IDBI Bank's privatisation experiment ill-timed: Moily

Pointing to the weak health of public sector banks, Veerappa Moily, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, has mounted a scathing attack on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's haste to experiment with IDBI Bank's privatisation Stock Market Trading Tips

In conversation with Business Standard, Moily, a Congress leader and Lok Sabha member from Karnataka, said: "Non-performing assets (NPAs) and stressed loans are very high. At no point of time after the nationalisation ofbanks has the situation come to such a pass. It is the worst situation."

Moily said banks and the economy of the country were in vulnerable situation. "If an experiment like disinvestment in banks is done now, some of them (banks) may have to be closed. The patient may get to the operation table, but there is no guarantee that he would come back alive. So the government can't apply normal rule of surgery at this point of time Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

He, however, clarified he is not against the idea of strategic disinvestment. "It (disinvestment) is for infusing reforms in the governance, expand the capital base and invite public to participate. But, if that process is used only for the purpose of finding finance for the government and dilute the public sector, perhaps a day will come when the public sector will suffer."

The bank had made a presentation before the Standing Committee in the first week of November in Mumbai.

Despite a healthy rise in net interest income, IDBI Bank's net profit for the second quarter ended September 2015 was flat at Rs 119.5 crore on higher provisions for stressed loans Indian stock market astrology prediction

The gross NPA of the bank stood at 6.92 per cent (Rs 14,757 crore) in September 2015, up from 5.72 per cent (Rs 11,559 crore) in 2014. The portfolio of standard restructured loans was Rs 16,025 crore in September 2015. Its provisions for bad loans provision and contingencies rose to Rs 1,289 crore in the second quarter of FY16 from Rs 990 crore in the year-ago period. Its provision coverage was 68.13 per cent.

Asked about the move by the government on privatisation, IDBI Bank's managing director and chief executive Kishor Kharat maintained there was no communication on divesting its stake below 51 per cent nor has it sought the bank's views on the same Share Market Astrology

IDBI Bank is registered under the Companies Act. The Articles of Association of IDBI Bank requires government to keep at least 51 per cent stake at all times. The government holds 76.5 per cent stake in the bank as of end-September 2015.

The standing committee has already gone into the question of non-performing loans and it will shortly come out with a report on it as well as on stressed loans. Most sectors are failing: the manufacturing sector is not picking up at all and the power sector is heavily indebted, Moily said Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips

ICICI Bank to sell 6% stake in Pru Life for Rs 1,950 crore

ICICI Bank on Monday said it would sell a six per cent stake in its life insurance venture, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, to Premji Invest and its affiliates, and Compassvale Investments Pte, a unit of Singapore-based Temasek, for Rs 1,950 crore. This deal values the life insurance company at Rs 32,500 crore, making it the highest valued private insurance company in the country Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Of the six per cent stake, four per cent will be sold to Premji Invest, while balance will be sold to Compassvale Investments, an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek.

Recently, Standard Life had said it would buy nine per cent additional stake in its Indian insurance venture, HDFC Life, taking its stake to 35 per cent from 26 per cent at present. This deal had valued HDFC Life at Rs 18,951.4 crore.

HDFC Life, which is the third largest private life insurer after ICICI Prudential Life and SBI Life (based on new premiums), collected Rs 3,039.40 crore for the April to October period, according to data from the Life Insurance Council, showing a growth of 25 per cent. It had posted net profit of Rs 186.5 crore for quarter ended September 30, 2015, against Rs 173.5 crore posted in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips

"The proposed transaction values the company at Rs 32,500 crore, reflecting the substantial value created by the business since its inception," ICICI Bank said in a release. Its board of directors have given approval to this transaction, which now needs government and regulatory approvals.

After completion of the deal, the bank will hold 68 per cent stake in the insurance venture. Its joint venture partner, UK-based Prudential Plc, will continue to hold 26 per cent stake. The new insurance Act allows foreign insurers to hold up to 49 per cent stake in an Indian insurance company.

According to data from the Life Insurance Council, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance collected new premiums of Rs 3,816.63 crore for the April to October period, seeing a 46 per cent growth from the corresponding period in the last financial year. A large portion of sales comes from the unit-linked insurance plan (Ulip) product, while the rest is from the traditional product portfolio Share Market Astrology

Its profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, rose to Rs 415 crore from Rs 399.2 crore posted in the corresponding quarter of the of last fiscal. The insurer was among the first private insurers to be granted a licence after the industry was opened up in 2000.

ICICI Bank had also recently announced sale of stake in its general insurance venture, ICICI Lombard. In October, it said Prem Watsa-founded Fairfax Financial Holdings will increase its stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance to 35 per cent approximately, from 25.7 per cent held currently. This deal had valued the company at Rs 17,225 crore Indian stock market astrology prediction

ICICI Bank sells 6% in I-Pru Life for Rs 1,950 crore

ICICI Bank on Monday said it has sold 6% stake inICICI Prudential Life Insurance, a joint venture with Prudential PLC of UK, to two entities Premji Invest of Wipro chairman Azim Premji, and Temasek, a subsidiary of Singapore government's investment arm for an aggregate amount of Rs 1,950 crore. The deal valued the private sector life insurancemajor at about Rs 31,500 crore. Post the deal, ICICI Bank will hold 68% in the I-Pru Life while its UK partner will have a 26% stake. Premji Invest and its affiliates will buy a 4% stake in I-Pru Life while Compassvale Investments, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Temasek, will buy the balance 2% in the life insurer, a release from the bank said Stock Market Trading Tips

Last month, ICICI Bank had agreed to sell 9% stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance to its Canadian partner Faifax Financial Holdings, the promoter of Lombard, for Rs 1,550 crore, valuing general insurer at Rs 17,225 crore. During the Fairfax deal, Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank, had said the bank was looking at monetizing its holdings in the life insurance JV too. 

During fiscal 2015, I-Pru Life earned a net profit of Rs 1,635 crore, up 4% from Rs 1,573 crore a year earlier. During FY15, the company had a total income of 19,129 crore, up 20% over Rs 15,913 crore earned in FY14 Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

Set up in 2,000, ICICI Prudential Life was amongst the first private sector life insurers to begin operations after India opened up the insurance sector to private players, including foreign firms. As of March 31, 2015, I-Pru Life's capital infused was at Rs 4,816 crore, For FY15, the life insurer had garnered a total premium of Rs 15,307 crore, its assets under management were at slightly more than Rs 1 lakh crore Indian stock market astrology prediction

Govt to reach out to opposition to get GST Bill passed: Finance minister Arun Jaitley

 Finance minister Arun Jaitley today said the government would make all efforts to persuade the opposition for the passage of Constitution amendment bill for implementation of GST in the winter session Stock Market Trading Tips

"The process of economic reforms is a continuing one, no reform legislation is stopped in Parliament in past though delay may occur ... make efforts with opposition to get GST passed by Upper House in coming Parliament session," he said at UAE India Economic Forum 2015 Meeting here. 

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will subsume more than a dozen state levies to create a single market, is to be implemented from April 1, 2016. But the deadline may be missed if Parliament does not pass the Constitution Amendment Bill in the upcoming winter session beginning November 26.

The Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha, it is awaiting clearance from the Rajya Sabha where the ruling NDA lacks a majority Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

The main opposition party Congress has been opposing the passage demanding inclusion of few things in the Bill. 

The Finance minister expressed hope that main opposition party would take a rational view and support GST, a step for rationalisation of indirect taxes. 

With regard to growth Jaitley said, slowdown in China has impact on India but fall in prices of commodities have been favourable to India. 

"Despite monsoon shortage we would be able to meet the challenge of growth...we would be able to grow better than last year despite global slowdown," he said Indian stock market astrology prediction

Indian economy grew by 7.3 per cent during 2014-15.

Talking about various steps taken by the government with regard to ease of doing business, he said tax reforms have been expedited including no retrospective taxation; rationalisation of taxes etc. 

Besides, the government has taken steps to rationalize subsidies. 

The process of economic reforms would continue despite some bottlenecks being created by certain quarter, he added Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Canara Bank to announce comprehensive policy to fund startups soon

 Following directives from the Union government, Canara Bank is all set to unveil a comprehensive policy to fund startups in India, noted Rakesh Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer of the bank. The nitty-gritty of the policy framework is being worked out and will be announced by end of this month, he said, adding the idea is to fund startups in all areas and not restrict it to just information technology related areas Stock Market Trading Tips

In an interaction with mediapersons on the sidelines of his visit to the circle office here on Monday, Sharma, while keeping the policy details close to his chest hinted that it will be comprehensive and ensure that there are no pitfalls. Acknowledging that the mortality rate of startups are on the higher side, Rakesh said the bank does not want to accumulate more bad debts on its books. "We will go cautious in this front and the policy will have all details," he said.

Keeping in mind the need to roll out more technological products, Rakesh said the bank will launch an exclusive app for the bank's loan products on November 19. "We have also undertaken an upgrade of our systems to launch the proposed roll out of technological products," he said, adding this will also include upgradation of its credit card platform. The fine print of the app to be launched will be made public on the day of the launch, Sharma added Indian stock market astrology prediction

With an eye on further reducing bank's NPAs, a systematic exercise of topline consolidation and bottomline tightening has been taken. The decision to open 250 branches in the current fiscal as against 1,000 last financial year is an instance of top line consolidation, he said, adding the bank has also put in place clear strategy to bring down its gross NPA to less than 4%. Monitoring of loans, e-mega auction and one time settlement of loans too has been taken up, he added.

Coal imports seen ending by 2017, new energy policy on anvil

India would not have to import coal by 2017 — except to meet requirement of coastal power plants — as a result of several measures initiated by the government, even as a comprehensive energy policy is being worked out. 

"By 2017, India should not need to import coal except for those coastal plants where it is very difficult to transmit coal. I am fairly confident the era of shortages is over," coal and power minister Piyush Goyal told an industry gathering organised by consultancy firm KPMG Stock Market Trading Tips

Addressing the same gathering, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government is working on a comprehensive energy policy with NITI Aayog which will elaborate about energy mix of the country till 2050. 

India spent some Rs 1 lakh crore to import 212 mt (million tonnes) of coal in 2014-15. But imports have been declining for the fourth consecutive month in October by 5% to 14.5 mt from a year-ago period. In September, coal imports dropped by more than 27% to 12.6 mt on rise in domestic production. 

India is the third-largest producer of coal after China and the US with 299 billion tonnes of resources and 123 billion tonnes of proven reserves, which may last for over 100 years. The government has set a target of 1.5 billion tonnes of coal production by 2020 Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

India imports 80% of its oil requirements and spent $112.7 billion in 2014-15 to import 189.4 million tonne of crude. Low oil prices is expected to bring down this expenditure to $88 billion (at $65/barrel and $ exchange rate of Rs 62) in 2015-16 for a projected 188.2 million tonne of oil. 

Goyal said the discoms debt recast would allow state-run power lending firm PFC and REC to lend $20 billion for transmission and renewables etc. 

"At next level of UDAY - the debt recast plan for discoms announced recently - we are looking at complete ability to exchange coal or to swap coal, complete synergy in the in power and coal sectors so that coal is used most efficiently by the most efficient power plants at the nearest location and power is transmitted rather than coal," Goyal said. 

He said that South India benefited by 5000 mw of additional power in last 18 months and 20,000 mw additional transmission capacity are in the pipeline Indian stock market astrology prediction

Air India's problems major but not insurmountable, says its new chief in letter to pilots

Describing Air India's problems as "major, but not insurmountable" and financial position as 'precarious', its new chief Ashwani Lohani has made an attempt to check exodus of the Maharaja's pilots, which is starting to cripple the airline. Air India has been deducting 25 per cent of the pilots' pay for some years now and this has been a big reason for the spate of resignations Stock Market Trading Tips

"This (25% pay cut) bothers me also and I would therefore like to assure you that the management is absolutely clear that this pending amount belongs to the employees and should therefore be released," Lohani said in a letter to the staff on Sunday. 

However, given AI's financial condition - the airline is saddled with a debt of Rs 40,000 crore for aircraft purchase and working capital apart from having accumulated losses of Rs 30,000 crore - the pilots will have to wait before the Maharaja is able to pay up. Now, whether the pilots wait for the situation to improve or their migration to greener pastures continues unabated, remains to be seen. 

"Many of you would also be aware of the precarious financial position of Air India at present. This restrains us but... we have started taking all steps to enhance revenue and with emerging positive trends, the amount due would be released in fair instalments as soon as the financial position permits," Lohani said in the letter Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

The pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines had recently voted to strike work but desisted from doing so after Lohani assured them of meeting their genuine and long-pending demands. These pilots have been asking for pay parity with Air India pilots as the two companies have been merged for over eight years. 

Lohani, in his Sunday letter, exhorted employees to "work as a team" and "regain the lost glory of the company." "I genuinely believe in the philosophy of 'employees first'.... because of past legacy and large number of often inter-related issues, the problem on hand is fairly large and would take time to be satisfactorily addressed. While seeking patience, I would like to assure you of the management's sincerity in resolving these issues," Lohani, who enjoys the reputation of being a turnaround specialist, said Indian stock market astrology prediction

This June, many commanders of the erstwhile Indian Airlines had written a letter warning of a huge exodus unless issues like pay parity and restoration of 25 per cent pay cut were restored. It has been one year since the Delhi high court's order and the affidavit given by the Air India management, to bring about pay parity for the same work. However, the management has again failed to stick to the court's deadline in implementing the same. 

The pilots in June had warned the management to either "come out with a non-discriminatory policy or grant a NOC (to leave the airline)... as they would be forced to look for greener pastures and that will be not out of choice Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Exports decline for 11th month in a row

Exports contracted for the eleventh straight month, but a sharper decline in imports helped narrow the trade deficit Stock Market Trading Tips

The bad news was the 17.5% fall in exports to $21.3 billion in October, data released by the commerce department showed. But the good news was that the pace of decline had slowed compared to the over 20% contraction in August and September. But it may be early to spot a trend of the worst being over. Government officials have blamed the slowdown in several parts of the world for the fall in exports. 

Similarly, during October, imports fell over 21% to $31.1 billion on account of a fall in commodity prices. Lower crude petroleum prices pushed down the import bill by more than 45% to $6.8 billion in October, while non-oil imports fell almost 10% to $24 billion Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

The fall in exports was largely due to fall in petroleum product exports, again a function of international oil prices. While overall exports fell by $4.5 billion, $3.25 billion was accounted for by oil products such as petrol and diesel. The other major contributors were gems and jewellery and engineering goods, the largest item in India's export basket with total shipments in October valued at $4.6 billion. Gems and Jewllery was the second most prominent product segment ($3.5 billion), followed by oil products ($2.5 billion). 

"The decline for 11 months in a row is much worse than decline for nine months in a row during 2008-09... going by the current trend and factoring little improvement, reaching $300 billion in the current fiscal looks a remote possibility," said S C Ralhan, president of Federation of Indian Export Organisations, the industry lobby group Indian stock market astrology prediction

Oil min plans to dump NELP for plug and play models for block auction

In a major reform push to make things simpler for companies and bring back investments into exploration, the oil ministry has initiated steps to overhaul the policy framework with the aim of presenting a simpler, plug-and-play model for oil and gas hunters Stock Market Trading Tips

A consultation paper floated by the ministry has proposed full pricing and marketing freedom for gas, a revenue-share regime instead of the present profit-share model - which involves the controversial provision of cost-recovery by operators, a single licence for exploring all forms of hydrocarbons and a system of allowing companies to select area for exploration. 

The ministry had provided a whiff of these reforms in early September when it moved away from the production-sharing model to revenue-sharing regime for auctioning 69 small oil and gas fields without marketing or pricing restriction on operators. 

These changes for small fields were estimated to have the potential of unlocking hydrocarbons treasure worth Rs 70,000 crore. Going by this number, the potential of the latest proposals in the consultation paper for award of mainstream blocks would be many times more Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

Disputes over recovery of costs by operators and restrictions over pricing and marketing freedom have inhibited fresh investments in exploration and dogged contracts for previously auctioned fields that are under production. 

But industry players remained cautious over the proposed gas marketing and pricing freedom. This is because the New Exploration Licensing Policy, which ushered in the era of offering blocks through global auctions in 2000, too had promised these freedoms. But in spite of these conditions, the government in 2007 decided to set the price and identify buyers and quantity of gas for each. 

So far, 254 blocks have been auctioned in nine rounds of auction since 1999 under the production-sharing regime in which companies share profit with the government in a graded manner after recovering costs Indian stock market astrology prediction

In the revenue-sharing model, a bidder offering the highest share of revenue -- or output -- to the government and maximum work commitment wins the field. This is believed to be a more equitable model and protects government interest in both low and high oil price scenarios. 

But there is also a view that the revenue-share model works best in high-prospectivity countries and may not be most suitable for India due to increased risk of failure due to low-prospectivity. 

Read between the lines, the new set of proposals also indicate an eventual freeing up of the domestic gas market and a gas-vs-gas pricing (imported liquid gas against domestic gas) based on demand and supply in future. This would leave the question of existing contracts and consumer protection when prices eventually rebound Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips

The open acreage licensing policy would also be a welcome step for explorers who would be able choose the area for exploration rather than the government identifying blocks and offering them in bid rounds. 

The Uniform Licensing Policy would remove the cumbersome process of seeking separate licences and complying with different set of fiscal regimes for exploring and producing conventional oil and gas as well as unconventional forms of shale oil and gas or coal-bed methane. 

At present, conventional oil and gas exploration is covered by NELP, while CBM exploration and production is governed by a separate regime. There is no licensing regime for shale oil and gas Commodity Market Astrology Tips

KKR inks $105m deal to buy 70% in Avendus Capital

Global investment powerhouse KKR has signed a definitive agreement to acquire over 70% stake in homegrown investment bank Avendus Capital, valuing the Mumbai-based firm at $175 million. The deal will help Avendus, which emerged as India's top deal advisory firm last fiscal, to scale up its services in wealth management and private equity, besides expanding into NBFC offering credit solutions Stock Market Trading Tips

The three founders - Ranu Vohra, Gaurav Deepak and Kaushal Aggarwal - will stay on to lead Avendus through the next phase of evolution. The shareholding realignment will see the three founders together hold a 22% stake, while an early investor, US-based Anil Godhwani, and the senior management will own the rest 8%. 

KKR will initially buy a 60% stake and has a road map to increase it to 70% in the next 12 months. Middle East investor Eastgate Capital, Spain-based Harish Fabiani and several HNIs are exiting as part of the transaction pegged at around $105 million. KKR will invest $70 million as fresh capital in Avendus "We are excited to back the three Avendus founders to build a scaled-up world class merchant bank catering to India's growing mid-market entrepreneurial ecosystem," said Sanjay Nayar, member & CEO, KKR India Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

IITians Vohra, Deepak and Aggarwal co-founded Avendus 15 years ago as an internet-focused investment bank, which has gone on to become one of the most prolific dealmakers in the country. Last year, riding on a robust action around the entrepreneurial economy, Avendus advised on investment and M&A deals worth $1.5 billion booking $30 million in fees. 

Vohra, who will continue to spearhead Avendus as MD & CEO, said he and two other founders were playing for more. "We are excited about this partnership and what it means for our clients, employees and the businesses we operate in. The opportunity in mid-market companies continues to be very attractive and Avendus aims to establish itself as a partner of choice for these companies and their owners," Vohra added. Almost $50 million investment from KKR will be set aside to develop the NBFC unit, which will develop a loan book of more than $250 million in the next 3-5 years Indian stock market astrology prediction

Vohra said Avendus will develop credit solutions, which will work in tandem with the wealth management unit, to support emerging entrepreneurs. This will make the company compete more fiercely with other homegrown leaders like India Infoline and Kotak in the wealth management industry. Avendus manages closer to $1 billion in wealth management. 

Avendus will put in place a revamped board headed by an eminent non-executive chairman. The proposed nine member board will have an equal presence of independent directors, founders and KKR Commodity Market Astrology Tips

India, EU set to resume FTA talks: Sitharaman

After suspending talks for a bilateral trade agreement with the European Union, India is set to return to the negotiating table to discuss lower import duty for European cars and wines in return for pushing some of its farm products, garments and IT services into the trading bloc Stock Market Trading Tips

Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman told TOI that the dates for resuming the dialogue are being discussed and the government was trying to push the pedal with the EU trade pact, along with those with Australia and Canada. After taking charge in the summer of 2014, the government had ordered a review of all proposed trade agreements and it was only later that it decided to restart negotiations. 

In August, days before talks were to resume, the government had suspended the dialogue with EU, while protesting against a ban on the import of 700 generic medicines from Indian pharmaceutical firms, such as GVK Biosciences. "We have gone back to negotiations because in Bangalore, the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) had taken up the issue with Angela Merkel (German chancellor) and she had responded positively, saying 'she will look into it and EU will do justice'. So, we have no reason now to doubt their intentions. Our intention was not to dismantle the talks. It was more to make the point about unilateral action by EU," the minister said Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

A joint statement during Merkel's visit had mentioned about a commitment from India and Germany for "resumption of the negotiations as soon as possible". 

India and EU have been working on Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement, which has been in the pipeline for close to a decade and there are some gaps that need to be filled for the deal to be clinched. 

There is a growing view in the government that such trade agreements need to be pursued given the changing global dynamics with the advent of Trans-Pacific Partnership and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). At the same time, with the exports falling for 11 months in a row, bilateral trade deals are seen to offer a way forward although they will kick in only after a few years Indian stock market astrology prediction

Food, services push up retail inflation

Wholesale inflation remained in negative zone for the 12th straight month and was estimated at 3.8% although the gap with retail inflation, which was estimated at positive 5%, narrowed marginally Stock Market Trading Tips

Ask any housewife to choose between the two indices and, much like the RBI, she would quickly opt for retail inflation. After all, for any household it is the price you pay at the retail store that matters, not what things cost in the wholesale market. 

So, what explains the gap between the two? A lot of it has to do with the way the two indices are constructed. In the case of wholesale price index (WPI), for instance, food items have a relatively smaller weight than they have in the consumer price index (CPI). Food is a part of both the primary articles group as well as of manufactured goods in the WPI. But primary food articles (like vegetables, fruits, eggs or raw meat) have a 14.3% weight assigned to them and food products (like biscuits, flour or bread) have under 10%, making a total of less than 25% weight for all food items put together Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog


Thus, three-fourths of the WPI consists of non-food items. "There is a sharp decrease in metal prices and there is a disinflationary trend in manufactured goods, which is reflected in WPI," said D K Joshi, chief economist at Crisil. 

In contrast, the CPI attaches much more weight to food - at over 46%. In addition, housing has an over 10% weight in urban areas. So, changes in rental value - and most leases come with a clause allowing for around 10% annual escalation - are reflected. Then, there are other services, such as health, education and recreation, which usually see periodic increases in prices. For instance, at the start of every academic session, most schools increase fees. All of these get reflected in the CPI, but not in WPI Indian stock market astrology prediction

SBI chief economist Soumya Kanti Ghosh, however, believes that CPI too may not be reflecting the true price picture. One, he said, pulses were the main driver of inflation. "CPI inflation is currently being driven entirely by a narrative called 'pulflation'," he said in a note. In addition, he warned that there may be an element of over-statement given that discounts in the e-commerce space may not have been captured accurately. "We have (SBI) constructed a price index that takes into account the prices being offered by online mega stores and have re-estimated the CPI inflation. Our results indicate that only by considering the discount prices and that too for a select group of products, the CPI inflation would be at least 25 basis points lower than the actual CPI numbers," the note said. 

That's a view even the RBI's Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy shared when in September it pointed out that "with vendors engaged in e-commerce offering low prices, retail inflation may be lower than what the headline number suggests". Even so, it cannot be anywhere near as low as the WPI numbers suggest Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Government's gold bond scheme gets only 8 crore in first week

The first-week collection by the government's sovereign gold bond scheme has been rather tepid with less than Rs 10 crore being reported to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The scheme, which closes on November 20, allows investors to purchase between 2 and 500 grams of gold-equivalent Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Bankers say that in any issue, savvy investors - including high net worth individuals - usually hold off until the closing date before locking in their funds. Also, in smaller centres where the customers' engagement with banks is low, awareness of any new scheme takes time. The gold bond scheme is being sold through banks and post offices. 

The objective of the scheme is to provide an alternative investment option to those Indians who buy physical gold as an investment. Besides the demand for jewellery, purchase of gold as an investment has led to imports of several tonnes of bullion in the past Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips

The money raised through the sale of these bonds will form a part of government borrowing. According to sources, the RBI, which manages government borrowings, is keeping track of the collections and it has got a number of below Rs 8 crore until last weekend. Of this, around Rs 6.5 crore has been reported by banks and another Rs 1.35 crore by the Post Office. The government has fixed the issue price at Rs 2,684 per gram, which means that the gold-equivalent of the bonds is less than 30kg. 

The government has been marketing the scheme on three main points. It is more remunerative than buying gold as the investor gets an interest of 2.75% in addition to getting returns equivalent to the value of gold on maturity Indian stock market astrology prediction

Second, there is no risk of theft since the gold is held in dematerialized form. Thirdly, although the bond has an eight-year tenure, it offers liquidity as it is accepted as collateral and there is also a premature exit option at the end of five years. 

Sensex shrugs off weak start on bargain buying, gains 150 points

Bargain buying after days of slides for benchmark indices led to a 150-point rally in the sensex on Monday, despite heavy selling by foreign funds and weak trends in markets around the globe in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks. After a weak start, the sensex fell to a seven-week low level, then reversed the trend and was up more than 250 points in late session before a strong bout of selling shaved off some of the gains as the index finally settled at 25,760. In the last one month, the sensex has lost 1,600 points, or nearly 6% Stock Marketing Trading Tips

Market players said that news about government's fresh initiatives to pass the GST bill in the coming Parliament session led to the rally. In comparison, around the globe, Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed 1.7% lower while Nikkei in Japan lost 1%. Japanese economic data showing the world's third largest economy was in recession again also weighed on investor sentiment globally. European markets too opened weak but later regained early losses to remain flat after US markets showed resilience in opening trades. 

The day's session witnessed net outflow by foreign funds at nearly Rs 1,100 crore in the secondary market. So far in the month, FPIs have net sold Indian stocks worth about $400 million as they are taking a cautious stance on the market because of the slow pace of economic reforms. On Monday, Christopher Wood, MD & equity strategist, CLSA, one of the leading foreign brokerages, said that although he was overweight on India, he was not happy with the performance of the government at the centre Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

Monday's rally was led by Reliance, SBI and L&T while Infosys and HUL were big drags on the index. The day's session also added about Rs 34,000 crore to investors' wealth with BSE's market capitalization now at Rs 96.4 lakh crore. 

SH Kelkar closes 15% up on debut: Shares of fragrance and perfume maker S H Kelkar closed 15% higher at Rs 207 on the BSE on listing day, after rising as much as 24% to Rs 223 soon after its debut on the bourses. The IPO for the company, through which it raised Rs 500 crore and was subscribed nearly 28 times. The non-institutional segment was subscribed 87 times, while the institutional part was subscribed 26 times Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Ethnic e-tailer Craftsvilla raises Rs 220 crore

Etsy-like marketplace for ethnic products, Craftsvilla.com, has raised $34 million - or Rs 220 crore - led by existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Russian internet billionaire Yuri Milner also participated in the latest financing round personally, through DST Global partners' fund, by putting $5 million in the four-year-old firm. Craftsvilla's other existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Global Founders Capital, a VC fund founded by Rocket Internet's Samwer brothers, were also part of the latest fund-raise, valuing the company at $200 million, post the investment Commodity Market Astrology Tips

With its Series C round of funding in place, the Mumbai-based e-tailer is looking to go public in the next 12-18 months, Manoj Gupta, co-founder & CEO, Craftsvilla, told TOI. The plan comes at a time when most e-commerce majors have put their IPO plans on hold. 

Kribha Handicrafts, which runs Craftsvilla.com, is currently clocking $120 million in gross merchandise value, or GMV annual run rate. GMV is an industry jargon for sales made on an online retailer's platform without factoring discounts and returns. 

"We are looking at a valuation of at least a billion dollars in the next 12-18 months before we go public. Our aim is to hit $500 million in GMV over the next one year," Gupta said. The online retailer is in the process of appointing independent directors as it prepares to go public, he said Indian stock market astrology prediction

The ethnic e-tailer plans to use a significant chunk of the fresh capital for marketing and international expansion having entered Malaysia and with an Indonesia launch on the anvil. "Craftsvilla has risen to category leadership in the ethnic space with a lean marketplace model that has scaled in an unusually capital-efficient manner. We are excited to continue to back them as they grow to the next level," said Shailendra Singh, MD, Sequoia Capital India. All told, the e-tailer had raised $20 million (excluding the fresh infusion) across two rounds of financing since it began operations. 

Founded in 2011 by Gupta and his wife Monica, Craftsvilla sells products across categories including clothing, handicrafts, jewellery and art, among others. It claims to have 25,000 sellers on its platform, selling close to 3.5 million products. The online ethnic wear market is pegged at around $300-500 million in size with the bigger horizontal e-commerce players like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon aggressively pushing their presence in the segment Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

Margins in the ethnic category are higher compared to other segments, sometimes ranging as high as 60-80%. "We typically get a 20% commission on products sold," Gupta of Craftsvilla said. The e-tailer is looking to launch private labels over the next few months, which offer better margins to e-commerce players. 

FSSAI moves SC on Maggi test remarks

Nestle's Maggi noodles will be sold unhindered in the market even though the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Monday moved the Supreme Court and sought expunging of certain adverse observations made by the Bombay High Court on its ability to test quality and standards of food products Stock Market Trading Tips

The food regulator, however, did not challenge lifting of the ban on sale of Maggi. 

Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told TOI, "The food regulator is not so much concerned about the Bombay HC order lifting the ban on sale of Maggi noodles in the market. The FSSAI is aggrieved by certain observations made by the HC concerning the accreditation of its laboratories and their ability to test food products to find out whether they comply with the laid down standards. "The FSSAI is not immediately concerned with the sale of Maggi noodles but the manner in which the HC faulted their testing process." 

On August 13, the HC had said the "principles of natural justice" and procedures were not followed before imposing the ban. It questioned the food regulator why even a show cause notice was not issued to Nestle before banning the food product Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

The HC said samples were not tested at authorized laboratories accredited with the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), raising doubts about the correctness of the test results. 

However, the HC had said it was "concerned about public interest and public health" and asked Nestle to get five samples of each of its nine variants of Maggi noodles tested at three NABL accredited laboratories in Mohali, Jaipur and Hyderabad. If the lead content in the samples was found to be within permissible limits, then Nestle would be allowed to start manufacture of the noodles, the HC had said Indian stock market astrology prediction

According to the FSSAI, 30 out of 72 samples of the popular Maggi noodles had tested positive for dangerously high levels of lead and even MSG, despite packets proclaiming 'no added MSG'. The FSSAI had alleged that Nestle had "failed to adhere to its own declared policy and principles". 

The company had claimed that the ban was "unauthorized, arbitrary, unconstitutional and violated right to equality and trade". It had said the ban order was passed in complete violation of principles of natural justice as the company was never given a chance to put forth its defence. 

Nestle claimed its own tests had found that Maggi noodles were safe for consumption and none of the countries where it sold the product, including the UK, Australia and Singapore had reported any problems relating to food safety and standards Commodity Market Astrology Tips

On Monday, a Nestle spokesperson said, "It has been brought to our attention that the Supreme Court website has posted that the FSSAI has filed a case against Nestle India Ltd and others. We have not been served a notice about this and are not yet aware of its content. However, we would like to reiterate that Nestle India is confident of the quality and safety of Maggi noodles and so we will defend ourselves vigorously."

Ramdev to take on Adidas, Nike with yogawear line

After taking on Nestle's Maggi with instant noodles, Ramdev's Patanjali has readied a strategy to challenge the might of global sportswear giants Nike and Adidas with its foray into yogawear. What's more? The spiritual guru will soon launch health drinks such as Powervita to take on Horlicks and Bournvita, babycare and beauty products, along with an oil-free variant of noodles under the Patanjali brand Commodity Market Astrology Tips

"Our yogawear Vastram will be made of khadi. MNCs have always misled consumers in India. We want to take them on with our products that come with the goodness of Ayurveda and are priced affordably. We will be a Rs 5,000-crore company this year. We have grown by over 150% over last year," Ramdev said. 

Ramdev's trump cards for the success seem to be low-pricing of his products and an iron-grip over traditional methods of manufacturing, namely Ayurveda. Hinting at a popular brand of honey that comes for around Rs 122 for a 250gm bottle, Ramdev said Patanjali honey is priced at Rs 70 for the same 250gm bottle. The atta noodles are priced at Rs 15 compared to similar products from other brands that come for Rs 25 Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips

Ramdev claimed the demand for Patanjali noodles is far outstripping supply. "We will set up five plants in Delhi NCR, Maharashtra, MP, UP and Karnataka to manufacture our products." 

Arvind Singhal, retail expert and founder of Technopak, said Patanjali products enjoy a phenomenal presence in households across the country. "Look at how the company has grown. ITC's FMCG business is around Rs 5,000 crore. Patanjali has disrupted the FMCG space with simple products that promise the goodness of tradition," he said Share Market Astrology 

Brand expert Harish Bijoor said Ramdev's spiritual-guru image resonates well with consumers. "He has got his branding spot on. He has gone back to the basics. His ads are rustic, he talks about the products. I'm excited about Ramdev. He could turn out to be the silent MNC killer of the future," he said. 

Apart from selling products through more than 5,000 Patanjali Chikitsalaya & Arogya Kendras, Patanjali has tied up with Reliance Fresh and Big Bazaar, among other modern trade outlets. The company has also created a unique marketing model where ad agencies such as Mudra is creating campaigns at a low cost and stars like wrestler Sushil Kumar is working as brand ambassador for free. "They are doing it because a significant percentage of our profits from Patanjali products will go towards funding charity projects for underprivileged children," said Ramdev Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog