India Business News in English

Lotte India expands confectionery factory in Chennai, investing ₹185 crore to increase production of Choco Pie products to 1,420 tonne/month. Factory area now 5,16,398 sq.ft, 32% larger. Zero Accident Hours in 10 yrs, 99% retention rate, 200 workmen welcomed. FY22 sales ₹497 crore, FY23 ₹657 crore.

Mercedes-Benz India introduces limited AMG G 63 ‘Grand Edition’ in India for ₹4 crore. Only 25 of the 1,000 units made globally available for Indian market. Deliveries to start Q1 2024. AMG G63 is cult SUV with commanding performance & desirable luxury lifestyle vehicle in India.

Rupee rises 6 paise to 83.22 against U.S. dollar on positive equity cues. Selling pressure from FIIs, elevated U.S. currency and surging crude oil prices weighed on local unit. Dollar index rose 0.05% to 106.28

Out of the $520 million principal outstanding, $325 million will be left after the buyback

Sensex, Nifty rebound on Wednesday; Reliance, L&T, ITC gain. BSE Sensex rose 0.26% to 66,118.69, Nifty gained 0.26% to 19,716.45. Asian markets, European markets in green

”Lulu Group, a U.A.E.-based retailer, opened its first shopping mall in Hyderabad on Sept. 27. The ₹3,500 crore investment commitment made to Telangana for projects such as a 2 million sq. ft. destination mall and food processing facility was reiterated.

A senior Qatar Airways executive told an Australian Senate inquiry on September 27 there would be no repeat of an incident at Doha’s international airport in 2020 in which female passengers were subjected to invasive gynaecological examinations.

Byju's Lay Off 2023: The sources said this will be the last lay off at BYJU's payroll and the entire exercise will be over by October end.

Sensex updates on September 27, 2023

Rupee rises 5 paise to 83.23 vs US dollar in early trade Wed; weak sentiment in global equity mkt & surging crude oil prices weigh. Dollar index rises 0.04% to 106.27. BSE Sensex down 243.26 pts & NSE Nifty down 63.25 pts. FIIs net sellers in capital mkt, offloading shares worth ₹693.47 cr.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 78.22 points or 0.12% to settle at 65,945.47 with 14 of its components closing lower and 16 advancing

U.S. Federal Trade Commission has charged Amazon.com with harming consumers with higher prices in the latest U.S. government legal action aimed at breaking Big Tech’s dominance of the internet.

Bajaj Auto launches Pulsar N150, a 150cc motorcycle in India at ₹1,17,734 ex-showroom (Maharashtra). Sarang Kanade, President - Motorcycles, Bajaj Auto, said the N150 is an aggressive, feature-rich bike with stellar performance and an attractive price point, making it a great addition to the Pulsar family. The goal is to make the joy of riding accessible to everyone.

The amended rules are aimed at bridging the gap between the rules outlined in FEMA and the income tax.

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is in the process of appointing DSP Pension Fund Managers as the 11th fund manager permitted to manage retirement savings under the National Pension System (NPS) and is looking to tap regional rural banks (RRBs) to enhance its reach to citizens across the country.

The government has eased some of the provisions of the Angel Tax introduced in this year’s Budget on investments into startups by non-resident investors at a premium over their fair market value, introducing five different valuation methods for shares and offering a 10% tolerance for deviations from the accepted share valuations. 

Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd. (formerly known as Edelweiss Securities Ltd.), an integrated wealth and asset Management firm, on Tuesday got listed on the BSE and NSE at ₹2,699 and ₹2,750 respectively.

Cipla partners with Sky Air Mobility to deliver critical medicines to remote areas in Himachal Pradesh via drones. The initiative is the first of its kind for large Indian pharma companies and has successfully completed several drone deliveries in the state, covering 50 km in 25 minutes. Cipla plans to scale up the service and expand market coverage to inaccessible regions.

The rating agency has thus revised the sector outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’

U.S. Ambassador Garcetti urges India and U.S. to strive for ambitious, frictionless trade relationship. He called for reduction of tariffs and a more predictable regulatory environment. He also pitched for robust agriculture trade and partnerships in commercial space segment. He stressed importance of sharing technology and co-development of technologies in sectors like defence.

Ministry rebuffs Moody's report on Aadhaar, citing its trustworthiness, security and privacy protections. Over a billion Indians have expressed their trust in Aadhaar by using it 100 billion times. International agencies, nations have lauded Aadhaar and its role in enhancing financial inclusion.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked Regulated Entities (REs), namely commercial banks and Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs), to display information regarding borrowers whose secured assets have been taken into possession by the REs under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002 in a given format.

JSW Infrastructure Ltd., the second largest commercial port operator from the Indian private sector, is expected to double its capacity in 7 to 10 years, its deputy managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Arun Maheshwari said in an interview.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex closed 14.54 points or 0.02% higher at 66,023.69. The broader NSE Nifty settled flat at 19,674.55.

After gyrating 461.6 points during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex eked out a marginal gain of 14.54 points

Organized by BLS Global, with Acquest Advisors as the Knowledge Partner and NDTV as the media partner, the summit represented a global amalgamation of ideas and expertise.

Tamil Nadu leads India in EV sales, with over 4 lakh units sold this year. Ola Electric and TVS Motor have sold 1.75 lakh and 1.12 lakh units respectively from their Krishnagiri plant. The state aims to manufacture 30% of all EVs sold in India by 2030, and has rolled out an EV Policy to facilitate this. 6 cities have been identified as EV hubs, with ₹50,000 crore expected to be invested in EV manufacturing by 2025, creating 1.5 lakh jobs.

Rupee falls 16 paise to 83.10 vs US dollar in early trade due to subdued equity market sentiment, firm American currency, withdrawal of foreign funds, and rising crude oil prices.

Updates on Sensex and Nifty on September 25, 2023

Uncontrolled price rises across the essential household sector shows the inability of the Modi government to manage the economy, Ramesh said.

The National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), a Navratna Central public sector enterprise under the Union Ministry of Mines, reported a sales turnover of ₹14,171 crore with net profit clocking ₹1,544 crore for the financial year of 2022-23. NALCO’s 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) recently approved the company’s annual accounts where it reported an export turnover of ₹4,217 crore.

The total original cost of implementation of the 1,762 projects was ₹25,01,400.62 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be ₹29,78,681.31 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of ₹4,77,280.69 crore (19.08% of original cost), the ministry’s latest report for August 2023 said.

The Murdoch news empire has had its share of controversies and scandals.

Vaishnaw said that the global semiconductor community was noticing the progress made by India

The Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) said they had signed an MoU to propel the growth of the fintech sector in the country.

Bengaluru-based Stove Kraft sets up automated cast iron foundry to manufacture cookware for global markets. Investing ₹55 crore, the company plans to hit markets by April 2024. Women entrepreneurs to operate 100 of 500 own outlets, with ₹300 crore invested in last 3 yrs & 5,500 employees, 70% women.

It is for the first time that India and Asia are hosting this prestigious global coffee event and Coffee Board is currently in the last leg of preparation to host the four-day coffee exposition that is commencing in the City on September 25.

ALL expects to continue all-round growth in CV industry due to Centre's focus on infra dev. Govt initiatives such as Scrappage Policy, Nat'l Infra Pipeline, dedicated freight corridors, and multimodal logistics parks to benefit CV industry. ALL plans to expand presence, enter sub-2.0 tonnes segment, and focus on profitability. Setting up e-bus facility with UP Govt support. Plant to produce e-buses with capacity of 2,500 units/annum, and flexibility to assemble vehicles powered by alternative fuels. Tamil Nadu to be cornerstone of ALL's growth.

SHFL opens new branch in Hyderabad, expanding presence in Tier-2/3 cities. MD expects real-estate growth to boost home finance biz in Andhra/Telengana. Disbursements of ₹400 crore last year, 20% growth expected this year. SHFL to foray into affordable-housing, open 10 branches & hire 50-75 people by 2024. June quarter net profit of ₹57 crore on disbursements of ₹1,104 crore.

JP Morgan’s move to include Indian government bonds in its global emerging market bond indices could potentially lower the country’s sovereign borrowing costs, help finance the current account deficit and free up liquidity for domestic financiers to deploy in more productive assets, the Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Friday.

Global financial firm JPMorgan has said that it plans to include Indian government bonds or government securities (G-Secs) into its benchmark emerging market index from June, 2024.

TVS ILP to build warehouse in Pillaipakkam to support First Solar's solar-manufacturing facility. Ground-breaking ceremony recently held. Facility to be completed in Q1 2024, providing 200 job opportunities. Warehouse to reduce time, inventory and space utilisation costs for First Solar.

Regency Ceramics Ltd., Executive Director Narala Satyendra Prasad hopes to revive the Yanam manufacturing unit in three years time

The rupee finally settled 19 paise higher at 82.94 (provisional) against the previous close.

On a weekly basis, the BSE benchmark fell 1,829.48 points or 2.69%, and the Nifty declined 518.1 points or 2.56%.

JPMorgan announced that the index provider will add Indian securities to the JPMorgan GBI-EM index starting June 28, 2024.

Confident of 6.5% growth in FY24, Finance Ministry cites improved corporate profitability, private capital formation, bank credit growth, domestic demand, consumption, investment, services exports, resilience of banking sector, and government intervention to reduce core inflation.

US-based Micron Technology, Inc. to break ground on $2.75B semiconductor plant in Gujarat. Union and State govts providing 70% subsidies. Plant to start output by Dec 2024. Govt working to facilitate multinationals working with Indian startups. Draft of import management system for IT hardware to be shared with reps. Aim to increase local hardware demand from 8-10% to 65-70% in 4 yrs.

Securities and Exchange Board of India has levied penalties totalling ₹55 lakh on 11 entities for indulging in non-genuine trades in illiquid stock options segment on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE.)

Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said the inclusion of Indian sovereign bonds in the JP Morgan index “is a welcome development showing confidence in Indian economy.”