Business News at 10:00 am on 21st December 2023

Let’s begin – The benchmark equity indices ended Wednesday’s trading session in the negative territory. The NSE Nifty 50 plunged 302 points or 1.41% to settle at 21,150.15, while the BSE Sensex dropped 930.88 points or 1.30% to 70,506.14. The broader indices ended in red, with fall led by Midcap and Smallcap stocks. Bank Nifty index ended lower by 425.60 points or 0.89% to settle at 47,445.30. Media and PSU banks falls more than 4%, whereas Energy, Realty, and Auto dropped more than 2%. ONGC, Tata Consumer Products, Britannia Industries, and Cipla were the top gainers on the NSE Nifty 50, while the laggards includes Adani Ports and SEZ, Adani Enterprises, Tata Steel, UPL and Coal India. The Indian Volatility Index closed up by 3.59 %.

Up next – India’s steel imports is expected to remain elevated around the 6 million tonne mark this fiscal even as the global steel industry battles a slowdown, said a report by CRISIL MI&A. Strong domestic demand, supported by government spending on infrastructure, building and construction segments, it added, will support this growth. Global steel demand, which has been subdued since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is expected to grow 1.6 per cent in 2023, after a sharp decline of 3.3 per cent in 2022. However, the scenario remains suboptimal across key economies. The report further stated that even this tepid rate of growth rides largely on a buoyant 13 per cent growth in demand in India.

Moving on – India and the Asian Development Bank sealed a pact on December 15 for a $250 million loan to sustain the development of the 82-kilometre Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System corridor. This corridor, traversing densely populated segments of the national capital region, promises swift, secure, and high-capacity commuting services. By drastically reducing travel time from 3-4 hours to approximately one hour, it is poised to broaden economic horizons and job prospects in the area. In 2020, ADB greenlit a $1,049 million Multi-tranche Financing Facility to support the RRTS project, the foremost among three pivotal rail corridors outlined in the NCR Regional Plan 2021. This plan aims to knit Delhi with neighboring state cities.

In another development – Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday virtually chaired a high-level meeting with health Ministers of various states to assess the current status and preparedness for COVID-19. This comes at a time when the country is witnessing a surge in fresh COVID-19 cases. On Wednesday, a person died due to COVID-19 in Karnataka’s Bengaluru. Reportedly, he was also suffering from co-morbidity. Kerala recorded 292 new COVID-19 cases and three fatalities in the last 24 hours, as stated by the Union Health Ministry’s data on Wednesday. Among the 341 reported infections nationwide till 8 am today, 292 cases emerged from Kerala, elevating the state’s active cases to 2,041 as per Ministry’s data.

Meanwhile – The Indian employment scenario has shown incremental growth in various sectors, as reported by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation through the Periodic Labour Force Survey and the Quarterly Employment Survey. Recent data reflects an upward trajectory in the infrastructure-related industries, signaling positive strides in the job market. According to the Annual PLFS Reports, major industries linked to the infrastructure sector witnessed an increase in employment during 2022-23 in comparison to 2020-21. The manufacturing sector saw a rise in workers to 11.4% from 10.9% in 2020-21, while the construction sector marked an increase to 13.0% from 12.1% during the same period.

In other news – In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court, comprised entirely of justices appointed by Democratic governors, declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. This decision, reached in a tight 4-3 vote, marks the first time in history that the insurrection clause of the Constitution has been invoked to disqualify a presidential candidate. The court’s decision was rooted in Trump’s alleged incitement of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Despite a prior district court ruling acknowledging Trump’s involvement in the insurrection, it initially refrained from barring him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, citing uncertainty about the provision’s applicability to the presidency.

Lastly – Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the officials to establish direct connectivity between the forthcoming Noida International Airport and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Noida airport, which is being constructed in the Jewar area of Gautam Buddh Nagar district near Delhi, is slated to have direct connectivity through metro, high-speed rapid rail, and road networks, as per an official statement. During a review meeting with officials from the National Capital Region Transport Corporation, Northern Railway, North Central Railway, and state government representatives, UP CM acknowledged the transformative developments in the Jewar area, attributing its positive shift to the upcoming international airport and proposed film city.