Awards Financial News

public sector banks (PSBs) stood at Rs 3.16 lakh crore as of September 30, which is 3.09 per cent of the outstanding loans, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in the Rajya Sabha that as per provisional data of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), gross NPAs of PSBs and private sector banks as on September 30, 2024 were Rs 3,16,331 crore and Rs 1,34,339 crore, respectively. Further, gross NPAs as percentage of outstanding loan was 3.09 per cent in public sector banks and 1.86 per cent in private sector banks. Chaudhary further said as of March 31, 2024, 580 unique borrowers (excluding individuals and overseas borrowers), each having loan outstanding of more than Rs 50 crore, were classified as wilful defaulters by Scheduled Commercial Banks.

EEPC India, the apex engineering exports promotion body, has proposed introducing a 25% income tax slab for MSME manufacturing units that are partnerships, LLPs, or sole proprietorships. In its pre-Budget memorandum to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, EEPC India also suggested increasing the benefits limit available under the Interest Equalization Scheme (IES) to Rs 10 crores from Rs 50 lakh now and offering 100% depreciation for investment in solar power generation by MSME units. Pankaj Chadha, Chairman, EEPC India said in a statement, «Private limited companies currently pay 25% income tax, while entities like partnerships, LLPs, and sole proprietorships pay approximately 35% after including surcharges. We therefore urge the government to introduce a 25% income tax slab for MSME manufacturing units that are partnerships, LLPs, or sole proprietorships. The condition would be that the extra 10% saved must be reinvested in the business.»

Reliance Green Hydrogen, ReNew E-Fuels, L&T Energy, Waaree Energies, AM Green, GH2 Solar and Avaada GreenH2 are among the 13 companies that have bid for incentives to produce green hydrogen under the second tranche of the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) scheme. The technical bids for incentives under the second tranche for green hydrogen under SIGHT scheme were opened on Monday. The last day for submission was December 6. Maximum incentive under the tranche in the scheme is Rs 5,400 crore.

Reliance Industries is in talks with banks for a loan of as much as $3 billion to refinance debt due next year, according to people familiar with the matter. About half a dozen banks are in discussions with the Indian conglomerate for the loan, which would be syndicated to wider market in the first quarter of 2025, the people said, who asked not to be named as discussions are private. Terms have not been finalized yet and could be subject to changes, the people added. Reliance Industries has approximately $2.9 billion worth of debt due in 2025, including interest payments, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. A spokesperson for the group didn’t immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Sanjay Malhotra as the next governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a three-year term, succeeding Shaktikanta Das, whose tenure ends Tuesday. Malhotra takes over at a time of high inflation and slowing growth amid calls for rate cuts to bolster the economy. The IAS officer, currently secretary, department of revenue, is from the 1990 batch and belongs to the Rajasthan cadre. «The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Sanjay Malhotra as governor, RBI, for a period of three years starting from December 11, 2024,» the government announced Monday. The department of financial services in the finance ministry later issued a notification on Malhotra's appointment by the central government.

Ranchi, Jharkhand, have been cancelled on Monday because of reduced visibility caused by fog, the airline said in a social media post. It said that passengers travelling from the city could opt for to reschedule or cancel their tickets.

Levis, Bata, Puma, Woodland, Wrangler, Biba, Adidas, Flipkart, Myntra, Nykaa Fashion, Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle are some who have already started discounting in online or stores or both, coming days after the heavy discounting during the Black Friday weekend sale in end-November. “Winter has become shorter and there is no point dragging inventory for a longer period,” said shoe and apparel brand Woodland India chief executive Harkirat Singh. The retailer started its sale earliest ever this year but Singh said discount is steep only on the slow sellers unlike previous two years when it was across the board.

Sanjay Malhotra as the new governor of Reserve Bank of India. Malhotra is set to replace Shaktikanta Das whose tenure ends of December 10.

Kia India Senior Vice President — Sales and Marketing — Hardeep Singh Brar said the company is committed to deliver technologically advanced vehicles of the highest quality to customers. «However, due to the persistent rise in commodity prices, unfavourable exchange rates, and increased input costs, a necessary price adjustment has become unavoidable,» he added.

Trident Group plans to invest Rs 3,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh to expand its operations in the state resulting in 3,000 new jobs, its Chairman Rajinder Gupta said on Monday. The Ludhiana-based vertically integrated textiles firm currently has operations involving sourcing cotton to produce finished goods in the state, it said in a regulatory filing. «We ventured into Madhya Pradesh a few years ago and invested Rs 5,000 crore. Today, our finished products from Madhya Pradesh are exported to 122 countries, with demand continually rising,» Gupta said while speaking at the Madhya Pradesh Regional Industry Conclave. Looking ahead, Gupta said the group «plans to invest an additional Rs 3,000 crore in the state's textile sector which will expand employment opportunities here at Trident Group from the current 12,000 to over 15,000».

Tata Motors on Monday said it will hike the price of its passenger vehicle portfolio, including electric vehicles, by up to 3 per cent from January next year. The price hike is being undertaken to partially offset the rise in input costs and inflation, the Mumbai-based auto major said in a statement. «Effective January 2025, the price increase will vary depending on model and variant,» it added. Already, various carmakers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra and JSW MG Motor, have announced to hike vehicle prices from the next month.

Adani Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh. This extension allows the port to continue importing petroleum by sea in accordance with operations permitted under the Navigational Safety at Ports Committee (NSPC) certificate.

SpiceJet was diverted to Patna due to a technical glitch and it landed safely at the Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport here on Monday morning, officials said. Alternative arrangements were being made for the passengers.

infrastructure development are driving up land prices in key micro-markets, particularly with the growth of satellite townships across the country. This trend is especially noticeable in and around the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Bengaluru, and the Delhi NCR. Efforts to reduce congestion in these cities and their surrounding areas have resulted or is expected to witness an incease of 1.4X to 3.9X appreciation in land prices. “It is the right time for investors to invest in a location which is expanding rapidly and experiencing high land price appreciation, driven by existing & upcoming infrastructure initiatives. Investors can enjoy high returns and explore various rental yield options including second homes, holiday homes etc. and expand their real estate portfolio by investing in one of the top growth markets in India, “says Swapnil Anil, Managing Director, Advisory Services, Colliers India.

A woman identified as Jane Doe has accused rapper and businessman Jay-Z of sexual assault. The alleged incident occurred at a party in 2000, when Doe claims she was 13 years old. The lawsuit also names Sean «Diddy» Combs as an alleged assailant in the same incident. The allegations surfaced in a civil lawsuit filed on Sunday in New York federal court by attorney Tony Buzbee on behalf of an accuser Jane Doe. Jay-Z has strongly denied the claims, labeling them a «blackmail attempt.»

Juan Soto and the New York Mets agreed to a record $765 million, 15-year contract Sunday night, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press

The allegations against the billionaire rapper and hip-hop mogul came as part of the flurry of litigation against Combs, who is facing federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges and at least 30 lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct. One of those lawsuits, filed in October, accused Combs and an anonymous celebrity of raping the teen at an after-party following the Video Music Awards in New York in 2000.

Ceat’s acquisition of Michelin's off highway tyre (OHT) brand Camso will help the RPG Group company boost margins by raising the share of these more-profitable tyres in the overall mix to 25-30% from the current 15%, Anant Goenka, vice chairman, RPG Enterprises told ET. Ceat signed a definitive agreement with the French tyre maker for acquiring the Camso brand for $225 million, the company said in a statement on Friday. OHT includes agriculture tyres, harvester tyres, power sports tracks and material handling tyres. “The acquisition will be margin accretive for us. The margins of this business are higher than the CEAT margins,” said Goenka. The entire category (OHT) margins are fairly high—at 15-20% compared to 12% for regular tyres, especially those that are operating or have the manufacturing in South Asia, he said.

Online travel agency (OTA) Ixigo is sharpening its focus on hotels besides doubling down on flight and bus bookings, said group CEO Aloke Bajpai. «Post Covid, we have been the fastest growing OTA. At this point, we have a mid-50s kind of a market share in trains. The next player would be one third of our size,» Bajpai told ET in an interview. «We want to continue growing with the market. But for flights, buses and hotels, there is an opportunity to grow faster than the market,» he said.

cash reserve ratio (CRR) should ensure the lenders have sufficient liquidity to meet financing demand until the end of FY25. Bankers said slower credit growth has narrowed the gap between credit and deposits. Additionally, the ₹1.16-lakh-crore liquidity infusion through a lower CRR threshold will prevent deposit rates from climbing. Bankers said that deposit rates are now near their cyclical peak, and special deposit mobilisation schemes may not be revised at the end of this fiscal year.

cash still continues to have loyal users. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data on currency in circulation shows that it has been a roller coaster ride for cash demand this year. It rose sharply during elections and festivals and fell at the same pace subsequently. An ET analysis shows that cash demand went up by Rs 87,000 crore from the date the Lok Sabha elections were announced in mid-March until the last phase of the election in the first week of June. Then, they fell by Rs 84,000 crore until end September.