Sustainability Financial News

This approach is intended to ensure that students acquire relevant skills for a competitive job market. There's also a concerted push to promote STEM education and digital literacy, equipping our young with tech competencies increasingly valued in today's job market. Entrepreneurship is gaining traction as a viable career path, with 14.1% of young Indians (5.9 cr) opting for self-employment. The budget addresses this trend by proposing additional startup incubators be established. These incubators will provide mentorship, networking opportunities and access to resources crucial for new businesses to thrive. Also announced was access to credit being eased by simplifying loan applications and reducing financial barriers.

Indian institutional investors now consider sustainability information essential in their due diligence process, a study by Deloitte and The Fletcher School at Tufts University said, adding as sustainability becomes more integral to investment management, trust in the ESG data used to inform these decisions is lacking, posing challenges in accessing trustworthy data. «According to Indian investors, the inconsistency or incomparability of ESG rating data (73 per cent), cost constraints on integrating ESG data into investment decision models (71 per cent) and lack of measurable outcomes in corporate disclosures (70 per cent) reduce the trust factor of available sustainability data, inhibiting their ability to implement ESG investment strategies,» Deloitte said citing its study titled 'Investor trust in sustainability data'. The study further highlights that Indian investors are more likely to trust in-house proprietary data systems and audited (or assured) corporate disclosures for sustainability analysis. However, as compared with global investors, Indian investors are less likely to rely on external data sources and ratings.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Thursday said that the state government will launch a scheme to enable deserving people to avail interest-free loan up to Rs 50 lakh to achieve economic growth and improve the living condition of the masses. Addressing the people on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day, Lalduhoma said that his government was firm on its goal of providing inclusive governance and development, of more accountability and transparency in government processes and a people centric administration with improved delivery of public services. He claimed that there have been marked changes in various aspects of governance and administration under the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) government in just eight months since it came to power in December last year. Lalduhoma said that the state government has been making massive efforts to develop the state and will also launch a loan scheme, where the government will act as a guarantor, to help the deserving people, who are determined for economic growth.

India's renewable energy storage capacity is expected to surge 6 GW by fiscal 2028 from less than 1 GW operational as of March 2024, driven by a robust pipeline of projects under implementation, said Crisil Ratings. Such an increase is crucial to sustainably absorb the rising share of renewable energy in the country's overall power generation mix. Despite slow progress on project implementation, the government's push to develop renewable energy power and tariffs for round-the-clock renewable energy, discovered in the last two fiscals, being comparable with other sources of round-the-clock power — improves confidence around adoption, said the rating agency.

financial independence in these years not just desirable, but essential. Retirement planning is not merely a financial exercise; it is a strategic alignment of today's investments with tomorrow’s needs, ensuring a sustained quality of life even after the steady flow of income ceases. A robust retirement plan is one that not only secures your future but also ensures a continuous income stream during your golden years, safeguarding your independence.

Stree 2 is likely to garner half of all screens given its established fan base, it shall compete with Akshay Kumar-starrer Khel Khel Mein and John Abraham’s Vedaa. A separate slate of films including Double iSmart (Telugu) and Thangalaan (Tamil) is releasing down south, adding to the competition. Exhibitors say cinemas that had run nearly empty due to lack of content for two months during the Lok Sabha elections, now have to deal with a clutter, leading to showcasing issues.

Delhi Airport operated by the GMR group has become the first airport in India to successfully achieve Net Zero Carbon Emission Airport status Level 5 certification under the Airport Council International’s (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme. This prestigious certification recognizes the airport's commitment to reaching and maintaining a net zero carbon balance for emissions under its control (Scope 1 and 2), while also extending efforts to influence and report on all other emissions (Scope 3). Delhi Airport's remarkable achievement of Level 5 certification underscores its leadership in sustainability and carbon management. The airport had initially set an ambitious goal to become a “Net Zero Carbon Emission Airport” by 2030. Through relentless efforts, innovative strategies, and proactive initiatives such as the adoption of renewable energy, development of green airport infrastructures, promotion of electric vehicles, and implementation of zero waste to landfill programs, DIAL has met its target well ahead of schedule.

Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the supreme audit institution of Uzbekistan in Tashkent, it said in a statement. The agreement with the Chamber of Accounts of Uzbekistan aims to enhance collaboration and exchange expertise in auditing. Girish Chandra Murmu, the CAG of India, said investing in capacity building ensures that supreme audit institutions are well equipped to audit complex government programmes effectively, thereby “contributing to the development of more resilient and sustainable governance frameworks.”

Standard Chartered Bank on Wednesday announced the appointment of Aditya Mandloi as the new Head of Wealth and Retail Banking (WRB) for India and South Asia, effective from August 1, 2024. In his new role, Mandloi will oversee the bank's WRB operations in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, working from the bank's Mumbai office. With 27 years of experience at Standard Chartered, Mandloi has held various positions in Product Management, Collections, and Sales, including leading the WRB business in Bangladesh.

Motilal Oswal has initiated coverage on Gravita India with a buy rating, and a target price of Rs 2,350, signalling a 30% upside potential, stating that the company is favored by strong industry tailwinds. “We believe that with strong industry tailwinds, favorable regulatory policies, the availability of additional hedging mechanisms, and the absence of significant supply chain disruption, Gravita can ramp up the utilization materially (driving ~30% sales volume CAGR over FY24-27E)," ,” said Motilal Oswal in its report.

Swiggy has started charging its service fee on the gross order value, which includes GST and packaging charges too, from restaurants outside metro cities as well. This will effectively increase the commission its restaurant partners in such markets pay. Previously, the service fee — or commission — was levied on the net value for restaurants in smaller cities and towns, while those in large cities were already charged on the gross value. “Effective 14 August (Wednesday), we shall be charging service fee on the gross value of each order as defined under our merchant terms. This change is being implemented across the platform for all our partners to ensure uniformity in our commission structure. This change will marginally increase the service fee payable to us,” Swiggy said in a letter to its restaurant partners. ET has seen a copy of the letter.

Real estate developers and financial institutions are cautiously optimistic about growth in the realty sector in the next six months amid geopolitical uncertainties, according to Knight Frank-NAREDCO. Real estate consultant Knight Frank and realtors' body NAREDCO released 41st edition of the Knight Frank-NAREDCO Real Estate Sentiment Index Q2, 2024 (April-June 2024) report, showing that the current sentiment index score has moderated to 65 from its all-time high of 72 in Q1, 2024. The future sentiment score declined to 65 from 73. «While both current and future sentiments remain firmly in the positive zone suggesting a continued belief in the sector's long-term prospects, the scores reflect a more tempered view on recent real estate growth, influenced by election and budget speculations,» Knight Frank said. The adjustment in the future sentiment index reflects a positive yet more conservative outlook for the near term.

The assets under management (AUM) of mid-cap funds have surpassed the large-cap funds by a record 60 basis points, according to the data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). Currently, midcap funds constitute 12.9% of the total equity AUM compared with the 12.3% for their large-cap counterparts. With this, the mid-cap funds have become the third-largest fund category after sectoral and flexi-cap funds.

Hero MotoCorp recorded its highest ever quarterly revenue and profit after tax in Q1 FY25 as it reported a 16 per cent revenue growth from the same quarter of the previous year at Rs 10,144 crore and PAT at 1,123 crore, an increase of 36 per cent from Q1 FY24. The revenue touched 10,000 crore in a quarter for the first time in the company’s 40-year history. The company sold 15.35 lakh units in the quarter, an increase of 13.45 per cent from the same quarter of the previous year. “We continue to be on the profitable growth journey, crossing Rs 10,000 crore revenue for the first time ever, accompanied by the highest ever underlying PAT. As we surge forward, we are investing behind long term capability building to ensure sustained delivery of growth in future,” said Niranjan Gupta, CEO, Hero MotoCorp.

Dipan Mehta, Director, Elixir Equities, says gradually, a lot of the factors have improved for pharma companies and I am very positive on the pharma sector. That will be the target sector in the event of a correction and we like to be overweight pharma. Structurally, some things have changed in the US generic market and they are now able to get at least a fair price for whatever they are selling over there. What has been your key takeaway from Hero MotoCorp's quarterly performance? Dipan Mehta: The performance appears good, but the problem is the sustainability of the numbers going forward. While they have been able to increase their market share, the new products that they have launched are highly successful and that is helping them gain the market share. The raw material costs have been pretty. On the lower side, they have been stable and therefore, operating profit margins have gone up and operating leverage has come into play.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will audit a range of companies in the next month and a half to ensure they follow standard operating procedures and recycle electronic goods, and impose penalties on those found lacking, two government officials said. The penalties collected as environmental compensation (EC) will be used to finance environment protection efforts, the officials cited above said on the condition of anonymity. The E-waste (Management) Rules, 2024 issued in March empower the CPCB to monitor and fine violators.

World Investment Advisors is taking another step forward on its next chapter of growth with a new addition to its C-suite.

Premier League rarely stands still. For the 2024-25 season starting on Friday, there are five newly hired managers, around $1.6 billion worth of new players (and counting), new offside technology, updated financial regulations and a tweaked match schedule. COACHING CHANGES

stocks of top IT companies after their June quarter financial performance seems to have waned. The stocks of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and LTIMindtree have lost between 3% and 6% in August so far driven by market volatility and mounting uncertainty over the demand form the US, a major market for Indian IT sector. Some of these companies had gained in double digits on bourses in June after showing early signs of improvement in project ramp ups. However, their post-result management commentary continued to be cautiously optimistic despite a sustained trend in deal wins during the quarter amid lack of a marked change in the clients’ approach towards budget allocation.

The new fund offer or NFO of Groww Nifty EV & New Age Automotive ETF was open for subscription from July 22 to August 2. The NFO of Groww Nifty EV & New Age Automotive ETF FOF was open from July 24 to August 7. Over 1.7 lakh investors invested ~130 cr in Groww Nifty EV & New Age Automotive ETF and FOF in 15 days. The ETF, which opened for trading on August 12, offers investors a unique opportunity to participate in India’s growing electric vehicle and new-age automotive sector growth.