of the larger states may need less than Rs 10,000 crore each to finance the exercise.
Foreign investment firms, especially private equity, are jittery about the Indian market as uncertainty continues to shroud the energy sector.
The investment arm of US-headquartered chip-maker Intel Corporation expects India to add around 300 million internet users over the next five years.
The India-Japan global partnership is based on shared democratic values and respect for the rule of law and promotes peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after holding wide-ranging talks with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
The government said it had been evaluating the implementation of the decentralised model of vaccination since its launch on May 1 and that the decision to centralise it again was taken after detailed deliberations and following requests by some states, amid claims by the Opposition that the policy change was due to the Supreme Court's intervention.
'80% of the rural and urban population don't have enough purchasing power.'
However, that could only be for sectors where 100 per cent FDI is allowed under the automatic route and pose no risk to national security.
'If credit is not available, people will postpone buying. That's what has happened.'
The draft environment impact assessment (EIA) notification, 2020, which involves the procedure of issuing environmental clearances to various projects, was issued by the Environment Ministry in March this year and has received thousands of suggestions from the public.
Indian govt is trying hard to get global investors to invest in the country.
While there has been no commitment from the government on the procurement of vaccines, initial volumes, or distribution plans, there is a likelihood that the low interest loans may be made available to these players only when the time to scale up manufacturing arises.
'You can't take money from Shaktikanta Das (the RBI governor) and give it to Nirmala Sitharaman (the Union finance minister). She will blow it away on Modi.'
Modi is also likely to launch the Co-WIN (COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network) App, a digital platform created for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine delivery and distribution.
'It appears that Prime Minister Modi has to undo 50 years of State monopoly in the defence sector during which public undertakings like HAL or DRDO monopolised defence production and development with disastrous consequences.'
The industrial partnership of China and India can bring about greater investment and employment.
So let's stop focusing the Modi agenda on India Inc and the capital markets, and let's start focusing on the Modi development agenda for the average Indian.
As states grapple with a shortage of coronavirus vaccines, the Centre on Thursday said that over two billion doses will be made available in the country in five months between August and December, enough to vaccinate the entire population.
We have brought about a slew of reforms that would help improve governance and also facilitate industrial growth, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje tells Sahil Makkar.
Ajai Shukla presents an action plan for Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to fix the systemic weaknesses in defence.
Mumbai Police on Wednesday announced the updated lockdown guidelines which restricts the movement of people in public areas and transport while exempting those involved in essential services.
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.
