City New Delhi Financial News

NEW DELHI : The Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group is in advanced talks to acquire the shuttered Chennai factory of Ford Motor Co. for its planned entry into electric-vehicle (EV) space, two people aware of the matter said. “Talks started a couple of months earlier and are in an advanced stage now, and the company is speaking to both the state government and Ford," one of the persons said on condition of anonymity.

NEW DELHI : In a relief to consumers, the Union government on Tuesday cut the price of a 14.2-kilogramme (kg) cooking gas cylinder by ₹200, terming it a gift for women ahead of the Raksha Bandhan this week. The move comes as the central government faces growing criticism over rising inflation and its impact on households. “On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and Onam, the government has decided to reduce the price of domestic cylinders by ₹200," said information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur.

NEW DELHI : Electricity usage that began rising in July touched record levels of demand in August as rains waned, driving stocks of power companies to new highs. As demand surged, power shortage also shot up. According to data from the Grid Controller of India, the country saw a record peak shortage of 9.11 gigawatts (GW)—or over 4% of the peak demand—on 21 August, when peak demand was 226GW.

NEW DELHI : Mastercard Inc.’s dominance in the payment process makes the company, along with Visa Inc., no less than what Google Llc is to search. But a more important fact—and less discussed detail —is the company’s impressive profitability: Mastercard ended with a 58.3% operating margin on $6.3 billion in revenue in the second quarter. In an interview, Michael Miebach, the chief executive who succeeded Ajay Banga in 2021, discussed Mastercard’s Indian strategy.

New Delhi: As the monsoon trough continues to run along the foothills of the Himalayas, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall over Northeast India and the extreme Southern Peninsular region. However, this may not make a significant improvement as far as rainfall distribution is concerned, meteorologists said.

shops in the national capital will have to remain closed from September 8 to September 10 in view of the G20 Summit that will be held in Delhi, and all employees in Delhi will be granted ‘paid holidays’ on these days. The government has directed shops, businesses, and commercial establishments in the New Delhi district to grant paid holidays to their employees and workers during the G20 summit. The Delhi government had issued a notification declaring a public holiday in the national capital on September 8–10.

NEW DELHI : The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has brought 44 new drugs under price control. These drugs are commonly used for pain management, depression, anxiety, gastro- related ailments, hypertension and several auto-immune diseases. The move is set to make these drugs cheaper.

NEW DELHI : The government in October will review its sugar export policy, which is currently under the restricted category, in October, after state cane commissioners come up with their crop estimate for the 2023-24 season. Current restrictions, under which each sugar mill gets an export quota, are in place until October end. “All options are open to the government as far as sugar export is concerned, but it is too early to take a call on exports.

NEW DELHI : The ministry of heavy industries (MHI) may combine the standards required for the FAME-II and production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced automotive technologies as it weighs the contours of the next phase of its plan to push manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles, a senior government official said on Tuesday. The move is seen as a way to streamline processes for auto and auto parts makers who currently have to obtain separate certifications from government-affiliated testing agencies in order to qualify for incentives under FAME-II and the PLI for auto, Kamran Rizvi, secretary, MHI said. The government schemes as they currently stand, including Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME), make for cumbersome form-filling for manufacturers.

NEW DELHI : India and Bangladesh are expected to hold a trial locomotive run on the Akhaura-Agartala railway line and push the operationalization of the crucial link between the two countries. Reports have indicated that both sides hope to operationalize the line by the end of this year. Tripura’s transport Mminister Sushanta Chowdhury stated in April that both sides would like to have the link operational by September this year.

NEW DELHI : Underlining that restoration of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir is “very important", the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Union government to indicate a timeframe to restore the statehood of J&K, prompting the Centre to seek 48 hours for making what it called a “positive statement" in this regard. “The government has to make that statement before us that its (J&K’s) progression back to state has to take place.

MUMBAI/ NEW DELHI : Billionaire Sunil Mittal backed telecom services provider Airtel Uganda Ltd, a subsidiary of Airtel Africa plc, plans to raise 800 billion Ugandan shillings or $216 million in an initial public offering (IPO), it said in a statement Tuesday. The company set the price for its initial public offering (IPO) at 100 Ugandan shillings (UGX) apiece, and will offer up to 20% stake or 8 billion shares, the company told the Uganda Securities Exchange. The IPO also fulfills regulatory requirements under which the company has to mandatorily list by 16 December.

Delhi government on Tuesday issued a notice announcing that all shops in the national capital will have to remain closed from 8 September to 10 September in view of the G20 Summit that will be held in Delhi. The Notice also mentioned that all employees in Delhi be granted ‘paid holidays’ on these days. “All employers of Shops, Commercial and Business Establishments functioning in New Delhi, District of NCT of Delhi shall close their Shops, Commercial and Business Establishments from 08/09/2023 to 10/09/2023 and grant paid holiday to their employees/workers." the notice read.

New Delhi: India and New Zealand are discussing introducing Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the island nation, which would promote ease of doing business, trade and tourism between both countries, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. "Ministers (Indian and New Zealand trade ministers) welcomed early discussions between National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Payments NZ regarding the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system and agreed that both sides should continue deliberations on this issue," the statement said.

UAE Navy Subject Matter Expert delegation led by Colonel Dr Ali Saif Ali Mehrazi arrived in India on August 27 on a four-day visit to specialised meteorology, oceanography and weather modelling units of Indian Navy (IN) at Kochi, Goa and New Delhi. This visit signifies the beginning of a new chapter in professional cooperation between the two navies, with the goal of exchanging professional knowledge, expertise, training and collaboration in the fields of meteorology, oceanography and weather and ocean modelling, a Defence Ministry release said. The UAE Navy delegation visited Kochi on August 28 where they met senior officers of the Navy for professional interaction at the Naval Operations Data Processing and Analysis Centre (NODPAC), which is a dedicated unit for aspects of oceanography, ocean state forecast and ocean modelling. They also visited the Indian Naval Meteorological Analysis Centre (INMAC), which looks into the aspects of weather forecasts and atmosphere modelling. The release said the UAE Navy delegation also visited the School of Naval Oceanology and Meteorology (SNOM), which caters to the Meteorological, Oceanographic and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) training needs of the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy over the years has accrued knowledge, expertise and skills in the domain of meteorology and oceanography, the release said. Through its dedicated units, the Indian Navy has also been supporting many countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) with training in the fields as well as daily weather forecast services to ensure maritime safety in the region. The delegation would also be visiting Air Squadrons and Met Office at INS Hansa, Goa, which is the premier Naval Air Station of the Navy followed by a

New Delhi: Royal Philips will make more personal health products in India after the company expanded production at its co-manufacturing site in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, which will now produce mother and childcare products in addition to the beauty and grooming products already being made at the site, it said on Tuesday. “India holds a strategic significance for our personal health businesses, and we remain committed to the further development of the market in our effort to support the health and well-being of the millions of people we serve.

New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast persistent heavy rainfall in northeast India and the extreme South Peninsula, even as concerns grow over the uneven spatial distribution of this year's monsoon, meteorologists said. Heavy isolated rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh today; in Assam and Meghalaya from Thursday to Saturday and over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura for the next five days.

Punj Lloyd, which is facing liquidation, has again failed to attract any buyer in the second round of e-auctions conducted by its liquidator. The second round of e-auction was conducted on the directions of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at a reserved price of Rs 1,061 crore on a going concern basis, according to a regulatory filing by the company secretary. "...e-auction notice dated July 24, 2023 made pursuant to Asset Sale Process Memorandum (ASPM) for the second e-auction- Punj Lloyd Ltd (in liquidation), announcing the sale of Punj Lloyd Ltd at the Reserve Price of Rs 1,061 crore ongoing concern basis undergoing liquidation pursuant to order dated May 27, 2022 of NCLT, New Delhi, Principal Bench, has failed to attract any bidder," the filing said. In July, Punj Lloyd had failed to get any buyer in the first round of e-auctions conducted by its liquidator. A reserve price of Rs 1,061 crore was fixed for Punj Lloyd during the auction, on a going concern basis, but it did not attract any bidders.

State-owned construction firm NBCC has received a Rs 66 crore order from the Indian Medical Association to plan and execute IMA House in the national capital. In a regulatory filing on Monday, NBCC said it bagged a project management consultancy work order worth Rs 66.32 crore from the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The scope of the order is «planning, designing and execution of IMA House» at Indraprastha, IP Estate, New Delhi.

August bank holiday list August 29 (Tuesday)- Thiruvonam- Banks are closed in Kerala. August 30- (Wednesday)- Raksha Bandhan- Banks are closed in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh. August 31- (Thursday)- Raksha Bandhan/Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi/Pang-Lhabsol- Banks are closed in Uttarakhand, Assam, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh.

By Aditya Kalra, Munsif Vengattil and Dawn Chmielewski