- Thursday, May 02, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief for Indian economy & business for Thursday, April 4, 2024:
India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) is awaiting approval from capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to kickstart the initial public offering (IPO) process, its MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said on Thursday. The NSE’s listing plans have been on the backburner amid a SEBI probe against the exchange and some of its top officials. It was alleged that the exchange misused its co-location facility and gave preferential access to certain trading members. “We will submit a revised Draft Red Herring Prospectus as and when we get an approval from SEBI,” Chauhan said in Mumbai. Its rival BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) launched its IPO in 2017.
Resumption of mining by Vedanta is a historic day for Goa, said the western Indian state’s chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday. The firm said it had started mining operations at the Bicholim mineral block in the state. It had emerged as the successful bidder for the block two years ago. According to the company, Bicholim mineral block is the first auctioned mine to become operational since 2018, when the Supreme Court of India imposed a blanket ban on mining in the coastal state. The increased revenues shall lead to enhanced ability of the state to invest more in welfare schemes, infrastructure development, Sawant added.
India’s dominant services sector experienced accelerated growth last month, driven by robust demand, a private business survey has said. It also revealed that employment increased at a faster rate in seven months while export business witnessed a record expansion. The final HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index compiled by S&P Global rose to 61.2 in March from 60.6 in February, surpassing expectations for a decline to 60.3. HSBC economist Ines Lam attributed the increase to strong domestic demand that spurred sales and business activities. “Input costs rose at a faster rate, yet service providers were able to broadly maintain margins by charging higher output prices,” he added.
The Indian government has no proposal to resume sale of subsidised rice to grain-based distilleries for the production of ethanol, food secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Thursday. “Since July last year, rice has not been diverted for ethanol production. There is no proposal as of now to revisit that policy,” Chopra told reporters in New Delhi. He was responding to questions on whether the government plans to resume the sale of subsidised rice for ethanol in the near future amid reports of likely fall in sugar production in the 2024-25 season (October-September). The rice sale for ethanol makers was discontinued for various reasons, including apprehensions about domestic output and high retail prices, and economic unviability, he added.
To tackle food adulteration, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched an innovative method to curb and detect the pervasive issue of food adulteration. According to the FSSAI website, it has launched a “Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART) Book”, which serves as a guide for consumers to identify common food adulterants in household items. With over 50 quick tests covering various food categories such as milk, oils, sugar, and spices, the DART booklet equips consumers with easy-to-follow instructions and pictorial representations to distinguish between pure and adulterated products. These initiatives aim to empower consumers, enhance surveillance, and raise awareness about food safety across the country.
Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta will raise up to Rs 25 billion (£238 million) through debt securities, it said on Thursday. The fundraise will happen through the issue of non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis. The company, led by billionaire Anil Agarwal, however, did not mention what the proceeds will be used for. Vedanta’s net debt rose to Rs 624.93 billion (£5.9 billion) as on December 31 last year from Rs 577.71 billion (£5.47 billion) rupees, it informed in its third-quarter update. Its cash and cash equivalents fell to Rs 127.34 billion (£1.2 billion) at the end of December from Rs 167.02 billion (£1.58 billion).
(With agencies)
