Tuesday, November 26
Columbia University professor and the first vice chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya has been appointed the chairman of the 16th Finance Commission. The government is, however, yet to name the other members of the panel, which has an open mandate unlike finance commissions in recent years, where the Centre provided a large set of terms of reference. For many, Panagariya's appointment came as a surprise since the last four commissions were headed by those who had long stints either in the finance ministry or RBI.
Power consumption in December 2023 dipped 2.3% to 119.07 BU, the first monthly decline in 8 months, due to lower demand for heating equipment. Earlier in April 2023, power consumption dipped nearly 1.5% compared to the year-ago period. The peak power demand met rose to 213.62 GW in December, crossing the 200 GW mark on December 14. Experts attribute the lower consumption to mild winters in the first half of December, but demand rose after a sharp drop in temperature in the second half, especially in North India.
The index of coal industry has achieved a growth of 10.9% in November 2023, as per the data released by the ministry of commerce & industries. The index measures the production performance of core industries including cement, crude oil, electricity, fertilizers, natural gas, refinery products, steel, and coal. The growth in the index is mainly due to a surge in coal production, reaching 84.52 Million Tonne in November 2023. The cumulative index of the coal sector during April-November 2023-24 has increased by 12.8%.
While Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, ITC, State Bank of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) were the gainers, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys were the laggards. The market valuation of HDFC Bank jumped Rs 29,828.84 crore to Rs 12,97,972.04 crore. Reliance Industries continued to retain the title of the most valued firm, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, ITC, State Bank of India and LIC.
Spacetech startup Dhruva Space is set to launch its Leap-TD mission onboard ISRO's PSLV-C58 Sriharikota on January 1, 2024. The mission aims to validate the functionality of Dhruva Space's P-30 nanosatellite platform and its sub-systems. Dhruva Space's P-30 platform is designed for low earth orbit operations and will enable future satellite missions. The startup will collaborate with the Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology for TT&C activities. This launch signifies Dhruva Space's commitment to delivering full-stack and hosted payload solutions to customers.
Airlines are increasing capacity for flights to Ayodhya ahead of the inauguration of the grand Ram temple on January 22. Air India Express will begin daily flights from Bengaluru and Kolkata to Maharishi Valmiki International Airport Ayodhya Dham, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on December 30. IndiGo and Air India Express will start regular flights from Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, with the inaugural flight from Delhi on December 30. More flights are expected to be announced due to the high demand for darshan of Shri Ram lalla from around the world.
Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran has pitched a dedicated AI job role in group companies to harness the “benefits of AI, economically, operationally and socially”. While group companies have been leveraging artificial intelligence to improve productivity and efficiency, to reduce human time and effort, Chandrasekaran’s pitch to appoint “AI champions” comes amid industries across the world making multi-billion dollar investments in AI. Tata Group has partnered with US-based chip maker Nvidia to develop AI solutions to catalyse transformation across its units ranging from manufacturing to consumer businesses.
India's mutual funds industry is experiencing a blockbuster year, marked by a record surge in assets under management and the addition of more than 20 million new investment accounts. Fueled by the insatiable thirst for financial gains, young Indians armed with smartphones are increasingly investing in equity markets. This trend has boosted fund assets by 19% in the first 11 months of 2023, outperforming major peers like the US, Japan, and China. The industry has come of age, with consistent and sticky flows of domestic money, which have shielded the market from foreign outflows.
Travel companies expect a sustained surge in demand from the dynamic Indian market in 2024. The travel landscape is anticipated to see a dynamic shift, blending enduring trends with compelling new ones. Event-based travel driven by millennials and Gen Z will be a driving force. Sleep tourism and wellness retreats, personalised and curated travel, and visa-friendly destinations will gain popularity. The demand for hidden gems and offbeat destinations, adventure tourism, sports tourism, travel for festivals, luxury travel experiences, food tourism, and cruise holidays will continue to remain strong.
Stock market today: Indian equities are reaching new peaks driven by optimism surrounding the country's macroeconomic fundamentals and strong global market trends. BSE Sensex and Nifty50 continued their year-end rally streak with a strong trading day on Thursday.
