Business News at 09:30 am on 17th October 2023

Let’s begin. As India-UK free trade agreement negotiations are at the final stages, a study has found that the pact is unlikely to result in immediate gains for India’s exports, and the industry would have to still work hard to grab a greater share of the UK market for goods. The 13th round of negotiations on FTA are underway in New Delhi and expectations are that the process may be wrapped up by this month-end and the pact would be ready for signing. The non-traditional sectors like petroleum products, diamonds, machinery and pharma that have been the drivers of exports in the recent years are already enjoying zero duty in the UK, and are unlikely to benefit from the FTA.
In some more economy news, Two weeks into the paddy procurement by the Food Corporation of India and state agencies for the kharif season – 2023-24, the purchase under the minimum support price operations from farmers has crossed 5.6 million tonne on Monday, which is an increase of 6% on year. According to the food ministry, 6.4 MT of paddy has arrived in the mandis mostly in Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu so far. Major contributors to paddy procurement include Haryana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. MSP purchase operations have commenced in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. This year’s grain procurement drive will be closely monitored as the uneven distribution of monsoon rainfall this season may impact the rice output in 2023-24 crop year despite higher area under paddy cultivation.
Meanwhile, Vivriti Asset Management, a performing credit-focused asset manager, on Monday announced closure of its diversified bond fund with over $200 million of commitments. Launched in early 2022, the strategy comprises of three category-II credit AIFs: Vivriti Wealth Optimizer Fund, Vivriti Emerging Corporate Bond Fund and Vivriti Alpha Debt Fund – enhanced. Under diversified bond funds, VAM has invested over Rs 1,400 crore since January 2022 in 40 investees that operate predominantly in core sectors – airports, clean energy, road construction, fertilizer , thermal energy, and others as well as services such as software services and managed offices, the fund manager said in a release.
Moving on. A sharp decline in tomato prices may have caused the headline Consumer Price Index inflation to plunge to 5.02% in September from 6.83% in August, but risks to food prices still persist, and experts see retail-food inflation staying above the 6%-mark in the second half of the current fiscal year. An erratic monsoon and low reservoir levels are likely to have moderately adverse impact on yields of several crops, including paddy, pulses, oilseeds, and spices, which may keep inflationary pressures elevated in the near-term. In the south-west monsoon period, which ended in September, rainfall has been particularly weak in east and north-east India, followed by south India. The total rainfall received in June to September was 94.4% of the bench mark – LPA, or ‘below normal’.
ON to industry. After a dull first half, the capacity addition in India’s renewable energy sector is expected to increase in the second half of the financial year FY24 owing to lower prices of solar modules and relaxation of the approved list of models and manufacturers by the government which may enable developers to commission many of the delayed projects by the year end, analysts say. In the first half of the current financial year, the country added 6.6 GW RE capacity, against the target for the full year of 20 GW. The RE capacity addition was slow during the first half of the current financial year mostly because the projects were delayed due to supply-chain challenges.
In some more industry news. IT giant Tata Consultancy Services has lent its staff a helping hand so that they can “bring their best self to work”. A key component of that “best self” is adherence to a dress code as the freshers needed to be reminded that the days of wearing shorts and T-shirts while working from home were truly over. In a recent mail to employees, Milind Lakkad, chief human resource officer, said the company looks forward to having all its associates working from office on all working days. Lakkad said while working from office it is important to uphold the highest standard of professionalism through the way employees dress and represent themselves and the organisation.
Lastly, let’s talk about the stocks that you need to watch out today. These include Jio Financial Services, Coal India, and ICICI Securities. JFS on Monday said its second-quarter profit doubled from the previous quarter, in its first earnings report after being carved out from billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and listed on stock exchanges, reported Reuters. On the other hand, posted a profit of Rs 1000.16 crore for the quarter ended September 2023, up 35% in comparison to Rs 740.91 crore during the same quarter last year, surpassing estimates.