Business Live: Shares gain as financials boost counters energy weakness; CEA stresses on infra-led growth, takes on crony lending

The Nifty and the Sensex opened the day on a positive note with financial stocks getting a further boost from investors.

Join us as we follow the top business news through the day.

11:30 AM

CEA stresses on infra-led growth, takes on crony lending

The CEA lays out the government’s priorities.

PTI reports: “The financial sector will have to play an important role in infrastructure lending which needs specialised expertise, Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a webinar organised by FICCI, Subramanian said that for India to become a USD 5 trillion economy, capital allocation to the infrastructure sector should be of high quality.

“Capital allocation to the infrastructure sector has to be of high quality and the financial sector has an important role in this regard. The financial sector should refrain from resorting to crony lending, which would put the brakes on lending and the economy will suffer,” he said.

Subramanian said the operational aspects of different projects are different. “Once a loan goes into distress, it blocks capital for credit-worthy borrowers. In such a scenario, the lenders will have to take complete responsibility.” He said that the country is placing emphasis on growth through infrastructure.

“This places responsibility on the financial sector.

The sector has to see that there should not be a sub-optimal allocation of capital. Even if distress takes place, the right things have to be done. Analytics can be used to identify crony lending,” he said.

The senior management of the financial institutions would have to incentivised to prevent crony lending, Subramanian said.

“Incentive mechanisms need to be put in place to prevent crony lending as infrastructure projects involve high gestation periods,” he added.”

11:00 AM

‘Ola unit can make 10 millon two-wheeler EVs’

Mobility firm Ola said its electric two-wheeler facility coming up in Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu will have an annual capacity to produce 10 million scooters, accounting for some 15% of the world’s total production of e-two-wheelers.

“Our aim is to be a world-leading sustainable mobility company,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, chairman and Group CEO, Ola.

“We are building the world’s largest e-two-wheeler plant, Ola Future Factory, with a 10-million annual capacity that will comprise about 15% of the world’s two-wheeler manufacturing.’’

Mr. Aggarwal said his company had realised, through several EV pilots, the need for building a global scale for better cost efficiency, control on quality and delivery.

 

10:40 AM

Rupee surges 18 paise to 73.07 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee gets a boost with help from stocks.

PTI reports: “The rupee appreciated by 18 paise to 73.07 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday supported by positive domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.16 against the US dollar, then inched higher to 73.07 against the greenback, registering a rise of 18 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had settled at 73.25 against the American currency.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 372.32 points higher at 50,813.39, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 107.25 points to 15,064.15.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.02 per cent to 92.33.

“The US dollar rose against the basket of currencies this Tuesday morning in Asian trade supported by higher bond yields and expectations of faster economic normalisation from the pandemic in the United States,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.

However, higher crude oil prices and strong American currency could limit the appreciation bias in the local unit, traders said.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.78 per cent to USD 68.77 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,494.49 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.”

10:20 AM

10,113 companies shut down operations voluntarily between April ‘20-Feb. ‘21: Ministry

Over 10,000 companies were shut down voluntarily in the country from April 2020 till February this year, in the period when the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns significantly disrupted economic activities.

The latest data available with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) showed that a total of 10,113 companies were struck off under Section 248(2) of the Companies Act, 2013, in the current financial year till February.

The Section 248(2) implies that the companies had shut their businesses voluntarily and not due to any penal action.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha on March 8, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur said the Ministry does not maintain any record of the companies that have gone out of business.

“A total of 10,113 number of companies during the year 2020-21 (from the month of April 2020 to February 2021) have been struck off under section 248(2) of the Act. MCA has not run any drive to strike off companies suo moto during 2020-21,” he said.

 

10:00 AM

Shares gain as financials boost counters energy weakness

Another good morning for stocks.

Reuters reports: “Indian shares opened higher on Tuesday as high-flying financial stocks advanced, although gains were capped by weakness in the energy sector after a report that oil companies have been told by the government to not revise fuel prices for now.

Gasoline and gasoil prices in India have risen to record highs in India of late, mirroring global markets. The central government has informally conveyed to India’s three major oil-marketing companies to not revise fuel prices ahead of polling in some states, the Business Standard newspaper reported https://bit.ly/3rv17cE.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 1.02% to 15,109.80 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex firmed 1.03% to 50,960 by 0357 GMT.

The Nifty Bank Index, which rose 13.87% last month, gained 1.49%. HDFC Bank Ltd rose 2.4% and was the top boost to the Nifty 50.

The Nifty energy index fell 0.34% after advancing 1.14% in the previous session.

Broader Asian markets fell on fears of rising bond yields, stretched company valuations and inflation fears, after a mixed session overnight on Wall Street.”

9:30 AM

25 million new jobs in Indian retail sector by 2030: study

Around 25 million new jobs will be created by the Indian retail sector by 2030, as per Retail 4.0 Report released by Nasscom in partnership with Technopak.

According to the study, Retail 4.0 will result in a significant rise in the size of the domestic market, job creation, and exports. The changing demand and supply drivers are likely to accelerate the growth momentum, with the India retail market reaching up-to $1.5 trillion by FY2030.

“As India leaps forward to become a digitally transformed nation, the country’s retail sector has emerged as one of the most dynamically-evolving, rapidly digitising sectors, with the second-largest consumer base in the world, from 5th largest in 2020,” found the study.

Over the last decade, as per the study, the Indian retail market size has witnessed a massive growth of 3X, accounting for $800 billion, contributing 10% to India’s GDP In FY 2019-20 and 8% to the total workforce with more than 35 million employees.