New Delhi: Chartered accountants’ apex body ICAI may review the financial statements of IndusInd Bank, which is grappling with discrepancies in accounting to the tune of Rs 2,100 crore.

The private sector lender, March 10, disclosed about some discrepancies in its derivatives portfolio which could have an adverse impact of about 2.35 per cent of the bank’s net worth as of December 2024 as per its internal review.

Analysts peg the discrepancy at Rs 2,100 crore in absolute terms.

Against this backdrop, the Financial Reporting Review Board (FRRB) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is likely to review the financial statements of the bank.

“As a proactive measure, ICAI-FRRB may undertake a review of the financial statements of IndusInd Bank,” ICAI President Charanjot Singh Nanda told PTI Thursday.

FRRB conducts reviews of financial statements of companies to assess compliance with Accounting Standards, Standards on Auditing, and Schedule II and III of the Companies Act, 2013, among others.

Also, FRRB assesses compliance with various guidance notes on accounting and auditing and master circulars/ directions issued by the Bank of India (RBI).

Chartered accountants do most of the audit work.

IndusInd Bank had also said the accounting lapse was noted around September- October last year, and the bank gave a preliminary update to the RBI about this last week.

The final figure will be known after the external agency, which the bank has appointed, finalises its report by early April.

PTI

New Delhi, March 13: Market regulator SEBI has decided to separate the Digital Management Information System (MIS) from the Key Result Areas (KRA) in its employees’ annual evaluation process.

According to sources, SEBI has issued an internal circular regarding this change. However, the old system will not be completely abolished but will be tested in a new format. The discussions regarding these changes have gained momentum following the appointment of the new SEBI Chairman, Tuhin Kanta Pandey.

For the past 20 years, the KRA system has been in place at SEBI, but over time, the need for change became evident. The regulator is now considering moving away from a target-based evaluation system.

Previously, overall performance assessments influenced individual employee evaluations, sometimes unfairly affecting those who performed well. Earlier, the MIS recorded numerical data such as “goal achievement” and “success rate,” which played a crucial role in employee career growth and annual assessments.

With the increasing push for digitisation, many departments were hesitant to upload data onto the portal, as they felt it did not accurately reflect their actual efficiency. This led to employee opposition last year, as they argued that focusing solely on numerical targets did not properly measure the complexity of their work.

Under the leadership of the new SEBI Chairman, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, greater emphasis is now being placed on qualitative aspects rather than just quantitative parameters in the evaluation process.

Sources indicate that the new chairman is meeting employees across different departments to understand their concerns and work towards solutions. These changes are being considered a significant step toward improving SEBI’s operational efficiency.

New Delhi: India’s tea exports touched a 10-year high at 255 million kg in 2024 despite the uncertainties in the global market triggered by geopolitical tensions, data compiled by the Tea Board of India shows.

The country’s exports shot up by a robust 10 per cent during the year from the corresponding figure of 231.69 million kgs recorded in 2023, according to the figures. showed.

The average price of Indian tea in the export market also went up by 10 per cent, bringing welcome relief to the tea industry, which had been hit by inclement weather in 2023.

There was a sharp increase in shipments to Iraq, accounting for 20 per cent of tea exports, and merchants are expecting to send 40-50 million kg to the west Asian country this fiscal year, he said.

Indian exporters, who entered several markets of West Asia when the Sri Lankan crop was low, managed to retain the shipment volumes there, he said.

India exports tea to more than 25 countries, with UAE, Iraq, Iran, Russia, the US and the UK as the major markets.

India is among the top five tea exporters in the world, accounting for about 10 per cent of total world exports. India’s Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri teas are considered some of the finest in the world. Most the tea exported out of India is black tea, which makes up about 96 per cent of total exports. The other varieties include regular tea, green tea, herbal tea, masala tea and lemon tea.

India has taken several steps to boost tea output, create a niche brand for Indian tea and ensure the welfare of the families associated with the tea industry.

The Assam Valley and Cachar are the two tea-producing regions in Assam. In West Bengal, Dooars, Terai and Darjeeling are the three major tea producer regions. The southern part of India produces about 17 per cent of the country’s total output, with the major producing states being Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka.

Small tea growers are the emerging sector contributing nearly 52 per cent of the total produce. Presently, there are nearly 2.30 lakh of small tea growers existing in the supply chain. The Government of India, through the Tea Board, has taken several steps to benefit this segment. These include the formation of 352 Self Help Group (SHG), 440 Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) and 17 Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs).

Various interactions are also carried out with STGs for quality plucking, capacity building and rush-crop management. Besides, assistance has been provided towards the procurement of pruning machines and mechanical harvesters.

Mini tea factories have also been set up to encourage entrepreneurs and unemployed youth.

The Indian tea Industry employs 1.16 million workers directly, and an equal number of people are associated with it indirectly.

Mumbai: The Indian equity benchmark indices opened higher Thursday amid mixed global cues, as buying was seen in the Financial Service and PSU Bank sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.31 am, Sensex was trading 61.17 points or 0.08 per cent up at 74,090.93 while the Nifty added 2.15 points or 0.01 per cent at 22,472.65

Nifty Bank was up 113.10 points or 0.24 per cent at 48,169.75. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 48,436.80 after declining 49.80 points or 0.10 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 14,981.45 after declining 62.90 points or 0.42 per cent.

According to market watchers, the Indian equity markets were expected to open on a flat to slightly bullish note, as indicated by GIFT Nifty, which was trading around 22,570 in early trades, reflecting a modest increase of 25 points.

“This suggests a cautious market sentiment, influenced by global cues and the absence of strong domestic triggers. Investors will closely monitor global trends, crude oil prices, and institutional flows to assess the market’s direction,” said Hardik Matalia of Choice Broking.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Zomato, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and SBI were the top gainers. Whereas, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement and Asian Paints were the top losers.

According to experts, given the prevailing market dynamics, traders are advised to exercise caution and wait for confirmation of price action at critical levels before initiating fresh positions.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones declined 0.20 per cent to close at 41,350.93. The S&P 500 added 0.49 per cent to 5,599.30 and the Nasdaq climbed 1.22 per cent to close at 17,648.45.

In the Asian markets, Bangkok, Japan, Seoul and Jakarta were trading in green. Whereas China, and Hong Kong were trading in red.

Regarding institutional activity, foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,627.61 crore March 12, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 1,510.35 crore on the same day.

New Delhi: Union Minister for Railways, Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Wednesday welcomed Elon Musk’s affordable satellite internet service Starlink to India.

India’s leading telecom giants, Airtel and Jio Platforms, have partnered with SpaceX to bring Starlink Internet services to the country.

“Starlink, welcome to India! Will be useful for remote area railway projects,” the Union Minister posted on X social media platform.

Starlink, welcome to India!

Will be useful for remote area railway projects. pic.twitter.com/rQPmjeKkGt

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 12, 2025

A day after Airtel’s announcement about partnering with SpaceX to bring Starlink internet service to India, Jio Platforms Wednesday announced a similar pact with the US-based company.

Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools, and health centres, among many others, in even the most rural parts of India.

Airtel and SpaceX will also explore how Starlink could help expand and enhance the Airtel network, as well as SpaceX’s ability to utilise and benefit from Airtel’s ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in India, said the company.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, said that a new era of seamless global connectivity beckons for customers. Mittal said that soon, customers will be able to carry their mobiles to the remotest part of the world, with them in the skies and blue oceans.

In his opening remark at the recently concluded ‘Mobile World Congress 2025’ in Barcelona, Mittal made a call to both the telecom and satellite players to work together, combine their strengths, and complete the mission of connecting the unconnected, covering the oceans and the skies as well as difficult-to-reach areas.

“I am glad that this is being followed through with active announcements of partnerships between satellite companies and telecom operators,” he said in a statement.

For the telecom industry, the addition of satellite technology should be no different from bringing new technologies to its customers.

“Just like 4G, 5G, and 6G in the future, we will now have one more technology in our mix, i.e. SAT-G,” said Mittal.

IANS  

New Delhi: The year-on-year inflation rate, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased to a 7-month low of 3.61 per cent in February this year, which is 0.65 per cent lower than the corresponding figure for January, as food prices came down further during the month. This is the lowest retail inflation after July 2024.

The food inflation in February has come down to the lowest level since May 2023 and is 222 basis points lower in comparison to January, according to the official statement.

The significant decline in headline inflation and food inflation during February is mainly attributed to a decline in the inflation rate of vegetables, eggs, meat & fish, pulses, as well as milk & products.

The key items having the lowest year-on-year inflation in February are ginger (-35.81 per cent), jeera (-28.77 per cent), tomato (-28.51 per cent), cauliflower (-21.19 per cent), garlic (-20.32 per cent), official figures show.

Prices of fuel came down during the month, easing the burden on household budgets with inflation being recorded at (-) 1.33 per cent during February.

As retail inflation continues with its downward trend and has fallen below the RBI’s targeted level of 4 per cent, the central bank will have more headroom to go for a rate cut to propel economic growth and create more jobs.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra last month announced a 25 basis point cut in the policy rate from 6.5 per cent to 6.25 per cent in the monetary policy review to accelerate growth amid global uncertainties.

He said that inflation has declined and is expected to further moderate and gradually align with the RBI’s target of 4 per cent.

The monetary policy decision maintains a delicate balance between controlling inflation and pushing up the growth rate in a slowing economy,

The MPC also unanimously decided to continue with its neutral stance in monetary policy and will focus on inflation while supporting growth. This would provide flexibility to respond to the macroeconomic environment, Malhotra said.

IANS

 New Delhi: India’s industrial production rose by 5 per cent in January 2025 mainly due to good performance of the manufacturing sector, according to official data released Wednesday.

The government also revised upward industrial growth figure to 3.5 per cent for December 2024 from the provisional estimate of 3.2 per cent released in the previous month.

The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose by 4.2 per cent in January 2024.

The data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that the manufacturing sector’s output grew by 5.5 per cent in January 2025, up from 3.6 per cent in the year-ago month.

Mining production growth dipped to 4.4 per cent from 6 per cent year-on-year. Power output growth slowed to 2.4 per cent in January 2025 from 5.6 per cent a year ago.

In the April-January period, the IIP grew 4.2 per cent, down from 6 per cent recorded in the year-ago period.

New Delhi: Retail inflation slipped to 3.61 per cent in February mainly due to the decline in the rate of price rise in vegetables and protein-rich items, creating space for the Reserve Bank of India for second reduction in interest rate next month.

The consumer price index-based retail inflation was at 4.26 per cent in January and 5.09 per cent in February 2024.

The year-on-year inflation rate for February 2025 was 3.75 per cent, showed the data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

“A sharp decline of 222 basis points is observed in food inflation in February 2025 in comparison to January 2025. The food inflation in February 2025 is the lowest after May 2023,” it said.

The NSO said the significant decline in headline inflation and food inflation during February is mainly attributed to the decline in inflation of vegetables, egg, meat, and fish, pulses and products; and milk and products.

The RBI, which has been mandated to ensure retail inflation remains at 4 per cent (+/- 2 per cent), has reduced the short-term lending rate (repo) by 25 basis points last month on easing concerns on the inflation front.

The central bank is scheduled to announce the next set of bi-monthly monetary policy April 9.

PTI

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed moderately lower on Wednesday due to heavy selling pressure in IT, telecom, and realty stocks amid growing concerns over a possible global economic slowdown.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 72.56 points or 0.10 per cent to close at 74,029.76. During the session, it tumbled 504.16 points or 0.68 per cent to touch a low of 73,598.16.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty slipped 27.40 points or 0.12 per cent to end at 22,470.50. In the session, it fell 168.35 points or 0.74 per cent to hit an intraday low of 22,329.55.

From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Zomato, Hindustan Unilever, and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ITC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.

The BSE Smallcap gauge fell 0.48 per cent, while the midcap index slipped 0.57 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Focussed IT, IT, Teck, Realty, Telecommunication, Metal, Capital Goods, Services, and Industrial were among the major laggards.

In contrast, Energy, FMCG, financial services, Healthcare, Utilities, Auto, Bankex, Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas, and Power were the gainers.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended on a mixed note.

European markets were trading higher in the mid-session deals on Wednesday. Wall Street ended in the negative zone on Tuesday.

Global benchmark Brent crude oil went up 0.34 per cent to USD 69.80 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,823.76 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 2,001.79 crore on Tuesday, according to the exchange data.

The 30-share BSE Sensex on Tuesday settled down by 12.85 points at 74,102.32. The broader Nifty of NSE advanced 37.60 points to close at 22,497.90.

PTI

New Delhi: Moody’s Ratings Wednesday said India’s economic growth will exceed 6.5 per cent in the next fiscal, up from 6.3 per cent this year, on higher government capex and consumption boost from tax cuts and interest rate reduction.

Projecting a stable outlook for the banking sector, Moody’s said although the operating environment of Indian banks will remain favourable in the next fiscal, their asset quality will deteriorate moderately after substantial improvements in recent years, with some stress in unsecured retail loans, microfinance loans and small business loans.

Banks’ profitability will remain adequate as declines in net interest margins (NIMs) are likely to be marginal amid modest rate cuts, it said.

Moody’s said that following a temporary slowdown in mid-2024, India’s economic growth is expected to reaccelerate and record one of the fastest rates among large economies globally.

“Government capital expenditure, tax cuts for middle-class income groups to boost consumption and monetary easing will help India’s real GDP growth exceed 6.5% for fiscal 2025-26 from 6.3% in fiscal 2024-25,” Moody’s Ratings said.

The finance ministry’s Economic Survey has projected GDP growth for next fiscal at 6.3-6.8 per cent. As per official estimates, GDP growth in the current fiscal would be 6.5 per cent.

The country’s real GDP growth slowed to 5.6 per cent in the July-September 2024 quarter before rebounding to 6.2 per cent in the following quarter.

Moody’s expects India’s average inflation rate to decline to 4.5 per cent in fiscal 2025-26 from 4.8 per cent in the previous year.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its policy rate by 250 basis points from May 2022 to February 2023 to tame inflation, which has gradually led to increases in interest rates for borrowers.

The RBI lowered its policy rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent in February 2025.

“We expect further rate cuts to be modest, as the central bank takes a cautious stance amid global uncertainty around US trade policies, as well as associated market and exchange rate volatility, as represented by a strengthening of the US dollar against emerging market currencies in late 2024 and early 2025,” Moody’s said.

We expect system-wide loan growth to slow to 11-13 per cent in fiscal 2025-26 from an average of 17 per cent for March 2022-March 2024 as banks seek to keep loan growth in tandem with deposit expansion, Moody’s said.

PTI

New York/Washington: The US again raised the issue of tariffs that India imposes on its goods, citing high tariffs on American alcohol and agricultural products.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made references to high tariffs by India during a press briefing on Tuesday when she was responding to a question on Canada.

“Canada has been ripping off the United States of America and hard-working Americans for decades. If you look at the rates of tariffs across the board that Canadians have been imposing on the American people and our workers here, it is egregious. In fact, I have a handy dandy chart here that shows not just Canada, but the rate of tariffs across the board. If you look at Canada…American cheese and butter, nearly 300% tariff,” she said.

“You look at India, 150% tariff on American alcohol. You think that’s helping Kentucky bourbon be exported into India? I don’t think so. 100% tariff on agricultural products from India. Look at Japan, tariffing rice 700%,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt held up a chart that showed tariffs charged by India, Canada and Japan. On the chart, two circles with the colors of the tri-colour highlighted the tariffs that India imposes.

“President (Donald) Trump believes in reciprocity, and it is about dang time that we have a president who actually looks out for the interests of American businesses and workers, and all he’s asking for at the end of the day are fair and balanced trade practices, and unfortunately, Canada has not been treating us very fairly at all over the past several decades,” she said.

President Trump for the past few days has been criticising the high tariffs charged by India.

Trump on Friday said India has agreed to cut its tariffs “way down” as he repeated his assertion that the country charges America massive tariffs.

PTI

Washington: President Donald Trump officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% on Wednesday, promising that the taxes would help create US factory jobs at a time when his seesawing tariff threats are jolting the stock market and raising fears of an economic slowdown.

Trump removed all exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on the metals, in addition to increasing the tariffs on aluminum from 10%.

His moves, based off a February directive, are part of a broader effort to disrupt and transform global commerce. The US president has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging “reciprocal” rates starting on April 2.

Trump told CEOs in the Business Roundtable on Tuesday that the tariffs were causing companies to invest in US factories. The 8% drop in the S&P 500 stock index over the past month on fears of deteriorating growth appears unlikely to dissuade him, as Trump argued that higher tariff rates would be more effective at bringing back factories.

“The higher it goes, the more likely it is they’re going to build,” Trump told the group. “The biggest win is if they move into our country and produce jobs. That’s a bigger win than the tariffs themselves, but the tariffs are going to be throwing off a lot of money to this country.”

Trump on Tuesday threatened to put tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminum from Canada, but he chose to stay with the 25% rate after the province of Ontario suspended plans to put a surcharge on electricity sold to Michigan, Minnesota and New York.

In many ways, the president is addressing what he perceives as unfinished business from his first term. Trump meaningfully increased tariffs, but the revenues collected by the federal government were too small to significantly increase overall inflationary pressures.

Trump’s 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminum were eroded by exemptions.

After Canada and Mexico agreed to his demand for a revamped North American trade deal in 2020, they avoided the import taxes on the metals. Other US trading partners had import quotas supplant the tariffs. And the first Trump administration also allowed US companies to request exemptions from the tariffs if, for instance, they couldn’t find the steel they needed from domestic producers.

While Trump’s tariffs could help steel and aluminum plants in the United States, they could raise prices for the manufacturers that use the metals as raw materials.

Moreover, economists have found, the gains to the steel and aluminum industries were more than offset by the cost they imposed on “downstream’ manufacturers that use their products.

At these downstream companies, production fell by nearly USD 3.5 billion because of the tariffs in 2021, a loss that exceeded the USD 2.3 billion uptick in production that year by aluminum producers and steelmakers, the US International Trade Commission found in 2023.

Trump sees the tariffs as leading to more domestic factories, and the White House has noted that Volvo, Volkswagen and Honda are all exploring an increase to their U.S. footprint. But the prospect of higher prices, fewer sales and lower profits might cause some companies to refrain from investing in new facilities.

“If you’re an executive in the boardroom, are you really going to tell your board it’s the time to expand that assembly line?” said John Murphy, senior vice president at the U.

AP

New Delhi: The Reliance Industries’ digital services company Jio Platforms Limited has signed an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink’s broadband internet services to its customers in India, the company said Wednesday.

The agreement is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisation to sell Starlink in India.

The development came a day after Jio’s rival Bharti Airtel signed a similar pact with SpaceX.

“Our collaboration with SpaceX to bring Starlink to India strengthens our commitment and marks a transformative step toward seamless broadband connectivity for all.

“By integrating Starlink into Jio’s broadband ecosystem, we are expanding our reach and enhancing the reliability and accessibility of high-speed broadband in this AI-driven era, empowering communities and businesses across the country,” Mathew Oommen, the Group CEO of Reliance Jio, said.

The pact enables Jio and SpaceX to explore how Starlink can extend Jio’s offerings and how Jio can complement SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses.

Jio will make Starlink solutions available through its retail outlets as well as through its online storefronts, the statement said.

Through this agreement, the parties will leverage Jio’s position as the world’s largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic and Starlink’s position as the world’s leading low Earth orbit satellite constellation operator to deliver reliable broadband services across the country, including the most rural and remote regions.

Jio will not only offer Starlink equipment in its retail outlets but will also establish a mechanism to support customer service installation and activation, according to the statement.

It also said that the agreement with SpaceX is part of Jio’s commitment to ensuring that reliable Internet is fully accessible to all enterprises, small and medium businesses, and communities across India.

Starlink complements JioAirFiber and JioFiber by extending high-speed internet to the most challenging of locations in a quick and affordable manner, the statement said.

Jio and SpaceX are also evaluating other complementary areas of cooperation to leverage their respective infrastructure to enhance India’s digital ecosystem further.

“We applaud Jio’s commitment to advancing India’s connectivity. We are looking forward to working with Jio and receiving authorisation from the Government of India to provide more people, organizations and businesses with access to Starlink’s high-speed internet services,” Gwynne Shotwell, the President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, said.

PTI

Washington: US President Donald Trump Tuesday escalated the trade war with Canada by doubling the tariff on steel and aluminum imports from that country.

Trump announced the additional 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel — taking it up to 50 per cent — in a long post on his social media platform Truth Social, in retaliation for Ontario, a province of Canada, announcing a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the American states of New York, Michigan and Minnesota to protest Trump’s tariff on imports from Canada.

The new tariff rates go into effect from Wednesday.

“Based on Ontario, Canada, placing a 25 per cent tariff on ‘electricity’ coming into the United States, I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an additional 25 per cent tariff, to 50 per cent, on all steel and aluminium coming into the United States from Canada, one of the highest tariffing nations anywhere in the world,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This will go into effect tomorrow morning, March 12th”.

Trump said further: “Also, Canada must immediately drop their Anti-American Farmer Tariff of 250 per cent to 390 per cent on various US dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous. I will shortly be declaring a National Emergency on Electricity within the threatened area. This will allow the US to quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada. If other egregious, long time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada, I will substantially increase, April 2nd, the Tariffs on Cars coming into the US which will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada.”

Trump in February reinstated the 25 per cent tariff on all steel imports that he had imposed in his first term and elevated the duty on aluminum imports to 25 per cent from 10 per cent. He announced a second round tariff hikes targeting Canada, Mexico and China that went into effect on March 4 but are on hold, with the exception of the tariff on Chinese goods. A reciprocal tariff system is slated to go into effect from April 2 that will impose the same rates of duty on America’s imports as its exports are subjected to by its trading nation partners.

Trump also slammed Canada on its defence spending. “Canada pays very little for National Security, relying on the United States for military protection. We are subsidizing Canada to the tune of more than 200 Billion Dollars a year. Why??? This cannot continue.”

And he doubled down on his threats to turn Canada into the 51st state of the US. “The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear. Canadians’ taxes will be very substantially reduced, they will be more secure, militarily and otherwise, than ever before, there would no longer be a Northern Border problem, and the greatest and most powerful nation in the World will be bigger, better and stronger than ever — And Canada will be a big part of that. The artificial line of separation drawn many years ago will finally disappear, and we will have the safest and most beautiful Nation anywhere in the World — And your brilliant anthem, “O Canada,” will continue to play, but now representing a great and powerful state within the greatest nation that the world has ever seen!”

New Delhi: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel Tuesday said it has partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for providing Starlink’s high-speed internet services to its customers in India.

This agreement is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisations to sell Starlink’s satellite communications-based services in India, Airtel said in a statement.

The agreement will enable Airtel and SpaceX to further explore how Starlink could complement and expand Airtel’s offerings, and how Airtel’s expertise in the Indian market could complement SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses.

Bharti Airtel Managing Director and Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal said that working with SpaceX to offer Starlink services to Airtel customers in India is a significant milestone and further demonstrates company’s commitment to next-generation satellite connectivity.

“This collaboration enhances our ability to bring world-class high-speed broadband to even the most remote parts of India, ensuring that every individual, business, and community has reliable internet. Starlink will complement and enhance Airtel’s suite of products to ensure reliable and affordable broadband for our Indian customers – wherever they live and work,” Vittal said.

Under the pact, Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment at Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools, and health centres, among many others, in even the most distant rural parts of India.

Airtel and SpaceX will also explore how Starlink could help expand and enhance the Airtel network, as well as SpaceX’s ability to utilise and benefit from Airtel’s ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in India, the statement said.

PTI

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended on a flat note in a lacklustre trade Tuesday as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines awaiting further triggers ahead of macroeconomic data release.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 12.85 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 74,102.32. During the day, it slumped 451.57 points or 0.61 per cent to hit a low of 73,663.60.

However, the broader index Nifty rose 37.60 points or 0.17 per cent to close at 22,497.90. In the session, the benchmark advanced by 61.8 points or 0.27 per cent to hit a high of 22,522.10.

From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.

On the other hand, Sun Pharmaceuticals, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Maruti Suzuki India, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Titan were the gainers.

“Despite significant sell-offs in the US and other Asian markets driven by concerns over an economic slowdown caused by the ongoing trade war, the domestic market is showing signs of a gradual recovery.

“Its relatively lower volatility can be attributed to a moderation in valuations, following recent corrections, along with supportive factors like falling crude oil prices, an easing Dollar Index, and expectations of a rebound in domestic earnings,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

The attention remains on the upcoming retail inflation data, which could provide insights into potential interest rate cuts, Nair added.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Seoul ended lower, while Hong Kong settled flat. Shanghai stock markets finished in the green territory.

US markets plunged to 4 per cent in overnight deals Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.71 per cent to $69.77 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 485.41 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) picked up equities worth Rs 263.51 crore Monday, according to exchange data.

On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 217.41 points to settle at 74,115.17. The Nifty declined by 92.20 points to close at 22,460.30.

PTI

Bengaluru: India is rapidly emerging as a global leader in the Web3 space and is expected to become the world’s largest Web3 developer hub by 2028, according to a report Tuesday.

The latest ‘India Web3 Landscape’ report by Hashed Emergent showed that the country recorded the highest year-on-year (YoY) growth in developer participation in 2024, adding more than 4.7 million developers to GitHub.

This accounts for 17 per cent of all new Web3 developers globally, making India the second-largest crypto developer base in the world.

The report states that 45.3 per cent of Indian Web3 developers contribute to coding, 29.7 per cent focus on fixing bugs, and 22.4 per cent work on documentation.

Popular areas of development include gaming, non-fungible token (NFTs), decentralised finance (DeFi), and real-world assets (RWAs).

A significant portion of India’s Web3 developers are newcomers, with over 50 per cent having entered the space in the last two years. Most of them are under the age of 27.

Hackathons — an event where computer programmers work together closely to create something new — continue to be the primary gateway for developers.

However, Web3 firms are also actively collaborating with universities in Odisha, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, and Kerala to introduce students to blockchain technology early on.

“The country’s unique blend of technological agility, entrepreneurial spirit, and digital adoption are driving progress,” said Tak Lee, CEO & Managing Partner at Hashed Emergent.

He added that “we now see renewed retail participation, shifting investor trends, and deeper integration of Web3 solutions by enterprises and the government.

“Last year, we noted India’s global leadership in Web3 adoption and today, that promise is turning into tangible advancements led by Indian innovators.”

India also ranks third globally in terms of Web3 startup founders, with over 1,200 startups operating in the sector.

Investor confidence in the country’s Web3 ecosystem has surged, leading to a 109 per cent increase in funding compared to 2023.

In 2024, Indian startups raised $564 million, taking the total investment in the sector to over $3 billion, the report said.

The primary focus has been on DeFi applications, including staking solutions, tokenisation platforms, and decentralised exchanges.

The report highlights AI, RWAs, and staking solutions as key areas attracting significant investment.

Several global venture capital and homegrown firms are betting big on Indian Web3 projects. Additionally, ecosystem funds from Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchain networks have made substantial investments, further boosting India’s standing in the global Web3 landscape.

IANS 

New Delhi: A new study has found that shifting away from cultivating rice to alternative cereals such as millet, maize and sorghum could help tackle production losses related to climate by 11 per cent, thereby potentially boosting farmer incomes.

Farmers in India are known to prefer harvesting rice for its economic viability. Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are among the top producers, accounting for a significant fraction of the country’s rice production.

However, changes in temperatures and rainfall, increasingly driven by climate change, disproportionately affect rice production, thereby threatening food security in a warmer future, a team of researchers, including those from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, said.

They added that a farmer’s decision on how much land area to plant a certain crop is heavily influenced by ups and downs in the crop’s price in the market, potentially impacting their income and profit.

“Optimised allocations of harvested area can reduce climate-induced production loss by 11 per cent or improve farmer net profit by 11 per cent while maintaining calorie production and cropland area,” the authors wrote in the journal Nature Communications.

“Such improvements would be possible by reducing the harvested areas dedicated to rice and increasing the areas allocated to alternative cereals,” they wrote.

The findings of possible income boosts could offer an economic incentive to the farmers and encourage them to shift from rice towards climate-resilient crops, the authors said.

“This research highlights the need for policymakers to consider the economic factors influencing farmers’ decisions and to implement policies that promote the cultivation of climate-resilient crops,” study author Ashwini Chhatre, associate professor and executive director at Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business, said.

For the study, the team looked at five main cereals grown during the monsoon (kharif) season — finger millet, maize, pearl millet, rice, and sorghum.

Data on yield, harvested area and harvest price were taken from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad.

The findings also highlighted the importance of addressing the present pricing structures — currently biased in favour of cultivating rice, the authors said.

“Our results demonstrate the importance of cropping patterns and harvested area allocations for achieving co-benefits in production and profit, and for ultimately enhancing the resilience of cereal production to both environmental and economic disruptions,” they wrote.

Switching away from cultivating rice has also been suggested in previous studies for preserving groundwater, which is a fast-depleting resource.

Harvesting rice relies heavily on groundwater for irrigation.

A 2024 study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that replacing 40 per cent of area sown with rice with other crops could help recover 60-100 cubic kilometres of groundwater lost since 2000 in north India.

PTI

New Delhi: India and the US are planning to negotiate a trade agreement and both countries will focus on increasing market access, reducing import duty and non-tariff barriers, and enhancing supply chain integration, Parliament was informed Tuesday.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said that as on date, reciprocal tariffs have not been imposed by the US on India.

“Both countries plan to negotiate a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement. Both countries would focus on increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, and enhancing supply chain integration,” he said.

The US issued Memorandum on Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs February 13, wherein the Secretary of Commerce and United States Trade Representative are to take necessary actions to investigate harm to America from any non-reciprocal trade arrangements adopted by trading partners and provide a report with detailed proposed remedies for each trading partner.

Tariffs are import duties imposed and collected by the government and paid by companies to bring foreign goods into the country.

During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington last month, India and the US announced their commitment to more than double the two-way commerce to USD 500 billion by 2030 and negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025.

In 2023, the US-India bilateral trade in goods and services stood at USD 190.08 billion (USD 123.89 billion in goods and USD 66.19 billion in services trade). That year, India’s merchandise exports to the US stood at USD 83.77 billion, while imports were USD 40.12 billion, leaving a trade gap of USD 43.65 billion in favour of India.

During 2021-24, America was India’s largest trading partner. The US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus.

Prasada also said that India continues to engage with the US to achieve enhancement and broadening of bilateral trade ties in a mutually beneficial and fair manner.

“This is an ongoing exercise and Indian exporters are working towards diversifying trade baskets and export destinations,” he said.

In 2023-24, India has exported engineering goods worth USD 17.62 billion. The other major goods included electronics (USD 10 billion), gems and jewellery (USD 9.9 billion), petroleum products (USD 5.83 billion), textiles (USD 4.7 billion), marine products (USD 2.5 billion).

In a separate reply, the minister said India’s tariff policy aims to regulate trade, protect domestic industries, and generate revenue through taxes on imported and exported goods.

“Recent reforms have focused on streamlining the tariff structure and facilitating trade,” Prasada said.

India is a member of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and bound to its maximum tariff that can be applied on a product category. The applied tariffs are generally below the bound tariff for a given commodity line.

“With the changing trade scenario, India is moving towards having Preferential/Free Trade Agreements wherein customs tariffs and non-tariff barriers are reduced or eliminated on substantial trade between the PTA/FTA members,” he added.

At present, India is a member of 13 FTAs and 9 PTAs apart from the negotiations with the EU, the UK, and Oman.

PTI

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty slumped in early trade on Tuesday amid weak trends in the US markets and heavy selling in blue-chip stock Infosys.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 346.23 points or 0.47 per cent to 73,768.94 in the morning trade. The Nifty of NSE declined 124.80 points or 0.56 per cent to 22,335.50.

From the 30 Sensex companies, IndusInd, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the major laggards.

On the other hand, Sun Pharmaceuticals, ICICI Bank, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, NTPC and Titan were the gainers.

“President Trump’s flip-flop tariff policy and the high uncertainty that it has triggered has started impacting US stock markets, S&P 500 & Nasdaq declining by 2.6 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, on Monday is the market’s response to Trump’s tariffs and the possibility of US recession by the year end,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading in the negative zone.

US markets plunged to 4 per cent in overnight deals on Monday.

According to HDFC Securities’ Head of Prime Research Devarsh Vakil, US stocks tumbled on Monday amid ongoing tariff conflicts and growing concerns about a potential federal government shutdown, fuelling worries that the US economy might be heading toward a recession.

Also, a weaker consumer sentiment, slower consumer spending, and tariff risks continue to weigh on the growth outlook, Vakil said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude traded flat at USD 69.28 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 485.41 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) picked up equities worth Rs 263.51 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 217.41 points to settle at 74,115.17. The Nifty of NSE declined by 92.20 points to close at 22,460.30.

PTI