COST Financial News

India requires long-term effort, a senior US scientist has said and noted cost-intensive technologies such as smog towers and cloud seeding are not sustainable solutions to the pollution problem plaguing the country. In an interview with PTI, Richard Peltier, a member of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Air Pollution and Health Technical Advisory Group, said there is a good understanding that air pollution is «really quite bad» across India but precision is lacking due to the limited distribution of air pollution monitors. When asked how much time is needed to control air pollution in cities such as Delhi, he cited the example of the US. The US implemented the Clean Air Act in the 1960s, Peltier said and added only recently has the country developed air quality that is generally considered good.

By Prakash Krishnamoorthy

Trigger systematic investment plans (SIPs) allow individuals to adopt a tactical approach to investing. Such a strategy helps investors to enhance their SIP returns and reduce risks during market volatility. By setting triggers based on market conditions, such as specific price levels of the benchmark, investors can capitalise on the market opportunities and take advantage of market volatility.

BSE data. That leaves a gap of just $250 billion to reach the $5 trillion mark. Going by the pace of the rally in the PSUs and the benchmark Sensex, this figure could be achieved in the next two months, said analysts.

insurance plans, and their savings as being sufficient to secure his family’s future. Are Singh and his wife missing out on anything in this plan? The couple is doing well in following a budget and saving a big portion of their income. The mistake they are making is in not understanding the difference between saving and investment. Saving money means accumulating it in a way that it is easily accessible and is without any risks. It is typically held in bank accounts and deposits. However, holding money in such avenues is suitable only for their immediate or unexpected needs. They must realise that all their future financial requirements will not be of this nature. Having all their money in these avenues is a costly choice because the trade-off for safety and liquidity is lower returns. The money Singh is saving is an asset that has the potential to generate higher returns, which will help him reach his goals faster. The amount that will have to be set aside from the couple’s current income will come down since the returns that will be generated will add to the corpus being created for their future needs. They can use the income that will be freed in this manner to meet other goals or improve the present quality of life for the family. To enhance the earning capacity of their money, Singh must make conscious choices to invest the money, instead of leaving it in the bank account by default.

Close to 36% of the respondents surveyed in 2024 as compared to 32% in 2023 said they will prefer hybrids or PHEVs as compared to 10% for BEVs. Compared to 2023 the jump in the number of those favoring hybrids is 4 percentage points — double of what is seen among those likely to opt for EVs. Also, there's an overall growing intent to buy a non-traditional engine vehicle-53% in 2024 compared to 49% in 2023 over petrol and diesel. The intent to buy hybrids over pure battery electric vehicles comes to the fore even as EVs benefit from state as well as central government funded incentives which in turn has allowed manufacturers to price them better as compared to hybrids. This is despite the hybrids costing more than EVs. «People want to buy hybrids over EVs as it offers peace of mind that EVs can't,» says Rajeev Singh, partner and consumer industry leader, Deloitte Asia Pacific.

telecom sector revenues are expected to surge 63% between FY16 and FY25 despite a broader consolidation that shrank the field from more than 10 private mobile operators to just three. Revenues stood at ₹1.7 lakh crore in FY16 with the sector having more than 10 private companies. This was before Reliance Jio made its debut the following year. Revenues are expected to touch ₹2.78 lakh crore in FY25 in an industry comprising only three private operators — Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi). The strong revenue growth will be driven by expected tariff hikes, a pick-up in conversions from 2G to higher revenue-yielding 4G/5G customers and users upgrading to higher value data plans. Even in the absence of rate hikes, telecom sector revenues this financial year are expected to touch ₹2.46 lakh crore, far exceeding the FY16 levels, amid strong appetite for 4G services and an improving subscriber mix, showed an analysis of Trai data by global brokerage, CLSA. The estimated jump in sectoral revenues (in absolute terms) is even more spectacular at 68% between FY17, when Jio entered the fray, and FY25.

print media industry is poised to record robust growth in 2024, with advertising revenues projected to return to pre-pandemic levels and profit margins improving amid softening of newsprint prices. According to the Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2024, print advertising revenue is anticipated to rise by 7%, reaching ₹20,613 crore this year, surpassing pre-Covid figures in 2019. The report predicted a 12% increase in total advertising expenditure to ₹1.11 lakh crore. It also noted a consistent increase in print advertising revenue, from ₹16,595 crore in 2021 to ₹18,470 crore in 2022 and ₹19,250 crore in 2023. Newsprint prices, a significant factor in direct variable costs for print media companies, have decreased from over ₹80,000 per metric tonne post-Covid to about ₹50,000 per metric tonne.

Investing.com — In the holiday shortened week ahead investors will be looking to the latest Federal Reserve minutes for any new insights on the direction of monetary policy. Earnings from chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) will be a critical test of the artificial intelligence fever that has helped power gains for U.S. stocks in recent months. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) kicks off earnings from the biggest U.S. retailers, Chinese markets return, and PMI data will shed light on the strength of the global economy. Here’s what you need to know to start your week.

₹57,900 per tonne in September, fell to just over ₹54,000 in February, as per data from SteelMint. “Our retail sector sales dropped because of higher imports from China and FTA countries in the last quarter," Jayant Acharya, joint managing director of JSW Steel said in a recent interview. “Our imports rose by 16% and our exports fell by 16%, and that impacted basic sentiments and retail." The Ebitda margin of JSW Steel contracted nearly 57 basis points sequentially during the December quarter to 17.1% as per Mint’s analysis.

—Manuja Sindhu The proceeds from the sale of your residential house in Delhi for ₹5.5 crore will be subject to taxation as long-term capital gains at a rate of 20%, with the benefit of indexation. Given that the property was acquired before 2001, the cost of acquisition can be either the original cost of the property or its fair market value as of 1 April 2001, at the option of the taxpayer. Additionally, the fair market value on 1 April 2001 should not surpass the stamp duty value, if available, for the property on the same date.

Icra and Mint calculations showed. “Casa ratio shot up after demonetization and reached its peak during covid-19, prior to which it used to be in early to mid-thirties levels," said Anil Gupta, senior vice-president and co group head of financial sector ratings, Icra Ltd. Casa levels should remain “comfortably above mid-thirties", Gupta said.

₹2,000 crore as current capital work-in-progress, the expansion will increase its total room count to 5,000 in the next three to four years. Sanjay Sethi, the company's managing director and chief executive, told Mint that Chalet Hotels' strategy hinges on capitalizing on demand generated by office spaces in proximity to their hotel properties, ensuring a robust and continuous customer base. In an industry trend moving towards reduced asset ownership and a focus on hotel management, Sethi said that Chalet Hotels stands out by pursuing growth in both its balance sheet and Ebitda (earnings before income, tax, depreciation, and amortization).

recession at the end of last year, marked by two consecutive quarters of contracting activity. While the euro area is expected to avoid a downturn, the European Commission still sees the bloc growing slower than initially forecast this year. And in Australia, the unemployment rate climbed to the highest level in two years, consistent with expectations for its economy to soften. Meantime, US consumer prices jumped at the start of the year, though economists maintain that inflation is still broadly on a downward trend.

Gold And Silver Prices Today: Gold prices experienced a slight decrease on Sunday. The price of 24 carat gold is Rs.6273.1 per gm, down by Rs.679.0. The cost of 22 carat gold is Rs.5746.2 per gm, down by Rs.622.0.

₹63,246 crore. The same was recommended to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA), for approval during January 2019," M.K Stalin wrote in his letter to PM.

China's central bank left a key policy rate unchanged as expected when rolling over maturing medium-term loans on Sunday. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it was keeping the rate on 500 billion yuan ($69.51 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions unchanged at 2.50% from the previous operation.

Ola Electric last week cut the price of its entry-level scooter by ₹25,000. That brought down the price of the Ola S1X+, with a 3kwh electric motor, in line with that of the top-selling petrol-powered scooter, Honda's Activa. Steep price cuts and the launch of affordable models by companies like Ola Electric, Ather Energy and Bajaj Auto-owned Chetak Technology have helped narrow, or even bridge, the gap between the prices of battery-powered and petrol-run two-wheelers. Industry experts expect the increasing affordability to quicken the adoption of electric two-wheelers in India. While sales have been surging and are expected to be around 850,000 units in fiscal 2024, electric two-wheelers still account for just 4.5% of the market. The main challenges to adoption of this cleaner mode of mobility have been higher acquisition cost compared with petrol-powered models and inadequate charging infrastructure.

Rolling Loud California 2024 is scheduled to take place between March 14, 2024, and March 17, 2024, at the Hollywood Park Grounds close to the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The next edition is the sixth edition of the show after the holding of its first edition in the year 2017. Since that time, it has been held on an annual basis, except for the year 2020, when it was deferred because of the COVID-19 pandemic according to a report by Sportskeeda.

The Centre has granted approval for the upgradation of 108 roads in Uttarakhand under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh issued the approval letter on Friday (February 16). 

Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1 has Jujutsu Kaisen skins and cosmetics for the gamers. One can avail Yuji Itadori skins and cosmetics by following a few simple steps. In 2023, Epic Games introduced the Jujutsu Kaisen crossover as an integral component of Chapter 4 Season 3, strategically aligning with the promotion of Season 2 of the anime series, as per a report in dexerto.