India Financial News

Zomato, India’s leading online food delivery platform, has said that the company has received a service tax demand and penalty order of over ₹184 crore for the period October 2014 to June 2017. Stressing that the company will file an appeal against the order before an appropriate authority, the food aggregator said the demand order is for non-payment of service tax of certain sales made by the foreign subsidiaries and branches of the company to its customers located outside India, in a late-night regulatory filing Zomato said.

Vistara’s public image has taken a severe beating in the last few days. Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday asked the airline to file daily reports on flight cancellations and delays. A senior airline official said that the airline is analysing the reason for disruption and expects to bring it under control by this week.

government Tuesday allowed exports of Kala Namak rice up to an aggregate quantity of 1,000 metric tonnes through six specified customs stations. Their exports were prohibited till now. “Authorized signatory for certification of Kala Namak rice and its quantity will be Director, Agriculture Marketing & Foreign Trade, Lucknow,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification. Kala Namak is a premium non-basmati rice variety grown in Uttar Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district. The Muslim side, however, alleged that it was a misleading claim. The survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), ordered by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in response to an application filed by a Hindu organisation, started on March 22. On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to stay the survey at the medieval structure which both Hindus and Muslims claim as their own. No action should be taken without its permission on the outcome of the exercise, the apex court said.

UltraTech Cement Limited Aditya Birla Group on Tuesday said it is commissioning two new greenfield capacities totalling 5.4 mtpa in the states of Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. This will take the Company’s total cement capacity to 151.6 mtpa. This capacity is more than 150 per cent of the capacity in the United States and 80 per cent of Europe's capacity, said the company in a statement. “It took 36 years for the cement business of the Aditya Birla Group, to get to a capacity of 100 mtpa. And UltraTech has subsequently added the next 50 mtpa in less than 5 years with an investment of around Rs. 32,000 crores,” it added.

Last year, while Air India was sealing the biggest commercial aviation deal in history by ordering 470 jets from Airbus and Boeing, Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal delivered a fiery speech in Lok Sabha on exorbitant airfare on the Delhi-Leh route and its fallout on patients and students, among others. One-way fare from Delhi to Leh was persistently above Rs 30,000 in the second week of February last year, according to news reports. Namgyal said fares in the sector touched Rs 80,000 when he checked online. While India's aviation sector is growing, more and more people are flying, airlines are adding more aircraft and airports are being built even in far corners, flyers are complaining about delays, cancellations, low quality of service and fares jumping to new highs.

Vodafone Idea on Tuesday said it has held an extraordinary general meeting to seek shareholders' approval to raise up to Rs 20,000 crore by issuing securities. VIL, in a statutory filing, said that the results of the voting will be intimated, separately. «An Extra-ordinary General Meeting of Vodafone Idea Limited was held today, that is, Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at 3.00 p.m. through Video Conferencing (VC) / Other Audio Visual Means (OAVM) in accordance with the relevant circulars issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Securities and Exchange Board of India,» Vodafone Idea (VIL) said in a BSE filing.

The Fresh Press has raised an undisclosed amount of equity funding from Nikhil Kamath-backed Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund (GCCF). Founded in 2018 by Mithil Lodha and Rahul Jain, it currently runs about 40 outlets selling fresh juice and other products in nine cities including Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Delhi. About 30 of these are ‘shop-in-shop’ stores placed inside Inox theatres and Reliance Retail outlets, Lodha said.

Vistara pilots continue to protest against pay revision, at least 15 senior first officers resigned from the airline recently, sources said on Tuesday. The airline operates a little over 300 flights daily and has a fleet of 70 planes comprising A320-family aircraft and Boeing 787s. Over the past few weeks, the Tata Group airline has been grappling with simmering discontent among pilots, with many first officers of its A320 fleet reporting sick. The sources said at least 15 senior first officers resigned from Vistara and joined a domestic budget carrier.

Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday claimed that the BJP has given the slogan 'Abki baar 400 paar' because it wants to make several changes in the Constitution. Citing the reactions of the UN and Germany over the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Gehlot said there is criticism of India world over for stifling democracy. Suspecting abolition of reservation by the BJP, Gehlot also questioned the monopoly of the ruling party over Lord Ram. The senior Congress leader was addressing the nomination rally of party's Jodhpur Lok Sabha candidate Karan Singh Uchiyarda at Ummed Stadium along with Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasara and All India Congress Committee general secretary Sachin Pilot.

JSW Energy on Tuesday said it plans to raise Rs 5,000 crore by selling shares to high net worth investors through a qualified institutional placement process or QIP. The QIP will take place in one or more tranches. The company did not disclose the purpose of the fundraise.

electric vehicle policy will help global carmakers expedite decisions on investing in manufacturing EVs in the country besides allowing brands gauge customer response to premium EV models in a value conscious market, said a senior executive at the local arm of Czech carmaker Skoda Auto. Speaking to ET, Petr Janeba, brand director, Škoda Auto India said the policy will make high-end EVs more popular in the Indian market as there will be a lot of variety to choose from. “The Volkswagen (VW) Group is committed to invest in India, so any such policy will help in expediting the decisions. We are now in the middle of calculations. With the new policy, it looks more positive than before,” said Janeba, who joined the Indian operations in January. He did not elaborate.

S Jaishankar on Tuesday assured safe return home for Indian citizens worldwide and recalled how India's foreign policy was at the forefront for the evacuation of Indian nationals under Operation Indravati to evacuate its nationals from the violence-hit Haiti and Operation Ganga in Ukraine. He said that the Indians should have full confidence that the government will stand by them in all kinds of eventualities and crises, be it the Ukraine, earthquake in Nepal, war in Yemen, or others and never leave them to their fate. Speaking at the intellectual meet in Gujarat's Rajkot, Jaishankar said, «When you leave the borders of India and go out into the world, then go with full confidence that the Indian government is standing with you.»

Blackstone acquired IGI for $570 million in May 2023 from Chinese conglomerate Fosun and the business's founding Lorie family. IGI has most of its business in India and describes itself as the world's largest independent lab for testing and grading diamonds and other gemstones and jewelry.

Apollo Hospitals, India’s leading private hospital network with 71 owned and managed hospitals, has onboarded Vishal Lathwal as chief executive for its homecare business. In his new role, Lathwal will be responsible for driving the company towards the next phase of growth. He will be tasked with cultivating relationships with key stakeholders, identifying growth opportunities, and managing financial performance, while ensuring delivery of high-quality home healthcare services. With over 15 years of professional experience spanning consulting, automobile, and healthcare sectors, Lathwal has expertise in building and expanding direct-to-consumer (D2C) offerings. He is a founding member of Max@Home, the homecare division of Max Healthcare.

Indian Coast Guard ship Samudra Paheredar, a specialised Pollution Control Vessel, on Tuesday made a port call at Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam as part of its ongoing overseas deployment to the ASEAN countries, officials said. This deployment is a testimony to the ICG's commitment to «bolster bilateral relationships» and «enhance international cooperation» with friendly countries, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. «The deployment of Samudra Paheredar to the ASEAN region reflects India's shared concern and resolve towards marine pollution, promoting safety and security through maritime cooperation. Prior to Ho Chi Minh, the vessel had visited Manila, Philippines, to demonstrate a seamless continuation of diplomatic maritime engagements in the ASEAN region,» it said. The ship is equipped with specialised marine pollution control equipment and a Chetak Helicopter in pollution response configuration, designed to contain and recover spilled oil and augment the operation.

T-Series on Tuesday revealed its plans to release numerous extended playlists (EPs) and albums every month, spanning various genres, to meet the diverse tastes of its audience «This ambitious initiative by Bhushan Kumar aims to captivate audiences with an extensive mix of music, showcasing talent from the indie space, commercial, and rap music,» the company said in a release. The EPs will cover variety of music ideas from established icons to rising stars, the roster includes tracks of Guru Randhawa to the melodies of Vishal Mishra, and Bhupinder Babbal's classic folk music.

SMC Global Securities. "From our point of view, this market is practically over, at least for the time being,'' added Biswas. The central bank said it would allow exchanges to offer forex derivative contracts involving the rupee only for contracted exposure, or hedging, compared the current allowance of up to $100 million without any explicit underlying exposure.

Mumbai…April 1, 2024…Lifelong Online, one of India’s leading e-commerce brands for consumer goods, is proud to unveil its latest innovation, the Lifelong Android Home Projector series. Designed to revolutionize the home viewing experience, the Lifelong Projector series combines cutting-edge technology with unparalleled convenience, offering consumers an immersive cinematic experience right in the comfort of their own homes.

Mumbai, 1April 2024: Tata AIA Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (Tata AIA), one of India's leading life insurers, has launched a premium payment service on its WhatsApp platform marking the first-ever launch of its kind in the life insurance sector. Previously limited to UPI-based transactions, Tata AIA consumers can now use a wide range of payment methods within WhatsApp.

AAP leaders claimed that the court order "exposed" that the entire liquor scam case was based on statements "extorted" from witnesses and approvers. Meanwhile, INDIA bloc leaders said, ‘the truth can be trouble but cannot be denied’ AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj says, "Today's day will be considered as a great milestone in the Indian democracy. Supreme Court's three-judge bench gave bail to Sanjay Singh...Where is the money trail in all this?..." However, Sanjay Singh's wife Anita Singh said the happiness is incomplete with three of her "brothers", Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, still behind bars.