Economy Market Snapshot February 2024

General News

• Budget session gets extended by a day; session concludes as both Houses adjourned sine die.
• Lok Sabha sees 148% productivity and Rajya Sabha 137%.
• Sonia Gandhi , J P Nadda, Chavan and Deora among 41 elected unopposed as Rajya Sabha MPs.
• Govt tables White Paper highlighting economic situation in country during Congress-led UPA rule.
• 97 crore electors registered before forthcoming general elections in the country: Election Commission.
• Electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional, SBI should reveal the details of donors: SC.
• Lok Sabha polls: AAP-Congress alliance vs BJP in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Goa; Punjab-Solo.
• Farooq Abdullah snubs INDIA bloc, to contest polls alone in J&K.
• SP, Congress reach final agreement on parliamentary polls.
• PM Modi lays foundation stone for new ISRO launch complex in Tamil Nadu.
• PM inaugurates 3 major space infra projects of ISRO, reveals names of Gaganyaan mission astronauts.
• ISRO successfully launches next generation weather satellite INSAT-3DS from Sriharikota.
• India sets annual defence production target of ₹3 lakh crore and exports worth ₹50,000 crore by 2028-29.
• Defence Acquisition Council approves projects worth around ₹80,000 crore.
• Cabinet Committee on Security approves ₹19,000 crore mega Navy deal for BrahMos missiles.
• Centre proposes 5-year guaranteed procurement at MSP for 5 crops – cotton, maize, tur, urad and masur.
• Quit WTO, farmers demand with tractors lined up on highways
• 9th edition of the Raisina Dialogue took place in New Delhi
• India-China hold fresh round of military talks, agree to maintain communication.
• PM Modi inaugurates 3 IIMs, IITs, 20 KVs and 13 Navodaya Vidyalayas worth ₹13,375 crore across country.
• PM Modi launches 5 new AIIMS and various developmental projects worth over ₹48,000 crore.
• Hemant Soren resigns, Champai Soren named new Jharkhand Chief Minister.
• Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit resigns citing ‘personal reasons’.
• AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar Assumes Charge As Chandigarh Mayor.
• Former PMs Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narsimha Rao and Dr. MS Swaminathan, L K Advani and former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur to be conferred with Bharat Ratna.
• Airtel founder Sunil Mittal becomes first Indian to be knighted by Britain’s King Charles III.
• French Legion of Honour awarded to Shashi Tharoor for strengthening Indo-French ties.
• Dadasaheb Phalke Awards: Shah Rukh Khan wins Best Actor, Sandeep Reddy Vanga wins Best Director.
• Former Maharashtra CM, Shiv Sena stalwart Manohar Joshi and Veteran singer Pankaj Udhas passed away.
• Qatar releases 8 Indian Navy veterans.
• Russia use advanced hypersonic missile for first time’ in Kyiv attack.
• Alexei Navalny, Russian opposition leader and Putin critic, dies in prison.
• US and EU pile new sanctions on Russia over Ukraine war’s second anniversary, Navalny’s death.
• Germany, NATO rule out sending troops to Ukraine as Russia rebukes Macron.
• Blinken in Israel for talks on truce deal as war enters fifth month.
• Israel sets Ramadan deadline for assault on Gazan city Rafah.
• Palestinian PM Shtayyeh hands resignation to Abbas over Gaza ‘genocide’.
• US approves sale of 31 MQ-9B armed drones to India.
• Biden administration announces freeze on LNG exports for up to 15 months.
• US Senate passes $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
• Shehbaz Sharif to be Pakistan PM and Asif Ali Zardari President.
• Maryam Nawaz becomes first woman CM of Pakistan’s Punjab province.
• Canada’s Intelligence agency report flags India as ‘foreign threat’.
• North Korea scraps all economic cooperation with South Korea.
• Myanmar junta enforces compulsory military service for young people.
• 5-team WPL 2024 begins, to be held till March 17.
• Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Bumrah, Jadeja in Grade A+ category under BCCI’s annual contract for 2023-24.
• Rahul Dravid to remain India coach in T20 World Cup, with Rohit Sharma as captain.
• IND vs ENG: India lead 5 match Test Series 4-1.
• Jasprit Bumrah becomes first Indian pacer to reach No. 1 in ICC Test rankings, replaces Ashwin.
• Ravichandran Ashwin gets 500th Test wicket, becomes 2nd Indian to reach landmark.
• 17th Edition of Indian Premier League to kickstart from 22nd March.
• Indian women clinch historic gold in Badminton Asia Team Championships
• India’s Sumit Nagal wins Chennai Open title, makes to top 100 ATP World Ranking.
• Khelo India Youth Games 2023: Maharashtra emerge champions, hosts Tamil Nadu finish second.
• 4th edition of Khelo India Winter Games kicks off in Gulmarg.
• Mission Olympic Cell approves Judokas and Shooter for Global Competitions.

Business News

• Cabinet approves 100% FDI in prescribed sub-sectors/activities in space sector.
• 64 applicants with committed investment of ₹6,700 crore approved under PLI Scheme for White Goods.
• Govt launches scheme to give loans up to ₹20 lakh for informal micro-enterprises (CGTMSE).
• Direct tax collection reaches 80% of revised FY24 target at ₹15.60 lakh crore.
• Wages under MGNREGA ‘inadequate’, ‘not in consonance’ rising cost of living: Parliamentary panel.
• Unemployment rate for graduates declined to 13.4% in 2023 from 17.3% in 2017.
• PM Modi launches around 2,000 railway infrastructure projects worth over ₹41,000 crore.
• Indian Railways reduce passenger train’ fare to ₹10 after bringing down the curtain on passenger trains.
• India resumes buying Russian Sokol oil after 2-month hiatus.
• Govt raises domestic natural gas prices to $8.17 per mmBtu for March.
• PM Modi announces ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’ to boost solar power.
• UPI, Rupay payment services launched in Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
• Bharat Tex 2024: PM Modi inaugurates Global Textile event, promises all support to the sector.
• Karnataka Assembly passes bill slashing penalty on property tax in Bengaluru by 50%.
• Rural spending increased more than urban spending in the past 11 years: Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23.
• Centre launches sale of ‘Bharat’ Rice at an MRP of ₹29/kg in 5Kg and 10Kg packs.
• Government imposes stock limit for wheat wholesale traders to ease rising prices.
• Onion export ban to continue till Mar 31 to keep prices under check.
• Cabinet approves hike in sugarcane FRP by ₹25 to ₹340 per quintal for 2024-25 season.
• Centre hikes financial package for rubber sector by 23% to ₹708 crore.
• Governor Das keeps repo rates unchanged at 6.5%; project GDP to grow 7% in FY25; CPI inflation at 5.4%.
• RBI imposes restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank; bars from offering incremental banking services effective March 2024.
• RBI allows HDFC Bank group to buy up to 9.5% stake in ICICI Bank, 5 others.
• RBI directs Visa to halt business payment solution provider for corporate payments.
• Paytm partners with Axis Bank to settle merchant payments amid RBI crackdown against payments bank
• EY audits 51 lakh microfinance accounts of Bandhan Bank.
• SEBI uncovers $241 million accounting issue at Zee.
• RIL becomes India’s first firm to surpass ₹20 lakh crore in market capitalization.
• Shriram Finance to replace UPL in Nifty 50; Adani Wilmar, Muthoot Fin to exit Nifty Next 50 Index.
• Canara Bank board approves 1:5 stock split to improve liquidity.
• Hyundai picks JP Morgan, Citi and HSBC as advisors for mega IPO of India arm.
• CCI approves Zurich Insurance’s acquisition of 70% stake in Kotak Mahindra General Insurance.
• PB Fintech’s arm gets Irdai nod to become a composite insurance broker.
• NCLT approves Hinduja Group’s revival plan for Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Capital.
• Adani Defence & Aerospace inaugurates South Asia’s largest ammunition & missiles complex in UP.
• Indian Air Force inks contract with Bharat Electronics for modern communication sets.
• Japan slips into recession, becomes fourth-largest economy behind US, China and now Germany.
• China central bank cuts benchmark lending rate to boost economy.
• EU takes first step to use Russia’s frozen assets for Ukraine.
• China extends lifeline to Pakistan, rolls over $2 billion debt.
• Mitsubishi secures 30% stake in TVS mobility for Indian expansion.
• TVS SCS extends contract with Rolls-Royce for parts distribution centre in Singapore till 2029.
• M&M signs supply agreement with Volkswagen Group for e-mobility push.
• VinFast breaks ground on its EV plant in Tamil Nadu 50 days after MoU signing.
• Microsoft Teams and Tata Communications join forces to boost enterprise collaboration in India..
• Google unveils Gemma, a family of AI models for open-source developers.
• Starlink Satellites Approved for Use in Israel and Gaza.
• Nokia and Dell agree partnership on private 5G, cloud networks.
• Civil Aviation Ministry asks airlines to ensure timely delivery of passengers’ luggage.
• Alliance Air gets funding of ₹11,158 crore from government.
• Dubai to have world’s first air taxi, agreements inked at World Government Summit 2024.
• IndiGo signs financing pact with BOC Aviation for 4 Airbus A320NEO aircraft.
• Uber unveils first buyback plan worth $7 billion after reporting full-year operating profit in 2023.
• Nvidia tops Meta record with $277 billion surge in value.
• Bhavish Aggarwal’s Krutrim launches an AI chatbot to take on ChatGPT, Gemini.
• LTIMindtree joins IBM Quantum Network to explore quantum computing.
• Nvidia replaces Alphabet as Wall Street’s third most valuable company.
• Reliance, Disney announce $8.5bn merger to create Indian media powerhouse.
• BYJU’S rights issue gets $300 million commitment from investors.
• Byju’s shareholders vote to oust founder Raveendran, seek board revamp; company calls EGM invalid.
• Disney, Fox, Warner Bros Discovery to create joint sports streaming platform.
• Etihad Airways becomes official sponsor of CSK.
• Amazon surpasses $8 billion in exports from India in 2023.
• Paytm forms advisory committee under former SEBI chief Damodaran.
• Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigns from Paytm Payments Bank board.
• Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong is acquitted of financial crimes related to 2015 merger.

Q3 Results

• SBI Q3 Net profit plummets 35% to ₹9,163 crore, NII stood at ₹39,815 crore.
• Tata Motors Q3 Net profit jumps 137% to ₹7,025 crore, revenue up 25%.
• M&M Q3 Net profit jumps 60% YoY to ₹2,454 crore, revenue grew 16% to ₹25,642.4 crore.
• Ashok Leyland Q3 Standalone net profit jumps 61% YoY to ₹580 crore, revenue comes in at ₹9,273 crore.
• Hero MotoCorp Q3 PAT up 51% at ₹1,073 crore, revenue reported at ₹8,030.98 crore.
• Bharti Airtel Q3 Net profit at ₹2,876 crore, revenue rises to ₹37,900 crore.
• LIC reports 49% growth in net profit at ₹9,444 crore in Q3.
• ONGC Q3 Net profit drops 7.9% to ₹10,748 crore, revenue falls 2.2%; second interim dividend at ₹4/share.
• BHEL posts net loss of ₹163 crore for Q3, revenue rises 4.5% to ₹5,504 crore.