Ankishinde

Rating agency ICRA Ltd. Wednesday said it has upgraded Vodafone Idea Ltd.'s long-term fund-based credit rating to 'BBB' from 'BBB-'. ICRA also revised the outlook for Vodafone Idea's INR 23.27 billion loans to 'positive' from 'stable'.
The upgrade is based on the government's revision of Vodafone Idea's adjusted gross revenue dues in January and the settlement of the contingent liability adjustment mechanism agreement with Vodafone Group PLC, the promoter of Vodafone Idea, ICRA said in a press release.

Automobile and ancillary companies that are a part of the Nifty 200 index posted a mid-single digit revenue growth and a 28% fall in net profit for the December quarter, mainly due to Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., which continued to reel from the cyber-attack on its UK-based subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover. Excluding the Sierra-maker, the revenue of the remaining 14 companies grew 21% on year, in line with earnings estimates for the group and profit rose 19%, below estimates. These 14 companies' net profit, excluding one-time items, rose 28% on year, a touch below estimates.
The 15 aut

India and Finland are entering into a strategic partnership in digitisation and sustainability that will deepen cooperation in advanced technology and various critical sectors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here Thursday.
This partnership will boost cooperation in high-tech fields of artificial intelligence, 6G telecom, clean energy and quantum computing,” Modi said at a joint press briefing with visiting Finland President Alexander Stubb.
This partnership will extend to key sectors of defence, space, semiconductors and critical minerals, Modi added.

Bajaj Auto Ltd. sold 448,259 automobiles to dealerships in India and overseas in February, up 27% on year, marking the fastest growth in the last 27 months. The growth was strong in domestic and overseas markets and for two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, according to the company's exchange filing Monday.
Bajaj Auto sold 232,581 automobiles in India in February, up 27% on year but down 11% on month. Its exports stood at 215,678 units in February, up 28% on year but flat on month.
Two-wheeler sales of the Chetak-maker climbed 27% on year to 379,921 units. Domestic sales grew 27% on year bu

India’s first overhaul of its national accounts in over a decade has sprung a few shocks and surprises, but it underpinned that growth remains buoyant and is now more stable. While the new GDP data strengthens the growth outlook for the Indian economy, it has complicated the government’s fiscal math.
The statistics ministry Friday released the new GDP series with 2022–23 (Apr-Mar) as the base year, replacing FY12. Data based on the new series showed that India’s GDP grew faster than expected in the December quarter at 7.8%, driven by strong consumption on the back of cuts in the goods and se

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Monday said that the government does not have any roadmap for mergers of certain public sector banks. However, the committee proposed in the Budget for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) will look into the topic, she said. "I'm not familiar with any roadmap...there isn't one," Sitharaman said in a press conference after the board meeting of the Reserve Bank of India.
Bank consolidation was not a subject here, nor was it a subject before the Budget, but the Committee which is now being appointed, once the terms of reference are given they will look into every aspect of how

Gold futures contracts opened higher on the Multi Commodity Exchange on Monday due to global trade uncertainty and rising safe haven demand because of rising tensions between the US and Iran. The most-traded April gold futures contract opened at INR 158,458 per 10 grams, up 1% from the previous close of INR 156,876 per 10 grams.
Renewed global trade tensions and heightened economic uncertainty spurred safe-haven demand for the precious metal, analysts said. The US Supreme Court on Friday struck down many of US President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, which were invoked based on the Int

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Monday that gold demand in India has not reached alarming proportions. Gold demand and prices in India were capped at a level, she said at a press conference after addressing the central board of the Reserve Bank of India.
Gold has always been a favoured investment for households, whether as an asset class or for jewellery,” she said. “So, high-pitched demand for domestic consumption also sees a seasonal spike during festival season, during Akshay Tritiya and so on. We are watching it, but I am not sure it has reached such alarming proportions, given

US crude oil inventories, excluding those in strategic petroleum reserves, fell 9 million barrels to 419.8 million barrels in the week ended Friday, the US Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report. Analysts polled by Dow Jones had estimated a rise of 1.1 million barrels. US crude oil inventories were about 5?low the five-year average for this time of year, according to the report.
Petrol inventories fell 3.2 million barrels from the previous week to 255.8 million barrels in the week ended Friday. Analysts polled by Dow Jones had expected a fall of 700,000 barrels in petr

Terming artificial intelligence a turning point for human civilisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday called for a larger vision for AI, while also urging to be responsible in its use.
We need to keep our vision (for AI) big but be responsible as well. Apart from the current generation, we have to be conscious about what form of AI we will leave for the coming generation," he said at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
The prime minister also emphasised the need for democratising AI, saying one needs to ensure that human beings don't become mere data points or raw materials in an AI

Swiss drug maker Novartis AG on Friday said that the company proposed to sell its entire 70.68% stake in Indian arm Novartis India Ltd. A consortium of investment firms, including WaveRise Investments Ltd., ChrysCapital Fund X, and Two Infinity Partners are taking the controlling stake in Novartis India, Novartis India said in a filing to exchanges.
Following the Novartis announcement, the consortium also announced an open offer to buy up to 26% of more shares in the company at a price of INR 860.64 per share. Based on the open offer price, the 70.68% stake sale deal is valued at INR 14.5 bi

India’s private sector activity expanded at the strongest rate in three months in February with quicker increases in total new orders and international sales during the month, S&P Global said Friday. This prompted higher staff recruitment and scaling up of output which, in combination, made businesses more optimistic about growth prospects. The HSBC Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 59.3 in February from 58.4 in January.
Activity picked up in the manufacturing sector at a higher clip than the services sector. The flash manufacturing PMI rose to a four-month high of 57.5 in F

Tech giant Microsoft aims to invest $50 billion by 2030 to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence, Microsoft President Brad Smith said Thursday. India is likely to be among the key destinations for the company's investment, Smith added.
The next big step in AI is extending it to the global south more extensively, Smith said. Under its investment plan, Microsoft aims to set up more data centres and compute infrastructure in the global south, with India, "unsurprisingly", being a key destination, according to Smith.

The government has lowered the base import price of silver by $286 to $2,421 per kg, according to a notification issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs Wednesday. The base import price of gold has been kept unchanged at $1,624 per 10 gm. Base import prices of both the precious metals were last revised on Feb. 13.
The government generally revises base import prices of gold and silver every fortnight but makes more frequent changes when prices are volatile. Base import prices are used to calculate import duty on precious metals that individuals bring into the country. India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday met presidents and prime ministers of several nations on the sidelines of India AI Impact Summit, including Spain's President Pedro Sanchez. Modi and Sanchez reviewed India–Spain relations and expressed confidence in expanding bilateral ties. The two leaders discussed India and Spain's trade and investment, technology, infrastructure, climate and renewable energy, defence and security, space, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
President Sanchez highlighted the importance of the AI Impact Summit and expressed confidence that its outcomes wo

The first update to India's Consumer Price Index in 11 years has confirmed what economists and the Reserve Bank of India have been saying even under the outdated CPI basket: underlying inflation pressures in the economy are low, but they are set to rise ahead.
Data released last week showed retail inflation was 2.75% in January, according to the new CPI series, which uses 2024 as the base year. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Thursday released the new CPI series, which widens coverage and tracks prices of 358 items, sharply up from 299 items in the old series.
Headl

India and France have agreed to remove double taxation for companies and individuals in a move aimed at boosting trade, investment, and mobility, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday. The two countries also decided to elevate their ties to a special global strategic partnership, PM Modi announced at a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai.
Based on trust and shared vision, today we are establishing our relations as special global strategic partnership. This partnership is not just strategic," PM Modi said. "In today's tumultuous world, this is a partnership of

Gold prices are expected to fluctuate around the $5,000 per troy ounce mark in the near term, as uncertainty over US interest rates and easing geopolitical tensions limit further upside, according to Commerzbank.At the start of this week, gold briefly climbed above the $5,000 per troy ounce threshold, but prices have since retreated towards $4,900 per ounce, indicating difficulty in sustaining significant gains, it said.
The German lender said the metal's struggle to extend its rally is partly linked to the uncertain US interest rate outlook. "Although expectations of US rate cuts — as refle

The government will continue to provide credit support to exporters under the Export Promotion Mission irrespective of the conclusion of the trade deal with the US, Department of Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju said Tuesday. The sub-schemes under the mission will continue if there is demand, Nagaraju said.
After the US imposed a 50% tariff, including a 25% punitive tariff, on Indian goods in August, the government announced the rollout of the Export Promotion Mission to support exporters. India and the US announced a trade deal, under which Washington has committed to cutting the re

The sowing of summer crops has commenced across India, with the acreage under such crops reaching 1.52 million hectares as of Friday, up nearly 3% from 1.48 million hectares sown in the corresponding period last year, according to a report from the agriculture ministry. The area under rice, the country's largest summer crop by both acreage and production, was down nearly 3% on year at 1.28 million hectares.
The area sown under all coarse cereals rose 64% on year to 82,000 hectares, the report showed. The acreage under maize, the leading coarse cereal in terms of area and production during th