India Financial News

Novel Jewels, the jewellery business vertical of Aditya Birla Group, is planning to open 100 stores across India in the next 18 months with an investment of '5,000 crore, its chief executive Sandeep Kohli said. Besides owned stores, the company also plans to look at franchisee models, Kohli told ET in an exclusive interaction. «We've already got a huge unsolicited kind of response from people wanting to be our franchisees. So we will very soon roll that model out,» he said. Novel Jewels, which owns the Indriya jewellery brand, hopes to cash in on the increasing trend of jewellery consumption moving from the unorganised sector to branded players.

According to early reports from the trade circuit, the combined collection of these two releases for the last weekend (Friday to Sunday) was ₹231.4 crore. While Singham Again made box-office collections of ₹121.2 crore, Bhool Bhulaiyaa collected ₹110.2 crore, they said. «After a long period, two big films released in theatres on the same day. The festival period provided the much-needed boost required at the box office in terms of strong collections,» said Girish Wankhade, a movie trade analyst. These films, however, are not competing at the box office, he said. «Screens were not proportionately shared between these two films. The ratio of screen count between the two films is 60:40 with Singham Again receiving 60% of the total screens...»

Michael Patra at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Patra's extended term ends in January. Applicants need to have at least 25 years of work experience in public administration or similar years of experience in Indian or international public financial institutions. Interestingly, no economics degree or experience has been made mandatory though as the head of the crucial monetary policy department, this post oversees the department of statistics, department of economic policy, and research and financial market operations and regulations. Patra has been one of the four deputy governors in the RBI for close to six years. He is on his second one-year extension which will end in January 2025.

Narendra Modi has issued a social media post condemning what Canadian law enforcement call demonstrations under investigation for alleged “acts of unlawfulness” that first began outside a Hindu temple in Ontario on Sunday.According to Peel Regional Police on Monday morning, three people were arrested and charged over the incident with other alleged acts still under investigation.pic.twitter.com/YqbSU3YAki— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) November 4, 2024 On Sunday, just after 2:30 p.m., Peel Regional Police said they were aware of a protest that occurred at a temple in Brampton, Ont., and urged the public to ensure a “peaceful and lawful protest,” noting it had an increased and visible presence to monitor activities.About a half hour before the police’s post on X about the protest, Liberal cabinet minister Anita Anand said she was “concerned about reports of unacceptable violent attacks at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Brampton.”Video circulating on X appeared to show people using flagpoles to strike others.According to police, investigators believed the same protesters who demonstrated outside the temple later relocated to two separate locations in Mississauga, Ont.One arrest that occurred Sunday “during the management of the protest” in the Westwood Mall area of Mississauga resulted in a police officer sustaining minor injuries, Peel police said.The Hindu Canadian Foundation alleged the “attack” is “happening under the support of Khalistaani politician sympathizers.”In his post, Modi alleged there were “cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats.”“Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve,” Modi wrote on X.

business, banks are setting up a high-level committee to escalate the issue with the government and other stakeholders, said people familiar with the matter. Banks are particularly concerned at the two-year window proposed for compliance, which they feel is very short as many of their subsidiaries are listed. In a meeting held last month, banks decided to form the committee for engaging on the issue, the people said. The Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, has sought feedback on its draft circular, Forms of Business and Prudential Regulation for Investments, by November 20.

India's manufacturing activity rebounded in October, marking a positive beginning for the third quarter of the current financial year, driven by new orders, international sales and production, according to a private survey released on Monday. The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, rose to 57.5 in October from an eight-month low of 56.5 in September. It was 55.5 in October 2023. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while below that signifies contraction.

NFRA) will likely deliberate on the revision of all the 35 standards on auditing (SA)-including the SA600 for which it has issued draft norms-and the issues that have sparked its tussle with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in its next board meeting on November 11 and 12, people aware of the development said. NFRA will also seek to review the standards on quality management (SQMs) of audit firms and 16 «consequential» changes in the audit standards, already floated by the ICAI on October 14. The meeting of the 12-member NFRA board is expected to be a stormy affair, as it has three representatives from the ICAI who would push for a pause in the upgrade of the SA600 and also assert the institute's right to issue the SQMs, one of the people told ET.

Dragon Ball Daima eagerly await Episode 5. This episode will be released on Crunchyroll on November 8, 2024.

Sebi on Monday asked five entities, including Netizen Engineering and Citi Securities and Financial Services, to pay Rs 130 crore for the illegal diversion of funds from Reliance Home Finance Ltd. The regulator has warned these entities to attach assets and bank accounts if they fail to make the payment within 15 days. Those who have sent notices are Netizen Engineering Pvt Ltd, Gamesa Investment Management Pvt Ltd, Vinayak Ventures Pvt Ltd, Deep Industrial Finance Ltd and Citi Securities and Financial Services Pvt Ltd.

Arcane Season 2 Part 1 on November 9, 2024. The last episode will be available on November 23, 2024.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on October 22 reserved the judgement on eight petitions, including the lead one filed by Anjum Kadari, against the high court verdict. On March 22, the Allahabad High Court had declared the Act as «unconstitutional» and violative of the principle of secularism, and asked the state government to accommodate madrasa students in the formal schooling system.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said 98.04 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes have been returned to the banking system, and only Rs 6,970 crore worth such notes are still with the public. On May 19, 2023, the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023. It has declined to Rs 6,970 crore at the close of business on October 31, 2024, the RBI said. «Thus, 98.04 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, has since been returned,» it said in a statement.

KKR India’s Chief Executive Officer Gaurav Trehan has bought a sea view luxury apartment in a super-premium project Morena House on South Mumbai’s plush Carmichael Road for nearly Rs 88 crore from JSW Realty, a real estate development arm of JSW Group. The deal for the apartment, spread over a carpet area of 5,381 sq ft, is valued at around Rs 1.63 lakh per sq ft, making it one of the costliest property transactions in the country. The buyer has also paid Rs 5.26 crore in stamp duty charges alone for the registration of the deal. Apart from being the CEO of KKR India, Trehan is also Co-Head of KKR Asia Pacific and Head of Asia Pacific Private Equity.

Amaran’, starring Sivakarthikeyan in the lead role, is making waves at the box office with a phenomenal start. In just four days, Amaran has grossed over Rs 150 crore, establishing it as a major hit, while anticipation for its OTT release continues to build among streaming fans. Netflix has acquired the rights as the film's official digital partner. South Indian films that perform well in theaters typically premiere on Netflix within a month of their theatrical release, suggesting Amaran will follow this trend and be available for streaming by late November. The film’s OTT rights were reportedly purchased for an impressive Rs 60 crore, as per Filmibeat. Given its strong box office performance, Amaran is likely to emerge as one of the most profitable Tamil films this year, solidifying Sivakarthikeyan’s position as a leading actor. The story of Amaran revolves around Major Mukund Varadharajan, an army officer who heroically sacrifices his life in the fight against terrorism to protect his country.

National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state to protect the indigenous people. Implementation of NRC in Manipur is favoured by the BJP led government and several Meitei organisations. Manipur shares a border with Myanmar and faces the problem of illegal infiltration. After a two-day convention in Guwahati, the Thadou community said that in the convention it was resolved to support the NRC exercise if initiated by the government of India in the state of Manipur.

social media users recently shared a graphic card to claim that the Interpol had put Union Home Minister Amit Shah on its 'wanted list'. The graphic was shared after Canada's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison recently alleged that Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada. New Delhi has vehemently rejected Morrison's claims and warned that such «absurd and baseless» allegations will have serious consequences for bilateral ties. The PTI Fact Check Desk, however, found the graphic to be fake. It was revealed that the Interpol has not issued any such notice and the related social media posts, mainly by Pakistani and Canadian users, were shared with a false claim.

Alkomex GBN looks to expand its research and development footprint in India and has roped in nutraceuticals expert Sanjay Agrawal to spearhead its strategic initiatives in the country, a statement said on Monday. Alkomex GBN has formed a partnership with Dr Sanjay Agrawal, a renowned Indian expert in health management and nutraceuticals, and has appointed him as the Scientific Advisor for Alkomex GBN, the statement said. «His leadership will be instrumental in driving our growth as we continue to expand our footprint in the nutraceutical and functional food sectors,» Alkomex CEO Alex Meneses Vega said.

JSW MG Motor India on Monday said it has formed a strategic partnership with HSBC India, which will provide access to comprehensive and tailor-made financing solutions at competitive terms to the car maker's dealer partners. Leveraging HSBC India's expertise will provide easy access to working capital for the company's dealer network, JSW MG Motor India said. With varied and customised financing options on offer, the partnership with HSBC India will enhance operational efficiency, promote business sustainability, and foster long-term growth opportunities for the dealer partners, the company said.

TechEagle on Monday announced the launch of eight dedicated hubs in collaboration with the country's premier healthcare institutions across eight states. The dedicated drone hubs, inaugurated virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week as part of Rs 12,850-crore multiple healthcare sector projects, will serve as critical points for rapidly deploying medical supplies, including essential medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic samples to underserved and hard-to-reach communities, TechEagle said in a statement. The eight dedicated facilities include hubs at AIIMS Guwahati, AIIMS Rishikesh, AIIMS Bilaspur, and AIIMS Bhopal, among others, it stated. With a targeted reach of over 200 locations across Assam, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh and others in the coming year, this initiative (of setting up dedicated hubs) will be a game changer for India's drone logistics landscapes, the company said.

Markets regulator Sebi on Monday allowed mutual funds (MFs) to invest in overseas mutual funds or unit trusts that invest a specific portion of their assets in Indian securities. This is subject to the total exposure to Indian securities by such overseas funds not exceeding 25 per cent of their net assets. The move is aimed at facilitating ease of investment in overseas MF/UTs, bringing transparency in the manner of investment, and enabling MFs to diversify their overseas investments, Sebi said in a circular.

loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) moderating to 77.7% in October the lowest in the last 30 months, said a report by Motilal Oswal. Outstanding LDR was at 79%. Analysts say that the gap between credit and deposit growth will narrow down to less than 100 basis points over coming months versus 350 basis points seen presently. «While the gap between deposit and credit growth has narrowed from the peak of 8.8% in November 2022 to 3.5% currently, the high incremental LDR and continued regulatory watch on both LDR and liquidity coverage ratios (LCR) will drive further moderation in loan growth,» said Nitin Aggarwal, Institutional Research – Head BFSI, Motilal Oswal Securities. «We estimate the differential between credit and deposit growth to narrow down to less than 100 basis points over the year.» The LDR assesses a bank's liquidity by comparing total loans to total deposits, with a high LDR indicating potential liquidity issues. Indian banks' deposit growth has largely remained slow as savings are moving towards alternative avenues like mutual funds, equity investments, and real estate.