Business News at 10:00 am on 3rd June, 2024

Lets, begin, The government has firmed up a plans to unveil a national policy to encourage deep-tech start-ups with assorted tax concessions and other incentives, official sources told FE, adding that the full Budget likely to be presented by mid-July, might announce an outlay for a related scheme, besides a funding mechanism for such units. The idea is give them a helping hand, to improve their viability till they reach the commercial arena. Apart from funding options, the National Deep Tech Start-up Policy (NDTSP) would include differentiated treatment of these units from the other start-ups, and steps to reduce their costs by way of Customs duty exemptions or reduced tariffs customs on imported equipment, machinery, and raw materials, the sources said.

Moving to Banking sector news, lenders plan to approach the Reserve Bank of India proposing lower provisioning for infrastructure loans, as the probability of default or PD has been falling consistently to 2% or even less in the sector over the past five years.  “We are in touch with RBI about this number, as it has fallen significantly in the past few years. If they accept this number, then our problem will be solved,” said a banker. PD, a key component in credit risk assessment and used in the calculation of expected credit losses, is a measure of the likelihood that a borrower will be unable to meet their debt obligations over a specified period. The banker explained that over a 10-year, the PD comes to 5%.

Over to Infrastructure news, buoyant on a rising economy and demand that is aided by various government initiatives, infrastructure and allied firms are hiking their capital expenditure for FY25. The current fiscal is expected to be a capex intensive year as firms embark on capacity addition and expansion through both organic and inorganic routes. For instance, JSW Steel has earmarked a capex of Rs 20,000 crore for FY25, as it expects the fiscal to be good with economic momentum and steel demand continuing to be strong. The company had a capex spend of Rs 17,000 crore last year. Tata Steel’s capex guidance for FY25 is Rs 17,000 crore. UltraTech Cement has earmarked Rs 9,500 crore as capex for FY25, , including for capacity expansion plans.

Heading to Technology news, 5G has been hailed as a disruptive technology, comparable to artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and the Internet of Things  in terms of the kinds of change it will bring about. How much of that is true and how much is just hype? Interest in 5G networks and the devices and applications that run on them is  high among both consumers and business leaders, says Nitin Bansal, MD, India & head – Networks, Southeast Asia, Oceania and India at Ericsson. In this interview with Sudhir Chowdhary, he dwells on India’s 5G proliferation since its launch in October 2022 and its transformative potential across industries. Forecasts suggest that 5G subscriptions will dominate the mobile landscape in India.

Next Industry news, Hindustan Unilever is digitising its manufacturing ecosystem to be future-ready, CEO & MD Rohit Jawa said in the latest annual report of the country’s largest consumer goods company for FY24. Jawa, who took over from Sanjiv Mehta in June last year, said that two factories at Dapada in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Sonepat in Haryana, had implemented fourth industrial revolution solutions on the shop floor. This had earned them the title of an End-to-End Lighthouse factory at the World Economic Forum, making them members of the global Lighthouse network. This network recognises factories that incorporate artificial intelligence and big data analysis to maximise efficiency and drive sustainable growth, while upskilling their workforce and protecting the environment, Jawa said.

Latest from Economy section, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a meeting of top bureaucrats to review the 100-day agenda plan of the new government to be sworn after the Lok Sabha results are announced on June 4, official sources said. The meeting was one among the many others, which included those for reviewing post cyclone Remal situation in the northeast, inspecting the heatwave situation in the country, and preparations to celebrate World Environment Day at a large scale which the prime minister chaired on Sunday, as per official sources. The meetings were held after major exit polls on Saturday predicted a landslide victory for the BJP led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections, that were concluded on June 1.

Lastly, we also know about the stock in focus today. These are Hindustan Unilever, NHAI, Coal India, Wipro, Bharti Hexacom, Vedanta. GIFT Nifty indicated that Indian equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 may see a gap up opening. Hindustan Unilever is digitising its manufacturing ecosystem to be future-ready, CEO & MD Rohit Jawa. On the other hand, Adani Group recorded its highest-ever EBITDA of Rs 82,917 crore in FY24, a 45% rise from the year-ago period.