Business News at 05:30 pm on 4th March, 2024

Lets begin – While India’s gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded expectations in the third quarter with 8.4 per cent growth from 8.1 per cent in the second quarter, a CRISIL report said that after a strong GDP print in the past three fiscals, it is expected to moderate in the next fiscal year. Growth has been revised for the past two fiscals – the print for fiscal 2023 was revised down 25 basis points (bps) to 7.0 per cent, for fiscal 2022 it was up a significant 60 bps to 9.7 per cent. The Statistics Ministry’s second advance estimates indicate fiscal 2024 GDP growth of 7.6 per cent, surpassing the initial estimate of 7.3 per cent released before the Union Budget in January. It is notable that another growth revision for this year will be done in May with the availability of Q4 numbers, which will have a longer shelf life of a year.

In another development – The Indian Naval Commanders are gearing up for their first conference of 2024, set to begin on March 5th. This time, it is going to be a mix of traditional and modern as they will start the conference at sea. The conference’s opening session will feature the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh witnessing a showcase of twin carrier operations by Indian Navy aircraft carriers. This annual gathering holds significant weight, serving as a forum for Naval Commanders to discuss all things maritime security, from big-picture strategy to day-to-day operations.

Now news related to Google – After Google received a warning for its generative AI tool, Gemini’s biased response by the Indian government, the tech giant on Saturday said that its generative AI tool may not recognise few prompts related to current events, political topics and evolving news. The minister for electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, on X (formerly Twitter) stated that being unreliable does not exempt it from the law. “Our Digital Nagriks are NOT to be experimented on with “unreliable” platforms/algos/model,” he added. It is believed that a debate has been going around Gemini AI’s inability to provide relatable images after providing specific prompt. Case in point when Gemini was asked by an X user to depict America’s founding fathers, the AI threw in women and people of colour, presumably in an attempt to increase diversity representation.

In a separate development – Shares of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) experienced a significant boost, soaring by 12% on Monday, marking its most substantial single-day surge since September 1, 2021. The surge comes in the wake of another potentially sizable order in the pipeline. The rise in BHEL’s stock is attributed to the board approval of a substantial investment by state-run peer NTPC. NTPC approved an investment of Rs 17,195.3 crore for the third phase of the Singrauli Super Thermal Power Project, a 2×800 MW project. Notably, BHEL was the sole bidder for the construction of the Singrauli plant, sparking optimism and driving the surge in BHEL’s shares.

Now news related to Paytm – The Reserve Bank of India is likely to cancel the banking licence of crisis-hit Paytm Payments Bank, a latest media report said on Monday. According to the Hindu Business Line, the central bank will not only revoke the banking licence pf Paytm Payments but will also appoint an administrator to oversee the daily operations. In case the RBI decides to cancel the licence, this would be the first time in last 20 years that the banking licence of an entity would be revoked in India. As per the Hindu Business Line report, the RBI has taken into account diligence failure on part of Paytm Payments Bank on at least four occasions. The report also said that while there were many banking majors interested in the acquisition of Paytm Payments Bank, however, ‘inadequate KYC compliance’ proved to be a big hindrance.

In another development – Finnish telecom and IT company Nokia on Monday said it has partnered with Sterlite Technologies (STL), an optical and digital solutions company, to enhance networking and digital solutions for government institutions and enterprises. The partnership will also focus on government-driven connectivity projects to offer connectivity and networking solutions, Nokia said in a statement. “The collaboration will accelerate the Industry 4.0 revolution. By leveraging these solutions, businesses can gain a competitive edge and drive transformation with disruptive technologies,” the statement said.

Last but not the least – The benchmark equity indices closed in positive territory after hitting a fresh lifetime high of 22,440.90 on March 04. The NSE Nifty 50 closed 27.20 points or 0.12% higher to settle at 22,405.60, while the BSE Sensex gained 66.14 points or 0.09% to settle at 73,872.29. The broader indices closed in the green, with gains led by largecap and midcap stocks. The Bank Nifty gained 158.60 points or 0.34% to settle at 47,456.10.