Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees India as a "bright spot" in the global economy and according to the World Bank, India is in a better position to deal with the global headwinds than many other countries. This is because of India’s strong "macroeconomic fundamentals", Modi said while virtually [...]

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has sought investment from the US in sunrise sectors such as electric vehicles, semiconductors and battery technology, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday. The minister is in the US for a three-day visit till Jan 11. Goyal also held discussions with several CEOs of leading companies, including Michael Miebach [...]

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said there are "limitless opportunities" for US investors and companies to grow in and with India across sectors and this is the "right time" for them to increase their engagement with the country. “India and US relations have been at an all-time high. In addition to strong bilateral [...]

The crucial India-US Trade Policy Forum meeting here is unlikely to make much progress, given the sharp differences, but would hopefully ignite trade talks between the world's two largest democracies, according to eminent trade experts. Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, who is in the US on an official visit, held a series of [...]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate the 7th edition of 'Invest Madhya Pradesh-Global Investors Summit', a flagship event of the state government, in Indore on Wednesday. The theme of the two-day summit is 'Madhya Pradesh-The Future Ready State', an official said. After the inaugural address by Modi, Guyana President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and [...]

Equity benchmarks declined in initial trade on Wednesday amid unabated foreign fund outflows and a weak trend in index heavyweight Reliance Industries. Continuing its previous day decline, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 309.7 points to 59,805.78 in initial trade. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 89.8 points to 17,824.35. From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra [...]

Shares of Tata Motors jumped 6 per cent on Tuesday after the company-owned Jaguar Land Rover reported a 15 per cent increase in wholesales to 79,591 units for the third quarter ended December 2022. The stock rallied 6.07 per cent to settle at Rs 413.05 apiece on the BSE. During the day, it climbed 7.26 [...]

Steel prices increased by 5 per cent to hit a three-month high of Rs 56,900 per tonne in January, according to SteelMint. In its latest report, the research firm attributed the rise to "export duty removal and rise in raw material prices". According to SteelMint data, the price of per tonne hot rolled coil (HRC) [...]

India has extended anti-dumping duty on imports of certain jute products from Nepal and Bangladesh for five years, a move aimed at protecting domestic players from cheap inbound shipments. These duties were imposed following recommendations of the commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). The DGTR, in its probe in September last [...]

The forthcoming budget is likely to meet the targeted 6.4 per cent fiscal deficit and pencil in for a 50 bps reduction in the same for the next fiscal, according to a foreign brokerage report. The Modi government will present its last full budget on February 1 as the budget 2024 will be a vote [...]

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended 1 per cent lower on Tuesday, dragged down by Reliance Industries and banking stocks along with a weak trend in European markets. Unabated foreign fund outflows also negatively impacted the domestic equity market. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 631.83 points or 1.04 per cent to settle at 60,115.48. During [...]

Data adoption and tariff hike-led revenue growth as well as 5G rollouts are key monitorables for 2023 which will also be a decisive year for Vodafone Idea as a viable third player, according to a report. The telecom sector's Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) when adjusted for inflation is still 17 per cent below pre-Reliance [...]

State-owned NTPC on Tuesday said its coal production increased 51 per cent year-on-year from its captive mines to 14.55 million tonne (MT) in April-December 2022. The power giant had produced 9.65 MT of coal from its captive coal mines in the year-ago period, NTPC said in a statement. "Coal mining division of NTPC is maintaining [...]

Underlining the contribution of non-resident Indians, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said remittances sent to the country by overseas Indians were about USD 100 billion for the year 2022, an increase of 12 per cent in one year. Speaking at a session during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention in Madhya Pradesh's Indore [...]

The Central government will soon launch an information technology server and IT hardware production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, and also offer additional incentives for manufacturers that incorporate Indian-designed intellectual property into their products, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Tuesday. Virtually addressing the VLSI Design Conference 2023 that began [...]

The mutual fund industry added Rs 2.2 lakh crore to its asset base in 2022, driven by consistent monthly increase in SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) flows. The Assets Under Management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry rose by 5.7 per cent or Rs 2.2 lakh crore to a total Rs 39.88 lakh crore in 2022, [...]

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has directed authorities to study augmenting the Gulf Kingdom's investments in Pakistan to reach USD 10 billion and increasing its deposit to the cash-strapped country's central bank to USD 5 billion, a media report said on Tuesday. Pakistan's economic situation is facing severe headwinds with inflation being forecast to [...]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed his ministries to slash five per cent of their estimated expenditure allocated in this year's Budget as Sri Lanka's Treasury was facing an acute shortage of funds, exacerbating fears that the cash-strapped country's economic crisis could be even worse than previously anticipated. Sri Lanka is in the midst of its [...]

With the opening up of the economy post the COVID pandemic, Knight Frank on Tuesday said housing sales rose 34 per cent to a 9-year high and gross office leasing grew 36 per cent during 2022 across eight major cities. While housing sales rose 34 per cent to 3,12,666 units in 2022 across eight major [...]

India has exported 16.92 lakh tonnes of sugar till January 4 of the ongoing 2022-23 marketing year, including 59,596 tonnes of the sweetener to neighbouring China, trade body AISTA said on Tuesday. Among other neighbouring nations, India has exported 1.47 lakh tonnes of sugar to Bangladesh, and 82,462 tonnes to Sri Lanka during October-January 4 [...]

The government on Monday extended the term of the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Michael Debabrata Patra, by a further period of one year. Patra's three-year tenure was coming to an end on January 14. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved Patra's re-appointment [...]

Institutional investments in retail real estate jumped over six fold to USD 492 million in 2022, as businesses in shopping malls revived strongly post the COVID pandemic, according to Colliers India. In 2021, the retail real estate had attracted only USD 77 million institutional investments because of an adverse impact of the COVID pandemic on [...]

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Monday reviewed the steps taken to revamp infrastructure at Delhi's IGI airport that include ramping up capacities, close monitoring and revised scheduling of air slots and de-cluttering of immigration counters. Top officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security [...]

Amid tight liquidity condition, banks have issued a record quantum of bonds, with gross issuances hitting an all-time high of Rs 91,500 crore so far this fiscal, and are likely to close the financial year with around Rs 1.4 lakh crore. Gross bond issuances by banks is estimated to reach Rs 1.3-1.4 lakh crore this [...]

The shortage of healthcare workers globally could rise to 10 million by the end of the decade, affecting access to care, inequities and treatment of mental health, a new report said on Monday. Launched in the run-up to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2023 in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos, the [...]

Edible oils industry body SEA on Monday urged the Centre to increase import duty on RBD palmolein from the current 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent to discourage cheaper imports and protect domestic refiners. In a memorandum submitted to Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra, Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) President Ajay Jhunjhunwala said the import [...]

The government on Monday authorised Mobile and Electronic Devices Export Promotion Council (MEDEPC) to issue registration-cum-membership certificate, a key document for exporters, for certain products related to the sector including smartphone, smart watch, monitors and parts of mobile phones. According to the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) is required for exporters in [...]

Economists at the country's largest lender SBI on Monday dismissed the 'K-shaped recovery' critique, saying the pandemic was a 'leveler' which helped in reducing inequalities. They said government transfers to the poor alone are adding up to Rs 75,000 per household per annum. It can be noted that in the months following the outbreak of [...]

The Monetary Authority of Singapore on Monday said integration of India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and equivalent network in Singapore, known as PayNow, will begin anytime soon, which in turn will reduce the remittance cost by 10 per cent. There will be interoperability of the two digital payment networks, allowing seamless remittances between the two [...]

The government on Monday said the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has come out with quality standards for three electronic devices -- digital television receivers, USB Type-C charger and Video Surveillance Systems(VSS). The first is Indian standard IS 18112:2022 specification for digital television receivers with built-in satellite tuners, the consumer affairs ministry said. "TVs manufactured [...]

Ahead of the Union Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet economists and sectoral experts at NITI Aayog on Friday to discuss the state of the economy and measures to accelerate growth which is estimated to drop to 7 per cent, a senior government official said. The official further said that the meeting will also [...]

Informal women workers in Indian construction and real estate sector earn 30-40 per cent less than male workers, according to a report that highlights about gender inequality in this sector. Consulting firm Primus Partners and World Trade Center on Monday released a report 'Pink Collar Skilling: Unleashing the Women's Power in the Real Estate Sector' [...]

Equity benchmarks ended over 1 per cent higher on Monday amid positive trends in global markets and buying in Reliance Industries and IT counters. The 30-share BSE Sensex zoomed 846.94 points or 1.41 per cent to settle at 60,747.31. During the day, it jumped 989.04 points or 1.65 per cent to 60,889.41. The broader NSE [...]

Switzerland is keen to accelerate bilateral ties with India by tapping more trade and investment opportunities, and both countries are also working to create an innovation platform, according to Swiss Ambassador to India Ralf Heckner. Emphasising that his "expectations are very high", he said innovation and a free trade agreement can take the bilateral relations [...]

State-owned CESL on Monday said it has invited bids to lease out 3,500 electric vehicles for a period of up to 5 years. The bids have been invited from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)/leasing agencies/NBFCs for leasing the 4-watt battery-based cars to various departments and autonomous bodies across 18 states and Union Territories for a tenure [...]

The demand for Indian generic drugs has shot up in China amid the massive COVID surge in the country, with Chinese experts cautioning that fake versions of these drugs are flooding the market. China’s National Health Security Administration said on Sunday that Pfizer's Paxlovid oral medication, which is used to treat Covid-19, could not be [...]

India's agri exports are growing at a healthy pace and there is a need to focus on the processed food sector as it holds huge potential to boost the country's outbound shipments, Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) said on Sunday. Keeping this in mind, the council's three-day IndusFood expo kickstarted on January 8 in [...]

Loans worth Rs 1,550 crore were given in a single day to street vendors, small scale entrepreneurs and cattle rearers at a credit outreach program here on Sunday. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla handed over the cheques to some beneficiaries. Officials said others will receive their loan amounts during [...]

The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has written to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), saying repeated implementation of curbs under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan has delayed projects and affected labourers. The Centre's air quality panel had invoked restrictions under Stage III of GRAP including a ban on private [...]

The first 'Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion' meeting of the G20 will begin in Kolkata on Monday with Queen Máxima of the Netherlands addressing the inaugural session. The three-day meeting will focus on the principles of digital financial inclusion, remittance costs and SME finance availability, officials said. It will also feature symposiums, exhibitions and a [...]

Equity benchmarks rallied in initial trade on Monday amid positive trends in global markets and buying in IT counters. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 367.92 points to 60,268.29. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 119.4 points to 17,978.85. From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, Wipro, [...]

Gem and jewellery exporters on Sunday urged the government to announce support measures like the abolition of import duty on raw material for lab-grown diamonds and jewellery repair policy to promote the sector and boost shipments in the forthcoming Budget. The industry also suggested the introduction of presumptive taxation on diamond sales at special notified [...]