Business Standard - December 13, 2024

In this issue

December 13, 2024

Retail inflation eases to 5.48%

With the slowdown in food prices and a high base, which is favourable, India's retail inflation rate, based on the consumer price index (CPI), fell within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) tolerance band at 5.48 per cent in November, from a 14-month high of 6.21 per cent in October, raising hopes of a much anticipated policy rate cut in the February review.

2 mins

Rosneft inks record oil supply deal with RIL

To supply up to 500K bpd; transaction estimated at $13 bn per year

2 mins

Auto industry bodies send SOS to govt on steel imports

Two leading auto industry bodiesAutomotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (Acma) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam)have urged the Ministry of Steel and the Ministry of Heavy Industries to lift restrictions on certain steel imports, citing concerns over potential disruptions to automobile production in India.

1 min

FMCG firms passing 3-7% of price rise to consumers

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are increasing prices but are not passing on the entire price hike to the consumer as rural markets have just about begun to witness revival while urban demand is stagnating.

2 mins

Sterlite Power raises ₹725 crore to fuel GPS biz expansion

Leading power transmission player Sterlite Power on Thursday announced raising ₹725 crore for its global products and services (GPS) business from GEF Capital Partners and ENAM Holdings.

1 min

Govt announces formula for classifying 'green steel'

The steel ministry on Thursday announced a formula for defining 'green steel,' classifying it under three categories based on the quantity of carbon emissions per metric tonne of the alloy produced.

1 min

'We should double in size in 5 years'

Bajaj Finance has recently unveiled its long-range strategy for the next five years, where it has said the company will pivot from financial technology to FinAl. RAJEEV JAIN, managing director of Bajaj Finance, shares the milestones the company aims to achieve in the next five years in a telephonic interview with Manojit Saha. Edited excerpts:

4 mins

Samsung accuses CCI of detaining employees, seizing data unlawfully

Samsung has accused the Competition Commission of India (CCI) of unlawfully detaining its employees and seizing data in a raid carried out in connection with an antitrust investigation on Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart, a legal filing shows.

1 min

Titan eyes 20 Zoya stores over next 3 to 4 years

Titan's luxury brand Zoya is eyeing 20 stores in the next three to four years, CEO of the brand's jewellery division, Ajoy Chawla, said on the sidelines of a Zoya boutique launch in Kolkata, marking the entry of the brand in East India.

1 min

Delhi HC junks ₹5K cr demand against Indus Towers

The Delhi High Court on Thursday allowed a plea challenging the show-cause notice (SCN) seeking to deny the input tax credit (ITC) on inputs and input services used for setting up passive infrastructure and quashed the ₹5,454 crore demand raised against Indus Towers Ltd.

1 min

India on track to achieve 6.5-7% GDP growth: CEA

Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday said India is on track to achieve 6.5-7 per cent GDP growth for the current financial year, pencilled in Economic Survey.

1 min

‘RBI has a tough balancing act to do’

HARSHA VARDHAN AGARWAL, vice-president and managing director of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company Emami, took over as president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) last month. In a wide-ranging interview with Akshara Srivastava and Asit Ranjan Mishra in New Delhi, Agarwal shows confidence of a pickup in private capex and opportunities arising out of United States President-elect Donald Trump's tariff war. Edited excerpts:

3 mins

Avoid protectionism that hinders trade: Commerce secretary

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on Thursday said the world needs to avoid the kind of protectionism which creates more barriers that hinders trade.

1 min

‘India needs to ramp up structural reforms’

World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill said on Thursday that although India is better positioned than many of its peers to navigate the current global challenges, it should accelerate its structural reforms.

1 min

India lays stress on 'transition period' for EU green norms

Shares discussion paper flagging possible disruptions

2 mins

'India needs to ramp up structural reforms'

World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill said on Thursday that although India is better positioned than many of its peers to navigate the current global challenges, it should accelerate its structural reforms.

1 min

NITI paper: Improved sanitation reduces child malnutrition

A working paper by NITI Aayog has argued that improved sanitation, either through private or shared sources, reduces child malnutrition, which in turn reduces child mortality across states.

1 min

Economic growth will be back on track by end of FY25: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday expressed confidence that India's economic growth by end of this financial year will be back on track despite global uncertainties.

1 min

Like US, India should be open to China investments: Panagariya

India should remain open to investments from China as other developed countries like the US and Germany, with the exception of a handful of sectors, 16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya said at the CII event on Thursday.

1 min

India must address challenges to unlock its FDI potential

With concerns about slowing economic growth and declining foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, SANJAY NAYAR, former head of India for KKR & Co and Citigroup, and now the founder of venture capital fund Sorin Investments and president of Assocham, shares his strategy for putting India back on the path to long-term growth with Surajeet Das Gupta in New Delhi. Edited excerpts:

3 mins

Rupee hits fresh intraday low of 84.88 a dollar

The rupee depreciated to a new low of 84.88 per dollar on Thursday due to selling in domestic equities and a rise in crude oil prices, according to dealers.

1 min

Lenders may securitise loans over ₹60K cr in Q3

With challenging liquidity conditions, banks and finance companies are getting to securitise-pass through certificates (PTCs) and direct assignment (DA) loans worth over 60,000 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year ending December 2024 (Q3FY25), to generate resources for deployment in lending.

1 min

Irdai may limit insurance firms' overdependence on parent banks

Regulator proposes channel diversification to protect customers from forced policy sales

2 mins

No fresh pleas to reclaim religious places: SC to courts

In an important development, the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday restrained till further directions the courts in the country from entertaining fresh lawsuits and passing any effective interim or final orders in pending ones seeking to reclaim religious places, especially mosques and dargahs (a Muslim shrine).

1 min

Govt seeks Parliament approval for ₹88K cr additional spend

The Union finance ministry on Thursday sought the approval of Parliament for a gross additional expenditure of around ₹87,762 crore involving a net cash outgo of ₹44,123 crore through the first Supplementary Demands for Grants.

1 min

Cabinet clears Bills for simultaneous elections

Almost three months after the Union Cabinet accepted the recommendations of the former President Ram Nath Kovind-headed high-level committee on \"One Nation One Election (ONOE)\", it approved two Bills on Thursday.

2 mins

Delhi now 13th state to roll out monthly allowance for women

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced the launch of the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana under which a monthly assistance of ₹1,000 will be given to eligible women of Delhi.

1 min

Gaza truce deal in works as US envoy holds crucial talks

Sullivan meets Netanyahu before heading to Egypt, Qatar

1 min

Trump invites Xi for inauguration ceremony

Invitation signals effort by US prez-electto court his counterpart

1 min

Liberty's $3.8 bn MotoGP deal faces EU probe

Formula 1 owner Liberty Media's $3.8 billion plan to buy motorcycle racing league MotoGP World Championship is set to be hit by an in-depth European Union probe, in the first escalation of a big merger case by new antitrust chief Teresa Ribera.

1 min

US colleges tell foreign students to get to campus before Trump takes office

With students at many colleges wrapping up final exams this week and preparing for their winter break, a number of schools, including Harvard, USC and Cornell, are advising their international students to return to campus before President-elect Donald J. Trump is inaugurated on January 20.

1 min

South Korean Prez Yoon vows to 'fight to the end'

Opposition files second motion to impeach Yoon

2 mins

Marketing reforms

India's agri-marketing system needs an upgrade

2 mins

The man who will shape 2025

Trump's views on tariffs and trade reflect a majority perspective in the US that the world will need to adapt to

4 mins

Clearing the way for air taxis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent declaration that air taxis will soon become a reality in India signals the advent of second-generation reforms in the drone ecosystem.

4 mins

Demand-supply mismatch

Affordable housing shortage must be addressed

2 mins

Xi Jinping's Marxist nationalism

In the last few years, there have been multiple attempts by scholars to understand and analyze the thoughts of Xi Jinping. This is because as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President of the People's Republic of China (PRC), he has managed to change the discourse on China's domestic and foreign policy.

4 mins

MFS GO BIG ON FRESH ISSUANCES IN NOV

Fresh issuances in the equity market cornered the bulk of the mutual fund's (MF) equity investments in November.

1 min

MobiKwik booked 20.37x, Vishal Mega Mart sails through on Day 2

The initial public offering (IPO) of fintech firm MobiKwik received 20.37 times subscription on the second day of bidding on Thursday, driven by heavy participation from retail and non-institutional investors.

1 min

Mid, smallcaps stage a stellar comeback in Dec

The month of December has been good for the domestic equity market so far.

2 mins

BlueStone Jewellery files draft papers with mkt regulator

BlueStone Jewellery and Lifestyle, which offers contemporary lifestyle diamond, gold, platinum, and studded jewellery under its flagship brand BlueStone has filed draft papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

1 min

Sentiment to stay weak as life insurers await tax clarity

Life insurance activity was soft in November 2024. Individual annual premium equivalent (APE) grew 7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) (two-year CAGR: 1 per cent) at industry level. New surrender value guidelines were applicable from October 2024.

2 mins

'Sebi trying to reduce float to transparency' cut risk, bring

Cash equivalent collateral of over ₹4.5 trillion is placed with stock brokers, custodians, clearing corporations, and other market intermediaries as float, which the market regulator is trying to reduce to mitigate risk and bring transparency, Ananth Narayan (pictured), wholetime member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), said on Thursday.

1 min

Sebi may tighten SME IPO rules

Market regulator's Dec 18 board meeting also likely to decide on widening UPSI definition

2 mins

REDUCING HOME LOAN BURDEN If credit profile has improved, try switching to lower-cost loan

Home loan borrowers' wait for interest rate cuts to begin continues with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy committee keeping the repo rate unchanged after its December 4-6 review.

2 mins

With PSBs on the ladder in '24, eyes on next rung

Rally may have legs until early 2025

2 mins

SPANNER IN THE WORKS

Manufacturing firms see a sharp decline in operating profit, negative growth for second quarter in a row

2 mins

AI vulnerability in focus after ChatGPT outage

In an increasingly artificial intelligence (AI)-driven world, the recent outage of ChatGPT has reignited debates around the growing reliance on AI and, more broadly, on popular tech platforms.

2 mins

AT 18, GUKESH CONQUERS 64 SQUARES

Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh on Thursday became the youngest world chess champion at 18 years after beating title-holder Ding Liren in the last game of a nerve-wracking showdown to herald a new era of dominance for the country's chess players.

2 mins

Uber launches 'women only' bike rides in B'luru

The company plans to introduce the service in other top cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad

1 min

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