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.
Don't be surprised if growth in the second half of the financial year drops below 4%, which is where it was in the year before the pandemic, warns T N Ninan.
The 2022-23 (FY23) January-March quarter performance of the country's largest listed paint companies was better than Street expectations. Asian Paints, Berger Paints, and Kansai Nerolac Paints (Kansai Nerolac) registered double-digit revenue growth, compared with the year-ago quarter, reinforced by strong volume/value growth. Falling raw material prices also helped the paint majors hoist their gross margins.
Titan was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 1 per cent, followed by TCS, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement and Bharti Airtel. NSE Nifty settled 45.65 points down at 15,814.70.
An increase in government spending on the healthcare sector - from the current 1 per cent to 2.5-3 per cent of GDP - as envisaged in the National Health Policy 2017 could reduce out-of-pocket expenditures, as per the Economic Survey 2020-21. The rise in public spending can lead to a reduction in expenditures from 65 per cent to 30 per cent of overall healthcare spend, it noted. The Economic Survey said that for the country to effectively respond to future pandemics, the country's health infrastructure needs to be agile. Given its potential to provide healthcare access in remote areas, telemedicine needs to be harnessed to the fullest by especially investing in internet connectivity and health infrastructure, it added.
'How can you explain the necessity of selling an institution that has been delivering regular returns to the government, that has never asked for any capital from the government, that has invested Rs 38 lakh crores in the Indian economy and that owns 4 per cent of the market capitalisation in India?'
The combined market-cap of all listed Adani group firms has plunged nearly Rs 7.11 trillion since January 24 when the Hindenburg report was made public.
The acquisition of the debt-laden Binani has catapulted Birla-owned UltraTech to the top spot in India, leaving it free to turn attention to overseas market
Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian on Wednesday said India is expected to hit a growth rate of 6.5-7 per cent in 2022-23 and accelerate further to 8 per cent in the subsequent years on the back of reforms undertaken by the government. He also said the government is expected to meet the fiscal deficit target of 6.8 per cent in the current fiscal despite pressure on revenue collections.
'Banks will continue to increase FD rates to attract more deposits and meet the increasing demand for credit.'
Fuelled by the $57.8-billion merger of HDFC twins (HDFC Ltd and HDFC Bank), M&A (merger and acquisition) transactions in India touched a record high of $124.2 billion in the first half of 2022-23. Bankers said with several transactions, including the government's stake sale in IDBI Bank and Hindustan Zinc in the pipeline, the ongoing financial year will end up as the best year for M&A activity in the country. Apart from the HDFC transaction, the $6.5-billion acquisition of Holcim stake by the Adani family and L&T's $3.2-billion acquisition of Mindtree added to the record transactions in the first half of FY23.
Home prices across the top six cities are set to jump 6-10 per cent this fiscal and 3-5 per cent in the next financial year because of a steep rise in raw material, labour and land costs, and relatively favourable demand-supply dynamics, a report said on Thursday. The report by Crisil also said large residential realtors are on course to log a robust 25 per cent sales growth in 2022-23 and 10-15 per cent in the next fiscal. The unsold inventory level is down to 2.5 years from four years pre-pandemic, and this has credit profile of the large realtors strengthening, the report said.
As many as six merchant bankers are vying to handle and manage the sale of the government's 29.53 per cent residual stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL), according to an official notice. ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets, HDFC Bank, IIFL Securities, Axis Capital and Citigroup Global Markets will make their presentations via video conferencing before the government officials on Friday, highlighting their plans in managing the offer for sale. The bankers to manage the sale process would be finalised after the presentation and opening of financial bids on August 12, as per the notice.
India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 4.1 per cent in January-March 2022 period, while for the full year 2021-22 the growth stood at 8.7 per cent, according to the government data released on Tuesday. GDP at constant (2011-12) prices in Q4 2021-22 is estimated at Rs 40.78 lakh crore, as against Rs 39.18 lakh crore in Q4 2020-21, showing a growth of 4.1 per cent, as per the National Statistical Office (NSO) data. India's GDP growth has slowed for the third straight quarter.
Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 4 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Nestle India, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma. NSE Nifty rose 61.40 points to its fresh record peak of 15,879.65.
These could include strengthening the public-private partnership (PPP) dispute resolution mechanism, uniform PPP institutional framework, easier terms for infrastructure companies accessing bond markets, and tax sops, Business Standard has learnt. Investment in infrastructure projects with high multiplier effect has been the Centre's main plank to revive the economy, create employment and boost consumption.
Leading economists have pencilled in a high 13-15.7 per cent uptick in the economy in the first quarter of 2022-23 with an upward bias. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, the group chief economic adviser at State Bank of India, on Tuesday said he expects the GDP to clip past 15.7 per cent in the first quarter with more chances of the final numbers printing in higher, while Aditi Nayar, the chief economist at the rating agency Icra, said the economy will grow much lower at 13 per cent in the June quarter. The national statistical office will announce the first quarter GDP numbers later next week.
No longer a discretion of the tax administrator, the audit of returns filed by taxpayers is now based on a selection by algorithms, notes Tarun Bajaj.
TCS was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 1 per cent, followed by Infosys, Reliance Industries, HUL, Nestle India and ITC. NSE Nifty ended 10.05 points higher at its new closing record of 16,634.65.
Aided by the $57.8-billion merger of HDFC Bank and HDFC, India Inc reported its highest ever mergers and acquisitions in calendar 2022 at $171 billion as against deals worth $145 billion announced last year. The acquisition by the Adani group across cement, media and ports dominated the headlines with the conglomerate making its foray into the cement sector by buying Swiss materials firm Holcim's stake in Ambuja Cements for $6.5 billion. The Adani family's additional $4-billion open offer for Ambuja did not get a response because shareholders preferred to stay invested with the new owner.
Prices of luxury properties appreciated by 8-12 per cent during the last year across major cities and has breached the 2015 peak level, according to India Sotheby's International Realty. In its annual 'Luxury Outlook Survey 2023', India Sotheby's International Realty (ISIR) revealed that 61 per cent of High-Net-worth Individuals (HNIs) and Ultra High-Net-worth Individuals (UHNIs) are looking to buy luxury real estate during 2023-24. The sample size of the survey is more than 500 HNIs and UHNIs.
According to a 2021 Redseer report, India's overseas education market is estimated to more than double to $80 billion by 2024.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty have made their debut on the UK's 'Asian Rich List 2022' topped by the Hinduja family. Sunak and his wife, whose father N R Narayana Murthy co-founded Indian IT major Infosys, are ranked 17th on the list, with an estimated wealth of 790 million pounds. The combined wealth of this year's list sits at 113.2 billion pounds, an increase of 13.5 billion pounds over that of last year.
India's plan to produce ethanol from second-generation (2G) sources -- mainly farm waste -- is taking time to materialise even as the government is set to dedicate to the nation on Wednesday a Rs 900-crore plant set up by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Panipat. Though state-run oil companies had decided to set up at least 12 plants in 2016-17 with an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore, this will be the first unit coming on track while others are stuck in various stages owing to issues like capital expenditure, lack of feedstock, and high rates of finished products compared to traditional ethanol units. According to industry sources, three more second-generation plants are coming up.
Days after completing a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC, billionaire Gautam Adani said his group has planned to double cement manufacturing capacity and become the most profitable manufacturer in the country. He saw a multifold rise in cement demand in India on the back of record-breaking economic growth and the government's infrastructure creation push, which will give significant margin expansion. In a speech made at an event to mark the completion of the acquisition on September 17, the Adani Group founder and chairman said the ports-to-energy conglomerate has in a single stroke become the second largest cement manufacturer in the country.
Very dense fog lowered visibility to 50 metres at the Palam observatory, near the Indira Gandhi International airport, at 5:30 am.
A severe cold wave brought the minimum temperature down to a numbing 1.5 degrees Celsius at the Ridge weather station in central Delhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party rejected this was any sort of demonetisation and instead reminded the Congress that even during the rule of Manmohan Singh, old currency notes were taken off circulation.
'As long as businesses do not consider cyber recovery an integral part of their enterprise IT, they remain greatly vulnerable.'
Thanks to rupee depreciation, India has a chance to fundamentally rework its stifled manufacturing sector.
Indian rupee, which earlier this week touched an all-time low, is likely to remain under pressure and may test new levels as a fallout of the US Federal Reserve indicating more interest rate hikes, experts said. The aggressive rate hikes will dampen demand and increase the possibility of a recession in the US. This could accelerate the pace of capital outflows, weaken the rupee and raise the threat of imported inflation.
'In FY23, PV sales are expected to end the year at a record 3.8 million units, up 26 per cent. In FY24, however, the industry is expecting 5-7 per cent volume growth'
The country's exports in March 2022 rose 19.76 per cent to $42.22 billion on account of healthy performance by sectors such as petroleum products, engineering, and leather, even as trade deficit during the month widened to $18.51 billion. In March 2021, exports stood at $35.26 billion, according to a commerce ministry data released on Wednesday. Last month, imports grew 24.21 per cent to $60.74 billion, it showed. Trade deficit stood at $13.64 billion in March 2021.
On February 24, when Vladimir Putin announced a military operation on Ukraine, few would have thought that Indian government-owned GAIL India would feel the impact. The tensions over gas supplies were essentially a Europe-Russia problem, related to the sanctions western economies imposed on Moscow. But the EU depends on Russian imports for 40 per cent of its gas stocks, an over-dependence that Russia has underlined with Kremlin-owned Gazprom cutting its supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20 per cent, citing maintenance issues.
The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee brainstormed the impact of any future shocks on the inflation trajectory and stressed monitoring the cumulative effect of monetary policy actions over the past one year, which is still unfolding, revealed minutes of the rate-setting panel released on Thursday. The minutes of the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das, also indicated it would be premature to declare an end to the monetary tightening cycle, which started in May 2022 to check high inflation following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. The central bank, which effected six back-to-back hikes in the key short-term lending rate (repo) since May 2022 to check high inflation, decided to take a pause early this month.
IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance and Ultratech Cement were prominent gainers. NSE Nifty rose 176.65 points to 14,867.35.
The Centre should privatise all public sector banks (PSBs), except the State Bank of India (SBI). This is because private banks have emerged as a credible alternative to PSBs with substantial market share. Also, government ownership hinders the ability of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to regulate the sector, according to a report by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
India achieved record foodgrains production this year but the withdrawal of three agri-reform laws and spike in cooking oil prices cast a shadow on the country's resilient agriculture sector that is on course for better harvest in 2022 despite pandemic blues. While soaring production of foodgrains that also helped the government provide free additional rations for COVID-hit poor families for many months together came as a relief, the passing year will be remembered for the long drawn farmers' protest at Delhi borders against the three laws and subsequent repeal of the legislations. The Indian agriculture sector, which was among the few segments that remained robust amid the pandemic gales, is expected to register a growth rate of 3.5 per cent in the current financial year ending March 2022.
Whether this remains under control in the coming months will depend on the future intensity and spread of the Russia-Ukraine war, and the effectiveness of the Indian government's response, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Credit card spends touched an all-time high of Rs 1.16 trillion in July, registering a growth of 6.5 per cent on a month-on-month basis and 54 per cent year-on-year, latest data put out by the Reserve Bank of India revealed. Spends have topped the Rs 1 trillion level for five consecutive months now. Industry participants are expecting further tailwinds in credit card spends with the onset of the festive season, where spends typically remain at an elevated level.
