- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Here are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Thursday, August 18, 2022:
India’s largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday launched the all-new Alto K10 priced between Rs 4 lakh (£4,202/$5,016) and Rs 5.83 lakh (£6,093/$7,274) (ex-showroom). Launched in September 2000, the Alto brand has been the first family car for many households in the country, and has outlasted several competitors. Currently, the Renault Kwid is Alto’s only rival in the small-car segment. “Close to half of all passenger vehicle customers are first-time buyers. While SUVs have definitely gained popularity in recent times, a large section still prefer hatchbacks. In the last fiscal, the Indian passenger vehicle industry sold over 11.5 lakh (1.15 million) hatchbacks. Of that we accounted for over 68 per cent market share. As a market leader, we need to keep the hatchback segment energised with exciting products,” Hisashi Takeuchi, managing director and chief executive officer, Maruti Suzuki, said at the launch.
The persistently high inflation warrants appropriate policy responses by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to anchor expectations going forward, according to an RBI article released on Thursday, Press Trust of India reported. The article indicates that there may be a scenario where interest rates will go up to tame inflation that continues to remain at elevated levels. Retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to 6.71 per cent in July but remained above RBI’s tolerance level for the seventh month in a row. The central bank has been tasked by the government to ensure that retail inflation remains within the range of 2-6 per cent. “Inflation has edged down, but its persistence at elevated levels warrants appropriate policy responses to anchor expectations going forward,” said the article published in RBI’s latest bulletin.
India’s crude oil imports from Russia in July fell for the first time since March along with its overall purchase while supplies from Saudi Arabia rebounded for the first in five months, data obtained from trade and industry sources showed, Reuters reported. Indian refiners lifted more term supplies from Saudi Arabia as prices were attractive while prices for Russian supplies have climbed on robust demand. India shipped in 877,400 barrels per day (bpd) oil from Russia in July, a decline of about 7.3 per cent from June, with Moscow continuing as its second biggest oil supplier after Iraq, the report added. Refiners in India are snapping up discounted Russian oil after some Western countries and companies shunned purchases from Moscow over its late-February invasion of Ukraine.
The share price of telecom service provider Bharti Airtel surged on Thursday after the company made advance payments for 5G spectrum purchase, Asian News International reported. Bharti Airtel share price surged 1.59 per cent to close at Rs 733.25 (£8/$9.2) on the BSE on Thursday. The scrip touched a high of Rs 735.70 (£8/$9.23) in the intra-day. Bharti Airtel share price has gained 4.5 per cent in the past two trading sessions. The company’s shares rose sharply after it made advance payments for the 5G spectrum. Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it has paid Rs 8,312.4 crore (£873.2 million/$1.04 billion) to the Department of Telecom (Government of India) towards dues for spectrum acquired in the recently concluded 5G auctions.
In a significant development which would revolutionise agriculture in the country, Directorate of Agriculture, Jharkhand and global blockchain technology company, SettleMint, India jointly announced the successful launch of seed distribution to farmers based on blockchain technology, ANI/NewsVoir reported. In the two years of operations in India, SettleMint has made significant progress and took rapid strides towards the enablement of blockchain adaption in India. The successful implementation of blockchain based seed distribution to farmers in Jharkhand is a testimony to that effect.
Nippon Paint, Asia’s No. 1 paint and coatings company came together with Tamana, India’s premier, not-for-profit organisation for people with intellectual, developmental, multiple disabilities and those on the autism spectrum, to bring out a unique fashion show titled ‘Fashion Beyond Boundaries, ANI/NewsVoir reported. The fashion show, co-hosted by Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) on August 12 at The Hyatt Regency, New Delhi, who were the hospitality partner of the event, was an inspiring and powerful statement on inclusion. Through this show, the collaboration wanted to highlight how people with disabilities are equal members of our community and deserve a chance to reach their full potential and participate effectively in all walks of life.
