1. India's Sensex Nosedives 800 Points and Gold Glitters at Record High
Benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty cracked nearly 2 per cent on Monday, 24 February following growing concerns over the global spread of the deadly coronavirus. The 30-share index tumbled 807 points or 1.96 per cent to end at 40,363, while the 50-share Nifty index declined 242 points or 2.01 per cent to settle at 11,838.
Money is flowing from risky assets to safe haven assets like gold and dollar. In the international market, gold prices jumped over 2 per cent to their highest since February 2013, as a spike in coronavirus cases in several countries outside China heightened worries about a hit to global economic growth, prompting a flight to safe havens. Gold traded 0.80 per cent higher at Rs 43010 per 10 gram in the domestic market.
(Source: The Economic Times)
2. SBI to Hold Mega E-Auction of Over 1,000 Properties
State Bank of India will be holding a mega e-auction of over 1,000 open plots, commercial, residential and industrial properties on 26 February 2020.
It will be auctioning these non-performing assets (NPAs) this month to recover its dues from those borrowers, sources said. Most of these properties are those that have been pledged as collateral for housing and other business loans and taken over by the bank under the Security and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (Sarfaesi) Act due to non-payment of pending dues by the borrowers.
The defaulters were given a notice period of 60 days under the Sarfaesi Act, after which the properties were seized and auctioned.
(Source: Money Control)
3. Nadella Pins Hopes on Jio Partnership to Help Propel India Forward
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani and Microsoft Corp. chief executive Satya Nadella on Monday, 24 February expressed hope and excitement about their nascent technology alliance, with Ambani terming it the “defining partnership of the decade".
“What this decade will offer is that we go from no technology to pole-vault in tech and adopt a full service," Ambani said during a fireside chat at the Future Decoded Tech Summit in Mumbai.
In August 2019, Reliance Industries announced a 10-year technology partnership with Microsoft for its subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, including for cloud-based solutions.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Centre Mulling ‘Tariff Revision to Save the Telecom Sector’
A sustainable growth model for the telecom sector appears to be in the works, with the government considering revisions to tariff structure.
“Tariff rate is being discussed and in the process... expectations are that it will be fast tracked,” a source in the government told BusinessLine. This is to mitigate the effects of the AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) issue that has impacted telecom operators and also slowed the 5G implementation process. Indications are that another revision of tariff structure is in the pipeline, as the government believes that this only can bring back the sector’s golden days.
(Source: BusinessLine)
5. NITI Aayog Official Says $5 Trillion Economy Target Too Idealistic
The government's target of achieving a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25 sounds "too idealistic", a Niti Aayog committee official said on Monday, 24 February. The target has been so set to raise the bar of India's economic performance, she said.
"For now, the ambitious $5 trillion economy target is a statement of intent, which sounds too idealistic," said Bindu Dalmia, chairperson of the National Committee on Financial Inclusion and Literacy at Niti Aayog.
India is "trapped" within a range-bound GDP growth of 5-6 per cent, she said at an MCCI-organised session here.
(Source: Money Control)
6. India’s Domestic Natural Gas Prices Set to Nearly Halve to 10-Year Lows of $2
India’s domestic natural gas prices are set to nearly halve to 10 Year lows of $2/mmbtu over the next year. SOE E&Ps will suffer and users like IGL, MGL & GAIL will benefit but perhaps these pre-deregulation levels will prompt the govt. to fix the gas price framework that it instituted soon after it took office in 2014. ONGC & OINL, where $1 adds ~15% to EPS, would have the most to gain from such a miracle.
(Source: Financial Express)
7. SEBI Reviews Margin Framework for Cash, Derivatives Segments
Markets regulator Sebi on Monday, 24 February reviewed the margin framework for cash and derivatives segments, in order to bring more efficiency in the risk management system. The move has been taken to keep pace with the changing market dynamics and to bring more efficiency in the risk management framework.
The framework, which has been prepared in consultation with the capital markets regulator’s Risk Management Review Committee, will come into effect from 1 May this year, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular.
(Source: Financial Express)
8. Centre Urges Bengal to Join Flagship PM-Kisan Scheme for Benefit of 70 Lakh Farmers
The Centre has appealed to the West Bengal government to join the flagship direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, PM-Kisan, so that 70 lakh farmers of the state get the income support benefit at the earliest. The government, which rolled out the scheme a year back, aims to cover 14 crore farmers across the country by 31 March, 2021. Around 70% beneficiaries have been enrolled so far.
Barring West Bengal, all other states and Union Territories are implementing the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) which has so far benefited 8.45 crore farmers, said agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday, 24 February.
About 10 lakh farmers of West Bengal have already self registered for the scheme after the Centre allowed it through the online portal of PM-Kisan, he said and added that the cash benefit to these farmers will only reach them after the state government verifies and authenticate the data.
(Source: Financial Express)
9. Godrej Properties Sales Touches Rs 3,532 CR During April-December of FY20
Realty firm Godrej Properties sold properties worth Rs 3,532 crore during the April-December 2019 period, up 12 per cent as compared with a year-ago period.
According to an investors’ presentation, the company’s sales bookings stood at Rs 3,155 crore during April-December 2018. In terms of volume, Mumbai-based Godrej Properties sold nearly 52 lakh sq ft area, an increase of 3 per cent from the corresponding period of the previous year.
Out of the total sales bookings of ₹3,532 crore achieved during the first nine months of this financial year, the housing segment contributed ₹3,471 crore. Sales of commercial properties stood at ₹61 crore.
(Source: BusinessLine)
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