As India aims to achieve Net Zero target by 2070, the country’s installed nuclear power capacity is projected to nearly triple by 2031-32, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, told the Parliament on Thursday.

In a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said the present installed nuclear power capacity is set to increase from 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32.

"Various studies have projected the need to have a national nuclear capacity of the order of 1 lakh MW by 2047 and recommendations of those studies are being viewed for possible future adoption," said Dr Singh.

Indian equity indices opened in the deep red on Thursday following negative cues from global markets.

At 9.43 a.m., Sensex was at 79,697, down 450 points or 0.56 per cent and Nifty was down 125 points or 0.51 per cent at 24,288.

Midcap and smallcap stocks are seeing less decline. The Nifty Midcap index is down 225 points or 0.40 per cent at 56,647 and the Nifty Smallcap index is at 18,672, down 50 points or 0.27 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, Metal, realty, pharma, IT, PSU bank and energy index are major laggards. FMCG and Media index are major gainers.

Banking shares are leading the fall. Nifty Bank is down by 551 points or more than one per cent at 50,756.

Braving challenging weather conditions, the Indian Navy on Wednesday successfully evacuated a critically injured Chinese mariner from Bulk Carrier Zhong Shan Men, 200 nm (approximately 370 km) from Mumbai.

The Indian Navy said that its Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai received a distress call on Tuesday night from the bulk carrier, requesting immediate evacuation of a critically injured 51-year-old mariner who had suffered heavy blood loss.

Responding to the medical emergency, a Sea King helicopter was launched from the Indian Navy Air Station Shikra at 0550 hours on Wednesday.

"Challenging weather conditions with winds over 45 knots and heavy rolling of the ship were compounded by non-availability of continuous deck. The patient was successfully airlifted from the bridge wing of the vessel and transported back to the air station and subsequently shifted to hospital for further medical management," the Indian Navy spokesperson posted on X.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened the framework for domestic money transfers in order to keep track of both cash pay-in and pay-out services.

In a circular issued on Wednesday, the RBI stated that in the case of cash pay-out service, the remitting bank shall obtain and keep a record of the name and address of the beneficiary.

The circular also mentioned that in the case of cash pay-in service, the remitting banks or business correspondents shall register the remitter based on a verified cell phone number and a self-certified 'Officially Valid Document (OVD)' as per the Master Direction – Know Your Customer Direction 2016, as amended from time to time.

India's frontline indices opened in the red on Wednesday as heavyweights like HUL and Bajaj Finance emerged as top losers.

At 9:52 a.m., Sensex was down 280 points or 0.35 per cent, at 80,174 and Nifty was down 72 points or 0.30 per cent.

Buying is seen in the broader market. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1712 shares are in the green and 477 shares are in the red.

Midcap and smallcap stocks are performing better compared to largecaps. Nifty midcap 100 index is up 384 points or 0.68 per cent, at 56,669 and Nifty smallcap 100 index is up 248 points or 1.35 per cent, at 18,649.

Stock market experts on Wednesday said that investors should focus on buying stocks which can deliver superior returns after a marginal increase in long-term capital gains tax (LTCG) on equity becomes a reality.

According to experts, the taxation of capital gains has undergone significant streamlining in the Union Budget 2024 with respect to holding period and tax rates.

There will only be two holding periods -- 12 months (for listed securities) and 24 months (for all other securities) to determine short-term and long-term capital gains.

Thus, the holding period for bonds and debt mutual funds for being classified as long-term has been reduced from 36 months to 24 months.

According to market watchers, in the present context, FMCG stocks look attractive from the valuation perspective.

The Indian startup ecosystem on Tuesday hailed the Union Budget 2024 for abolishing angel tax -- the tax imposed on funds raised by startups from angel investors -- for all classes of financiers.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech, said that the move was aimed at bolstering the Indian startup ecosystem, boosting the entrepreneurial spirit, and supporting innovation.

“The removal of angel tax is great news for early-stage startups and shows the government's support for startup funding. The focus on creating jobs, developing skills, supporting MSMEs, and boosting manufacturing is setting the stage for a better India,” added Varun Gupta, Co-Founder, BOULT.

With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing a major reduction in customs duty on cancer drugs and mobile phones, it is set to considerably bring down their prices in the market. The three cancer drugs are Trastuzumab deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab.

The Finance Minister also announced a reduction of customs duty on mobile phones and mobile chargers to 15 per cent.

“The government will exempt three cancer treatment drugs from customs duty. I will also reduce basic customs duty on mobile phones, chargers and other mobile parts,” FM Sitharaman said presenting the Budget 2024.

Other products that are set to become cheaper include mobile phones, imported gold, silver, leather goods and seafood.

As Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her seventh Budget on Tuesday, among several things, she put forth the government’s vision for the empowerment of youth.

One of the highlights of this budget is grant of one month’s wage for first-time employees, which will be provided to them as a Provident Fund contribution.

There will also be provision for internships in 500 established companies, which will be encouraged among youth.

Additionally, an internship allowance of Rs 5000 and a one-time assistance of Rs 6,000 are to be provided under the internship scheme, the Finance Minister said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday kept India’s FY25 capex outlay unchanged at Rs 11.11 lakh crore, as earmarked in the Interim Budget in February.

This is higher than last year’s revised estimate of Rs 9.5 lakh crore.

The Finance Minister announced that the government will end up spending 3.4 per cent of the Budget on capex compared with 3.2 per cent in the previous year and almost double of what it spent five years ago.

The government’s capital expenditure for FY24 stood at Rs 9.5 lakh crore, an increase of 28.2 per cent on a YoY basis, and was 2.8 times the level of FY20.

India equity indices were trading flat on Tuesday ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget presentation at 11 a.m. in Parliament.

At 9:55 a.m., Sensex was up 35 points or 0.04 per cent at 80,537 and Nifty was up 2 points or 0.01 per cent at 24,511.

Selling is seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index is down 109 points or 0.19 per cent at 56,515 and Nifty smallcap 100 index is down 105 points or 0.57 per cent at 18,457.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto, pharma, FMCG, and realty are the top gainers. IT, PSU Bank, fin service, and metal are the major laggards.

As many as 2.63 crore houses have been constructed for the poor in the last nine years under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana, according to the Economic Survey released on Monday.

“The quality of life in the rural areas has progressed in terms of basic amenities, education, health, and financial inclusion. In terms of basic amenities, 11.57 crore toilets were constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission - Grameen, while 11.7 crore households were provided with tap water connection under the Jal Jeevan Mission as of July 10, 2024,” the Survey stated.

The Economic Survey 2023-2024 is positive about the India growth story, and India's GDP growth for FY25 will surpass the forecast and has the potential to reach 8 per cent, Sanjiv Puri, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said on Monday.

The Economic Survey, tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament, projects India’s GDP growth rate at 6.5 to 7 per cent for 2024-25 as it sees the economy on a strong wicket.

According to Puri, the GDP growth for FY25, which is imminently achievable, is driven by excellent macro-financial management, and a facilitative policy environment which includes a thrust on capex and inflation control.

India’s external sector remained strong amidst ongoing geopolitical headwinds as the country’s forex reserves at the end of March 2024 were sufficient to cover more than 10 months of its projected imports for FY25 and 98 per cent of its external debt, according to the Economic Survey released on Monday.

It also points out that India’s rank in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index improved by six places, from 44th in 2018 to 38th in 2023, out of 139 countries.

The country is also adding more export destinations, signalling regional diversification of exports. The moderation in merchandise imports and rising services exports have improved India’s current account deficit which narrowed 0.7 per cent in FY24, the Survey states.

The Economic Survey tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Monday projects India’s GDP growth rate at 6.5 to 7 per cent for 2024-25 as it sees the economy on a strong wicket.

The survey states that global economic growth will be 3.2 per cent in 2023 as per the April World Economic Outlook. Diverging growth patterns have emerged among countries. The stark difference in the growth performance of countries has been on account of domestic structural issues, uneven exposure to geopolitical conflicts and the impact of monetary policy tightening.

India’s economy carried forward the momentum it built in FY23 into FY24 despite a gamut of external challenges. India’s real GDP grew by 8.2 per cent in FY24, exceeding the 8 per cent mark in three out of four quarters of FY24. The focus on maintaining macroeconomic stability ensured that external challenges had minimal impact on India’s economy.

The Union Budget 2024-2025 will give a further push to prioritise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainability initiatives to drive long-term economic growth and environmental resilience, experts said on Monday.

Last month, the World Economic Forum (WEF) hailed India's progress in the global energy transition, observing that the country "is leading the way in creating outcomes that can be replicated elsewhere".

According to Saunak Saha, Partner, Climate Change and Sustainability Services, EY India, enhanced incentives for green technologies, stricter regulations on carbon emissions, and increased funding for sustainable infrastructure projects are essential.

Indian equity indices opened in the red on Monday following weak global cues from asian peers.

At 9:45 a.m., Sensex was at 80,501, down 89 points or 0.11 per cent and Nifty was down 26 points or 0.12 per cent, at 24,504.

Buying is seen in the smallcap and midcap stocks. The Nifty smallcap 100 index is up 62 points or 0.34 per cent at 18,460 and the Nifty midcap 100 index is 124 points or 0.22 per cent at 56,032.

UltraTech Cement, Infosys, NTPC, Nestle, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, ITC, and TCS are the top gainers in the Sensex pack. Wipro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance, L&T, JSW Steel, and ICICI Bank are the top losers.

As the Centre is set to present the Union Budget 2024-2025 on July 23, stock market experts bet big on four key sectors -- capital goods, defence, electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) and Tourism.

The market anticipates a continuation of last year's incentives, maintaining the status quo. A continued focus on infrastructure, including roads, railways, ports, airport expansions, defence, and tourism, is vital.

In the past week, Nifty has recorded a slight gain of 0.3 per cent, driven by strong performances and positive growth forecasts from IT majors TCS, Infosys, and HCL Tech.

According to Krishna Appala from Capitalmind Research, the government plans a Rs 4.75 lakh crore investment to upgrade India's power transmission, targeting 618 GW capacity by 2028, along with metro expansions in over 40 cities and Rs 1.5 lakh crore in oil and gas.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) continued the investment momentum in the stock markets in India, infusing around Rs 44,344 crore in equity and debt this month (till July 19).

Market analysts said that FPIs were consistent buyers with buying picking up during the week ended July 19.

FPIs have invested worth Rs 30,771 crore in equity and Rs 13,573 crore in debt.

They were buyers in autos, capital goods, healthcare, IT, telecom and oil and gas.

As the stock markets reach record high amid a surge in new investments and GDP forecast to grow at 7 per cent for FY25, the Indian economy is entering a ‘Goldilocks period’ amid ideal conditions for growth and profitability, according to an ace global expert.

According to Kenneth Andrade of Old Bridge Mutual Fund, there are ideal conditions for growth in the Indian economy amid strong fundamentals across parameters.

In a report, Andrade provided a cautious yet optimistic outlook on various sectors, saying infrastructure, IT and select segments within chemicals and real estate are areas of interest.

Painting a robust economic environment, the report said corporate capacity utilisation is nearing 90 per cent, a strong indicator of healthy profitability growth for the current financial year.

RBI Governor Shaktkanta Das on Friday said banks and NFCs must be fair in their conduct and practices with consumers as this fosters confidence and public trust in financial institutions which strengthens their stability.

He pointed out that RBI has issued guidelines on Key Facts Statement (KFS), penal charges in loan accounts, reset of floating interest rate in EMI-based personal loans, and release of movable or immovable property documents on repayment or settlement of loan accounts.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday clarified that only 10 banks and non-banking finance companies in the country had minor disruptions due to the large-scale outage in Microsoft services.

"Critical systems of most banks are not in the cloud and further, only a few banks are using the CrowdStrike tool. Our assessment shows that only 10 banks and NBFCs had minor disruptions which have either been resolved or are being resolved," the RBI said in a press release.

Overall, the Indian financial sector in the Reserve Bank’s domain remains insulated from the global outage, it added.

The money from Indians working overseas that come into NRI deposits of banks surged more than 4-fold to $2.7 billion in April-May this year compared to $0.6 billion in the same period last year, strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserves, the latest data compiled by the RBI showed.

The total NRI deposits as of May have now gone up to $154.72 billion. The NRI deposit schemes include foreign currency non-resident (FCNR) deposits, non-resident external (NRE) deposits, and non-resident ordinary (NRO) deposits.

These large inflows of foreign exchange also help to prop up the rupee. According to the RBI report, the rupee has emerged as the most stable among major currencies.

Indian equity indices opened in the red on Friday following weak global cues from Asian peers.

At 9:45 a.m., Sensex was at 81,196, down 146 points or 0.18 per cent and Nifty was down 75 points or 0.34 per cent, at 24,716.

The broader market trend is negative. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1651 shares are in red and 526 shares in green.

Selling pressure is also seen in midcap and smallcap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index is down 591 points or 1.03 per cent at 56,520 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index is at 18,661 points, down 167 points or 0.89 per cent.

The second quarter (July-September) of 2024-25 has begun with signs of quickening momentum in the Indian economy as an improvement in the outlook for agriculture and the revival of rural spending have turned out to be the bright spots in the evolution of demand conditions, according to the RBI's monthly bulletin released on Thursday.

With rural spending outpacing urban segments, the rural-urban divide is narrowing, as the recent monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) survey of the NSSO highlights.

This is on the back of rising fiscal transfers, an increase in the wage rate as typified by the MGNREGS and the rising volumes of remittances to rural households due to urban migration. These are some of the proximate factors that are boosting the effective spending power of rural households, the RBI bulletin states.

The Indian realty sector saw 22 deals at $1.8 billion in the April-June quarter (Q2) in FY25, an uptick in both volume and value signalling a substantial inflow of investment into the sector, a report showed on Thursday.

The quarter was characterised by the dominance of commercial development, residential development activity, private equity influence and technological integration.

Commercial development dominated the overall deal activity, accounting for 37 per cent of the volumes and an impressive 75 per cent of the values, according to the report by Grant Thornton Bharat.

“The first half of 2024 has already reached close to the total deal value of 2023 and has seen a marked increase in private equity investments and high-value transactions, reflecting renewed investor confidence and robust economic recovery,” said Shabala Shinde, Partner and Real Estate Leader.

After spending $450 million on the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) moon rover programme, NASA on Thursday announced cancelling the mission over budget concerns.

The robotic mission, slated to launch in 2025, aboard an Astrobotic Griffin lander as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative (CLPS). The mission had planned to land near the Moon's coveted south pole and to spend 100 days in search of ice deposits on the lunar surface.

"We were very confident in the VIPER team. This really gets down to cost and a very constrained budget environment in the US," said Joel Kearns, Deputy Associate Administrator for exploration at NASA headquarters in Washington, at a teleconference.

Indian equity indices opened in the red on Thursday following profit-booking midcap and smallcap stocks.

At 9:46 a.m., Sensex was down 102 points or 0.13 per cent, at 80,608 and Nifty was at 24,588, down 17 points or 0.07 per cent.

Selling is being seen in the midcap and smallcap. Nifty midcap 100 index is down 482 points or 0.77 per cent, at 57,181.20 and Nifty smallcap 100 index is 168 points or 0.89 per cent, at 18,893.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto, metal, realty, media, and PSE are the major losers. FMCG and pvt bank are the major gainers.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said the monsoon is likely to be active in peninsular, and central India during the next 4 to 5 days bringing heavy rainfall in these regions.

“Isolated extremely heavy rainfall very likely over South Interior Karnataka, Saurashtra and Kutch on 17th and 18th; Konkan and Goa, Coastal Karnataka on 18th July and isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall during subsequent 3 days,” the IMD said.

Agriculture is expected to get more importance in India's growth strategy, and this is likely to be reflected in the upcoming budget, according to Suman Beri, the vice chairman of India's NITI Aayog which crafts policies.

President Droupadi Murmu "has indicated that this will be a landmark budget" in her address to Parliament last month, he said.

"I think just assessing in a sense, what is being talked about broadly, I wouldn't be surprised if the agriculture sector gets a lot of attention," he said.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has kept India’s growth forecast unchanged at 7 per cent in 2024-25 as it sees the country as the fastest growing economy with robust growth in the industrial sector and a rebound in agriculture due to a better monsoon.

The ADB projected India’s economy to grow faster at 7.2 per cent in 2025-26, in its report released on Wednesday.

“The outlook for India, the region’s fastest-growing economy, is unchanged at 7.0 per cent for fiscal year 2024-25. India’s industrial sector is projected to grow robustly, driven by manufacturing and strong demand in construction. Agriculture is expected to rebound amid forecasts for an above-normal monsoon, while investment demand remains strong, led by public investment,” the ADB report states.

Indian exports remained resilient in the first quarter of current fiscal (FY25), as core export goods such as drugs and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, organic and inorganic chemicals and readymade garments exhibited positive growth, a report showed on Wednesday.

In the labour-intensive exports category, growth in carpets, handloom products, man-made products, plastic and linoleum and readymade garments was positive, but slower than the previous month, according to a report.

Other categories such as handmade carpets, and jute manufacturing, including floor covering, leather and leather products recorded contraction.

India’s domestic air passenger traffic rose by 5.8 per cent to 1.32 crore in June this year from 1.24 crore in the same month last year, according to the latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Low-cost airline IndiGo flew 80.86 lakh passengers during the month to register a market share of 60.5 per cent, followed by Tata Group’s Air India with 17.47 lakh flyers accounting for 13.1 per cent share of the market pie.

Vistara, a 51:49 per cent joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, was ranked third with 12.84 lakh passengers and a market share of 9.6 per cent during the month. The third Tata Group airline IX Connect (erstwhile AirAsia India) carried 7.70 lakh passengers in June to clock a market share of 5.8 per cent.

India, Indonesia and Australia on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to advancing their shared values and working together towards a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.

Holding discussions during the India-Indonesia-Australia Trilateral Focal Points Meeting, the three sides explored opportunities for collaboration including under the framework of Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) mechanisms, maritime domain awareness, marine pollution and blue economy cooperation.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the three sides also noted convergence between India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).