India Financial News

Adani Group-helmed $2.1 billion project in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai is a microcosm of the massive infrastructure overhaul underway in India as its Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to outrun China. For Gautam Adani, it’s a test of whether he can put India on the global aviation map. The airport, with a lotus-shaped design mimicking India’s national flower as well as the election symbol for Modi’s party, should start operations in March next year with a capacity for 20 million passengers a year.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal became the proud owner of India's first Aston Martin DB12 sportscar worth ₹4.59 crore. The stunning beast on wheels was launched in India in September 2023, News18 reported. The pictures of Deepinder Goyal's brand-new car were shared on the official Instagram handle named ‘Automobili Ardent India’.

Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd head the list of donors to parties through electoral bonds. Late on Thursday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) published details of bond buyers and beneficiaries since April 2019, as per the Supreme Court’s orders, ahead of the 18th Lok Sabha elections. The data release provides details of electoral bonds worth over Rs 12,000 crore. The information was provided by State Bank of India (SBI), the sole seller of the bonds, and published by the ECI. Other donor names include the Bharti Group and Vedanta. The information clearly shows the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got the lion’s share over the years, something that’s also clear from the party’s own annual audit reports.

Indian travellers are buckling up for a sizzling summer season this year with early indicators from travel companies suggesting exponential demand. Bookings for the country's peak summer period of April-June are already 30-40% higher compared to last year. Officials at domestic airlines told ET that while Indians will be out in full force for the summer season, an inadequate number of flights is likely to trigger a spike in air fares. At online travel company Cleartrip, international flight bookings for the April to June period are 37% higher compared to the same period last year, said Gaurav Patwari, vice president for air category.

EMPS). They also need to provide a three-year or 20,000-km comprehensive warranty to two-wheeler buyers — and an 80,000-km warranty on three-wheelers — to be eligible for the scheme. EMPS replaces the Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME II) programme. “The manufacturers’ comprehensive warranty will have to cover the EV battery, the most crucial component of the vehicle, besides ensuring that there are adequate facilities for after-sales service for the life of sold vehicles,” a senior government official told ET.

Global crypto gains reached $37.6 billion in 2023 following severe losses in 2022, blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis reveals in a new report released Thursday.

India’s electricity consumption is growing at nearly 9% per year, faster than real gross domestic product (GDP). That is understandable, since economic growth involves rapid urbanization, which is electricity- intensive. It is also possible that in the near-term, GDP growth has higher energy intensity beyond electricity.

Paramount Global will exit Viacom18 by selling its remaining 13.01% stake to Reliance Industries for ₹4,286 crore, a deal that will value the Indian media company at about ₹33,000 crore. In separate regulatory filings, the US media and entertainment major and the Mukesh Ambani-led Indian conglomerate have said the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction is also subject to the completion of the proposed joint venture (JV) involving RIL, Viacom18, and The Walt Disney Company's Star India.

government on Thursday moved the Delhi High Court, challenging a foreign arbitration award won by Vedanta against the former's demand for a higher payout from its Rajasthan oil and gas fields. The dispute between the Directorate of Hydrocarbons and Vedanta — Cairn arose due to incorrect cost recovery and non-allocation of common costs that allegedly had a huge «adverse financial implication on the Profit Oil/Gas» payable to the government. As of May 14, 2020 (excluding interest), the government's share of profits dues of the company of $1.66 billion were short paid by $1.16 billion, representing 70% of the total amount due, according to the government.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the sole Opposition representative in the search panel that selected the two election commissioners, expressed his dissent by pointing out "procedural lapses" in the selection process. He has questioned the rationale and motive of the government in providing him a list of «212 names» as probable candidates when he arrived at Wednesday midnight in Delhi and then handing him over a shortlist of «six names» just «10 minutes before the search committee meeting» on Thursday noon. In his note of dissent, Chowdhury is learnt to have questioned the rationale and fairness of the composition of the search committee by saying it ensured «no decisive say» for the sole Opposition nominee in the matter of selection as the overwhelming majority of the government representatives in the panel made the ruling side's preference «a fait accompli». During the meeting, Chowdhury is also learnt to have briefly mentioned his disappointment about the government not including the Chief Justice of India in the search committee. He reportedly pointed out that no reason has been provided for the abrupt resignation of election commissioner Arun Goel a few days ago and also the delay in filling up the second vacancy of the EC, caused by the retirement of the incumbent last month.

Reliance Jio has urged the government and the industry regulator to ensure that carriers have adequate airwave holdings, as the amount of spectrum they hold in India is the lowest per subscriber globally. «I sincerely urge the regulators and policymakers of our nation to ascertain how India needs to expedite its spectrum pipeline as our operators work with the least amount of spectrum per subscriber compared to anywhere else in the world, especially sub-10GHz spectrum. Let us not fall behind in any way,» Jio president Mathew Oommen said. He was addressing delegates at the seventh edition of ETTelecom 5G | 6G Congress 2024 Thursday. His comments came even as the government has initiated plans to launch India's second 5G spectrum auction from May 20.

Gulf Oil Lubricants India is looking to acquire charge point operators (CPOs) and companies in intelligent grid technology space as part of a strategy to become a leader in the electric vehicle charging ecosystem, top executives said. «We are looking at the complete value chain. From manufacturing to research and technology,» said Mike Jones, CEO of Gulf Oil International, a London-headquartered Hinduja group firm. «We started from one end of the value chain by manufacturing EV chargers and are now looking to move to the rest as we want Gulf to be around for another 100 years,» he told ET. The intelligent or smart grid technology is a combination of hardware chargers and software to boost efficiency of electrical grids or networks by enabling bi-directional communication. Smart grids allow a car to send energy to various recipients using digital technologies, sensors, and software to better match the supply and demand of electricity in real time.

Lilavati Hospital are in talks with private equity investors and pension funds for its proposed Rs 4,000-crore pan-India expansion plan which entails setting up five to six multispecialty hospitals over the next five years. «We will be funding the expansion through internal accruals, and are also in discussions with PE investors, pension funds and donors,» said Prashant Mehta, promoter, Lilavati Hospital. «We will retain the controlling stake,» Mehta added. He said Lilavati is looking at both greenfield and brownfield hospitals as part of its expansion strategy. The proposed expansion will be carried out by Lilavati Foundation, a distinct and separate entity from Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai. «We believe there is still a huge potential for growth of healthcare services in India,» Mehta said. The expansion will encompass 3,000 hospital beds. Lilavati is setting up a greenfield 300-bed multi-specialty hospital in GIFT City, Gujarat with an investment of Rs 300 crore. The hospital is slated to open by 2025-end. Lilavati is also considering opening hospitals in Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh), Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Pune (Maharashtra), and Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Guwahati (Assam), Mehta said. He said they are also looking at expanding the 319-bed Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre in Bandra, Mumbai by adding a 150-bed oncology block, which might involve acquiring adjoining property.

IPL 2024 matches will be broadcast live in MENA countries such as United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and nations. Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Gujarat Titans (GT), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and Delhi Capitals will feature in this year's tournament.

SBI Electoral Bonds data LIVE updates: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday uploaded the electoral bond data on its website in compliance with the February 15 order of the Supreme Court. The electoral bond data, compiled by the State Bank of India (SBI) lays down two sets of information- one related to the name of the purchaser date, and denomination of the bonds.

₹2 per litre across all states. The fuel price reduction comes one week after cooking gas or LPG (liquified petroleum gas) prices were slashed by ₹100 per cylinder ahead of the schedule announcement of Lok Sabha elections 2024. State-run oil refiners such as Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and oil explorers such as Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Oil India, and others may witness a slide in their respective stocks as the reduction in retail rates passed on to consumers may hurt the refining margins and inventories of the companies.

NEW DELHI : State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have decided to cut the price of petrol and diesel by around ₹2 per litre with effect from 6am on Friday. With the revision in prices, petrol will be sold at ₹94.72 per litre in the national capital, against the current price of ₹96.72.

Manish Sisodia's curative petition challenging the apex court's decision rejecting his bail plea in the Delhi excise policy scam case, news agency ANI reported. Dismissing the curative petition filed by the former deputy chief minister of Delhi, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and SVN Bhatti said," no case is made out." “We have gone through the Curative Petitions and the connected documents. In our opinion, no case is made out within the parameters indicated in the decision of this Court in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs Ashok Hurra," the bench observed.

Mint. Increasingly, companies and brands are chasing affluent Indian consumers who are driving up sales of expensive cars, real estate and bags among others. In premium foods, too, more companies are stepping in, increasing the competitive landscape for the Biyani sisters. For instance, last year, Spencer’s Retail Ltd, an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group subsidiary, announced its foray into upmarket grocery retail under the Nature’s Basket Artisan Pantry brand, citing demand for pricey truffle, caviar, and exotic mushrooms.

Also Read: SBI Electoral Bonds data LIVE updates According to the data, 23 companies accounted for half the total value of electoral bonds purchased since April 2019. Coimbatore-based lottery services firm Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd emerged as the top buyer. The list published by ECI gave details of bonds worth ₹12,155.51 crore that were purchased by over 1,300 companies in nearly five years.

Mint analysis of the data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday. Until the Supreme Court quashed the scheme last month, purchasing an electoral bond effectively meant making a political donation that could later be encashed by a political party. The list detailed bonds worth ₹12,155.51 crore purchased by over 1,300 companies in nearly five years.