India Financial News

India is a cricket-crazy country and perhaps it's no surprise that bookings are coming in thick and fast for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 to be held in the US and West Indies this June. But it's not just cricket. Indian sports fans are travelling the world to watch their favourite sporting events across categories like never before, buoyed by rising disposable incomes, travel companies said. Rajeev Kale, president and country head for holidays, MICE and Visa at Thomas Cook (India), said that besides the demand for the T20 World Cup from both leisure and corporate customers, the company is seeing high interest for Wimbledon in London, as well as Formula One races in Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Bahrain throughout the year. The company's data indicates an uptick of 25-30% in bookings for key global sporting events this year, he said. «Besides corporate incentives, head honchos from India Inc and HNI-UHNI leisure travellers, our data reveals strong demand emerging from younger audiences as well who are keen to tick off their bucket lists,» Kale said.

Varun Berry, executive vice-chairman and managing director of Britannia Industries, India's largest biscuits maker. «We are closely monitoring input costs and competitive pricing activities to take appropriate actions,» said Berry in an interview. On Tuesday, private forecaster Skymet predicted a normal monsoon for the year, lifting optimism for farm output and rural demand, crucial for sustained revival of the FMCG sector. Last year saw irregular monsoons with either below normal or erratic rains. India's villages contribute nearly 40% of annual FMCG sales. «A normal monsoon will be a blessing for the rural economy, which has been trailing urban growth for over a year,» Berry said. He cautioned that rainfall variability across regions could impact crop output. Britannia's overall portfolio is urban-centric and 1.3 times that of its rural-focused products. In addition to Good Day, Jim Jam and NutriChoice biscuits, the Nusli Wadia-promoted company also makes cheese, croissants, cakes and breads.

India's economy is poised to achieve 8-9% growth, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president R Dinesh told ET in an interview, highlighting land, labour and manufacturing reforms as the key focus areas for the new government, which he said will also spur private investment. «We should consider establishing a fund to support new-age manufacturing, similar to the Innovation Fund that the government has already announced. This will play a crucial role in scaling up capacity and capability to create larger large-scale Indian manufacturing businesses,» said Dinesh, who is also the executive vice chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions. He further advocated a fund to assist micro, small and medium enterprises with operational expenditures, capital spending and green transitions.

Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) have bagged steel supply contracts worth ₹1,586.39 crore from the Railways. According to officials aware of the development, bids for procuring Mild/Corten Steel Sheets/Plates/Coils were called in July 2023 but award only be finalised earlier this month. Another tender was called for buying stainless steel sheets and plates in February 2024 which was also awarded at the same time. Public sector undertaking Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has bagged the lion's share in both tenders. SAIL will be supplying 1.05 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of steel worth ₹671.27 crore and another 16,356 MT of stainless steel worth ₹217.90 crore.

Mercedes-Benz has raced ahead of rival BMW to wrest the leadership position in India's fast-growing luxury EV segment for the first time last quarter. Mercedes-Benz sold more than 350 EVs in the three months ended March 31, compared to 211 EVs by BMW India in the same period. Mercedes-Benz has also firmed up plans to launch three new battery electric vehicles this calendar year to further consolidate its position in the EV space. This will form part of the dozen new models the company plans to introduce during the year.

Bengaluru | Mumbai: Piramal Group's flagship company Piramal Enterprises has invested over Rs 500 crore in a portfolio of projects of Bengaluru-based real estate developer Puravankara Group, said three persons with direct knowledge of the development. The investment encompasses a range of projects, spanning from commercial properties to residential ventures, reflecting a strategic collaboration aimed at bolstering real estate endeavours across multiple regions in India. «The Piramal Group entity has made this investment through a senior secured financing structure and it currently covers a total of four projects of the developer,» said one of the persons mentioned above. Key projects of this investment include the development of commercial properties spread over 800,000 sq ft along Kanakapura Road, a bustling locality in Bengaluru known for its rapid urbanization and commercial growth. This move aligns with the trend of commercial expansion in Bengaluru, fuelled by its status as a IT hub and a thriving business ecosystem.

heatwave days expected this summer, a senior government official told ET. The advisory follows a home ministry directive after a meeting early this week with stakeholder ministries to discuss the India Meteorological Department's alert on heat waves. IMD has said many parts of southern peninsula, adjoining northwest central India, some parts of east India and plains of northwest India may witness above normal heat wave days in April. «Some of the measures that can be considered include rescheduling of work hours,» the official said, adding that early or late work hours, and long rest hours during the day when the sun is at its peak could be on the cards.

India’s finances wouldn’t look that pretty if fuel-stoked infl ation rearers its ugly head. A Morgan Stanley study showed if global crude oil prices rise to $110-120 a barrel in the next 3-4 months due to supply or geopolitical concerns, India’s infl ation fi ght could stretch.

Vedanta's proposed demerger, where it is dividing its debt among the six demerged entities based on their respective book asset values, has raised concerns about the allocation of specific debt to each entity. For bondholders of Vedanta Resources (VRL), the parent of Mumbai-listed Vedanta, a major concern is the security over the Indian entity's shares, said Fitch Group unit CreditSights in a report. In September 2023, the mining conglomerate announced plans to demerge five of its key businesses — aluminium, oil and gas, and steel, into separate listed entities.

BJP election rally in Rishikesh on Thursday that Congress-led UPA government did not provide bullet-proof vests, modern weapons, the latest fighter planes and good infrastructure in the border areas for the defence forces to take on the enemy. There has been a change in approach in the last decade where terrorists are now «killed in their turf». Reaching out to the electorate in the hill state of Uttarakhand which sends its youth in big numbers to the defence forces, the PM said his party has given a strong government which has dealt with corruption. He alleged that the royal family of Congress is bent on destroying Shakti, the core of Hindu religion. «Today, there is a strong Modi government, hence terrorists are killed in their turf. The Indian Tricolour becomes a guarantee of security in the battlefield. Article 370 was abrogated in Jammu and Kashmir after seven decades. It is the strong BJP government which brought a law against triple talaq, and gave reservation to women in Parliament and state legislatures.»

business school Insead has no plans to open a campus in India, its dean, Francisco Veloso, told ET in a recent interaction. However, the institute is committed to developing and strengthening industry-academia research in future with top Indian multinationals and large startups, as well as expand and enhance educational collaborations here, said Veloso, a professor of strategy who took over as the dean of the institute in September. Last year, the University Grants Commission notified guidelines for foreign universities to set up campuses in India.

According to data sourced from Prime Database, there are 28 non-India expat CEOs among the 2,521 CEOs cumulatively appointed by 2,048 listed companies at end of FY24. The number of expat CEOs has hovered around the same levels over the past decade with several being individuals of Indian origin. In a country that is a CEO factory for the world, an expat CEO remains an exotic species. India Inc has largely been homogeneous in its C-suite appointments with a clear preference for home-bred desi CEOs. This is due to a variety of reasons such as cost, culture fit, understanding of the market complexities & regulatory systems.

Hindustan’s editor in chief Shashi Shekhar, Modi warned that his government’s action against corruption will continue, and will, in fact, intensify in his third term as prime minister. Listing out abrogation of Article 370 to end Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy, digital payments ecosystem, toilets and housing for the poor, consecration of the Ram temple, and a rapid economic growth as key achievements, Modi said that he is going into the upcoming general election with his vision of Viksit Bharat, or Developed India, by 2047, when the country celebrates 100 years of Independence. He said that his government took several initiatives in the field of education, health, employment, infrastructure, and tourism in the hill state of Uttarakhand, which goes to the polls on 19 April.

Lok Sabha elections 2024, PM Modi said that the streets of India are echoing with the chants of "Phir ek baar, Modi sarkar." "If you wish to see the wave, you will have to go to the ground, be among the masses. You will see the enthusiasm among people for the third term of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government at the Centre. Our workers are already in the field.

UPSC IES/ISS exam 2024: Modification in OTR Profile In case, the candidate wants to effect any change in his/her OTR profile, it shall be allowed only once in the lifetime after the registration at OTR platform. Candidates will have time from May 1, 2024 to May 7, 2024 to make corrections in the field of the application form.

Question Hour (QH) is a powerful tool in the hands of the Legislature to question the Executive. In India, each Lok Sabha session begins with the QH from 11am till noon, in which parliamentarians pose a range of questions for various ministers to answer on a range of policy matters. The questions need to be given around two weeks in advance, so the ministers who respond have adequate time to prepare their answers.

In my early days as an investment analyst, I was once pitching a stock to my fund manager boss. Two minutes into the pitch, he asked me “What’s the weight?" I had no idea what he was talking about and so I later asked one of my senior colleagues what he meant. Most institutional investing in India is of the relative return type, which means that every fund is benchmarked against an index and a fund manager’s competence or otherwise is measured by how well he or she performs against the benchmark.

Last week, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) announced a partnership with the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) under which branded Amul milk will be made available to thousands of Indians and Americans in the US. This is significant for many reasons. One, even though Amul products are already being exported to about 50 countries, this is the first time that Amul’s branded fresh milk range is being launched anywhere outside India.

Union officials say steelworkers at Britain’s largest steel production plant have voted to go on strike for the first time in 40 years

MI vs RCB 2024 IPL: Hardik Pandya must brace for some fresh criticism for his captaincy decisions as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finisher Dinesh Karthik slammed another explosive half-century to power his team's score to 196/8 after 20 overs. India's veteran player Mohammad Kaif made an interesting observation while sitting in the commentary box as he observed that Rohit Sharma asked Hardik Pandya multiple times to keep a third man against Dinesh Karthik, but the Mumbai Indians skipper didn't listen, and the RCB finisher slammed three boundaries in the same area.

US Congressman Adam Schiff has tabled a bill proposing tech firms training AI models disclose use of any copyrighted data. It follows criticism from artists and creators on unfair use of their work by tech firms raking in billions. Can this stifle innovation? Mint explains.