Category: BUSINESS

Mumbai: The Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Tuesday as buying was seen in the media and auto sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.36 am, Sensex was trading 192.68 points or 0.26 per cent up at 74,647.09 while the Nifty climbed 33.85 points or 0.15 per cent at 22,587.20.

Nifty Bank was up 33.70 points or 0.07 per cent at 48,685.65. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 49,688.40 after declining 324.70 points or 0.65 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 15,382.20 after dropping 95.10 points or 0.61 per cent.

According to experts, Nifty has broken the low and decisively closed below it. Also, the Nifty closed below the support line. The bearish trend can pick up momentum on the downside since the support level is broken.

“The lower end of the downward sloping channel is at 22100. 22820 will be a crucial resistance level and trend reversal as well,” said Vikram Kasat, Head Advisory of PL Capital.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, M&M, Zomato, Maruti Suzuki, Nestle India, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top gainers. Whereas, L&T, Tech Mahindra, TCS, PowerGrid, Sun Pharma, NTPC, HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement and Titan were the top losers.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones climbed 0.08 per cent to close at 43,461.21. The S&P 500 declined 0.50 per cent to 5,983.25 and the Nasdaq declined 1.21 per cent to close at 19,286.93.

In the Asian markets, Seoul, China, Bangkok, Japan, Jakarta and Hong Kong were trading in red.

On the institutional front, foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak, offloading equities worth Rs 6,286.70 crore on February 24. Meanwhile, domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) extended their buying spree, acquiring equities worth 5,185.65 crore on the same day.

“Given the prevailing market dynamics, traders are advised to exercise caution and wait for confirmation of price action at critical levels before initiating fresh positions,” said Hardik Matalia of Choice Broking.

New Delhi: The Indian personal computer (PC) market saw steady growth in 2024, with total shipments rising by 3.8 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to 14.4 million units, a new report said on Monday.

The market, which includes desktops, notebooks, and workstations, saw a strong recovery, driven by increased demand across both consumer and commercial segments.

According to the latest report from the International Data Corporation (IDC), notebooks led the growth with a 4.5 per cent YoY increase among different categories, while desktops saw a 1.8 per cent YoY rise.

Workstations recorded the highest growth at 10.9 per cent, showing strong demand from businesses and professionals.

The final quarter of 2024 was particularly strong, with the total PC market expanding by 6.9 per cent YoY.

The notebook segment stood out, growing by 9.6 per cent YoY, while premium notebooks priced above $1,000 saw an impressive 13.8 per cent growth.

The consumer segment experienced a moderate rise of 2.6 per cent YoY in 2024 and 2.2 per cent YoY in the fourth quarter.

“The consumer PC market has been on a growth trajectory driven by gaming and AI-powered PCs,” said Bharath Shenoy, research manager, IDC India & South Asia.

He added that the demand for gaming notebooks has been robust, with double-digit growth in FY2024.

“Also, since mid-2024, shipments of AI-powered notebooks increased substantially as the demand for relatively lower-end AI PCs powered by Intel Core Ultra processors and AMD Ryzen AI processors have seen a steady increase,” Shenoy mentioned.

A major contributor to this growth was the e-commerce sector, where sales through online retailers (eTailers) surged 21.7 per cent for the full year and 29 per cent in Q4, the report said.

This boost was largely driven by vendor stocking ahead of major sales events, including year-end promotions and Republic Day sales in January.

Meanwhile, the commercial segment posted a stronger 5.1 per cent YoY growth in 2024, accelerating to 11.1 per cent YoY in the last quarter of the year.

Government purchases through platforms like the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and demand from large enterprises contributed to a 10.6 per cent YoY growth in both the enterprise and government sectors.

Cupertino: Apple on Monday announced plans to spend and invest more than $500 billion in the US over the next four years, creating 20,000 new jobs.

The vast majority of jobs will be focused on R&D, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning.

The expanded commitment includes significant investment in Apple’s R&D hubs across the country. This includes growing teams across the U.S. focused on areas including custom silicon, hardware engineering, software development, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, the company said in a statement.

“We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we’re proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country’s future,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

“From doubling our Advanced Manufacturing Fund, to building advanced technology in Texas, we’re thrilled to expand our support for American manufacturing. And we’ll keep working with people and companies across this country to help write an extraordinary new chapter in the history of American innovation,” Cook added.

As part of this package of US investments, Apple and partners will open a new advanced manufacturing facility in Houston to produce servers that support Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that helps users write, express themselves, and get things done.

A 250,000-square-foot server manufacturing facility, slated to open in 2026, will create thousands of jobs.

Apple will also double its U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Fund, create an academy in Michigan to train the next generation of U.S. manufacturers, and grow its research and development investments in the U.S. to support cutting-edge fields like silicon engineering.

The $500 billion commitment includes Apple’s work with thousands of suppliers across all 50 states, direct employment, Apple Intelligence infrastructure and data centres, corporate facilities, and Apple TV+ productions in 20 states.

Apple remains one of the largest U.S. taxpayers, having paid more than $75 billion in U.S. taxes over the past five years, including $19 billion in 2024 alone.

“Today, Apple supports more than 2.9 million jobs across the country through direct employment, work with U.S.-based suppliers and manufacturers, and developer jobs in the thriving iOS app economy,” said the company.

Bhopal: India’s leading integrated business conglomerate, Adani Group is set to make waves in Madhya Pradesh with a colossal Rs 1.1 lakh crore investment across diverse sectors like pumped storage, cement, mining, smart meters, and thermal energy.

This monumental move promises to create over 1,20,000 jobs by the end of the decade, the Indian business behemoth announced on the occasion of the two-day Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2025 here on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the summit.

At the Global Investors Summit 2025 in Bhopal, Adani Group Chairman, Gautam Adani, affirmed the group’s unwavering commitment to the state. Praising Madhya Pradesh’s transformation into an investment hub under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, he emphasized that these investments are much more than financial transactions.

“These are milestones in a shared journey, propelling Madhya Pradesh to the forefront of India’s industrial and economic landscape,” Gautam Adani said.

The Adani Group, having already infused Rs 50,000 crore into Madhya Pradesh’s power, infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics, and agri-business sectors, has created more than 25,000 jobs.

The new investments are set to further bolster the state’s industrial ecosystem, aligning with India’s ambitions for self-reliance and innovation.

In an exciting development, India’s ace businessman Adani revealed ongoing discussions with the state government regarding additional investments worth Rs 1 lakh crore. This includes plans for a state-of-the-art greenfield smart city, a significant airport project, and an ambitious coal gasification initiative. These projects are expected to drive substantial employment, enhance connectivity, and position Madhya Pradesh as a key economic powerhouse.

The Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2025 has attracted a galaxy of industry leaders, policymakers, and global investors to explore new economic opportunities and drive cross-sector investments.

Gautam Adani recently announced a Rs 10,000 crore donation to social causes, in celebration of his son Jeet’s wedding. This generous donation aims to create affordable and accessible world-class infrastructure in education, healthcare, and skill development for the underprivileged.

New Delhi: Global brokerages and financial services majors have hailed India’s evolving electric vehicle (EV) policy which would help companies like Tesla to enter the country in a seamless way.

According to Nomura, India’s electric vehicle policy will fast-track electric vehicle adoption, making it easier for Tesla and other global automakers to invest.

The policy shift is also expected to expand India’s charging infrastructure, benefiting key suppliers.

“EV penetration in cars, which has been around approx. 2 per cent over the past two years, is set to increase to approx. 5 per cent/9 per cent by FY27/FY30F,” said the report.

It is projected to grow to 5 per cent by FY27 and further to 9 per cent by FY30.

Similarly, the adoption of electric two-wheelers (2Ws) is predicted to rise from 5.8 per cent in FY25 to 10 per cent by FY27 and 20 per cent by FY30, according to the report.

Domestic auto ancillary companies that already export components to Tesla’s US operations could benefit from additional business if Tesla establishes an Indian plant.

Meanwhile, global brokerage CLSA said that in order to scale in the expanding Indian electric vehicle (EV) market, US major Tesla will need to manufacture its cars within the country and price them in the Rs 25 lakh-Rs 30 lakh range.

According to CLSA, Tesla would need to establish manufacturing in India to scale up with its current portfolio and “price its vehicles at less than Rs 3.5-4 million (around Rs 35-40 lakh) on-road, even if import duties are reduced to sub-20 per cent levels”.

The brokerage further said in its note that Tesla’s entry would not have any significant impact on domestic players like Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motors India and Tata Motors, as penetration of EVs in India is evolving and offers plenty of growth opportunities.

India’s EV penetration stands at an estimated 2.4 per cent.

As Tesla gears up to enter India this year, the government is reportedly working on modifying the terms of a new policy that promotes the manufacturing of EVs in the country. The Centre may also offer further import duty relief.

Mumbai: The Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Monday amid weak global cues, as selling was seen in the IT and financial service sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.34 am, Sensex was trading 541.66 points or 0.72 per cent down at 74,769.40 while the Nifty declined 158.40 points or 0.69 per cent at 22,637.50.

Nifty Bank was down 447.55 points or 0.91 per cent at 48,533.65. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 49,699.45 after declining 786.75 points or 1.56 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 15,363.35 after dropping 273.55 points or 1.75 per cent.

According to experts, the market is facing headwinds from relentless foreign institutional investor (FII) selling and global uncertainties relating to US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.

After a negative opening, Nifty can find support at 22,700 followed by 22,600 and 22,500. On the higher side, 22,900 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 23,000 and 23,100, according to market watchers.

“The charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 48,500 followed by 48,200 and 47,900. If the index advances further, 49,200 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 49,500 and 49,700,” said Hardik Matalia of Choice Broking.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, Zomato, HCL Tech, PowerGrid, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, TCS, SBI and Infosys were the top losers. Whereas, Nestle India, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma and ITC were the top gainers.

In the last trading session on Friday, Dow Jones declined 1.69 per cent to close at 43,428.02. The S&P 500 declined 1.71 per cent to 6,013.13 and the Nasdaq declined 2.20 per cent to close at 19,524.01.

In the Asian markets, Seoul, China, Bangkok, Japan, Jakarta and Hong Kong were trading in red.

Gold and silver witnessed high volatility last week amid global uncertainty due to tariff fears. Gold prices gained for the eighth consecutive week in the international markets and are trading at record highs, said experts.

“The dollar index saw profit taking at their highs amid downbeat US services PMI data as services PMI slipped below 50 levels for the first time since 25 months. The U.S. jobless claims also surged and pushed the dollar index lower,” said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities of Mehta Equities Ltd.

The FIIs remained net sellers for the third consecutive session on February 21 as they sold equities worth Rs 3,449.15 crore. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers on 13th day as they bought equities worth Rs 2,884.61 crore.

Kottayam: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has highlighted the rapid pace of innovation in India and the country’s leadership position in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).

In her address at the convocation ceremony of IIIT Kottayam, she pointed out Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s comment that India is the ‘use case capital of AI,’ is a “very big statement” as it means that “we are not just talking about artificial intelligence or doing research in AI. We are implementing it on a large scale.”

Underscoring the awareness about AI in the country, she added that India recorded 3 billion AI-related app downloads in 2024 which was far ahead of the US’ number of 1.5 billion and China‘s 1.3 billion.

“We are not just leading in Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption but we are also shaping how AI is governed,” the Finance Minister said in her address at the convocation ceremony of IIIT Kottayam in Kerala.

“At the recent AI Action Summit in Paris, which India co-chaired with France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about how AI is not just a national issue but a global responsibility. It is very important to have an AI which is ethical, inclusive and trustworthy,” FM Sitharaman observed.

She pointed out that the fear that some sections of society may have, about AI leading to a lot of undetected unethical practices will not be addressed “unless we, from the beginning, understand it with responsibility.”

The Finance Minister said that the country is not just experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI), but the government at the centre has taken a lot of inputs from stakeholders and is continuously coming up with policies to make sure that AI gets due attention

She also highlighted that India’s rank in the Global Innovation Index has improved to 39th in 2024 among 133 economies from the 81st position in 2015.

FM Sitharaman pointed out that India’s patent-to-GDP ratio, a measure of the economic impact of patent activity, has grown significantly from 144 in 2013 to 381 in 2023. The country now holds the seventh position in intangible asset intensity, surpassing the growth rates of many high-income economies.

She also highlighted that India secured the sixth spot in global intellectual property filings as per WIPO in 2023 and the country has improved its Network Readiness Index ranking from 79th in 2019 to 49th in 2024, reflecting the advance towards greater innovation and self-reliance.

Ahmedabad: The Adani Group’s total global tax and other contributions to the exchequer amounted to Rs 58,104.4 crore for the financial year 2023-24, showcasing a significant increase from the previous year’s Rs 46,610.2 crore through its portfolio of listed entities, the company said on Sunday.

In line with its commitment to practising the highest standard of governance and commitment towards all its stakeholders, the Adani Group, a global leader in infrastructure development, has released its ‘Tax Transparency Reports’ for FY24.

The independent reports are published by seven of the group’s listed entities – Adani Enterprises Limited, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited, Adani Green Energy Limited, Adani Energy Solutions Limited, Adani Power Limited, Adani Total Gas Limited, and Ambuja Cements Limited.

The figure also includes the tax paid by three other listed companies – NDTV, ACC and Sanghi Industries – that are held by the seven companies.

“Transparency is the foundation of trust, and trust is essential for sustainable growth,” said Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group.

“As one of India’s largest contributors to the exchequer, we recognise that our responsibility goes beyond compliance. It is also about operating with integrity and accountability. Every rupee we contribute to our nation’s finances reflects our commitment to transparency and good governance,” the billionaire industrialist added.

By voluntarily sharing these reports with the public, “we aim to foster greater stakeholder confidence and set new benchmarks for responsible corporate conduct”, Gautam Adani added.

The ‘Tax Transparency Reports’ provide a complete breakdown of Adani Group’s global tax and other contributions. It includes Direct Contributions like global taxes, duties and other charges borne by Adani’s portfolio of companies; Indirect Contributions like global taxes and duties collected and paid on behalf of other stakeholders; and Other Contributions like social security, etc contributed for the benefit of the employees.

Through this voluntary initiative, the Group aims to demonstrate its commitment to transparency, foster stakeholder trust and contribute to a more accountable global tax environment.

Adani Group considers tax transparency as an integral part of its broader Environment Social Governance (ESG) framework. The group strives to harmonise growth with social responsibility, aiming to transform India’s infrastructure landscape while promoting innovation and creating long-term value for stakeholders.

With the global tax environment entering a new age, forward-looking companies are voluntarily bringing out the Tax Transparency Report, even though the same is not mandatory.

Through the report, such companies seek to drive wider stakeholder attention and greater credibility, besides creating the basis for the highest standards of tax transparency.

By emphasising transparency and integrity in tax compliance and reporting, the Group said it aims to build trust with stakeholders and demonstrate its commitment to responsible business practices.

Washington: US President Donald Trump has claimed that the Biden administration allocated USD 18 million in funding to India to help with its elections, arguing that the country doesn’t need this money.

His remarks during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday after he repeatedly attacked the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for allocating USD 21 million in funding to India for “voter turnout”.

In his speech, Trump also accused India of taking advantage of the US.

“18 million dollars for helping India with its elections. Why the hell? Why don’t we just go to old paper ballots, and let them help us with their elections, right? Voter ID. Wouldn’t that be nice? We’re giving money to India for elections. They don’t need money,” he said.

“They take advantage of us pretty good. One of the highest tariff nations in the world…We have a 200 per cent (tariffs) there and then we’re giving them a lot of money to help them with their election,” Trump said.

Trump also criticised the USAID for giving USD 29 million to Bangladesh.

“USD 29 million goes to strengthen the political landscape and help them out so that they can vote for a radical left communist in Bangladesh,” he said, without naming anyone.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that USAID under the previous administration led by Joe Biden allocated USD 21 million in funding to India for “voter turnout”, sparking a row in the country over the assistance.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the information put out by the Trump administration people is “concerning” and that the government is looking into it.

During an interaction at an event in New Delhi, he also said the USAID was allowed in India “in good faith, to do good faith activities”, and suggestions are being made out of America that “there are activities which are in bad faith”.

“So, it surely warrants a look. And, if there is something to it, I think the country should know who are the people involved in the bad faith activities,” the external affairs minister said.

The Congress party on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “talk to his friend” and strongly refute the allegation.

On Thursday, at a Republican Governors Association meeting, Trump claimed that the USD 21 million funding to India for ‘voter turnout’ was a “kickback” scheme, as he continued to attack the previous Biden administration.

Trump had raised similar concerns on Thursday and Wednesday, days after his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk claimed that USAID contributed USD 21 million to the Election Commission to boost voter turnout in India as he listed items on which the “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent.”

On February 16, DOGE also noted that all of the items had been cancelled.