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☆ Akhand Bharat: Why a map in India's new Parliament is making its neighbors nervous
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Akhand Bharat,” tweeted Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi alongside a photograph of the map. “Akhand Bharat in (the) New Parliament. It also took place on the birthday of the late Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the man widely considered to have developed the Hindutva ideology and one of the first proponents of Akhand Bharat. “We have to see the dream of Akhand Bharat in this lifetime and it has started with (this),” said deputy chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis. Faisal Khan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/FileExperts say such rhetoric has made India’s neighbors nervous.

Persons: Arindam Bagchi, Ashoka, Akhand Bharat, Bharat, ”, Pralhad Joshi, Akhand, Manoj Kotak, Bharat ”, Bharat ’, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, –, KP Sharma Oli, Baburam Bhattarai, Shahriar Alam, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, “, Salil Tripathi, Narendra Modi, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Savarkar, Modi, Amit Shah, Praful, Sushant Singh, Manjunath Kiran, Critics, Devendra Fadnavis, Faisal Khan, Ayesha Jalal, Fahd Humayun Organizations: CNN, India’s Ministry, External Affairs, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Parliamentary, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, stoke, Mahasabha, Hindustan Times, Centre for Policy Research, Getty, India’s, Anadolu Agency, Tufts University Locations: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, New Delhi, India, Afghanistan, Myanmar, “, Kathmandu, New York, Mumbai, ” India, Indian, Kashmir, Karnataka, Bangalore, Maharashtra, Srinagar

Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half of the overall consumer price basket, moderated to 2.91% in May against 3.84% in April. "Food inflation benefited from a sequential fall in the prices of fruits and oils," said Suvodeep Rakshit, economist at Kotak Institutional Equities. Core inflation, which had been easing after being a key concerns for months, remained below 6% for a third consecutive month. According to two economists' estimates, core inflation was 5.02% in May, compared with 5.2% in April. The Indian government does not release figures of core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices.

Persons: Suvodeep Rakshit, Devendra Kumar Pant, Nikunj Ohri, Aftab Ahmed, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Reserve Bank of India's, Reuters, El, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Asia, India

☆ RBI's decision to hold key interest rate again was a 'hawkish' move, says economist
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRBI's decision to hold key interest rate again was a 'hawkish' move, says economistSuvodeep Rakshit of Kotak Institutional Equities says "the going is good now" but he expects the hawkishness to continue.

Persons: Suvodeep Rakshit

With the IPO still some way off, Ola is embarking on investor meetings earlier than usual to explain the business potential of India's nascent EV market. Aggarwal plans to meet investors, including BlackRock (BLK.N), Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, and mutual funds such as T Rowe Price (TROW.O), the first source said. Ola Electric declined to comment. Ola Electric is likely to file regulatory papers on the IPO for approval by August, the two sources said. Ola competes with other startups and bigger companies like TVS Motors (TVSM.NS), Ather Energy and Hero Electric, which are ramping up their EV scooter plans.

Persons: Ola, Bhavish Aggarwal, Rowe Price, Bhavish, Ola Electric, T Rowe Price, Goldman Sachs, Sriram, Scott Murdoch, Aditya Kalra, Jane Merriman Organizations: Blackrock, Bank of America, Temasek, BlackRock, Reuters, TVS Motors, Ather Energy, Hero, EV, Citi, ICICI Securities, Thomson Locations: Singapore, UK, U.S, GIC, MUMBAI, United States, United Kingdom, India

Despite hitting an 18-month low of 4.70% in April, analysts do not expect India's inflation to fall to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 4% medium-term target in a sustainable manner for some time. India has raised rates by 250 basis points (bps) since May 2022, but surprised analysts in April by keeping them unchanged. India's hold on rates contrasts with recent central bank actions elsewhere. "Our goal is to achieve the inflation target of 4% and keeping inflation within the comfort band of 2-6% is not enough," Das said. Das said that the central bank would remain "nimble" with its liquidity operations amid spikes in overnight rates despite surplus liquidity in the banking system.

Persons: Shaktikanta Das, OIS, Das, Michael Patra, Suvodeep Rakshit, Gaura Sen Gupta, Swati Bhat, Sudipto Ganguly, Ira Dugal, Krishna N, Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS, Reserve Bank of India's, MPC, Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of Canada, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, IDFC, Thomson Locations: Delhi, India, Anushree, MUMBAI

☆ About 80% of Indians choose to deposit withdrawn 2000-rupee notes, boost bank deposits - bankers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Siddhi Nayak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, June 7 (Reuters) - About three-fourths of Indians are choosing to deposit the recently withdrawn 2000-rupee notes into bank accounts so far rather than exchanging them for smaller denominations, with the trend likely to boost bank deposits, bankers said. In May, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would withdraw these high-value notes from circulation and permitted their exchange or deposit until Sept. 30. When announced, the value of these notes in circulation was 3.6 trillion rupees ($43.61 billion), the RBI said. Though the total quantum of notes deposited or exchanged so far is not available, six public and private sector bankers Reuters spoke to said over 80% of the notes received by them have been deposited into accounts. The initial assumption is the overall bank deposit base would increase by at least 1.5 trillion rupees, with SBI contributing 22%-25%, the SBI official said.

Persons: Virat Diwanji, Gaura Sen Gupta, Dipanwita Mazumdar, Siddhi Nayak, Swati Bhat, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Reserve Bank of India, Reuters, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC FIRST Bank, SBI, Siddhi, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, BOB.NS, India

☆ India's note withdrawal to improve liquidity, ease short-term rates - analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Siddhi Nayak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, May 22(Reuters) - The Indian central bank's decision to withdraw its highest denomination currency note from circulation is likely to improve banking system liquidity, bringing down recently elevated short term rates, analysts and bankers said. Kotak Institutional Equities estimates that liquidity could improve by around 1 trillion rupees, depending on the behaviour of depositors, while QuantEco Research pegs the potential liquidity impact at 400 billion rupees to 1.1 trillion rupees. ICICI Securities Primary Dealership estimates the liquidity surplus could increase to 1.5-2 trillion rupees. India's banking system liquidity surplus has averaged above 600 billion rupees in May. About 2.5-3 trillion rupees of banking sector liquidity leaks out as currency in circulation each year, wrote Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.

☆ India inflation likely hit 18-month low in April - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Madhumita Gokhale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Predictions ranged from 4.40% to 5.80%, with respondents expecting inflation to remain below the RBI's 6.00% upper tolerance limit for the second consecutive month. "Food inflation was a mixed bag on the month, with cereals and vegetables easing, whilst pulses and milk rose. "With inflation off the boil besides core (inflation), the RBI is likely to remain on an extended pause." However, inflation was expected to remain well above the RBI's medium-term target of 4.0% in the coming quarters, according to a separate poll. The survey also showed wholesale price inflation (INWPI=ECI), which measures the change in producer prices, is likely to have fallen to -0.20% last month compared to a year ago.

☆ India's Kotak Mahindra Bank beats expectations with 26% net profit rise in Jan-March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, April 29(Reuters) - India's Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS) on Saturday reported a better-than-expected 26% increase in net profit for the January-March quarter, helped by higher net interest income and strong loan growth. The private lender's standalone net profit, excluding subsidiaries, rose to 34.96 billion rupees ($427.8 million) in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year from 27.67 billion rupees in the same period last year. The result beat analysts' forecast of 29.13 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data. Net interest income - the difference between interest earned and interest expended - increased 35% to 61.03 billion rupees from 45.21 billion rupees a year ago. Thanks to strong credit growth, large private banks such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank reported a double-digit profit growth for the Jan-March quarter.

☆ Asia's richest banker will loom over his successor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It will also be messy and is at odds with the regulator’s own aim to improve governance across the industry. Bosses of the country’s private-sector banks are allowed to stay in their jobs for up to 15 years. It is little surprise that more than 99% of investors voted for him to stay, per exchange filings published last week. If Kotak sits on the board, his successor - expected to be an insider – will effectively continue to work with his or her long-time boss. If things go wrong at Kotak, regulators may end up wondering who to blame.

☆ Indian shares set to open higher as strong earnings lift mood
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, April 24 (Reuters) - Indian shares were set to open higher on Monday as improved quarterly results from heavyweights Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS) and ICICI Bank Ltd(ICBK.NS) eased some concerns over a lacklustre start to the earnings season. India's most valuable company, Reliance Industries reported 19% growth in fourth-quarter profit, aided by the strong performance in oil-to-chemicals (O2C) segment, post market hours on Friday. Private lender ICICI Bank posted a 30% jump in net profit in the March quarter, helped by improved net interest income and loan growth. The strong earnings of the two companies, which account for nearly 20% of the total weightage in Nifty 50, could improve the sentiment soured by the weak earnings and outlook of top information technology companies, analysts added. Stocks to Watch:** Yes Bank Ltd (YESB.NS): Lender's net profit slumps 45% in the March quarter on higher provisions.

The central bank said its policy stance remains focused on "withdrawal of accommodation", signalling it could consider further rate hikes if necessary. The monetary policy committee (MPC), comprising three members from the central bank and three external members, retained the key lending rate or the repo rate (INREPO=ECI) at 6.50%. Most analysts had expected one final 25 basis point hike in the RBI's current tightening cycle, which has seen it raise the repo rate by a total 250 bps since May last year. The central bank sees inflation at 5.2% in 2023-24, and GDP growth is seen at 6.5% in the financial year beginning April 1. Reuters GraphicsFinancial stability concerns appear to have prompted the pause in rate hikes, said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at rating agency ICRA.

☆ Instant View: Here’s what experts think of India's surprise rate decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

The monetary policy committee (MPC) retained the key lending rate or the repo rate (INREPO=ECI) at 6.50% in a unanimous decision. With the likely softening of CPI to the low- to mid-5% levels in the coming month, the current repo rate of 6.5% implies that India’s real policy rate will hover around 1% during 2023-24, while maintaining a policy rate differential of about 1.5% with the US. Room for additional rate hikes has been retained with MPC’s policy stance continuing to remain unchanged at ‘withdrawal of accommodation’. We believe the bar for future rate hikes has increased, especially since near-term prints of CPI will be sub 6%. Scope for further hikes is limited given our growth-inflation outlook and impact of the past rate hikes on the same.

☆ India's milk imports soar as disease hits local cattle stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Any upside risk coming from higher milk prices is going to pose an additional challenge," said Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at India's Kotak Mahindra Bank. "Cattle prices have doubled as there are fewer cows in the market," said Sharma, who has been raising cattle since childhood. "We will witness further rises in milk prices during summer," Shah said. India's SMP imports are likely to hit an all-time high in the fiscal year that started April, surpassing record purchases in 2011-12, dairy industry officials said. The temporary removal of those duties would mean imports rise even further, the NDDB official said.

☆ U.S. banking crisis: India's banking sector is 'very different,' Indian bank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailU.S. banking crisis: India's banking sector is 'very different,' Indian bank saysShanti Ekambaram of Kotak Mahindra Bank says there is adequate liquidity in India's banking system.

SYDNEY/BENGALURU, March 3 (Reuters) - Adani shares surged on Friday after a $1.87 billion investment in the group by GQG Partners Inc eased concerns about the group's ability to attract funding, while the conglomerate lined up more road shows to shore up investor confidence. Adani Group will hold road shows this month in London, Dubai and several cities in the United States, according to a document seen by Reuters. Overall, Adani group firms' net debt totalled $24.1 billion as of September 2022. Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission jumped 5% each. Dollar bonds issued by Adani entities also rallied, with Adani Green Energy's 2024 bond adding 2.3 cents on the dollar to trade at 85.5 cents, while most bonds issued by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Transmission and Adani Electricity Mumbai rose by more than 1 cent.

☆ Indian shares set for muted start ahead of inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Indian shares are set for a muted start on Monday, as investors await domestic retail inflation data today as well as U.S. inflation data due later in the week, amid uncertainty over the Adani Group. India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were down 0.12% at 17,856 as of 8:05 a.m. IST. Investors await India's retail inflation data for January, due today. A Reuters poll of economists showed that India's annual retail inflation rose from a 12-month low in December, but stayed within the 6% upper limit of RBI's tolerance band in January. ($1 = 82.5250 Indian rupees)Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane VenkatramanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gautam Adani will be playing defense for a while after mauling by Hindenburg
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The sprawling Adani Group, which he founded over 30 years ago, has established interests in industries ranging from logistics to mining. “We view this as validation of our findings on offshore stock parking by Adani,” Hindenburg founder Nate Anderson said on Twitter. In its report, Hindenburg had alleged that “offshore shells and funds tied to the Adani Group comprise many of the largest ‘public’ holders of Adani stock.”An Adani Group spokesperson declined to comment. Meanwhile, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, said Thursday it has “for all practical purposes…fully divested,” from the Adani companies. The loans were backed by shares in Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission.

The central bank said that its policy stance remains focused on the withdrawal of accommodation, with four out of six members voting in favour of that position. Reuters GraphicsThe monetary policy committee (MPC), comprising three members from the central bank and three external members, raised the key lending rate or the repo rate (INREPO=ECI) to 6.50% in a split decision. We have to remain unwavering in our commitment to bring down CPI headline inflation," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said, while announcing the committee’s decision. In a poll conducted ahead of the federal budget on Feb. 1, more than three-quarters of economists, 40 of 52, had expected the RBI to raise the repo rate by 25 bps. Das said that the inflation-adjusted, real interest rate remains below the pre-pandemic levels and liquidity remains surplus, even though it is lower than during the pandemic.

☆ Markets expect India's government to announce an increase in capital expenditure, economist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMarkets expect India's government to announce an increase in capital expenditure, economist saysSuvodeep Rakshit of Kotak Institutional Equities discusses India's upcoming budget for the year and the "multiple targets" its government has for the economy.

☆ Mutual funds have low exposure to Adani companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Mutual funds have low exposure to listed Adani Group companies, whose shares have dropped since publication of a report into the group by Hindenburg Research on Jan. 24. Mutual funds from India and elsewhere hold just 3.4% of Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), 2.8% of Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) and 3.6% of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS). Adani Enterprises and Adani Port (APSE.NS) are constituents of the Nifty 50, so they are automatically in portfolios of some exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds. But active funds have very little exposure to Adani stocks and are largely unscathed by their fall. Among active funds, the Kotak Balanced Advantage fund , which has positions in Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, has shed just 0.5%.

☆ India Budget 2023: Here's what the experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +13 min

"This budget, therefore, has rewritten the rules for financilisation of savings in India, which will induce expenditures rather incentivise savings. LAKSHMI IYER, CEO-INVESTMENT ADVISORY, KOTAK INVESTMENT ADVISORS LTD"India budget 2023 has offered a multi-dimensional view. The 3 Cs which stand out are - Capex increase - consumption boost - capital gains tax status quo. Additionally, the budget has provided significant direct tax benefits to individuals which will help increase disposable income and support spending. The budget keeps in mind the needs of future India while focusing on Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

India's finance minister will present the annual budget to parliament on Wednesday. Bloomberg | Getty ImagesIndia's finance minister will present the annual budget to parliament on Wednesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce the final full-year budget before the next general elections in 2024. Analysts expect the government to focus on continued fiscal consolidation for this year's budget, despite challenges. Nirmala Sitharaman, India's finance minister, speaks during a news conference at the National Media Center in New Delhi, India, on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021.

☆ RBI to hike repo rate by 25 bps in Feb, ending tightening cycle: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Devayani Sathyan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Like many other major central banks, the RBI is expected to then pause, waiting for inflation to fall before considering a shift toward a stimulative stance as Asia's third-largest economy slows. More than three-quarters of economists, 40 of 52, expected the RBI to raise its key repo rate (INREPO=ECI) by 25 basis points to 6.50%, according to a Jan. 13-27 Reuters poll. "They (the RBI) need to pause at some point to see what exactly is the impact of the previous monetary tightening overall on growth and inflation. That is why I believe it is not premature for them to pause after 6.50%," said Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank. A deteriorating global economic outlook also suggests downgrades to India's outlook are likely in coming months.

☆ Indian shares set to open higher; key earnings to provide direction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Indian stocks were poised to open higher on Monday, tracking a Wall Street rally in the previous session, with shares also taking cues from the earnings of heavyweights such as Reliance. Financial stocks (.NIFTYFIN) could gain after robust quarterly earnings results from top banks over the weekend. Wall Street equities rallied to close higher on Friday, as upbeat quarterly earnings helped lift Netflix, while Google parent Alphabet climbed after announcing job cuts. ** India's top cement maker, UltraTech Cement (ULTC.NS), reported a 38% decrease in quarterly profit on Saturday, dented by a surge in expenses. ** Yes Bank (YESB.NS) reported a surprise 80% plunge in quarterly profit on Saturday as provisions for bad loans increased.

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