Economy Market Snapshot March 2024

General News

• Lok Sabha Election 2024: Polls to be held in 7 phases; counting on 4 June.
• India has 97 crore registered voters, 19.74 crore voters in 20-29 age group: CEC.
• EC introduces Vote from home for citizens above 85, voters with 40% disability.
• EC uploads electoral bonds data with unique numbers on its website.
• EC Arun Goel resigns; Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Gyanesh Kumar named new election commissioners.
• No immunity from prosecution if MP/MLA takes bribe to vote or make speeches: SC.
• PM Modi chairs brainstorming session for ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’; discusses action plan for next 5 years.
• NDA seals Bihar seat-sharing deal: BJP to contest 17 seats, JD(U) 16.
• BJP to go solo in Odisha and Punjab.
• BJP, TDP, Jana Sena join hands to fight Lok Sabha, Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls.
• Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal arrested in Liquor Policy case; Delhi High Court rejects plea to remove CM.
• Top INDIA bloc leaders attend INDIA Alliance maha rally at the Ramlila Maidan.
• PM Modi launches BJP’s poll campaign for Lok Sabha Election 2024 in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut.
• Kovind-led panel on ‘one nation, one election’ submits report to President Draupadi Murmu.
• Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ nears ends in Mumbai spanning east-west of India.
• PM Modi visits J&K for the first time since abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
• PM Modi inaugurates and lays foundation stones of projects worth ₹15,000 crore in West Bengal.
• PM Modi inaugurates, lays foundation of development projects worth over ₹34,000 crore in UP.
• Amit Shah launches NUCFDC, sets target to establish one urban cooperative bank in each town.
• Smriti Irani laid foundation stone of projects worth ₹225 crore for development of Buddhist communities.
• PM Modi launches multiple development projects worth 56,000 crore rupees in Telangana.
• NSA Doval meets Israeli PM Netanyahu to discuss war in Gaza, humanitarian assistance.
• PM Modi arrives in Bhutan, inaugurates modern hospital built with Indian assistance in Bhutan.
• S Jaishankar meets Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong; leaders exchange views on Indo-Pacific and West Asia.
• Haryana CM Khattar, ministers resign, BJP president Nayab Singh Saini to be sworn in as CM.
• Centre signs tripartite agreement with Tipra Motha, Tripura govt to address Tripura’s indigenous issues.
• CBI, Europol sign arrangement for cooperation in tackling crimes, terrorism.
• BJP fields its state chief Surendran against Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad.
• Tamilisai Soundararajan rejoins BJP after resigning as Telangana Governor.
• Naveen Jindal, Ex-Haryana minister Savitri Jindal, Calcutta HC judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay joins BJP.
• SC quashes money laundering case against Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
• BRS leader K Kavitha produced before Delhi court by ED in excise policy case.
• Delhi HC admits CBI’s appeal challenging acquittal of former Minister A Raja, others in 2G scam case.
• CBI, Europol sign arrangement for cooperation in tackling crimes, terrorism.
• Centre Notifies CAA Rules; launches portal for those seeking Indian citizenship under CAA.
• Defence ministry signs 5 capital acquisition deals of ₹39,125.39 crore.
• Rajnath Singh to inaugurate DefConnect 2024 on March 4 to encourage indigenous defence innovation.
• Bharat Shakti Exercise: LCA Tejas, ALH Mk-IV, LCH Prachand on display at Pokhran.
• Mission Divyastra launched successfully, Agni-5 Missile makes maiden flight with MIRV technology.
• IAF activates Emergency Landing Facility Strip on national highway in Andhra Pradesh.
• ISRO successfully carried out landing of its reusable launch vehicle Pushpak.
• ISRO’s PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) mission accomplishes zero orbital debris mission.
• President confers Bharat Ratna on BJP stalwart LK Advani; Former PMs Narasimha Rao, Charan Singh, M.S. Swaminathan, former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur awarded posthumously.
• PM presents first-ever National Creators Award in 20 categories.
• Amid crisis, Bengaluru bans potable water usage for car washing, gardening; imposes ₹5,000 fine.
• CBI busts human trafficking network taking Indians to Russia-Ukraine war zone.
• Indian Navy rescues 23 Pakistani crew from hijacked Iranian ship in Arabian Sea.
• Vladimir Putin wins Russia election in landslide with no serious competition.
• Russia-NATO conflict is “one step away” from World War III: Putin.
• 133 dead in Moscow concert hall attack, Islamic State claims responsibility.
• UNSC for first time demands ‘immediate’ ceasefire in Gaza; US abstains; Russia and China vetos.
• Nikki Haley suspends campaign for 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
• Biden and Trump head toward rematch after securing party nominations.
• Biden, Obama, Clinton rake in record $25 million at NYC fundraiser.
• Shehbaz Sharif sworn in as Pakistan’s PM for second time. Asif Ali Zardari becomes 14th President.
• Maldives signs China defence deal as India prepares exit.
• Sweden officially joins NATO, becoming alliance’s 32nd member.
• France, Brazil agree to €1 billion deal to preserve Amazon.
• Russia vetoes UN panel’s mandate to monitor North Korea sanctions.
• US, UK & Australia entered agreement to build Australia’s SSN-AUKUS Submarines.
• Sri Lankan PM Dinesh Gunawardena meets Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• Oscars 2024: ‘Oppenheimer’ gets best picture at the 96th Academy Awards, dominates with seven wins.
• WPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bangalore wins first title.
• India win 5 match Test series against England 4-1 series win.
• IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders move to first position.
• Virat Kohli takes the lead in the Orange Cap race in IPL 2024 with 181 runs.
• England’s James Anderson becomes 1st pacer and 3rd bowler to take 700 test wickets.
• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty win French Open doubles title
• Pro Kabaddi League 10: Puneri Paltan win first ever PKL title, beat Haryana Steelers.
• Indian men and women Table Tennis teams qualify for Paris 2024 Olympics.

Business News

• PM Modi inaugurates, lays foundation stone for 112 National Highway Projects worth ₹1 lakh crore.
• PM Modi lays foundation stone of 3 semiconductor facilities worth ₹1.25 lakh crore.
• Ashwini Vaishnaw launches India’s fastest, indigenous router with speed of 2.4 Tbps.
• PM Modi launches multiple oil and gas projects worth nearly ₹1.5 lakh crore across the nation.
• Rajasthan inks MoUs with four CPSEs for setting up solar power, thermal, green hydrogen projects.
• Delhi government implements solar policy, promising zero electricity bills for residents.
• PM Modi inaugurates 15 airport projects; inaugurates India’s first underwater metro line in Kolkata.
• Govt approves 4% hike in DA for govt employees at cost of ₹12,869 crore pa to exchequer.
• India’s GST collection increases 12.5% to ₹1.68 lakh crore in February.
• Cabinet approves India AI Mission with ₹10,372 crore outlay.
• Govt amends electricity rules to address power surplus and enhance grid reliability.
• Govt raises MSP for jute by ₹285/qtl for FY25, 65% more than costs.
• Govt announces ₹500 crore e-mobility scheme to promote electric vehicles.
• India, EFTA ink trade deal with investment promise of $100 billion.
• India approves e-vehicle policy with tax relief to rev up manufacturing hub dream.
• Karnataka to impose 3% additional cess on transport vehicles; lifetime tax on EVs above ₹25 lakh.
• Kerala rejects union govt’s ₹5,000 crore loan offer to resolve financial crisis.
• India forms more than 1.68 lakh companies in FY24; highest in Feb.
• LIC presents ₹2,441 crore dividend cheque to Sitharaman.
• NHAI advises Paytm FASTag users to switch to other bank FASTag before March 15.
• T+0 trade cycle begins; BSE releases list of 25 stocks eligible for T+0 settlement cycle.
• Tata Motors to demerge operations into 2 listed entities.
• Meesho announces largest ESOP buyback worth ₹200 crore.
• British American Tobacco starts $2 billion buyback following its ITC stake sale.
• Ashok Leyland declares interim dividend of ₹4.95 per share, record date fixed for 3 April.
• RBI issues directions to card networks for issuance of credit card to customers.
• NCLT approves Aditya Birla group plan to merge NBFCs.
• RBI bars IIFL Finance from sanctioning or disbursing gold loans.
• IIFL Finance to receive $200 million liquidity support from Fairfax after RBI ban.
• ICICI Securities delisting gets nod, setting up merger with ICICI Bank.
• IRDAI board gives nod to 8 regulations for insurance products, policyholders.
• US Fed keeps key rates unchanged at 5.25%-5.5% for 5th straight meeting, projects 3 rate cuts in 2024.
• New Zealand slips into its second recession in 18 months as economy contracts.
• Sri Lanka’s Central Bank slashes policy interest rates by 50 bps to stimulate growth.
• Japanese Yen hits 34-yr low ahead of key US inflation test.
• Bank of Japan ends negative interest rate policy after 17 years.
• Pakistan central bank keeps interest rate on hold at 22%.
• Centre hikes commercial LPG & ATF prices; windfall tax on petroleum crude raised to ₹4,600/metric ton.
• IOC to make fuel for Formula 1 – first by an Indian firm.
• Centre reduces Petrol & Diesel prices by ₹2 per litre across country.
• FLY91, India’s newest airline, launch commercial services with an inaugural flight from Goa to Bengaluru.
• Akasa Air commences international operations, first overseas flight from Mumbai to Doha, Qatar.
• Maruti Suzuki’s in-plant railway siding, India’s first such project, inaugurated by PM Modi in Gujarat.
• Tata Motors inks MoU with Tamil Nadu Govt to set up ₹9,000 crore facility in Ranipet.
• Biden administration unveils strictest ever US car emission limits to boost EVs.
• Aramco Digital and LTIMindtree collaborate to launch IT services company in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Google to collaborate with election commission; uses AI models to counter misinformation.
• Apple in talks with Google for using Gemini to bring generative AI features to iPhones.
• Qualcomm introduces Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 with on-device generative AI capabilities.
• Nvidia unveils higher performing ‘superchips’ to power AI.
• Tech Mahindra to merge two US-based subsidiaries to optimise costs.
• JBM Auto arm wins contract of ₹7,500 crore under PM-eBus Sewa Scheme.
• Supreme Court dismisses Vedanta’s plea to reopen copper smelting unit in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin.
• Adani family infuses ₹6,661 crore into Ambuja Cements, raises stake to 66.7%.
• Paytm Payments Bank officially halt its operations as mandated by the RBI.
• NPCI grants approval to Paytm to participate in UPI as a third-party application provider.
• Amul, ‘Taste of India’, goes international with launch in US.
• Google reinstates Info Edge apps, including Naukri and 99acres on Play Store.
• TikTok faces U.S. ban in new Draft Bill.
• Byju’s gets a breather as NCLT refuses to defer EGM over rights issue.
• JioCinema ropes in 18 sponsors for IPL 2024.
• Star Sports, Tata Play introduce targeted advertising for IPL 2024.
• OpenAI reinstates Sam Altman to its board, says it has ‘full confidence’.
• Naveen Jindal made president of Indian Steel Association.
• TVS chairman Venu Srinivasan’s family inks pact to avoid future business, trademark tussles.
• Paytm refutes layoff reports as SVP Praveen Sharma steps down.
• Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison over FTX collapse.