Category: BUSINESS

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that the government’s monetary and fiscal policies are working in tandem and would further benefit the growing economy with the robust Budget and recent RBI decisions.

Addressing the media along with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra here, FM Sitharaman said there has been good coordination between the central bank and the government, and no one encroaches on the other.

She met the Central Board of Directors of the RBI, along with Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Malhotra at the customary post-Budget meeting in New Delhi.

According to the Finance Minister, the industry is seeing signs of recovery of consumption, and is looking at reviving capacity utilisation.

“I see it as a positive sign and with the decision of the RBI to cut the report rate by 25bps, it can serve as the required traction,” FM Sitharaman noted.

The 25bps rate cut is anticipated to complement the consumption-boosting measures announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, providing a boost to domestic demand drivers.

Additionally, the RBI’s indication that it will inject liquidity as needed to address any tightening of frictional and durable liquidity in the system will ensure that monetary policy transmission remains effective.

FM Sitharaman further said that the basic customs duty (BCD) changes were not a knee-jerk reaction to any global developments and had been in the works for the last two years.

“We will provide tariff protection as required by the industry while focussing on making industry more competitive,” she said.

The industry leaders are confident that the central bank, with the support of the government, would continue to ensure stability in the foreign exchange market as well in the face of pressure from the rising dollar on the emerging markets.

Guwahati: Tata Motors on Saturday launched its registered vehicle scrapping facility (RVSF) here that has the capacity to safely dismantle up to 15,000 end-of-life vehicles annually, using sustainable and environmentally conscious processes.

The facility is operated by Tata Motors’ partner, Axom Platinum Scrappers, and is equipped to scrap both passenger and commercial vehicles of all brands.

This marks the inauguration of the seventh such facility in the country with others being in Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Surat, Chandigarh, the Delhi-NCR region and Pune.

“The launch of this advanced vehicle recycling facility will create valuable employment opportunities and support economic growth of our state and communities,” said state Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Jogen Mohan.

In addition, it will also ensure safe disposal of end-of-life vehicles, reduce carbon emissions, and contribute to a cleaner environment.

“I thank Tata Motors for pioneering the start of start smart facilities in Assam,” he added.

Tata Motors has taken a significant step in advancing responsible vehicle scrapping in the region.

“Committed to the principles of a circular economy, we are driving practices that support sustainability. With our network of RVSFs across seven states, we can now dismantle over 100,000 end-of-life vehicles annually,” informed Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors.

Each facility is fully digitalised, with all its operations seamless and paperless.

Equipped with cell-type and line-type dismantling for both commercial and passenger vehicles, there are dedicated stations for the safe dismantling of various components, including tyres, batteries, fuel, oils, liquids, and gases, according to the automaker.

Every vehicle undergoes a meticulous documentation and dismantling process designed specifically to meet the responsible scrapping requirements of passenger and commercial vehicles, guaranteeing safe disposal of all components as per the nation’s vehicle scrappage policy.

Part of the $165 billion Tata Group, Tata Motors is a $44 billion global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks and buses, offering an extensive range of integrated, smart, and e-mobility solutions.

Mumbai: Following a decline for the fourth consecutive day, shares of online food aggregator Swiggy on Friday slipped below its initial public offering (IPO) issue price of Rs 390.

According to market experts, the company’s shares are dropping due to investors’ reaction to the company’s higher-than-expected losses in the third quarter (Q3 FY25).

After touching a high of Rs 397.65 and a low of Rs 374.8, the stock fell by 2.5 per cent to Rs 379.20 on the BSE during the intra-day trade.

Global financial services company Macquarie has remained the biggest bear on the stock with a target price as low as Rs 325.

Swiggy’s stock has now fallen nearly 40 per cent from its all-time high of Rs 617 which was reported on December 23, 2024.

The continuous decline in stock price has also brought Swiggy’s total market capitalisation below Rs 90,000 crore, according to latest BSE data.

The company’s shares were listed on November 13, 2024, at an issue price of Rs 390 apiece as a part of Rs 11,327.43 crore fundraising through the primary market.

On its debut, the stock was listed at Rs 420 with an 8 per cent gain from the issue price. However, since then, it has fallen 10 per cent below its listing price.

Meanwhile, Swiggy reported a net loss of Rs 799 crore for the quarter ended December 31 (Q3 FY25), a 39 per cent increase from its Rs 574 crore loss in the same period last year (Q3 FY24.

Despite the widening losses, the company’s revenue from operations rose by 31 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3,993 crore in Q3 as compared to Rs 3,049 crore in year-ago period.

“The secular expansion in food delivery margins and cash flow generation is balanced by growth investments being made in Quick-commerce including dark stores expansion and marketing, amidst high competitive intensity in the near-term,” Sriharsha Majety, MD and Group CEO, Swiggy said in filing.

Seoul: Hyundai Motor will temporarily suspend production of its Ioniq 5 and Kona Electric models, as weakening electric vehicle (EV) demand continues to impact sales, according to industry sources on Friday.

According to the sources, Hyundai Motor will halt operations of Line 12 at its Ulsan Plant 1 in South Korea from Feb. 24-28 to adjust production volumes amid sluggish domestic sales and declining orders, reports Yonhap news agency.

The line is used in producing the Ioniq 5 and the Kona Electric.

Hyundai Motor sold only 75 Ioniq 5 units last month domestically, with total domestic sales for 2024 reaching around 16,600 units, falling short of market expectations.

The automaker has recently introduced discounts and other incentive schemes to stimulate demand.

Industry experts note the cooling EV market, combined with policy uncertainties under the second Donald Trump administration in the United States, could lead to a prolonged global demand slowdown.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor saw its sales in the United States climb 15 per cent from a year ago in January, marking its biggest sales for the month to date.

Hyundai Motor’s U.S. sales reached 54,503 units last month, compared with 47,543 units sold in the same month last year, according to the automaker.

The on-year growth was driven by a 74 percent surge in sales of hybrid models and a 15 percent increase in sales of electric vehicles (EVs), with the Santa Fe hybrid EV (HEV), Tucson HEV, Ioniq 5 and 6 EVs all posting record sales for January.

Kia, Hyundai’s sister company and South Korea’s second-largest carmaker, also saw U.S. sales rise 12 percent on-year to 57,007 units in January, according to the company. It marked Kia’s record U.S. sales for January.

The company attributed the increase in sales to its lineup of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and solid sales of the new K4 sedan.

New Delhi: The real estate industry on Friday welcomed the much-awaited benchmark rate cut of 25bps by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), saying lowered interest rates will further nudge homebuyers to buy an ownership home with an upgraded lifestyle.

The Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the MPC has also unanimously decided to continue with a neutral stance and will focus on inflation while supporting growth.

According to Boman Irani, President, CREDAI National, the decision supplements recent announcements in the Union Budget aimed at boosting spending and spur economic growth.

This supportive monetary policy was imperative, especially after the recent 50-basis-point reduction in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), which has already injected significant liquidity into the banking system, he mentioned.

“While the current cut may have a limited direct impact, we anticipate that a further rate cut in the next MPC meeting will provide stronger impetus to overall demand, accelerating housing sales, particularly in the mid-income and affordable segments,” said Irani.

Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, Chairman, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), said after a period of steadiness in the repo rate, this long-awaited and strategic move comes at a crucial time.

“As inflation is now under control, the fiscal deficit remains moderate, and economic growth is expected to accelerate steadily, the reduction in the repo rate signals a renewed sense of resilience,” he noted.

Additionally, it assures us that despite external geopolitical uncertainties, our domestic economic climate keeps markets efficient and demand robust.

“Combined with the tax benefits announced in the FY26 budget for the middle class, this policy change will boost sales velocity,” said Hiranandani.

According to Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India, for the real estate market, lower borrowing costs are expected to boost demand for home loans, making housing more affordable and stimulating sector growth.

“We hope interest rate cuts will be passed on to consumer and the home loan rates become more attractive which combined with the earlier announced tax incentives spur residential demand across the different price brackets, but especially in the below Rs 50 Lakh category, which has seen continued weakening of demand,” he stressed.

This rate cut, the first one since May 2020, is likely to boost consumption and investment. Increased liquidity in the banking system will help address market constraints, benefiting sectors like infrastructure and housing.

Mumbai: In order to check cyber security threats, the Reserve Bank on Friday decided that Indian banks will have exclusive internet domain name ‘bank.in’ and non-bank financial entities ‘fin.in’.

Unveiling the last bi-monthly monetary policy of this fiscal year, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said registrations for ‘bank.in’ will commence from April 2025, and going forward ‘fin.in’ will be introduced.

The decision is aimed at enhancing trust in the financial sector, he said adding the increased instances of fraud in digital payments are a significant concern.

“To combat the same, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is introducing the ‘bank.in’ exclusive Internet Domain for Indian banks,” he said.

The initiative aims to reduce cyber security threats and malicious activities like phishing, and streamline secure financial services, thereby enhancing trust in digital banking and payment services.

The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) will act as the exclusive registrar.

Going forward, Malhotra said it is planned to have an exclusive domain — ‘fin.in’ — for non-bank entities in the financial sector.

The RBI also decided to introduce an additional layer of security by enabling Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) in cross-border ‘Card Not Present’ transactions.

The central bank said that introduction of AFA for digital payments has enhanced the safety of transactions which, in turn, provided confidence to customers to adopt digital payments.

This requirement, however, is mandatory for domestic transactions only.

“In order to provide a similar level of safety for online international transactions using cards issued in India, it is proposed to enable AFA for international card not present (online) transactions as well,” the RBI said.

This will provide an additional layer of security in cases where the overseas merchant is enabled for AFA. Draft circular will be issued shortly for feedback from stakeholders.

Seoul: Naver Corp, South Korea’s leading internet portal operator, said on Friday its fourth-quarter net profit jumped nearly 50 percent from a year earlier thanks to robust sales from its search and e-commerce business.

Net profit for the three months ending in December totalled 444.1 billion won ($306.6 million), up 48.8 percent from 298.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Its operating profit for the period rose 33.7 percent on-year to 542 billion won. Sales increased 13.7 percent to 2.88 trillion won, reports YOnhap news agency.

The earnings exceeded market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 415.6 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

Naver attributed the strong performance to improved sales of its businesses.

Its mainstay search platform unit saw its sales grow 14.7 per cent on-year to 1.06 trillion won amid efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of its platform.

Sales from the commerce unit rose 17.4 per cent on-year to 775.1 billion won, and revenue from the financial technology unit improved 12.6 per cent to 400.9 billion won.

The content unit saw its revenue inch up 0.2 per cent to 467.3 billion won and sales from the cloud business jump 41.1 per cent to 177.6 billion won.

For all of 2024, Naver’s net income soared 89 per cent on-year to 1.86 trillion won, and operating profit surged 32.9 per cent to 1.97 trillion won.

Annual sales increased 11 per cent to 10.73 trillion won in 2024.

It marks the first time in South Korea for a platform company to post more than 10 trillion won in annual sales.

Meanwhile, Naver announced plans to hold a general shareholders meeting on March 26 to discuss a proposal to appoint its founder, Lee Hae-jin, as chairman of the board.

Once approved, Lee will return to the post seven years after he resigned in 2017 to focus on the company’s overseas expansion. He is expected to lead the company’s AI technology development, as Naver plans to roll out AI services based on its generative AI model, HyperClova X, introduced in 2023.

Mumbai: The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex were trading almost flat early on Friday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting to announce its decision on India’s benchmark repo rate.

At 9.35 a.m., the Sensex was trading at 78,033.41, down 18 points or .024 per cent, while the Nifty was trading at 23,598.25, down −5.10 points or 0.022 per cent.

At pre-open, the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 46.15 points or 0.20 per cent higher at 23,649.50, and the BSE Sensex was trading 0.08 per cent higher at 78,119.60.

Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Britannia Industries and UltraTech Cement added to the Nifty 50 index.

According to analysts, the market remains largely optimistic from the start, as indicated by the GIFT Nifty as well, underscoring a positive start for the benchmarks.

“We believe the market has already priced in the effect of a 25 bps rate cut in the past positive sessions during the week, thus any other deviation from expectations and commentary of the governor would serve as key parameters to gauge the market momentum,” said Ameya Ranadive, senior technical analyst, StoxBox.

In his first monetary policy review, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra is widely expected to reduce rates to spur economic growth. As a monetary policy tool, the RBI adjusts the repo rate to influence liquidity in the economy.

Traders seem to have opted for a cautious approach, preferring to book some long positions around this key level ahead of the RBI policy decision and the Delhi state election results, both of which could induce volatility.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,549.95 crore on February 6, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,721.66 crore.

Hyderabad: A three-day “Workshop on Innovative Technologies in Horticulture Crops Production and Value Addition” is being organized as part of the ‘Kisan Agri Show’ at HITEX in Hyderabad from February 7-9.

The workshop is being organized by the Telangana Horticulture Officers Association (THOA) in coordination with the Department of Horticulture.

The workshop aims to provide a dynamic platform for horticulturists, farmers and stakeholders to share knowledge, explore new technologies, and discuss advancements in the horticultural practices.

The first day of the workshop, on Friday, February 7, will feature horticultural experts speaking on bamboo cultivation, fruits export with special emphasis on mango, and control of fruit fly damage in mango.

The Saturday’s topics include technological innovations in spices production and export, and commercial cultivation of horticultural crops.

The concluding day’s topics include market intervention in horticultural farming through Farmers’ Producers Organizations (FPO), urban farming, vegetable cultivation, organic farming, vegetable cultivation, pest and diseases in vegetable cultivation.

Agricultural and horticultural scientists, agri-preneurs, officials from the horticulture department, HMDA, and departmental heads of some departments and institutions will be delivering their lecture at the event.