Sustainability Financial News

FATF's mutual evaluation report, which upgraded India to «regular follow up category» has proven to the world the credibility, integrity and strength of the country's institutional framework, Vivek Aggarwal, additional secretary at department of revenue in the finance ministry has said. «We have been assessed very deeply, comprehensively and there is no fault that has been found, so far as our integrity and credibility of our institutional framework is concerned...This is a major plus and a demonstration to the world that the Indian system is in place and it works,» Agarwal, who heads the Financial Intelligence Unit, told ET. FIU was the nodal coordinating body for the assessment by the FATF.

Jal Shakti minister C R Paatil said on Thursday that significant progress on a major river-linking initiative would take place within the next couple of months. At the valedictory session of India Water Week 2024, Paatil highlighted the government's efforts to address India's water crisis through river-linking projects and sustainable local water management. He announced that significant progress on a major river-linking initiative would take place within the next couple of months. Though he didn't divulge details. «In just 1-2 months, we will advance a major river-linking project, ensuring water is available where it's needed,» Paatil said, adding it will also prevent floods by redirecting water from where it's in excess.

A definitive platform to celebrate soonicorns—a name given to startups on the cusp of becoming unicorns—the summit has a long, illustrious list of industry leaders, policymakers, and industry inside leaders, who will let attendees have a peek into their playbooks for navigating the highs and the lows of the startup ecosystem in India. However, what’s a soonicorn summit without sessions designed exclusively for soonicorns? Bringing together over 15+ speakers across three curated topics, these closed-door conversations promise to take you on a knowledge-sharing tour, with some of the most disruptive players of the Indian startup ecosystem set to share their playbooks.

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a nanomaterial-based solution that can effectively reduce the presence of heavy metals like chromium in groundwater. Groundwater is an essential source of drinking water across the country. However, heavy metal contamination in groundwater presents a significant health hazard, IISc said in a media statement. The team includes researchers from the Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST), Department of Civil Engineering (CiE), and Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics (IAP). The study is published in the Journal of Water Process Engineering.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point, a dramatic shift after more than two years of high rates helped tame inflation but that also made borrowing painfully expensive for American consumers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Conceptually, for the administration of any country, targeting its debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is tantamount to controlling its fiscal deficit ratio. It is not possible to influence the debt ratio without a firm grip on the fiscal deficit.

Narendra Modi on Thursday said the government has undertaken many reforms in the last 10 years for the growth of the food processing sector and the effort is to ensure that India sets global benchmarks for innovation, sustainability and safety in the food sector. The Prime Minister's message was read at the third edition of World Food India 2024, which is being held in the national capital from September 19 to 22. The event will see participation from over 90 countries. «In the modern era, through progressive agricultural practices, strong administrative frameworks and cutting-edge technologies, our effort is to ensure that India sets global benchmarks for innovation, sustainability and safety in the food sector,» Modi said. During the last 10 years, he said the government has introduced wide-ranging reforms to transform the food processing sector.

Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL), the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has quashed a massive tax demand of approximately ₹21,000 crore. The listed entity, part of the IL&FS Group, operates the Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) flyover, a critical infrastructure link between the two cities. The tax demand, spanning nine financial years from 2006 to 2015, included ₹10,893 crore in alleged unpaid taxes and the same amount in penalties. The Income Tax department had accused NTBCL of concealing income and failure to submit accurate income details. The Income Tax department issued an assessment order on December 31, 2008, followed by reassessment proceedings. These proceedings sought to disallow amortization of interest on zero-coupon bonds issued by NTBCL and taxed designated returns as income. Additionally, the department classified land provided by NOIDA/DDA on lease as a subsidy and disallowed depreciation on the DND Toll Bridge.

Tupperware, the plastic kitchenware that revolutionized food storage after World War II and became inextricably linked to the parties where women seeking a measure of financial independence and fun in midcentury America sold the colorful products, has filed for bankruptcy. Tupperware Brands, the Orlando, Florida-based consumer goods company that produces the iconic line of containers, said it was seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after struggling to revitalize its core business and failing to secure a tenable takeover offer. Despite enjoying the same cultural ubiquity as Kleenex, Teflon and other brands whose trademarked names are eponymous with entire product categories, Tupperware has suffered from waning sales, rising competition and the limitations of the direct-to-consumer marketing model that once defined its success.

The Federal Reserve projected lowering interest rates by another half point before the end of 2024, and the central bank has two more policy meetings to do so.

This number reached a peak of 79% in the Americas, as the latest FTSE Russell survey on sustainable investment revealed that increasingly more asset owners have reported that ESG regulations have helped them achieve their sustainable investment ambitions this year.  According to the survey, 90% of all asset owners concurred that sustainable investment regulations have helped them to meet their investment goals in 2024, an uptick from 75% the year before.  Similarly, 11% of respondents found regulations to act as a barrier to sustainable investment adoption in 2024, down from 29% a yea...

sustainable water management with focus on river basin management, fostering innovation and technology transfer, while promoting sustainable investments. EU Ambassador to India Ugo Astuto highlighted the success of the ongoing water projects in India, emphasising that the European Union and India have developed a strong and innovative water management partnership. At the inauguration of the India-EU Water Forum on Wednesday during the India Water Week, he praised its growing collaboration with India in water management and expressed interest in expanding this partnership to Africa.

Mint earlier this week. The partnership is the third such alliance announced by the Tata group in the last few weeks.

During this interactive event, we will hear from a number of expert fund managers about how they are evolving their sustainable and impact investment processes, how they engage effectively with companies and how they are responding to increased regulatory scrutiny. The fund manager speakers will also explain where they are finding opportunities and managing risks in a rapidly changing area for investors, as well as how their strategies may fit in client portfolios. By attending this event, you will also get the chance to network with peers, as well as benefit from CPD points. Join ...

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are flooding the stock market, raising billions through initial public offerings (IPOs). The surge in activity signals robust investor confidence, but beneath the surface, questions about market manipulation and the sustainability of this growth are emerging.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Arvind Kejriwal has resigned as Delhi’s chief minister, and cabinet minister Atishi has been chosen as his replacement until elections, which are likely to be held in early 2025, when Kejriwal will seek a fresh mandate from the people.

In a letter to investors seen by Investment Week, the firm said that the decision was in the «best interests» of clients, following the introduction of the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and the Financial Conduct Authority's proposals to extend the rules to portfolio managers. Although Hawksmoor noted the move will not impact existing clients, the firm said guidance on the approach to dealing with these clients «will follow in due course». The firm has also reached out to third-party platforms to suspend the availability of the Sustainable World model portfolios «as soon as pr...

Tata Group is transitioning into green businesses, semiconductor manufacturing, and mobile phone part production to prepare for future demands, said Chairman N Chandrasekaran in an interview with the Financial Times. This move includes Tata Steel's decision to close blast furnaces at its UK unit, resulting in 2,500 job cuts as the company shifts to green steel-making. Chandrasekaran stressed the necessity of these steps, stating, «However painful...these are transitions that need to be done.» Tata Steel has incurred a loss of 5 billion pounds on the UK business since acquiring it in 2007 as part of the Corus Group. Leaning towards sustainable practices, Chandrasekaran has been steering Tata Group towards electric vehicles and renewable energy while managing debt and profitability. He advised the CEOs of various Tata entities to focus on financial fitness, saying, “every company has to be focused on financial fitness… don't worry about growth, fix the fitness. Performance will come."

Vinit Sambre, Head-Equities, DSP Mutual Fund, says although the price moves have been pretty fast and we did not anticipate the quick up move, nowadays, the narratives take over significantly, and hence, at any point in time, the room or the margin of safety becomes very low. The momentum should be sustained as far as the IT sector is concerned. Specialty chemicals is not a homogeneous sector, and for each company, the metrics are different and we are still seeing challenges with some companies. Some companies are emerging slightly better where they have been able to crack new clients and I think we are being very stock-specific out here. What about the liquidity flow that we have seen because the FIIs have decidedly either not participated or been on the fence for the most part? It has been a domestic-driven rally for our markets. Is that going to continue? Vinit Sambre: This is one of the important facts where markets should not see big declines because the dips are going to be used by all sorts of investors to build positions. You are right FIIs have been on the sidelines. Even our interaction with a lot of them suggests that they are pretty much sold on the India macro story. They all understand the story. They want to participate, but just that some of them are a bit cautious around the valuations, and the moment we have some bit of easing out on valuations, investors will want to come into and participate in the long-term growth story out here.

Frendy, a grocery chain firm, said it plans to open 300 marts and achieve Rs 500 crore in revenue by 2026 to cash in on the consumer shift towards tech-enabled neighbourhood stores. At present, the firm runs over 25 mini marts and 2,000 mini kiranas. «The current focus is to expand the mini marts in tier 3 towns to 50 by the end of the year and scale to 300 by 2026. As the mini marts scale, we will also in parallel digitally connect to micro kiranas around these mini marts for each, so expect to have a network of 10,000 micro kiranas all in the rural catchment of the towns,» said Sameer Gandotra, founder and CEO at Frendy adding that the current revenue is about Rs60 crore. Unlike traditional kirana stores, where operations such as billing and sourcing are manual, the new-age retail chains have digital apps for orders and delivery as well as the advantage of centralised sourcing. For fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, these self-service outlets account for 4% of their total sales, compared to less than 1% before the pandemic. In premium categories, their contribution is much higher at 8-10%.

Suzlon Energy have given multibagger returns of 113% in just 3 months and have increased by 116% so far this year, as the stock sustains its positive momentum. Recently, the company announced it has received India’s largest wind energy order of 1,166 MW from NTPC Green Energy, the renewables arm of NTPC. This order requires Suzlon to install 370 S144 WTGs, each with a rated capacity of 3.15 MW, generating electricity to power 3 million households.