India Financial News

NEW DELHI : New Delhi: The union government is planning to set up dedicated labs for testing high-grade cotton in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Karnataka as part of a push to establish the Indian Kasturi cotton as a global brand, two persons aware of the matter said. The labs would be set up in convergence with the Bureau of Indian Standards' (BIS) testing facilities, ensuring alignment with national quality standards.

Rajnath Singh on Monday said the "Ram Rajya" has started taking roots in the country and nobody can stop it in becoming a reality. Addressing an election rally in support of Union Minister Jitendra Singh at Basohli in Kathua district, he highlighted the fulfillment of all promises made by the BJP like abrogation of Article 370, construction of the Ram temple and implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He said the BJP is not doing politics for formation of the government but for the country which was pulled out from a big trouble caused by the trust deficit between the people and politicians. Singh assured people that nobody who is an Indian national is going to lose his citizenship after the implementation of the CAA, while the BJP will keep its promise to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as promised in the party manifesto in the next five years.

Kharge on Monday said that the guarantees given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi are «false» as none of them have been fulfilled, leaving the people in «utter disarray». Addressing an election rally organized by the INDIA bloc here to seek votes for the Congress nominee V Vaithilingam in the April 19 Lok Sabha polls, Kharge invoked the promises given by the PM regarding two crore jobs per year to the youth, which were not implemented. «Similarly, the farmers are not getting a hike in prices for their produce or minimum support price for their crops. The promise of every person getting Rs 15 lakh from retrieval of black money stacked abroad is also yet to be realised,» Kharge said. The Congress president said that such guarantees or promises were «false» and people «were taken for a ride». He said that the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls would be an opportunity for the people to support the INDIA bloc and «ensure protection of their fundamental rights and democracy».

Narendra Modi has taken on the opposition for failing to keep its promises to the people. Speaking to in an interview, the Prime Minister said that politicians need to take ownership of the statements they make to the people. «I feel that political leadership is becoming questionable. In such a situation, we should remember that we have a tradition of 'Pran Jaye par Vacchan na Jaye'. (You can lose your life but not your word). I believe that politicians should take ownership, they should take responsibility. What I say is my responsibility and I have given the guarantee for that. I also commit and I take ownership. Take the case of Article 370, it has been our party's commitment. When it was my turn, I showed courage and did away with 370. And today, the fate of Jammu and Kashmir has changed,» the PM said. «Triple Talaq. Many things happened the political leadership, then got scared. People said, why should we trust them? They say one thing and the other. But people started believing. Trust is a very big power. And in a country like India, I consider this trust as my responsibility. And that is why I say this again and again,» the PM added.

India Meteorological Department has forecast a heatwave in several regions, including North Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has alerted Mumbai and several other regions in Maharashtra about impending heat conditions on April 15 and April 16, 2024. The department forecasts maximum temperatures ranging from 36 to 38 degrees Celsius for Mumbai, Raigad, and Thane, issuing a heatwave warning for these areas. In North Goa, heat wave conditions are predicted to prevail on the 15th and 16th of April, 2024. Similarly, Odisha is likely to witness intense heat wave conditions from the 15th to the 19th of April, posing significant challenges for residents and authorities alike.

If you have invested in any of these savings schemes like Public Provident Fund (PPF), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) and National Saving Certificate (NSC), you need to provide two key documents Aadhaar and PAN to the accounts office of the respective financial institution, if not submitted them yet.

Across the Indian financial landscape, small savings schemes have long played a pivotal role, offering a blend of benefits and risks that shape the financial landscape. In February 2022, small saving deposits totaled Rs 9.9 lakh crore, a mere fraction of the overall SCB deposits amounting to Rs 170.2 lakh crore. However, research conducted by Bank of Baroda reveals that the ratio of small saving deposits to commercial bank deposits has increased from 4.4 percent to 5.8 percent over the past five years. This highlights a significant trend in India’s financial landscape, indicating a steady increase in the proportion of small saving deposits relative to commercial bank deposits over the past five years.

Focusing on promoting entrepreneurship in India, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath on Monday launched a non-dilutive sector-agnostic grant fund WTFund. The new fund will back entrepreneurs aged 25 and under with the potential to “revolutionize their industries through innovative ideas and compelling visions,” WTF said in a statement.

By Deepak Sood

The Indian real estate sector will grow over three times to reach an estimated USD 1.5 trillion by 2034, constituting 10.5% of the total economic output by then, according to a joint report by Knight Frank India and CII.

India is likely to witness ‘above normal’ monsoon this year, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Monday. It added that the rainfall is likely to be 106 per cent of LPA with a model error of ± 5 per cent. The cumulative rainfall is estimated at 106 per cent of the long-period average (LPA) of 87 cm, the IMD said in a release. 

The Indian equity indices on Monday continued Friday’s negative spell on the back of geopolitical tension coming out of West Asia. Sensex dipped 845 points or 1.14% to close the day’s trading at 73,399.78. The Nifty 50 closed 246.90 points or 1.10% lower at 22,272.50. The losers included Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, ICICI Bank, and Larsen & Toubro. The Indian Volatility Index (India VIX) closed 8.07% higher. 

By Sudhir Kaushik

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), the apex national body of automobile retail in India has announced the start of Dealer Satisfaction Study for Finance and Insurance to be undertaken in association with PremonAsia, a consumer-insight-led consulting and advisory firm based out of Singapore.

The initial public offering (IPO) is a combination of 1.2 crore fresh issue of equity shares and an Offer For Sale (OFS) of 24 lakh equity shares by promoters — Deepak Kumar Singal and Sunita Singal, according to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).

Bank Of India and India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) have partnered to offer mortgage guarantee backed home loan products, focusing on salaried and self employed customers in the affordable housing segments. IMGC is India's first mortgage guarantee company with over 5,100 branches and plans to provide home loan products with more flexibility and security to customers. “The Bank has launched a Home Loan product with a mortgage guarantee provided by IMGC to strengthen the credit delivery system and facilitate flow of credit to the affordable housing sector”, said A K Pathak, Chief General Manager, Bank Of India.

Benchmark NSE Nifty closed 246.91 points down at 22272.5 amid selling in frontline bluechip counters.

Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) said on Monday. ISF, the apex industry body representing manpower outsourcing industry, released the Flexi Staffing Industry Employment growth report for Q3 FY2024 (October-December 2023). The staffing industry witnessed a 3.6 per cent growth in December quarter FY24 in comparison to July-September period, recording a robust demand for flexi (contract) workforce, ISF said in a statement.

Sahil Kapoor, Head of Products & Market Strategist, DSP Mutual Fund, says top-line growth is slowing; we already have peak profit margins and drivers of profit margins are absent which can expand profit margins from here and then you question that if earnings growth is going to be 12% to 14%, why would you pay 23 times or in midcap 28 to 40 times earnings multiples? Those expectations will have to be recalibrated and possibly the markets will do that over the next 12 to 24 months.” What is your market outlook in terms of equity markets in India? The smallcap and midcap indices were getting a bit frothy and the overall clamour was that it is safer to be in largecap stocks. Is that what you are changing your product portfolios to be in terms of what you are recommending to your clients? Sahil Kapoor: When you look at the broader universe, small and midcaps appear slightly more expensive compared to largecaps on a relative basis.

Red Sea crisis and high freight rates, said EEPC India Chairman Arun Kumar Garodia. Engineering exports in FY24 rose to US$ 109.31 billion from US$ 107.04 billion in the previous financial year thus registering a growth of 2.13%. The FY24 closed on a strong note with engineering exports rising 10.66% year-on-year to US$ 11.28 billion in March this year as against US$ 10.19 billion in the same month last year.

NEW DELHI : Vodafone Idea expects its ₹18,000-crore follow-on public offer to have maximum subscription with the share of anchor investors being fully subscribed, even as India’s No. 3 telecom carrier began its roadshow for individual investors. “We’ve had an extensive roadshow with all international and domestic institutional investors.