India Financial News

Prashant Kumar Singh on Thursday said there was a need to have a green energy financing obligation on banks. Speaking at CII's Global Economic Policy Forum, Singh said banks were currently funding only a small portion of renewable energy projects while non-banking financial companies sanctioned the major portion of their requirement. Outlining the future requirement, Singh reiterated that ₹30 lakh crore investment was needed in the renewable energy sector going forward. «There is a need for a renewable energy lens and then working from that perspective,» he said. Climate change goals cannot be achieved till India de-carbonises, he added.

He observed that the share of middle-income countries in global GDP has grown, but their productivity and efficiency remain significantly below those of high-income economies. He added that India is better positioned than many of its peers to navigate the current global challenges. «Time is of essence for India to accelerate its structural reforms and the changes needed are not happening quickly enough,» he said, asking policymakers to capitalise on economy's strengths while addressing inefficiencies and fostering institutional resilience.

He reiterated that real economic growth this fiscal year will remain in the 6.5-7% range, as projected in the Economic Survey, despite the deceleration in the September quarter to 5.4%. The CEA was speaking at CII's Global Economic Policy Forum. Nageswaran said while the increase in the capital formation ratio since the pandemic is largely driven by the public sector, the private sector, too, has started to invest — something that will be more discernible in the coming years.

Indian Light Tank (ILT) has been developed to boost the Army's combat capabilities along the frontier with China. The latest trial of the tank followed the phase-one trial in the desert environment in September. «The Indian Light Tank has achieved a major milestone by firing a number of rounds at different ranges at an altitude of more than 4200 m, at a high altitude location with consistently accurate results,» the ministry said.

commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said Thursday. He also said that the world needs to avoid protectionism, which creates more trade barriers and hinders movement of goods. Emphasising that one needs to avoid a mercantilist approach and should not bother too much about trade balance and imports, Barthwal said: «Because if the Indian economy is growing 7% and if the world is growing at 3-3.5% rate of growth then obviously India will be requiring more of consumption, more of imports and let me tell you that the role of imports in exports is also very, very important».

Gukesh Dommaraju, a.k.a. D Gukesh, was 'only' the third youngest grandmaster in history. By yesterday evening, the teenager from Chennai also entered the annals of chess history, becoming the youngest-ever world chess champion.

Defence Dialogue held in New Delhi. A key member of the 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) grouping, Thailand is seen by India as a crucial strategic partner in the Southeast Asian region. «Both sides agreed for early establishment of joint working group to effectively steer and monitor the cooperation in the areas of defence industry,» the defence ministry said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The Andhra Pradesh government has decided not to extend road tax waivers and cash incentives for buyers of hybrid vehicles, in its new sustainable electric mobility policy document seen by Mint. The policy, effective 11 December, extends benefits only to electric two-, three-, and four-wheelers, goods carriers, and e-buses, diverging from other states like Uttar Pradesh that have incentivized hybrids to promote cleaner mobility. The policy, valid until 2029, is part of Andhra Pradesh’s goal to achieve carbon-neutrality in the transport sector by 2047.

NIA team along with Assam STF raids several locations in Goalpara district and nabbed four suspects in JeM money laundering case. Sources in Assam police said, “The suspects, identified as Joynal Abedin, Shahanur Alam, Abu Taleb, and Shahanur Islam, were apprehended during night raids conducted in Hansilapara, Barpahar, Balbala, and Tukde.Couple of months’ back one mufti, Sheikh Sultan Salludin Ayubi have received money from JEM and was arrested by NIA Delhi in connection with money laundering on behalf of Jaish-e-Mohammed accounts in Kashmir. Joynal is a cleric in a mosque.”

D Gukesh etched his name in history on Thursday by becoming the youngest world chess champion at the age of 18. Gukesh defeated reigning champion Ding Liren of China in the 14th and final game of their closely contested match to secure the title. The match, which kept chess enthusiasts on edge, ended with Gukesh achieving 7.5 points against Liren’s 6.5 after a dramatic victory in the final classical time control game. As the new world champion, Gukesh will receive the $2.5 million prize fund. Gukesh is the second Indian to claim the world chess title, following in the footsteps of the legendary Viswanathan Anand. Anand, a five-time world champion, last held the title in 2013 before losing to Magnus Carlsen.

The Amaravati Inclusive and Sustainable Capital City Development Program is designed to transform Amaravati into a growth hub for the region, enhancing economic prospects, providing job opportunities, and improving living conditions of the residents, it said. Public investments will focus on key infrastructure development, including trunk infrastructure, government complex, and neighbourhood infrastructure benefiting farmers who are the stakeholders under the land pooling schemes, it said.

Siddaramaiah on Thursday slammed the Union Cabinet's decision on introducing the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) Bill and described the move as an assault on parliamentary democracy and the federal structure of India. The decision was a sinister conspiracy to curb the rights of states, he said in a statement. «At a time when the current electoral system is in dire need of reforms, such a bill will only weaken the foundations of democracy further. Before approving such a critical bill, the Modi government should have consulted opposition parties and state governments. However, true to its authoritarian tendencies, the BJP-led central government is trying to impose this undemocratic proposal on the country.» The Kerala government, Siddaramaiah said, has already passed a resolution opposing the ONOE proposal and has communicated its dissent to the Centre. «If needed, our government will also consult the Congress High Command and adopt a similar resolution to send a strong message against this anti-democratic move.»

draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its initial public offering (IPO), through which it is looking to raise Rs 1,000 crore in fresh capital. The IPO also includes an offer-for-sale (OFS) component through which investors such as Accel, Saama Capital, Kalaari Capital, and Hero Group’s Sunil Kant Munjal are looking to divest a total of 24 million shares. ET was the first to report on December 6 about Bluestone’s board approving the company’s plan to go public and raise Rs 1,000 crore through the process.

Bajaj Finance, India's largest non-bank consumer financier has unveiled a new business plan for the next five years which envisages integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across all its processes to improve customer engagement, grow revenue, enhance productivity, strengthen controls and reduce operating and credit costs. In chat with ET, managing director Rajeev Jain said the transition to an all-encompassing AI based system will improve customer conversion rates at a much lower cost while ensuring the loan growth remains at current rate or moves to a faster trajectory. “We have already deployed AI in some use cases this year and plan total adopting by December 2026. At the current run rate we are saving Rs 140 crore to Rs 150 crore per year compared to last year. But the possibilities are infinite in terms of significant improvement in conversion rates. Costs will also be lower with growth at a similar or faster rates,” Jain said.

«The Union Cabinet has cleared the Bill on One Nation One Election. The views of the Indian National Congress on this subject had been forcefully articulated by its President Mallikarjun Kharge ji on January 17, 2024. Nothing has happened since then to modify them,» said Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh. Kharge, in a letter to the secretary of the high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' on January 17, 2024, had said, «The Indian National Congress is strongly opposed to the very idea of 'One Nation, One Election'.»

US Department of State has announced a significant update to the Exchange Visitor Skills List, effective December 9, 2024, eliminating the two-year home residency requirement for J-1 visa holders from 34 additional countries, including India, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. However, the update does not apply to J-1 holders bound by government funding or participation in graduate medical education programs, which continue to have restrictions. This marks the first major revision of the list in 15 years and aims to enhance opportunities for global talent retention in the United States.

Arvind Panagariya said on Thursday. He also cautioned that one has to be careful about investments from potentially «unfriendly countries» that might damage the interest of the nation. However, developed countries are accepting investments from China in any particular sector, India can also welcome such investments. «If the US is taking investment from China, if Germany is taking, I would (be) open to their investment. The activities from which you want to exclude are relatively few because I don't see other countries restricting Chinese investment in large number of sectors,» Panagariya said at the CII Global Economic Policy Forum 2024.

Nifty started Thursday on a negative note and stayed under pressure throughout the day, settling negatively at 24,549 levels. The volatility index India VIX dropped by 0.58% to 13.19 levels, indicating a decrease in market volatility. Technically, on the daily chart, the index formed a small red candle. The index has retested the rounding bottom pattern breakout, which is around 24,540. Overall, Nifty witnessed a time-wise correction during the past few days. Once this timewise correction is over, the index is anticipated to resume its upward journey. On the downside, 100-Day Exponential Moving Average (100-DEMA) support is placed near 24,350. As long as the index sustains above it, traders are advised to adopt buy-on-dips strategy. On the upside, the index might test the levels of 24,800-25,000 in the short term, said Hrishikesh Yedve of Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates.

steel ministry has proposed that over a third of the total government steel procurement will be of low carbon variant. This 'Green steel' is defined as steel produced with emissions lower than 2.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of finished steel. A star-rated grading system will also measure the greenness of steel, with five-star rating for emission intensity lower than 1.6 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne of finished steel. According to a steel ministry presentation, up to 37% of all future steel procurement will be earmarked for green steel as an incentive to lower carbon intensity. A definition for Green steel was also announced by the Steel Ministry on Thursday. Speaking at an event to the mark the same, Union Steel Minister, H D Kumaraswamy said, «The green steel taxonomy will help set a benchmark for adopting global best practices and help India emerge as global leader in green steel production.»

Gold prices climbed Rs 500 to Rs 80,900 per 10 grams in the national capital on Thursday due to persistent buying by retailers and jewellers, according to the All India Sarafa Association. The precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity finished at Rs 80,400 per 10 grams in the previous trading session. The yellow metal has jumped nearly Rs 2,000 in the past three sessions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The government is considering extending duty-free import of yellow peas for a few more months, possibly until February, to help lower prices and address shortages of tur (pigeon pea) and chana (gram), two people familiar with the matter said. An official notification to this effect is expected soon, as duty-free import of yellow peas is currently allowed until the end of December.