OTAKUBAY

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued their dream run today, reaching record high levels in early trade, driven by foreign fund inflows and optimism in the US markets. Buying in index majors Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank also helped the markets maintain their winning momentum. Rallying for the fifth day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 293.59 points to reach its new all-time intra-day peak of 67,088.73 in early trade. The NSE Nifty gained 80.3 points to hit record intra-day high of 19,829.55. From the Sensex pack, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were the biggest gainers. IndusInd Bank quoted nearly 2 per cent higher after the company on Tuesday reported 30 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for April-June at Rs 2,124.50 crore, helped by core income growth and lower bad loan provisions. Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel and Nestle w

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday retained India's economic growth forecast at 6.4 per cent for the current financial year and 6.7 per cent for the next, saying robust domestic demand will continue to support the region's recovery. In an update to its Asian Development Outlook, the ADB said inflation is expected to continue to fall, approaching pre-pandemic levels as fuel and food prices decline. It forecast 3.6 per cent inflation this year for developing economies in Asia, and 3.4 per cent in 2024. The Indian economy grew 7.2 per cent in the 2022-23 fiscal ended March 2023. "Asia and the Pacific continues to recover from the pandemic at a steady pace," ADB Chief Economist Albert Park said. "Domestic demand and services activity are driving growth, while many economies are also benefiting from a strong recovery in tourism. However, industrial activity and exports remain weak, and the outlook for global growth and demand next year has worsened, Par

G20 finance ministers on Tuesday discussed strategies to implement strategies for overhauling the global tax norms to ensure that multinational companies pay taxes wherever they operate. The two-day G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting being held under India's Presidency also discussed ways to help low and middle-income countries reeling under huge debt burden. The meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, invited views on the way forward in international taxation with regard to the implementation of measures to check tax evasion. "Finance Ministers and Governors were also invited to discuss strategies for capacity building to support the implementation of 'Two Pillar Solution' and enhancing global #taxtransparency under #G20India Presidency," the Finance Ministry tweeted. The proposed two-pillar solution consists of two components, including the reallocation of multinational companies' additional share of profit to the m

All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), the body of bank officers in the country, on Tuesday, said state-run lenders are in "real danger of privatisation" despite playing a crucial role in closing the economic divide in society. On the occasion of the 55th Bank Nationalisation Day in India on Wednesday, the Guwahati-headquartered body said public sector banks (PSBs) have played an important role in promoting financial inclusion and mobilising savings since the nationalisation of the lenders in 1969. "Public Sector Banks are in real danger of privatisation. It is an ideological conflict that can be overcome by supporting the alternative ideology that prioritises the welfare of a larger human population," AIBOC general secretary Rupam Roy said. Since their nationalisation, these PSBs have been channeling funds to vital sectors such as agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), education, and infrastructure among others, he added. "The

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued their record-breaking rally on Tuesday, reaching new all-time high levels in early trade, amid fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in banking counters. A positive trend in the US markets on Monday also contributed to the domestic benchmark indices optimism. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 395.57 points to reach its record intra-day peak of 66,985.50. The NSE Nifty climbed 99.8 points to hit its all-time high of 19,811.25. From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti and Asian Paints were among the biggest gainers. Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Steel were among the laggards. In Asian markets, Tokyo quoted in the green, while Seoul and Shanghai were trading lower. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Monday. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity as they bought equ

India could become a developed country by 2047 with an average annual real GDP growth of 7.6 per cent over the next 25 years, said an article published by the Reserve Bank in its July bulletin. The task, however, may not be easy, given the current level of capital stocks, infrastructure and skill sets of the people, said the article titled 'India @ 100'. Addressing the nation on August 15, 2022 -- the 75th year of India's independence -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid down a vision for the next 25 years to become a developed nation by 2047. "India's real GDP needs to grow at 7.6 per cent annually over the next 25 years to achieve the per capita income level to become a developed economy," the article, authored by Harendra Behera, Dhanya V, Kunal Priyadarshi and Sapna Goel, said. The authors are from the RBI's Department of Economic and Policy Research. The central bank said the views expressed in the article are those of the authors and do not repr

Largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Monday reported a 29.13 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for the June quarter at Rs 12,370.38 crore. The bank, which recently merged mortgage financier parent HDFC into itself, had reported a net profit of Rs 9,579.11 crore in the year-ago period and Rs 12,594.47 crore in the preceding March quarter. Its total income for the quarter under review rose to Rs 61,021 crore, as against Rs 44,202 crore in the year-ago period. Operating expenses rose to Rs 15,177 crore during the quarter under review, from Rs 11,355 crore in the year-ago period, as per a regulatory filing. The gross non-performing assets ratio came at 1.17 per cent as of June 30, 2023, as against 1.12 per cent at the end of March and 1.28 per cent in the year-ago period. The HDFC Bank scrip was trading 0.60 per cent up at Rs 1,657 a piece on the BSE at 1307 hrs, as against gains of 0.39 per cent on the benchmark.  (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited

The US, India and about 140 other nations are close to reaching an agreement on the overhauling of global tax norms to ensure that multinationals pay taxes wherever they operate. At a meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the sidelines of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting here, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appreciated India's focus on finalizing the "historic Two-Pillar global tax deal" in the OECD's Inclusive Framework. "I believe that we are close to reaching an agreement," Yellen said in her remarks at the bilateral meeting. In a major reform of the international taxation system, about 140 countries, including India, have agreed to an overhaul of global tax norms to ensure that multinationals pay taxes wherever they operate and at a minimum of 15 per cent rate. However, the deal requires countries to remove all digital services tax and other similar measures and to commit not to introduce such measures in the

China's economy grew 6.3 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023, official data showed Monday, despite a patchy post-Covid rebound in recent months. Beijing's National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement that the economy "showed a good momentum of recovery". "By quarter, the GDP grew by 4.5 percent year on year in the first quarter and 6.3 percent in the second quarter," NBS spokesman Fu Linghui said. "Market demand gradually recovered, production supply continued to increase, employment and price were generally stable, and residents' income grew steadily," he said. Analysts polled by AFP expected a 7.1 percent rebound. But they had warned the figures would be misleadingly inflated given the low base of comparison with pandemic-wracked 2022. In the same period a year ago, with restrictions such as sudden lockdowns, travel curbs and factory shutdowns the norm, China posted 0.4 percent on-year growth, one of its lowest quart

Canadian pensions funds would be keen to explore investing in infrastructure funds in India as the country offers a stable investment climate, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Sunday, according to an Indian government statement. Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ms Chrystia Freeland @cafreeland met on the sidelines of the 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors #G20FMCBG meeting in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, today. Building on the... pic.twitter.com/8rTWcMuWlh — Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 16, 2023 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, meeting Ms Freeland on the sidelines of a gathering of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers in Gujarat, discussed progress on bilateral trade negotiations, Ms Sitharaman's office said in a tweet. source https://www.ndtv.com/business/stable-investment-climate-canadian-pension-funds-look-to-invest-in-india-4212269

A 40-year-old air passenger Furoqon Hussain, who was on an IndiGo flight from Hyderabad to the national capital on July 8, allegedly opened the cover of the emergency exit door of the aircraft during taking off, according to Delhi airport sources. The incident happened on flight 6E 5605 and the individual was handed over to the security personnel after landing at the Delhi airport. An FIR has been filed against the individual. The unruly behaviour of the flyer caused panic among other passengers, crew and the pilot-in-command, the sources said. The passenger was in seat 18A which was close to the emergency exit door. After the incident, the cover of the emergency exit was immediately restored and the passenger was relocated to another seat in the aircraft, they added. Query sent to IndiGo seeking comments on the incident remained unanswered. According to safety experts, the handle of the emergency exit door has a cover which protects it from opening due to cabin pressure or any ot

Benchmark BSE Sensex closed above the historic 66,000 mark for the first time while NSE Nifty hit a new all-time closing high on Friday driven by heavy buying in IT counters and fresh foreign fund inflows. Optimism in global equity markets also helped the local markets maintain their winning momentum for a second day. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 502.01 points or 0.77 per cent to settle at its new all-time closing high of 66,060.90. During the day, it rallied 600.9 points or 0.91 per cent to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 66,159.79. The NSE Nifty went up by 150.75 points or 0.78 per cent to end at a new record high of 19,564.50. During the day, it reached its lifetime intra-day peak of 19,595.35, registering a jump of 181.6 points or 0.93 per cent. From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services jumped over 5 per cent and Tech Mahindra rallied 4.51 per cent. Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tata Steel, Nestle, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Unilever were als

The deflation in the wholesale price continued for the third month in a row in June, with WPI contracting to a nearly eight-year low at minus (-) 4.12 per cent on account falling prices of food products, fuel and basic metals, according to official data released today. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation stood at (-) 3.48 per cent in May and at 16.23 per cent in June 2022. The lowest WPI was recorded at (-) 4.76 per cent in October 2015. The decline in WPI is in contrast with June retail inflation which inched up to 4.8 per cent in June from 4.3 per cent in May. "The decline in the rate of inflation in June 2023 is primarily due to fall in prices of mineral oils, food products, basic metals, crude petroleum and natural gas and textiles," the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a release. As per the data, the index for fuel and power contracted by 12.63 per cent in June, primary articles by 2.87 per cent, and manufactured products by 2.71 per cent. The f

The compliance burden on listed companies is set to increase from Saturday as capital markets regulator SEBI has put in place a stricter timeline for disclosure of material events or information by them. Under this, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given 12 to 24 hours for disclosures. The regulator has asked companies to disclose agreements entered into by shareholders, promoters, related parties, directors, key managerial personnel, and employees of the listed entity or of its subsidiary, which can impact the management and control of such firms to stock exchanges. Such agreements need to be disclosed within 12 hours in case a listed entity is a party and within 24 hours where the listed entity is not a party. Disclosure of family settlement agreements was already required under the existing Para A of Schedule III under the LODR (Listing of Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations. Further, for material events or information that emanate from the

Hospitality technology platform OYO on Thursday said it has launched a 'Spotless Stay' programme as part of which it will conduct audits of hotels to assess them for overall upkeep and maintenance. As a part of the Spotless Stay programme, hotels with high cleanliness ratings from customers will be awarded benefits such as high search rankings, OYO stated. The company's on-field officers will conduct a comprehensive on-ground audit of one property every day, leading to a total of over 3,000 audits each month. This number will be scaled to 6,000 audits per month by October 2023. "The hotels will be carefully assessed for overall upkeep and maintenance of the property, cleanliness, in-room hygiene, maintenance of upholstery and linen, and washroom cleanliness, while also taking into account the customer ratings received during the week prior to the audit. The property owners will be asked to conduct an overhaul and thorough deep cleaning, including replacement of uph

India's annual retail inflation rose to 4.81% in June from 4.31% the previous month, government data showed on Wednesday, snapping four months of easing due to surging prices for vegetables. Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half of the overall consumer price basket, rose to 4.49% against a revised 2.96% in May. Erratic and incessant rainfall in northern India could push vegetable prices higher in the coming months. Vegetable prices increased 12% on a month-on-month basis in June. The inflation, however, remains within the Reserve Bank of India's comfort level of below 6 per cent. The government has tasked the central bank to ensure retail inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. The central bank mainly factors in the CPI to arrive at its bi-monthly monetary policy decision. The next policy review is scheduled early next month. Last month, the Reserve Bank kept policy rates unchanged at 6.5 per cent and projected retail inflation

Three companies, including Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), have been selected as " prospective" buyers for Future Enterprises, which is currently undergoing the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process. The resolution professional of Future Enterprises Ltd (FEL) has finalised a provisional list of three Prospective Resolution Applicants (PRA), an exchange filing from the debt-ridden company said. Besides RRVL, steel maker Jindal (India) and GBTL, maker of polyester viscose & blended fabrics are on the list. The deadline for submission of resolution plans by PRAs is August 24, 2023. CIRP was initiated by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) earlier this year in March over a plea moved by its operational creditors. Interestingly, RRVL is also among the final list of prospective buyers for another Future Group flagship firm, Future Retail, which is also facing CIRP. Future Enterprises Ltd was part of the 19 group companies operating in retail, wholesale, logist

IT services provider Wipro Ltd said on Wednesday it planned to invest $1 billion into artificial intelligence (AI) over the next three years. The investments will focus on the expansion of AI, big data, and analytics solutions, as well as developing new research and development and platforms, it said in an exchange filing. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) source https://www.ndtv.com/business/wipro-to-invest-1-billion-in-artificial-intelligence-4199120

Online gaming companies on Tuesday said that levying of 28 per cent GST will limit their ability to invest in new games, impact cash flows as well as business expansion. The GST Council has agreed to impose a 28 per cent tax on online gaming, casinos and horse racing. The tax would be levied on the full face value. The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), which represents companies like Nazara, GamesKraft, Zupee and Winzo, said the decision by the council is unconstitutional, irrational, and egregious. "The decision ignores over 60 years of settled legal jurisprudence and lumps online skill gaming with gambling activities. This decision will wipe out the entire Indian gaming industry and lead to lakhs of job losses and the only people benefitting from this will be anti-national illegal offshore platforms," AIGF CEO Roland Landers said. He said that when the central government has been supporting the industry, it is unfortunate that such a legally untenable decision has bee

The all-powerful Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Tuesday decided to impose a 28 per cent tax on the turnover of online gaming companies, horse racing and casinos, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The panel, headed by the Union finance minister and comprising of representatives of all states and UTs, decided on tax rate based on recommendation of a group of ministers that looked at taxing casinos, horse racing and online gaming. The issue before the GoM (group of ministers) was whether to impose a 28 per cent GST on the face value of bets, or gross gaming revenue, or just on platform fees. Ms Sitharaman said the tax will be levied on the entire value. The tax on online gaming companies would be imposed without making any differentiation based on whether the games required skill or were based on chance. The GST Council also decided to exempt cancer-fighting drugs and medicines for rare diseases from the levy, she said. Also, GST on satellite launch services provide