City New Delhi Financial News

NEW DELHI : Purple Style Labs, the parent of luxury fashion omni-channel platform Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop, has secured an $8-million (about ₹66.6 crore) Series-D round led by Sanket Parekh of the Pidilite family office, with participation from Signet, the family office of Harish Shah, Hira Group’s family office and other investors. Existing investors also participated, including Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund I, Neelesh Bhatnagar of NB Ventures, fashion designer Masaba Gupta, and the former partners of Premji Invest, Rahul Garg and Atul Gupta. The company was valued at $352 million for the fundraising.

NEW DELHI : JSW One Platforms Ltd, the tech venture of the JSW Group, aims to achieve break-even within two years, after having quadrupled its gross merchandise value (GMV) since last year, said chief executive Gaurav Sachdeva. “So, we will break-even...somewhere closer to FY26. When we say break-even, it is not Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) break-even, but PBT (profit before tax) break-even.

NEW DELHI : Spanish transport firms are interested in building high-speed railway networks in India, said the country’s ambassador Jose Maria Ridao Dominguez in an interview with Mint. Spain, which has the second largest network of high-speed trains in the world after China according to Dominguez, is interested in exploring the sector for its private sector companies. He mentioned Talgo, a Spanish manufacturer of high speed passenger trains, as an interested party in the high-speed rail sector. Besides this, defence is a key focus for Spain, Dominguez said.

Kota is gaining momentum as election campaigning in Rajasthan intensifies. Both the Congress and the BJP are blaming each other for the lack of progress in this project.

Nordic Baltic Eight (NB8) is a regional cooperation format that includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The NB8 is an innovation and technological powerhouse, while India, with its increasingly strong focus on technology, offers immense opportunities for partnerships.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles along with Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong visited and laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in Delhi on Monday. Earlier today, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrived in the national capital to participate in the second India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. She was accorded a warm welcome at the Air Force Station, Palam, in New Delhi. «A warm welcome to FM @SenatorWong of Australia as she arrives in New Delhi to co-chair the 2nd India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and the 14th Foreign Ministers' Framework Dialogue.

The United Service Institution of India (USI), founded in 1870, is gearing up for its Annual UN Forum 2023 in New Delhi on November 21-22, 2023. Focused on ‘International Humanitarian Law and Peacekeeping.’  This event is being organized in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Centre for UN Peacekeeping Operations and will address the critical need for adherence to IHL principles in today’s complex peacekeeping scenarios.

India offers to facilitate local manufacturing of electric vehicles will be equal for foreign as well as domestic investors, government officials said, amid concerns raised by automakers in India over possible concessions in import duty to American carmaker Tesla. Senior government officials in the know told ET that Tesla has sought provisional tariff concessions as a prerequisite for setting up a manufacturing facility in India, but New Delhi is not in favour of any company-specific exemptions. «The government's approach is for the industry as a whole and not for any specific company because we have very strong domestic companies in this sector,» said an official, adding that any incentives offered will be equal for domestic and foreign investors. The government is in the process of drawing up a policy to incentivise local manufacturing of electric cars, at a time when US EV maker Tesla and its relatively lesser-known Vietnamese rival VinFast are firming up their India entry strategy. While policy guidelines are yet to be finalised, local carmakers said offering concessional tariffs to Tesla will adversely impact investments that have already been made or are being made by them to produce electric vehicles.

NEW DELHI : India’s music lovers are flocking to paid subscriptions, after moving from free and pirated music to advertising-led platforms years ago. The change bodes well for audio streaming companies, who had come to rely on advertising for long.

NEW DELHI : Domestic pump prices of petrol and diesel have remained unchanged since May 2022, the longest freeze in India. With the Centre netting buoyant tax revenue and global crude prices benign, can consumers hope for a cut in the run-up to the elections next year? Mint explains. They have oscillated wildly following multiple geopolitical crises.

NEW DELHI : Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd (DRL), will invest ab out ₹700 crore for capacity expansion during the second half of the fiscal, G. V. Prasad, co-chairman and managing director of DRL told Mint.

NEW DELHI : The Centre is exploring options such as increasing the deposit acceptance limit for eligible non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), introducing deposit insurance and creating a specific liquidity window for NBFCs, according to two officials. The goal is to lower funding costs, enabling NBFCs to offer loans to crucial sectors such as agriculture and micro, small, and medium enterprises, at more affordable interest rates, they added. Besides agriculture, MSMEs are a cornerstone of the Indian economy, contributing 30% to gross domestic product, 45% to manufacturing output, and 48% to exports.

NEW DELHI — India's initial public offering (IPO) landscape is bustling with activity as five companies, including Tata Technologies and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), are set to collectively raise over Rs 7,300 crore. This move comes amid a spike in IPOs, with recent offerings from other companies such as ASK Automotive and Honasa Consumer, which features the Mamaearth brand.

By Dr Mukesh Aghi

Indian Air Force (IAF) C17 aircraft, carrying 32 tonnes of aid for civilians in Gaza caught up in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, on Sunday departed for the El-Arish Airport in Egypt. Taking to his official handle on X, External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker reaffirmed New Delhi's commitment to extend humanitarian assistance to Gazans, posting, «We continue to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine. Second @IAF_MCC C17 aircraft carrying 32 tonnes of aid departs for the El-Arish Airport in Egypt.» Earlier, India sent 38 tonnes of humanitarian relief for civilians caught up in the ongoing ground offensive by the Israeli forces in the Strip. The aid package comprised fluids and painkillers.

Ahmedabad and airfares to the city have surged manifold ahead of Sunday's World Cup cricket final between India and Australia, forcing many fans to either cough up the staggering rates or alter their travel plans. The chief executive of a Mumbai-based company, for instance, said he has decided to drive more than 500 km to Ahmedabad for the match. «It's crazy out there,» said the CEO, who did not wish to be identified.

India's G20 sherpa, Amitabh Kant, has said the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) will be a resounding success, despite the Israel-Hamas conflict casting a shadow over its viability. «India will continue to play a central role, balancing interests and aligning incentives to ensure IMEC reshapes global trade,» Kant told ET, adding that the project is resilient enough to withstand the current turbulence in the Middle East. Minted in New Delhi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in September, this ambitious geo-economic and geo-strategic project is designed with two components — an eastern corridor connecting India to the Gulf region, and a northern corridor that will link the Gulf to Europe through a ship-rail transit network and road transport routes. «Despite the ongoing geopolitical tensions, on which India's position has been made clear at the United Nations, we should focus on the long-term significance of projects such as IMEC,» said Kant.

Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives formally requested on Saturday that India withdraw its troops from his strategically located archipelago, fulfilling an election pledge on his first day in office. Speaking with a visiting Indian minister, Muizzu asked New Delhi to recall personnel deployed to operate three gifted aircraft patrolling the maritime territory. «The President formally made the request when he met the Minister of Earth Sciences of India Kiren Rijiju, at the President's Office earlier today,» his office said in a brief statement. It did not set a timeline or specify the number of personnel to be withdrawn, but Muizzu announced at his inauguration the previous day that removing foreign troops was a priority. «The country will not have any foreign military personnel in the Maldives,» Muizzu said shortly after being sworn in at a televised, open-air ceremony. «When it comes to our security, I will draw a red line.

The Indian Railway rolled out a dedicated train on Saturday, exclusively for cricket enthusiasts traveling from New Delhi to Ahmedabad to witness the Cricket World Cup 2023 final showdown. This initiative brings a sigh of relief to fans who were grappling with exorbitant airfares, ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000.

Richard Marles will watch the Cricket World Cup Final between India and Australia in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on November 19, Ministry of Defence announced in a press release. Ahead of the ICC World Cup Final, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel chaired a high-level meeting on Friday and reviewed security, cleanliness, and traffic management-related arrangements. As per the Gujarat Chief Minister's Office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Deputy PM Richard Marles will watch the ICC Cricket World Cup final match at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. India stormed into the finals after registering a comprehensive 70-run victory over New Zealand on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed concerns over the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in generating ‘deepfakes’ and urged the need for responsible use of technology during the era of AI.