India Financial News

Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday notified regulations prescribing monetary penalty on the global turnover of a company engaged in anti-competitive conduct. The move will boost the regulator's chances of curbing such antitrust activities involving multinational firms, including Big Tech, as experts said the penalty amount would be significantly higher because it would no longer be pegged only to the firm's turnover in a relevant market. The CCI regulations followed a notification issued by the ministry of corporate affairs stipulating March 6 as the date for implementing the relevant provisions of the Competition (Amendment) Act 2023 that deal with the new monetary penalty regime.

India will grow more than five-fold to $50-60 billion in the coming time from about $11 billion last year, IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. While speaking at a fintech event, the minister said employment in the electronics manufacturing sector will increase from about 10 lakh at present to 25 lakh in the coming days. He said that 10 years ago India imported 98% of mobile phones and at present 99% of the devices are made in India.

Centre sends to states through the single nodal agency (SNA) will happen within a day from April 1, eliminating the need to park it outside the government account for more than 24 hours. The SNA account is used for transferring funds to states for centrally sponsored programmes and there are timelines for the expenditure. The settlement of unspent money currently happens on a quarterly or monthly basis. The Department of Expenditure and the Reserve Bank of India are working together to upgrade the SNA system to settle the unused amount by the states in real time, which will also eliminate disputes over the payment of interest earned on such unspent funds lying in state SNAs, officials in the know said. The government and the banking regulator have already launched a pilot project in five states and will implement it across India from April 1, they said.

government will offload a 7% stake in state-run lignite producer NLC India through the offer-for-sale (OFS) route, which includes a green shoe option of 2%, a top official said on Wednesday. It would rake in about ₹2,058 crore even if it offloads the 7% stake at the floor price set for this sale. The OFS opens on Thursday for non-retail investors, while retail ones can bid on March 11, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Manipur government on Wednesday introduced mine-protected Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicles (QRFVs) for the state police. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh flagged off the QRFVs at a function held in Imphal on Wednesday. Later the Chief Minister posted on X: “Launched the Mine Protected Vehicle for the Manipur Police at 1st Bn. Manipur Rifle, Imphal. With the ever-vigilant service of Manipur Police, this addition will enhance our capabilities in ensuring the safety and security of our citizens. Together, we'll continue striving towards a safer and more secure Manipur.” The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has provided Manipur with 10 QRFVs with mine protection features to enable the security forces in the ethnic unrest-torn northeastern state to operate more effectively.

India's pace of economic expansion in FY24 could be close to 8%, likely topping earlier official estimates, said central bank governor Shaktikanta Das. Pointing to the latest high-frequency indicators of growth, Das said, «Now that we have numbers for three quarters… Our sense and understanding of ...the momentum of economic activity tell us this 5.9% growth in the fourth quarter could be exceeded.» He also spoke about the recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) action in the payments sector, challenging what he termed «a narrative building up» that the regulator had taken measures against fintech companies. Das said RBI's action was against a regulated entity — Paytm Payments Bank. «Fintech companies are not regulated by RBI unless they are NBFCs,» he said.

India’s National Informatics Centre (NIC), a government agency operating under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), has hosted almost eight million government-issued verifiable documents on five blockchains. 

Today, Spanish data regulator Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD) instructed Sam Altman’s Worldcoin to halt its operations in the country.

When he was wheezing in Chennai, Ravichandran Ashwin’s mother had him give up the long run and bowl slow. Now, 507 Test wickets later, it’s safe to say mother knows best. And when he addressed the media before his landmark game in Dharamsala, Ashwin made the familiar if unusual gesture, acknowledging the sacrifices his family had made in allowing him to ply his trade as an India cricketer.

India has commissioned a new naval base "INS Jatayu" in the Lakshadweep islands to significantly upgrade its military capacity. The base will be the nearest major military installation to the Maldives. INS Jatayu, which was commissioned on Minicoy Island on Wednesday, is the second naval base on the island chain and will be co-located with a joint airfield that is to come up in the future. The closest land to Minicoy is Thuraakunu Island in Maldives, which is located at a distance of about 100 km to the south, across the Vangaaru Channel. The new base was inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar who said more assets will now be based on the island. Officials added that it will significantly augment India's surveillance capabilities in the region.

ITC has premiumised the personal care business with the contribution of premium products to sales doubling in the last four years to 38% and accounting for about two-thirds of all the new products launched in the last two years, said the divisional chief executive for the business Sameer Satpathy. This focus on premium products has also helped ITC break even in the personal care business that is now generating profit consistently quarter on quarter, analysts said. While Satpathy refused to specifically comment on this, he said this focus on premiumisation has a positive impact on the bottom line by improving margins.

Also Read: US sanctions threaten Russian oil sales to India; complicate process for OMCs to secure annual deals: Report Oil has found support in 2024 from rising geopolitical tensions and Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, although concern about economic growth has weighed. While OPEC+ was widely expected to keep the cuts in place, Russia's announcement could bolster prices further. -Boost crude oil prices: The oil supply cuts first announced in 2023 as part of an agreement among oil producers to boost prices following economic uncertainty.

Election Commission has asked former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to be more careful in his public utterances in the wake of his ‘panauti’ (bad omen) and ‘pickpocket’ jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday citing sources. The report said the election commission also asked the senior Congress leader to follow its recent advisory for star campaigners and political leaders in the right earnest during the election campaign.

₹91,000 crore, is projected to produce 3 billion chips annually, in 28 nanometers (nm), 50nm, 55nm, and 90nm 'nodes', Vaishnaw added. Experts said the move could mark the beginning of India's evolution as a market that not only produces components, but also manufactures indigenous products. “Almost everything is imported today.

MUMBAI : Bulls turned the tables on bears in the last hour and a half of trading on positive cues from the global markets, lifting benchmark indices to new closing highs on Wednesday. US futures indicated the Dow Jones may open in the green ahead of the Fed chair's appearance at the Congress, aiding markets in India. Interest rate cuts were likely “at some point this year", chairman Jerome Powell said in a prepared testimony released later, but made it clear the Fed is not ready yet.

MUMBAI : Public-sector bankers who would hang up their boots at the end of a long career are increasingly joining boards of private-sector banks, which are welcoming these experienced hands to help navigate a demanding compliance landscape. To a smaller extent, state-run banks are also seeing a similar influx from the private sector, as they seek complementary skills to compete better for customers. Boards of several top private banks are led by former public-sector officials, either from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), or the civil service.

Indraprastha Gas Limited on Wednesday said the retail consumer price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has been reduced by ₹2.50 per kg across all geographical areas of the natural gas distributor from 6 am on Thursday, March 7, 2024. “The revised selling price of CNG in Delhi will be ₹74.09 per kg, while it will be ₹78.70 per kg in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad from 6 am tomorrow morning", the Indraprastha Gas said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Tata Motors’ BA3 ratings with outlook remaining positive, reported new agency PTI. Moody's has also affirmed Tata Motors Ltd's (TML) Ba3 senior unsecured instrument ratings, Moody's Investors Service said in a statement. 'Ba' are judged to have speculative elements and are subject to substantial credit risk with the modifier 3 indicating a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category, according to Moody's obligations.

Adani Enterprises announced that its Dubai-based arm, Ospree International FZCO, has successfully acquired 100% stake in France-based Le Marche Duty Free SAS (LMDF) for a sum of 5,000 euros. This strategic move aims to bolster the company's presence and growth within the duty-free industry. Adani Enterprises emphasized the significance of this acquisition in a filing to the exchange, highlighting its alignment with the expansion goals of Mumbai Travel Retail Private Limited.

ALSO READ: ICC T20 WC 2024: India vs Pakistan venue in New York's Nassau County International Stadium still underprepared, Watch "It is extremely exciting to see the progress made in the construction of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York over the past month. Work on the outfield commenced in January and in the past few weeks the East Stand framework has started to take shape," said Chris Tetley, the ICC's head of events.

NEW DELHI : The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday gave effect to two schemes under which it will offer negotiated settlements in antitrust cases and accept commitments from businesses for change in their behaviour in order to avoid an investigation. The sought after commitment and settlement schemes were added to the Competition Act last year itself by way of legislative amendments.