The first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term has been received with disdain by the newly-strengthened Opposition. While the Congress has been sharp in its criticism, its INDIA bloc allies have been unanimous that this is a “kursi bachao (save the chair)” budget. The term has been coined by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav concurred. But his grouse lay elsewhere. 

“It is understandable that they have to save their government and gave special packages to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, but a state like Uttar Pradesh that gives the country its prime ministers, is there anything for the farmers here?” Mr Yadav told reporters today.   

“This is their 11th budget and it is strange that people are still alive. The problems that have been there before — inflation, unemployment (are still there). If we look at Uttar Pradesh, what is the status of investment? They talk about big numbers, but none of their big projects are finished,” he added. 

Mr Yadav was also scathing about the government’s big ticket skilling programme in collaboration with the private sector. 

“They created unemployment for 10 years. And they hope to solve it now, that too with jobs in bits and pieces. The country’s youth need stable jobs. They are offering a paltry one-year training,” he said.  

Ms Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress was scathing. Senior party leader Kalyan Banerjee took a swipe at the special packages for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, calling it “Kursi bachao budget”.

“They have presented the budget for allies which will save their seats. This budget is to keep their NDA partners Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu happy,” he said. 

The “Kursi Bachao” epithet was also used by Rahul Gandhi.

“Kursi Bachao” Budget.

– Appease Allies: Hollow promises to them at the cost of other states.

– Appease Cronies: Benefits to AA with no relief for the common Indian.

– Copy and Paste: Congress manifesto and previous budgets.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 23, 2024

The Congress has also alleged that the government’s flagship skilling announcement has been lifted straight its manifesto. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has called it a “nakalchi (copy-paste)” budget. 

“I am glad to know that the Hon’ble FM has read the Congress Manifesto LS 2024 after the election results. I am happy she has virtually adopted the Employment-linked incentive (ELI) outlined on page 30 of the Congress Manifesto… I wish the FM had copied some other ideas in the Congress Manifesto. I shall shortly list the missed opportunities,” posted senior party leader P Chidambaram on X, formerly Twitter.

Trinamool’s Kalyan Banerjee He also pointed out that there has been nothing for Bengal, where the BJP has lost ground. “This budget is not for India. They have not given anything to Bengal. They can’t tolerate Bengalis. The BJP will be wiped out of Bengal,” he added.

Former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD leader Rabdi Devi said the Rs 26,000-crore support allocated to Bihar for the development of crucial projects including road connectivity and infrastructure, is a “jhunjhuna” (child’s rattle). 

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced huge packages for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, that includes a boost in infrastructure and special financial support.

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Indian shares hit fresh all-time highs on Monday, driven by financials and energy stocks as state election results boosted market momentum emerging from strong macroeconomic data and easing global interest rate expectations.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose as much as 1.65% to 20,602.50 points, notching a record high for second session in a row. The S&P BSE Sensex was up 1.64% to an all-time high of 68,587.82, as of 9:51 a.m. IST.

Financial services rose up 1.8% and energy stocks climbed 2%, leading sectoral gains.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank gained between 1% and 3%.

Small- and mid-caps gained about 1% each, also hitting new all-time highs.

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured key victories in three of the four state assembly elections, results showed over the weekend.

“The state election outcome will lead to greater confidence on continuity of BJP government at the centre which will drive markets higher,” Anjali Verma and Ravi Kumar, research analysts at PhillipCapital said in a note.

The Nifty had hit a record high on Friday, aided by strong domestic macroeconomic data including quarterly growth and monthly factory activity.

“The market has already started the pre-election rally for May 2024 from November, now this rally will get pace after the outcome of state elections,” said Sunil Nyati, managing director of Swatika Investmart.

The Nifty and Sensex posted their best month in 2023 in November, aided by return of foreign inflows on improved global rate outlook.

Adani group stocks gained between 3% and 9% and topped gains in several sectoral indexes including metals and energy.    

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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The Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) has made a profit of Rs 564.76 crore for period ending September as against a loss of Rs 1,880.25 crore in the year-ago period.

Under the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the timely repayment of Rs 12,342 crore subsidy to PSPCL helped considerably, according to a statement.

The Punjab government’s support was vital for PSPCL to achieve the profit of 564.76 crore. The state government’s role was instrumental in amplifying the power company’s revenue surge and tariff adjustments.

PSPCL took several measures to ensure that power purchase cost remains under check, the statement said. It ensured 19 per cent more generation from state-owned thermals at Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar due to availability of cheaper coal from its Pachhwara coal mine.

It generated 21 per cent more power from own hydel plants; 14 per cent more generation from BBMB hydel plants, and 13 per cent more banking of power with other states.

There has been a 48 per cent reduction in power purchase through short term and purchase from exchange.

No imported coal was used at the state thermal plants in Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat due to operationalisation of the Pachhwara coal mine. A miniscule amount of imported coal was used at private thermals at Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo.

PSPCL’s sale of power in exchange was worth Rs 924 crore from April to September 2023  against Rs 293 crore from April to September 2022.

The power purchase from exchange was worth Rs 1,138 crore at an average rate of Rs 4.59 per unit in 2023, as against Rs 1,914 crore at Rs 5.54 per unit in 2022. Transmission and distribution losses have reduced by 1 per cent.

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In order to protect consumers’ interest, the government has banned use of “dark patterns” on e-commerce platforms which intend to deceive customers or manipulate their choices.

A gazette notification in this regard as “Guidelines for prevention and regulation of dark patterns” was issued on November 30 by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) which is applicable to all platforms offering goods and services in India, and even advertisers and sellers.

Resorting to dark patterns will amount to misleading advertisement or unfair trade practice or violation of consumer rights. The penalty will be imposed as per the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, it added.

“In the emerging digital commerce, dark patterns are increasingly being used by the platforms to mislead the consumers by manipulating their buying choices and behaviour,” Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI.

The notified guidelines will ensure clarity in the minds of all stakeholders — buyers, sellers, marketplaces and regulators – as to what is not acceptable as unfair trading practices, the latter being liable under the Consumer Protection Act, he added.

According to the notification, dark patterns have been defined as any practice or deceptive design pattern using user interface or user experience interactions on any platform that is designed to mislead or trick users to do something they originally did not intend or want to do, by subverting or impairing the consumer autonomy, decision making or choice.

For instance, ‘basket sneaking’ is a dark pattern that includes additional items such as products, services, payments to charity or donation at the time of checkout from a platform, without the consent of the user, such that the total amount payable by the user is more than the amount payable for the product or service chosen by the user.

Another dark pattern called “forced action” means forcing a user into taking an action that would require the user to buy any additional goods or subscribe or sign up for an unrelated service or share personal information in order to buy or subscribe to the product or service originally intended by the user.

Likewise, CCPA has specified 13 dark patterns to provide only as a guidance for the industry.

Initially, CCPA had identified 10 dark patterns but after the public consultation another three were included.

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Nifty hit a fresh record high on Friday, as faster-than-expected economic growth in the September-quarter added to optimism over the global interest rate outlook.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose as much as 0.52% to 20,238.45, a new record high, while the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.44% at 67,286.16, as of 9.35 am.

The Indian economy expanded 7.6% in the September-quarter, faster than the 6.8% forecast in a Reuters poll of economists and the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of 6.5%, led by manufacturing growth.

“India’s growth outlook remains positive, with various capex initiatives of the government likely to trigger consumption at the bottom of the pyramid,” Pramod Gubbi, founder of Marcellus Investment Management, said.

The expectation that we are at the peak of the interest rate cycle in the US has facilitated the move of flows towards more risky assets like emerging equities, especially India, Gubbi added.

Nifty and Sensex posted their best month in 2023 in November, aided by the return on foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows.

FPIs snapped a two-month selling streak in November, adding stocks worth 90 billion rupees ($1.1 billion).

Wall Street equity indexes rose overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average clocking its best month since October 2022, after consumer spending data signalled cooling demand, boosting the rate outlook.

Meanwhile, exit polls for state elections showed a narrow advantage for Bharatiya Janata Party in the key states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress is seen to be leading in Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

“A decisive BJP win will reinforce consensus that the party is on the front-foot for 2024 general elections and likely add another leg of rally to markets,” said three analysts led by Madhavi Arora, lead economist at Emkay Global Financial Services.

India’s general elections are due early next year.

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India’s economy grew 7.6 per cent in the September quarter of this fiscal and remained the fastest-growing large economy, mainly due to better performance by manufacturing, mining and services sectors, the government data showed on Thursday.

The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 6.2 per cent in the July-September quarter of 2022-23.

India remained the fastest-growing major economy, as China posted a 4.9 per cent growth in July-September 2023.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the GDP growth figure displayed the resilience and strength of the Indian economy amid testing times globally.

“The GDP growth numbers for Q2 display the resilience and strength of the Indian economy in the midst of such testing times globally. We are committed to ensuring fast-paced growth to create more opportunities, rapid eradication of poverty and improving ‘ease of living’ for our people,” said PM Modi on X.

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) data, the agriculture sector GVA (Gross Value Added) growth decelerated to 1.2 per cent in the September 2023 quarter from 2.5 per cent a year ago.

The expansion in financial, real estate and professional services’ GVA was 6 per cent, down from 7.1 per cent in the year-ago quarter.

The GVA in the manufacturing sector showed a growth of 13.9 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal compared to a contraction of 3.8 per cent in the year-ago period.

As per the data, the output (GVA) in the ‘mining and quarrying’ accelerated to 10 per cent in the second quarter against a contraction of 0.1 per cent a year ago.

Electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services’ grew by 10.1 per cent from 6.1 per cent.

The construction sector recorded a growth of 13.3 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter compared to 5.7 per cent.

The growth in gross domestic product (GDP) during the April-June quarter of 2023-24 remained unchanged at 7.8 per cent.

“Real GDP or GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q2 2023-24 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 41.74 lakh crore, as against Rs 38.78 lakh crore in Q2 2022-23, showing a growth of 7.6 per cent as compared to 6.2 per cent in Q2 2022-23,” the NSO said in a statement.

Nominal GDP or GDP at current prices in Q2 2023-24 is estimated at Rs 71.66 lakh crore against Rs 65.67 lakh crore in Q2 2022-23, showing a growth of 9.1 per cent as compared to 17.2 per cent in Q2 2022-23, it added.

It further said the GDP at constant (2011-12) prices in April-September 2023-24 (H1 2023-24) is estimated at Rs 82.11 lakh crore against Rs 76.22 lakh crore during the corresponding period of the previous year, showing a growth of 7.7 per cent in H1 2023-24 compared to 9.5 per cent in H1 2022-23, it said.

GDP at current prices in H1 2023-24 is estimated at Rs 142.33 lakh crore compared to Rs 131.09 lakh crore during the corresponding period of the previous year, showing a growth of 8.6 per cent in H1 2023-24 against 22.2 per cent in H1 2022-23.

Meanwhile, the output of eight key infrastructure sectors jumped 12.1 per cent in October 2023 against 0.7 per cent expansion in the year-ago period on account of a sharp uptick in production of coal, steel, cement and electricity, according to the official data.

The government’s fiscal deficit at the end of October touched 45 per cent of the full-year budget estimate, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Thursday.

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Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys, KP Singh, chairman emeritus at DLF, and Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, have been named on the 17th edition of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy list released today.

The unranked list “highlights business leaders who are donating from their fortunes and giving personal time and attention to their select causes”, Forbes said in a press release.

The annual list, which spotlights 15 philanthropists, does not include corporate philanthropy except for privately-held companies where the individual is a majority owner.

Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chairman of tech giant Infosys, have made it to the list for donating Rs 3.2 billion (USD 38 million) to his alma mater IIT Bombay in June, Forbes said, adding that the gift will be made over a period of five years.

This was to mark his 50-year association with the technology institute, where he studied electrical engineering as an undergraduate.

Since 1999, Mr Nilekani has given Rs 4 billion in total to the institute. In the past year, he donated an additional Rs 1.6 billion to educational causes.

Mr Singh, who stepped down as chairman of DLF in 2020, in August divested his remaining direct stake in the real estate firm to fund philanthropic causes, Forbes said citing the company.

He garnered Rs 7.3 billion from the disposal of his 0.59 per cent shareholding in the Delhi-based property developer.

The 92-year-old Singh, who has an estimated fortune of USD 14 billion, splits his time between London and Dubai.

After previously setting up the K.P. Singh Foundation Trust and the KP Singh Charitable Foundation Trust, Singh launched the KP Singh Foundation in 2020.

Mr Kamath, who made it into the Forbes’ philanthropy list, joined the Giving Pledge initiative in June.

In his pledge letter, the 37-year-old co-founder of discount broking firm Zerodha, wrote he is mainly interested in climate change, energy, education, and health as well as the foundation’s mission to create a more equitable society.

Mr Kamath’s YouTube podcast series ‘WTF is’ has been giving away up to Rs 10 million (USD 120,000) — contributed by Kamath and business leaders who are guests on his show — to a charity picked by audience members, Forbes said.

Mr Kamath, who has an estimated net worth of USD 1.1 billion, plans to increase episode donations to Rs 40 million, it added.
 

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The government on Wednesday said 125 new projects have been taken up in the current financial year for exploration of critical minerals.

There is high demand for critical and strategic minerals, and the demand is usually met by imports. Critical minerals are used in various sectors, including renewable energy, defence, and agriculture.

“I am happy to announce that this financial year, we have taken up 125 new projects for exploration of critical minerals,” Mines Secretary VL Kantha Rao said at an event in New Delhi.

Further, he said the government is offering an incentive of 25 per cent on discovery of critical minerals by exploration agencies.

Recently, 24 minerals were notified as critical and strategic minerals through an amendment in the mining rule.

India has committed to achieving 50 per cent of cumulative installed electric power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.

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As the world leaders converge in the UAE for the COP28 this week to chalk out strategies for climate mitigation, Adani Power announced it has taken up a green ammonia combustion pilot project at its Mundra plant.

As part of the project, the Mundra plant, a large private sector power plant, will co-fire up to 20 per cent green ammonia in the boiler of a conventional coal-fired 330 MW unit, the Adani Group said in a media release.

Green ammonia, produced from green hydrogen, which in turn is produced through electrolysis using renewable energy, would be a feedstock for the boilers.

As ammonia contains no carbon, there is no carbon dioxide emission from its combustion, making it a long-term carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels.

Adani Power has partnered with IHI and Kowa-Japan to deliver the pilot and examine expansion to other Adani Power units and stations as well. Kowa is active in energy-saving and energy-creating products, while IHI is a heavy industry company that has ammonia firing technology.

Combustion tests at IHI’s facility in Japan have begun with a 20 per cent ammonia blend, simulating Mundra Power Station equipment.

“The partners believe that the results will be encouraging enough to implement this solution at the Mundra Power Station once economic parity is achieved between both feedstocks. The Mundra plant is the first location outside of Japan to have been selected for this cutting-edge green initiative,” the Adani Group release said.

The ambitious project has been conceived under the aegis of the Japan-India Clean Energy Partnership (CEP).

“Adani Power is fully committed to reducing its carbon footprint through the adoption of the latest technologies and proactive measures across our business value chain. In furtherance of this vision, we are happy to partner with IHI and Kowa to blend green ammonia for our Mundra plant, which will reduce CO2 emissions. We will continue to integrate cutting-edge technologies increasingly to reduce emissions in the intermediate term,” said Anil Sardana, Managing Director, of Adani Power.

Separately, on Tuesday, the conglomerate’s Adani Total Gas announced a ‘Green Hydrogen Production and Blending Pilot Project’. Adani Total Gas, a leading energy and city gas distribution company, is co-promoted by Adani Group and TotalEnergies.

As part of the project, Adani Total Gas will employ the latest technologies to blend green hydrogen (GH2) with natural gas for over 4,000 residential and commercial customers at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the Adani Group company said in a media release on Tuesday.

GH2 is produced using the electrolysis of water with electricity generated by renewable energy. Hydrogen blending is less carbon-intensive than burning gas but has the same heating capabilities.

The project is expected to be commissioned by the first quarter of 2024-25, and the percentage of green hydrogen will be gradually increased in the blend to up to 8 per cent or more, depending on regulatory approvals, the media release added.

After successfully completing the pilot, hydrogen-blended fuel will be supplied stepwise to larger parts of the city and other licence areas.

Notably, in January this year, the central government approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission, aiming to make India a global hub for such technologies’ production, utilisation, and export. The green hydrogen mission will gradually lead to the decarbonisation of industrial, transport, and energy sectors, and a reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels, among others.

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP28, will be the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will be held from November 30 until December 12, 2023, in Dubai.

India, a developing country, is ambitious to become developed by 2047, committed to an ambitious five-part “Panchamrit” pledge at COP26 held in 2021. They included reaching 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity, generating half of all energy requirements from renewables, to reducing emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030. India also aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. Finally, India commits to net-zero emissions by 2070.

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The combined market valuation of all listed companies on the leading stock exchange BSE reached the USD 4-trillion milestone for the first time ever today.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 305.44 points to 66,479.64 in early trade after beginning the day on a positive note.

Thanks to the optimism in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies reached Rs 3,33,26,881.49 crore in morning trade, translating into USD 4 trillion at the exchange rate of 83.31.

While the BSE benchmark Sensex has rallied 5,540.52 points or 9.10 per cent so far this year, the market capitalisation (m-cap) of all listed firms at its platform have jumped about Rs 50.81 lakh crore.

The 30-share benchmark hit its all-time peak of 67,927.23 on September 15 this year.

The other markets valued more than USD 4 trillion of m-cap include the US, China, Japan and Hong Kong.

On May 24, 2021, the market capitalisation of all listed companies on the BSE touched the USD 3-trillion mark.

The exchange had seen listed firms’ valuation going past the USD 1-trillion level on May 28, 2007.

The journey from USD 1 trillion to USD 1.5 trillion was covered in 2,566 days or just over seven years on June 6, 2014.

The m-cap of its listed companies reached USD 2 trillion on July 10, 2017 — taking 1,130 days from the USD 1.5-trillion level.

From there, it took 1,255 days to go past the USD 2.5-trillion mark on December 16, 2020.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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