India Financial News

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has paid a dividend of ₹7,224 crore to the Centre for the fiscal 2023-24, leading the pack of oil and gas companies, which form the biggest block of dividend payers to the Central government. ONGC's dividend contribution to the state was almost double the ₹3,636 crore dividend by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), nearly three times Bharat Petroleum Corporation's ₹2,413 crore, close to four times GAIL's ₹1,863 crore and about ten times Oil India's ₹737 crore. These are interim dividends and a final instalment usually comes after the companies declare annual earnings.

maize for ethanol production, its prices have shot up in the main producing regions, leading to fears of reduced state procurement. The increased prices can reduce the procurement by government agencies which have already made commitments to distilleries for ethanol production, said a senior government official, adding that the central agencies have already signed memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with over 40 distilleries that produce the clean fuel. As market price stays elevated, farmers may prefer to sell to private traders over government channels which procures at a minimum support price (MSP) of ₹2,090 per quintal for kharif season (2023-24).

Apna Dal on Sunday announced an alliance with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), forming a fourth front in UP in the run-up to the general elections. The alliance has been named PDM (acronym of Picchda, Dalit, Musalman), offering a competing take on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's 'Picchda (backwards) Dalit Alpsankhyak (minorities)' theme for the INDIA bloc in UP. «Because we are fighting to establish the current identity of the backwards, Dalits and Muslims, therefore setting aside the confusion of alphabet 'A', we are bringing the PDM nyaya morcha,» Patel said at a joint conference with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in Lucknow.

Lok Sabha elections with a scathing attack on Narendra Modi government, accusing it of subverting democracy and Constitution. All major Opposition leaders — Sonia Gandhi, son Rahul, daughter Priyanka, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Uddhav Thackerary, son Aditya, Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, Champai Soren — came together at 'Loktantra Bachao Rally' to press for the release of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand's former CM Hemant Soren. Kejriwal's March 21 arrest is the immediate trigger for the entire Opposition to come together, but the finer optics of the rally went far beyond. For starters, Trinamool Congress, which could not hammer out a seat-sharing pact with the Congress in West Bengal, came out strongly in support of the INDIA bloc, with leader Derek O'Brien stating that his party «was, is and will be with INDIA bloc». Sonia, who has been keeping away from most public engagements, made a rare appearance and sat next to Kejriwal's wife Sunita to show her support. Two chairs were kept empty on the stage for Kejriwal and Soren to emphasise that Opposition leaders' arrest by central investigative agencies was the central point of the rally.

Indian politics is taking a leaf out of the US playbook. With Lok Sabha elections just weeks away, political merchandise is taking off in a big way for the first time in the world's largest democracy. Ecommerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart and Meesho are cashing in on the poll fever, selling 'election clothing' such as t-shirts, caps and sweatshirts with messages such as 'NaMo Hat Trick', referring to Prime Pinister Narendra Modi, and 'Rahul is Hope', referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. «At least two dozen sellers have onboarded different ecommerce platforms with election merchandise. We are consistently getting requests from sellers as the election momentum builds up,» said an executive at a large ecommerce platform asking not to be named. Amazon, specifically, is selling merchandise under a 'Wear Your Opinion' franchise on the online platform.

BJP fighting solo in West Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Sunday in her first Lok Sabha rally in Krishnanagar constituency that she will not allow Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to be implemented in the state and added that BJP was lying to the Matua community, treating them as a vote bank ahead of Lok Sabha elections. «I will not allow CAA to be implemented in Bengal. We will not allow anyone to become part of NRC here. They (BJP) lie to the Matua for vote bank politics. Do you want to put yourself into danger? Once you apply, you will lose all your benefits in social schemes. Let all BJP candidates apply for CAA,» she said. Banerjee urged the Matua community not to apply for CAA as they will lose their citizenship. «If you apply for CAA, you will lose citizenship for five years,» Banerjee warned, adding that CAA will lead to NRC and Matua people will be in trouble. The promise of implementing CAA was a major electoral plank for BJP in the last Lok Sabha and assembly polls in West Bengal. The community, with more than one crore voters in the state, is spread over Nadia, Cooch Behar, North and South 24 Parganas districts bordering Bangladesh.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on shielding the identities of officers who spot wilful defaulters and build cases against errant borrowers, said bankers aware of the development. A recent High Court order has directed banks to name the employees on committees identifying a borrower as a wilful defaulter. The division bench order about Milind Patel, director of IFIN versus Union Bank of India, also asked the bank to provide the petitioner full access to the relevant documents and material on record. This is yet another contentious issue between lenders and the borrower. The Union Bank had argued that it is not obliged to provide evidence to the borrower as per the RBI guidelines. Lenders will seek RBI's guidance on this issue, too, the bankers cited above said. The bank management lobby, the Indian Banks Association (IBA), will soon seek advice on ways to address this issue.

India as part of its supply chain diversification strategy. In an interview with Viswanath Pilla, Elie Chaillot, president & CEO of GE HealthCare International, called on India to simplify tax structure, give adequate reimbursement schemes and easy financing to spur expansion of the Indian healthcare market and attract more investments. Edited excerpts: What makes you hedge your bets on India, which is a smaller market for your products? We think of India as a market and this market is growing in double-digits every year; it's going to continue to grow. We also think of what India can offer in terms of qualified human resources, and competitiveness of 'Make in India'.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee, and the milestones keep adding up. From March 7-16 this year, coinciding with the Oscars weekend, Mukherjee presented an exclusive showcase of jewelry, clothing and other accessories at Saks Fifth Avenue’s new Beverly Hills flagship. March also marked the UK launch of Estee Lauder and the designer’s limited edition lipstick collection which will be exclusively available at Selfridges. In 2023, Mukherjee launched his largest flagship yet in Mumbai and his first exclusive jewellery boutique in India at Taj Krishna in Hyderabad.

smuggled Chinese garlic in India has prompted authorities to step up vigilance at the land customs posts. Customs authorities have deployed sniffer dogs and alerted its local intelligence at wholesale distributors and warehouses to prevent smuggling via bordering Nepal and Bangladesh, said people aware of the matter. «There has been a spike in such instances, especially in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and the Northeast, where garlic is transported via Nepal,» a customs official told ET on condition of anonymity.

Swiss National Bank became the first major industrial economy to unexpectedly reduce rates, raising the question whether the pivot has finally arrived for more central banks around the world to follow the example of its conservative European counterpart. Ahead of this week's scheduled review meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), market watchers and investors are keen to know the timeline for India's rate easing cycle. However, the texture — and driver — of India's robust economic growth rates suggest their wait will perhaps be of some duration. The chances of a rate reduction in the first half of the fiscal year beginning Monday look wafer thin, with policymakers likely waiting for higher neutral rates before nudging the rate lever. The primary reason behind such overwhelmingly short odds on the 'higher-for-longer' rate trajectory is the nature of the ongoing economic expansion, which has made New Delhi a distinct outlier in a rather circumspect world. For more than 30 straight months, the gauges for purchasing managers have stayed in the expansionary mode, while the percolation effects of unprecedented capital expenditure in helping broad-base the texture of economic growth is becoming increasingly evident.

Post 1991 reforms, stifling micro-regulation and directed credit gave way to allowing banks more freedom, deregulating interest rates, allowing greater, though limited, freedom in the forex market, issuing licences to private banks, and, more recently, presiding over the digitisation of financial transactions and entry of fintechs. From the time when it was derisively referred to as no more than a section of the finance ministry-BK Nehru, India's ambassador to the US in the 1960s, reportedly turned down the post of RBI governor, saying the bank lacked independence — to more recent times, when sitting and former finance secretaries to GOI vie for the job, RBI has come a long way.

₹375 per bag, as per a recent report by ICICI Securities. This, even as input costs in terms of energy saw an uptick during this period. In May 2022, Adani spent $10.5 billion to buy Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd from Switzerland's Holcim, becoming the country’s second-largest cement manufacturer, behind Aditya Birla’s Ultratech.

Pre-packaged insolvency resolution processes, or pre-packs, were introduced to India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in April 2021 with the goal of giving micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) a fast, cost-efficient and effective way to resolve financial stress. Debtors and creditors are expected to put an early effort into resolving a troubled MSME’s liquidity problems quickly. The pre-insolvency regime is especially important for MSMEs, which have simple business structures and can’t absorb sudden disruptions.

Over the past five years, the West has worried that India is losing its values, by which it means that India is not trying to imitate the West. Even despots are wondering what is up with India. Every country wants other countries to have Western values.

₹2.86 trillion into public sector banks, as per data presented in the Parliament by junior finance minister Bhagwat Karad in March 2023. The cleanup of legacy bad loans and stronger underwriting decisions have played a role in the improvement of their health. Asked about the trends in private capex, the minister said the private sector is investing significantly in areas offering new opportunities.

During the past decade (2013-14 to 2022-23), India’s annual total investments have ranged between 30% and 34% of GDP, barring a dip to 28% of GDP in 2020-21. This is if we measure this proportion using current prices or nominal data (let us refer to it as the ‘nominal investment ratio’). Usually, all ratios— investment, savings, fiscal deficit, current account balance, corporate profits, et al—are measured in nominal data or at current prices.

Congress leadership is trying to arrange a meeting between Rahul Gandhi and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. Thackeray is in Delhi to participate in the Aam Aadmi Party-led INDIA bloc rally. Congress leaders in Maharashtra are keen on the meeting as there is deep discontent within the party in the state after the UBT Sena declared its candidate for Mumbai North West and Mumbai South Central seats and put up a candidate in Sangli Lok Sabha constituency also. The Mumbai South Central seat has also caused a heartburn within the Congress as the party was keen to field Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad from the constituency. While Gaikwad has not come out against the Sena (UBT) decision, however, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, who was keen to contest from Mumbai North West, has given an ultimatum of a week to his party to resolve the issue or «else all options would be open». Similarly, in Sangli too, Congress leaders have expressed apprehension that Vishwas Patil may contest as a rebel if the issue is not resolved.

BJP's manifesto committee for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the party has kickstarted the process for its preparation, which is likely to showcase the roadmap for a 'Viksit Bharat' (developed India), and will hold its first meeting on Monday. The 27-member manifesto committee led by senior BJP leader and Union defence minister Rajnath Singh has 11 ministers besides four chief ministers of the party-ruled states. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been appointed the convenor of the committee while Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal has been made the co-convenor. The manifesto committe also has one BJP leader each from minority communities — including Sikh, Muslim and Christian.

Xiaomi and Realme are cracking down on scalper retailers looking to make a quick buck by selling devices cheaper on online platforms as the companies bet big on the offline channel to boost growth in the world's second-largest smartphone market. After complaints from retailer associations, brands including Xiaomi and Realme are repurchasing stocks selling at lower prices to trace back the retailer and distributor and penalise them, according to correspondence between the two parties ET has seen. For now, brands are letting retailers go with a warning, making them sign an undertaking that prohibits them from selling their products outside the authorised channels to avoid higher liquidation damage and loss of business. ET has seen multiple instances of such undertakings signed by retailers in Jammu, West Bengal, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, among others.

Bank of India on Sunday announced that it has been issued a demand notice totaling Rs 1,127.72 crore by the Income Tax Department's Assessment Unit, pertaining to the assessment year 2016-17. The Bank has received a demand notice under section 156 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, pertaining to the annual year (AY) 2016- 17 wherein certain disallowances have been made, it said in an exchange filing. According to the exchange filing the Bank is in the process of filing an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) against the said order within the prescribed timelines.