The government on Tuesday said it has received Rs 4,353 crore as dividend tranches from seven public sector enterprises, including Coal India and PFC. Government has respectively received about Rs 575 crore and Rs 2038 crore from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and Coal India Ltd as dividend tranches," Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted. Besides, about Rs 887 crore and Rs 653 crore have been received from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd as dividend tranches.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency to political funding.
Crisis-hit SpiceJet plans to hand out pink slips to at least 1,000 employees in the coming days as the airline works to significantly reduce costs and streamline operations of its depleted aircraft fleet, officials said on Monday. Faced with financial woes, legal battles and other headwinds, the no-frills carrier might ask more staff to leave as there is excess manpower now compared to the number of planes in service. A final decision on the quantum of layoffs is expected this week, one of the officials in the know said.
The assertion comes in the wake of the Supreme Court directing the SBI to submit the details of the electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 to the EC.
Automotive (auto) major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which is readying to launch nine sport utility vehicles (internal combustion engine/ICE), seven Born Electric Vehicles (BEVs), and seven light commercial vehicles by 2030, has outlined an investment of Rs 27,000 crore in its auto business between 2024-25 (FY25) and 2026-27 (FY27). Over the next three years, the company will deploy Rs 37,000 crore, including its auto business, farm business (Rs 5,000 crore), and service business (Rs 5,000 crore).
Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd on Monday said its board has approved raising funds through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in tranches aggregating to Rs 57,000 crore. The board has cleared issuance of unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures under a Shelf Placement Memorandum, aggregating Rs 57,000 crore, in various tranches, on a private placement basis, HDFC said in a regulatory filing. This is in accordance with the approval granted by the shareholders of the HDFC at the 45th annual general meeting held on June 30, 2022, it said.
rediffGURU Vivek Lala answers your income tax and personal finance queries.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is mulling doing away with the priority distribution (PD) model in Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and introducing in the regulation pro-rata rights (based on the ratio of their commitments) for investors. AIFs are pooled investment vehicles but certain schemes have been observed to be following a differential distribution model where one class of investors, often a junior class, share loss more than the ratio of their contributions in comparison to the senior class of investors. As the senior class of investors have priority in distribution over the junior class of investors, the profit distribution is done first to these investors while they are compensated for loss out of the residual capital of junior class investors.
Global private equity (PE) firms are successfully offloading large equity stakes in domestic companies in the open market, taking advantage of buoyant conditions. Strong domestic liquidity support and an upward trending market have underpinned over a dozen PE exits worth $2.5 billion, data compiled by Business Standard shows. The figures exclude PE exits during maiden share sales and shares sold by strategic investors, such as SoftBank and Ant Group in new-age companies.
The government has received Rs 413 crore as dividend tranches from five CPSEs, including NLC and NALCO. "Government has received Rs 78 crore and Rs 165 crore respectively from Antariksh corp and NLC as dividend tranches," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.
He has been indicted on seven federal criminal charges for retaining hundreds of classified government documents and even making false statements after leaving the White House, it reported.
Future Gaming of lottery king Santiago Martin was the biggest purchaser of electoral bonds at Rs 1,368 crore, of which nearly 37 percent went to the DMK.
Global investment firm Blackstone on Wednesday sold its entire 23.5 per cent stake in Embassy Office Parks REIT for around Rs 7,100 crore, according to sources. Embassy Office Parks REIT is India's first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) sponsored by Blackstone and Bengaluru-based realty firm Embassy group. Blackstone sold its stake in the entity at around Rs 316 per share through open market transactions and at this price, the deal is valued at about Rs 7,100 crore, the sources said.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is contemplating the implementation of a same-day settlement cycle, known as T+0, in two phases. This is seen as a preliminary step towards instantaneous settlement. The shorter T+0 settlement cycle is being considered for the equity cash segment as an optional mechanism, in addition to the current T+1 (Trade plus one day) cycle.
Mumbai accounts for the largest share of electoral bonds sold since inception.
Air India significantly altered the composition of the aircraft order it placed earlier this year with Airbus, the European plane manufacturer has said. In February, Air India had placed the world's second-largest single-tranche aircraft order for 470 planes: 250 with Airbus and 220 with Boeing. In July, Airbus disclosed an order comprising 70 A321neo, 140 A320neo, 34 A350-1000, and six A350-900 aircraft for Air India.
Years before the Supreme Court struck down as 'unconstitutional' an opaque political funding tool that allowed individuals and companies to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits, the then finance minister Arun Jaitley -- the prime mover of electoral bonds -- had termed them legitimate and transparent.
While activity in the highway segment has been slow, the bid pipeline saw recovery in January 2024, and awards are expected to improve in Q4FY24. The national highway (NH) bid pipeline has recovered from a low of Rs 15,900 crore in December 2023 to Rs 68,400 crore at present. The NHAI's pipeline stands at Rs 66,100 crore, with hybrid annuity model (HAM), build operate transfer (BOT) and engineering procurement and construction (EPC) projects accounting for 60 per cent, 29 per cent and 13 per cent share, respectively.
The banking system liquidity bounced back to surplus mode after three weeks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed. This was due to government spending, according to dealers. The liquidity situation could further ease with the disbursement of the last tranche of incremental cash reserve ratio (I-CRR) worth Rs 50,000 crore on Saturday.
Shares of HDFC Bank will witness massive inflows totalling $600 million from passive trackers this week, predict analysts. This influx is attributed to the rebalancing activities in the S&B BSE Sensex and the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) indices. The Sensex is set for its quarterly rebalancing act on September 15 (date of adjustment), resulting in inflows of $102 million (approximately Rs 850 crore).
The government may be staring at a modest slippage in fiscal deficit for 2022-23 (FY23), with the Ministry of Finance seeking parliamentary approval for additional spending through a second and final tranche of supplementary demands for grants. On Monday, as the Budget session of Parliament resumed, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought Parliament approval for additional gross spending of Rs 2.7 trillion in FY23 (which ends on March 31). While net cash outgo is pegged at Rs 1.48 trillion, the rest will be matched by savings or enhanced receipts, the finance ministry said.
Bond market participants expect an open market operation (OMO) auction in the first week of November as the banking system liquidity is expected to ease on the back of government spending and maturity of bonds. According to market participants, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue a notification on OMO sales by October 31. They speculate that the central bank might conduct the auctions in multiple tranches of Rs 10,000 crore.
For the company's latest energy initiative to expand its green energy and storage portfolio, some analysts are beginning to suggest a closer look at some of its segments. In his address to shareholders in the company's FY22 annual report, billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of the company, said: "The green energy value holds great promise to outshine all our existing growth engines in just 5-7 years." The company has marked an investment of Rs 75,000 crore towards its new energy plans, which include solar energy value chain, green hydrogen, energy storage and other similar businesses.
With over 3,000 species of plants, 26 interconnected lakes and the 250-year-old Great Banyan Tree -- the largest in the world -- the Indian Botanic Garden is a veritable treasure, discovers Payal Singh Mohanka.
The banking system neared Rs 1.47 trillion of liquidity deficit on Monday, the highest since January 29, 2020, when the banking system liquidity deficit went up to Rs 3 trillion. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) injected Rs 1.47 trillion on Monday and Rs 1.46 trillion on Tuesday. Market participants say that the disbursement of Rs 25,000 crore as the second tranche of incremental cash reserve ratio (I-CRR) will not be enough, and the liquidity might tighten further to Rs 2 trillion in short term due to tax outflows and arrival of the festival season.
Sources in the military establishment also said the present global scenario "necessitates a flexible and adaptive approach" to tackle defence and national security challenges.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 14 rallies in Madhya Pradesh during campaigning for polls and reached out to young voters by reminding them of the failures of previous Congress governments on various fronts as he doubled down on development of all sections.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday suspended Air India's Boeing simulator facility in Mumbai after finding certain alleged lapses during a spot check, a DGCA official said. The pilots, who were scheduled to undergo refresher courses at the Mumbai facility, will now not be able to do so.
The Centre has received Rs 6,651 crore as interim dividend from 12 public sector undertakings (PSUs) on Monday, edging towards its Rs 50,028 crore dividend target for the ongoing fiscal. Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has transferred Rs 2,506 crore as a dividend tranche to the government, while NMDC and Nuclear Power Corporation of India transferred interim dividend of Rs 1,605 crore and Rs 972 crore, respectively. The government has received dividend tranches of Rs 913 crore from GAIL, Rs 351 crore from Hindustan Aeronautics, Rs 149 crore from Bharat Electronics, among others, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.
The MPs suspended on Tuesday include National Conference's Farooq Abdullah and Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari.
The state was asked not to publicise the disbursement during the poll code as part of the condition.
'The message that India has conveyed since the start of this conflict is clear and consistent. It is important to prevent escalation to ensure continued delivery of humanitarian aid and to work towards an early restoration of peace and stability. A peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward'
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) may require at least five more years to comply with the minimum public shareholding of 25 per cent beyond the current exempted timeline of 2027. Formal communication in this regard had been shared recently with the finance ministry, underlining LIC's roadmap, plans of further dilution of stake, current norms around public float, and challenges ahead, a government source familiar with the matter said. "Going forward, we will have to take a call, along with Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and the Department of Economic Affairs on the roadmap for minimum public shareholding (MPS).
The Adani group will be generating almost 90 percent of its Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) from infrastructure business by 2025 as compared to 83 per cent generated from these businesses currently, top company officials told bankers recently. Of the infrastructure business, 49 per cent of the profits are currently contributed by energy and utility, another 25 per cent by transport and rest by cement and logistics businesses. This will go up substantially as several new projects like Navi Mumbai airport and other projects get commissioned and contribute to the overall Ebitda pie, bankers were told.
Days after JP Morgan announced the inclusion of government bonds in its emerging market (EM) bond index, a host of banks and other financial institutions (FIs) are set to tap the debt market. They plan to raise Rs 18,000 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and bonds. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) plans to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore via five-year social impact bonds on Tuesday, the first of its kind in India.
In a move that will benefit a significantly large number of Indian technology professionals, the US is set to begin a pilot programme for domestic renewal of certain categories of H-1B visas in December. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
'Interim Budget has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit.'
India's largest edtech firm Byju's will fire 1,000 employees in a fresh round of layoffs across departments. With the latest round, total job cuts at the company have mounted to around 3,500. According to sources, fresh job cuts are an attempt by the company to improve its finances and work towards a path to profitability.
The reported buyback of Temasek's 20 per cent stake in Tata Play by Tata Sons will be the third instance of Tata Group providing an exit to a foreign partner in recent years. In 2018, Tata Sons paid $1.27 billion to DoCoMo to buy back 26 per cent of the group's telecommunication venture, Tata Teleservices. This was followed by Tata Sons acquiring AirAsia Berhad's 49 per cent stake in AirAsia India in two tranches to make it a wholly owned subsidiary.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.
