With the Indo-Pak dialogue in tatters and the respective armies exchanging fire across the Line of Control, an unexpected opportunity has presented itself for boosting trade between the two countries.
Hindustan Zinc (HZL), a subsidiary of Vedanta, announced an interim dividend of Rs 21 per share last week, resulting in an outflow of Rs 8,863 crore. The announcement has turned the spotlight on India Inc's dividend-paying policy - more so for reasons driving the generosity of firms. An analysis of BSE 500 companies by Business Standard Research Bureau shows that some of the top 20 dividend-paying companies in 2021-22 (FY22) include Vedanta, Tata Consultancy Services, HZL, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil), Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Reliance Industries (RIL), and Bajaj Auto, among others.
India's hiring rate has recovered moderately from 10 per cent in April to 35 per cent in May 2021, but the aftermath of the second COVID-19 wave has left professionals in India increasingly vulnerable to the economic uncertainty, as per LinkedIn data. India's hiring rate on LinkedIn dropped from 50 per cent in March 2021 to 10 per cent in April 2021. The hiring rate witnessed a modest revival to 35 per cent in May 2021, as localised curfews gradually lifted and economic activity partially resumed.
SoftBank-backed Ola Electric took the wraps off its maiden e-scooter offerings -- Ola S1 and S1 Pro -- for a commercial launch on Sunday. With prices starting from Rs 99,999 (excluding state government incentives, registration fee, and insurance cost), the Bhavesh Aggarwal-founded firm said the e-scooters are designed and engineered in India for the world and will deliver the best scooter experience to the consumer. He suggested that after 2025, sale of petrol-powered two-wheelers should not be allowed.
'There are a lot of companies that have been struggling really hard expecting to do better year after year.' 'All these people will think now, "Let me not fight any more. Let me end this".'
The imposition of 15 per cent export duty on steel has suddenly altered the prospects of the sector to negative and led to a big sell-off in steel stocks. Iron ore and pellet exports have to face duties of 45-50 per cent, which means they become uncompetitive. The Ukraine war has led to a supply crunch in global markets and pushed up prices, with Europe, in particular, looking for replacements for Ukrainian and Russian exports.
Top companies have grabbed a bigger pie of their sectors in the pandemic period, leading to a further rise in market concentration in many industries as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). The HHI score, which indicates competitive intensity in an industry (or a lack of it), reached a new high in FY21 as bigger firms raised their revenue market shares either organically or through mergers and acquisitions. A higher HHI score indicates a rise in market concentration in favour of a few firms while a lower score means that the industry's revenue is more evenly divided among many companies
This new compact SUV is offered in SLE, SLX and ZLX variants
Exasperated by frequent labour strikes, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to give public utility status to Auto components makers. A move that has left labour unions fuming since, now, they won't be able to go on strike without issuing a notice of six weeks in advance.
India has a history of jugaad, and retrofitting vehicles is one such manifestation of the legendary Indian skill. Not so long ago autorickshaws and small Marutis used to strap on subsidised LPG cylinders and power themselves to a cheap ride. There were the odd explosions, lives were lost, but the jugaad continued. Then compressed natural gas (CNG) was introduced in Delhi following a court order. Initially, customised CNG kits were fitted to conventional (internal combustion engine or ICE) autos cheaply, enabling commuting at less than half of what you would cough up for diesel. The industry is better organised now with Suzuki and Hyundai designing CNG-fired vehicles, and Mahindra and TVS manufacturing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-powered three wheelers.
He says that while 30 per cent of parts must be locally sourced, the supply doesn't yet exist in India to support that
Corporate India is more dependent than before on exporters of IT services such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, and Wipro for earning foreign exchange. Such companies account for nearly 43 per cent of the forex revenues of listed firms, up from 22 per cent a decade ago. The listed IT services companies earned nearly Rs 4.2 trillion through exports in FY22, up 15 per cent from the Rs 3.65 trillion a year earlier. In comparison, the forex revenues or exports of the rest of the BSE500 companies were down 11.9 per cent to Rs 5.6 trillion last financial year.
So far at least eight incidents of EV fires have been reported in just over a month's time.
Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai would make the largest gain.
The heavy industries ministry has asked US-based electric car major Tesla to first start manufacturing its iconic electric vehicles in India before any tax concessions can be considered, government sources said. They said that the government is not giving such concessions to any auto firm and giving duty benefits to Tesla will not send a good signal to other companies that have invested billions of dollars in India. Tesla has demanded reduction in import duties on electric vehicles (EVs) in India.
Minacs will be integrated it into SYNNEX's BPO business, Concentrix.
'We have relatively strong growth and a healthy corporate earnings cycle as positives, but a worrisome current account deficit and high inflation as challenges.'
If you think the XL6 is a brand new, from-the-ground-up car, you have another think coming, says Pablo Chatterji.
Praveen Sathaye took to the track on the R3 pushing the bike to test its limits. Here are his impressions.
Leading carmakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors reported robust dispatches to dealers in May on the back of strong demand for passenger vehicles across regions, even as the global semiconductor shortage continued to impact production. Mahindra & Mahindra, Kia India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Honda Cars and Skoda also witnessed strong demand for their models last month. The month of May also witnessed Tata Motors race ahead of Hyundai in terms of domestic wholesales.
Amid a rush of sport utility vehicle sales, Volkswagen is betting on its premium mid-sized sedan - the Virtus - to gain market share in India. The Volkswagen Virtus is the second product under the India 2.0 project being developed on the MQB-A0 IN platform, with up to 95 per cent localisation levels. In February, the company registered an 84 per cent year-on-year growth in sales, primarily driving on the Taigun it launched last year.
Automotive aftermarket has touched the Rs. 33,000-crore mark, but fake spare parts are costing the government Rs. 2,200 crore a year.
Mahindra & Mahindra gets the biggest impact of the Supreme Court's ban on sale of vehicles in Delhi with diesel engines bigger than 2,000cc.
The U301 is a compact SUV and in dimensions it is four metres.
This will compete with Ford Ecosport petrol
Maruti Suzuki will be launching 20 new products by 2020.
On Thursday, the prime minister is scheduled to hold one-on-one meetings with top five American CEOs. Two of them are Indian Americans -- Shantanu Narayen from Adobe and Vivek Lall from General Atomics. The three others are Cristiano E Amon from Qualcomm, Mark Widmar from First Solar, and Stephen A Schwarzman from Blackstone.
That's Ranbir Kapoor on Harley-Davidson V Rod in his forthcoming film Roy. We share five things you must know about this cruiser bike from the legendary American bike manufacturer.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said he has asked US-based Tesla several times to manufacture its iconic electric vehicles in India, while assuring that all support will be provided by the government to the company. Addressing 'India Today Conclave 2021', Gadkari further said electric cars manufactured by Tata Motors are not less good than electric cars manufactured by Tesla. "I have told Tesla that don't sell electric cars in India which your company has manufactured in China.
Input shortages and low inventories, according to Nomura, will likely lead to production cuts and delayed shipments in the September 2021 quarter.
Passenger vehicle majors like Hyundai, Tata Motors, M&M, Toyota Kirloskar and Honda on Wednesday reported growth in domestic sales in August riding on festive sentiments, although market leader Maruti Suzuki posted a decline amid a semiconductor shortage affecting the industry. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) reported domestic sales at 110,080 units, as compared to 116,704 units in the same month last year, down 6 per cent. "Sales volume of the company in August 2021 was affected due to electronic components shortage.
Auto component makers in India are bracing for a tough time. High absenteeism among workers owing to Covid-19, shortages of critical parts, and temporary closures of plants by automobile manufacturers have thrown a spanner in the works for the Rs 3.2-trillion sector, which derives 60 per cent of its revenues from automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), with the balance split equally between replacement demand and exports. Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India on Saturday said it was extending the maintenance shutdown, which was from May 1 to 9, till May 16, "keeping in view the current pandemic situation". Some activities will continue in the plants.
Decorative paints constitute over 75% of the overall paint market in India.
The Auto Component Manufacturers Association of India on Wednesday sought reduction in GST rate to a uniform level of 18 per cent for the entire automobile industry to stimulate demand and help save around 10 lakh jobs, which are at risk due to prolonged slowdown in vehicle sales.
According to the order, all factories producing essential goods and services will remain operational at full capacity.
At risk of entrenched rough times are sectors like hospitality and those with discretionary spends.
Increasing the duties on auto parts and putting an additional cess on petrol and diesel could drive up costs of vehicles, specially where volumes are low and localisation is not viable.
Maruti Suzuki India said its domestic sales rose 10.6 per cent in May.
India's first home-grown mapping company MapMyIndia is looking to list in the public market by raising around Rs 1,200 crore at a Rs 6,000-crore valuation. Sources said the company is ready with its draft red herring prospectus documents and is likely to file as early as next week. While the money will be used for business expansion, it will also give MapMyIndia's early investors, including Qualcomm, PhonePe, and Japanese mapmaker Zenrin Co., a chance to exit. The Verma family, which founded the company, will continue to remain promoters.