Category: Business

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Govt to close toll booths within 60 km of national highways; I-T dept conducts raids at Hiranandani group; Russia bans Facebook, Instagram

The Income Tax department conducted raids at Hiranandani group at 24 locations across Chennai, Bengaluru, and Mumbai in the foreign assets case. In Lok Sabha, Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said that all toll collecting points which are within 60 kilometre of each other on the national highways will be closed in the next three months. Meanwhile, a Russian court banned Meta-controlled Facebook and Instagram in the country on March 21, calling its parent company “extremist.”

Moneycontrol Daily: Your Essential 7

A daily round-up of the most interesting articles to help jump-start the day.

1. Wall Street refocuses on risk as stocks dip, oil climbs

US stocks on Monday gave back some of the previous week’s gains and oil prices climbed as the conflict in Ukraine continued. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 197.09 points, or 0.57 percent, to 34,557.84, the S&P 500 lost 17.31 points, or 0.39 percent, to 4,445.81 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 160.70 points, or 1.16 percent, to 13,733.14.

2. Watch out

Take a look at these key events

Today:

SBI Life board to mull interim dividend
Gate 2022 score card release
DU Academic Council meet
Tomorrow:
Pushkar Singh Dhami likely to oath as Uttarakhand CM
Oppo K10 to launch in IndiaCOVID vaccination for children in 12-14 age group to begin in MP

3. Big Story

Don’t foresee India facing sanctions but RBI’s forex reserves well-diversified, says Governor Das

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) foreign exchange reserves are “well dispersed” and diversified, Governor Shaktikanta Das said on March 21, rejecting concerns about the central bank being crippled if the country faced sanctions similar to Russia in the future.

4. Coronavirus Check

New COVID-19 cases hover below 2k mark for second day in a row

India reported 1,549 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the lowest since 30 March 2020, taking the total number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the country to 4,30,09,390 even as active cases continued to decline.

6. Auto

Tata Motors drives in Altroz DCA, price starts at Rs 8.09 lakh

Tata Motors on Monday said it has launched its premium hatchback Altroz with dual-clutch automatic transmission, priced between Rs 8.09 lakh and Rs 9.89 lakh (ex-showroom).

Automobile giants assure of flex engines in six months

Representative picture. Credit: Reuters Photo

Automobile giants Toyota, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have assured the government they will bring flex engine vehicles in six months, a move that can reduce India’s dependence on crude oil, shorten a huge import bill and also lessen emissions.

Flex engines allow vehicles to run on 100 per cent petrol or 100 per cent ethanol.

Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari at a sugar and ethanol conference Sunday said the Centre was also exploring ways to increase the use of ethanol in the aviation sector in order to reduce transportation energy costs. To this end, he called upon sugar factories to make a shift to the conversion of sugar into ethanol.

“If sugar production goes ahead as it does now, it will be harmful for the industry in times to come,” he warned leaders of sugar and allied industries saying, “what is good for our future is to reduce the production of sugar and increase production of ethanol.”

source : https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/automobile-giants-assure-of-flex-engines-in-six-months-1093061.html

More trouble for crypto investors? Govt mulls GST rate for digital tokens

The government is working to bring cryptocurrencies under the ambit of Goods & Services Tax ( GST ) in order to tax the entire value of transactions. Crypto exchanges are currently taxed at 18% slab of GST on services provided to users under the financial services category.

Gautam Adani’s Wealth Jumps By $49 Billion, Higher Than Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk: Report

Gautam Adani added $49 billion to his wealth last year – more than the net addition of wealth by Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault.

Gautam Adani adds $49 bn wealth in 2021, higher than Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk

New Delhi: 

Gautam Adani, India’s and Asia’s second-richest person, added $49 billion to his wealth last year – more than the net addition of wealth by the top three global billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault, the 2022 M3M Hurun Global Rich List said on Wednesday.

Mukesh Ambani, who runs the oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries, continues to be the richest Indian with a wealth of $103 billion, a 24 per cent rise year on year.

Adani, the head of the ports-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group, is a close second, with his wealth surging 153 per cent to $81 billion.

In the last 10 years, while Ambani’s wealth has grown 400 per cent, Adani has seen a 1,830 per cent increase, the list said.

HCL’s Shiv Nadar is ranked third with USD 28 billion wealth, followed by Serum Institute’s Cyrus Poonawalla (USD 26 billion) and steel magnate Lakshmi N Mittal ($25 billion).

“Gautam Adani, 59, is the biggest gainer in the M3M Hurun Global List 2022 and added USD 49 billion to his wealth last year,” M3M Hurun Global Rich List said in a statement. His net wealth addition is “more than top three global billionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault.”

LIC IPO Likely to Come in May, Govt to Wait for Markets to Calm Down; Details Here

LIC had, on February 13, filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for LIC IPO (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic)

LIC IPO: With stock markets still facing headwinds amid uncertainties around the Ukraine conflict, the Centre has decided to put on hold its LIC IPO decision for some time and wait for the financial market to stabilize. The LIC IPO will now happen only in the next financial year, chances are that the issue may hit the market by mid-May if market conditions are stable. However, any further delay could will require additional regulatory requirements, sources told News18.com.

Since Russia’s invasion, uncertainty has been surrounding the country’s biggest IPO. The government’s sale of about 31.6 crore shares or a 5 per cent stake in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which was estimated to fetch around Rs 60,000 crore to the exchequer, was originally planned to be launched in March.

The government has time till May 12 to launch the initial public offering without filing fresh papers with regulator Sebi, according to sources. The only additional requirement till then will be an addendum to the draft red herring prospectus on the insurer’s December quarter results, News18 has learned from sources.

Source: https://www.news18.com/news/business/markets/lic-ipo-likely-to-come-in-may-govt-to-wait-for-markets-to-calm-down-details-here-4872764.html

Paytm Payments Bank Denies Report Claiming Data Leak To China, Says Fully Compliant With RBI Rules

Paytm Payments Bank: Paytm Payments Bank will be allowed to add new customers only after reviewing the central bank’s IT audit reports.

Indian cellphone-based digital payment platform Paytm (AFP photo)

New Delhi: After the RBI directed it to stop opening new accounts, Paytm Payments Bank said on Monday that a report claiming it had leaked data to Chinese firms was “false and sensationalist”. Paytm Payments Bank said it was fully compliant with the data localisation rules of the RBI and the entire data of the bank resides in the country.

Last week, the RBI directed Vijay Shekhar Sharma- promoted Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to stop opening new accounts amid “material supervisory concerns” observed in the bank.

Paytm Payments Bank said that this moratorium will not affect any existing customers of Payments Bank. However, users cannot sign up for Payments Bank’s service until further notice. Meanwhile, existing customers can continue to transact on the Paytm platform.

“All of the Bank’s data resides within the country. We are true believers of the Digital India initiative, and remain committed to driving financial inclusion in the country,” PPBL said in a statement as quoted by news agency PTI.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ordered an IT audit of Paytm Payments Bank. IT audit means that the company’s IT infrastructure i.e. software is capable of bearing the burden of many customers, what are the flaws in it and why they are coming, all these will be investigated.

According to the statement issued by RBI, Paytm Payments Bank will have to first take RBI’s permission to add new customers, then it can add new customers with itself. The bank will be allowed to add new customers only after reviewing the central bank’s IT audit reports.

Source: https://news.abplive.com/business/fully-compliant-with-rbi-data-localisation-directions-paytm-payments-bank-1519574

Gold in India trading at six-year high discounts

Physical gold dealers in India were forced to offer the steepest discount in six years last week to lure customers put off by a jump in domestic prices, with some people in top Asian hubs selling their bhttps://readselective.com/india/gold-in-india-tr…r-high-discounts/ullion to cash in on the rally.

Appreciating asset: Gold coins and bars sit on a tray inside a jewellery store in Mumbai. A bullion dealer says some consumers are selling their old jewellery to take advantage of elevated prices. — Bloomberg

Earlier last week, global benchmark spot gold prices rose to near an all-time high of US$2,020.47 (RM8,474.86) as investors sought refuge from uncertainties spurred by the Ukraine crisis.

Local gold prices in India, traditionally the biggest gold consumer after China, jumped to 55,558 rupees (RM3,036) per 10 grammes, not far from the all-time high of 56,191 rupees (RM3,071) hit in 2020.

The price surge hammered demand and prompted dealers to offer discounts as high as US$77 (RM322.98) an ounce over official domestic prices – inclusive of 10.75% import and 3% sales levies – versus US$27 (RM113.25) in the week prior to last week.

China Locks Down iPhone, Tech Hub Shenzhen as Covid Cases Jump

China placed the 17.5 million residents of the southern city of Shenzhen into lockdown for at least a week, seeking to halt a growing Covid-19 outbreak with a move that could cause disruption and production delays in the key technology hub and port.

The lockdown, which came after virus cases doubled nationwide to nearly 3,400, will be accompanied by three rounds of city-wide, mass testing, according to a government notice. The measure, announced Sunday, followed earlier restrictions placed on Shenzhen’s central business district, and will last until March 20.

All bus and subway systems were shut, and businesses, except those providing essential services, have been closed. Employees were told to work from home if they can. Residents will be barred from leaving Shenzhen — home to the headquarters of giants Huawei Technologies Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., as well as one of China’s busiest ports — except in limited situations.

The city is home to the China headquarters and a key manufacturing facility of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Apple Inc.’s main maker of the iPhone and other products. The surge in infections in the city is thought to be linked to an unbridled outbreak in neighboring Hong Kong, where about 300,000 people are currently in isolation or under home quarantine. A Covid flareup in Shanghai has also seen most schools returned to online learning and travel into the city restricted. Bus services from other provinces were halted, and China’s aviation regulator is in discussion with airlines about diverting all international flights into the financial center, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

Source: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/china-places-all-shenzhen-residents-under-lockdown-afp

Ashneer Grover bought Porsche, told BharatPe staff he spent $130K on dining table

Ashneer Grover, who quit fintech platform ‘BharatPe’ that he co-founded amid serious allegations of financial wrongdoings against him and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, allegedly “purchased a Porsche” when he was at BharatPe and “told multiple people at the company that he spent $130,000 on a dining table”, media report said.

According to Bloomberg, office frugality clashed with the couple’s apparently glitzy lifestyle, rubbing some employees the wrong way.

Grover and his wife upgraded their modest home for a rented penthouse and renovated another luxury property.

He also purchased a Porsche and told multiple people at the company that he spent $130,000 on a dining table, the report said citing employees.

As the startup expanded, the company’s staff said Grover pushed them relentlessly.

source: https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ashneer-grover-bought-porsche-told-bharatpe-staff-he-spent-130k-on-dining-table-report/articleshow/90128539.cms

8 Missed Calls From Mom? Ola’s Marketing Stunt Draws Twitter’s Ire

Nothing could have prepared Ola customers for the alarming notification that popped up on their mobile phones yesterday. The cab aggregator company — in a move that has been widely criticised on social media — decided to share a notification reading “8 missed calls from mom” with several of their customers. Needless to say, the clickbait not go down well. Where a single missed call from one’s mother is enough to induce anxiety, Ola’s notification had people panicking until they realised it was nothing more than a marketing ploy promoting a 40 per cent discount on certain services.

“‘8 missed calls from mom’, followed by a 40% off promo! This is a terrible clickbait by Ola,” one Twitter user wrote while sharing a screenshot of the notification.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/8-missed-calls-from-mom-olas-marketing-stunt-draws-twitters-ire-2814844

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