Economy / Market Snapshot – OCTOBER, 2023

General News

• EC announces dates for Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.
• Polls will be held between 7th to 30th of November, counting for all five states on 3rd December.
• Defence Minister Rajnath releases fifth positive indigenisation list at Navy seminar.
• India gives Letter of Request to France for buying 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for Navy.
• India and Australia deepen military cooperation and discuss coordination in the Indo-Pacific.
• India, France discuss ways to deepen defence-industrial cooperation in 5th Annual Defence Dialogue.
• India and U.K. discuss Indo-Pacific and trade at ‘2+2’ Foreign and Defence Dialogue.
• India, Zambia agree on collaboration in manufacturing of small arms and ammunition.
• Govt declares August 23 as National Space Day to commemorate success of Chandrayaan-3 Mission.
• ISRO successfully conducts test vehicle mission ahead of human space flight programme.
• Operation Ajay: About 1,200 passengers, including 18 Nepal citizens, flown back safely from Israel.
• India resumes visa services in Canada amid diplomatic row.
• Passenger ferry service between India and Sri Lanka begins again, after nearly 40 years.
• PM launches India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• PM Modi distributes more than 51,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits.
• Law Commission presents roadmap on ‘One Nation, One Election’ to Ram Nath Kovind-led panel.
• Bihar caste census 2023 report: 63% Other Backward Classes, 16% population in General category.
• JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda sacks Karnataka unit president Ibrahim, appoints Kumaraswamy in his place.
• Odisha CM’s former aide V K Pandian gets cabinet minister rank, day after voluntary retirement.
• Raghubar Das sworn in as 26th Governor of Odisha.
• Tamil Nadu govt files petition in SC against Governor Ravi over delay in clearing bills.
• Karnataka reserves 33% urban, rural local body seats for OBCs.
• AFSPA extended in four districts of Assam, withdrawn from four others.
• Delhi govt launches drive to spray bio-decomposer in paddy fields to prevent stubble burning.
• President Droupadi Murmu confers 69th National Film Awards in New Delhi.
• NCERT panel recommends replacing ‘India’ with ‘Bharat’ in school textbooks.
• Gadkari inaugurates 418-feet national flag at Attari-Wagah border, tallest in country.
• Monsoon withdraws from India, four days after normal date.
• 14 killed, several injured after two trains collide in Andhra Pradesh.
• Ram temple in Ayodhya to be consecrated on January 22.
• Mumbai’s iconic ‘Premier Padmini’ taxis to go off roads after six decades.
• 8 former Indian Navy personnel sentenced to death in Qatar.
• UIDAI chief Amit Agrawal gets one-year extension.
• MEA spokesperson Bagchi to become India’s new Permanent Representative to UN in Geneva.
• Former chief election commissioner MS Gill and former Indian cricket team captain Bishan Singh Bedi dies.
• Hamas invade Supernova festival in south of Israel, atleast 260 killed many taken hostage.
• Israel strikes Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to ignite other fronts.
• UNGA calls for immediate truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, India abstains from vote.
• India sends nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid, 32 tonnes of disaster relief material to Palestine.
• UK unveils GBP 10 million aid for Palestinian civilians caught up in conflict.
• Ukraine uses US-provided long-range ATACMS missiles against Russian forces for the first time.
• Russian President Putin and Chinese leader Xi jinping meet in Beijing and call for close policy coordination.
• Ukraine’s Zelenskyy joins a meeting of global defense leaders to make a direct plea for military aid.
• Kevin McCarthy ousted by US House Republicans in historic vote; Mike Johnson becomes next speaker.
• Biden administration waives 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in South Texas.
• Mike Pence, former vice president, drops out of Republican presidential campaign.
• New Zealand elects conservative Christopher Luxon as premier after 6 years of liberal rule.
• Canada withdraws 41 diplomats from India as row over separatist killing grows.
• Sri Lanka allows Chinese research ship to dock as India’s security concerns grow.
• Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif returns to Pak after four-year absence.
• Armenia votes to join International Criminal Court, angering Russia.
• Australia rejects proposal to recognise Indigenous people in its constitution.
• Narges Mohammadi wins 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against oppression of women in Iran.
• Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar elected Malaysia’s new king.
• Pro-China leader Mohamed Muizzu wins Maldives presidential polls.
• Indian para athletes create history with a record-breaking 111 medals at Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
• ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: India on top of the points table after six wins from their opening six matches.
• Rohit Sharma breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most World Cup hundreds with 7th century.
• David Warner equals Virat Kohli record of most centuries against a single team.
• ICC announces official mascots ‘Blaze’ and ‘Tonk’ for Cricket World Cup 2023 after fans vote.
• International Olympic Committee suspends Russian Olympic body.
• Satwiksairaj-Chirag become first Indian duo to reach number one spot in BWF Rankings.
• IOC approves Cricket for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
• Karthikeyan Murali becomes third Indian to defeat Magnus Carlsen in Classical Chess.
• Lionel Messi wins eighth Ballon d’Or as Aitana Bonmati claims women’s award.

Business News

• Centre hikes LPG subsidy for Ujjwala beneficiaries to ₹300 per cylinder.
• Govt slashes windfall tax on domestic crude, reduces duty on export of diesel, jet fuel.
• Hardeep Singh Puri launches India’s first home-produced Reference Fuel in New Delhi.
• Cabinet approves royalty rates for lithium, niobium, Rare Earth Elements.
• Govt hikes wheat MSP by ₹150 to ₹2,275 per quintal for 2024-25.
• GST mop-up rises 10% to over ₹1.62 lakh crore in Sep; crosses ₹1.60 lakh crore mark 4th time in FY24.
• World Bank retains India’s GDP growth at 6.3 % for 2023-24 despite global headwinds.
• 18% GST on parent company’s guarantee to subsidiary, waives tax for director’s personal guarantees.
• Uttarakhand government signs MoUs worth ₹54,550 crore for Global Investor Summit.
• SAT quashes SEBI’s order against former NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy.
• SEBI orders defreezing of bank, demat accounts, mutual fund folios of Rana Kapoor.
• SAT sets aside SEBI’s order against Zee’s Punit Goenka, allowed to retain key managerial position.
• Tata wins Singur Nano case, to get ₹766 crore as compensation.
• PLI scheme panel approves ₹1,000 crore disbursement to electronics sector beneficiaries.
• India identifies Kandla, Paradip, Tuticorin to develop as export hubs for Hydrogen, Ammonia, Methanol.
• India, UAE sign partnership agreement for launching of UAE’s payment card scheme based on RuPay card.
• RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.5%; FY24 Real GDP Growth Projected at 6.5%, CPI Inflation at 5.4%.
• RBI hikes UCBs Gold Loan limit for bullet repayments, announces new card tokenisation channel.
• Axis Bank, Fibe partner to launch India’s first numberless credit card.
• RBI allows SBI Mutual Fund to acquire up to 9.99% of paid-up share capital in IndusInd bank.
• IRDAI objects to Hinduja Group pledging shares of insurance company to acquire Reliance Capital.
• Maruti Suzuki Board approves acquisition of Suzuki Gujarat at ₹12,841 crore.
• TVS to manufacture BMW’s electric two-wheeler at Hosur plant.
• Infineon signs semiconductor supply deal with automakers Hyundai, Kia.
• Reliance unveils swappable, multipurpose batteries for EVs.
• Air India Express unveils new brand identity, livery, and network expansion with fresh fleet integration.
• Power Finance Corporation sanctions ₹15,000 crore loans, forays into funding of airport projects.
• Centre ties with for construction of Indian Coast Guard Training Ship with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders.
• Wipro announces merger of five of its wholly-owned subsidiaries with and into parent entity Wipro Ltd.
• HAL hands over twin seater variant of LCA Tejas fighter aircraft to IAF.
• Pakistan’s inflation rises to 31.4% YoY amid high energy prices.
• Sri Lanka confirms major debt deal with China.
• China’s Xi announces over $100 billion in new Belt and Road funding.
• Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurates 4G and 5G connectivity module production line at Manesar, Gurugram.
• Airtel introduces calling services on Microsoft Teams.
• India surpasses UK and Japan in mobile speed, ranking 47th in Speedtest Global Index.
• Amazon seeks regulator’s nod for satcom services in India.
• Tata Group to manufacture iPhone in India after acquiring Wistron plant.
• QatarEnergy, TotalEnergies sign 27-year LNG supply agreement.
• India, Saudi Arabia tie up for electrical interconnections, green hydrogen.
• ‘X takes on WhatsApp, rolls out audio and video calls.
• Meta partners with ICC for World Cup 2023 coverage on Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Threads.
• Centre extends SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara’s tenure till August 2024.
• RBI approves appointment of Ashok Vaswani as MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
• A M Naik formally steps down as L&T’s Group Chairman, hands over reins to S N Subrahmanyan.
• Isha, Akash and Anant Ambani get shareholders nod for appointment as RIL non-executive directors.
• World Steel Association elects Leon Topalian as Chairman, India’s T V Narendran as Vice Chairman.

Q2 Results

• Kotak Bank Q2 PAT rises 24% YoY to ₹3,191 crore, Total income increased 36% to ₹13,507.40 crore.
• HDFC Bank Q2 net profit jumps 51% YoY to ₹15,976 crore, Net interest income stood at ₹27,385 crore.
• ICICI Bank Q2 net profit up 36% at ₹10,261 crore, NII grew 23.8% YoY to ₹18,308 crore.
• YES Bank Q2 PAT rises 47.4% YoY to ₹225 crore, NII declined 3.3% to ₹1,925 crore.
• Axis Bank Q2 Profit rises 10% YoY to ₹5,863 crore; NII jumps 19% to ₹12,314 crore.
• PNB Q2 Net profit jumps 327% to ₹1,756 crore; NII up 20% YoY.
• Infosys Q2 PAT rises 3% YoY to ₹6,212 crore; trims FY24 revenue guidance, dividend at ₹18/share.
• TCS Q2 net profit up 8.7% at ₹11,342 crore; announces buyback of ₹17,000 crore at ₹4,150 a share.
• HCL Tech Q2 Net profit rises 10% to ₹3,832 crore, revenue up 8%, declares interim dividend of ₹12/share.
• Tech Mahindra Q2 Net profit plunges 61.6% YoY to ₹494 crore, revenue down 2% ₹12,864 crore.
• Wipro Q2 Net profit rises just 0.7% YoY to ₹2,667 crore, revenue stood at ₹22,515.90 crore.
• LTIMindtree net profit falls 2.24% to ₹1,162 crore, declares ₹20/share dividend.
• Maruti Suzuki’s Q2 PAT soars 80.3% at ₹3,716.5 crore, revenue increased 23.8% to ₹37,062 crore.
• Bajaj Auto Q2 Net profit jumps 20% to ₹1,836 crore, revenue up by 6% to ₹10,777 crore.
• TVS Motor Q2 Net profit rises 32% to ₹537 crore, revenue up 13% at ₹8,145 crore.
• RIL Q2 Net profit rises 30% YoY to ₹19,878 crore, gross revenue rose 1.2% YoY to ₹255,996 crore.
• UltraTech Cement Q2 Profit zooms 69% YoY to ₹1,281 crore, revenue rises 15% to ₹16,012 crore.
• Dr Reddy’s Q2 Net profit jumps 33% YoY to ₹1,480 crore, revenue came 9% up at ₹6,880.20 crore.
• HUL Q2 Profit rises 4% YoY to ₹2,717 crore; dividend declared at ₹18/share.
• ITC Q2 profit rises 10% YoY at ₹4,927 crore, revenue rises 2.6% at ₹16,550 crore.
• Paytm’s revenue rises by 32% in Q2 on strong loan growth, losses narrow to ₹292 crore.
• Apple India revenue jumps 48% to ₹49,322 crore, profit up 77% in FY’23.
• BPCL Q2 net profit rises to ₹8,243.55 crore as marketing margins improves.