Business News at 10:00 am on 19th July, 2024

Let’s begin…India’s import of Liquified Natural Gas in June rose by 11% to 2,648 mmscm (million standard cubic meter) as the country’s consumption of gas increased by 7% primarily due to the rising demand for power and increased utilisation of gas based power capacities, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed. The country consumed 5,594 mmscm of natural gas in June against 5,224 mmscm in the same period last year. In the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2024-25, natural gas consumption grew 3.7% to 16,707 mmscm. The natural gas import bill last month also registered a significant increase of 10% at $1.1 billion compared from June 2023.
Next up, Telecom gear maker Nokia on Thursday reported a 69% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in revenue from its India operations to €329 million (around Rs 3,007 crore) in constant currency terms for the April-June quarter, according to the company’s earnings. A weakness in sales for Nokia compared to the year-ago period is due to a reduction in capex by Jio and Airtel, following the completion of their nationwide 5G rollout.On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, sales rose 24% from €265 million (around Rs 2,400 crore) in the preceding quarter, attributed to certain order wins in network infrastructure. Last week, Ericsson reported a 32% q-o-q decline in revenue from its India operations to 3.6 billion Swedish crowns (around Rs 2,850 crore) for the April-June quarter.
Moving on, Tata Power Renewable Energy, the renewable energy arm of Tata Power, on Thursday said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NHPC Renewable Energy (NHPC REL) to lead the installation of rooftop solar projects across government buildings of central ministries, states and Union territories. This initiative, under the ambitious PM Surya Ghar Yojna Scheme, aims for 100% solarisation of government-owned buildings by December 2025.This alliance is set to support the transformation of India’s energy landscape by harnessing the untapped potential of rooftop spaces on government buildings, fostering a cleaner and greener future, TPRE stated.The MoU was signed on July 17 at the NHPC Office Complex in Faridabad.
In other news, The government’s policy of linking import permissions to investments has resulted in Rs 1,100 crore investment commitments by some of the leading tyre manufacturers of the world like Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear, a senior official said. These tyre companies had sought permission to import a certain category of tyres even though the policy restricts it. The permission was granted after these companies agreed to invest in setting up or expanding their manufacturing facilities in the country in a time-bound manner for the products whose import permission was sought. In June 2020, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) restricted imports of certain new pneumatic tires for motor cars, buses, lorries, and motorcycles to promote domestic manufacturing.
Up next, Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said the government will soon set up a project management unit (PMU) for BSNL, wherein the state-owned telecom operator will be monitored on a daily basis with regard to 4G deployment. The PMU will be set along with Tata Consultancy Services, Tejas Networks and C-DOT, with which BSNL is deploying indigenous 4G network. Scindia said, quote ‘We are forming a PMU and that PMU will not set monthly targets, will not set weekly targets, but I have mandated them to set daily targets. Those daily targets will be monitored by the secretary and by myself,’ end quote.
In another development, AI and machine learning jobs are the highest paid among the new-age roles offered by the corporate sector, according to a report. The report by talent platform foundit released on Thursday showed that the freshers in AI/ML roles have the highest average minimum salary (Rs 7.8 lakh per annum) and average maximum salary (Rs 10.3 lakh per annum), indicating a strong demand for the skills even at the entry level. The AI/ML professionals are also the highest paid in the mid- and senior-levels across the new-age roles. Mid-level AI/ML professionals (7-10 years of work experience) have an average maximum salary of Rs 28.6 lakh per annum, followed by Rs 25.3 lakh for software development jobs.
Lastly, Banks’ credit growth slowed down to 14% year-on-year (YoY) as on June 28, from 16% in the previous fortnight and 16.2% a year ago, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s monthly bulletin said on Thursday. According to CareEdge Ratings, the slowdown in the credit growth can be attributed to a decline in credit demand, RBI measures like higher risk weights on unsecured loans and a higher base effect. However, the outlook for bank credit offtake continues to remain positive, with the rating agency expecting 14-14.5% growth in the current fiscal. Overall deposits rose at a slower pace 11.1% as on June 28, leading to a heightened incremental credit-deposit ratio of 101%.