Retail sales of automobiles in India grew 8.31 per cent in August this year on the back of increase in registrations of vehicles across all major segments, automobile dealers' body FADA said on Thursday. As per data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), total vehicle retail sales in the country stood at 15,21,490 units last month as compared to 14,04,704 units in August 2021. Passenger vehicles (PV) retail sales stood at 2,74,448 units as compared to 2,57,672 units in the year-ago month, a growth of 6.51 per cent.
With the prediction of an above normal monsoon in 2024, the government is expecting food prices to come down, the finance ministry's monthly economic report for March has said. The report, released on Thursday, said robust foreign inflows and comfortable trade deficits were expected to keep the rupee within a comfortable range. "Further easing of food prices is on the anvil as IMD (India Meteorological Department) has predicted above-normal rainfall during the monsoon season, which is likely to lead to higher production, assuming good spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall," the monthly report, released by the Department of Economic Affairs, said.
The pilot project for central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the retail segment went live on Thursday with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing Rs 1.71 crore to four participating banks based on their indents. The central bank has identified four banks for the first phase of the pilot - State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank - in four cities, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar. The highest indent was received from one private sector bank.
The snake, suspected to be a spectacled cobra, was stuck in the adhesive tape used for the packaging, said the couple, who had ordered an Xbox controller from the online retail giant.
Electric vehicle retail sales in the country witnessed over three-fold jump last fiscal with two-wheeler offtake leading the segment, according to data compiled by automobile dealers' body FADA. Total electric vehicle (EV) retails reached 4,29,217 units in 2021-22, a rise of three-fold from 1,34,821 units in the financial year 2020-21, the industry body said. Total EV sales had stood at 1,68,300 units in the 2019-20 fiscal, it noted.
Passenger vehicle retail sales in the country rose 40 per cent in June indicating an improvement in semiconductor supplies even as demand, especially for SUVs, remained robust, auto dealer' body FADA said on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), passenger vehicle (PV) registrations rose to 2,60,683 units last month, as compared to 1,85,998 units in June 2021, registering an increase of 40 per cent. "The PV segment continued to see robust growth. An increase in dispatches clearly shows that semiconductor availability is now getting easier," FADA president Vinkesh Gulati said in a statement.
'The quality of a leader should be such that even if the leader is not there, the institution carries on.'
Dasari Gopikrishna hailed from the Yajali village of the Bapatla district in Andhra Pradesh and came to the US only eight months ago.
In FY24, loans given out by such firms had topped a whopping Rs 146,517 crore, up by 49 per cent year-on-year and spread over 10.19 million accounts (up 35 per cent).
Fintech firm One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, has received support from merchants, and it assured them of continuity of services without any disruption, the company said in a blog on Sunday. The blog post came amid the recent crisis around Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), an associate company of Paytm, which has been barred by the RBI from accepting deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and other instruments after February 29.
Retail inflation fell to a 15-month low of 5.66 per cent in March, mainly due to a decline in food prices, government data showed on Wednesday. The inflation figure in March is within the RBI's comfort zone as it is below 6 per cent. The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 6.44 per cent in February 2023 and 6.95 per cent in the year-ago period.
'We are seeing one of the highest discounts in recent years across companies.' 'October is a crucial month with several festivals coming up.'
While brick-and-mortar retailers have been the most vocal in their protests, e-tailers do not seem to be in a hurry.
Aided by robust demand, automobile retail sales in India rose by 11 per cent last year as compared to 2022, dealers' body FADA said on Monday. The overall domestic automobile retail sales stood at 2,38,67,990 units in the 2023 calendar year as compared to 2,14,92,324 units in 2022. Passenger vehicle sales stood at 38,60,268 units last year, up 11 per cent from 34,89,953 units in 2022.
Amazon violated FDI norms, allege Future Retail independent directors.
The battle for the top spot in the two-wheeler market is intensifying. The gap between Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) in retail sales narrowed to just 45,607 units in June. This improvement comes as HMSI has clawed back market share after dipping to a historic low of 18 per cent in May 2023. Now, the retail market shares of the two companies are 28.86 per cent and 25.54 per cent, respectively, compared to 35.54 per cent and 18.05 per cent in May 2023.
Future Group and V-Mart have put in place systems to prevent panic buying at their neighbourhood grocery stores.
In its master circular on general insurance products, which takes immediate effect, Irdai specified, 'The customer may be required to submit only those documents directly related to claim settlement.'
After the Covid-19 pandemic that derailed the economy since 2019, the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal is back with an estimated 20-30 per cent jump in festive spending. Retail sector is the key contributor to the state's Durga Puja economy which was Rs 32,377 crore in 2019, according to a British Council study conducted for the state government. Retail accounts for 85 per cent of the total puja economy and the rest is shared among pandal making, decoration, illumination, entertainment, advertisement, food & beverage and others.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is considering segregation of settlement for proprietary trades and retail trades to avoid misuse and circumvention by certain brokers, its chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said recently. Proprietary trading refers to trades done by brokers and other financial institutions using their own capital. "There are some people who are permitting access to their clients through prop accounts for a variety of reasons, including wanting to fund their margins.
In a short span of time, with the help of Amazon, Cloudtail was able to devise a model that could protect it from the vagaries of online retail business.
Stock exchanges are expanding the buffet of index derivatives even as the number of stocks permitted to trade in this space, generating an average daily turnover of Rs 450 trillion, is shrinking. This week, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) started issuing futures and options (F&O) contracts based on the Nifty Next 50 Index, bringing the total count of index derivatives to five.
US-based retail giant Walmart is looking to source toys, shoes and bicycles from Indian suppliers as the company is targeting to increase its exports from India to USD 10 billion annually by 2027. The company also wants to develop new suppliers in categories such as food, pharmaceuticals, consumables, health and wellness, and apparel and home textiles, a company spokesperson told PTI. Officials from the Bentonville-headquartered firm recently held a virtual meeting with several domestic toy manufacturers in India.
State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to recruit over 15,000 people in 2024-25, increasing the strength of those in the field for marketing. The recruits will be also for deployment in the bank's operations subsidiary and expanding the branch network. The operations subsidiary - State Bank Operations Support Services - became functional last year.
Among the options being weighed are discounts on existing rentals, short-term deferrals, and 50 per cent waivers.
'It's a debatable topic, and we will submit our comments to the RBI by June 15.'
Many individual states experienced higher inflation than the all-India figures during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Retail inflation figures in Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have been higher than national numbers every month of this financial year, shows a Business Standard analysis of state-wise figures, after the March inflation data was released on Friday. Experts noted that persistent high food inflation along with differences in the weights of rural and urban indices plays into the regional variation in inflation rates.
Consumer goods firms and auto companies are witnessing an upturn in rural demand, which had been lagging for most of FY24. Expectations of a bumper rabi crop harvest have helped turn the tide. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged last week, noting that as rural demand catches up, consumption is expected to support economic growth in 2024-25.
Gold prices tumbled by Rs 3,350 to Rs 72,300 per 10 grams in the local market in New Delhi on Tuesday amid subdued demand by jewellers after the government announced the customs duty cut on the yellow metal and silver to 6 per cent.
Led by a new generation of entrepreneurs, India's family offices are shifting from traditional investments in physical and tangible assets like real estate to investing in technology, healthcare, and retail stocks. This new wave of family offices is engaging in stock market investments, including pre-IPO placements and secondary market operations. "Born into a world of technology, the next generation, especially those born after 2000, view technology as equally crucial as finance for running a business.
Automobile retail sales in India increased by 37 per cent in April on a low base of COVID-hit April last year, automobile dealers' body FADA said on Thursday. Total sales across categories rose to 16,27,975 units in April, as compared to 11,87,771 units in the year-ago period. On a year-on-year basis, all vehicle categories including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers were up as compared with April last year.
'If the portfolio growth rate is higher, take this loan. If it is lower, liquidate your investments.'
The new mantra was to align Apple's ambition with the government's, focusing on Modi's favourite themes of Make in India, employment generation and India as a high-tech export hub.
Retail investors could be hesitant to invest in floating rate savings bonds, as these specific bonds tend to be profitable only in a rising rate environment, according to market participants. The Reserve Bank of India has allowed subscriptions for floating-rate savings bonds, 2020, via retail direct - an online portal that enables individual investors to purchase government securities.
A leading Brazilian poultry company has also expressed keen interest in joining hands with Kishore Biyani's Future Group to sell their products in the country
Several candidates, including Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the BJP's Amritsar candidate, are promising resumption of India-Pakistan trade via the Attari-Wagah land route.
The big boys of India's traditional retail have finally come together to fight the onslaught of their online counterparts.
'The last year's growth is a foretaste of things to come in the retail credit market.'
'India has a lot of potential, not just in commercial aspects, but also in hiring of people and sourcing of products.'
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has begun covering its retail store branding with white 'Made in India' logo amid fears of vandalism at outlets against the backdrop of Sino-India border tension, the All India Mobile Retailers Association said. The association had written to Chinese mobile brands to highlight the threat of vandalism at offline stores by people amid calls for boycotting Chinese products in certain sections.