Business News at 10:00 am on 2nd April, 2024

Let’s begin with the major update, The value of new investment projects announced fell a sharp 29% on year to Rs 11.3 trillion in the March quarter, extending a declining trend of the previous two quarters, casting serious doubts about the government’s claim that, with an uptick in private investments and inflation trending down, economic outlook for the new fiscal looks positive. In the just-concluded quarter, both private and government investment announcements declined roughly at the same rate, data from the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy showed. To be sure, in absolute terms, value of private projects unveiled in Q4FY24 was still the highest since the year-ago quarter, when it saw a recent peak of $13.8 trillion. Moving on, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) has been quietly shoring up the retail presence of Reebok, the sportswear brand whose distribution rights it acquired in December 2021 for India and South East Asian countries at an estimated `100 crore from the Authentic Brands Group, Reebok’s new owner. While the deal has helped ABFRL mark its presence in India’s Rs 20,000-crore organised sports footwear market, which has big names such as Puma, Adidas, Nike, Asics, Skechers and Decathlon lording over it, the Aditya Birla group has big plans for the brand. The sports footwear is growing at around 10% per annum. Analysts and retail experts see ABFRL taking a leaf out of rival Metro Brands’ strategy to grow its footwear business in the country. In other news, To bolster stock, which has plummeted to a 16-year low, the government’s wheat procurement drive for the 2024-24 rabi marketing season (April-June) commenced officially on Monday. The government has set a target of 30 to 32 million tonne (MT) of wheat purchase during the season by government agencies, which is expected to boost stocks as well as allow the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to carry out open market sale of the grain to bulk buyers. Wheat stocks with the FCI declined to 7.57 MT on Sunday, against a buffer of 7.46 MT for April 1 due to low procurement for the last two years and aggressive sale of grains in the open market by the corporation in FY24. Meanwhile, In the financial year 2023-24, officials reported that 7,180 route kilometers of railway tracks were electrified, marking the highest achievement in the history of the national transporter. This surpasses the 6,565 route kilometers of tracks electrified in the 2022-23 fiscal year. In freight loading, the official stated that 1,591 MT were loaded in the financial year 2023-24 compared to 1,512 MT in 2022-23, marking a five percent increase. The additional 79 MT loading is the highest ever for the railways in any financial year, the official added. In FY 2023-24, approximately 5,300 kilometers of new railway lines were laid, covering new tracks, doubling existing lines, and gauge conversion. This surpasses the 5,241 kilometers achieved in FY 2022-23. Up next, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said nearly 97.69 per cent of the Rs 2000 denomination bank notes have returned to the banking system, and only Rs 8,202 crore worth of the withdrawn notes are still with the public. On May 19, 2023, the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes from circulation. The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of Rs 2000 banknotes was announced, has declined to Rs 8,202 crore at the close of business on March 29, 2024, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement. Moving ahead, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the aviation security watchdog, has issued fresh guidelines that will allow passengers to exit from an aircraft via an airport departure gate if there is a significant delay in operating the flight after boarding. The recent directive from BCAS addresses the increasing instances of congestion and flight delays, which often leave passengers stranded onboard aircraft after boarding for long hours. On Monday, BCAS Director General Zulfiquar Hasan stated that the guidelines, issued to airlines and airport operators on March 30, are now in effect. He further mentioned that the guidelines would minimise inconvenience for passengers and they no longer have to remain seated inside an aircraft for long hours after boarding. Lastly, let’s take a look at stocks to watch today. GIFT Nifty indicated that Indian equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 may see a weak opening. GIFT Nifty traded lower as the index was down 115.00 points or 0.51% at 22,493.00 indicating a negative start for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Tuesday. Previously, on Monday, the NSE Nifty 50 gained 135.10 points or 0.61% to settle at 22,462.00, while the BSE Sensex closed 363.20 points or 0.49% higher at 74,014.55. Here’s a look at the key stocks to watch in trade — Aditya Birla Fashion, Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland, Hero MotoCorp, Infosysz