Business News at 10:00 am on 11th January, 2024

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, while addressing the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2024 on Wednesday, announced that the company will invest over Rs 55,000 crore by 2025 and over Rs 2 lakh crore over the next five years in Gujarat. This, he added, has the potential to create around 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state. Of the investment promise of Rs 55,000 crore by 2025 during the previous summit, Gautam Adani said, quote, “We have already surpassed Rs 50,000 crore across the various sectors I had promised and have vastly exceeded our target of 25,000 direct and indirect jobs,” unquote. Further, Gautam Adani also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India’s economic progress amidst geopolitical conflicts and pandemic challenges.

Moving on. The rice market is set to remain tight at the start of the year on India’s ongoing export restrictions and an expected boost from festival demand, providing impetus for elevated prices to climb even higher, a Bloomberg report said. The grain is vital to the diets of billions and further price gains would stretch household budgets. Thai white rice 5% broken — an Asian benchmark — rallied to a fresh 15-year high at the end of last year of $659 a ton. Top shipper India is expected to keep its export restrictions in place until at least a general election in April or May, as PM Modi seeks to contain local prices before voters head to the polls.

In some more industry news, Fintech firm One97 Communications plans to invest Rs 100 crore in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City to build a global financial ecosystem, the company said. The company will make the investment over a period of time and will seek requisite approvals for the same. With GIFT city as an ideal innovation hub for cross-border activity, Paytm will use its proven capability to innovate and build new tech for users across the globe looking to invest in India. One97 Communications Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma in a statement said, quote, “The strategic investment in GIFT City represents a pivotal step towards building an Artificial Intelligence-driven cross-border remittance and payments technology landscape, presenting global opportunities,” unquote.

Meanwhile, IT firm Dynacons Systems & Solutions Ltd, on Wednesday, announced that it has bagged a significant order from Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd for High Performance Digital Workplace Solution as a Service including desktops, workstations, LED projectors and UPS for their nationwide offices / factories all over India. The overall project value, it added, is Rs 137 crore for 5 years as contract period. As per their policy, BHEL is planning to refresh their IT assets with the latest technology workplace solution as a Service. This workplace solution will help to streamline their device management, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure the latest technology is seamlessly integrated into their workflow, equipped with cutting-edge hardware, guaranteeing a seamless and productive experience.

In other news, Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, announced that its business Godrej Interio, has witnessed a surge in the demand for environmentally sustainable products. It stated that the company is expecting up to 42 per cent of the revenues in FY24 to be derived from good or green products. The company has also set a plan to soar beyond and secure a minimum of 50 per cent of its revenue from this segment, by 2032. Godrej Interio aims to achieve its good & green targets by focusing on building a green, efficient and most importantly a local supply chain ecosystem. Currently, the business has a 94 per cent local value addition in FY24.

On to auto sector. Hyundai has now taken the covers off from the new Creta ahead of its launch on January 16. This is the first major update to the compact SUV ever since the second-gen model was introduced back in February 2020. Earlier, the Korean carmaker released a set of official sketches which revealed the SUVs updated exterior design. Now, the Korean carmaker has revealed the design of the new Creta in its final production form. Aligned with Hyundai’s latest iteration of ‘Sensuous Sportiness’ design philosophy, the facelifted Creta takes inspiration from more premium international models. The most prominent design update is its new parametric grille embellished with black chrome flanked by new vertically-stacked twin-LED projector headlamps on either side.

Lastly – Indian benchmark indices ended on positive note for the third consecutive session on January 10. At close, the Sensex was up 271.50 points or 0.38 percent at 71,657.71, and the Nifty was up 73.90 points or 0.34 percent at 21,618.70. About 1772 shares advanced, 1495 shares declined, and 75 shares unchanged. Top gainers on the Nifty included Cipla, Reliance Industries, Adani Enterprises, HCL Technologies and Adani Ports, while losers were ONGC, Divis Labs, BPCL, NTPC and Power Grid Corporation. Notably, shares of Tata Power rose 2.5% to Rs348.75 after Air India Chairperson’s speech at Vibrant Gujarat Summit. He said Tata Group will set up semiconductor plant in Dholera this year.