The early results from corporate India for the first quarter of 2015-16 are in, and these strongly suggest that a cyclical recovery is underway.
Richest Indian Gautam Adani's group, which has grown on acquisitions, has fairly solid fundamentals but debt-funded future acquisitions can start putting pressure on ratings, S&P Global Ratings said on Thursday. Starting out as a commodities trader in 1988, the Adani group has diversified from mines, ports and power plants into airports, data centres and defence. It recently forayed into the cement sector with a $10.5 billion acquisition of Holcim's India units and is also looking to set up an aluminium factory. Most of this expansion has been funded by debt.
He also asked men to work towards securing for women their due place in society.
The International Monetary Fund, in its latest World Economic Outlook, projected an average growth rate of about 3.8 percent in market prices for India in fiscal 2013, which is expected to pick up to 5.1 per cent next year.
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to grow more than 9.5 per cent in fiscal 2021-22, an SBI research report-Ecowrap said. The economy grew at 8.4 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday. The growth in the April-June quarter of this fiscal stood at 20.1 per cent. In October's monetary policy review, the Reserve Bank of India had retained its projection for real GDP growth at 9.5 per cent in 2021-22, consisting of 7.9 per cent in Q2; 6.8 per cent in Q3; and 6.1 per cent in Q4 of 2021-22.
In a double delight, retail inflation eased to a one-year low of 5.72 per cent - staying below the upper tolerance limit for two months in a row, while factory output rose sharply to 7.2 per cent on the back of healthy growth in manufacturing. The retail inflation numbers based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) will provide some room for the Reserve Bank to further moderate the quantum of hike in key interest rate or even press a pause button. The RBI has been on a rate hiking spree since May 2022 in its bid to tame inflation, having raised the repo rate by a cumulative 225 basis points (bps).
Index of industrial production data had also shown that the sector grew at 3.1 per cent after contracting in the previous quarters.
The economic growth slowed to a decade low of 5 per cent in the 2012-13 fiscal.
Standard Chartered on Friday lowered India's growth forecast for the current financial year to 4.7 per cent from earlier 5.5 per cent, citing "upside risks" to inflation and fiscal deficit.
Investment in infrastructure was necessary for the economy, as power shortages, inadequate transport and poor connectivity affect overall growth performance, as per the Economic Survey 2019-20 tabled in Parliament by Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "To achieve GDP of USD 5 trillion by 2024-25, India needs to spend about USD 1.4 trillion (Rs 100 lakh crore) over these years on infrastructure so that a lack of infrastructure does not become a constraint to growth," it said.
Marking the end of strict banking secrecy practices, Switzerland earlier this month agreed to automatic exchange of information and mutual administrative assistance in tax matters with overseas authorities.
'Imagine for a soldier -- first you conquer territory after fighting a fierce battle, suffer casualties and then you are ordered to come back to your side of the International Border in India.'
'For our traditional membership base, it would be an access to disruptive ideas,' FICCI President Subhrakant Panda tells Asit Mishra/Business Standard.
India Ratings expects long products demand growth to be sharp, supported by a demand push from the government-led infrastructure investments in affordable housing, railways, rural electrification and road networks.
Govt to play enabler not handler, India never had more decisive government: PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cited his dispensation's push for wide-ranging reforms, including the privatisation of Air India, to assert that the country never had a more "decisive government". Launching the Indian Space Association (ISpA), an industry body aspiring to be the voice of the country's space sector, Modi noted that fields like mining, coal, defence and space have been opened to private players, and said his government's clear policy about public sector enterprises is to open those to private industry where its presence is not required. While opening a host of sectors, the government has built a regulatory environment in which priority has been given to national interest as well as the interests of different stakeholders, he said.
At a time when most of the public sector undertakings across India are reeling under various problems, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation has proved to be a jewel in the crown of Gujarat.
The third-quarter financials didn't excite market watchers. But equity investors can still make money if they invest in the right stocks.
Ten central trade unions except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh are observing one-day general strike on Thursday to protest against various government policies.
The real estate sector in Maharashtra foresees a loss of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) due to the ban on extraction of sand by the Bombay High Court. The realty industry has sought the intervention of the state government to tackle the crisis.
More and more CSR is being defined by how a company runs its operations and makes its profits; and just firms donating money to charities.
The party also promised to end the mafia raj by creating corporations for the sale of liquor and sand mining.
The economy can't grow without increasing electrification, which requires more power plants, and given coal is the cheapest form of fuel and is abundant, it makes sense that India is looking to boost the use of the fuel.
Manufacturing sector grows at 3.5%; agriculture sector at 3.8%
The investment climate is going well in India and the private sector should skill their workforce in the interest of its business, Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian said on Thursday asserting that he does not foresee any difficulty in demand and supply of the workforce. Addressing 'Times Network India Economic Conclave', Subramanian further said job creation is part of the virtuous cycle that starts with private investments flowing into the country resulting in production, growth, job creation and increase in aggregate demand which in turn leads to more investments in the economy. The investment climate is going well in India. Other things will follow, though with a lag...it is for the private sector to start recognising that it is in their own business interest that they should skill their workforce. This, in turn, will raise the average level of skills in India," he said.
The country's near-term outlook hinged on a benign inflation trajectory, uptick in industrial activity and falling crude oil prices
From trusted bureaucrat, to Wharton, MNC executive to businessman, and now politician, the man in charge of two weighty ministries is a unique all-rounder with specialist knowledge.
An opportunity to enter a burgeoning sector at a low valuation and favourable policies are propelling some of India's largest corporate groups to scoop up drone start-ups. "Indian corporations lost the race in aerospace and space tech. "No one wants to miss the bus this time. "These are seasoned businessmen and they realise that the market cap of tech companies with problem-solving capabilities will exponentially rise in future," says Vipul Singh, CEO of Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS).
With a robust outlook for mineral-led growth in India, Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Limited is looking to invest up to $20 billion across its businesses, which includes doubling of silver production and steel capacities. In a virtual press conference had last month, Agarwal said the company planned a capex of $5 billion over a period of three years. The company has not given a timeline for $20-billion investment.
The stellar rise in corporate earnings in financial year 2021-22 (FY21) and FY22 did not result in a corresponding boom in capital expenditure (capex), with listed companies' investment in fixed assets rising just 2.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in FY22, growing at the slowest pace in the last six years. In comparison, the firms' combined net profit jumped 63.5 per cent YoY in FY22, while net sales increased 31.1 per cent - the fastest pace in over a decade. The 955 non-financial companies in Business Standard's sample reported combined net profit of Rs 7.18 trillion in FY22, compared with Rs 4.39 trillion in FY21 and Rs 2.59 trillion in FY20.
Sectors which attract maximum foreign inflows include services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, automobile and trading.
Tata Motors on Monday launched the country's first CNG truck in the medium and heavy commercial (M&HCV) vehicle segment in the 28- and 19-tonne nodes. Most truck makers, including Tata Motors, currently offer CNG only in the small and light commercial vehicle segments. The company also launched a fleet of seven trucks in the intermediary and light commercial vehicle (I&LCV) segment, meant for varied applications.
Privatisation of BPCL, which was dubbed India's biggest ever, has been stalled with just one bidder left in the fray after two others walked out over issues such as lack of clarity in fuel pricing, a top source said. The government had planned to sell its entire 52.98 per cent stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and invited Expression of Interest from bidders in March 2020. At least three bids came in by November 2020 but only one remains now after the others withdrew from the race.
Skylark Drones, a leading drone platform company that counts Tata Steel, Ultratech Cement, Softbank Energy among its customers has secured $3 million in a pre-series A funding round. It would use the funding to strengthen its product offerings and fuel international expansion.
In a first, the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) officers reached out to several ministries in the last week of April as part of a confidence-boosting measure. The meeting brought the CAG officials and those from the ministries across the table to discuss the pain points in their relations. CAG of India Girish Chandra Murmu took this novel step because of growing tensions between those audited and the auditor.
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.
The government on Thursday permitted 100 per cent foreign investment under the automatic route in oil and gas PSUs which have received in-principle approval for strategic divestment. The move would facilitate privatisation of India's second biggest oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). The government is privatising BPCL and selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the company.
India's industrial production growth slowed down for a fourth straight month in December to 0.4 per cent mainly due to a poor performance by the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing sector, which constitutes 77.63 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contracted by 0.1 per cent in December, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday. In December 2021, the mining output rose by 2.6 per cent, and power generation increased by 2.8 per cent.
However, a prolonged and intense second wave that curtails oxygen supply to industries for a longer-than-expected period will exacerbate downside risk in affected sectors
The government was going in the "wrong direction" and it was "highly condemnable" that it did not discuss the proposed changes with trade unions and other stakeholders, says BMS, trade union arm of the RSS.
