Weekly News Roundup at 10:00 am on 6th January 2024

Let’s begin with the news that made headlines this week. The pipeline of initial public offerings is likely to remain strong for 2024, with 27 companies looking to raise Rs 28,500 crore presently holding valid approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, according to PRIME Database. In addition, another 36 companies looking to mop up a combined Rs 40,500 crore are awaiting approval from the regulator. Of the total 63 firms, three are new-age tech companies eyeing roughly Rs 16,000 crore. These include, OYO, Digit insurance and FirstCry. According to Pranav Haldea, managing director of PRIME Database Group, the next couple of months should see several IPOs being launched, before a pause on account of the general elections.

On to industry. India’s second largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel has lost 1.2 million active subscribers in October, which is the highest in the last 17 months, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Out of the total 378.13 million subscribers, the company’s active subscribers at the end of October were at 374.96 million, a loss of 1.2 million from the previous month, Trai data showed. One of the reasons for this can be the loss of active users at the lower end of subscriber base for the company to market leader Jio, based on an increase in demand for JioBharat 4G phone, according to analysts.

In some more industry news, India and the US have agreed on the terms for joint monitoring of the former’s steel and aluminium exports to the world’s largest economy, without being subjected to additional duties. This follows the two sides deciding to end all bilateral trade disputes that were pending at the World Trade Organization during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington in June 2023. India’s department of commerce has finalised the terms of references with regard to the joint monitoring mechanism to enable exports of certain steel and aluminium products to the US, without paying extra duties, and the US has conveyed its agreement with the proposed text, a senior official said this week.

Meanwhile, Wheat production is expected to touch a new record of 114 million tonnes in the ongoing 2023-24 crop year on higher coverage and provided weather conditions remain normal, a top food ministry official said this week. The last leg of sowing of wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, is underway and will continue till next week. Till last week, wheat was planted in 320.54 lakh hectares, as per the official data. Wheat production stood at a record 110.55 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), compared to 107.7 million tonnes achieved in the previous year. Area sown to wheat crop is also showing an increase compared to the last year.

Moving on. The Department of Telecommunications has cautioned the public about malicious calls from international numbers spreading false information about Indian stock exchanges, and advised people to report such cases to telecom operators. Such malicious calls are initiated by anti-national elements and are aimed at creating panic, an official release said, adding that the telecom operators have been directed to block malicious calls from such numbers. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), DoT cautioned the public about malicious calls from international numbers spreading false information about Indian stock exchanges. A DoT social media alert said, quote, “The recorded message urges to sell Indian stocks before March 12, claiming impending destruction of BSE and NSE,” unquote.

The government this week said that it has decided not to go ahead with the privatisation of SAIL’s Salem Steel Plant. For strategic disinvestment of Tamil Nadu-based SSP, global Expressions of Interest were invited on July 4, 2019, by SAIL. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management on its website said, quote, “Multiple EoIs had been received and bidders were shortlisted. However, due to lack of interest of shortlisted bidders to proceed further with the transaction, Government of India, with the approval of Alternative Mechanism (Empowered Group of Ministers) has decided to annul the current EoI thereby terminating the present transaction,” unquote.

Lastly, the auto sector. Chetak has launched two new variants of its electric scooter, called the Urbane and Premium. The Chetak Urbane is priced at Rs 1.15 lakh ex-showroom, while the Premium is priced at Rs 1.35 lakh. The Chetak Urbane is available in Coarse Grey, Cyber White, Brooklyn Black and Indigo Metallic Blue colours, while the Chetak Premium is available in Hazelnut, Indigo Metallic Blue, and Brooklyn Black shades. The new Chetak variants get two major updates, one in the form of tech, and the other with their battery pack. Starting with the technology on offer, the new Chetak gets a TFT display, including TBT navigation support, music control and call management. The scooter also gets hill hold control and reverse mode.