Author: Finance Khabar
New Delhi: India’s economic growth is likely to hover between zero and 1.5 per cent in the current financial year as the extended COVID-19 lockdown slows down activity across most sectors, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said on Thursday. “Given the extent of damage to the economy from disruption to business, the GDP growth in FY21 is likely to be the lowest in many decades,” said Director General Chandrajit Banerjee while releasing a paper with three scenarios. In the baseline scenario, the GDP is expected to grow at just 0.6 per cent on an annual basis as economic activity…
New Delhi : Faradion Ltd, world leader in sodium-ion battery technology, has announced its first order from ICM Australia. Sodium-ion batteries, owing to its exceptional superiority over lithium-ion batteries, are likely to revolutionise the automobile/mobility, storage and mobile sectors across the world. Faradion’s sodium-ion technology provides similar performance to conventional chemistries, while replacing expensive materials such as cobalt and lithium with the far more abundant sodium. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, Faradion’s sodium-ion batteries have exceptional thermal stability and safety. Further they can be safely transported and maintained at zero volts. India is one of the largest markets for mobile devices across…
Mumbai: India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has affirmed Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd’s long-term issuer rating at AA with a stable outlook. Torrent’s consolidated operating EBITDA margins improved to 27.1 per cent in 9M FY20 led by the benefits of Unichem Ltd’s domestic business acquisition completed in December 2017. The consolidated leverage ratio (net debt/operating EBITDA) improved to 2.1x for the trailing 12 months ended December 2020 driven by an increase in its operating EBITDA and a reduction in consolidated debt to Rs 5,413 crore at end-December 2019. Ind-Ra said Torrent has successfully integrated the domestic businesses of Unichem, in line with…
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday it will conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under open market operations (OMOs) for Rs 10,000 crore each on April 27. Eligible participants should submit their bids and offers in electronic format on the RBI core banking solution (E-Kuber) system between 10 and 11 am. The result of auctions will be announced on the same day and successful participants should ensure availability of funds and securities in their current account or SGL account by 12 noon on April 28. With the heightening of COVID-19 pandemic risks, certain financial…
London: Fitch Ratings has made further large cuts to global GDP forecasts in its latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO) in response to coronavirus-related lockdown extensions and incoming data flows, saying the Indian economy is expected to grow at below one per cent this year. “With China and India both now expected to see sub-1 per cent growth, we expect an outright contraction in emerging market GDP in 2020, a development unprecedented since at least the 1980s,” it said. Fitch expects supply responses and a relaxation of lockdowns to help oil prices to recover in 2H 20 from current lows, which…
Pune: In order to strongly and rapidly fight a wide range of pathogens, Forbes Marshall and Swiss NeWater India are committed to provide the unique eco-friendly disinfectant solution, free of charge, in this critical period, to the health infrastructure like public and private hospitals, laboratories and pharmaceutical industries and also to public governing bodies like municipalities and local councils hospitals and public communities in Pune and Mumbai. The current COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging nations across the world has created new challenges for the health infrastructure across the globe. From shortages of PPE to availability of adequate ventilators and hand…
New Delhi: PSU Maharatna Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) said on Wednesday it produced 16.15 million tonnes of crude steel during FY 2019-20 to emerged as a leading producer in the country. The state-owned enterprise has also achieved the best ever annual sales of 14.5 million tonnes with a growth of 2.8 per cent over the corresponding period last year. Its strategies to expand its market portfolio too yielded the highest ever exports of 1.18 million tonnes during FY20, marking a year-on-year growth of 54 per cent. “SAIL has been continuously focussing on ramping up its steel production from…
Mahindra has launched its compact SUV KVU100 NXT with BS6 engine. The starting price of this new KUV100 NXT car is Rs 5.54 lakhs. The company has launched the car with four variants K2 +, K4 +, K6 + and K8. The initial model of this car which is K2 + comes with only 6-seater option while its three other variants are available in 5-seater and 6-seater option. The Mahindra KVU100 NXT has a 1.2-liter, 3-cylinder petrol engine based on the BS6 emission. This engine generates 82bhp of power at 5500rpm and 115Nm of torque at 3500-3600rpm. This new SUV…
By: Amit Chhabra, Health- Business Head, Policybazaar.com With each passing day, more and more people are testing positive for COVID-19 – popularly known as Coronavirus – globally. As per the data shared by World Health Organisation (WHO), as many as 1 million people across various parts of the globe are infected with coronavirus infection with maximum being infected in the USA followed by Italy and Spain. In India, the total number of confirmed cases stands at 20,000 of which over 645 people have lost their lives. Taking cue from the increasing panic amongst the people and rapid spread of the novel…
Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices rose by 2.4 per cent on Wednesday as index heavyweight Reliance Industries surged by 9.8 per cent with Facebook picking up nearly 10 per cent stake in India’s largest private sector company’s digital business for 5.7 billion dollars (about Rs 43,574 crore). Expectations of a fiscal stimulus bolstered the market sentiment even as Asian shares dipped and Brent oil futures plunged to a two-decade low amid damage done by the coronavirus pandemic. At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 743 points or 2.42 per cent at 31,380 while the Nifty 50 edged…
Manila: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) returned to the US dollar bond market on Wednesday with the pricing of a 4.5 billion dollars five-year global benchmark bond issue proceeds of which will be part of ADB’s ordinary capital resources. “ADB recently tripled the size of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic that is affecting economies in Asia and the Pacific, and this transaction facilitates ADB’s capacity to support our clients in addressing the urgent challenges they are currently facing,” said ADB Treasurer Pierre Van Peteghem. “The order book we were able to garner for this five-year issue is ADB’s largest-ever…
Mumbai: Tata Steel said on Wednesday its production volume grew by 6 per cent year-on-year to 4.74 million tonnes during the fourth quarter (Q4) of previous fiscal (2019-20) compared to 4.48 million tonnes in Q4 FY19. It also achieved 8 per cent year-on-year production growth for the full year FY20 at 18.21 million tonnes as against 16.81 million tonnes in FY19. This was supported by ramp up of Tata Steel BSL and acquisition of Usha Martin Steel business by Tata Steel Long Products. Tata Steel BSL also recorded its best-ever annual performance. Tata Steel India witnessed highest-ever annual sales in…
Mumbai: Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which signed a mega Rs 43,574 crore deal with Facebook giving the US-based social media giant a 9.99 per cent equity stake in homegrown mobile network Jio, said the partnership will prove to be a catalyst to make India into one of the world’s leading digital societies. “All of us at Reliance and Jio are delighted to welcome Facebook Inc. as our long-term and esteemed partner. At the core of our partnership is the commitment that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and I share for the all-round digital transformation of India and…
Mumbai: Social media giant Facebook on Wednesday announced to invest Rs 43,574 crore into Jio Platforms, the investment will translate into a 9.99 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms, the largest FDI in the Indian tech sector. This investment by Facebook values Jio Platforms at Rs4.62 lakh crore pre-money enterprise value ($65.95 billion, assuming a conversion rate of Rs 70 to a US Dollar). Commenting on the partnership with Facebook, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, said, “When Reliance launched Jio in 2016, we were driven by the dream of INDIA’S DIGITAL SARVODAYA – India’s Inclusive…
Basel: Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis has reached an agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to proceed with a phase three clinical trial with about 440 patients to evaluate the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 disease. The clinical trial drug supply will be provided by Sandoz, the generics and biosimilars division of Novartis. The large trial sponsored by Novartis will be conducted at more than a dozen sites in the United States. Novartis plans to begin enrollment for this study within the next few weeks and is committed to reporting results…
New Delhi : In order to further facilitate exim trade in the COVID-19 lockdown period, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Tuesday extended relaxation for submission of a bond to the customs. Now importer and exporter will be able to submit an undertaking in lieu of a bond till May 15. “In the background of the recent announcement by the government extending the lockdown till May 3 and taking into consideration that it might take sometime after the end of the lockdown for the situation to normalise, the Board has decided to further extend the facility…
New York: Oil prices continued to crash on Tuesday after a stunning collapse a day earlier that saw US crude futures plunge below zero for the first time in history as reports said the United States could run out of storage for a glut caused by the coronavirus lockdown. Global benchmark Brent crude also fell sharply in response to the collapse of demand following reduced economic activity. US oil futures for May delivery were last trading below zero dollar a barrel again after briefly rising above one dollar a barrel. The May contract which expires later today finished regular trading…
New Delhi: The magnitude and speed of collapse in economic activity that India has seen over the last few weeks due to COVID-19 pandemic are unprecedented and there is tremendous uncertainty about what the future holds for businesses and enterprises, according to a recent survey by FICCI and Dhruva Advisors. Almost 72 per cent of the respondents to the survey reported that COVID-19 is having a ‘high to very high’ level of impact on their business. Further, a substantial majority of the respondents do not foresee a positive demand outlook for their business in this fiscal with 70 per cent…
Car manufacturer Jeep officially launched the BS6 version of its SUV compass. With the launch, the price information of this SUV was also revealed. However, compared to the BS4 model of this car, the price of the BS6 version of the compass has been increased from Rs 89,000 to Rs 1.38 lakh. The new BS6 Jeep Compass comes with 1.4-liter turbo-petrol and 2.0-liter diesel engines. It has options such as 6-speed manual, 7-speed dual-clutch automatic and 9-speed automatic gearbox. Talking about its price according to the model, its ex-showroom price in Delhi starts from Rs 16.49 lakh, which goes up…
Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices plunged by over 3 per cent on Tuesday after US oil prices slipped below zero dollar a barrel in overnight trade and President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration. US crude futures turned negative for the first time in history following a collapse in oil demand as coronavirus pandemic derails the global economy. A rapidly rising number of COVID-19 infections in India and the resultant deaths also put pressure on bourses. At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 1,011 points or 3.2 per cent…