Business Standard - October 28, 2024

In this issue

October 28, 2024

Apple seeds growth via supply chain in India

There are 15 Indian suppliers; further expansion on the cards

2 mins

Israel strike on Iran may add to market woes

Restrained attack a relief, but oil prices remain key

2 mins

E-com fireworks in rural India this festival season

India's e-commerce giants, led by Flipkart, Amazon, and Meesho, are making a strategic push into Tier-II and -III cities and rural regions, where demand for online shopping is surging during the festival season.

3 mins

BMW India net profit rises 52% to ₹311 cr in FY24

Car sales witness 61% Y-o-Y growth

1 min

At least 50 flights receive bomb threats; 2 diverted

At least 50 flights operated by Indian airlines received bomb threats and two of them were diverted on Sunday, according to sources.

1 min

Crude palm oil rates on boil, FMCG prices move north

With crude palm oil prices on the rise, companies have started to jack up rates of soaps and edible oils in order to pass on the hike to consumers.

1 min

Vistara, Air India merger: Navigating brand synergy

Experts say the merged entity will draw on USPs of both firms

2 mins

'Our capacities are just in time to meet growing demand in India'

A surge in steel exports from China has been casting a shadow on the global steel industry. As steel prices slipped, the country's largest steelmaker, JSW Steel, reported an 84 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit in Q2FY25. In a telephonic interview, JSW Steel, joint managing director and chief executive officer, JAYANT ACHARYA, tells Ishita Ayan Dutt that short-term challenges will not be a direction for its overall expansion in the medium to long term. Edited excerpts:

3 mins

Adani's ₹3K cr bet on ITD rides infra-capex wave

Adani Group's acquisition of a controlling stake in ITD Cementation India through a ₹3,204 crore deal marks the conglomerate's entry into the engineering and construction (EPC) sector.

2 mins

MobiKwik cut IPO size due to higher FY24 revenue: Co-founder

Fintech firm MobiKwik reduced its initial public offering (IPO) size this year as compared to its 2021 plans on the back of higher operational revenue and a shift towards positive Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) in financial year 2024 (FY24), a senior company executive said.

1 min

Mcap of 9 most valued firms drops by ₹2 trn

Nine of the top-10 most valued firms together lost a whopping ₹2.09 trillion from market valuation last week, in line with weak trends in equities, with Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Industries Limited taking the biggest hit.

1 min

Not easy to make Brics draft on int'l payment systems work

Astute businessmen and finance executives would have taken note of four initiatives the leaders of Brics, a grouping of nine countries, proposed when they met last week at Kazan, Russia: more trade between the Brics member countries, payments in national currencies of Brics member countries, an electronic platform for settlement of interbank transactions and a new currency to facilitate transactions and build up of reserves.

2 mins

Interest subsidy plan for exporters up for revamp

Move after FinMin sought justification

2 mins

PADDY PROCUREMENT NORMS: Govt rules out state-specific relaxations

The government on Sunday virtually ruled out giving any specific relaxation in paddy procurement norms to any state, including Punjab, saying whatever easing will be done would apply to all uniformly.

1 min

Progress on MDB reforms 'disappointing': G20 report

Terming the steps taken towards the multilateral development banks' (MDB) reforms suggested under India's G20 presidency as \"disappointing\", a G20 independent expert group has said the pace and ambition of implementation falls well short of what is required even though every institution has embarked on a programme of reform.

2 mins

Govt puts listing of CPSEs' green units in fast lane

NTPC Green Energy, SGEL, NLC India Green Energy may see IPOs by FY25-end

2 mins

NMDC-KIOCL merger on cards

The Union government is planning to merge Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) with India's largest iron ore merchant miner, NMDC—a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) soon, according to a senior steel ministry official.

1 min

IDBI Bank stake sale gathers pace

The Union Ministry of Finance is expecting to complete the privatisation process of IDBI Bank by March 2025, according to a senior government official familiar with the matter.

2 mins

Das receives A+ in Central Bank Report Cards 2024

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das received an A* grade in the Central Bank Report Cards 2024 for the second consecutive year.

1 min

LIC eyes foray into bond FRA market by FY25-end

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's largest insurer, is set to enter the bond forward rate agreement (FRA) market by the end of the current financial year (FY25).

1 min

Nabfid may raise ₹40K cr via bonds in H2

Its borrowing from markets was about ₹9,000 cr in the first half of FY25

1 min

Winds of change

October 29 marks 25 years since the devastating 1999 Super Cyclone. RAMANI RANJAN MOHAPATRA reflects on Odisha's journey from ruin to resilience, now recognised globally as a model in disaster management

4 mins

Surge in illegal Indian migration to US; China tally trebles in 2 years

The debate around illegal immigration has intensified in the runup to the US presidential election. ARCHIS MOHAN gives insight into the issue

2 mins

On a wing and a prayer

The Jharkhand Assembly elections will see electors cast their vote on November 13 and 20. SHIKHA CHATURVEDI analyses how food inflation, poverty, and promises are playing out in the fiscally-strained state

4 mins

A sigh of relief as Khamenei stops short of retaliation call

Satellite images show impact of Israeli attack on 2 secret Iranian military bases

2 mins

Economic leaders face a new era of industrial policy

Policymakers brace for more protectionism and demise of 'neoliberalism' if Trump is re-elected in the US

2 mins

South Africa amends guidelines to allow genetically modified children

A little-noticed change to South Africa's national health research guidelines, published in May of this year, has put the country on an ethical precipice.

4 mins

Its chip found in Huawei item, TSMC cuts off China's Sophgo

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo after a chip it made was found on a Huawei AI processor, said two people familiar with the matter.

1 min

Immigration remains a contentious issue in US presidential race

With just nine days left for Election Day, immigration remained one of the contentious issues in the US presidential campaign, with many immigrants, including from India and other South Asian nations, fearing a backlash if Republican hopeful Donald Trump wins the poll.

1 min

Bridge to Berlin

Agreement can open up opportunities

2 mins

Farm to fork takes the digital path

The Indian farm sector seems to be on the cusp of a digital revolution.

3 mins

Growth questions

Some indicators remain puzzling

2 mins

Robert Fisk's last war stories

Robert Fisk was the best-known British war correspondent of his generation, thanks in part to sheer persistence. He spent more than four decades running from one Middle Eastern death zone to the next, cataloguing the horrors he saw in gruesome detail and railing against the West's complicity in them. He was something of a cult figure on the British left, where his anti-imperial and anti-Zionist convictions were widely shared.

3 mins

India has skin in the global game

The country's foreign policy must rise above free riding on global stability

4 mins

Tech leaders bet on AI's India future

Why the world believes in the country's talent pool, infrastructure and 'vibrant' startup ecosystem, reports SHIVANI SHINDE

3 mins

India leans on tech to manage land and property

New technologies are boosting the property market and helping land management in India. As the government pushes for digitization of land records and entrepreneurs deploy new technologies in the property market, a change is coming.

2 mins

'Robots could be one of humanity's greatest opportunities'

The new buzz word in the world of artificial intelligence is Physical AI, the coming together of hardware and software on which applications are built. DEEPU TALLA, vice-president (VP) and general manager (GM) for robotics and edge computing at chipmaker Nvidia, is working to make Physical AI a reality. In an interview on the sidelines of the Nvidia AI Summit in Mumbai, he spoke with Shivani Shinde about Physical AI, robots and more. Edited excerpts:

2 mins

When deposits become 'assets' of banks

Offering a higher interest rate is an easy but costly solution. It's time for banks to innovate

5 mins

SCENT OF A MAN

Why domestic telcos smell trouble if Elon Musk's Starlink gets satellite spectrum at administrative prices

4 mins

Stop, think, then take action: PM's mantra to counter 'digital arrests'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged the issue of fraudsters targeting people with the cyber crime of \"digital arrests\" and urged people to adopt the mantra of stop, think and take action when faced with such a scam, asserting that these steps will provide digital security to them.

1 min

In a first, standard treatment norms for vets unveiled

They discourage excessive use of antibiotics in poultry and livestock

2 mins

Luxe hotels curate Diwali hampers beyond the box

Season highlights: Locally sourced goodies, sustainable packaging

2 mins

The steady drumbeat of value creation

HSBC Value Fund, launched in January 2010, has consistently ranked in the top 30 percentile of the focused funds category in the CRISIL Mutual Fund Ranking (CMFR) for three consecutive quarters up to June 2024.

1 min

Moderate rally in Samvat 2081; DIIs key drivers'

The markets are set to enter Samvat 2081 after a year where midcap and smallcap indices outperformed their larger peers. JIGNESH DESAI, chief executive officer of institutional equities at Centrum Broking, in conversation with Puneet Wadhwa in Mumbai, discusses how specific stocks in the largecap universe will continue to attract interest. He also shares his outlook on the midcap and smallcap rally, which he expects to persist over the next two to three years, albeit with intermittent corrections that could present buying opportunities. Edited excerpts:

3 mins

Sunny skies for REITs, with a high chance of growth

Home stretch for real estate investment trusts as strength of the office leasing market and Q2 results show endurance

2 mins

Changes in policy terms must be conveyed

Mustafa Pithawala had taken a home loan of ₹20,11,101 from Tata Capital Housing Finance on October 19, 2015. To secure its repayment, he was covered under ICICI Lombard Group Secure Mind Policy, valid from October 23, 2015, to October 22, 2020. This policy also covered personal accident and major medical illnesses and procedures such as coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).

2 mins

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