India Financial News

import duties on Indian goods from April 9, domestic exporters on Friday said they have started talks with their American buyers on ways to absorb these heavy taxes. According to them, communications between the Indian suppliers and American buyers have already started moving as these duties would hurt exports and job creation. «We have to talk to them about how to handle this unprecedented situation,» Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President SC Ralhan said. The Ludhiana-based hand tool (an engineering sector item) exporter also said that the sector will not be able to absorb the high duties because of the high steel cost in the domestic market. «Over this, the government is considering imposing a safeguard duty, which they should reconsider. The US duty will impact demand,» Ralhan said, adding that certain steel prices in India have jumped from USD 50,000 per tonne to USD 55,000 per tonne in the last five days only.

The Waqf Amendment Bill, recently passed by Parliament, sparked debates, with several groups opposing it on legal and religious grounds. Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill in the early hours of Friday after a marathon and heated debate. Rajya Sabha sat beyond midnight to pass the legislation. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, «Ayes 128 and Noes 95, Absent zero. The Bill is passed.» Lok Sabha, which took up discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday, passed it past midnight after a marathon debate. The government introduced the revised bill after incorporating the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the legislation introduced in August last year. The bill seeks to amend the Act of 1995 and improve the administration and management of Waqf properties in India.

The Andaman Skies is transferring its cargo of crude oil to the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged vessel Ozanno, the sources said. While many buyers have shunned Russian oil since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India and China have remained keen buyers. India is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, which accounted for about 35% of its crude imports in 2024. However, port authorities last week barred the more than 20-year-old Andaman Skies from entering India's port of Vadinar as its seaworthiness certificate was not issued by an Indian-approved classification agency. The Tanzania-flagged vessel, carrying about 100,000 metric tons (or some 800,000 barrels) of Varandey Russian oil sold by Lukoil from the northern port of Murmansk, is sitting off the port of Mumbai in western India, LSEG shipping data shows.

Sachin Shah, Executive Director & Fund Manager, Emkay Investment Managers, says private sector banks are favoured due to reasonable valuations, eased liquidity from RBI actions, and a rebound in the rural market economy. Domestic focused businesses and export-oriented industries with strong value propositions also present advantages as India benefits from lower tariffs in global markets. Identifying strong businesses with solid balance sheets will be crucial. What should one do? How should one gauge an event like Trump-led reciprocal tariff and prepare for it? We were preparing, for the last two months we knew we were going to get a reciprocal tariff, April 2nd was the date that we all were watching out for, April 3rd for India. Despite all that, this tariff has hit us hard. It was much more than we expected. Sachin Shah: Yes, you are right, this is an event which we have been discussing for a while now and now it has happened. But we also have to become aware of the fact that this is sustainable, something we need to really think through because this is definitely going to impact the US economy the most and this is also reflected in the US capital markets clearly for the last few weeks and more so in the last couple of days. This is going to be very, very inflationary for the economy and clearly at this point in time, it looks like it may not be very sustainable.

IndusInd Bank ignored established Indian derivative accounting practices for years as it chased profit growth, resulting in a $175 million balance-sheet hole and the biggest crisis for the lender in its three-decade history, multiple sources said. Still, the 2.35% shortfall in the net worth of India's fifth-biggest private sector lender may not have come to light last month had the rupee not sharply slumped recently, said the sources. IndusInd disclosed in March accounting discrepancies in its derivatives portfolio whose impact roughly equated to an entire quarter's profits and sparked the loss of about one-fourth of its market value.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. On Thursday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published the formula by which US reciprocal tariffs are to be calculated. The New York Times also published what calculation resulted in country-wise tariffs from 9 April onwards that range in a wide band.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Since President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imported goods Wednesday, Americans have been busy “adding to cart." Cedar Roach promptly checked out on $244 of workout sets from Lululemon (a Canadian brand) and a $150 sweater from House of Sunny (a U.K. brand) while Trump’s press conference played over the radio.

Gaurav Gogoi has highlighted the effect of social media on the mental health of the youth post-pandemic and sought a debate in Lok Sabha on the subject. Raising the issue in the House on Thursday, Gogoi also referred to the Netflix series 'Adolescence', which highlighted the issue, along with the rise of online influencers promoting toxic masculinity. Gogoi said mental health issues, exacerbated by growing dependence on online platforms post-pandemic, have become a growing concern among Indian youths. The Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha said due to the social media impact, stress has been increasing, anxiety is going up and all these have affected the mental health of the youth in a big way.

reciprocal tariffs for India to 26% from 27% announced a day before. Revisions have been made for atleast 14 countries including South Korea, Norway, South Africa and Thailand. As per a White House document, India’s reciprocal tariff was originally listed at 27%, as against the 26% that US president Donald Trump had shown during the announcement on April 2. However, the latest annex document shows that the tariffs have been revised down to 26%. The US’ trading partners will be subject to a global 10% tariff on April 5, after which only the countries listed in the annex would have their rates elevated to the revised numbers. Around 60 countries have been slapped with reciprocal tariffs. The measures announced by the US could lead to an overall contraction of around 1% in global merchandise trade volumes this year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said Thursday.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) fell 4.3% to Rs 1,194 in Friday’s intraday trade on the BSE, as markets reacted to global developments, including the Trump administration’s latest tariff revisions. According to a White House document released on Friday, reciprocal tariffs have been updated for 14 countries, including India. While Trump had earlier announced a 27% tariff on Indian goods, the revised figure now stands at 26%. The aggressive tariff stance has reignited concerns over a potential global trade war, dampening sentiment across sectors — with heavyweights like RIL also coming under pressure.

Niti Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant said, adding that the country must avoid becoming a mere imitator of Western countries or any other nation. “Doing more for less is critical and this is what startups can do. Open-source will be the way forward.We must build sovereign frontier models based on our own datasets and not have inherent biases towards the West,” he said. Speaking at Startup Mahakumbh, an event being organised by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Kant encouraged Indian startups to get into deeptech sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), space geostational maps, drones and sunrise areas of growth such as EVs, and electronic manufacturing.

Sushant Dash, CEO, Starbucks India says «We are focussing on store count expansion. And when you are doing that, it requires investment. And that has an impact on the bottom line.» As of September 2024, the company has a new global CEO, Brian Niccol who took on the role after Laxman Narasimhan, who held the position since March 2023 and was replaced amid declining sales and stock prices, last September.

«It is the right time to stick to the domestic side, where again the sectors like banking, again financially, if you look even in this current corrective phase banking as a sector clearly is showing the relative outperformance even in this current corrective phase,» says Dharmesh Shah, ICICI Direct. What should one expect because I am sure the charts must be going all over the place with the news flow being so volatile? Dharmesh Shah: Yes, definitely, the things are not in line with expectations. But we believe the market should form more of a higher base formation in this current corrective phase.

Nadeem Akhtar, another JD(U) leader resigned from the party making him the fifth member to leave over the party's support for the Waqf Amendment Bill. His resignation follows that of four other leaders, including JD(U) leader Raju Nayyar, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig, Mohammad Shahnawaz Malik and Mohammed Kasim Ansari. Earlier, JD(U) leader Raju Nayyar wrote in his resignation, «I resign from JD(U) after Waqf Amendment Bill is passed and supported in the Lok Sabha.» He went on to express his deep disappointment with the party, stating, «I am deeply hurt by the JD(U) voting in favour of this black law, which oppresses Muslims.» «I resign from the post of former state secretary of JD(U) youth and primary membership of the party. I request to send a letter to the Honorable CM Nitish Kumar and relieve me from all responsibilities,» he added.

Mahesh Patil, CIO, ABSL AMC, says from an India standpoint, the impact of the reciprocal tariffs is there for a few sectors including large exporters like IT and pharma, because of the slowdown in the US. But the overall impact compared with the US trade, the impact on GDP, will not be more than 20 basis points. The reaction has also not been very big and it should probably settle down. Patil says he does not see a major downgrade to our earnings for next year, except for one or two sectors. Any dip because of this correction could be a good buying opportunity. It is easy to turn bearish in this market, but should one really turn bearish? If yes, why? If no, why not? Mahesh Patil: Clearly, the Trump tariffs that have come out are slightly worse than expectations. But if you look at it from an India standpoint, I would not be too bearish. While the tariffs have been imposed across the various countries, relatively if you look at India, tariffs are much lower than some of these other partners on the global front – be it China, Vietnam, or Bangladesh. In that sense, we will not be competitively worse off over there.

Wikipedia has been ordered to remove statements deemed defamatory by an Indian court from the page of a domestic news agency it hosts, the latest such directive to the popular online encyclopedia. The Wikimedia Foundation is the second major tech platform, following X, formerly Twitter, to become embroiled in recent years in court battles over content takedown orders in India. Last year the agency, ANI, sued Wikimedia for defamation in the Delhi High Court, citing a Wikipedia description that it faced criticism for being a government «propaganda tool» and sought removal of such statements.

Pappu Yadav, on Friday claimed that the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and the JD(U) chief was not in a good mental state and that he was no longer in control of his party. «Nitish Kumar ji's mental state is not very good in the present time. In his party, 90 of leaders are against SC/ST but aligned to BJP...The day voting takes place in Bihar, on that day after 5pm, BJP will not need Nitish Kumar..JD(U) is not in the hands of Nitish ji now,» Yadav said. Yadav also criticised the ruling party at the Centre, «Just because they have the numbers, they are bypassing the constitution...Do they even have a single Muslim MP? Do they give tickets to even a single Muslim?.. They want to divert attention from real issues...The nation will not accept it and will give a befitting reply to them.» JD(U) leader Raju Nayyar today submitted his resignation from JD(U) after Waqf Amendment Bill is passed and supported in the Lok Sabha. He went on to express his deep disappointment with the party, stating, «I am deeply hurt by the JD(U) voting in favour of this black law, which oppresses Muslims.»

gems and jewellery industry, one of the country’s top export earners and a major source of employment, is staring at job losses after US President Donald Trump announced a 26% tariff on imports from India. The US is the sector’s largest market, and with demand expected to fall sharply, exporters fear that the move will put thousands of livelihoods at risk. In the last financial year (FY24), India exported about $33 billion worth of gems and jewellery, of which nearly $10 billion went to the US, according to official data. The new tariff would raise the current US import duty from around 6% to about 34%, making Indian products significantly more expensive for American buyers, said industry players. The Indian gems and jewellery sector is the country’s third-largest export to the US, after engineering and electronic goods. It employs millions of people, many of whom are involved in labour-intensive work such as diamond cutting, polishing, and jewellery crafting. India is also the global leader in diamond processing, handling about 90% of all cut and polished diamonds in the world.

Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd.(up 1.85%) and Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd.(up 0.04%) were among the top gainers.

The NSE Nifty index traded 257.5 points down at 22992.6, while BSE Sensex was down 645.22 points at 75650.14 as of 11:22AM(IST)on April 04.