'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
The number of dematerialised (demat) accounts - required to hold shares and other securities in electronics format - crossed the 150-million mark for the first time in March. In March, 3.12 million new demat accounts were added despite a spike in market volatility, taking the total count to 151.4 million. The milestone has come 19 months after the total number of demat accounts hit the 100-million mark, a sign that more domestic households are taking to direct equity investing.
The current spurt in the stock market is on account of strong fundamentals and robust corporate earnings and retail investors can look for buying opportunities to accumulate quality stocks, experts said.
Domestic passenger vehicle dispatches witnessed a 13 per cent year-on-year rise in April as demand remained robust across segments, industry body Siam said on Friday. The total passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers rose to 331,278 units last month compared to 293,303 units in April 2022. Market leader Maruti Suzuki India dispatched 137,320 units to dealers last month against 121,995 units in April last year.
'I am shocked that the BJP makes so many commitments. What did they deliver as the NDA?'
Shares of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) rose nearly 1 per cent on Tuesday, hitting an intraday high of Rs 2,986.05 per share, after most brokerages reacted positively to the company's March quarter (Q4FY24) results. The bullish outlook stems from Reliance Jio's potential tariff hikes, given the competitive landscape, along with slow but steady improvement in the oil-to-chemical (O2C) vertical.
Speaking at industry association CII's annual session, PM Modi said the government has taken tough steps to fight the coronavirus pandemic and has also taken care of the economy. "On the one hand we have to safe the lives of our people and on the other hand we have to stabilise the economy and speed up the economy," he said. "Yes, we will definitely get our growth back," he asserted.
Those leaving the company include Nikhil Chopra, head of India business, Nikhil Lalwani, who served as head of US business, and Kunal Khanna, head of chronic and emerging therapies.
Significant portion of the funds used to fuel urban demand have become illegal and inoperative.
Ron Somers, founder and CEO of India First Group and the former President of leading business advocacy group US-India Business Council said that when Lok Sabha election results are declared on June 4, "I believe that Narendra Modi will win Parliament by the largest majority ever recorded in the country's history.
'As the city grows, so do its fire incidents.'
Shares of ICICI Bank may outperform those of HDFC Bank in the near-term, analysts said recently, after the Sandeep Bakhshi-led private sector lender reported a strong set of numbers for the July to September quarter (Q2) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The result, they said, reiterated that ICICI Bank is maintaining a sustainable and prudent growth led by tech-driven initiatives as against HDFC Bank, which is facing merger related challenges. According to analysts at Prabhudas Lilladher, ICICI Bank is valued at par with HDFC Bank at 2.2x/1.9x on FY25/26E core adjusted book value (ABV) basis.
Vietnam-based electric vehicle maker VinFast, a rival of Tesla in the global market, has set foot in India and began work on building its Rs 16,000 crore EV manufacturing facility at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. The company has already sought a reduction in import duties on its cars for about two years until customers get familiar with the brand and its unit in the state. The global major kicked off the construction of the first phase of its integrated EV hub, which may see Rs 4,000 crore of investment initially and will create more than 10,000 jobs.
Can this growth in GST collection be sustained in the coming years? asks A K Bhattacharya.
'The focus needs to shift towards the ability to collect payments, particularly in tier-3 to tier-4 areas where acceptance is still lacking.'
Market participants attribute the stability to the Reserve Bank of India's timely intervention in the foreign exchange market, both in terms of selling and buying dollars.
Challenge for Test cricket is revenue-sharing model, not scheduling: Graeme Smith
'To the believers of crypto regulations, I have only one question to ask, how will you regulate it?'
'The outlook for private investment, which has been such a weak link for India for so long, remains challenging.'
60-65 per cent of the FMCG industry's overall sales come from urban areas; 35-40 per cent from rural areas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the adoption of the New Delhi Leaders Declaration, a significant victory for India's G20 presidency that came amid increasing tensions and divergent views over the Ukraine conflict.
He said the 'toxic combination of deep distrust, pervasive fear and a sense of hopelessness in our society' is stifling economic activity and growth.
Various factors, including robust demand in rural markets and good response to new models, helped in driving the sales.
In UK, France and Germany, the president and CEO of Edelweiss Securities, anticipates votes incrementally in favour of local protection and de-globalisation.
Private equity (PE) investment in real estate declined 5 per cent year-on-year in April-June to $1.9 billion because of high interest rates, according to Anarock. PE inflows stood at $2 billion in the year-ago period. Real estate consultant Anarock has come out with a report titled 'FLUX Q1 FY24 Market Monitor for Capital Flows in Indian Real Estate'.
Funding winter and corporate governance woes separated the men from the boys in the country's startup space in 2023 that saw funds into the segment tapering to just around $8 billion. All said, investors are hopeful of strong growth of the maturing startup ecosystem in the new year. Edtech and health tech segments that grew exponentially during the pandemic plunged into an abyss of financial uncertainties, with several firms shuttering their business, and valuation of prominent players like BYJU'S and PharmEasy plummeting 85-90 per cent.
Smaller stocks have emerged as Dalal Street's favourites in 2023 that has turned out to be a "great year" for equities, rewarding investors with big gains, driven by optimism over the country's macroeconomic fundamentals and heavy retail investors participation. Experts said equity markets are experiencing a prolonged bull run and it is during this time that the midcap and smallcap segments tend to outshine their larger counterparts. Till December 22 this year, the BSE smallcap gauge has jumped 13,074.96 points or 45.20 per cent while the midcap index has surged 10,568.18 points or 41.74 per cent.
'The reason being we cannot let premiums go beyond a certain point.'
It is pegged at 6.8-8% by various economists, as compared to 6.7%.
'From a risk-return perspective, large-cap funds may generate lower-than-historical average returns in 2024, whereas mid-, and small-cap funds hardly have any upside left.'
Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors reported a double-digit increase in dispatches to dealers in April as the demand remained robust especially for the sports utility vehicles. The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said its domestic passenger vehicle wholesales rose 13 per cent to 137,320 units last month as against 121,995 units in April 2022. Sales of mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, fell 18 per cent to 14,110 units as compared with 17,137 units a year ago.
'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.'
'If the Indian government actually delivers on the infrastructure plans, the hospitality sector would double itself by 2025.'
'For equities, inflation trending upwards but within the range of expectations can actually be a big positive as it helps earnings and may shift flows from bonds to equities.'
'Interim Budget has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit.'
The automobile sector is considered a good indicator of economic health. It has a very long value chain, from primary materials, like metals, glass and plastic, to value-added high-end electronic components, specialised alloys, and software.
Mobility company Ola's chief financial officer Swayam Saurabh and chief operating officer Gaurav Porwal are leaving the company. These developments come at a time when the SoftBank-backed company's core ride-hailing unit is planning to go public and for which it raised $500 million from Warburg Pincus and Temasek in July this year. These investment firms had partnered with the company founder Bhavish Aggarwal for this round.
'India seems to be on a relatively better wicket compared to other emerging markets.'
RIL's standalone net profit rose one per cent quarter-on-quarter