Economy / Market Snapshot – February, 2021

General News

• Assembly elections to be held between 27th March to 29th April; counting will take place on 2nd May.
• Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry to vote in 1 phase; Assam in 3 phase voting, West Bengal in 8 phase.
• India’s COVID-19 tally reaches 11.11 million with over 216 million tests done; Recovery rate stands at 97.05%.
• Over 14 million administered COVID-19 vaccines in the country so far.
• Global COVID-19 cases tops 114 million with 2.54 million deaths.
• Dr Harsh Vardhan launches Mission Indradhanush 3.0, to focus on children, women’s vaccine doses.
• Made in India COVID vaccines were supplied to 25 nations and 49 countries across the world: S Jaishankar.
• Centre issues fresh guidelines for international travellers as new strains found in India.
• Nepal, India jointly inaugurate road link connecting Indo-Nepal border.
• India, Qatar hold fourth foreign office consultations, exchange views on issues of mutual interest.
• Govt launches pilot survey on drinking water in 10 cities under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
• PM Modi, Afghan President hold virtual summit; MoU signed on construction of Shahtoot dam project.
• PM Modi speaks to US President Biden, discuses regional issues, climate change and strategic partnership.
• India signs $50 million defence agreement with Maldives to boost maritime capability.
• Quad’s 3rd ministerial meeting today, to discuss work towards inclusive Indo-Pacific.
• Protesting farmers announce series of events from February 23, to intensify agitation against Farm Laws.
• PM Modi hands over Arjun Main Battle Tank (MK-1A) to Indian Army at Chennai.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates HAL’s second Light Combat Aircraft production line.
• Govt formally seals ₹48,000 crore deal to procure 83 Tejas LCA from HAL.
• CRPF inducts 34 women commandos in its elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit.
• India reserves ₹70,000 crore of the defence budget of ₹1.35 trillion for domestic defence procurements.
• Mallikarjun Kharge to be Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha as Ghulam Nabi Azad’s term ends.
• First phase of Budget Session ends, Lok Sabha adjourned till March 8.
• Rajya Sabha passes J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021; Major Port Authorities Bill 2020.
• PM Modi inaugurates India’s first virtual Toy Fair 2021, pushes for use of less plastic.
• Maharashtra govt imposes fresh lockdowns as daily COVID cases cross 5,000.
• In poll-bound Tamil Nadu, state govt announces ₹12,110 crore farm loan waiver.
• UP Govt presents first paperless Budget of ₹5.5 lakh crore in Assembly to make State “Aatmanirbhar”.
• Ram temple trust deploys `3-tier system` to monitor transparency as donations cross ₹600 crore mark.
• Right to protest cannot be anytime and everywhere: SC on Shaheen Bagh CAA protests.
• National Herald case: Delhi High Court notice to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, seeks reply by April 12.
• CBSE board exams 2021 to be held from May 4 to June 10, results by July 15: Education Minister.
• 4G mobile internet services being restored in entire J&K after 18 months.
• Kiran Bedi relieved as Puducherry Lt Governor; CM Narayanasamy resigns after failing to prove majority.
• Union Cabinet approves President’s Rule in Puducherry as BJP, allies did not stake claim.
• Glacier breaks in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath: Death toll rises to 72, rescue operation underway.
• WHO concludes investigation of origin of COVID-19 virus in Chinese city Wuhan.
• China calls for COVID-19 origin tracing in US after WHO probe in Wuhan.
• WHO authorises AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
• UNICEF, Serum Institute of India enter into long-term supply for COVID-19 vaccines.
• US House passes $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, sends it to Senate.
• US extends new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia for 5 years.
• Joe Biden discusses Coronavirus, Hong Kong, Xinjiang in his first conversation with President Xi Jinping.
• US Senate acquits former President Donald Trump in impeachment trial for Capitol Hill riots.
• Pakistan to remain on FATF ‘grey list’ till June, asked to address ‘strategic deficiencies’.
• Myanmar’s Suu Kyi detained in military coup, 1-year emergency declared.
• Nepal’s Supreme Court reinstates parliament dissolved by PM Oli in December last year.
• More than 2000 Rohingya refugees sent to newly developed Bhashan Char relocation centre in Bangladesh.
• China, Hong Kong ban BBC World News from broadcasting for violating reporting guidelines.
• Japan starts vaccine rollout with healthcare workers as Olympics approach.
• Angela Merkel, German governors to decide on extending COVID-19 lockdown beyond February.
• NASA lands Perseverance rover on the Mars surface, carrying the first helicopter for another planet.
• IND vs ENG: India takes 2-1 lead in 4-Match Test Series.
• NZ vs AUS: New Zealand edge Australia by four runs in second T20, lead 5-Match series 2-0.
• Rishabh Pant, Shabnim Ismail win inaugural ICC Player of the Month Awards for January 2021.
• Australian Open 2021: Novak Djokovic wins his ninth title; Naomi Osaka her Fourth Grand Slam Title.
• IPL Auction: Chris Morris most expensive player ever; sold to Rajasthan Royals for ₹16.25 crore.

Business News

• Nirmala Sitharaman presents first ever Union Budget digitally; Fiscal deficit for FY21 pegged at 9.5% of GDP, 6.8% for FY22.
• Capital expenditure hiked 34.5% to ₹5.54 lakh crore in FY’22 to push growth.
• Health & well-being budget outlay at ₹2.23 lakh crore; ₹64,180 crore Atmanirbhar Health Yojana unveiled.
• FM allocates ₹20,000 crore for bank recapitalisation, proposes AMC-ARC for NPAs.
• Agri credit target raised to ₹16.5 lakh crore for FY22; FM reassures commitment to MSP and APMCs.
• Centre imposes agri infra cess of ₹2.5 on Petrol, ₹4 on Diesel; cuts import tax on gold, silver to 7.5%.
• Defence Ministry allocated ₹4.78 lakh crore; Home gets ₹1.66 lakh crore; ₹1,10,055 crore for Railways.
• Govt announces voluntary vehicle scrapping policy; to phase out old and unfit vehicles.
• Centre announces guidelines & digital media ethics code for digital and social media platforms.
• MCA signs pact with Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs for data exchange.
• RBI maintains status quo for fourth time in a row; keeps repo rate static at 4%.
• Embargo lifted on grant of Govt business to private banks. All banks can now participate.
• India’s WPI inflation rises to 2.03% in January – highest in 11 months on the back of higher fuel prices.
• BPCL, Air India share sale by September; LIC IPO-post October: DIPAM Secretary.
• Finance Ministry permits 4 states to borrow additional ₹5,034 crore post ease of doing business reforms.
• Petrol, diesel price at fresh high; oil company says government can cut taxes to ease consumer burden.
• Assam Govt removes COVID cess on petrol & diesel; removes 25% COVID-19 cess on liquor.
• All lanes in fee plazas on National Highways to be declared as FASTag lane from February 15th midnight.
• DGCA allows airlines to charge 10-30% more for domestic flights with immediate effect.
• Government extends ban on commercial international flights till March 31.
• DGCA allows airlines to provide concession in air fares to customers with no baggage.
• Deadline for filing declaration under ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme extended till March 31.
• India’s stock market now 7th biggest in the world as BSE market cap surges to $2.7 trillion.
• Technical glitch halts NSE trading, resumed later in the same day.
• Indigo Paints, Home First Finance Company, Rail Tel debut in stock market.
• Bank of England holds interest rates held at but warns they could go negative.
• Bitcoin hits $1 trillion market cap, surges above $56,000.
• Ether hits $1,800 for first time as market cap crosses $200 billion.
• India, EU talk restarting bilateral trade, investment pact with interim agreement.
• Bharat Biotech inks pact with Ocugen for development, sale of Covaxin in US.
• Biocon Biologics partners with International Diabetes Federation.
• Dr Reddy’s begins process to obtain emergency use authorisation for Sputnik V.
• China approves 16 locally-made COVID-19 vaccines for clinical trials.
• Cabinet approves PLI scheme for telecom sector worth ₹12,195 crore.
• Tata Communications partners Google to ease cloud adoption by enterprises.
• Bharti Airtel ties up with Qualcomm for 5G services in India.
• HCL inks 5-year Digital Workplace Services agreement with Airbus.
• TCS enhances ties with Amazon Web Services, launches new TCS AWS Business Unit (BU).
• Ford, Google join hands to offer cloud-based data services.
• Ashok Leyland buys Nissan’s 38% stake in Hinduja Tech for ₹70 crore.
• Australia passes landmark law requiring Google, Facebook to pay for news.
• Facebook signs preliminary pay deals with three Australian news publishers.
• Apple Pauses Electric Car Talks With Hyundai and Kia.
• Tesla to set up electric car manufacturing plant in Karnataka: CM Yediyurappa.
• Airbus signs MoU with GMR Group to collaborate on aviation services in India.
• HAL, Wipro3D collaborate to manufacture metal 3D printed aircraft engine component.
• Australia lifts ban on Boeing 737 MAX, first in Asia-Pacific region.
• Lockheed Martin inks pact with HAL to explore potential industrial collaboration in India.
• SpaceX launches world’s first all-civilian astronaut mission.
• UK revokes license of Chinese state-owned broadcaster CGTN.
• Tata Group acquires 68% stake in online grocery major BigBasket for ₹9,500 crore.
• Amazon acquires Australia-based Selz, a platform allowing users to launch online stores.
• PayPal to shut shop in India from April 1, focus on global customers.
• Mastercard and Razorpay partner to make digital payments more accessible for MSMEs and startups.
• Haldiram’s partners with Futurelife to bring nutritional product range to India.
• Airtel enters advertising business; launches adtech platform with brand engagement services.
• Apple partners with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to develop micro OLED displays.
• Wikipedia launches first global code of conduct to stem misinformation.
• ixigo acquires train booking app Confirmtkt.
• Sandes, alternative to WhatsApp & other instant messaging apps launched by National Informatics Centre.
• Chanda Kochhar gets bail in PMLA case, asked not to leave country without court’s permission.
• Nirav Modi guilty on all charges, can be extradited to India: UK Court.
• Vijay Mallya allowed some access to UK court-held funds to meet legal, living expenses.
• Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes first woman and first African to lead WTO.
• Jeff Bezos to become executive chairman later this year, Andy Jassy to takeover as Amazon CEO.
• Marc Llistosella appointed as new Tata Motors CEO, MD as Guenter Butschek steps down.
• Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo to step down, be replaced by R&D chief Toshihiro Mibe.
• Hero MotoCorp sets up a new vertical for Harley-Davidson in India; to be headed by Ravi Avalur.

Q3 Results

• SBI Q3 standalone net profit falls 7% to ₹5,196.22 crore, consolidated profit down 6% at ₹6,402.16 crore.
• PNB Q3 net profit declines 18% to ₹506 crore; NII falls marginally to ₹8,313 crore.
• Ashok Leyland reports Q3 net loss of ₹19 crore due to VRS cost of ₹85 crore, revenue at ₹ 4,813.51 crore, .
• Mahindra’s Q3 net profit grows 42% to ₹1,268 crore, revenue up 11% to ₹21,625.95 crore.
• Hero MotoCorp Q3 consolidated PAT up 14% at ₹1,029 crore, revenue rises 39% to ₹9,827 crore.
• Divi’s Labs Q3 net profit rises 31% to ₹471 crore, Total consolidated income stood at ₹1,720.76 crore.
• SpiceJet reports Q3 net loss of ₹57 crore, revenue fell 53.7% to ₹1,691 crore.
• ITC Q3 profit falls 11% YoY to ₹3,587 crore, consolidated revenue rose to ₹14,124 crore.
• Vodafone Idea Q3 loss narrows to ₹4,532 crore, revenue down 2% YoY to ₹10,849.1 crore.